RAYMOND E. FEIST
Shards of a Broken Crown
Book Four of The Serpentwar Saga
Copyright
Harper Voyager
An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk
First published in Great Britain by Voyager 1998
Copyright © Raymond E. Feist 1998
Raymond E. Feist asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.
Source ISBN: 9780006483489
Ebook Edition © SEPTEMBER 2012 ISBN: 9780007385386
Version: 2016-08-05
Dedication
To Jon and Anita Everson, who were with me from the start
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Map of Midkemia
Character List
Book Four: The Brothers Tale
Prologue
Chapter One: Winter
Chapter Two: Wilderness
Chapter Three: Confrontations
Chapter Four: Underground
Chapter Five: Confrontations
Chapter Six: Choices
Chapter Seven: Opportunity
Chapter Eight: Preparations
Chapter Nine: Negotiations
Chapter Ten: Investments
Chapter Eleven: Disposition
Chapter Twelve: Gamble
Chapter Thirteen: Calamity
Chapter Fourteen: Consequences
Chapter Fifteen: Betrayal
Chapter Sixteen: Deception
Chapter Seventeen: Assaults
Chapter Eighteen: Revelations
Chapter Nineteen: Decisions
Chapter Twenty: Clash
Chapter Twenty-one: Mysteries
Chapter Twenty-two: Realization
Chapter Twenty-three: Decisions
Chapter Twenty-four: Attacks
Chapter Twenty-five: Confrontation
Chapter Twenty-six: Discovery
Chapter Twenty-seven: Intervention
Chapter Twenty-eight: Division
Epilogue
Keep Reading
Contine the Adventure
Acknowledgments
About the Author
By The Same Author
About the Publisher
Map
Character List
ACAILA leader of the eldar, in the Elf Queens court
ADELIN elf in Elvandar
AGLARANNA Elf Queen in Elvandar, wife of Tomas, mother of Calin and Calis
AKEE Hidati hillman
AKIER Lieutenant on Royal Bulldog
ALETA young disciple in Temple of Acrh-Indar
ASHAM IBIN AL-TUK Keshian General
AVERY, RUPERT ROO merchant of Krondor
AVERY, KARLI wife of Roo
BOYSE Captain of Dukos forces
BRIAN Duke of Silden
CALHERN, THOMAS acting Lieutenant of Palace Guard
CALIN elf heir to the throne of Elvandar, half-brother to Calis, son of Aglaranna and King Aidan
CALIS The Eagle of Krondor, special agent of the Prince of Krondor, Duke of the Court, son of Aglaranna and Tomas, half brother to Calin
CHALMES ruling magician at Stardock
CHAPAC twin brother of Tilac, son of Ellia
DLYES, ROBERT magician from Stardock
DE SAVON, LUIS former soldier, assistant to Roo
DELWIN constable in Krondor
DESGARDEN swordsman in Krondor
DOKINS, KIRBY snitch in Krondor
DOMINIC Abbot of Ishapian Abbey at Sarth
DUGA mercenary captain from Novindus
DUKO General in the Emerald Queens Army
DUVAL, MARCEL squire from Bas-Tyra
ELLIA elf in Elvandar, mother of Chapac and Tilac
ENARES, MALAR servant discovered in wilderness
ERLAND brother to the King and uncle to Prince Patrick
FADAWAH former general commanding the Emerald Queens Army, self-styled King of the Bitter Sea
FRANCINE FRANCIE daughter of the Duke of Silden
GREYLOCK, OWEN Knight-Marshal of the Princes Army
HAMMOND Lieutenant in Kings Army
HERBERT OF RUTHERWOOD scribe in Port Vykor
JACOBY, HELEN widow of Randolph Jacoby, mother of Natally and Willem
JALLOM Captain of Dukos army
JAMESON, JAMES JIMMY elder son of Arutha, grandson of James
JAMESON, DASHEL DASH younger son of Arutha, grandson of James
KAHIL Fadawahs intelligence chief
KALEID ruling magician at Stardock
LELAND son of Richard of Mukerlic
LIVIA daughter of Lord Vasarius
MACKEY Sergeant of Palace Guard
