commander stiffly turned and left the room. Jimmy shook his head and shot a worried glance at Laurie. The former minstrel would understand as well as the former thief what sort of trouble was brewing in the streets.
For another week Krondor stagnated under martial law. Arutha turned a deaf ear to all requests to end the quarantine. By the end of the third week every man or woman who could not be properly identified was under arrest. Jimmy had communicated with agents of the Upright Man who assured Jimmy that the Mockers were conducting their own housecleaning. Six bodies had been found floating in the bay so far.
Now Arutha and his advisers were ready to conduct the business of interrogating the captives. A large section of warehouses in the north end of the city near the Merchants Gate had been converted to jails. Arutha, surrounded by a company of grim-faced guards, looked over the first five prisoners brought forward.
Jimmy stood off to one side and could hear a soldier mumble to another, âAt this rate weâll be here a year talking to all these lads.â
For a while Jimmy watched as Arutha, Gardan, Volney, and Captain Valdis questioned prisoners. Many were obviously simple fellows caught up in some business they didnât understand, or they were consummate actors. All looked filthy, ill fed, and half-frightened, half-defiant.
Jimmy became restless and left the scene. At the edge of the crowd he discovered that Laurie had taken a seat on a bench outside an ale house. Jimmy joined the Duke of Salador, who said, âTheyâve only some homemade left, and itâs not cheap, but itâs cool.â He looked on while Arutha continued the interrogations under the summer sun.
Jimmy wiped his forehead. âThis is a sham. It accomplishes nothing.â
âIt lessens Aruthaâs temper.â
âIâve never seen him like this. Not even when we were racing to Moraelin. Heâs â¦â
âHeâs angry, frightened, and feeling helpless.â Laurie shook his head. âIâve learned a lot from Carline about my brothers-in-law. One thing about Arutha, if you donât already know: being helpless is something he canât abide. Heâs walked into a blind alley and his temper wonât allow him to admit heâs facing a stone wall. Besides, if he lifts the seal on the city, the Nighthawks are free to come and go at will.â
âSo what? Theyâre in the city in any event, and no matter what Arutha thinks, thereâs no guarantee theyâre locked up. Maybe theyâve infiltrated the court staff the way they did the Mockers last year. Who knows?â Jimmy sighed. âIf Martin was here or maybe the King, we might have this business at an end.â
Laurie drank, and grimaced at the bitter taste. âMaybe. Youâve named the only two men in the world heâs likely to listen to. Carline and Iâve tried to talk to him, but he just listens patiently, then says no. Even Gardan and Volney canât budge him.â
Jimmy watched the Princeâs interrogation for a little longer while three more groups of prisoners were brought out. âWell, some goodâs come of this. Four men have been turned loose.â
âAnd if theyâre picked up by another patrol, theyâll be tossed into another lockup and it might be days before anyone gets around to checking out their claims to having been turned loose by the Prince. And the other sixteen have been returned to the lockup. All we can hope for is Aruthaâs realizing soon that this will gain him nothing. The Festival of Banapis is less than two weeks off, and if the seal isnât lifted by then, thereâll be a citywide riot.â Laurieâs lips tightened in frustration. âMaybe if there was some magic way to tell who is a Nighthawk or not â¦â
Jimmy sat up. âWhat?â
âWhat what?â
âWhat you just said. Why not?â
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