Taking Gulamendis’s arm, the Lorekeeper gently turned him towards a distant gate. ‘We both know that your obligation to report to the Grand Master is a formality. You’re a free agent, under direct orders from the Regent Lord. You have two tasks . . .’ He squinted a little as he studied the Demon Master’s face. ‘No, you have three tasks,’ he said softly. ‘You have one of your own, I see.’
Gulamendis stiffened slightly, but didn’t break a stride, ‘I am to seek out demon sign,’ he said. ‘If I find none, I rejoice.’
‘Oh, I suspect you’ll find some . . .’ He again studied the Demon Master while they walked. ‘Perhaps you already have.’ Gulamendis stopped, and Tandarae smiled. ‘My other gift is reading expressions.’ He waited for the Demon Master to speak, but when he did not, the Lorekeeper said, ‘Too long have we glorified power, Gulamendis. When it serves us, it is a grand thing, but to seek power for its own sake makes us little different from those we call the Forgotten.’
For a brief instant Gulamendis wondered if the Lorekeeper could read this thoughts, for his words echoed them. Weighing his response carefully, he asked, ‘What do you advise?’
Tandarae started moving towards the distant gate. ‘I will speak to Grand Master Colsarius, who will discharge your obligation to report. He will consider it a blessing to be saved from meeting a demon lover.’ He gave a wry smile and Gulamendis understood he meant the insult to be humorous. ‘There’s always the risk that he might take it upon himself to augment or extend the Regent Lord’s instructions, and I’d rather you weren’t distracted from your tasks.’
Gulamendis saw they were approaching the gate opposite the one through which he had entered the burgeoning city, and said, ‘What do you know of my tasks, Tandarae?’
‘I know the Regent Lord wants you to ensure we are not troubled by demons. And I’m guessing he will send someone with a great deal of experience to skulk through dark places to investigate a few other things too, such as how our kin on this world fare.’
Gulamendis was impressed. His meeting with the Regent Lord had been private, and held over the first good meal the Demon Master had been given in months. The Regent Lord had been adamant that Laromendis would remain hostage against his brother’s good behaviour while Gulamendis carried out two tasks; firstly to see if they were free of demon taint in Midkemia, and secondly to travel north and discover what he could about the elves living there, especially the so-called Elf Queen. Gulamendis suspected that the Regent Lord was in no hurry to surrender his authority to another, no matter what her lineage might be. She could claim to be descended from the true kings of the edhel, but it would take more than a garland crown and some rustic, leather-clad attendants to convince him to bend his knee before her.
Tandarae said, ‘And there’s something else, but I can’t tell what it is . . .’
Gulamendis preferred it that way. This young Lorekeeper was too adept at discerning truth from fragments and glimpses. He might prove to be a powerful ally, but he would make a deeply dangerous enemy. Still, Gulamendis wasn’t without his own talents in seeing a larger picture when enough information was available. He studied Tandarae and said, ‘You have great ambitions, my friend. Is not Master of Lore enough?’
The young elf smiled, but it was a pained expression. ‘I am a loyal friend. But the needs of my people come before any single elf’s desires.’
Gulamendis nodded and turned to walk through the gate. He understood completely. The young Lorekeeper meant to be the next Regent Lord. It now made sense why he had sought out the Demon Master. He wished the Elf Queen to know there were those within the ranks of the taredhel who were ready to acknowledge her as the rightful ruler of all the edhel. And they would aid her in exchange for certain considerations, such as being named her Regent Lord in Elenbar.
Gulamendis turned just as Tandarae was about to return to his other tasks, and said, ‘Why have this conversation? You already knew of my mission, yet you expose yourself, even if only slightly, by talking as you have. Why?’
The Lorekeeper turned back towards Gulamendis and said, ‘Do you know the Tome of Akar-Ree?’
‘I grew up in a tiny village on the frontier. As you can imagine, my education was not a formal one. I am self-taught.’
‘Impressive,’ said the Lorekeeper. ‘Your studies are among those forbidden for centuries, Gulamendis. What little we know of demons is either taken from ancient lore or won through bitter recent experience.
‘The Tome of Akar-Ree is a recounting of a great battle during the Chaos Wars, when gods and mortals struggled to seize the very heavens. Much of it makes obscure reference to things the reader is supposed to already know, but it holds some imagery that is open to a myriad of interpretations.