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who met the pair and began work on the tall man's foot, while the conversation
picked up among the group of men and women, as though nothing untoward or
unusual had gone on.
Darien del Darien was waiting for them in the larger of the chairs; he waved
Ian to one chair opposite him, and Hosea to another.
The fourth chair was occupied by a boy that Ian would have guessed to be
about twelve, maybe thirteen, redheaded enough to be Irish, and freckled
across the nose and cheeks. He was dressed formally, like an adult, but the
hilt of his sword was plain and unadorned, unlike the engraved and jeweled
hilts that were so common.
"Good evening to you, Ian Silver Stone," Darien del Darien said. "I've
promised the Scion that we will show you proper Dominion hospitality this
evening, and I've asked the Heir to bear witness to him that I've done so."
The boy inclined his head, briefly. "It's not that my father doesn't trust
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the klaffvarer," he said, his face perhaps too serious. "But it would be
bragging on his part to speak of how well he treats you, but not on mine. Do
you dance?
There are more than several ladies of the court who would be happy to partner
you."
Ian shook his head. "I'm sorry; I don't know any of your dances, and I'm none
too comfortable on my feet."
The Heir if he had another name, Ian clearly wasn't going to get it from
their introduction brightened immediately. "Oh, then, I'll tell the musicians
to schedule a round, and we'll teach you." His grin was reassuring. "There's
nothing to it, Ian Silver Stone." He looked to Darien del Darien. "May I?
Please?"
The klaffvarer nodded indulgently. "Yes, my Heir," he said. "But don't
interrupt us; the Silver Stone and I need to discuss some matters." The boy
rose, bowed politely in all directions, and quickly walked away, Darien del
Dar-ien's smile dropping at his departure.
"I've had men out searching for this Valin with orders to bring him back
unharmed, to let him escape if there's no way to capture him. There's been no
sign," Darien del Darien said.
"I can't say I'm sorry," Ian said. Well, he could, but it would have been a
clumsy lie.
"Well, you should be sorry that he's escaped. If he's who he says he is, he
should be able to lead us to whatever this pack is that has supposedly sent
Sons after your friends."
"This is something that you have grave worries over?" Hosea asked.
"Worries? Worries, no." Darien del Darien shook his head. "Concerns, yes.
Knowing who is behind this would be, at the very least, trade goods, and while
I'm no woman to be caught up in matters of trade and commerce, I very much
wish to have something to trade with you. The head of your enemy, perhaps?" He
shrugged. "But without knowing who it is, there's little I can do, directly."
"And indirectly?"
"Indirectly, I've already taken some actions," said Darien del Darien. "We
can discuss those if we can reach an understanding on another matter."
"You want something from me."Fencing lessons, perhaps? I'm really quite good
at teaching foil.
He also wasn't all that bad at dueling, although his reputation had
apparently overtaken his abilities. The Cities settled most of their internal
political struggles by duel. Not the best way to settle things, perhaps well,
scratch that "perhaps" but the important thing about many problems was that
they be settled, one way or the other.
"Very much," Darien del Darien said. "I'm willing to do whatever I can for
you and your friends. And, while my word is not, perhaps, as unbreakable as
some, you'll find that it's been respected and respectable before, and it
shall be again. I can promise you gold surely you can always use gold andI can
promise you what aid I can muster, either of mine own or of the Dominions. I
can arrange for your swift conduct between the Old Keep and Falias, and
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through the Hidden Ways back to your home; now or at some later time. And I
can promise you my ... my great gratitude."
Ian cocked his head to one side. "And for all this promising, what is it that
you want from me?"
"Well, that is the heart of the matter, isn't it?" Darien del Darien nodded.
"I need from you just one thing. I need to have you bring to me, here, for one
day, and one day only, a jewel of the Brisingamen."
Ian thought he hadn't heard him correctly for a moment. Was that all? Was
that what this was all about? Was that why Darien del Darien had sent Sons to
Hardwood, to scare Ian into coming to look for the source so that he could
make this offer?
Try just asking next time,he thought. "I... I must be missing something. Is
that all?"
Darien del Darien snorted. "Yes," he said, his lips white against his
skeletal face. "That is all."
Hosea shook his head. "That is much, as well you know. Ian Silver Stone
doesn't have any of the jewels, and "
"Yes, yes, yes, and you've carefully cut the knowledge of where you hid the
rest from your living brain," Darien del Darien said, his voice low and angry.
"As best I can tell, three of them remain hidden."
Three? But
"Three?" Hosea cocked his head to one side.
"Three," Darien del Darien said. "I... I think that the Vandestish have the
emerald."
Hosea turned to Ian. "He is certain," he said, in that sibilant language he
had used before, that Ian somehow recognized as Old Harvish. "His spies in in
the country in which you were asked to undergo the Pain say that they do." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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