I just had a religious experience, Sparhawk murmured as they walked into the noisy area near the docks.
Oh?
One of those Divine visitations.
Ah. What did your Divine visitor have to say?
A broken-nosed friend of ours got another one of those notes. Hes been told to go to Sepal instead of coming here.
Talen muttered a fairly vile oath.
My feelings exactly. Isnt that Vymer coming up the street? Sparhawk pointed at a blond man in a tar-smeared smock who was lurching unsteadily toward them.
Talen peered at the fellow. I think youre right. He made a face. The ladies who changed things around may have gone a little far. He doesnt even walk the same any more.
What are you two doing out this late? Stragen asked as he joined them.
We got lonesome, Sparhawk replied in a flat tone of voice.
For me? Im touched. Lets go for a walk on the beach, my friends. I find myself yearning for the smell of salt waterand the nice loud sound of waves crashing on the sand.
They went on past the last of the wharves and then out onto the sand. The clouds had blown off, and there was a bright moon. They reached the waters edge and stood looking out at the long combers rolling in off the south Tamul Sea to hammer noisily on the wet sand.
What have you been up to, Stragen? Sparhawk demanded bluntly.
Business, old boy. I just enlisted us in the intelligence service of the other side.
You did what?
The three you sensed when we first got here needed a few good men. I volunteered our services.
Are you out of your mind?
Of course not. Think about it for a while, Sparhawk. What better way is there to gather information? Our celebration of the Harvest Festival thinned their ranks drastically, so they cant afford to be choosy. I paid Estokin to vouch for us, and then I told them a few lies. Theyre expecting a certain Sir Sparhawk to flood the town with sharp-eyed people. Were supposed to report anybody we see whos acting a little suspicious. I provided them with a prime suspect.
Oh? Who was that?
Captain Sorgis bosunyou know, the fellow with the whip.
Sparhawk suddenly laughed. That was a truly vicious thing to do, Stragen.
I rather liked it, myself.
Aphrael came by to call, Talen said. She told Sparhawk that Berit and my brother have been ordered to change direction. Now theyre supposed to go to Sepal on the coast of the Sea of Arjun.
Stragen swore.
I already said that, Talen told him.
We probably should have expected it, Sparhawk said. Kragers working for the other side, and he knows us well enough to anticipate some of the things we might try to do. He suddenly banged his fist into the palm of his hand. I wish I could talk with Sephrenia! he burst out.
You can, as I recall, Stragen said. Didnt Aphrael fix it once so that you and Sephrenia talked together when she was in Sarsos and you were in Cimmura?
You can, as I recall, Stragen said. Didnt Aphrael fix it once so that you and Sephrenia talked together when she was in Sarsos and you were in Cimmura?
Sparhawk suddenly felt more than a little foolish. Id forgotten about that, he admitted.
Thats all right, old boy, Stragen excused him. Youve got a lot on your mind. Why dont you have a word with her Divine little Whimsicality and see if she can arrange a council of war someplace? I think it might be time for a good, old-fashioned get-together.
Sparhawk knew where he was before he even opened his eyes. The fragrance of wildflowers and tree blossoms immediately identified the eternal spring of Aphraels own private reality.
Art thou now awake, Anakha? the white deer asked him, touching his hand with her nose.
Yea, gentle creature, he replied, opening his eyes and touching the side of her face. He was in the pavilion again and he looked out through the open flap at the flower-studded meadow, the sparkling azure sea, and the rainbow-colored sky above.
The others do await thy coming on the eyot, the hind advised him.
We must hasten, then, he said, rising from his bed. He followed her from the pavilion out into the meadow where the white tigress indulgently watched the awkward play of her large-footed cubs. He rather idly wondered if these were the same cubs she had been tending when he had first visited this enchanted realm a half-dozen years ago.
Well, of course they are, Sparhawk, Aphraels voice murmured in his ear. Nothing ever changes here.
He smiled.
The white deer led him to that beautiful, impractical boat, a swan-necked craft with sails like wings, elaborate embellishment and so much of its main structure above the water line that a sneeze would have capsized it, had it existed in the real world.
Critic, Aphraels voice accused him.
Its your dream, Divine One. You can put any impossibility in it that you want.
Oh, thank you, Sparhawk! she said with effusive irony.
The emerald green eyot, crowned with ancient oaks and Aphraels alabaster temple, nestled in the sapphire sea, and the swan-necked boat touched the golden beach in only minutes.
Sparhawk looked around as he stepped out onto the sand. The disguises most of them wore in the real world had been discarded, and they all had their own features here in this eternal dream. Some of them had been here before. Those who had not had expressions of bemused wonderment as they all lounged in the lush grass that blanketed the slopes of the enchanted isle.