MATAK old soldier in Dukos command
MILO owner of the Inn of the Pintail in Ravensburg, father of Rosalyn
MIRANDA magician and ally of Calis and Pug
NAKOR THE ISALANI gambler, magic-user, friend of Pug
NARDINI Captain of captured Quegan ship
NORDAN General in Fadawahs army
PAHAMAN Ranger of Natal in Elvandar
PATRICK Prince of Krondor, son of Prince Erland, nephew to the King and Prince Nicholas
PICKNEY clerk at Krondor
PUG magician, Duke of Stardock, cousin to the King, grandfather to Arutha, great-grandfather to Jimmy and Dash
REESE thief in Krondor
RICHARD Earl of Mukerlic
RIGGERS, LYSLE the Upright Man, leader of the Mockers
ROSALYN Milos daughter, wife of Rudolph, mother of Gerd
RUDOLPH baker in Ravensburg, husband of Rosalyn, stepfather to Gerd
RUNCOR Captain of Dukos army
RYANA dragon shape-changer, friend of Tomas and Pug
SHATI, JADOW Lieutenant in Eriks company
SHO PI former companion of Erik and Roo, student of Nakor
SONGTI Captain of Dukos army
STYLES Captain of Royal Bulldog
SUBAI captain of the Royal Krondorian Pathfinders
TALWIN spy for Arutha
TILAC twin brother of Chapac, son of Ellia
TINKER, GUSTAF prisoner with Dash, later Constable
TOMAS Warleader of Elvandar, husband of Aglaranna, father of Calis, inheritor of the powers of Ashen-Shugar
TRINA female thief, Daymaster of the Mockers
TUPPIN, JOHN thief with lumpy face, leader of Krondors bashers
VASARIUS Quegan noble and merchant
VON DARKMOOR, MATHILDA Baroness of Darkmoor, grandmother to Gerd
VON DARKMOOR, GERD Baron of Darkmoor, son of Rosalyn and Stefan von Darkmoor, nephew to Erik
VON DARKMOOR, ERIK Captain of the Crimson Eagles
WENDELL Captain in Krondor
WIGGINS Patricks Master of Ceremony
WILKES soldier in Eriks army
ZALTAIS ?
Book Four
The Brothers Tale
Duty cannot exist without faith.
Benjamin Disraeli
Earl of Beaconsfield
TANCRED, BK. II, CH. 1
Prologue
THE GENERAL KNOCKED.
Enter, said the self-styled King of the Bitter Sea as he looked up from a hastily scribbled note just handed him by his Captain of Intelligence, Kahil.
General Nordan entered and shook off the snow from his cloak. You found us a cold land to rule, Majesty, he said with a smile. He gave Kahil the briefest nod of greeting.
Fadawah, former Commanding General of the Army of the Emerald Queen, now ruler of the City of Ylith and the surrounding countryside, said, At least its a cold land with food and firewood. He waved in a vague fashion to the south. Were still getting stragglers in from as far away as Darkmoor who paint a bleak picture about conditions throughout the Western Realm.
Nordan motioned to a chair and Fadawah nodded. While old companions, they observed the formalities, as Fadawah prepared to launch his spring campaign. The General still wore the ritual scars on his cheeks, marks given him when swearing loyalty to the Pantathians. He had considered attempting to find a witch or healing priest who could remove them, for when he had finally realized that the Pantathians were as much dupes as he was, he had killed their remaining high priest. As far as Fadawah was concerned, he was no longer bound to anyone. He was his own man, and he was in a rich land with an army. But Kahil had reminded him the scars were intimidating and kept the men in awe of him. Kahil had served the Emerald Queen before she had been destroyed by the demon, but he had proven a valuable and trusted advisor since the change in leadership of the invading army.