‘No,’ Kurik replied. ‘He had a Churchman with him, and a lady of aristocratic background. There’d also have been a slack-jawed young fellow who looks about as stupid as a stump, and a big, burly man with a face like a gorilla.’
‘Oh,’ at bunch. You shoulda tole me ‘bout ape-face right off. They rode thoo here ‘bout daylight yestiddy mornin’. ’At ’ere gorilla ye was talkin’ about, he clumb down off’n his horse an’ he come in here bellerin’ fer ale. He don’t talk none too good, does he?’
‘It usually takes him about half a day to think up an answer when somebody says hello to him.’
The tavern keeper cackled shrilly. ‘At’s him, all right. He don’t smell none too sweet neither, does he?’
Kurik grinned at him and spun a coin across the counter to him. ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ he said. ‘He isn’t too much worse than an open cesspool. Thank you for the information, my friend.’
‘Y’ think ye’ll be able t’ ketch up with ‘em?’
‘Oh, we’ll catch them all right,’ Kurik replied fervently, ‘sooner or later. Were there any others with them?’
‘No. Jist ‘em five. ‘Ceptin’ fer the gorilla, they all had ther cloaks pulled up ‘round ther heads. ‘At’s probably how come I couldn’t see the one with the white hair. They was movin’ along at a purty good clip, though, so’s iff’n ye wants t’ ketch ‘em, yer gonna have t’ push yer horses some.’
‘We can do that, my friend. Thanks again.’ And Kurik and Sparhawk went back out into the street. ‘Was that more or less what you needed to know, My Lord?’ Kurik asked.
‘That old fellow was a gold-mine, Kurik. We’ve gained a bit of time on Martel, we know that he doesn’t have any troops with him, and we know that he’s going towards Motera.’
‘We know something else too, Sparhawk.’
‘Oh? What’s that?’
‘Adus still needs a bath.’
Sparhawk laughed. ‘Adus always needs a bath. We’ll probably have to pour about a hogshead of water on him before we bury him. Otherwise, the ground might just spit him back out again. Let’s go on back to the inn.’
When Sparhawk and Kurik re-entered the low-beamed common room of the inn, however, they found that their party had expanded slightly. Talen sat all innocent-eyed at the table with a number of hard stares focused on him.
Chapter 21
‘I’m a royal messenger,’ the boy said quickly as Sparhawk and Kurik approached the table, ‘so don’t start reaching for your belts, either of you.’
‘You’re a royal what?’ Sparhawk asked him.
‘I’m carrying a message to you from the queen, Sparhawk.’
‘Let’s see the message.’
‘I committed it to memory. We really wouldn’t want messages like that falling into unfriendly hands, would we?’
‘All right. Let’s hear it then.’
‘It’s sort of private, Sparhawk.’
‘That’s all right. We’re among friends.’
‘I can’t see why you’re behaving this way. I’m just obeying the queen’s command, that’s all.’
‘The message, Talen.’
‘Well, she’s getting ready to leave for Cimmura.’
‘That’s nice.’ Sparhawk’s tone was flat.
‘And she’s very worried about you.’
‘I’m touched.’
‘She’s feeling well, though.’ The additions Talen was tacking on were growing more and more lame.
‘That’s good to know.’
‘She – um – she says that she loves you.’
‘And?’
‘Well – that’s all, really.’
‘It’s a strangely garbled message, Talen. I think maybe you’ve left something out. Why don’t you go over it again?’
‘Well – um – she was talking to Mirtai and Platime – and me, of course – and she said that she wished there was some way she could get word to you to let you know what she was doing and exactly how she felt.’
‘She said this to you?’
‘Well – I was in the room when she said it.’
‘Then we can’t really say that she ordered you to come here, can we?’
‘Well – not in so many words, I suppose, but aren’t we supposed to sort of anticipate her wishes? She is the queen, after all.’
‘May I?’ Sephrenia asked.
‘Of course,’ Sparhawk replied. ‘I’ve already found out what I want to know.’
‘Maybe,’ she said, ‘maybe not.’ She turned to the boy. ‘Talen?’
‘Yes, Sephrenia?’
‘That’s the weakest, most clumsy and obviously false story I’ve ever heard from you. It doesn’t even make any sense, particularly in view of the fact that she’s already sent Stragen to do more or less the same thing. Is that really the best you could come up with?’
He even managed to look embarrassed. ‘It’s not a lie,’ he said. ‘The queen said exactly what I told you she did.’
‘I’m sure she did, but what was it that moved you to come galloping after us to repeat some idle comments?’
He looked a little confused.
‘Oh, dear,’ Sephrenia sighed. She began to scold Aphrael in Styric at some length.
‘I think I missed something there.’ Kalten sounded baffled.
‘I’ll explain in a moment, Kalten,’ Sephrenia said. ‘Talen, you have an enormous gift for spontaneous prevarication. What happened to it? Why didn’t you just cook up a lie that was at least a little bit plausible?’
He squirmed a bit. ‘It just wouldn’t have seemed right,’ he said sullenly.
‘You felt that you shouldn’t really he to your friends, is that it?’
‘Something like that, I guess.’
‘Praise God!’ Bevier said in stunned fervour.
‘Don’t be too quick to start offering up prayers of thanksgiving, Bevier,’ she told him. ‘Talen’s apparent conversion isn’t entirely what it seems to be. Aphrael’s involved in it, and she’s a terrible liar. Her convictions keep getting in the way.’
‘Flute?’ Kurik said. ‘Again? Why would she send Talen here to join us?’