Mage-Guard of Hamor

II

The voyage back to Nylan aboard the Ascadya was far swifter than had been Rahl's trip to Swartheld aboard the Diev more than a year earlier. Upon occasion the glasses passed more quickly, particularly when Taryl was working with Rahl on sharpening his order-senses and — abilities. Rahl also wrote a letter to his parents, explaining what had happened in general terms, and that while he would be in Nylan, it would only be for a few days before he had to return to Hamor, since he had certainly not gained the control of his order-abilities required by the magisters. He thought he had enough coins to have the letter sent from Nylan.

Writing the letter, careful as he was, did not take all that much time, and all too often, Rahl found himself somewhere at the railing, staring out at the seemingly endless Eastern Ocean and wondering if he would ever gain full mastery of order-abilities. Or would he always be limited to little more than what he could now accomplish?

Then there was Deybri. What could he really do except talk to her? He had no future in Recluce, at least not anytime soon, and she was years older. Yet… he shook his head. He could only see her… if she'd even agree to that.

Early on fiveday morning, a long, dark shape appeared on the horizon, and shortly thereafter Captain Jaracyn ordered the envoy ensign to the top of the mast-an oblong white flag bordered in green.

By midday, the southern end of Recluce was clearly visible dead ahead, but Rahl was more concerned about what he sensed approaching. Aft on the starboard side of the Ascadya and a good kay to the east, Rahl could sense a concentration of order, a blackness that he could not see with his eyes.

At that moment, Taryl climbed the ladder to the starboard wing of the bridge, joining Rahl and nodding to the junior mage-guard. "You can sense we have company?"

"Yes, ser. It must be one of the black ships."

Taryl nodded. "I'd judge so."

For a time, they both were silent, but Rahl could not help but keep trying to see the Recluce vessel, even as it quickly drew nearer, despite the speed of the Hamorian frigate.

"It's faster than I'd realized," admitted Taryl. "It's a good thing we're here, although they wouldn't have as much of an advantage as they'd think."

"Ser?"

The older mage gestured in the direction of the unseen vessel. "The closer they get, the easier it is to calculate where they are. Look aft. You can see the wake. They've probably got their screws set deeply to minimize it, but if they get close enough, a good gunner could calculate where they are. They're most dangerous at dusk and at night, when you can't see the wake clearly."

That might be, reflected Rahl, but as he watched the wake of the unseen vessel, roughly abeam the Ascadya, he could sense it abruptly increasing its speed and pulling away from the Hamorian frigate. Before its wake vanished, Rahl could see that it was headed toward the southernmost tip of Recluce and the black city and port of Nylan.

"It's fast, though, much faster than anything we have," Taryl added.

"Are we running at top speed?" Rahl refrained from mentioning Khalyt, the young engineer he had met briefly in Nylan, and his ideas for developing an even faster warship.

"No. That wastes too much coal, but even at flank speed, we couldn't match them. Still, they don't have anywhere near the numbers of vessels we do, I don't believe." With a laugh, Taryl added, "They don't need as many, either."

By the time the Ascadya neared the entrance to Nylan, a pilot boat was waiting, accompanied by one of the black ships-without a sight shield. It might have been the same one that had earlier scouted the Hamorian frigate, but Rahl had no way of telling. It also had turrets fore and aft, but they were lower, and the twin guns shorter, with an iron tube mounted in the center of the turret above the guns.

Captain Jaracyn slowed the frigate to mere headway as the pilot boat came alongside.

With Taryl beside him, Rahl listened as the pilot used a conical tube to amplify his voice. For a moment, Rahl didn't understand a word, before he realized that the pilot and the captain were speaking Low Temple and not Hamorian.

"… diplomatic mission to the magisters and engineers of Nylan

…" replied the captain.

"… welcome… you'll be berthed at the first set of piers on the north side of the harbor… the pier will have a berthing flag on the end-green square on white… deeper water there… would you like a pilot?"

"No… that's a negative."

"We'll lead you in…"

"Thank you… we'll need as much headway as we're now making."

"You'll have it, Captain."

Within moments, the pilot boat pulled away, and the frigate followed, picking up slightly more speed as they followed the boat toward the main channel into the harbor.

"The piers where they're berthing us are the ones where the black ships are docked." Rahl pointed to the northwest end of the harbor.

"That makes sense. They want to keep an eye on us, and have the ability to make sure we behave ourselves." Taryl offered a half smile. "They shouldn't know what happened in Swartheld yet, anyway. That was one reason why the captain pushed it. The Emperor wanted us to deliver the news before anyone else, but that also means that the magisters will be skeptical of our appearance under a parley banner."

Rahl glanced northward, at the black-stone buildings and dwellings rising from the harbor onto the long, sloping hill. He thought he could see the training center and the small park below it. In the distance, he could make out a faint dark line. "You can see the black wall. It runs across the entire isle."

"Is it as great as they claim?" asked Taryl.

"All the stones are the same size, at least in the parts of the wall I've seen, and it's order-protected for its entire length." Rahl did not wish to mention his own difficulties with the wall, those that had been the final element in assuring his exile. "It is impressive."

As the Ascadya neared the piers, Rahl noted that there was no sight shield in place and that the four long piers were totally empty. "They've moved out all the black ships."

"Or the one that scouted us was the only one here," replied Taryl. "That's more likely. They don't have that many of them."

