Part 33 (2/2)
Jaht hiht Man was rebuilding his crient or two into the Mockers With what he knew of the structure of the Guild of Thieves, he was certain he could coach the proper candidate to pass scrutiny The proble the proper candidate
But that was a worry for another tis to occupy hiht now, and Arutha had requested that he return to the palace after seeing Ethan and the others on their way
There was, for exa out infor certain the Craas not in Krondor, but rather was operating his ring fro or Kesh, maybe the Free Cities He put Kesh at the top of his list, as there see for the Crawler
There was also the proble the hthawks Jahthawks had an agenda all their own The gathering in the desert certainly looked more like a small aric Who was behind that? James wondered
He reached the palace dock and was saluted by two guards as he passed back through the gate So ht, he was alive, young, and still had his wits It ht take years, but eventually he would come to understand who stood behind all the trials visited upon the Kingdoician of significant power It sat now upon a throne of carved stone, deep in a labyrinth of caves The pounding of surf in the distance could be felt more than heard, for the secret temple rested near the sea, deep below the water level The cave's rocks constantly sweated moisture, and the air was always dae carved hand, fashi+oned froiant black pear Also before the throne stood a ician, dressed as a common man of trade The creature on the throne turned to face thein the presence of the undead sorcerer-a ”liche”, ue The liche's servants were equally malevolent, the aniician had no fear of the guards, either
”You failed,” said the liche to the ician Its voice was as dry as the cave et
Sidi turned, and waved his finger ”No, the Nighthawks failed We always succeed People died, the Prince in Krondor searches under every rock for who is responsible, and vainly looks for patterns where none exist”
”But is there enough disruption?”
The slender h? Besides, too e their plans As it's taken et to this point, I'd rather not have things change unexpectedly and have to wait another ten or twenty years to try again The Gods may have lifetimes to wait, but we do not”
The creature on the throne laughed, a scratchy, parched sound The skin on its face was stretched tightly across its skull, and its wrists were nofroician ”You may not have lifetimes, but I do”
Sidi leaned forward and said, ”Be not overly proud of your petty necromancy, Savan It didn't keep your brother alive when Arutha's pet spy tossed hiht of the Nighthaould keep hi He was o a little mad when you come back from the dead; it can't be avoided, it seems,” said Sidi ”That's why I kept you locked up here for a few years when you returned froesture ”Madness has its uses,” he said with a nod of his head ”In fact, at times it's extremely useful” He turned with eyes wide and the liche chuckled ”What?” asked Sidi
”You're as hed ”Perhaps, but I don't care” He cocked his head to one side as if listening ”He's here”
”Who?” asked the liche
”One ill gain for us e've sought for the last twenty years, Savan I do not wish him to enter this chamber; he is not ready to see you and your servants, to knohoift, and let it work upon hio now”
As Sidi walked away, the dead ician said, ”Bind hi the tunnel leading to the passage up to the surface The pirate they called Bear would be putting ashore in a sed off the rocky prominence called Widow's Point Sidi would meet him on the sand below the secret entrance to the Black Pear Teht Sidi, if Bear carried out his mission and showed his usefulness, he would enter the temple, to be sworn finally to Sidi's service
But until that ti on a sihthawks had for years before they discovered they were serving more than their petty family and clan loyalties By the time Bear learned the truth it would be too late
As he neared the secret entrance, Sidi reached into a deep pocket in his robe and pulled out an amulet Fashi+oned from burnished bronze, the heavy chain was curiously darkened, a tarnish that no amount of polish could remove It showed a face, the icon chosen by those who served the Nameless One, the fox-faced demon who provided their liaison with the des to do, and such unreliable ered the release to open the sliding door hidden in the rocks of the cliff He really should find someone reliable one day But he conceded to himself that the lack of reliable servants was the price one paid for secrets; of all who served Sidi, none knew his true agenda, or ician's dark powers As the door began to slide, Sidi thought it ht be nice someday to have someone to take into his confidence, to confide in, to serve as hts as the door came fully open
The western wind blew spindrift across his face and he raised his hand to shade his eyes against the setting sun, crimson on the horizon as it sank A shi+p lay at anchor off the point, a one-tialley taken in a raid, its outline a dark and brooding shape against the sunset
The longboat made its way between the upthrust masts of shi+ps that had blundered upon the rocks in foul weather, giving this spur of land its naly, which made it the perfect place from which to strike at a shi+p The pirate who approached was familiar with these waters and had raided froboat entered the surf and was carried forward by the combers, Sidi looked once more at the relief on the alow It had taken years for Sidi to fashi+on the artifact that he was about to give to the pirate, but it would protect Bear froic and from physical harm He would be invulnerable while he wore it Moreover, it would allow theBear to his service
Despite the setbacks in the desert and the failure to reht Man in Krondor, Sidi felt alle most powerful artifact on this world, and once he had that in his possession, his wort on behalf of the true e pirate clih the brine towards Sidi, the e of ultimate victory