The Green Pearl Page 5

  Tristano smiled. "I am surprised by your surprise! Two excellent and obvious reasons prompted us into South Ulfland. The first is self-explanatory: the crown devolved upon Aillas through legitimate and ordinary succession, and he went to claim his due. He found the realm in deplorable order and now works to set things right.

  "The second reason is as starkly simple as the first. If Aillas had failed to secure both Kaul Bocach and Tintzin Fyral, which are forts along the way between Lyonesse and South Ulfland, King Casmir would now rule in South Ulfland. Nothing could prevent him from invading your Western March while at the same time attacking you from the south. Then, after you had been safely clapped into a dungeon, he could overwhelm Troicinet at his leisure. We preceded him into South Ulfland and he is now thwarted. So there you have it."

  King Audry gave a cynical snort. "I also perceive an extension of Troice ambition. It adds new dimensions to the charade! I already have problems enough from Godelia and Wysrod, not to mention the Ska who occupy my strong fortress Poelitetz... . Aha there! Well bowled, Artwen! Now then, Mnione, to the attack! Smite your oppressor hip and thigh!" So called King Audry to the maidens playing at bowls. He lifted a goblet of wine to his lips, drank, then poured out a goblet for Sir Tristano. "Be at your ease; this is a careless occasion. Still, I could wish that Aillas had sent a full-fledged plenipotentiary, or even had come himself."

  Sir Tristano shrugged. "I can only repeat what I have said before. King Aillas has imparted to me the full details of his program. When I speak, you listen to his voice."

  "I will be blunt," said Audry. "Our common enemy is Casmir. I am at all times ready to unite our forces and end, once and for all, the danger he represents."

  "Sir, this idea naturally comes as no surprise to King Aillas—nor to Casmir, for that matter. Aillas responds in these words. At the moment Troicinet is at peace with Lyonesse, a condition which may or may not endure. We are putting the time to good use. We consolidate our position in South Ulfland; we augment our navy, and if the peace persists a hundred years, so much the better.

  "In the meantime the most urgent situation confronting us is the Ska. If we joined you to defeat Lyonesse, the Ska problem would not go away; and we would then confront a new aggressive Dahaut without the counterbalance of Lyonesse. We cannot tolerate a preponderance in either direction, and always must throw our weight behind the weaker antagonist. For the immediate future, this would seem to be you."

  Audry frowned. "Your statement is almost insultingly crass."

  Sir Tristano refused to be daunted. "Sir, I am not here to please you, but to present facts and listen to your remarks."

  "Hmmf. These, you say, are the words of King Aillas."

  "Precisely so."

  "I gather that you have no high opinion of my military might."

  "Would you care to hear the appraisal we have received at Domreis?"

  "Speak on."

  "I will quote the report more or less as it reached us: ‘Above all else, the knights of Dahaut are required to appear on parade with armour shining and all caparisons resplendent, and indeed they make a brave show. In battle, they may not fare so well, since they have been enervated by luxury and are disinclined to the rigors of the campaign. If forced to confront an enemy, no doubt they could wheel their horses in gallant caracoles and defy the foe with insouciant gestures, but all from a safe distance. Archers and pike-men march with full precision, and at the parade are the marvel of all who see them. The compliments have befuddled poor Audry; he reckons them to be invincible. Again, they are trained to the parade ground, but barely know which end of their weapons is hurtful. They are all overweight and clearly have little stomach for fighting.' "

  Audry said indignantly: "That is a graceless canard! Are you here only to mock me?"

  "Not at all. I came to deliver a message, part of which you have just heard. The second part is this: King Casmir well understands your military deficiencies. He has been denied his easy passage through South Ulfland, and now must think of direct attack. King Aillas urges that you take command of your army away from your favorites and put it into the hands of a qualified professional soldier. He recommends that you abandon your dress parades for field exercises, and spare no one his necessary effort, including yourself."

  Audry drew himself up. "This kind of message verges upon sheer insolence."

  "This is not our intent. We see dangers of which you may not be aware, and we so warn you, if only from motives of self-interest."

  Audry drummed his white fingers on the table. "I am unacquainted with King Aillas. Tell me something of his nature. Is he cautious or is he bold?"

