couldn’t sleep anyway,” said King Haimeric with a shrug. “We have to deeide what to do with the bandits.”
I could see them faintly now, ten yards away, standing as stiffly as if they were tied to trees. The long cold night, I hoped, would have sobered them. “We can’t very wel have them folowing us al the way to the Holy Land,” I said quietly. “But I don’t understand it. Why would a castelan turn to banditry?”
“I don’t know,” said the king in a worried voice. “I realize we’re not in Yurt anymore, but it’s stil very strange.”
“Short of kiling them, I don’t see what we can do that won’t make them feel even more humiliated and even more bent on vengeance.”
“We can give them some tea,” said the king. “They’ve had a cold night of it. Since you’ve got the fire going anyway, put on the kettle.” This made no sense at al. I stared at him a moment in the lantern light, then went to fil the kettle. He was, after al, my king.
In a few minutes, when the tea was brewed, we walked over to the bandits. “We weren’t going to slit any of your ttiroats,” the leader growled. “I hope you realize we wouldn’t rob a caravan for a few baubles or a few bolts of frippery, and we aren’t murderers, eidier. We just wanted to teach you a lesson.”
“That was my nephew you knocked on the head,” said the king gravely. “He may look at al this differendy. But at the moment he’s asleep. Would you like some tea before he wakes up? It can’t have been comfortable standing here al night. Wizard, could you release the bindings enough so that diey can drink?”
I adjusted my spel to alow them a little arm motion. The king put tin cups of scalding tea into tieir hands. They drank slowly, looking at us dioughtfuly over the rims. In the lantern light and the beginning of dawn, diey would have seen two white-bearded men, one very slighdy built.
“Al right,” said the king sternly, taking back the empty cups. “I believe you. I won’t ask you what kind of lesson you planned to teach us, because I’m quite sure I won’t like the answer. An aristocrat like you should know better. Your own fields and your rents should provide you plenty of income widin the law—to say noding of the proceeds of justice.” The leader of the bandits looked at King Haimeric shrewdly. “So you didn’t find it eidier, eh?’
I had no idea what he was talking about and I doubted the king did either, but that didn’t stop him. “Of course not. You seem to imagine that we ransacked the silk caravan after my wizard paralyzed you, but instead we sent it safely on its way. If you’re looking for caravan loot, you won’t find it in our camp. Do you employ a wizard?” I was having trouble keeping up with the king’s line of reasoning and, from the looks on their faces, so were the bandits.
“No,” said the leader, eyeing me warily.
“If we let you leave with your lives,” I said, hoping this fit in with whatever King Haimeric was doing, “and I say if, hire a wizard at once.” The king gave me a quick look, and I realized it was probably not his intention after al to urge them to take on a new employee. But it was too late to stop now. “A real wizard,” I continued, “one from the school in the great City.” A school-trained wizard would certainly be able to stop them from preying on any more merchant caravans—unless, of course, he ended up with his own throat slit. But he’d do much better than a magician, someone who had picked up a little of the Hidden Language here and there and might see nothing wrong with banditry.
“I asked if you had a wizard,” said King Haimeric, puling his eyebrows into a frown, “because I wanted to be sure you understand the lesson that we wil teach you if you folow us again. My own wizard wil turn you al into frogs.”
It had been ten years since the disastrous transformations practical, and I had long since worked out where I had gone wrong with those
I could see them faintly now, ten yards away, standing as stiffly as if they were tied to trees. The long cold night, I hoped, would have sobered them. “We can’t very wel have them folowing us al the way to the Holy Land,” I said quietly. “But I don’t understand it. Why would a castelan turn to banditry?”
“I don’t know,” said the king in a worried voice. “I realize we’re not in Yurt anymore, but it’s stil very strange.”
“Short of kiling them, I don’t see what we can do that won’t make them feel even more humiliated and even more bent on vengeance.”
“We can give them some tea,” said the king. “They’ve had a cold night of it. Since you’ve got the fire going anyway, put on the kettle.” This made no sense at al. I stared at him a moment in the lantern light, then went to fil the kettle. He was, after al, my king.
In a few minutes, when the tea was brewed, we walked over to the bandits. “We weren’t going to slit any of your ttiroats,” the leader growled. “I hope you realize we wouldn’t rob a caravan for a few baubles or a few bolts of frippery, and we aren’t murderers, eidier. We just wanted to teach you a lesson.”
“That was my nephew you knocked on the head,” said the king gravely. “He may look at al this differendy. But at the moment he’s asleep. Would you like some tea before he wakes up? It can’t have been comfortable standing here al night. Wizard, could you release the bindings enough so that diey can drink?”
I adjusted my spel to alow them a little arm motion. The king put tin cups of scalding tea into tieir hands. They drank slowly, looking at us dioughtfuly over the rims. In the lantern light and the beginning of dawn, diey would have seen two white-bearded men, one very slighdy built.
“Al right,” said the king sternly, taking back the empty cups. “I believe you. I won’t ask you what kind of lesson you planned to teach us, because I’m quite sure I won’t like the answer. An aristocrat like you should know better. Your own fields and your rents should provide you plenty of income widin the law—to say noding of the proceeds of justice.” The leader of the bandits looked at King Haimeric shrewdly. “So you didn’t find it eidier, eh?’
I had no idea what he was talking about and I doubted the king did either, but that didn’t stop him. “Of course not. You seem to imagine that we ransacked the silk caravan after my wizard paralyzed you, but instead we sent it safely on its way. If you’re looking for caravan loot, you won’t find it in our camp. Do you employ a wizard?” I was having trouble keeping up with the king’s line of reasoning and, from the looks on their faces, so were the bandits.
“No,” said the leader, eyeing me warily.
“If we let you leave with your lives,” I said, hoping this fit in with whatever King Haimeric was doing, “and I say if, hire a wizard at once.” The king gave me a quick look, and I realized it was probably not his intention after al to urge them to take on a new employee. But it was too late to stop now. “A real wizard,” I continued, “one from the school in the great City.” A school-trained wizard would certainly be able to stop them from preying on any more merchant caravans—unless, of course, he ended up with his own throat slit. But he’d do much better than a magician, someone who had picked up a little of the Hidden Language here and there and might see nothing wrong with banditry.
“I asked if you had a wizard,” said King Haimeric, puling his eyebrows into a frown, “because I wanted to be sure you understand the lesson that we wil teach you if you folow us again. My own wizard wil turn you al into frogs.”
It had been ten years since the disastrous transformations practical, and I had long since worked out where I had gone wrong with those
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