‘The leader’s name was Murmandamus.” Arutha said, “Is it possible he’s somehow returned?”
“Anything may be possible, Prince Arutha, or so it seems to one who has lived as long as I, answered Tathar. “It may be that one seeks to unite the moredhel by invoking that ancient name, gathering them together under one banner.
“Then there is this business of the serpent priest. So despised are the Pantathians that even the moredhel slaughter them when they find them. But that one of them is a servant of this Murmandamus hints at dark alliances. It warns us we may be facing forces beyond our expectations. If the nations of the north are rising, we all must again face a testing, one which will rival that of the outworlders in peril for our peoples.”
Baru stood, in Hadati fashion, indicating he wished to speak. Tathar inclined his head in Baru’s direction, and he said, “Of moredhel lore my people know little, save that the Dark Brothers are enemies of our blood. This much I may add: Murad is counted a great chieftain, perhaps the greatest living today, one who might command many hundreds of warriors. That he serves with the Black Slayers speaks of Murmandamus’s power. Murad would serve only one whom he feared. And one who could visit fear upon Murad is one to be feared indeed.”
Arutha said, “As I told the Ishapians, much of this is speculation. I must be concerned with finding Silverthorn.” But even as he uttered those words, Arutha knew he was speaking falsely. Too much indicated that the threat from the north was real. This was no rash of goblin raids on northern farmers. This was a potential for invasion surpassing that of the Tsurani. In the face of this, his refusal to set aside all considerations except finding a cure for Anita was shown for what it was: an obsession.
“They may be one and the same, Highness.” said Aglaranna. “What seems to be unfolding here is a madman’s desire to gather the moredhel and their servants and allies under his dominion. To do so he must bring a prophecy to fruition. He must destroy the Bane of Darkness. And what has he accomplished? He has forced you to come to the one place he is certain to find you.”
Jimmy sat upright, his eyes wide. “He’s waiting for you!” he blurted, ignoring protocol. ““He’s at this Black Lake!”
Laurie and Roald put their hands upon his shoulders, in reassurance. Jimmy sat back, looking embarrassed.
Tathar said, “From the lips of youth .I and the others have considered, and in our judgment, that is what must be occurring, Prince Arutha. Since the gift of the Ishapian talisman, Murmandamus must devise another way to find you, or he risks his alliances dissolving. The moredhel are much as others—-they need to raise crops and tend herds. Should Murmandamus tarry overlong in bringing the prophecy to fruition, they may desert him, save for those who have taken dark vows, such as the Black Slayers. His agents will have passed word that you have quit Sarth, and by now intelligence from Krondor will tell him you are upon a quest for that which will save your Princess. Yes, he will know you seek Silverthorn, and he, or one of his captains, such as Murad, will be waiting for you at Moraelin.”
Arutha and Martin looked at each other. Martin shrugged. “We never thought it would be easy.”
Arutha regarded the Queen, Tomas, and Tathar. “My thanks for your wisdom. But we will go to Moraelin.”
Arutha looked up as Martin came to stand nearby. “Brooding?” asked the elder brother.
“Just . . . considering things, Martin.”
Martin sat next to Arutha, at the edge of a platform near the rooms they had been given. In the night, Elvandar glowed with a faint light, a phosphorescence that kept the elven city cloaked in a soft magic. “What things are you considering?”
“That I may have let my preoccupation with Anita get in the way of my duty.”
Martin said, “Doubt? Well then, you reveal yourself at last. Listen, Arutha, I’ve had doubts about this journey from the start, but if you let doubt block you, nothing gets done. You must simply make your best judgment and act.”
“And if I’m wrong?”
“Then you’re wrong.”
Arutha lowered his head until it rested against a wood rail. “The problem is one of stakes. When I was a child, if I was wrong I lost a game. Now I could lose a nation.”
“Perhaps, but it still doesn’t change the need to make your best judgment and act.”
“Things are getting out of hand. I wonder if it might not be best to return to Yabon and order Vandros’s army into the mountains.”
“That might do it. But then there are places six may go an army may not.”