magic.’’
‘‘Not far from the truth,’’ said James. ‘‘At least when they were in league with Murmandamus they had those Black Slayers with them at times, and they were certainly using dark powers.’’
The Black Slayers had been magical guards of Murmandamus.
What James remembered most about them was that they were very difficult to kill. James shrugged. ‘‘But the lot we disposed of over in Kenting Rush last month had no magicians in league with them from what we found. And they all died like mortal men.’’
Guruth gave James a half-smile and said, ‘‘But you burned the bodies anyway.’’
James returned the smile and said, ‘‘We did, indeed. No point taking chances.’’
‘‘What does the Prince require of us?’’ asked the sheriff, now convinced there were dire matters at hand.
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R A Y M O N D E . F E I S T
James had no specific instructions, but now that he had the captain and the sheriff considering a common enemy, he decided it would serve to make peace between them. ‘‘His Highness is concerned about the possibility of these Nighthawks being agents of a foreign power.’’ James looked at the captain.
‘‘It would do well for you to remove your men from inside the city and concentrate on the gates and step up patrols in the neighboring villages and in the foulbourgh. Double the guards at the city gates and inspect any wagon, cart or pack animal if it looks suspicious. And any man or group of men who can’t properly identify themselves and their reason for coming to Krondor should be held and interrogated.’’ To the sheriff, he said, ‘‘With all the captain’s men outside the wall, you’ll have to step up your patrols inside the city. And you need to send half a dozen men to help the customs office inspect cargo and passengers coming into the city by sea.’’
In less than a minute, James had created enough work to have every constable and guardsman in the city cursing the day he was born. But James knew that, as busy as both companies would be, they’d have little time to wrangle over who had jurisdiction over every altercation they encountered.
James made a mental note to stop at the Customs Office and let the staff know there were six constables coming to help them inspect cargo and passengers. He said, ‘‘More instructions will be sent to you as the Prince sees fit.’’
The captain asked, ‘‘Anything else, squire?’’
‘‘No, captain, but I do need to speak to the sheriff alone for a moment.’’
‘‘Then I’ll be on my way. I need to post a new duty roster and instruct the guards they’ll be operating outside the city for 92
K R O N D O R : T H E A S S A S S I N S
the time being.’’ He gave James and the sheriff a casual salute, and left the office.
The sheriff looked at James expectantly. ‘‘Squire?’’ he asked after the captain left.
‘‘You mentioned to the captain that your constables were able to sniff around, so I’m wondering: is one of your lads particularly talented when it comes to getting information on what’s going on in the city?’’
Means leaned back, stroking a mustache that was no longer ginger, but gray streaked with white. His hair still had some brown in it, but it too was mostly gray and white. Yet the sheriff’s eyes showed he had lost nothing where it counted: he could still lay a trap for a thief and he was still a dangerous man with either sword or bludgeon. Finally he said, ‘‘There’s young Jonathan. He’s about as good at getting a snitch to talk as I’ve seen.’’
James said, ‘‘No disrespect, sheriff, but can you trust him?
History being what it is, and all that.’’
The sheriff said, ‘‘No offense, squire. I understand what you mean.’’ The Nighthawks had proven adept at infiltrating the army and even the palace in the past. ‘‘You can trust the lad.
He’s my youngest son.’’
‘‘Well, then,’’ said James with a grin, ‘‘I guess I can. Is he
‘‘Not far from the truth,’’ said James. ‘‘At least when they were in league with Murmandamus they had those Black Slayers with them at times, and they were certainly using dark powers.’’
The Black Slayers had been magical guards of Murmandamus.
What James remembered most about them was that they were very difficult to kill. James shrugged. ‘‘But the lot we disposed of over in Kenting Rush last month had no magicians in league with them from what we found. And they all died like mortal men.’’
Guruth gave James a half-smile and said, ‘‘But you burned the bodies anyway.’’
James returned the smile and said, ‘‘We did, indeed. No point taking chances.’’
‘‘What does the Prince require of us?’’ asked the sheriff, now convinced there were dire matters at hand.
91
R A Y M O N D E . F E I S T
James had no specific instructions, but now that he had the captain and the sheriff considering a common enemy, he decided it would serve to make peace between them. ‘‘His Highness is concerned about the possibility of these Nighthawks being agents of a foreign power.’’ James looked at the captain.
‘‘It would do well for you to remove your men from inside the city and concentrate on the gates and step up patrols in the neighboring villages and in the foulbourgh. Double the guards at the city gates and inspect any wagon, cart or pack animal if it looks suspicious. And any man or group of men who can’t properly identify themselves and their reason for coming to Krondor should be held and interrogated.’’ To the sheriff, he said, ‘‘With all the captain’s men outside the wall, you’ll have to step up your patrols inside the city. And you need to send half a dozen men to help the customs office inspect cargo and passengers coming into the city by sea.’’
In less than a minute, James had created enough work to have every constable and guardsman in the city cursing the day he was born. But James knew that, as busy as both companies would be, they’d have little time to wrangle over who had jurisdiction over every altercation they encountered.
James made a mental note to stop at the Customs Office and let the staff know there were six constables coming to help them inspect cargo and passengers. He said, ‘‘More instructions will be sent to you as the Prince sees fit.’’
The captain asked, ‘‘Anything else, squire?’’
‘‘No, captain, but I do need to speak to the sheriff alone for a moment.’’
‘‘Then I’ll be on my way. I need to post a new duty roster and instruct the guards they’ll be operating outside the city for 92
K R O N D O R : T H E A S S A S S I N S
the time being.’’ He gave James and the sheriff a casual salute, and left the office.
The sheriff looked at James expectantly. ‘‘Squire?’’ he asked after the captain left.
‘‘You mentioned to the captain that your constables were able to sniff around, so I’m wondering: is one of your lads particularly talented when it comes to getting information on what’s going on in the city?’’
Means leaned back, stroking a mustache that was no longer ginger, but gray streaked with white. His hair still had some brown in it, but it too was mostly gray and white. Yet the sheriff’s eyes showed he had lost nothing where it counted: he could still lay a trap for a thief and he was still a dangerous man with either sword or bludgeon. Finally he said, ‘‘There’s young Jonathan. He’s about as good at getting a snitch to talk as I’ve seen.’’
James said, ‘‘No disrespect, sheriff, but can you trust him?
History being what it is, and all that.’’
The sheriff said, ‘‘No offense, squire. I understand what you mean.’’ The Nighthawks had proven adept at infiltrating the army and even the palace in the past. ‘‘You can trust the lad.
He’s my youngest son.’’
‘‘Well, then,’’ said James with a grin, ‘‘I guess I can. Is he
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