Chapter 2: Shadow of the Nighthawks

A whisper led him through madness.

He stumbled forward with unfamiliar feet ten times too small to belong to a
warrior. There were lights on the hills around him, fires, voices shouting
through a downpour of sloshing hoof beats. He reached for his sword then
remembered that he hadn't a sword that night. He had only been a boy of twelve
Midsummers. Only a boy and yet he led the ragged remains of his father's tribe.
	'Who leads the Moredhel?' The whispering voice insisted in his head. I
must see more.
	Years. A river of men coursed together in a bleeding tide and he was
amidst them. Screams rang. A howling figure silhouetted himself against the moon
and brandished a bloody sword aloft. The wolfish figure screamed words of wrath
and damnation as he cleaved his way through his Moredhel brothers. He was
Delekhan, former general of Murmandamus, leader of the unified tribes of the
Northlands, and he was the enemy...
	'Gorath!'
	The memory detonated into a million fading thoughts, each fleeing after
the faint echoes of a weak whisper. Before him now there was a new image, the
face of a fair young girl whose pale blue eyes watched him with weary interest.
There were others too, all seated like himself around a polished council table,
all studying, all dissecting. And Gorath was the object of their scrutiny.
	"I cannot find the truth, my Prince," the tired girl whispered finally,
quietly. "His mind is chaotic. I find images but I cannot hold them long enough
to understand."
	Narrowing his dark eyes, Prince Arutha glared at Gorath. "He hides his
thoughts?"
	"Gorath is Moredhel." Pug quickly interceded for his exhausted daughter.
"Even with Gamina's exceptional talent for sensing thoughts, his mind may have
many innate psychic defenses. I may need to send for one of my advanced
students... "
	"No need to disturb studies, master magician Pug. The Moredhel speaks
truly."
	Council members exchanged surprised glances then turned their attention
to the aged magician seated next to Pug. Lowering his eyes, the man made a
dismissive gesture.
	"Forgive me, I do not mean to presume, but I have looked into his mind
as well," Makala continued. "War in the Kingdom would have many wide ranging
effects, not the least of which could lead to a disruption of trade between our
two worlds. My Emperor of Tsuranuanni would be most displeased if our rift-
making secrets were seized by barbarians in warfare."
	Gorath glowered at the Tsurani magician. "Trading agreements not
withstanding, the Moredhel watch your borders, Nighthawks spy on your imperial
cousins and before the snows there shall be an army come to the Kingdom! Heed my
words Prince of Krondor! You must prepare your troops!"
	Anger flashed in the thunderheads of Arutha's eyes as he rose to his
feet...

ARUTHA:
What I must or must not do will not be dictated by a dissident Moredhel! If not
for Locklear's good faith in you, I would have had your head staked on a pole
and paraded up and down the low quarters of Krondor once I saw you!

ARUTHA:
I have been tolerant while I listened to your vague speculations based on
incidental half- heard conversations, but how am I to believe what you say?
What evidence have you laid before this council to prove what Delekhan intends
to do?

GORATH:
What evidence? I bear the humiliation of betraying my vow as a Moredhel and the
indignity of surrendering to a sworn enemy...

MAKALA:
Why betray Delekhan to the Kingdom of the Isles? Of what benefit to you is it to
snare him?

GORATH:
He is leader in name only. However bitter a draught Delekhan may be for your
kith and kin to drink, magician, his rule is black poison in the gullets of me
and mine. Already he enslaves my cousins and rapes the land.

GORATH:
Bloody his nose Prince of Krondor. Blunt his swords and the unified tribes will
cast him down in wrath. Let him cross your Northern border, however, and ten
other clans will join their strength to his and the legacy of Murmandamus will
be but a spark next to his glory.

ARUTHA:
Where would you have me send my troops? If indeed he intends a strike against
one of our northernmost possessions, which castle shall I garrison for the
attack? Highcastle? Ironpass? Northwarden? If I am to fight a war, by my teeth
tell me where would you have me fight it!

GORATH:
Would that I could tell you! Delekhan holds in good confidence only a handful of
cowering dogs and, among them, only a few are privy to his war plans. His
private counsels are restricted to choice individuals, his advisors Narab and
Nago, his mistress Liallan, his son Moraeulf and - Nighthawks!

