The unnamed monk broke into a broad grin. “You’ve your father’s gift for blunt speech, Arutha.”
Arutha studied the man again, surprised by his tone. Then recognition struck. It had been more than ten years since he had seen this man. “Dulanic!”
“No longer, Arutha. Now I’m simply Brother Micah, Defender of the Faith—which means I crack heads for Ishap now as I used to for your cousin Erland.” He patted the hammer at his waist.
“We thought you dead.” Duke Dulanic, former Knight-Marshal of Krondor, had vanished when Guy du Bas-Tyra had assumed the viceroyalty over Krondor during the last year of the Riftwar.
The man called Micah seemed surprised. “I thought everyone knew. With Guy on the throne of Krondor and Erland near death from coughing sickness, I feared civil war. I retired from office rather than face your father in the field or betray my King, two unthinkable choices. But I made my retirement no secret.”
Arutha said, “With Lord Barry dead, it was assumed you’d both fallen by Guy’s hand. No one knew what had become of you.”
“Strange. Barry died of a seizure of the heart and I informed du Bas-Tyra of my intention to take holy vows. His man Radburn stood at his side when I gave my resignation.”
Martin said, “That would explain it, then. With Jocko Radburn drowned off the Keshian coast and Guy banished from the Kingdom, who would have the truth to tell?”
The Abbot spoke. “Brother Micah came to us a troubled man, called by some agency of Ishap to our service. We tested him and found him worthy, so that now his former life as a noble of the Kingdom is a thing of the past. But I asked him here because he is both a valued adviser and a man of military skills who may help us understand what forces move m the world these days. “
“Well enough. Now, what business have we besides finding a cure to Anita’s injury?
“The understanding of that which brought her to injury, that which seeks to end your days, for a start,” answered Micah.
Arutha looked slightly abashed. “Of course; forgive my preoccupation I would welcome anything that made sense out of the madness my life has become over the last month.”
The Abbot said, “Brother Dominic has shown you something of our works here. He may have mentioned that we count many auguries and other works by prophets in our collection. Some are as reliable as a child’s moods, which is to say not at all But a few, a very few, are true works of those whom Ishap has given the gift of future seeing. In several of these volumes, among the most reliable we possess, a reference is made to a sign in the sky.
“There is, we fear, a power now loose in the world. What it may be and how it may be combated are yet unknown to us. But this is certain: it is a fell power, and at the end either it shall be destroyed or it shall destroy us. That is inescapable.” Pointing upward, the Abbot said, “The tower above us has been converted to study the stars, planets, and moons, using clever devices built for us by some of the more talented artificers in the Kingdom and Kesh. With them we can chart the movements of all the bodies in the sky. We spoke of a sign. You may now see it. Come.”
He led them all up a long flight of stairs that took them to the top of the tower. They emerged upon the roof, amid strange devices of confounding configuration. Arutha looked about and said, “It is well you understand this, father, for I do not.”
“Like me,” said the Abbot, “the stars and planets have both physical and spiritual properties. We know other worlds spin their orbits about other stars. We know this for fact, since”—he pointed to Laurie—”one who has lived for a time on an alien world stands with us at this moment.” When Laurie looked astonished, the Abbot said, “We are not so cut off from the rest of the world that something as important as our adventures on Kelewan would not be heard here, Laurie of Tyr-Sog.” Returning to his original topic, he said, “But that is the physical side of the stars. They also reveal secrets to those who watch by their arrangement, their pattern, and their movement. Whatever the reason for this phenomenon, this we know: at times a clear message comes to us from the night sky, and we who are bent on gaining knowledge will not refuse to heed such a message; we will remain open to every source of knowledge, including those often held in disrepute.
“The mysteries of these devices, as well as reading the stars, are only a matter of taking the time to master the subject. Any man of sufficient wit can learn. These devices,” he said with a sweep of his hand, “are all quite clear in use and purpose once they’ve been demonstrated. Now, if you’ll please look through this device here.” Arutha looked through a strange sphere, constructed from a complex lattice work of metals. “This is used to chart the relative motion of stars and visible planets.”