  Sir Tristano reflected. "In truth, I find him a hard man to describe. He is cautiously bold, if that answers your question. His disposition is easy; still he never stands back from a harsh duty. I suspect that often he forces himself, because his nature is mild, like that of a philosopher. He has no taste for war but he recognizes that force and intimidation are the way of the world; hence he studies military tactics and few can match him at sword-play. He abominates torture; the dungeons below Miraldra are empty, yet few criminals or footpads are at work in Troicinet because Aillas has given them all to the noose. Still, in my opinion, he would abandon the kingship tomorrow to a man he could trust."

  "That should be no problem! Many would gladly take over his post."

  "Those are precisely the ones he would not trust!"

  Audry shrugged and drank wine. "I did not ask to be born king, or—for that matter—to be born at all. Still, I am king, and I might as well enjoy my luck to the hilt. Your Aillas, on the other hand, seems victimized by guilt."

  "I hardly think so."

  Audry filled his own and Sir Tristano's goblets. "Let me send back with you a message for King Aillas."

  "I listen, sir, with both ears."

  Audry leaned forward and spoke in sententious tones: "It is time that Aillas should marry! What better match could be made than that between Aillas and my eldest daughter Thaubin, thus uniting two great houses? Look, see her yonder where she watches the game!"

  Sir Tristano followed the direction of Audry's gesture. "The comely lass in white beside the plain little creature so uncomfortably pregnant? She is indeed charming!"

  Audry spoke with dignity. "The maiden wearing white is Thaubin's friend Netta. Thaubin stands beside her."

  "I see... . Well, I doubt if Aillas plans an early marriage. He might well be surprised if I were to affiance him to the Princess Thaubin."

  "In that case—"

  "One more matter before I depart. May I speak with candor?"

  Audry grumbled: "You have done little else! Speak!"

  "I must warn you that traitors report your every act to King Casmir. You are surrounded by spies; they masquerade as your intimates; they might include one or more of the gentlemen who just now sat here with you."

  Audry stared at Sir Tristano, then threw back his head and laughed hugely. He turned and called to his friends: "Sir Huynemer! Sir Rudo! Sir Swanish! Join us, if you will!"

  The three gentlemen, somewhat puzzled and resentful, returned to the table.

  King Audry, among chuckles, told them: "Sir Tristano insists that traitors are rife at Falu Ffail; indeed he suspects that one among you spies for King Casmir!"

  The courtiers jumped to their feet, roaring in anger. "This fellow insults us!"

  "Give us leave to show our steel; we will teach him the etiquette he has failed to learn elsewhere!"

  "Poppycock and hysteria! The gabble of geese and old women!"

  Sir Tristano smilingly sat back in his chair. "It appears that I have touched a sore nerve! Well, I will say no more."

  "It is all absurdity!" declared King Audry. "What are my secrets that spies should seek them out? I have none! The worst is known!"

  Sir Tristano rose to his feet. "Your Majesty, I have brought you my messages; give me leave to depart."

  King Audry waved his fingers. "You may go." Sir Tristano bowed,
turned away and departed Falu Ffail.

  III

  SIR TRISTANO. RETURNING TO DOMREIS, went directly to Miraldra, a dour old castle of fourteen towers overlooking the harbor. Aillas greeted his cousin with affection. The resemblance between them, as they faced each other, was noticeable. Where Tristano was tall and loosely muscular, Aillas, less tall by an inch, seemed spare and taut. Their hair alike was light golden brown and cut square at ear-level; Tristano's features were blunt where those of Aillas were crisp. Standing together and smiling in the pleasure of each other's company, they seemed like boys.

  At Aillas' suggestion they seated themselves on a couch. Aillas said: "Before all else, let me mention that I am on my way to Watershade; why not join me?"

  "I will be happy to do so."

  "We shall leave in two hours. Have you had your breakfast?"

  "Only a dish of bread and curds."

  "We shall repair that." Aillas called the footman and presently they were served a pan of fried hake, with new loaves and butter, stewed cherries and bitter ale. Meanwhile Aillas had asked: "How went your expedition?"

