The Green Pearl Page 32

  Duke Luhalcx looked uncertainly from Aillas to a pair of armed pikemen who stood immobile nearby, watching the encounter with the cool gaze of lizards.

  Rohan the chamberlain came into the hall, and approached Aillas. "His Highness will see you now."

  "He must see me as well," declared Duke Luhalcx with sudden vehemence. "This is an intolerable case, which he must adjudicate!"

  Rohan tried to argue that turmoil might excite King Gax, but his protests went unheeded. However, at the door to the bedchamber, he excluded all but Aillas, Tatzel and the Duke Luhalcx, who strode forward and addressed King Gax from close by his bed.

  "Your Highness, I bring my complaint to your attention. When I walked along your gallery I discovered this fellow and with him my daughter, whom he holds by force and claims as his slave! I bade him to relinquish her to me; as a Ska noblewoman she cannot be subjected to such indignities!"

  King Gax asked huskily: "Did the enslavement occur here at Jehaundel, while she was under the protection of my roof?"

  "No; the deed was done elsewhere."

  King Gax looked at Aillas. "Sir, what have you to say?"

  "Your Highness, I plead natural law. Duke Luhalcx has enslaved many free folk both of South and North Ulfland, including, so it happens, myself. He does not remember me, but for a goodly period of my life he forced me to serve him as his servant at Castle Sank, where I became acquainted with Tatzel. I escaped from Sank; I became a free man, and then, when opportunity offered, I captured Tatzel and made her my slave."

  King Gax looked at Duke Luhalcx. "Do you have Ulfish slaves in your custody?"

  "I do." Luhalcx spoke with lame dignity, for already he saw how his case was going.

  "Then how, in logic, can you protest this instance? Even though it must cause you pain."

  Duke Luhalcx bowed his head. "Your adjudication is fair and just; I stand reprimanded for my protests." He turned to Aillas. "How much in gold will you take, that I may recover my daughter?"

  Aillas said slowly: "I know of no gauge which measures the value of a human life. Luhalcx, take your daughter; she is useless to me. Tatzel, I give you into the care of your father. Now, if you please, you may depart, and allow me to consult with good King Gax."

  Duke Luhalcx gave a short nod. He took Tatzel's hand and the two departed the chamber. Remaining were Rohan and the two guards by the door.

  Aillas turned to King Gax. "Sire, our business must be transacted in total secrecy."

  Gax croaked: "Rohan, leave us together. Guards, stand outside the door."

  With poor grace Rohan departed the chamber, and the guards moved into the hall. Aillas turned back to King Gax. "Sire, my name is Aillas."

  Half an hour later Rohan became uneasy and looked through the doorway. "Sir, are you well?"

  "Quite well, Rohan. I need nothing; you may go."

  Rohan departed. Aillas asked: "Do you trust Rohan?"

  King Gax uttered a wry chuckle. "It is generally felt that Kreim is to be the next king; profit and place go with him, and I am deemed, accurately enough, as good as dead."

  "Not quite," said Aillas.

  "Rohan devotes himself to my welfare by night and by day. I count him among my few true friends."

  "In that case, let us include him in our discussions."

  "As you wish. Rohan!"

  Rohan appeared with a promptitude which suggested an ear to the door. "Sir?"

  "We wish you to contribute your wisdom to our discussions."

  "Very well, sir."

  Aillas said: "The ceremony of coronation will take place three days from now. Apparently your best hope is to surrender the city to the Ska along with the crown. Therefore Sir Kreim must act either tonight or tomorrow night, or his dreams will be forever shattered."

  Gax stared forlornly into the fire. "Were he king, could he not hold Xounges as I have done?"

  "Perhaps, had he the will to do so. Still, Xounges is not so impregnable as you may think. Do sentries patrol the cliffs by night?"

  "For what reason? What could they see but foam and black water?"

  "If I were attacking Xounges, I would choose a dark calm night. A rope ladder would be lowered from somewhere along the cliffs, and warriors waiting below in small boats would climb this ladder, then lower more ladders and more warriors would climb the cliffs. In short order hundreds of men would have arrived to enter your city."

  King Gax nodded weakly. "No doubt you are right."

  "As another case, how is your harbour guarded?"

