“A war galley?” asked Algon.
Fannon looked impatient. “Of course, you simpleton.” There was a friendly rivalry between the two masters, which at times degenerated to some unfriendly bickering. “Take a look at our guest’s weapon.” He indicated the broadsword. “How would you like to ride at a determined man wheeling that toy? He’d cut your horse right out from under you. That armor is light, and efficiently constructed for all its gaudy coloring. I would guess that he was infantry. As powerfully built as he is, he probably could run half a day and still fight.” He stroked his mustache absently. “These people have some warriors among them.”
Algon nodded slowly. Arutha sat back in his chair, making a tent of his hands, fingertips flexing. “What I can’t understand,” said the Duke’s younger son, “is why he tried to run We had no weapons drawn and were not charging. There was no reason for him to run.”
Borric looked at the old priest. “Will we ever know?”
Tully looked concerned, his brow furrowed. “He had a long piece of wood embedded in his right side, under the breastplate, as well as a bad blow to the head. That helmet saved his skull. He has a high fever and has lost a great deal of blood. He may not survive. I may have to resort to a mind contact, if he regains enough consciousness to establish it.” Pug knew of the mind contact; Tully had explained it to him before. It was a method only a few clerics could employ, and it was extremely dangerous for both the subject and the caster. The old priest must feel a strong need to gain information from the injured man to risk it.
Borric turned his attention to Kulgan. “What of the scroll the boys found?”
Kulgan waved a hand absently. “I have given a preliminary, and brief, inspection. It has magical properties without a doubt. That is why Pug felt some compulsion to inspect the cabin and that chest, I think. Anyone as sensitive to magic as he is would feel it.” He looked directly at the Duke. “I am, however, unwilling to break the seal until I have made a more involved study of it, to better determine its purpose. Breaking enchanted seals can be dangerous if not handled properly. If the seal was tampered with, the scroll might destroy itself, or worse, those trying to break it It wouldn’t be the first such trap I’ve seen for a scroll of great power.”
The Duke drummed his fingers on the table for a moment. “All right. We will adjourn this meeting. As soon as something new has been learned, either from the scroll or from the wounded man, we will reconvene.” He turned to Tully. “See how the man is, and if he should wake, use your arts to glean whatever you can.” He stood, and the others rose also “Lyam, send word to the Elf Queen and the dwarves at Stone Mountain and the Grey Towers of what has happened. Ask for their counsel.”
Pug opened the door. The Duke went through and the others followed Pug and Tomas were the last to leave, and as they walked down the hall, Tomas leaned over toward Pug.
“We really started something.”
Pug shook his head. “We were simply the first to find the man. If not us, then someone else.”
Tomas looked relieved to be out of the chamber and the Duke’s scrutiny “If this turns out badly, I hope they remember that.”
Kulgan went up the stairs to his tower room as Tully moved off toward his own quarters, where the wounded man was being tended by Tully’s acolytes. The Duke and his sons turned through a door to their private quarters, leaving the boys alone in the hallway.
Pug and Tomas cut through a storage room, and into the kitchen Megar stood supervising the kitchen workers, several of whom waved greetings to the boys. When he saw his son and fosterling, he smiled and said, “Well, what have you two gotten yourselves into, now?” Megar was a loose-jointed man, with sandy hair and an open countenance. He resembled Tomas, as a rough sketch resembled a finished drawing. He was a fair-looking man of middle years, but lacked the fine features that set Tomas apart.
Grinning, Megar said, “Everyone is hushed up about that man in Tully’s quarters, and messengers are dashing from here to there, one place to another. I haven’t seen such a to-do since the Prince of Krondor visited seven years ago!”
Tomas grabbed an apple from a platter and jumped up to sit on a table. Between bites he recounted to his father what had taken place.