Read Online Shards of a Broken Crown by Raymond Feist - Free Book Online Page A

While his
newfound servant ate, Jimmy looked around. He had seen enough
military camps to recognize he had blundered into one. Warriors, camp
followers, peddlers and thieves, all resting until they had a reason
to move on.
    Jimmy wondered
about the reason for the gathering, and the reason that would make
them move on. Many of the warriors were from the invading army that
had ravaged the Western Realm the year before, but he saw enough
Keshians and a few Quegans mixed in to decide that these were
deserters, opportunists, weapons runners, and the dregs washed up in
any backwater of a war.
    Putting aside
the bowl, Malar looked at Jimmy. “Young sir?”
    “Let’s
head into the city,” said Jimmy.
    “And do
what?” inquired the Valeman.
    “Look for
my brother.”
    “I thought
he was to go back east,” said Malar.
    “That’s
what he should do, but he won’t.”
    “Why?”
    “Because
he’s . . . Dash.”
    They moved
through the tent village and headed toward the city gate.

Three - Confrontations
    Pug frowned.
    The Keshian
Ambassador’s smile was forced, almost painful, as he finished
his latest message from his government.
    “My Lord
Gadesh,” said the Kingdom’s representative, Baron Marcel
d’Greu, his own smile just as false. “That’s
impossible.”
    Pug glanced at
Nakor, who sat to his right. The latest round of negotiations between
the Kingdom and the Empire of Great Kesh was proving to be a simple
restatement of the last round.
    Nakor shook his
head and said, “Why don’t we take a small recess, my
lords, and give ourselves time to ponder these requests?”
    Kalari, a
Tsurani Black Robe who was representing his government, the Empire of
Tsuranuanni, as a neutral observer, said, “Excellent idea, my
friend.”
    The two
ambassadors retired to the quarters that had been provided to them,
and Pug led Nakor and Kalari to another room, where Miranda waited
next to Kalied, the leader of the most powerful of the three factions
of magicians in Stardock.
    Kalied appeared
to be older than Pug, despite the fact Pug was nearly twenty years
his senior. Pug appeared to be a man in his mid-twenties, his
rejuvenation courtesy of the freed life energies that had been
trapped in the Life-stone.
    Miranda, looking
like a woman in her mid-twenties, smiled at her husband. “Any
joy?”
    “None,”
said Pug, taking a mug of ale offered by a student who was acting as
servant to those representing the interests of Stardock in the
negotiations between the Kingdom and the Empire of Great Kesh.
    “I must
confess,” observed Kalari, “these negotiations seem far
more ritualistic than I anticipated.” He sipped at a hot cup of
coffee and nodded in appreciation at the flavor of the brew. He was a
bald-headed man of middle age, still slender and fit and possessing a
penetrating pair of blue eyes. “Is it my unfamiliarity with the
nuances of the King’s Tongue, or some lack of insight into the
Keshian culture, or is this simply a restating of previous claims and
demands?”
    “No,”
said Nakor, “there is nothing wrong with your appreciation of
this situation.”
    “Then what
is the point?” asked Kalari. “My own Empire’s
traditions include negotiations, but usually it’s between
Tsurani Lords. I’m afraid your notion of diplomacy is a little
foreign to me.”
    Kalari had been
sent by the Assembly of Magicians on Kelewan, to insure that whatever
interests Tsuranuanni had in Stardock were represented. Trading
between the former enemies, the Kingdom of the Isles and the Empire
of Tsuranuanni, had been cyclical over the years. For nearly fifty
years a major upheaval in Tsurani society had resulted from the rise
to prominence of House Acoma and their innovative leader, the Lady
Mara, the Servant of the Empire. Her son, Justin, had ruled the
Empire despite several political plots to return the Empire to the
older traditions Mara had set aside. Turmoil had resulted from many
of the changes, at various times limiting trade