King of The Murgos

he'd be working for the King of the Murgos."
    There was a respectful tap at the door.
    "Yes?" Varana said.
    The door opened and Lord Morin, the Imperial Chamberlain, entered. He was an old man now and very thin. His hair had gone completely white and it stood out in wisps. His skin had that waxy transparency one sees in the very old, and he moved slowly. "The Drasnian Ambassador, your Majesty," he announced in a quavering voice. "He says that he has some information of great urgency for you—and for your guests."
    "You'd better show him in then, Morin."
    "There's a young lady with him, your Majesty," Morin added. "A Drasnian noblewoman, I believe."
    "We'll see them both," Varana said.
    "As you wish, your Majesty," Morin replied with a creaky bow.
    When the aged Chamberlain escorted the ambassador and his companion into the room, Garion blinked in surprise. "His Excellency, Prince Khaldon, Ambassador of the Royal Court of Drasnia," Morin announced, "and her Ladyship, the Margravine Liselle, a—uh—" He faltered.
    "Spy, your Excellency," Liselle supplied with aplomb.
    "Is that an official designation, your Ladyship?"
    "It saves a great deal of time, Excellency."
    "My," Morin sighed, "how the world changes. Should I introduce your Ladyship to the Emperor as an official spy?"
    "I think he's gathered that already, Lord Morin," she said, touching his thin hand affectionately.
    Morin bowed and tottered slowly from the room.
    "What a dear old man," she murmured.
    "Well, hello, cousin," Silk said to the ambassador.
    "Cousin," Prince Khaldon replied coolly.
    "Are you two somehow related?" Varana asked.
    "Distantly, your Majesty," Silk told him. "Our mothers were second cousins—or was it third?"
    "Fourth, I think," Khaldon said. He eyed his rat-faced relative. "You're looking a bit seedy, old man," he noted. "The last time I saw you, you were dripping gold and jewels."
    "I'm in disguise, cousin," Silk said blandly. "You're not supposed to be able to recognize me."
    "Ah," Khaldon said. He turned to the Emperor. "Please excuse our banter, your Majesty. Kheldar here and I have loathed each other since childhood."
    Silk grinned. "It was hate at first sight," he agreed. "We absolutely detest each other."
    Khaldon smiled briefly. "When we were children, they used to hide all the knives every time our families visited each other."
    Silk looked curiously at Liselle. "What are you doing in Tol Honeth?" he asked her.
    "It's a secret."
    "Velvet brought several dispatches from Boktor," Khaldon explained, "and certain instructions."
    "Velvet?"
    "Silly, isn't it?" Liselle laughed. "But then, I suppose they could have chosen a worse nickname for me."
    "It's better than some that spring to mind," Silk agreed.
    "Be nice, Kheldar."
    "There was something you thought we ought to know, Prince Khaldon?" Varana asked.
    Khaldon sighed. "It saddens me to report that the courtesan Bethra has been murdered, your Majesty."
    "What? "
    "She was set upon by assassins in a deserted street last night when she was returning from a business engagement. She was left for dead, but she managed to drag herself to our gate, and she was able to pass on some information before she died."
    Silk's face had gone quite white. "Who was responsible for it?" he demanded.
    "We're still working on that, Kheldar," his cousin replied. "We have some suspicions, of course, but nothing concrete enough to take before a magistrate."
    The Emperor's face was bleak, and he rose from the chair in which he had been sitting. "There are some people who will need to know about this," he said grimly. "Would you come with me, Prince Khaldon?"
    "Of course, your Majesty."
    "Please excuse us," Varana said to the rest of them. "This is a matter that needs my immediate attention." He led the Drasnian Ambassador from the room.
    "Did she suffer greatly?" Silk asked the girl known as Velvet in a voice filled with pain.
    "They used knives, Kheldar," she replied simply. "That's never pleasant."
    "I see." His ferret like face hardened. "Could she give you any kind of idea what might have been behind it?"
    "I gather that it had to do with several things. She mentioned the fact that she once informed Emperor Varana of a plot against the life of his son."
    "The Honeths!" Ce'Nedra grated.
    "What makes you say that?" Silk asked quickly.
    "Garion and I were here when she told Varana. It was at the time of my father's funeral. Bethra came secretly to the palace and said that two Honethite nobles—Count