Magician's Gambit

be a map of the region we must enter somewhere nearby, Holy Gorim?" he asked politely.
    The Gorim thought for a moment. "I believe I have one somewhere," he replied. He tapped his cup lightly on the table and an Ulgo servingman immediately entered the chamber. The Gorim spoke briefly to him, and the servingman went out. "The map I recall is very old," the Gorim told Mandorallen, "and I'm afraid it won't be very accurate. Our cartographers have difficulty comprehending the distances involved in the world above."
    "The distances do not matter so much," Mandorallen assured him. "I wish but to refresh my memory concerning the contiguity of certain other realms upon the borders of Cthol Murgos. I was at best an indifferent student of geography as a schoolboy."
    The servingman returned and handed a large roll of parchment to the Gorim. The Gorim in turn passed the roll to Mandorallen.
    The knight carefully unrolled the chart and studied it for a moment. "It is as I recalled," he said. He turned to Belgarath. "Thou hast said, ancient friend, that no Murgo will enter the Vale of Aldur?"
    "That's right," Belgarath replied.
    Mandorallen pointed at the map. "The closest border from Rak Cthol is that which abuts Tolnedra," he showed them. "Logic would seem to dictate that our route of escape should lie in that direction - toward the nearest frontier."
    "All right," Belgarath conceded.
    "Let us then seem to make all haste toward Tolnedra, leaving behind us abundant evidence of our passage. Then, at some point where rocky ground would conceal signs of our change of direction, let us turn and strike out to the northwest toward the Vale. Might this not confound them? May we not confidently anticipate that they will continue to pursue our imagined course? In time, certainly, they will realize their error, but by then we will be many leagues ahead of them. Pursuing far to our rear, might not the further discouragement of the prohibited Vale cause them to abandon the chase entirely?"
    They all looked at the map.
    "I like it," Barak said, effusively slapping one huge hand on the knight's shoulder.
    Mandorallen winced and put his hand to his injured ribs.
    "Sorry, Mandorallen," Barak apologized quickly. "I forgot."
    Silk was studying the map intently. "It's got a lot to recommend it, Belgarath," he urged, "and if we angle up to hers" He pointed. "-we'll come out on top of the eastern escarpment. We should have plenty of time to make the descent, but they'll definitely want to think twice before trying it. It's a good mile straight down at that point."
    "We could send word to Cho-Hag," Hettar suggested. "If a few clans just happened to be gathered at the foot of the escarpment there, the Murgos would think more than twice before starting down."
    Belgarath scratched at his beard. "All right," he decided after a moment, "we'll try it that way. As soon as Relg leads us out of Ulgo, you go pay your father a visit, Hettar. Tell him what we're going to do and invite him to bring a few thousand warriors down to the Vale to meet us."
    The lean Algar nodded, his black scalp lock bobbing. His face, however, showed a certain disappointment.
    "Forget it, Hettar," the old man told him bluntly. "I never had any intention of taking you into Cthol Murgos. There'd be too many opportunities there for you to get yourself in trouble."
    Hettar sighed somewhat mournfully.
    "Don't take it so hard, Hettar," Silk bantered. "Murgos are a fanatic race. You can be practically certain that a few of them at least will try the descent - no matter what's waiting for them at the bottom. You'd almost have to make an example of them, wouldn't you?"
    Hettar's face brightened at that thought.
    "Silk," Lady Polgara said reprovingly.
    The little man turned an innocent face to her. "We have to discourage pursuit, Polgara," he protested.
    "Of course," she replied sarcastically.
    "It wouldn't do to have Murgos infesting the Vale, would it?"
    "Do you mind?"
    "I'm not really all that bloodthirsty, you know."
    She turned her back on him.
    Silk sighed piously. "She always thinks the worst of me."
    By now Ce'Nedra had had sufficient time to consider the implications of the promise she had so unhesitatingly given to UL. The others would soon leave, and she must remain behind. Already she was beginning to feel isolated, cut off from them, as they made plans which did not include her. The more she thought about it, the worse it became. She felt her lower lip beginning to quiver.
    The