Royal Assassin

But after the savage raiding that preceded Forge, and the atrocities at Forge, all friendly talk of the Outislands ceased. Their ships had always been more wont to visit our shores than our traders to seek out their ice plagued harbors and swift-tided channels. Now trade ceased entirely. Thus our folk knew nothing of their Outisland kin during the days when we suffered the Red-Ships. 'Outislander' became synonymous with 'Raider', and in our minds, all Outisland vessels had red hulls.

But one, Chade Fallstar, a personal adviser to King Shrewd, took it upon himself to travel to the Outislands in those perilous days. From his journals we have this:

Kebal Rawbread was not even a name known in the Six Duchies. It was a name not breathed in the Outislands. The independent folk of the scattered and isolated villages of the Outislands had never owed allegiance to any one King. Nor was Kebal Rawbread thought of as a King there. Rather he was a malevolent force, like a freezing wind that so coats a ship's rigging with ice that in a hour she turns belly-up on the sea.

The few folk I encountered that did not fear to talk said Kebal had founded his power by subduing the individual pirates and raiding ships to his control. With those in hand, he turned his efforts to 'recruiting' the best navigators, the most capable captains, and the most skillful fighters the scattered villages had to offer. Those who refused his offers saw their families escralled, or Forged, as we have come to call it. Then they were left alive to cope with the shattered remnants of their lives. Most were forced to put family members to death with their own hands; Outislander customs are strict regarding a householder's duty to maintain order amongst family members. As word of these incidents spread, fewer resisted the offers of Kebal Rawbread. Some few fled: their extended families still paid the price of escral. Others chose suicide, but again, the families were not spared. Such examples left few daring to defy Rawbread or his ships.

Even to speak against him invited escral. Sparse as was the knowledge I gained on this visit, it was gained with great difficulty. Rumors I gathered as well, though they were as sparse as black lambs in a white flock. I list them here. A 'white ship' is spoken of, a ship that comes to separate souls. Not to take them, or destroy them: to separate them. They whisper, too, of a pale woman whom even Kebal Rawbread fears and reveres. Many related the torments of their land to the unprecedented advances of the 'ice whales' or glaciers. Always present in the upper reaches of their narrow valleys, they now advanced more swiftly than in the memory of any living man. They were rapidly covering what little arable soil the Outislands possessed and, in a way no one could or would explain to me, bringing a 'change of water'.

I went to see the King that evening. It was not without trepidation on my part. He would not have forgotten our last talk about Celerity, any more than I had. I reminded myself firmly that this visit was not for my personal reasons but for Kettricken and Verity. Then I knocked and Wallace grudgingly admitted me. The King was sitting up in his chair by the hearth. The Fool was at his feet, staring pensively into the fire. King Shrewd looked up as I entered. I presented myself and he greeted me warmly, then bade me be seated and tell him how my day had gone. At this, I shot the Fool a brief puzzled glance. He returned me a bitter smile. I took a stool opposite the Fool and waited.

King Shrewd looked down on me benignly. 'Well, lad? Did you have a good day? Tell me about it.'

'I have had a… worrisome day, my king.'

'Have you, now? Well, have a cup of tea. It does wonders to soothe the nerves. Fool, pour my boy a cup of tea.'

'Willingly, my king. I do so at your command even more willingly than I do it for yourself.' With a surprising alacrity, the Fool leaped to his feet. There was a fat clay pot of tea warming in the embers at the edges of the fire. From this the Fool poured me a mug and then handed it to me, with the wish, 'Drink as deeply as our king does, and you shall share his serenity.'

I took the mug from his hand and lifted it to my lips. I inhaled the vapors, then let the liquid lap lightly against my tongue. It smelled warm and spicy, and tingled pleasantly against my tongue. I did not drink, but lowered the cup with a smile. 'A pleasant brew, but is not merrybud addictive?' I asked the King directly.

He smiled down on me. 'Not in such a small quantity. Wallace has assured me it is good for my nerves, and for my appetite as well.'

