His dark hair matted wet against his forehead, Jommy regarded his companion. In the last few months his slender face had aged dramatically. An arduous life on the march had drained pounds from his youthful frame, while days in the sun and sleeping on the ground had given a tough, leathery quality to his skin. The court-bred noble who Jommy had come to know well over the last few months had been replaced by a young veteran embarking on his third campaign in as many months.
Never friends, the two, along with their other four companions Tad, Zane, Grandy and Geoffry had come to appreciate one another as reliable colleagues. In the relatively short time since they had been unceremoniously taken from the university at Roldem and cast into the role of young soldiers of rank, they had received an intensive tutelage in the realities of military life. To Jommys unending irritation, Servan had been appointed senior for this campaign, which meant Jommy was expected to follow his orders without question. So far there had been no hint of reprisal for the mischief Jommy had inflicted on Servan during the last operation, when Jommy had been appointed senior, but Jommy just knew it was coming.
The two young officers had been detailed to a position low in the foothills of the region known as the Peaks of the Quor, a rugged, mountainous peninsula jutting northward from the eastern side of the Empire of Great Kesh. About a hundred men, including these two young officers, had been deposited on this beach a week earlier, and all Jommy knew was that a landing was expected here, though the exact identity of the invaders had not been shared with the young officers. All Jommy knew was they wouldnt be friendly.
Jommy also had aged, but as a farm youth and caravan worker, already used to a harsher life than his companion, he revealed less dramatic evidence of his recent experiences. Rather, his already cock-sure brashness had evolved into a quiet confidence, and his time spent with the other young officers from the university at Roldem had taught him a fair dose of humility; all of them were better at something than he was. Even so, one part of his nature remained unchanged: his almost unique ability to see humour in most situations. This one, however, had tested his limits. The downpour had been unrelenting for four days now. Their only source of warmth was a fire built in a large cave a mile up a miserable hillside, and the enemy they had been told to expect had shown no evidence of arriving on schedule.
No, said Jommy, I dont mean why are we here. I mean why are we here?
Did you sleep through the Captains orders? came a voice from behind them.
Jommy turned to see a shadowy figure who had approached undetected. I wish you wouldnt do that, he complained.
The man sat down next to Jommy, ignoring the fact that half his body was still outside the scant protection offered by the make-shift shelter. I wouldnt be much of a thief if I couldnt sneak up on you two in a driving storm, would I? he replied.
The newcomer was only a few years older than them, yet his face showed premature ageing, including an unexpected sprinkling of grey hair in his dark moustache and beard, a neatly trimmed affair that revealed a streak of vanity in an otherwise chronically unkempt and slovenly person. He was nearly as tall as Jommy, but not quite as burly, yet his movement and carriage betrayed a lean hardness, a whipcord toughness that convinced Jommy hed be a difficult man to contend with in a stand-up fight.
Servan nodded. Jim, he acknowledged. The young thief had somehow managed to get caught up in the same net of intrigue that had bought Servan and Jommy to this lonely hillside. He had put in an appearance the week before, arriving on a ship with supplies for what Jommy had come to think of as the Cursed Expedition.
Servan and Jommy were both currently serving in the Army of Roldem, though Jommy came from a land on the other side of the world. Servan was nobility, royalty even somewhere in line to be king, should perhaps ten or eleven relatives expire unexpectedly. Yet they were now assigned to what could only be generously called an unusual company, soldiers from Roldem, the Kingdom of the Isles, Kesh, and even a contingent of miners and sappers from the dwarven city of Dorgin, all under the command of Kaspar of Olasko, former duke of what was now a province of the Kingdom of Roldem. Once a hunted outlaw with a price on his head, sometime over the last few years he had managed to rehabilitate his reputation and now had special status with both Roldem and the Empire of Great Kesh. His adjutant was a Roldem captain named Stefan who happened to be Servans cousin, which also made him another distant cousin to the King of Roldem.
The arrival of the newcomer had revealed another puzzling aspect of this expedition. Jim was one of half a dozen men who were not by any stretch of the imagination soldiers, yet were billeted with the soldiers, sent out on missions with soldiers, and expected to follow instructions without question, as if they were soldiers. All Jommy and Servan could get from the usually voluble self-confessed thief was he was part of a special group of volunteers who were here to train with the combined forces of Roldem, Kesh, the Kingdom, and a scattering of officers from the Eastern Kingdoms.
