They spoke in the King’s Tongue, the language of the Kingdom of the Isles, to prevent Talon from understanding them—and Robert judged his hearing very sharp.
“So the games are to teach him logic?’’
Robert nodded. “They are a start. This is very basic problem-solving.”
Magnus’s pale blue eyes were fixed upon the cards on the table. “I’ve played four lords, Robert. You taught it to me, remember? It is a difficult game. He won’t win many.’’
Robert smiled. “It’s not about winning. It’s about recognizing a no-win situation. See, he’s recognized that those four cards ensure that he can’t win.” They watched as Talon gathered up the cards, leaving the lords in place, and started a new game. “At first, he went through the entire deck to reach the point of realizing he had no chance of winning. Now, less than two days later he’s recognizing the more subtle combinations that show he can’t win.’’
“Very well. So he’s got potential, talent even. That doesn’t address the question of what it is you plan to do with the boy.’’
“Patience, my impetuous friend.” He glanced at Magnus, who watched Talon with a fixed gaze. “It would have been better had you more of your father’s temperament than your mother’s temper.’’
The white-haired man didn’t shift his gaze, but he did smile. “I’ve heard that from you more than once, old friend.” He then looked at Robert. “I’m getting better at reining in my temper, you know.’’
“Haven’t destroyed a city in the last few weeks, have you?’’
Magnus grinned. “Not that I noticed.” Then the stern expression returned. “I chafe at these games within games.’’
“Ah,” said Robert. “Again your mother’s son. Your father has taught me over my entire adult lifetime that we can only deal with our enemies when they present themselves. Over the last thirty years we’ve seen so many different assaults upon the tranquillity of our lives that it defies imagining. And there’s only been one constant.”
“Which is?” Magnus turned his attention again to Talon’s game.
“That no two ploys of the enemy have been alike. The servants of the Nameless One are cunning, and they learn from their mistakes. Raw power failed, so now they achieve their goals through stealth. We must respond in kind.’’
“But this boy . . . ?”
“Fate spared him for a reason, I believe,” said Robert. “Or at least, I’m trying to take advantage of an unexpected opportunity. He’s got . . . something. I think had this tragedy not befallen his people, he would have grown up to be simply another young Orosini man, a husband and father, warrior when the need arose, farmer, hunter, and fisherman. He would have taught his sons the ways of his ancestors and died in old age satisfied at his lot.
“But take that same lad and forge him in the crucible of misfortune and heartbreak, and who knows what will occur? Like fired iron, will he become brittle and easily broken, or can he be turned to steel?’’
Magnus remained silent as Talon began another game. “A dagger, no matter how well forged, has two edges, Robert. It can cut both ways.’’
“Don’t teach your grandmother to suck eggs, Magnus.’’
Magnus grinned. “My father never knew his mother, so the only grandmother I’m aware of did a fair job of conquering half the world; I wouldn’t have dreamed of teaching her anything.”
“And you have your mother’s nasty sense of humor, too.” He turned from the King’s Tongue to Roldemish to say, “Talon, that’s enough. It’s time for you to return to the kitchen. Leo will tell you what needs to be done.’’
Talon put the cards away in a small box and handed the box to Robert, then hurried to the kitchen.
Magnus said, “I’m still uncertain what you think this boy will contribute to our cause.’’
Robert shrugged. “Your father showed me many things when I was young, but the most important lesson of all was simply the very nature of your home. Your island provided refuge and school to all manner of beings I couldn’t have imagined in my most youthful dreams.” He pointed toward the kitchen. “That boy may prove to be nothing more than a valuable servant, or perhaps a well-crafted tool.” His eyes narrowed. “But he also could be something far more important, an independent mind loyal to our cause.’’
Magnus was silent for a long moment. Then he said, “I doubt it.’’
Robert smiled warmly. “We had doubts about you when you were younger. I remember a certain incident when you had to be confined to your room for . . . what was it? A week?’’
Magnus returned a faint smile. “It wasn’t my fault, remember?”
Robert nodded indulgently. “It never was.’’