Raymond Feist - Rage of a Demon King

Vasarius handed the case back to a servant without looking. ‘Their value is only that they were to have been a gift for my daughter on her most recent birthday. Both the servant who removed them from this house, and the captain of the ship that took him from our island, have been found and dealt with. I have only to discover to whom they were sold and all those hands who have soiled them until you returned them to me. All will die painfully.’

Thinking of his friend John Vinci, who had bought them from that Quegan captain, Roo said, ‘My lord, they were in an inventory box with other items of dubious origin. I doubt it possible to trace who dealt them along from the captain to myself. Why trouble yourself further, now they have been returned?’ Roo hoped Lord Vasarius listened. Obviously the now-dead captain hadn’t implicated John, else he and Roo would already be dead men.

Vasarius said, ‘My name was upon the box, Mr Avery. Any man who saw it knew it to be my property. Any man who did not return it as you have done is a man without honor, a thief, and one who should be thrown to the animals in the arena, or tortured slowly.’

Roo considered that he had been among those attempting to sell the stones and the only reason he had been distracted from that undertaking was the murder of his father-in-law. He maintained an indifferent manner. ‘Well, m’lord, perhaps that is as it should be, but now that you have those gems back, at least that portion of the affront has been somewhat lessened.’

‘Somewhat,’ agreed Roo’s host as the servants began bringing out the evening meal. ‘As I haven’t been able to find those others besides the captain who insulted my honor, it may be a moot point.’

Roo sat motionless, hoping against hope that was the case, as he was served by young men and women, all attractive by any measure. Whatever other vices Lord Vasarius might have, it was clear he enjoyed the beauty of youth on every hand.

For all the splendor of the setting, Roo found the fare at Lord Vasarius’s table rather plain. Fruits and wine were served, and some flat bread with butter and honey, but the cheese was bland, the wine unspectacular, and the lamb overcooked. Still, Roo dined as if it were the finest meal he had ever tasted; the gods knew he had eaten far worse with gusto in his soldiering days.

There was almost no conversation over dinner, and Roo caught a few meaningful glances pass between Livia and her father. Jimmy seemed bored, but Roo knew he was noting every detail he could. When at last the meal came to an end, Vasarius leaned forward and summoned a servant bearing a tray with a goblet and metal cups.

Roo found the notion of drinking brandy from a metal cup odd, as a metallic flavor was imparted to the drink, but he ignored it, being nothing of the wine purist most people born in Ravensburg were. Besides, not offending his host was far more critical.

Vasarius raised his goblet, said, ‘To your health,’ and drank.

Roo did as well and said, ‘You’re most kind.’

Vasarius said, ‘Now, to the matter of what you expect in repayment for returning my property to me, Mr Avery.’

Roo said, ‘I expect no repayment, m’lord. I merely wished for an opportunity to visit Queg and explore the possibility of trade.’

Vasarius regarded Roo a moment. ‘When I received your letter,’ he said, ‘I was inclined to believe it another plot by Lord James to infiltrate our state. His predecessor was a clever man and again, by half, but James is a demon incarnate.’ Roo glanced at Jimmy to see if he was reacting to his grandfather’s being described that way, but Jimmy maintained a façade of indifference that suited his pose as Roo’s personal secretary. ‘I am willing to put that by, as your reputation precedes you. To return those rubies is of little consequence to a man of your wealth, Mr Avery, but gaining a trading liaison in Queg, now that is something worth the price of such baubles.’

Vasarius took a drink of brandy, then said, ‘Do you know much of my people, Mr Avery?’

‘Little, I’m afraid,’ admitted Roo. In fact he had attempted to study as much about the Quegans as possible, but he felt feigning ignorance was far better for his own purposes.

Livia spoke in the Quegan dialect. ‘If you’re going to give a history lesson, Father, may I be excused. These barbarians sicken me.’

In Quegan, Lord Vasarius said, ‘Barbarians or not, they are guests. If you’re bored, take the young secretary and show him the garden. He’s pretty enough to be diverting. There’s a chance he might know a trick that’s new even to you.’ His tone hid nothing of his disapproval; it would have been evident even if Roo and James didn’t speak the language used.

Vasarius turned to Roo. ‘Forgive my daughter’s lapse of manners, but speaking the King’s Tongue is not something we do often here. It was only her teacher who insisted she learn the languages of our neighbors.’

‘He was a Kingdom-born slave,’ supplied the girl. ‘I think the son of some nobleman or another. So he claimed.’ To Jimmy she said, ‘Business bores me. Would you care to see the garden?’

Jimmy nodded, excused himself, and left Roo and Vasarius alone.

The lord of the house continued, ‘Most of those outside our borders know little of us. We are all that is left of a once proud and great tradition, the true inheritors of all that was once Great Kesh.’

Roo nodded as if hearing this for the first time.

‘We were founded as an outpost of the Empire, Mr Avery. This is important. We were not a colony, as was Bosania, what you know as the Free Cities and the Far Coast, or a conquered people as were those of the Jal-Pur or the Vale of Dreams. Those primitives who lived on this island were quickly absorbed by the garrison placed here to protect Keshian interests in the Bitter Sea.’

Raped by the soldiers and getting half-breed children, thought Roo. He had no doubt that the men living here when the Keshians showed up were either killed or enslaved.

‘The garrison was pure Keshian, men from the Inner Legions. The reason I point this out to you is that you of the Kingdom have often treated with Kesh’s Dog Soldiers. Their leader was Lord Vax, fourth son of the Emperor of Great Kesh.

‘When the legion was called home to crush the rebellion in the Keshian Confederacy, he refused to abandon his people. This was Kesh, and Queg has endured as the sole repository of that great culture since the fall of Bosania to the Kingdom. Those who sit upon the Throne of the Overn Deep are a fallen people, Mr Avery. They call themselves “Trueblood,” but they are a base and degenerate people.’

He stared at Roo, awaiting a reaction. Roo nodded and sipped his brandy.

Vasarius continued. ‘This is why we have few dealings with outsiders. We are mighty in culture, but otherwise we are a poor nation, surrounded on all sides by enemies.’

In other circumstances, Roo would have burst out laughing, as that phrase had been repeated to him so often it was something of a joke. But in the midst of this splendor, Roo understood. While there were many things of beauty, one couldn’t eat marble or gold. You had to trade. Yet this was a nation of people who distrusted, even feared outsiders.

Roo considered his words. ‘One must be careful with whom one is trading.’ He waited, then said, ‘Else one must consider the risk of contamination.’

Vasarius nodded. ‘You are very perceptive for … an outsider.’

Roo shrugged. ‘I am a businessman, first and foremost, and while I have been lucky, I have also had to live by my wits. I would not be here if I didn’t sense an opportunity for mutual gain.’

‘We do not permit many to trade in Queg, Mr Avery. In the history of our people there have been fewer than a dozen such concessions granted, and all have been to merchants in the Free Cities or from Durbin. Never has a Kingdom merchant been permitted such a privilege.’