The usually curious Jommy was beside himself with curiosity to discover what was going on, but the last few months of serving with various forces from Roldem had taught him that a young officers best course was to keep silent and listen. Servan had that knack by nature.
Still, Jommys curiosity couldnt be entirely stemmed, so he thought perhaps a different approach to the subject might get him some hint of what was going on. Jim, youre from the Kingdom, right?
Yes, said the young thief. Born in Krondor; lived there all my life until now.
You claim to be a thief began Jommy.
Jim shifted his weight, lightly brushing against Jommy, then with a grin held up Jommys belt pouch. This is yours, I believe?
Servan tried hard not to laugh while Jommy snatched back his belt-purse, which had been tucked up under his tunic. Very well, he said, you are a thief.
A very good thief.
A very good thief, Jommy conceded. But what I want to know is how a very good thief from Krondor finds himself out here on the edge of the world.
Thats a story, said Jim. Ive travelled a lot, you see.
Oh? said Servan, welcoming the distraction from the tedious rain.
Yes, said the agreeable thief. Been to some very odd places. He smiled, and years dropped away from his visage, showing an almost boyish glee. There was this one time when I was forced to seek shelter from just this sort of driving rain in a cave on a distant island.
Jommy and Servan exchanged a glance, and both smiled and nodded, silently communicating the same thought: not one word of what they were about to hear would be true, but the story should be entertaining.
I was taking a journey out of Krondor.
Business? asked Servan.
Health, said Jim, his grin widening further. It seemed like a good idea to be out of Krondor for a while.
Jommy tried not to laugh. So you went ?
I took ship out of Krondor, bound for the Far Coast, and then in Carse found a likely bunch of lads who had come by some information on a venture that would net all involved a handsome living.
Pirates, said Jommy and Servan at the same moment.
Pirates, said Jommy and Servan at the same moment.
Freebooters, out of Freeport in the Sunset Islands. Jim nodded. At the time the captain claimed they sailed under a letter of marque from the Crown, though I never saw it. But being a trusting lad at the time, I took his word.
Jommy doubted there had been a single moment in the thiefs life when he had ever been a trusting lad but he let the comment go.
Well, I find myself on this island, in this cave, with this elf lass
Did you leave something out? asked Servan.
Oh, a lot actually, but Im talking about strange places Ive been.
Let him go on, said Jommy with ill-concealed mirth.
Anyway, the lads I had shipped with were out looking for me, as I had tumbled to their less-than-honourable intentions as to my share of the treasure
Treasure? began Servan, but Jommy held up his hand. He wanted to hear this story.
Well, thats another part of the tale, said Jim. Anyway, as I was saying, I was hiding in this cave when I encounter this elf lass, name of Jazebel
Jazebel, echoed Jommy.
Jazebel, repeated Jim. And she had her own story of how shed got there. She was trying to keep from being killed by these bears, only they werent rightly bears, more like big furry owls.
Big furry owls, said Servan, open astonishment now on his face. Jommy could barely contain himself, all cold, wet misery forgotten in the moment.
Well, as I was saying, it was an odd place, far outside the Sunset Isles. She was gathering eggs for some elf magic. But anyway, she and I managed to fend off the creatures long enough to let my bloody companions pass by the cave, then we slipped out and got to a safe spot.
How did you ever get home? asked Jommy.
Jim grinned. She had this magic stone, some elf thing, and once we were where she could do some magic, it took us to Elvandar.
Elvandar? Is that near Cloud Land? Servan asked, invoking the name of a mythical land from childrens tales.
Jommy said, Elvandars real, Servan. I know people whove been there.
Next youll be telling me you know some elves, too.
Jommy smiled. Not personally, but I know people who do.
Well, said Jim. As I had helped saved the girl and all that, the Queen and her husband feted me with a supper, gave me their thanks and told me I was welcome any time I wanted to come calling. Then they helped me get to the outpost at Jonril the one up in Crydee Duchy, not the one in Kesh its named after and from there I got back to Krondor.
