it just suits him to appear that way. No, I don't trust him.'
'Commander Nagan, the head of the honor guard?' asked Ramachni.
'Yes!' said Thasha brightly. But then her face darkened. 'No-not quite. I can't tell you why, Ramachni. I have more reasons to trust him than anyone aboard. He caught the man who attacked Hercуl. He's guarded our family my whole life, and never asked for anything in return.'
'But he certainly wants something now. He wants your trust.'
'And I suppose he's earned it,' said Thasha. 'But I'm still uneasy about him.'
'Then we must all be,' said Ramachni, shaking his head. 'Our list of friends is short.'
'Short!' she said. 'Why didn't I think of him first? Neeps! We can trust Neeps with our lives. Although he is a donkey.'
'Hooray!' cried Felthrup, for he thought she meant that yet another woken beast was aboard. His disappointment was plain when Thasha said that she had only meant Neeps could be an imbecile.
'And if he doesn't stop fighting he'll be no help at all,' she added, 'because he'll be tossed off this ship.'
'Your noble father must be counted our friend, of course?' Felthrup asked, sulking.
'No, he mustn't,' said Thasha. 'Not while Syrarys is with him. Even Hercуl would have to agree, and he's been Prahba's friend almost as long as Dr. Chadfallow. That just leaves old Fiffengurt. But he's not fond of rich people. You can see it in the way he looks at first-class sons and daughters: he'd like to make them clean the pigsty. Why should he trust me?'
'Because you deserve trust,' said Ramachni. 'Lies and false faces grow dull over time, no matter how they are painted. But truth, goodness, a loving heart-these things only shine brighter as the darkness around them spreads. Give him a chance to trust you. He still has one good eye.'
'I will speak to him,' said Felthrup.
'No, Felthrup,' said Thasha. 'Most humans still don't want to believe in woken animals. I'm not sure I did until I heard you speak. Fiffengurt might just think he's losing his mind.'
'I will speak to him,' said the rat again, firmly. 'He will remember my paw. But it may be long ere I catch him alone-Rose keeps him busier than any man aboard.'
'The three of us, Neeps and Fiffengurt, and Lady Diadrelu-if we can find her,' said Ramachni. 'Six, against a whole shipful of murderers and rogues! Well, we must do what we can. For my part, I shall look for the ixchel.'
'Be careful, Master!' said Felthrup. 'They are dangerous, and silent as smoke. Turn yourself into something they will not fear-a moth, a little spider-before you enter their domain of Night Village.'
'I cannot do that,' said Ramachni.
They turned to him in surprise. Ramachni shook his head. 'Indeed I can do no magic at all just now, save the small continuing spell I use to conceal what we say in these rooms. My world lies far beyond the sun and moon of Alifros. I brought power with me, but most I gave to Pazel in the form of Master-Words, and the rest went in lifting Felthrup from the sea.'
'Do you mean you can't do magic until you return to your world?' said Thasha, aghast.
'None,' said Ramachni, shaking his head. 'Which is why I must retreat to it for a little while now. Alas, I fear you will need me again before I have half recovered. But if I am to fight at your side at all I must go, and regain what strength I can.'
'When will that fight be?' asked Thasha.
'Soon,' said Ramachni. 'You must work quickly. And now listen well, Thasha: normally when I leave this world I cast a holding spell upon your clock. It has one purpose: to recognize me when I return, be it in one day or ten years, and to open the clock at that moment. Tonight I must depart without casting even that simple spell. Without it I shall be powerless to open the clock from within. Therefore you must open it for me. I believe you know how?'
'Of course,' said Thasha. 'I've watched Hercуl do it a dozen times.'
Ramachni nodded. 'Wait as long as you dare. And one last request, Thasha my champion: keep thinking about trust. We are in a nest of vipers-but even a viper may wake.'
Thasha looked deep into his black eyes. Then she nodded and turned to Felthrup.
'Well, rat,' she said, 'you and I have a conspiracy to build.'
The Mad King
N. R. Rose, Captain
27 Modoli 941
The Honorable Captain Theimat Rose
Northbeck Abbey, Mereldin Isle, South Quezans
Dear Sir,
My thanks, dearest Father, for the gift of your counsel. You know I hold your wisdom above all others in matters of the sea. I shall take us south by the route you indicate. Your orders shall be my own.
We are now three days from Ormael City, where I shall post this letter. After that we leave Imperial waters, and I dare say this vessel will never see them again. Once His Nastiness 1*
is delivered and the treasure discharged, and the hornet's nest is slapped and rattled into rage, my orders are to reverse course, and return to Etherhorde across the Ruling Sea-or if we are prevented, to start a fire in Chathrand's hold, just beneath the powder room, and abandon ship. That will destroy all evidence of the ship's presence in enemy waters. It will also leave us just ten minutes ere she blows like a Fifthmoon fireball.
Of course we will not be able to return the way we came, for by that season the Nelluroq Vortex will have spread its jaws, and not even Chathrand has a prayer against that ruinous whirlpool. Nor can we sail home by the regular, crowded trade route: that would be the same as shouting what the Empire has done from every street corner in Alifros. So frightened of this possibility is old Magad that he has promised to sink Chathrand, and crucify any survivors, if we dare return by the northern route. No, we must destroy her when the job is done-a waste of this masterpiece of a ship, and some sailors, too.
The Emperor did well in choosing Sandor Ott. He is ugly and does not properly chew his food, but as a spymaster he is without equal. One of his under-assassins botched the murder of Hercуl, a servant who might have known Ott by sight and revealed his true identity. When Ott found that his man had failed he took him to an empty courtyard in Uturphe and killed him with a single blow. Of course, that was his right. The lad's mistake means Hercуl was never killed, for by then nosy Fiffengurt had decided to accompany him to the hospital. So Ott found another way: he paid the hospital's corrupt nurses to whisk Hercуl away through the back door and off to the city poorhouse, where he will lie in filth, and surely die as his wound turns gangrenous.
Ott has solved another tricky problem for me: Eberzam Isiq. The Emperor thought him perfect: a war hero and an old fool. But he has not proved quite stupid enough. He is a true mariner and would never challenge a serving captain, but I saw him questioning the gunner and the midshipman. Later I sent for them and made them repeat his questions. To the gunner Isiq had said that the old cannon looked very clean and usable, and were they really just for show? And he asked the other why I had plotted such a long course to Uturphe.
Of course, the midshipman did not know it was because I wished Hercуl to die. Such questions lead to trouble, however, and I told Ott as much. 'Leave him to me,' replied the spymaster. The next day Isiq's headaches were back, and he has not left his cabin since. Headaches are perfect: they do not threaten Isiq's life, but they turn him into the helpless doll we need.
There are other dangers. Fiffengurt is not one of us, and must be dealt with sooner or later. And certain passengers are nosy (Isiq's daughter, and that fancy savage Bolutu), or merely unsettled, as if noticing some dangerous smell. Do they detect the ghosts that clutter Chathrand? I do not think so. One tarboy seemed to possess the gift of hearing spirits, but he insulted Isiq and was tossed ashore. Now I wish I had contrived to keep him. The spirits flit ever about me, pecking at my arms like gulls. If the boy were here they might flock to him instead and let me rest.
But from this day forward the greatest danger is His Nastiness. What a creature, sir! He has scars on his face as if mauled by a jungle cat. He is ancient, but muscled like Drellarek the Throatcutter, and his voice belongs to a
