Brandos said, ‘Not to worry. Creegan might have Amirantha burned as a heretic, but he won’t punch him in the jaw. He’s far too well-mannered for that.’
Amirantha smiled ruefully. ‘He’s a practical man. He disapproves of my interests, but he’s never tried to interfere with them.’
‘It helps that we live on different sides of the world,’ observed Brandos. ‘Big ocean between us, and all.’ He winked at Pug and his family. ‘Keeps things civil.’
Magnus smiled and shook his head, and Caleb laughed.
Miranda asked, ‘So, why the punch to the jaw? I’m sorry I wasn’t there to see it; sounds like it was entertaining.’ Brandos said, ‘Well, it’s a long story—’
Amirantha interrupted, it has to do with the Father-Bishop, as well. I was travelling through the Principality about four, no five?’ He looked at Brandos, who nodded. ‘Five years ago. There was a story making the rounds, about a demon being sighted up the coast from the city of Krondor, near a village with the unlikely name of Yellow Mule.’
‘Good tavern,’ observed Brandos.
‘Good tavern,’ agreed Amirantha. ‘We were in residence there, attempting to discern the validity of the rumour when we encountered Sandreena, who had also come looking to rid the region of this demon.
‘Our interests seemed to overlap—’
‘And Sandreena is a very good looking young woman; my friend here is particularly fond of them.’
Amirantha frowned at his companion who tried hard not to look smug as he continued to eat. ‘So we joined forces.’
Pug looked thoughtful, then said, ‘I’m usually aware of something as unusual as a demon sighting, especially that close to Krondor.’ lie glanced at Magnus and Caleb, who both shrugged, then looked questioningly at Miranda.
‘I read the report; it came from our friend at the prince’s palace.’
Pug’s eyebrows raised and he said, ‘Oh?’
‘It seemed nothing worth bothering you about. A demon was sighted, some locals disposed of it, nothing further.’
Brandos and Amirantha exchanged a look of surprise and Brandos said, ‘Locals?’
Amirantha said, ‘Father-Bishop Creegan probably left our names out of any report.’
Pug smiled. ‘Not unlike him. He’s ambitious. But, please, continue.’
‘Not much more to tell,’ said Amirantha. ‘A . . . strange man, a little mad I think, had wandered into the village and claimed he was a prophet of some sort and had done some fairly impressive things: at least they were impressive according to the villagers.
‘He healed some wounds, rid a small orchard of a blight, and he did a fair job of predicting the weather. He gathered together a little group of followers and after a year or so had them convinced he was an avatar of a god.
‘Then it got nasty, according to what we heard.’
‘Yes,’ agreed Brandos. ‘People who didn’t fall in with this bunch were suddenly struck by illness, their cow’s milk soured, or their crops got blight.’
‘Curses,’ said Pug. ‘Witch work.’
‘Maybe,’ said Amirantha. ‘My mother was called a witch more times than I can remember. My title, Warlock, literally means "caller of spirits," in the ancient Satumbrian language, but it’s used to mean "male witch" now.’
Brandos said, ‘Never could quite understand all these names; you either use magic or you don’t, right?’ He addressed that question to Pug.
Pug couldn’t help but laugh. ‘You have no idea how many conversations I’ve endured on that very question over the years, my friend.’
Amirantha returned to his narrative. ‘Over the course of a week we discovered there were others involved with this cult, men who would mysteriously arrive in the middle of the night then vanish.’
‘Magicians?’ asked Magnus.
Amirantha shrugged. ‘Or renegade priests of some order, but they were a conduit for information or instructions between this false prophet and whoever was directing the goings-on in Yellow Mule.’
‘The locals were a happy lot until they started dying,’ said Brandos. ‘This prophet, calling himself Jaymen, he blamed us! Can you believe that?’
Pug nodded. ‘Go on.’
Amirantha said, ‘So, as I said, by then Sandreena and I had joined forces. She was trying to save the villagers; apparently the reports to the Prince of Krondor’s Coastal Wardens Office were being ignored, and I was very interested in the demon scent.’
‘Scent?’ asked Pug.
‘Yes,’ said Amirantha. ‘You’ve encountered demons, right?’
‘Yes,’ said Pug with an emphatic nod. ‘Not with the best results, I might add.’
‘Did you notice how they smell?’
Pug recalled his encounter with the demon that had disguised itself as the Emerald Queen and yet the memory was a blur. He had been full of vanity and his own sense of power, and had flown in, only to be blasted from the sky in a scorching ball of flames that had almost ended his life.