Amazing, said Jommy.
More than amazing, said Servan, shivering again. Unbelievable.
Jim reached inside his tunic and pulled out a leather cord around his neck bearing a beautifully carved trinket. The Queen herself gave me this, he said. She said any elf would recognize it and I would be named Elf-friend.
Both Jommy and Servan leaned forward to inspect the trinket more closely. It was a pattern of interlocking knots, carved in what looked to be bone or ivory, and there was something about the design and shape that seemed more than human.
Suddenly serious, the thief said, Im a lot of things, lads: rogue, adventurer, thief and, when needs be, downright murderous thug, but no man has ever called Jimmyhand a liar.
Jimmyhand? asked Jommy.
My professional name, as it were. After a famous old thief from back in the day, Jimmy the Hand. Some say Im a lot like him. Others say he might have been my great grand-da but I think that was my mum trying to make me feel special. So, when I was a wee tyke Id say, Im Jimmyhand, cause I never quite got the the part right. So it stuck. Im rightly named Jim Dasher.
In the time he had spent with Caleb and his family at Sorcerers Isle, Jommy had heard a fair number of back in the day stories from the old timers, not a few of which revolved around the notorious Jimmy the Hand, a thief who according to legend became an agent of the Prince of Krondor, then later was given a noble title, rising to the rank of Duke of both Rillanon and Krondor, the two most powerful offices in the Kingdom after the King.
Jommy studied the thief. He hardly knew him, but found him agreeable company, his outrageous stories were a welcome relief from the tedium of days spent waiting for an enemy who might never appear. He had no doubt Jim was every bit as dangerous as he claimed to be, but there was a quality under the surface that Jommy had learned to recognized at an early age out on the road alone: an instinct about who he could trust and who he couldnt. He nodded, then said, Jim, Ill never call you a liar until the day I catch you out.
Jim stared at Jommy for a long moment, then the grin returned. Fair enough.
Servan turned his attention back to the distant beach they had been assigned to watch. How much longer?
As long as it takes, said Jommy.
Which wont be much longer, said Jim, pointing off into the rainy gloom. Boat coming.
How can you began Servan, then he saw it, a tiny dark speck that grew larger by the moment as a longboat came into the cove.
Must be a ship lying off, said Jommy.
Ill tell the Captain, said Servan, scrambling from under the lean-to. You watch them.
Jommy also got out from under the shelter. Lets get a little closer.
Jim held him back. Wait. Theres another boat.
After a moment, Jommy could see a second longboat coming out of the gloom, following the first by a dozen yards. Now, whispered Jim, though they were far too distant to be overheard, what do you think of that?
Jommy said, Well, I can say the intelligence the Captain received was correct so far.
Not about the second boat, corrected Jim.
Picky, Jommy muttered.
The two longboats rowed in to shore, and men leaped out of each and pulled them up on the sand, securing them with stakes and ropes. Looks like they plan on being here for a while, said Jommy.
Whats that? asked Jim, pointing to the second boat.
The crew of the two boats were dressed like common seamen, though each sported a black headcloth, tied behind the left ear. Most were barefoot, marking them as sailors, though some wore heavy boots. But the last man leaving the second boat wore robes of dark orange trimmed with black. His features were masked by a hood, but the other men seemed deferential to the point of fear. None offered to help him exit the craft and all gave him a wide berth as he came ashore.
Magician, said Jim, almost spitting out the word, I hate magicians.
Ive met a few I like, Jommy said quietly.
Well, I havent. Damn near had my head removed by a magical trap down in Darindus one time. Theres no trap made by the hand of mortal man I cant puzzle out with enough time, but magic
Well, said Jommy, Ive met a few who are all right.
Jim fell silent as the men in the boat spread out. It was clear that they were checking the surrounding area to see if they were observed. Jommy and Jim reached up and quietly took apart the hastily constructed lean-to, hiding the canvas behind the tree, then they both moved to a denser stand of bushes to the right. Without a word, they shared the same thought: in a few minutes an armed company of men, numbering twice those on the beach, would come over the rise behind them, but until that moment, it would be a good thing not to be seen by these men.