  "At sunset two heavy chains close off the entrance; no ship, large or small, can enter. Then the portcullis is lowered."

  "Chains will not hold back swimmers. On a dark night a thousand men could ease into the harbour, towing their weapons on floats, then hide aboard ships already at the docks until morning. As soon as the portcullis was raised, a pair of posts could be positioned to make any attempt to lower it impossible. Leaving the ships immediately and charging into the city, the army would have control of Xounges within the hour."

  King Gax gave a dismal groan. "The years have made me heavy. Needless to say, changes will be made."

  "A good idea," said Aillas. "But for now, more urgent affairs press on us, and we must plan for all contingencies. By that I mean Sir Kreim."

  The afternoon passed. At sunset King Gax took his evening meal of gruel with a few morsels of mince-meat, chopped apple and a goblet of white wine. An hour later the guards at the door were changed, and new guards came on duty. Rohan indignantly reported that the two new guards were cousins to Sir Krelm's spouse, of rank far too high to be standing guard duty by night. Bribes had clearly been paid and influence exerted: so declared Rohan, furious, if for no other reason than the contravention to his personal authority.

  Darkness came to Xounges. King Gax composed himself for sleep and Rohan retired to his own chambers.

  Jehaundel became quiet. In Gax's bedchamber the fire burned low on the hearth. A pair of wall-sconces on the back wall cast soft yellow light, leaving the high groined ceiling in shadow.

  A faint thud of footsteps sounded from the hall. The door eased open with a quavering creak. A heavy shape stood silhouetted against the light of torches in the hall.

  The figure came quietly into the room. From his bed Gax croaked: "Who is there? Ho, guards! Rohan!"

  The dark shape spoke softly. "Gax, good King Gax, you have lived long enough and now your time has come."

  Gax called out huskily: "Rohan! Where are you? Bring the guards!"

  Rohan appeared from his chamber. "Sir Kreim, what does this mean? You are disturbing King Gax!"

  "Rohan, if you wish to serve me both here and later in Dahaut, hold your peace. Gax has outlived his time and now must die. He will smother under a pillow and it will be as if he died in his sleep. Interfere at your peril!"

  Sir Kreim went to the bed and picked up a pillow.

  "Hold!" said a voice. Sir Kreim looked up to discover a man watching him from across the room with sword drawn. "Sir Kreim, it is you who are about to die."

  "Who are you?" rasped Sir Kreim. "Guards! Carve me the liver of this importunate fool!"

  From Rohan's chamber three Troice seamen came to stand by the door; when the guards entered they were seized and stabbed. Sir Kreim rushed to attack Aillas; steel clashed and Sir Kreim reeled back from a wound in his chest. Before he could renew the attack, one of the seamen leapt on his back, bore him to the floor and stabbed him through the heart.

  Again silence held the room. Gax spoke: "Rohan, call porters; have them carry these hulks out and throw them over the cliff. See to it; I am going back to sleep."

  IV

  ON THE DAY BEFORE THE CORONATION, Aillas Went OUt Upon Xounges' fabled walls. They were, he decided, as proof against assault as tradition had asserted, if guarded by alert defenders.

  He stood on the battlements, looking out across the Skyre, one foot in an embrasure and leaning against the lichen-stained merlon. Farther along the battlements
he noticed Duke Luhalcx, with his brother Duke Ankhalcx, both in flowing black cloaks, and Tatzel, wearing a gray wool knee-length frock, a black cape, gray stockings which left her knees bare and black ankle boots. A red felt cap with the shortest of bills controlled her hair against the efforts of the wind. After a single glance, Aillas paid no more heed to the three, and he was moderately surprised when Duke Luhalcx came purposefully toward him, leaving Ankhalcx and Tatzel together fifty yards along the parapet.

  Aillas brought himself erect, and as Luhalcx stopped before him, gave a formal half-bow. "Good day, sir."

  Luhalcx bowed curtly. "Sir, I have given much thought to the circumstances which have brought us into contact. There are certain ideas which I feel compelled to place before you."

  "Speak."

