Robert Hughes - The Prophet of Lamath

The room was lit only by the bluish glow of an object sitting on a table. It was a triangular table, made of polished cedar wood for the express purpose of bearing the glowing object. Once again Tohn shook his gray head, amazed that he should be privileged to use it.

Jagd, in Chaomonous, had one just like it, but the chief elder of Uda did not treat it with such honor and respect. To him it was a device, nothing more—a communicator provided by science to be used as an effective tool for toppling governments. Flayh, in Lamath, felt the same way about his; though of course in the rarefied religious atmosphere of Lamath it would probably be referred to as a miracle. But to Tohn it was a magic thing, controlled by the powers, and belonging, really, to them.

Now it glowed with greater intensity, meaning the others were focusing upon it, forming the link. Tohn wasted no more time. He took his chair on one side of the triangular table and began to visualize the other two in the chairs to his left and right. As he did, he gazed into the pyramid—for that was the object’s shape. It was a three-sided pyramid, tall and slender, formed of a crystal substance that burned with the blue-white light of a bolt of lightning. As Tohn focused his gaze on the side facing him, he began to see the face of Flayh on the inner plane to his left. Gradually the bluish clouds that normally kept the object opaque cleared from the righthand plane as well, and there was the face of Jagd. The triangle was complete. The meeting began.

Jagd was smiling. Flayh was not.

In his excitement, Jagd spoke first. “It is working. It is working well.”

“Don’t be too certain,” Flayh grumbled.

“Why? The plan is functioning perfectly. The girl is gone—carried off to Lamath by slavers. The people of Chaomonous will be in a frenzy by the end of the week!” Tohn grunted. “I expected Talith to stifle that news.”

“Of course he did,”

Jagd snapped, “but my people have spread the word in every tavern on the port. The story will be known, you may trust me for that.”

“We shall, Jagd, we shall,” Flayh growled, “but here is a part of the story you had best keep to yourself. My fool of a nephew has bungled it. The girl escaped while coming through the pass.”

“What!” Jagd screamed, and Tohn covered his ears. It amazed him how well the crystal transmitted sound. He reacted with more subdued shock—this was a serious blow. He noticed that heavy feeling in his stomach again. He was dreading the rest of the news. “How did it happen?” Jagd yelled again.

“A long story,” Flayh shot back, implying that he wasn’t about to waste time retelling it. “My concern is that it did happen, and we need to move quickly if the plan is to succeed at all. Tohn.”

“Yes,” Tohn murmured.

“The girl rides toward you.” The bottom seemed to drop out of Tohn’s belly. He was involved after all. “Have you seen her? Have your guards picked her up?”

“I wasn’t looking for her!” Tohn replied. “How would I know if I’ve seen her or not? I’ll put my people on it right away.”

“Wait!” Flayh called, for Tohn was about to break the link, and much remained to be said. All three of the pyramids needed to be in use for the link to be maintained. Tohn was obviously shaken by the news that these events were moving into his sector.

“I’m still here,” Tohn grumbled.

“Unless my nephew is lying, she is alone, mounted on a horse wearing the blue-and-lime. She is still clothed in Chaon gold, unless she’s been clever enough to filch a change somewhere. She should be no problem to find it your riders are competent.”

“My riders are most competent,” Tohn snapped.

“They had best be so. There is no way of manipulating the course of events if we do not recapture her.”

“Not necessarily,” Jagd broke in. “There’s no reason for us to tell Talith that his daughter is no longer a captive. He trusts me implicitly, and expects me to deal with you as his agent. As long as we can maintain his belief that his daughter is in your hands in Lamath, we have his emotions in a vise.”

“And the people will be aroused regardless.”

“Right. But if she should somehow find her way back to Chaomonous—the lives and lands of all Ognadzu are forfeit in this golden empire.”

“Why should you fret over us, Jagd?” Flayh sneered. “Won’t Uda then reign supreme?”

“Of course. But to what effect, my friend Flayh? The plan will have failed. The changes will not occur. We will really have gained nothing for all our trouble except for a petty trading advantage.”

“So you say,” Flayh snorted. “As to the lives of my family members in Talith’s dungeon, I care nothing. I made every effort to post all of my clan rivals—”

“Most of your clan rivals?” Tohn chuckled.

“All of my clan rivals who would go to Chaomonous before launching this plan.” Flayh ignored Tohn’s continuing chuckle. “But the Ognadzu holdings and lands in the Golden Kingdom are expansive—I should not like to lose those.”

“Then Tohn had better look to his best, and find this Princess. That is, if you are still with us, Tohn mod Neelis?”

Tohn had been planning his search party, but he had been listening. One did not become an elder in Ognadzu by daydreaming. “I am still with you. We will find her.”

Tohn sighed. “Can we get on with this? I’m tiring.” It took a great deal of energy to maintain the ephemeral link, even with the aid of the pyramid.

Flayh rushed ahead. “There is more news, of a distinctly threatening nature. Something is bothering the dragon.”

“What? Is he sick?” Jagd asked.

“Perhaps. Who could tell? But Pezi said the bargaining erupted in confusion the other day when the two heads began bickering with one another.”

“Impossible!” Tohn shouted, surprising the other two. Tohn was an old hand at dealings with Vicia-Heinox. He had more caravans of experience than did any merchant living.

“I thought so too, but Pezi assures me it is so. Jagd, when does your next regular caravan pass Dragonsgate?”

“Two days.”

“Have your trading captain carry a blue flyer with him. When the caravan is through, have him send the bird to me with the facts regarding the dragon’s behavior. If the beast is behaving erratically, we will need to know soon.”

Jagd chuckled. “Who can tell? This may be the perfect timing to insure our plan’s success. If the dragon is divided, think of the disruption the news will cause in Lamath. That land will be ripe for political plucking.” The three merchants pondered that for a moment, then suddenly Jagd spoke again, sharply. “Flayh, did Pelmen arrive there safely?”

“Pelmen? Dragon’s—breath, no! I haven’t seen that meddler in ages, and prefer things to remain that way.” Jagd spoke quickly then, with such intensity that he gripped the other two men as tightly as if he had seized them by their tunics.

“We have a problem. Pelmen was with the group of slaves Pezi was taking to Lamath.” There was a long moment of silence. Then Flayh spoke. “I haven’t looked at the new slaves…”

“Then look at them. If Pelmen is not there, we will need to assume that Pezi lied—and that Pelmen and the Princess may be traveling together through Ngandib-Mar!”

Tohn reeled with pain. Only a few moments before he had been hoping to keep the entire scheme out of his part of the world. Now, if Pelmen were involved, and if Pelmen were in his sector…

“Tohn! Tohn!” He heard Flayh calling him as if from a great distance; remembering where he was, Tohn fought to re-establish the link. The faces of the other two men shimmered before him, then once again grew solid. “There,” Flayh grunted, as clarity came back into the vision. Flayh took a deep breath, then spoke quietly and calmly. The other two men knew this for a sign of his rage. “So Pelmen the player has crossed over again. I’ll check my dungeons—but I’m skeptical. I have felt no emanations of his presence here.”