The Ruby Knight

than Lake Venne. The troops coming down from the north were mostly Thalesians. Even before the Thalesian army landed, however, an advance party of them rode south past Lake Venne.
    ‘“Otha, as we all know, had sent out skirmishers and patrols well in advance of his main force. It was one of those patrols that intercepted the party of Thalesians mentioned above at a place called Giant’s Mound.”’
    ‘Was the place named before or after the battle?’ Ulath asked.
    ‘It almost had to have been after,’ the count replied. ‘Pelosians don’t erect burial mounds. That’s a Thalesian custom, isn’t it?’
    ‘Right, and the word “giant” describes Sarak rather well, wouldn’t you say?’
    ‘Exactly my thought. There’s more, though.’ The count continued to read. ‘“The engagement between the Thalesians and the Zemochs was short and very savage. The Zemochs vastly outnumbered the small band of northern warriors and soon swarmed them under. Among the last to fall was the leader, a man of enormous proportions. One of his retainers, though sorely wounded, took something from his fallen leader’s body and fled west towards the lake with it. There is no clear account of what it was that he took or what he did with it. The Zemochs pursued the retainer hotly, and he died of his wounds on the shore of the lake. However, a column of Alcione Knights, men who had been returned to their Mother-house in Deira to recuperate from wounds received in the campaign in Rendor, happened by on their way to Lake Randera and exterminated the Zemoch patrol to the last man. They buried the faithful retainer and rode on, by purest chance missing the site of the original engagement.
    ‘“As it happened, a sizeable force of Thalesians had been following the first party by no more than a day. When the local peasants informed them of what had transpired, they buried their countrymen and erected the mound over their graves. This second Thalesian force never reached Lake Randera, since they were ambushed two days later, and all were slain.”’
    ‘And that explains why no one ever knew what had happened to Sarak,’ Ulath said. ‘There was no one left alive to tell anybody about it.’
    ‘This retainer,’ Bevier mused, ‘might it have been the king’s crown he took?’
    ‘It’s possible,’ Ulath conceded. ‘More likely, though, it would have been his sword. Thalesians put great value on royal swords.’
    ‘It won’t be hard to find out,’ Sparhawk said. ‘We’ll go to Giant’s Mound and Tynian can raise Sarak’s ghost. He’ll be able to tell us what happened to his sword – and his crown.’
    ‘Here’s something odd,’ the count said. ‘I remember that I almost didn’t write it down because it happened after the battle. The serfs have been seeing a monstrously deformed shape in the marshes around Lake Venne for centuries now.’
    ‘Some swamp creature?’ Bevier suggested. ‘A bear perhaps?’
    ‘I think that serfs would recognize a bear,’ the count said.
    ‘Maybe a moose,’ Ulath said. ‘The first time I ever saw a moose, I couldn’t believe anything could get that big, and a moose hasn’t got the prettiest face in the world.’
    ‘I remember that the serfs said that the thing walks on its hind legs.’
    ‘Could it possibly be a Troll?’ Sparhawk asked. ‘That one who was roaring outside our camp by the lake?’
    ‘Did the serfs describe it as shaggy and very tall?’ Ulath asked.
    ‘It’s shaggy, right enough, but they say it’s squat, and its limbs are all twisted.’
    Ulath frowned. ‘That doesn’t sound like any Troll I’ve ever heard about – except maybe -’ His eyes suddenly went wide. ‘Ghwerig!’ he shouted, snapping his fingers. ‘It has to be Ghwerig. That nails it down, Sparhawk. Ghwerig’s looking for Bhelliom, and he knows right where to look.’
    ‘I think we’d better go back to Lake Venne,’ Sparhawk said, ‘and just as fast as we can. I don’t want Ghwerig to find Bhelliom before I do. I definitely don’t want to have to wrestle him for it.’

Chapter 17

    ‘I am eternally in your debt, my friends,’ Ghasek said to them in the castle courtyard the next morning as they were preparing to leave.
    ‘And we are in yours as well, My Lord,’ Sparhawk assured him. ‘Without your aid, we’d have had no chance of finding what we seek.’
    ‘God speed then, Sir Sparhawk,’ Ghasek said, shaking the big Pandion’s hand warmly.
    Sparhawk led the way out of