The Child Goddess and Sephrenia sat side by side on an alabaster bench in the temple. Aphraels expression was pensive, and she was playing a complex Styric melody in a minor key on her many-chambered pipes. What kept you, Sparhawk? she asked, lowering the rude instrument.
The person in charge of my travel arrangements took me on a little side-trip, he replied. Are we all here?
Everybody whos supposed to be. Come up here, all of you, and lets get started.
They climbed up the slope to the temple.
Where is this place? Sarabian asked in an awed voice.
Aphrael carries it in her mind, your Majesty, Vanion replied. She invites us here from time to time. She likes to show it off.
Dont be insulting, Vanion, the Child Goddess told him.
Well, dont you?
Of course, but its not nice to come right out and say it like that.
I feel different here, for some reason, Caalador noted. Better, somehow.
Vanion smiled. Its a very healthy place, my friend, he said. I was seriously ill at the end of the Zemoch wardying, actually. Aphrael brought me here for a month or so, and I was disgustingly healthy by the time I left.
They all reached the little temple and took seats on the marble benches lining the columned perimeter. Sparhawk looked around, frowning. Wheres Emban? he asked their hostess.
It wouldnt have been appropriate for him to be here, Sparhawk. Your Elene God makes exceptions in the case of the Church Knights, but hed probably throw a fit if I brought one of the Patriarchs of his Church here. I didnt invite the Atans eitheror the Peloi. She smiled. Neither group is comfortable with the idea of religious diversity, and this place would probably confuse them. She rolled her eyes upward. You wouldnt believe how long it took me to persuade Edaemus to permit Xanetia to come. He doesnt approve of me. He thinks Im frivolous.
You? Sparhawk feigned some surprise. How could he possibly believe something like that?
Lets get at this, Sephrenia said. Why dont you start, Berit? We know generally what happened, but we dont have any details.
Yes, Lady Sephrenia, the young knight replied. Khalad and I were coming down the coast, and wed been watched from almost the moment we came ashore. I used the spell and identified the watcher as a Styric. He came to us after several days and gave us another one of those notes from Krager. The note told us to continue down the coast, but once we get past the Tamul Mountains, were supposed to cut across country to Sepal instead of continuing south. The note said that wed get further instructions there. It was definitely from Krager. It had another lock of Queen Ehlanas hair in it.
Im going to talk with Krager about that when I catch up with him, Khalad said in a bleak tone of voice. I want to be sure he understands just how much we resent his even touching the Queens hair. Trust me, Sparhawk. Before Im done with him, hes going to regret itprofoundly.
Ive got enormous confidence in you, Khalad, Sparhawk replied.
Oh, Khalad said then, theres something I almost forgot. Does anybody know of a way to make one of our horses limp without actually hurting him? I think Berit and I might want to be able to slow down from time to time without causing suspicion. An intermittently lame horse should explain it to the people who are watching us.
Ill talk with Faran, Aphrael promised.
You wont need to limp on your way to Sepal, Ulath told Khalad. Ghnombs going to see to it that Tynian and I are there long before you arrive. You might be able to see us when you get there, but you might not. Im having a little trouble explaining some things to the Troll-Gods. Well be able to see you, though. If I cant make Ghnomb understand, Ill slip a note in your pocket.
If we do come out in the open, youll just love our traveling companion, Tynian laughed.
Berit gave him a puzzled look. Whos that, Sir Tynian?
Bhlokw. Hes a Troll.
Its Ghnombs idea, Ulath explained. I have to go through a little ceremony before I can talk with the Troll-Gods. Bhlokw doesnt. It speeds up communication. Anyway, well be there and out of sight. If Scarpa and Zalasta try to make the trade there in Sepal, well step out of No-Time, grab the lot of you, and disappear again.
Thats assuming that theyre taking Queen Ehlana to Sepal to make the exchange, Itagne said. Weve got some things that dont match up, though. Sir Kalten picked up a rumor that Scarpas holding the Queen and her maid in Natayos.
I wouldnt want to wager the farm on it, your Excellency, Kalten said. Its second-hand information at best. The fellow I talked with probably isnt bright enough to make up stories, and he didnt have any reason to lie to me. He got his information from somebody else, though, and that makes the whole thing a little wormy.
Youve put your finger on the problem, Sir Kalten, Sarabian said. Soldiers gossip worse than old women. He tugged at one earlobe and looked up at the rainbow-colored sky. The other side knows that I wasnt entirely dependent on the Ministry of the Interior for information, so theyll expect me to have ears in Natayos. This story Sir Kalten heard could have been planted for our benefit. Prince Sparhawk, is there any way at all you could use Bhelliom to confirm the rumor?