  "I have tried to put myself into your position, and I believe that I can understand how you might be prompted to pursue and capture the Lady Tatzel; I too consider her a person of great charm. She has described to me in detail your journey across the wilderness, and your general courtesy and concern for her comfort, which clearly was not due to any regard you might have felt for her status."

  "That is quite true."

  "You showed more forebearance than I myself might have used in a similar case, or so I fear. I am puzzled by your motives."

  "They are personal, and reflect no discredit upon the Lady Tatzel. Essentially, I cannot bring myself to use a woman by force."

  Luhalcx gave a wintry smile. "Your motives would seem to do you credit, even if, in so saying, I seem implicitly to be denigrating the policies of the Ska... . Well, no matter. My own feelings translate into gratitude that Tatzel escaped harm, and so, for want of anything better, I give you my thanks, for at least this particular phase of the affair."

  Aillas shrugged. "Sir, I recognize your courtesy, but I cannot accept your thanks, since my acts were not intended for your benefit; if anything, to the contrary. Let us simply leave matters as they are."

  Duke Luhalcx showed a rueful half-smile. "You are a prickly fellow; this is for certain."

  "You are my enemy. Have you received recent news from home?"

  "Nothing fresh. What has happened?"

  "According to the captain of the ship, Ulf troops, with the aid of a Troice contingent, have retaken Suarach and destroyed the Ska garrison."

  Luhalcx's face became still. "If true, that is grim news."

  "From my point of view, you had no business in Suarach to begin with." Aillas paused a moment, then said: "I will advise you, and if you are wise you will follow my instructions to the letter. Return to Castle Sank. Pack all your precious relics, your portraits and mementos from antique times, and your books; remove these to Skaghane, because soon, soon, soon, Castle Sank must burn to the ground."

  "You make me a harsh forecast," said Luhalcx. "It is futile; we will never forsake our dream. First, we will take the Elder Isles, then we shall exact our great revenge upon the Goths who drove us from Norway."

  "The Ska have a long memory."

  "We dream as a people; we remember as a people! I myself have seen visions in the fire, and they came, not as illusions, but as recollections. We climbed the glaciers to find a lost valley; we fought red-headed warriors mounted on mammoths; we destroyed the cannibal half-men who had lived in the land for a million years. I remember this as if I had been there myself."

  Aillas pointed. "Sir, look where those waves come sweeping in from the Atlantic! They seem irresistible! After a thousand miles of steady onward motion they strike the cliff and in an instant they are broken into foam."

  Duke Luhalcx said shortly: "I have heard your remarks and I will give them due attention. One final matter which preys on my mind: the safety of my spouse, the Lady Chraio."

  "I have no knowledge of her. If she were captured, I am sure that she has been treated no less courteously than you would deal with a captive Ulfish woman."

  Duke Luhalcx grimaced, bowed and, turning away, rejoined Duke Ankhalcx and Tatzel. For a few minutes they stood looking across the battlements, then turned and went off in the direction they had come.

  During the late afternoon, a dense purple-gray overcast rose from the west to obscure the sun, and early twilight settled over Xounges. The night was totally dark and brought torrents of rain at irregular intervals, which dwindled as dawn tinted the sky with a wet glow the colour of eggplant.

  Two hours into the morning, the rain had become a misty drizzle, and the sky showed signs of clearing for the coronation later in the day. Aillas came running up from the harbour: through the tunnel, along cobbled passages, across the market square, now deserted, and entered Jehaundel by the massive front portal.

  In the foyer Aillas gave his wet cloak into the care of a footman, then set off down the main gallery. From the great hall came Tatzel, where she had been observing preparations for the coronation. She saw Aillas, hesitated, then came forward, looking neither right nor left. Aillas felt a pang of deja vu; once again he stood in the gallery at Castle Sank, with Tatzel marching toward him, unheeding of all save her private thoughts.

  Tatzel approached, her eyes fixed on a point far down the gallery; clearly Aillas was not in her good graces. For a moment Aillas thought that she might pass him by without speaking, but at the last instant she came to a grudging halt, and swept him up and down with a quick cool glance. "Why do you look at me so oddly?"

  "A peculiar mood came over me. I fancied myself back at Castle Sank. I still feel the chill."

  Tatzel's drooping mouth twitched. "I am surprised that you are still here. Is not the ship's captain anxious to put to sea?"

