Rise of a Merchant Prince Read Online Free PDF

Prince Erland. And sitting upon the throne was his twin. Roo suddenly flushed when he realized they were being presented to the King!
    â€œYour Majesty, Highnesses,” said de Loungville with a courtly bow, “I have the honor to present five men who acquitted themselves with bravery and honor.”
    â€œOnly five survived?” asked King Borric. He and his brother were both large men, but there was an edge to the King, a toughness beyond his brother’s own powerful appearance. Roo couldn’t rightly judge the why of such things, but he instinctivelyconsidered the King a more dangerous opponent than Prince Erland.
    â€œThere are others,” said de Loungville. “Some will be presented this afternoon at court—soldiers from your various garrisons. But these are the only ones to survive from among the condemned.”
    Nakor said, “That we know of.”
    De Loungville turned with a look of irritation on his face at the breach of protocol, but Borric only grinned. “Nakor, is that you in that getup?”
    Returning the King’s smile, Nakor moved forward. “It’s me, Majesty. I went, too, and came back. Greylock is with the other ship, and any others who survived and made their way to the City of the Serpent River will be with him.”
    De Loungville bit back anything he was going to say to Nakor. It was obvious that he and the King knew each other. Nakor nodded toward Erland, who also smiled at the sight of the little Isalani.
    To the four prisoners the King said, “You are all pardoned, your crimes and your sentences are vacated.” Glancing at Erik and Jadow, he said, “We see you’ve taken service.”
    Erik merely nodded, while Jadow stammered, “Ye-yes, Majesty.”
    Looking at Sho Pi and Roo, the King said, “You have not.” Sho Pi bowed his head. “I will follow my master, Majesty.”
    Nakor said, “Stop calling me master!” He turned toward the King. “The boy thinks me some sort of sage and insists upon traipsing around after me.”
    Prince Erland said, “I wonder why. It wouldn’t be because he saw you pulling your ‘mystic sage’ scam, would it, Nakor?”
    â€œOr is it the ‘wandering priest’ dodge?” asked the King.
    Nakor grinned as he rubbed his chin. “Actually, I haven’t tried those in a while.” Then his expression darkened. “And I never should have told you two about them when we rode back from Kesh.”
    The King said, “Well, take him along with you, then. You could probably do with an extra set of hands on the road.”
    Nakor said, “On the road? I’m returning to Sorcerer’s Isle.”
    The King said, “Not for a while. We need you to go to Stardock on the Crown’s behalf, to speak with the leaders of the Academy.”
    Nakor’s expression darkened. “You know I’m quits with Stardock, Borric, and you have a good idea why, I have no doubt.”
    If the King objected to being addressed so informally, he didn’t show it as he said, “We know, but you also have seen firsthand what we’re up against, and you’ve been to Novindus twice. We need you to persuade the magicians at Stardock what stands against us. We will need their help.”
    â€œFind Pug. They’ll listen to him,” said Nakor.
    â€œIf we could find him, we would,” said the King. He leaned back in the deep well of the throne and sighed. “He’s been leaving messages here and there, but we’ve not managed to get him to come speak with us in person.”
    â€œTry harder,” answered Nakor.
    Boric smiled. “You, friend, are the best we’ve got. So, unless you want us to let every gambling hall in the Kingdom get word about how you can handle cards and dice, you’ll do this one little favor for anold friend.”
    Nakor made a disgusted expression and waved his hand as if dismissing the