'Yes, it does wonders for the appetite,' the Fool chimed in. 'For the more you have, the more you shall want. Drink yours quickly, Fitz, for no doubt you will have company soon. The more you drink, the less you shall have to share.' With a gesture like a petal unfurling, the Fool waved toward the door at the precise instant that it opened to admit Regal.

'Ah, more visitors.' King Shrewd chuckled pleasantly. 'This shall be a merry evening indeed. Sit down, my boy, sit down. The Fitz was just telling us he'd had a vexatious day. So I offered him a mug of my tea to soothe him.'

'No doubt it will do him well,' Regal agreed pleasantly. He turned his smile on me. 'A vexatious day, Fitz?'

'A troubling one. First, there was the small matter down at the stables. One of Duke Ram's men was down there, claiming that the Duke had purchased four horses. One of them Cliff, the stud horse we use for the cart mares. I persuaded him there must be some mistake, for the papers were not signed by the King.'

'Oh, those!' The King chuckled again. 'Regal had to bring them back to me; I'd forgotten to sign them at all. But it is all taken care of now, and I am sure the horses will be on their way to Tilth by the morrow. Good horses, too, Duke Ram will find them. He made a wise bargain.'

'I had never thought to see us sell our best stock away from Buckkeep.' I spoke quietly, looking to Regal.

'And neither did I. But with the treasury as depleted as it is, we have had to take hard measures.' He regarded me coolly a moment. 'Sheep and cattle are to be sold as well. We have not the grain to winter them over anyway. Better to sell them now than to see them starve this winter.'

I was outraged. 'Why have not we heard of these shortages before? I have heard nothing of a failed harvest. Times are hard, it is true, but—'

'You have heard nothing because you have not been listening. While you and my brother have immersed yourselves in the glories of war, I have been dealing with the purse to pay for it. And it is well nigh empty. Tomorrow, I will have to tell the men working on the new ships that they must either labor for the love of it or leave off their work. There is no longer coin to pay them, nor to buy the materials that would be needed to finish the ships.' He finished his speech and leaned back, considering me.

Within me, Verity roiled. I looked to King Shrewd. 'This is true, my king?' I asked.

King Shrewd started. He looked over at me and blinked his eyes a few times. 'I did sign those papers, did I not?' He seemed puzzled, and I think his mind had gone back to a previous conversation. He had not followed our talk at all. At his feet, the Fool was strangely silent. 'I thought I had signed the papers. Well, bring them to me now, then. Let us get this done, and then get on with a pleasant evening.'

'What is to be done about the situation in Bearns? Is it true that the Raiders have taken parts of the Near Islands?'

'The situation in Bearns,' he said. He paused, considering. He took another sip of his tea.

'Nothing can be done about the situation in Bearns,' Regal said sadly. Smoothly he added, 'It is time Bearns took care of Bearns's troubles. We cannot beggar all Six Duchies to protect a barren stretch of coastline. So the Raiders have helped themselves to a few frozen rocks. I wish them joy of them. We have folk of our own to care for, villages of our own to rebuild.'

I waited in vain for Shrewd to rouse, to say something in defense of Bearns. When he was silent, I asked quietly, 'The town of Ferry is scarcely a frozen rock. At least, it wasn't until the Red-Ships called. And when did Bearns cease to be part of the Six Duchies?' I looked to Shrewd, tried to make him meet my eyes. 'My king, I beg you, order Serene to come. Have her Skill to Verity, that you may counsel together about this.'

Regal grew suddenly weary of our cat and mouse. 'When did the dog boy come to be so concerned with politics?' he asked me savagely. 'Why cannot you understand that the King can make decisions without the permission of the King-in-Waiting? Do you quiz your king on his decisions, Fitz? Have you so far forgotten your place? I knew Verity had made something of a pet of you, and perhaps your adventures with your ax have given you large ideas of yourself. But Prince Verity has seen fit to go gallivanting off after a chimera, and I am left to keep the Six Duchies rattling along as best I may.'