  "He has decided to delay sailing for still a day or so, which allows me time to finish my business."

  Tatzel looked blank. "I thought that you came here to bring me to my father."

  "That, for a fact, was one of my purposes. Then, King Gax has graciously allowed my attendance at today's ceremony, which will certainly be a historic occasion, and I would not care to miss it."

  Tatzel gave an indifferent shrug. "It does not seem all that important to me, but perhaps you are right. Now I must go and make my own preparations, though no one will be paying attention to me."

  "Perhaps I will watch you," said Aillas. "The expressions of your face have always intrigued me."

  V

  RAIN CONTINUED INTO THE AFTERNOON, sweeping down upon Xounges from a sky of black gloom: rattling on the tiles, hissing into the slategreen waters of the Skyre.

  Within the great hall of Jehaundel, a dank half-light entered through high narrow windows. Four great fires cast a more cheerful glow, which which was augmented by a series of wall-sconces.

  A dozen gonfalons, representing the glory of Old Ulfland, hung on the stone walls, their colours faded, the deeds they celebrated now forgotten; still, the sight of the ancient standards brought moisture to many eyes among those Ulfs who had come to witness the coronation of the new king—a transition which all felt must extinguish the last remaining sparks of ancient honour.

  In addition to the lords of the great old houses, there were present a company of lesser nobility, as well as a party of eight Ska, standing austerely to the side, the ambassadors of Godelia and Dahaut, and a group from the Troice warship.

  A pair of middle-aged heralds blew fanfares; Sir Pertane, the High Chancellor, called out: "I announce the imminent arrival of His Majesty, King Gax!"

  Six footmen carried in a platform supporting a throne in which sat King Gax. By a ramp the footmen mounted to a low dais, lowered the platform and departed. King Gax, wearing a robe of red plush trimmed with black fur, and wearing the crown of North Ulfland over a red cap, raised a fragile hand to the company. "I bid you all welcome. Be seated, those who so desire; those who prefer the support of their feet to that of their haunches: let them stand."

  A shifting and a murmur stirred the company.

  King Gax spoke again. "Death has come to knock at my door. I am loath to let him enter my house; he is said to be a pertinacious
guest. Hark! I hear his knock even now! Can others hear this sound, or does it tap-tap-tap for my ears only? No matter, no matter; but still I must do a last deed before I receive my caller.

  "Notice all! I wear the ancient crown! Once it spoke loud of glory and place! This was the crown of Ulfland, when ours loomed large among the states of the Elder Isles! Then there was no ‘North' and no ‘South' to our land; it united all the west of Hybras, from Godelia to Cape Farewell! Today I wear a symbol of helplessness and defeat. My realm extends only as far as the sound of my voice. The Ska have conquered our land, and made a wilderness where folk once tilled the soil of their farmsteads."

  King Gax gazed around the room. He pointed a white finger. "There stand the Ska. Duke Luhalcx advises me to abdicate in favor of Duke Ankhalcx. Duke Luhalcx knows our ancient laws and his candidate is at hand. Duke Luhalcx argues that by naming a Ska ruler I do no more than legitimize actuality.

  "Luhalcx argues with a good voice, but others have argued with voices even better. They assert that if the crown passed not to the Ska but to the present King of South Ulfland, then once again the land would be joined under a rule which is committed to expulsion of the Ska and restoration of the old order. These arguments are compelling, as in South Ulfland there is already a new sense of pride and adequacy. South Ulfish forces have already dealt hard blows to the Ska, and are only just starting to bring their power to bear.

  "Such arguments cannot be ignored. The same head that wears the crown of South Ulfland shall wear this crown which now graces my unworthy old head."

  Duke Luhalcx cried out in a passion: "The ceremony is void unless the South Ulfish king is on hand to receive the crown from your head, and by your hand! You have cited the law yourself!"

  "Indeed I have done so. We will go through the form. Sir Pertane, utter your summons!"

  The High Chancellor called out to the company: "Where is he whom Gax, King of North Ulfland, has commanded to appear before him? I refer in specific, to Aillas, King of Dascinet and Troicinet, Scola and South Ulfland. Let him announce himself if indeed he is present."