ARUTHA:
He keeps foul company that leader of yours...

GORATH:
Your highness, if you give me leave, I believe I can find the evidence of
Delekhan's intent. I will need someone to accompany me to Romney and supplies
for my journey and a small parcel of gold.

ARUTHA:
Romney? What do you think you can find in a provincial river town in the heart
of the Kingdom?

GORATH:
I aim to catch a bird in flight. Of late Delekhan has emptied a good deal of his
treasury to revive the service of the Nighthawks. In exchange he has demanded
tactical information about kingdom holdings...

ARUTHA:
He's turned the Guild of Assassins into a guild of spies?

GORATH:
Only for a time. Although the payments have been left in various hidden locales,
the messengers were always to rendezvous in Romney. If I go there, I may be able
to intercept information concerning a forthcoming attack. Would such evidence
suffice?

ARUTHA:
Perhaps. Damn me but I don't trust you Gorath. How do I know that this isn't a
plot of yours? We can weigh the evidence to our heart's content and your cousins
could be slitting the throats of my serfs as we sit dawdling...

ARUTHA:
Go to Romney, but you'll provide for yourself. If this is part of some secret
Moredhel scheme, I'll not look the fool before the world. Pug, unroll the map
for me...

The scroll smelled of dust.

Scrawled in chicken scratches and spider tracks, tiny lines staggered across the
moth-eaten paper, indicating the paths that were the major roads within the
Kingdom.
	Pointer in hand, Arutha bent over the map and pointed to a large black
dot. "We are here in Krondor. At dawn tomorrow you will leave through the main
gate and rendezvous with your escort, Seigneur James. I know you might have
preferred Locklear's company, but he has business elsewhere.
	"You will head to Romney. Providing one of Delekhan's assassins doesn't
slit your throat first, you should reach the Ursine Ford within the month. In
Romney you will join a special detachment of King Lyam's soldiers staying at the
Black Sheep Tavern. They may be of service to you."
	Nodding, Gorath took in Arutha's advice, listening studiously as the
Prince reviewed the details. "If you find the evidence, I will act only when
James has conveyed the information to me. Is that clear? Only when I receive
James' word.Until then, I wait."
	"Understood," Gorath replied.
	"Good," Arutha replied, slapping the surface of the table with his palm.
Looking around the council chamber, he noted the wearied expressions of all who
sat around the map. "Why don't you let Gamina and Makala show you around
Krondor?
I have a few things I need to consider alone."
	Reading the offer as a polite dismissal, the worn council members began
to file out the door, most glad to be on their feet again following the grueling
session. As Pug passed by, however, Arutha snagged his sleeve and drew him back
to the table. "If you don't mind, I would have your council, cousin Pug."
	"Certainly," Pug replied, resuming his seat. "I am all attention."

ARUTHA:
As I see it, Delekhan could have only two potential targets for attack into the
Kingdom: Highcastle...

ARUTHA:
... and Northwarden.

ARUTHA:
His fortress at Sar- Sargoth is three hundred miles to the North and I doubt he
has the resources to defend a line that long.

ARUTHA:
So an attack at Northwarden seems unlikely.

PUG:
Leaving Highcastle...

ARUTHA:
Which is a viable alternative, but neither target seems to have an obvious goal.
I know you are no field strategist and you hate to become involved in state
matters but I should like you to delay your return to your home at Stardock for
a while. I feel... ill at ease.

PUG:
You are not alone in that. I too have sensed something unusual in the air, but I
won't ascribe it to anything as dire as magic. More likely we suffer from bad
soup.

ARUTHA:
Feelings aside I will call up the militia reserves from Malac's Cross, Darkmoor,
and Lyton and join them to a detachment of the Krondorian Lancers just outside
of the Dimwood.

ARUTHA:
James will send word to me there.

PUG:
What of the garrison?

ARUTHA:
It will remain in place. I have considered the option of a full push south and
it seems unlikely, but I will give Delekhan nothing. Our agreement remains.

ARUTHA:
Now we wait. Gods help Gorath if he betrays us to the Moredhel.
	
Entering the Black Sheep Tavern

Even as they threw the door open, James bit back the impulse to vomit. Kingdom
soldiers lay scattered about the room, each lying in his own coagulating pool of
blood. Nowhere did there appear to be anyone untouched by murderous hands...