  "Certainly it has included interesting episodes," said Sir Tristano. "I debarked from the ship at Dun Cruighre, and rode to Cluggach where I was granted an audience with King Dartweg. Dartweg is a Celt, true, but not all Celts are red-faced louts smelling of cheese. Dartweg, for instance, smells of ale, mead, and bacon. I learned nothing of profit from King Dartweg; the Celts think only of drinking mead and stealing each other's cattle: this is the basis of their economy. I firmly believe that they place higher value upon a brindle cow with large udders than upon an equally buxom woman. Still, I cannot fault King Dartweg's hospitality; in fact, you can insult a Celt only by calling him mean. They are too excitable to make truly good warriors, and, while obstreperous, they are as unpredictable as virgins. At a moot-place near Cluggach I saw fifty men at loggerheads, shouting each other down, and often laying hands to their swords. I thought that they must be debating between peace and war, but, so I found, the dispute concerned the largest salmon caught during a season three years back, and Dartweg was in the midst, bawling the loudest of all. Then a druid appeared in a brown robe with a sprig of mistletoe pinned to his hood. He uttered a single word; all fell silent, then slunk away and hid in the shadows.

  "Later I spoke of the incident to Dartweg and commended the druid's counsel of moderation. Dartweg told me that the druid cared not a fig for moderation, and objected only because the noise offended a flock of sacred crows in a nearby grove.

  "Despite the Christian churches which are now appearing everywhere, the druids still hold power."

  "Very well!" said Aillas. "You have told me enough of Godelia. To gain influence I must either ride down from the sky on a white bull holding the disk of Lug, or catch the largest salmon of the season. What next?"

  "I crossed the Skyre by ferry and entered Xounges. This is the only access, since the Ska control the approaches by land. Gax lives in a monstrous stone palace named Jehaundel, under ceilings lost in the high shadows. The halls are like caverns, and afford little comfort to visitors, courtiers or Gax himself."

  "But you were able to meet with Gax?"

  "Only with difficulty. Gax is now something of an invalid, and his nephew, a certain Sir Kreim, apparently tries to insulate Gax from visitors, claiming that Gax's health can not suffer excitement. I paid a gold crown to ensure that Gax knew of my presence, and was called to an audience despite the disapproval of Sir Kreim.

  "Gax in his prime must have been a most impressive man. Even now he overlooks me by two inches. He is lean and spare, and talks in a voice like the north wind. His sons and daughters are dead; he does not know his own age but reckons it to exceed seventy years. No one brings him news; he thought that Oriante still reigned in South Ulfland. I assured him that Aillas, the new king of South Ulfland, was a sworn enemy of the Ska, and already had sunk their ships and barred them from South Ulfland.

  "At this news King Gax clapped his hands in joy. Sir Kreim, who stood at Gax's elbow, declared that Aillas' rule was transitory, and why? The reason, according to Sir Kreim, was well-known: Aillas' sexual perversions had made him sickly and limp. This caused Gax to spit on the floor. I declared this ‘well-known fact' to be a slanderous lie, untrue in every detail. I stated that whoever had imparted such news to Sir Kreim was a debased and dastardly liar, and I advised Kreim never to repeat the allegation lest he be accused of perpetuating the lie.

  "I pointed out that Sir Kreim was otherwise mistaken: that Aillas even now energetically worked to curb the highland barons, and would soon rebuff the Ska."

  Aillas gave a sour chuckle. "Why did you not also promise that I would reverse the course of the rivers and cause the sun to rise in the west?"

  Sir Tristano shrugged. "You have not previously so much as hinted of these ambitions."

  "All in good time," said Aillas. "First I have fleas of my own to scratch. But tell me more of King Gax and the sinister Sir Kreim."

  "Kreim is somewhat older than myself, with a purple mouth and a black beard. He is surly and suspicious, and almost certainly a creature of the Ska.

  "I mentioned other events of the last year and King Gax had known none of them. The old rascal seems well aware of Kreim's ambitions, and apparently from sheer mischief kept turning to him and crying out: ‘Kreim, fancy that!' And: ‘Kreim, these are the men we must count on if ever we are to escape the toils of the Ska!' And: ‘Kreim, were I once again young, I would do as Aillas does!'

  "Finally King Gax sent Sir Kreim away on one pretext or another. Sir Kreim went reluctantly, looking back over his shoulder all the way. King Gax then told me: ‘As you see, my life and my reign together are dwindling into oblivion.'

