Krondor the Betrayal Read Online Free PDF Page B

comment. Locklear sat on his bed and blew out the flame in the lantern, plunging the room into darkness. Voices from the common room below carried upstairs, and Locklear let his mind wander. The presence of for-eigners and the attack by the Quegans worried him, and the rumor of Tsurani grey warriors in the area caused him additional concern, but fatigue and his injury caused him to quickly fall asleep.
    25

    Two

    •
Deception
    T HE SOLDIER WAVED THEM IN.
    ‘‘You may enter,’’ he informed Locklear.
    Locklear led his companions into the guardroom of the castle.
    They had approached the castle on foot, after an early-morning climb up a long, winding road from the city. He was doubly glad they had chosen to spend the night in the city. His ribs still hurt, but after a night’s sleep in a relatively warm bed, and two meals, he was feeling twice as fit as he had the day before.
    The Captain of the castle guard looked up as they entered, and said, ‘‘Squire Locklear, isn’t it?’’
    ‘‘Yes, Captain Belford,’’ said Locklear, accepting the Captain’s hand. ‘‘We met when I passed through on my way north a few months back.’’
    ‘‘I remember,’’ said the Captain with a half-hidden grin.
    Locklear knew the Captain must have heard the rumor of the reason for his banishment to the North. ‘‘What can I do for you?’’
    ‘‘I’d like to see the Earl, if he has the time.’’
    ‘‘I’m sure he’d love to see you again, sir, but the Earl’s not here,’’ said the seasoned old fighter. ‘‘He’s off on some errand with a troop of men—all Tsurani-bred—leaving me here to take care of things.’’
    ‘‘The Countess?’’ asked Locklear, inquiring after Kasumi’s wife.

    KRONDOR THE BETRAYAL
    ‘‘Down in the city, actually. Shopping and visiting with her family.’’ Earl Kasumi had married the daughter of one of LaMut’s more prosperous merchants. ‘‘If you need something official, you can wait until one of them gets back or ask me, Squire. As long as you don’t need an armed escort somewhere.’’
    Locklear grimaced. ‘‘I had been thinking about asking for some men to accompany us down to Ylith.’’
    ‘‘Wish I could oblige, Squire, and if you’ve the Prince’s warrant with you, I’d scrape together a dozen swords for you, but as it is, the Earl’s off training recruits, I’ve got my usual patrols along the frontier, and the rest of the lads are out looking for a bunch of Tsurani renegades.’’
    Owyn said, ‘‘Renegades?’’ Locklear had mentioned nothing of the Tsurani grey warriors to his companions.
    ‘‘I heard some rumors,’’ was all Locklear said.
    The Captain motioned for the three of them to sit. Owyn was left standing when Gorath and Locklear took the only two free chairs in the office. ‘‘I wish it was only rumors,’’ said Belford. ‘‘You know that Tsurani magician, Makala?’’
    ‘‘By reputation only,’’ said Locklear. ‘‘He was due to arrive in Krondor a few weeks after I departed some months ago. The other Tsurani Great Ones spoke of him, but as they weren’t the most sociable bunch, I only gathered a few things about him.
    He’s very influential in their Assembly of Magicians, is keen to foster trade and what I believe the Prince is calling ‘cultural exchanges’ between the Empire of Tsuranuanni and the Kingdom, and he was personally coming for a visit.’’
    ‘‘Well, he did that,’’ said the Captain. ‘‘He arrived here a few days ago and called on the Earl. Every Tsurani of any rank does that, as the Earl’s father is very important on the Tsurani homeworld. So it’s a duty thing.’’ The old Captain rubbed his beard-stubbled chin with a gloved hand. ‘‘The Tsurani are very deep into ‘duty’ I have learned in my time with the Earl. Anyway, they were here for a couple of days—Ma-kala, some other Black Robes, and honor guards and bearers and the bunch—and it seems some of the bearers weren’t