The Ruby Knight

I’ll keep an eye on things. Oh, by the way, it’s going to rain tomorrow.’
    But it was not raining the following morning, though murky clouds obscured the sky. About mid-afternoon, Sparhawk reined Faran in.
    ‘What’s the trouble?’ Kurik asked him.
    ‘There’s a village down there in that little valley.’
    ‘What could they possibly be doing out here in these woods? You can’t farm with all these trees in the way.’
    ‘We could ask them, I suppose. I want to talk with them anyway. They’re closer to Ghasek than the people back in Venne were, and I’d like to get a little more up-to-date information. There’s no point in riding into something blind if you don’t have to. Kalten,’ he called.
    ‘Now what?’ Kalten demanded.
    ‘Take the others and keep on going. Kurik and I are going down to that village to ask a few questions. We’ll catch up with you.’
    ‘All right.’ Kalten’s tone was abrupt and slightly surly.
    ‘What’s the matter?’
    ‘These woods depress me.’
    ‘They’re only trees, Kalten.’
    ‘I know, but do there have to be so many of them?’
    ‘Keep your eyes open. That Seeker’s out there someplace.’
    Kalten’s eyes brightened. He drew his sword and tested its edge with his thumb.
    ‘What have you got in mind?’ Sparhawk asked him.
    ‘This might just be the chance we’ve been waiting for to get that thing off our backs once and for all. Otha’s bug is very skinny. One good stroke should cut it in two. I think I’ll just hang back a little bit and set up an ambush of my own.’
    Sparhawk thought very quickly at that point. ‘Nice plan,’ he seemed to agree, ‘but somebody has to lead the others to safety.’
    ‘Tynian can do that.’
    ‘Maybe, but do you feel like trusting Sephrenia’s well-being to somebody we’ve only known for six months and who’s still recovering from an injury?’
    Kalten called his friend a number of obscene names.
    ‘Duty, my friend,’ Sparhawk said calmly. ‘Duty. Its stern call pulls us away from various entertainments. Just do as I asked you to do, Kalten. We’ll take care of the Seeker later.’
    Kalten continued to swear. Then he wheeled his horse and rode off to join the others.
    ‘You were right on the edge of a fight there,’ Kurik commented.
    ‘I noticed that.’
    ‘Kalten’s a good man in a fight, but he’s a hot-head sometimes.’
    Then the two of them turned their horses and rode on down the hill towards the village.
    The houses were made of logs, and they had sod roofs. The villagers had made some effort to clear the trees surrounding their community, creating stump-dotted fields extending perhaps a hundred paces back from their houses.
    ‘They’ve cleared the land,’ Kurik observed, ‘but about all I see are kitchen gardens. I still wonder what they’re doing out here.’
    That question was answered as soon as they rode into the place. A number of villagers were laboriously sawing boards from logs lying atop crude trestles. Stacks of warped green lumber beside the houses explained the purpose of the village.
    One of the men stopped sawing, mopping at his brow with a dirty rag. ‘There’s no inn here,’ he said to Sparhawk in an unfriendly tone.
    ‘We’re not really looking for an inn, neighbour,’ Sparhawk said, ‘just some information. How much further is it to the house of Count Ghasek?’
    The villager’s face went slightly pale. ‘Not far enough away to suit me, My Lord,’ he replied, eyeing the big man in black armour nervously.
    ‘What’s the trouble, friend?’ Kurik asked him.
    ‘No sensible man goes near Ghasek,’ the villager replied. ‘Most people don’t even want to talk about it.’
    ‘We heard some of the same sort of thing back in Venne,’ Sparhawk said. ‘What’s going on at the count’s house anyway?’
    ‘I couldn’t really say, My Lord,’ the man said evasively. ‘I’ve never been there. I’ve heard some stories, though.’
    ‘Oh?’
    ‘People have been disappearing around there. They’re never seen again, so nobody really knows for sure what happened to them. The count’s serfs have been running away, though, and he’s not reputed to be a hard master. Something evil is going on in his house, and all the people who live nearby are terrified.’
    ‘Do you think the count’s responsible?’
    ‘It’s not very likely. The count’s been away from home for the past year. He travels around a lot.’
    ‘We heard that about him.’ Sparhawk thought