Read Online A Crown Imperiled by Raymond E. Feist - Free Book Online Page B

something vital.’
    ‘Love is one of the reasons I must find Pug,’ said Miranda. ‘Just to see him . . .’ Her eyes welled up with tears and she wiped them away. ‘Damn, I know these aren’t my memories, but they feel like they are.’
    Nakor said, ‘So many questions.’
    ‘You seem delighted about that,’ she said regaining her composure.
    ‘Always. Learn a simple answer and, well, it’s over; but a really good question,’ he winked, ‘now, that’s worth something.’ Then his expression darkened. ‘We need to find out why Kalkin did this to us, changed us and gave us those memories.’
    Miranda looked surprised. ‘I thought that was obvious.’
    ‘Few things really are.’
    ‘We need to warn Pug about the Dread.’
    ‘Pug is very smart. He should have figured that out by now. There is something else.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘I don’t know. But Pug will know of the Dread by now. He’s the smartest man I ever met.’
    Miranda smiled slightly. ‘He used to say you were the smartest man he’d ever met.’
    With an evil twinkle in his eye, Nakor said, ‘That’s why I know he’s the smartest man I ever met.’
    Miranda was about to say something arch, when the small door set into the large city gate opened and a man wearing an old, ill-fitting tabard over simple work clothes appeared. ‘Who might you be, then?’ he asked.
    Miranda said, ‘Two travellers trying to find a safe place to rest.’
    The old man said, ‘This city is hardly that, or did you miss the blaze to the south? We’re at war.’
    ‘Which is why we wish to get inside,’ she said.
    The old man looked tired and his expression revealed his unhappiness at being roused from his rest by the boy who had fetched him to the gate. If he wanted to know why this unlikely pair was on the road alone after dark, he put the question aside and said, ‘Well, you two don’t look like a Keshian assault brigade, so I guess there’s no harm letting you come in. There’s an inn a bit further down this boulevard, the Black Ram. Travellers are being housed there until we can sort out who’s who.’ He hiked his thumb at the boy who stood behind him at the door. ‘Teddy will see you there.’ He moved aside, motioning for them to enter.
    They passed through the gate and followed the eager boy down the street. This portion of the city was shuttered and for the most part had been abandoned, though signs of a few determined souls lingered: a blacksmith’s furious hammering echoed from a nearby street, and one family had obviously kept their home; the windows were open to the warm afternoon air, despite the acrid smoke which gave a bitter tang to the air. A wagon rolled down towards the city’s southern wall in the distance, but otherwise most of this quarter of the city was still. The boy moved at a good pace and soon he indicated an inn on their right. They nodded their thanks and entered the great room.
    As inns went, it was one of the biggest either Nakor or Miranda had seen, and they had seen quite a few. ‘I don’t remember this inn being so large,’ said Miranda as Nakor peered around the room for someone in charge.
    ‘When was the last time you stayed at an inn in Ylith?’ he asked, spying a serving woman bringing ale to a table in the back room.
    She calculated. ‘About thirty, to thirty-five years ago.’
    ‘Things change,’ he said with his usual grin and motioned for her to accompany him through the crowd. ‘Lots of travellers from the Free Cities, Krondor, and Queg must come through here on business in LaMut and Yabon. It was already pretty prosperous when we . . . left.’ He waved around the room. ‘Lots of business for an enterprising innkeeper.’
    About thirty people cluttered the hall, occupying every seat and every table; they even stood along the walls, which were blessed with a series of waist-high shelves. At the rear of the room they found a servant who looked cheerful despite being nearly overwhelmed by the demand for