  "Here King Gax looked all around, as if to assure himself against eavesdroppers. ‘I have made many mistakes in my life. There is one last mistake I wish not to make.'

  "And that is"

  "Gax only waved a finger at me. ‘You are a subtle young man, despite your easy mask. Can you not guess?'

  "I can guess of a dozen mistakes you might make. You hope to avoid dying before your time, and so perhaps you walk a narrow line."

  "That is one of the right guesses. I am dying, but only in the sense that every man of my age is dying. The Ska are patient; they will wait. But I must be prudent, because I fear poison or a knife in the dark, and it would be a cold death here in Jehaundel, with no son to avenge my murder.'

  "Let me ask this, from simple curiosity. How do the laws of North Ulfland regulate the succession of kings?"

  "By the ordinary lines of descent, if I die and am dead, which means Kreim. But see this circlet on my head? Were you fool enough to accept it, I could transfer the kingship to you at this moment, and then, like mine, your life would be in pawn to the Ska and you would wonder at every mouthful of food."

  "Keep your kingship," I told him. "My ambitions fly much lower."

  "At thus moment Sir Kreim returned, and I took my leave of King Gax."

  Aillas went to look out the window, across the harbour where the wind blew up white-caps. "How do you judge his health?"

  "For a man of seventy, he seems sound, though his eyes are not so keen as before. His mind is agile and his voice is steady."

  "And after you left Xounges?"

  "I had a most curious adventure involving an evil green pearl, which I joyfully relinquished to a robber, then proceeded across Dahaut to Avallon."

  "I had an audience with King Audry in his palace. He is pompous and foolish and vain, but he shows a sense of humor, which is a trifle ponderous; still it exists.

  "I warned him that spies infested his household, and he laughed in my face. Since he had no secrets of any kind, Casmir wasted his money, which suited Audry perfectly well. There is nothing much more to tell, except that Audry is willing that you should marry his pregnant daughter Thaubin."

  "This I am not ready for."

  A footman entered and muttered into Aillas' ear. Aillas
screwed up his face and turned to Tristano. "Wait for me in the yard; for this business I am committed to privacy."

  Tristano departed and a moment later Yane came into the room, so quietly that the air seemed not to stir behind him.

  Aillas jumped to his feet. "Once more you are back and once more I can breathe again!"

  "You over-estimate the danger," said Yane.

  "If you were taken, you would sing a different song."

  "No doubt. Sing I would, loudly and quickly, and hope to avoid Casmir's persuasions. There are few men I fear. He is one of them."

  Aillas again went to look out the window. "He must have other spies beside yourself."

  "He does indeed, and one of them is a traitor among your close advisors. Casmir almost named me his name, then thought better of it. But this man sits in a high place."

  Aillas pondered. "I wonder how close and how high."

  "Very high and very close."

  Aillas shook his head pensively. "I find it hard to believe."

  "You confer often with your ministers?"

  "Every week, at least."

  "These ministers are the same, from week to week?"

  "There is no great change."

  "What are their names?"

  "They are six, all lords of the realm: Maloof. Pirmence. Foirry. Sion-Tansifer. Langlark. Witherwood. None could gain by Casmir's victory."

  "Which have cause for resentment?"

  Aillas shrugged. "Perhaps I am reckoned too young or too reckless or too headstrong. The South Ulfland expedition is not everywhere popular."

  "Which of the six is the most zealous?"

  "Probably Maloof, who is Chancellor of the Exchequer. All are apt to their work. Langlark at times seems listless, but I have reason to exempt him from suspicion."

  "What reason is this?"

  "I have tried to put the event out of my mind—now, it seems, wrongly. In Blaloc, as you know, shipyards build fishing boats and coastal traders. Recently a certain Duke Geronius of Armorica contracted for the construction of four heavy war-galleasses, of a class which could easily give us trouble on a calm day. Upon inquiry I discovered that Duke Geronius of Armorica is non-existent. He is Casmir, trying to create a navy on the sly. As soon as the ships are launched and Casmir has paid over his gold, I will send a force and burn them to the waterline, and there will be a great gnashing of teeth in Haidion Palace."