‘Do you really want a man who’s likely to live forever running your government?’ Garion asked in an amused tone, ‘not to mention the fact that he’s probably more corrupt than Silk and Sadi put together? That is a very bad old man, Kal Zakath. He’s wiser than whole generations, and he’s got a large number of disgusting habits.’
‘He’s your grandfather, Garion,’ Zakath protested. ‘How can you talk about him like that?’
‘Truth is truth, your Majesty.’
‘You Alorns are a very strange people, my friend.’
‘We’ve never tried to hide that, my friend.’
There was a clicking of toenails from behind, and the she-wolf slipped up between them. ‘One wonders where you are bound,’ she said to Garion.
‘One and one’s friend go to speak with the master of this house, little sister,’ he replied.
‘One will accompany you and your friend,’ she said. ‘If needful, one may help to prevent missteps.’
‘What did she say?’ Zakath asked.
‘She’s coming along to keep us from making any serious mistakes,’ Garion said.
‘A wolf?’
‘This is no ordinary wolf, Zakath. I’m beginning to have some suspicions about her.’
‘One is gratified that even a puppy may show some semblance of perception,’ the wolf sniffed.
‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘One is happy to gain approval from one so dearly loved.’
She wagged her tail at him. ‘One requests, however, that you keep your discovery to yourself.’
‘Of course,’ he promised.
‘What was that all about?’ Zakath asked.
‘It’s a wolfy sort of thing,’ Garion said. ‘It doesn’t really translate.’
Baron Astellig had removed his armor and sat in a massive chair before a crackling hearth. ‘It is ever thus, Sir Knights,’ he said. ‘Stone doth provide protection from foes, but it is forever cold, and the chill of winter is slow to seep away from its obdurate surface. Perforce we are required to maintain our fires even when summer doth bathe our isle with its gentle warmth.’
‘It is, my Lord, as thou sayest,’ Garion replied. ‘E’en the massive walls of Vo Mimbre do harbor this oppressive chill.’
‘And thou, Sir Knight, hath seen Vo Mimbre?’ the baron asked in wonder. ‘I would give all that I own or ever will to behold that fabled city. What is it truly like?’
‘Large, my Lord,’ Garion said, ‘and its golden stones do flash back the light of the sun as if to shame the heavens by its magnificence.’
The baron’s eyes filled with tears. ‘Blesséd am I, Sir Knight,’ he said in a voice choked with emotion. ‘This unexpected encounter with a knight of noble purpose and passing fair eloquence hath been the crown of my life, for the memory of Vo Mimbre, echoing down through the endless progression of years hath sustained those of us in lonely exile here, though its echoes grow more remote with each passing season e’en as dearly loved faces of those gone before us are remembered only in a dream that fades and dies as cruel eld creepeth upon us.’
‘My Lord,’ Zakath said a bit haltingly, ‘thy speech hath touched my heart. If I have power – and I do – I will convey thee at some future date even unto Vo Mimbre and present thee before the throne in the palace there, that we may re-unite thee with thy kindred.’
‘You see,’ Garion murmured to his friend, ‘it gets to be habit-forming.’
The baron wiped his eyes unashamed. ‘I note this hound of thine, Sir Knight,’ he said to Garion to ease them past an embarrassing moment, ‘a bitch, I perceive—’
‘Steady,’ Garion said firmly to the she-wolf.
‘That is a very offensive term,’ she growled.
‘He didn’t invent it. It’s not his fault.’
‘She is of a lean and lithesome configuration,’ the baron continued, ‘and her golden eyes do bespeak intelligence far beyond that of the poor mongrels which do infest this kingdom. Canst thou perhaps, Sir Knight, identify her breed?’
‘She is a wolf, my Lord,’ Garion told him.
‘A wolf!’ the baron exclaimed, leaping to his feet. ‘We must flee ere the fearsome beast fall upon us and devour us.’
It was a bit ostentatious, but sometimes things like that impress people. Garion reached down and scratched the wolf’s ears.
‘Thou art brave beyond belief, Sir Knight,’ the baron said almost in wonder.
‘She is my friend, my Lord,’ Garion replied. ‘We are linked by ties beyond thine imagining.’
‘One advises that you stop that,’ the wolf told him, ‘unless you have a paw to spare.’
‘You wouldn’t!’ he exclaimed, snatching his hand back.
‘But you’re not entirely sure, are you?’ She bared her teeth almost in a grin.
‘Thou speakest the language of beasts?’ the baron gasped.
‘Of a few, my Lord,’ Garion said. ‘They each have their own, thou knowest. I have not yet mastered the speech of the serpent. I think it has to do with the shape of my tongue.’
The baron suddenly laughed. ‘Thou art a droll man, Sir Knight. Thou hast presented me here with much to ponder and much at which to marvel. Now, to the main point. What canst thou reveal to me of thy quest?’
‘Be very careful here,’ the wolf warned Garion.
Garion considered. ‘As thou mayest know, my Lord,’ he began, ‘there is a great evil abroad in the world now.’ That was fairly safe. There was always a great evil abroad in the world.
‘Truly,’ the baron agreed fervently.
‘It is the sworn task of my steadfast companion here and myself to confront this evil. Know thou, however, that rumor, like a barking dog, would run before us, announcing – should they be known – our identities to the foul miscreant upon whom we mean to do war. Should, all forewarned, this vicious enemy learn of our approach, its minions would waylay us. Thus it is that we must conceal ourselves behind our visors and refrain from declaring before all the world our names – which have some smirch of honor upon them in diverse parts of the world.’ Garion was beginning to enjoy this. ‘We, neither one, fear any living thing.’ Mandorallen himself could not have said it more confidently. ‘We have, however, dear companions in this quest, whose lives we dare not endanger. Moreover, our quest is fraught with perilous enchantments which may even vaunt our prowess. Thus, though it is distasteful, we must, with thieflike stealth, approach this despised miscreant that we may administer suitable chastisement.’ He said the last word with something as close to the crack of doom as he could manage.