Raymond E. Feist - The Serpentwar Saga

Miranda hurried to another quarter of the hall, in which an empty area stood ready, but unoccupied. Shifting her perceptions through each phase of sight she knew, Miranda searched for some hint of what she might find here.

A glyph shimmered in a spectrum of light beyond the ability of most men to see, yet Miranda saw it. She turned to discover the Warden had followed her, floating a foot above the stone floor.

‘Who placed such a mark here?’

‘One who recently visited, like you.’

‘What does the symbol mean?’

‘It is the mark of Wodan-Hospur, one of the Lost Gods, whom we await.’

‘You await the return of gods lost during the Chaos Wars?’ she asked in surprise.

‘Everything is possible in the Hall of the Gods.’

‘What was the name of this man?’

‘I may not say.’

‘I am seeking Pug of Stardock,’ said Miranda. ‘At the Inn, in the Hall of Worlds, I was told to come here.’

The Warden shrugged. ‘Such matters are not my concern.’

‘Has he been here?’

‘I may not say.’

Miranda thought, then asked, ‘If you can say nothing else, where might I go next to find this man?’

The Warden hesitated. ‘It may be that you need to look at that place where you were misled.’

Miranda said, ‘I thought as much.’ With a wave of her arm, she was gone, a faint popping sound the only indication of her having been there.

One of the people attending a nearby god turned and threw back his hood. He was short of stature, his eyes the color of dark walnut aged and stained, his beard as dark as that of a lad of twenty, but his manner and size did little to disguise the aura of power that surrounded him.

Stepping over to where the Warden waited, he said, ‘You’ve served your purpose.’ With a wave of his hand the figures in the hall vanished, leaving only a vast emptiness of rock and ice. Cold air rang in through the now unprotected opening and bit with enough harshness to make him gather his cloak tightly around him.

Glancing around to see that no trace of illusion remained, he was raising his hands to will himself to another place when a voice said, ‘Gods, it’s cold without that illusion.’

The man turned, and standing a yard away was the woman. ‘Pug of Stardock?’

The man nodded. ‘Neatly done, lady. There are few who could have seen through the ruse.’

She smiled and something oddly familiar hinted at recognition, then was gone. ‘I didn’t. But things just didn’t feel right, and I thought if I could seem to have left, then perhaps I might learn something.’

The man smiled. ‘You simply turned yourself invisible and made the proper noise.’

The woman nodded. ‘You are Pug?’

The man said, ‘Yes, I am Pug of Stardock.’

The woman’s face took on an expression of concern, and again there was something hauntingly familiar about her. ‘Good. We must go. There is much to be done.’

‘What are you talking about?’ asked Pug.

‘Khaipur has fallen and Lanada is undone by treachery.’

Pug nodded. ‘I know this. But for me to act too soon –’

‘And the Pantathians counter your magic with their own. I know. But there is more here than a simple bashing of magics, like rams banging heads in the mountains.’ Her breath hung in the frigid air and she waited.

Pug said, ‘Before I presume to tell you there are forces at play beyond your knowledge, I suppose I should find out what you know.’

He vanished.

‘Damn,’ said Miranda. ‘I hate it when men do that.’

Pug had two goblets of wine poured when Miranda popped into existence. ‘Why did you do that?’

‘If you couldn’t follow me, then telling you anything was pointless.’ Pug handed her a goblet. ‘There’s something vaguely familiar about you,’ he observed.

Miranda took the wine and sat down on a divan opposite a writing desk; Pug pulled out the stool that went with the desk, and sat down.

‘Where are we? Stardock?’ She glanced around. The room was small and lacking any decoration. All she could see indicated that this was a library. Books lined every wall, save one narrow space that held a window, and besides the divan, desk, and chair, the room was devoid of furniture. A pair of lamps burned, one at each end of the room.

Pug nodded. ‘My quarters. No one can get in or out but myself, and no one expects me to visit, as no one has seen me here in twenty-five years.’

Miranda looked around. ‘Why keep it so?’

‘I made a major display of breaking off my ties here, after my wife died.’ He spoke of her death in a matter-of-fact tone, but Miranda could see a tiny tension around the corners of his eyes as he mentioned this. ‘If someone is to come looking for me, they’ll look on Sorcerer’s Isle. I’ve left enough people who work magic there that any spell designed to detect magic will be ringing like a dinner bell.’

‘And as magic is being practiced here every day, if you do decide to do some work, no one will notice.’ She sipped her wine and said, ‘Very neat. And this is very good.’

‘Is it?’ asked Pug. He sipped. ‘Yes, it is. I wonder which …’ He held up the bottle. ‘I have to ask Gathis if there is more of this in the cellar at Sorcerer’s Isle when I return.’

‘Why all the misdirection?’ asked Miranda.

‘Why were you looking for me?’

‘I asked you first.’

Pug nodded. Fair enough. The Pantathians are wary of me and my arts. They’ve discovered ways to neutralize me, so I make sure they and their agents can’t find me.’

‘Neutralize you?’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘I’ve run across snake magic before and there are smoking corpses to mark those battles. If you’re as powerful as they say –’

Pug said, ‘There are more ways to stem attack than simply to meet it with more strength. What if I were to hold a child you love and put a dagger to her throat?’

Miranda said, ‘So if they don’t know where you are, they can’t threaten anyone you care about.’

‘Yes. Now, why are you looking for me?’

Miranda said, ‘The Oracle of Aal enters her birthing cycle and we lose her ability to help us. I have been asked –’

‘By whom?’ interrupted Pug.

‘By some people who would rather not see this world end any time soon,’ she snapped. ‘I have been asked to help preserve the Lifestone –’

Pug stood. ‘How do you know of the Lifestone?’

Miranda said, ‘I am Keshian. Do you remember one who came to support the King’s army at the battle?’

‘Lord Abdur Rachmad Memo Hazara-Khan,’ answered Pug.

Miranda nodded. ‘It took years to penetrate the illusions and false trails, but after a while, those few who entered to speak to the Oracle and leave with whatever wisdom she gave them, even with that statue at Malac’s Cross as the transfer point, even after decades, the truth was known.’

‘So you work for the Emperor?’

‘Do you work for the King?’ countered Miranda.

‘Borric and I are something of cousins,’ said Pug, sipping at his wine again.

‘You beg the question.’

‘So I do.’ He set his goblet down. ‘Let’s say that I’m somewhat less constricted in my loyalties than I used to be. Which is all beside the point. If you know anything of the Lifestone, you know that national interests are petty at this point. If the Valheru reawaken, we will all perish.’

‘Then you must help me,’ said Miranda. ‘If those foolish men I helped recruit for the Prince survive, we’ll know who and what we face.’

Pug sighed. ‘You, a Keshian, recruiting for the Prince?’

‘It seemed the prudent thing to do to serve my real master’s interests.’

Pug only raised an eyebrow. ‘So which foolish men are these?’