Sorceress of Darshiva

very thin Melcene in the brown robe of a bureaucrat. "He was hiding in a cellar," Silk reported.
    The bureaucrat was trembling visibly, and his eyes were wild.
    "What's your name?" Belgarath asked him.
    The Melcene stared at the old man as if he didn't understand.
    "I think he's had a bad time lately," Silk said. "We weren't able to get a word out of him."
    "Can you give him something to calm his nerves?" Belgarath asked Sadi.
    "I was just about to suggest that myself, Ancient One." Sadi went to his red leather case and took out a small glass vial filled with amber liquid. He took a tin cup from the table and poured some water into it. Then he carefully measured a few drops of the amber liquid into the water and swirled it around. "Why don't you drink this?" he said, handing the trembling Melcene the cup.
    The fellow seized the cup gratefully and drained it in several noisy gulps.
    "Give it a few moments to take effect," Sadi said quietly to Belgarath.
    They watched the terrified man until his trembling subsided. "Are you feeling any better now, friend?" Sadi asked him.
    "Y-yes," the thin fellow replied. He drew in a long shuddering breath. "Thank you," he said. "Have you any food? I'm very hungry."
    Polgara gave him some bread and cheese. "This should tide you over until breakfast," she said.
    "Thank you, Lady." He hungrily took the food and began to wolf it down.
    "You look as if you've been through quite a lot lately," Silk said.
    "And none of it pleasant," the bureaucrat told him.
    "What did you say your name was?"
    "Nabros. I'm with the Bureau of Roads."
    "How long have you been in Peldane?"
    "It seems like forever, but I suppose it's only been twenty years or so."
    "What's going on here?" The rat-faced man gestured around at the shattered houses.
    "Absolute chaos," Nabros replied. "Things have been in an upheaval for several years now, but last month Zandramas annexed Peldane."
    "How did she do that? I'd heard that she was somewhere in the western part of the continent."
    "So had I. Maybe she just got word back to her generals. Nobody's seen her for several years now."
    "You seem to be fairly well informed, Nabros," Silk suggested.
    Nabros shrugged. "It goes with being a member of the bureaucracy." He smiled a bit wanly. "Sometimes I think we spend more time gossiping than we do working."
    "What have you heard about Zandramas lately?" Belgarath asked.
    "Well," the fellow replied, rubbing at his unshaven cheek, "just before I fled the bureau offices in Selda, a friend of mine from the Bureau of Commerce came by. He said that there's supposed to be a coronation of some kind in Hemil—that's the capital of Darshiva, you know. My friend told me that they're going to crown some archduke from Melcena as Emperor of Mallorea."
    "Mallorea's already got an emperor," Velvet objected.
    "I think that may be part of the idea. My friend from Commerce is a fairly shrewd fellow, and he was speculating a bit after he told me what they were planning. Kal Zakath's been in Cthol Murgos for years now, but he recently returned to Mal Zeth. Most of his army is still in the west, however, so he can't put great masses of troops in the field. My friends seemed to think that Zandramas ordered this coronation in order to infuriate the Emperor to the point that he'll do something rash. It's my guess that she hopes to lure him out of Mal Zeth so her forces can fall on him. If she succeeds in killing him, this archduke from Melcena will actually be the emperor."
    "What's the point of that?" Silk asked him.
    "You've heard of Urvon, haven't you?"
    "The Disciple?"
    "That's the one. He's been sitting for centuries in Mal Yaska, but what's been going on in this part of the world has finally lured him out. It's because of Zandramas, you see. She's a direct challenge to him. Anyway, he marched across Karanda gathering up an enormous army. The Karands even believe he has demons aiding him. That's nonsense, of course, but Karands will believe anything. That's why Zandramas—or her people—have to get control of the imperial throne. She needs to bring the Mallorean army back from Cthol Murgos to match Urvon's forces. Otherwise, he'll destroy everything she's worked for." The suddenly talkative bureaucrat sighed deeply, and his head began to nod.
    "I think he'll sleep now," Sadi murmured to Belgarath.
    "That's all right," the old man replied. "I've got what I need."
    "Not quite yet," Polgara said crisply from her cook-fire. "There are some things