Hugh Cook - The Witchlord and the Weaponmaster

Thus it came to pass that the Weaponmaster was in the city of Androlmarphos when that city was assailed by the armies of the Harvest Plains. Since the forces of ordered civilization triumphed on this occasion over the lawless forces of piracy, the Harvest Plains reclaimed Androlmarphos; the pirates retreated north to the Greater Teeth; and Guest Gulkan found himself very well advanced on his journey to the Old City of Penvash.

At this stage, an inexperienced adventurer would have incontinently flung himself into a direct assault on the Old City itself. Guest could have done as much. He could have stolen a boat, and shipped himself from the islands of the Greater Teeth to the shores of Argan. From there, he could – if all else failed – have simply walked north to the Old City.

But the Weaponmaster doubted very much that the star-globe which had been used to control the Door in the Old City in Penvash was still to be found in those ancient ruins. After all, during Guest's sojourn in Dalar ken Halvar the Circle of Doors which was based in Penvash had not been reopened. The Door in Dalar ken Halvar's Grand Arena had been diligently watched by the Silver Emperor's minions, and not once had it shown the slightest flicker of life. Guest presumed, then, that the bandits who had won possession of the star-globe had carried their treasure away from the Old City. He presumed, further, that they would naturally seek to recruit the aid of a prince, a king or an emperor before they attempted to reopen the Circle which was based in Penvash.

For, if you find yourself in possession of a device which can open Doors to places as dangerous and as various as a battlefield and a Grand Arena, then it necessarily follows that you must be rather more than a bandit to successfully exploit such a device in defiance of the lords of the territories to which such Doors open.

Hence Guest suspected that those who currently held the starglobe would be seeking to enlist the support of some territorial power in or near Penvash. Thus thinking, the Weaponmaster ventured no footsore journey to the Old City, but, instead, set about the business of suborning a territorial power for his own purposes.

To this end, Guest set himself the job of getting close to the leader of the defeated pirates, a Rovac-born warlord by the name of Elkor Alish. Being jealous of the secret of star-globe and Doors, Guest did not immediately reveal all to Alish. Indeed, he revealed nothing. Guest thought he should first learn the temper of this man, and assess the degree to which his oath was trustworthy, and should only then suggest to him an alliance of purpose.

So Guest sought audience with the black-bearded Elkor Alish, he of the elegant dress, the bright-gleaming jewels. On being granted audience, Guest sought employment as a bodyguard.

"Explain yourself," said Elkor Alish.

Upon which the Weaponmaster gave a heavily circumscribed account of his own life. He declared himself to be the son of Onosh Gulkan, the ruler who had been overthrown so many years ago by the barbarous Khmar.

"My childhood was spent in Gendormargensis," said Guest,

"where I was tutored exclusively by Rovac warriors. Thus I learnt the manners of the Rovac, and something of their tongue. After my father lost his empire, I was exiled into the world. Thereafter, I put my sword at the service of the world, until I wandered too near Drangsturm and fell victim to the Ethnologists who dominate the castles of wizardry."

"The Ethnologists?" said Alish. "I have long studied the Confederation of Wizards, for I count that Confederation as the greatest of my enemies, but I have heard nothing of these Ethnologists."

"They are a new and horrible kind of evil," said Guest. "They are a cabal of wizards which specializes in the destructive interrogation of selected individuals from every race and nation.

They seek to gain intimate knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of each breed of men, so that by possession of such knowledge they can conquer the world."

This news was of intense interest to Elkor Alish, who was widely famed for his hatred of all wizards. So the mighty Rovac warrior demanded a full account of Guest's experiences at the hands of the Ethnologists, and Guest happily obliged, ending with a graphic account of the heroic manner in which he had finally fought his way out of the Castle of Controlling Power, leaving seven wizards dying in his wake.

"All this is well and good," said Alish, pleased to hear a tale so greatly to his taste. "But you have yet to explain why I should hire you as my bodyguard. I am of the Rovac and have others of the Rovac in my entourage."

"Yes, my lord," said Guest. "And my father was of the Yarglat, and had many mighty Yarglat warriors in his entourage.

Yet his bodyguards were of the Rovac. For the Rovac had no power base in Tameran, therefore could not be a threat to his rule.

Likewise, as a single Yarglat barbarian in the Greater Teeth, I have no power base. Hence I can be trusted."

"Are you accusing my Rovac compatriots of harboring thoughts of revolution?" said Alish.

"I remark only that my lord is said to have lately been in dispute with one of his valued Rovac compatriots," said Guest Gulkan. "While serving in Androlmarphos, I have heard much of the tale of Elkor Alish and Morgan Hearst. The details are all in confusion, yet it seems clear that here were two Rovac warriors, and that bad blood led to battle between them."

This was undeniable.

Still.

"There are many refugees like yourself," said Alish.

"Masterless men without power base. If I make a choice of such for my bodyguards, why should I trust one of them and not you?"

"Because of my familiarity with wizards and their ways," answered Guest. "Wizards are your enemies, or so it is said. As their prisoner, I have learnt of their ways, and of their devices.

My lord has sought to command such devices, and to use them against their originators. Yet many of his men have a superstitious dread of such things, and no knowledge of their powers and limitations."

"Good, but not good enough," said Elkor Alish. "There are a thousand people a day petitioning for my patronage. You will have to do better than that if you want to be my bodyguard."

"Then," said Guest, "know this. I had a special motive for seeking to serve you."

"What?" said Alish.

"I am Guest Gulkan, the son of Onosh Gulkan, and the rightful heir to the Collosnon Empire. My lord Alish is engaged in a struggle which has as its ultimate aim the control of the western seaboard of Argan and the destruction of the Confederation of Wizards. With such ambition secured, his thoughts will turn north.

Surely. With his ambition contented by the digestion of Argan, he will want allies in the north. I do not ask my lord to give me an army. Not now. Not this month, or next. But I suggest to my lord that it might be to his ultimate advantage to accept my offer of service, that he may sound out the degree to which my oath is trustworthy, and learn my temper."

This speech was greatly pleasing to Elkor Alish.

It was true that Alish had grotesquely grandiose visions of conquest, and entertained these visions still, even though he had lost the city of Androlmarphos and had been driven back to the Greater Teeth. In defeat, few believed that Alish could do more than hold those bare and barren rocks against the onslaughts of his enemies. So Guest made the sweetest of music when he confidently stated that Alish would secure Argan as his own – and then have the strength to look for greater influence to the north.

Alish considered at length.

Then said:

"I can offer you nothing now."

"I ask for nothing now," said Guest. "I wish only to serve, that we may measure each other's temper. When we have tested each other's temper, then we may talk of power, of conquest, of alliance. Till then, my sword is yours."