Gulamendis said, ‘Do you think they might?’
With as much of a smile as the Lorekeeper would allow himself, he said, ‘Given Lord Tomas’s presence, not until he departs. He is . . . impressive.’ He glanced at the retreating gold and white back, which although shorter than every elf in the Meeting, still seemed to tower over them. ‘Stunning, even.’ Looking back at the two brothers, ‘I have work to do, but remember that the sanctions placed against you in the past, are now abated.’ He pointed to the north and said, ‘Find housing. There is a magistrate up on that hillside who will ask you many stupid questions, give him this.’ He handed them a token with the Regent’s seal on it, and turned away.
As the Lorekeeper hurried to overtake the Regent and his guest, Gulamendis said, ‘You made quite the entrance.’
His brother said, ‘Yes, I expect I did.’
‘How did you manage?’
‘Come, I’ll tell you as we go and find ourselves a nice set of rooms.’ They left the central plaza and as they walked, Laromendis said, ‘I managed to depart the battle at Tarendamar early; my command was obliterated and as we fell back, I was ushered into a company of refugees who were being escorted to the portal. I was not in uniform, everyone who might have recognized me was already dead, and my new superior officer was ordering me to go through the portal "with all haste", so who was I to argue?’
‘You weren’t disguised as an old woman, then?’ asked the Demon Master dryly.
‘No, I swear; no illusions. I didn’t even get a chance to argue with him.’ He smiled. ‘Of course, I was rather disinclined to argue.’
‘How goes the battle?’
‘It’s over, but for the closing of the portal.’ He glanced up to the hillside to the west where refugees were still arriving and said, ‘They’ll close it soon, and whoever’s left on the other side will die.’
Changing the topic, Gulamendis said, ‘How did you contrive to arrive on dragonback?’
‘I went looking for you, and after a few days wandering in the west, I decided that no matter what else you were doing, you had to see the Elf Queen in her court, so that’s where I went. As I didn’t wander around all that much, I managed to get there fairly quickly.’ He slapped his brother on the back. ‘Lord Tomas and the Queen said you’d been there, and said you’d most likely be waiting here; he offered me a ride and I said yes. Riding on the back of a dragon! Can you imagine?’
Laughing, very glad to see his brother, Gulamendis said, ‘Actually, I’ve already ridden on one.’
‘You?’
‘Yes, and it’s quite a story. The locals have some very fine wine; if I can secure us a skin or a bottle, we’ll find a place to sit, drink, and I’ll tell you of my time on a very special island.’ Lowering his voice he said, ‘I think it’s a place you’ll wish to visit, and very soon.’
As they walked north, seeking the magistrate who would supply them with living quarters, Laromendis said, ‘I just realized; we are the only taredhel in history to ride a dragon!’
Gulamendis said, ‘Ironic, in its way, especially if you consider how much the Regent Lord would likely want one for a pet.’
Both brothers laughed and began looking for a bottle of wine and a place to live.
*
A bitter wind blew across the plateau. Pug and Magnus stood motionless, accompanied by two other magicians. Randolph, a middle-aged man from a village near Tulan, was Magnus’s best student of battle magic, and looked it. He was a bull-necked, broad-shouldered, brawler with a balding head and a barrel chest. If it wasn’t for his ability to conjure spells of stunning power very swiftly, Pug would have judged him as unlikely a magician as he had ever encountered.
The other magician, Simon from Krondor, was his exact opposite in appearance; tall and ascetic looking, he was a little older, his blond hair now prematurely white, matching Magnus in appearance. He was a master of the far more subtle craft of detection. He and Pug both stood, attempting to sense any arcane presence.
‘Nothing,’ said Simon. ‘If there has been any magic used in this area, it’s not been for years.’
‘I too am getting nothing,’ said Pug. He pointed to the northwest. ‘There, that’s where we’ll find Ahsart, the City of Priests.’
It had taken Pug the better part of a day to recalculate the rift to Shila. He had forgotten how difficult it was to redefine an ancient rift if constant contact hadn’t been maintained. His efforts had resulted in two failed attempts and a serious headache before he was successful. He was thankful he had become rigorous about taking notes over the years and had recorded everything about Shila and how to get there.
Once the four magic users had arrived, it had taken a few more hours for Pug to get oriented. They had begun the slow process of using Magnus’s ability to transport them magically to distant locations, moving in jumps across the planet to seek any sign of demon activity.