Rahl had to wonder how Taryl knew that when he didn't, and when he hadn't even been able to see how many of the black ships had been berthed in Nylan in the whole time he'd been in the city.

"There are ways," Taryl answered the unspoken question. "The sea marshals analyze all reports of the sightings of the black ships. Even if they can't identify them, or know for certain, it's a pretty fair wager that a wake from an unseen high-speed vessel is from a Recluce black ship, and most of the time when they're at sea, they don't hold the sight shields except when they're close to Hamorian warships or pirate vessels. It's too hard on the mages, and they can't have that many."

"Doesn't Recluce have more black mages than many lands?"

"That's true. There were far more mages among those who founded the isle, but even so, Hamor is more than a thousand times the size of Recluce and doubtless has hundreds of times the number of people, even with the great eastern desert and the high grasslands." Taryl smiled faintly. "And Hamor does not exile any of its mages. We find uses for almost all of them, including those from Recluce and elsewhere, as you know."

Rahl had to admire the way in which Captain Jaracyn eased the frigate into the pier-a black-stone structure far narrower than those in Swartheld-perhaps a mere fifty cubits in width.

"Lines out!"

The line handlers on the pier wore dark gray uniforms, Rahl noted, and all were dressed the same. Unlike the Hamorian crews and dock-workers, though, several were women.

"Double up!"

Only after the frigate was secured to the heavy bollards, and the fenders were all in place, did the captain order the gangway lowered. By then, it was late afternoon, and the sun was not that high over the Gulf of Candar to the west of Nylan.

Almost immediately, a thin man in the same dark gray as the line handlers appeared on the pier, walking down it toward the Ascadya.

Rahl followed the captain and Taryl down from the bridge to the quarterdeck, standing behind them as they waited.

The lanky figure who walked up the gangway also wore silver insignia on his collars and a visored cap with a silver emblem of a trident crossed with a cannon-clearly an officer. "Permission to come aboard?"

"Granted," replied Jaracyn in accented but correct Low Temple. "You're more than welcome. Jaracyn, captain and commanding."

"Senior Captain Haerylt."

"Senior Captain," Taryl said politely in precise Low Temple. "I am Senior Mage-Guard Taryl, assigned as envoy to the magisters of Nylan, and this is Mage-Guard Rahl, assigned as assistant envoy."

"It has been some time since a Hamorian warship has sought port here on a peaceful mission," observed Haerylt. "I assume that with the parley ensign your mission is peaceful."

"We are here to convey information to the magisters that we sincerely hope will assure continued peace between Recluce and Hamor," replied Taryl. "Past hostilities have proved costly to both lands, but there have been some recent events in Swartheld that suggest others would pit us against each other, and the Emperor would like to make certain that the magisters of Nylan understand the background of such events."

Haerylt frowned.

"As far as we are concerned, Senior Captain," Taryl went on, "you are more than welcome to be present when we meet with the magisters. We have no secrets, but, obviously, we would prefer to inform all those concerned at one time."

The senior captain's frown became a scowl. "You are suggesting.. less than welcome news."

"I can assure you that no vessels of Recluce have been involved, nor are there any hostilities that have taken place, but we wish to inform the magisters of certain events involving Jeranyi pirates and their attempts to attack the merchanting sector of Swartheld."

Haerylt's scowl was replaced with an expression half frown and half puzzlement.

"I trust that you can convey our request," Taryl said politely. "We would not have traveled the breadth of the Eastern Ocean if the Emperor did not believe that the magisters of Nylan should be informed of these events as soon as possible."

"I can convey your request, Envoy, but I cannot make any commitments for the magisters. In the meantime, we welcome you here, and we will be more than happy to provide water and arrange for any coal or provisions you may require-at the same rates as those for our vessels."

"Thank you."

"If there's anything else you need, you can check with the piermaster. He's in the study in the building at the end of the pier." Haerylt frowned again. "You and your men have the freedom of our base here, but I'd like to request that they remain within the gates until we've conveyed your request to the magisters and received their instructions."

"We understand," Taryl said politely. "I trust that will not be long."

"I imagine they already know you have ported here," Haerylt said dryly, "and I will be conveying your request as soon as I leave."

"We appreciate your courtesy," replied Taryl, "and we look forward to their response. Thank you." He inclined his head slightly.

Haerylt did as well, then turned and walked down the gangway.

Jaracyn glanced to Taryl. So did Rahl.

"We have them concerned," observed Taryl, using Hamorian once more. "That's always useful. Let's hope that will be enough to get them to grant us an immediate audience or hearing."

"The senior captain would just as soon have us gone," added the captain. "He might press for an early meeting."

"It's more likely to be a hearing or a meeting with the magisters, I'd guess," said Rahl, "but I don't know. I only met with the magisters for the training center, and I don't know if those are the same magisters, or if others are in charge of the city."

"How soon will the magisters in Land's End find out about our arrival?" asked Taryl.

"I don't see how they could find out before next threeday at the earliest, and I doubt that the magisters here will press a messenger that hard."

"That soon?" asked Jaracyn.

"The high road from Nylan to Land's End is said to be one of the best in the world," Taryl said. "The Great Highway being built from Cigoerne to Atla is based on its design."

Jaracyn nodded, but Rahl could tell that the captain was skeptical.

Rahl just wondered what the magisters would do.