Princess Anita took a moment to greet both young men, who bowed; and Jazhara, who curtseyed despite wearing trousers instead of a skirt. Its good to see you again, boys, and you as well, Jazhara. She squeezed the young womans hands. You must find time to visit us so that we can get to know each other better.
Suddenly a yelp of anger and a wailing cry announced that the boys were getting into one of their usual scuffles. Both Arutha and Anita hurried to take care of the baby and herd the boys into the next room.
Jazhara looked at James and saw an almost rapt expression on his face. She smiled.
William said, Nothing like my family back in Stardock, is it?
Jazhara shook her head. Nothing like mine either.
James chuckled. This is the only family Ive ever known. If I ever do wed, Im going to try to be as much like them as I can.
Arutha returned, closing the door behind him. With a rueful smile, he said, I wonder sometimes how my father coped with my brother and me when we were young.
James grinned. I believe Ive heard parenthood described as natures revenge, Highness.
Arutha laughed briefly, then nodded. Well put. He motioned for them to follow him through another door into his personal study. He sat down behind his desk. Very well, where do we start?
Without hesitation, James answered, Kesh. Specifically, Durbin. We dont actually start there, but Im certain thats where well end up.
Elucidate.
William and Jazhara both looked on with interest: they had arrived at a similar conclusion, having discussed it over a shared meal to break their fast before coming to this meeting.
At every turn we find Keshians involved, Highness, answered James. Ive used every contact I have here in Krondor, inside the Mockers and outside, and Ive ruled out an attempted takeover both from within the Guild of Thievesthe Upright Man is too smart and has too many loyal thugs at his disposalor from without. The independent gangs still pay tribute to the Mockers and conduct only the business their small franchises permit.
Whats more, he continued, the Mockers have reached along the coast of the principality up to Sarth and out along the south coast to Lands End. Mostly smuggling He smiled for a moment and the prince returned the smile. When he and James had first met, with Arutha fleeing Guy du Bas-Tyras secret police, he had been sheltered by the Mockers and a band of smugglers under the control of a man named Trevor Hull. One unintended consequence of those events had been the eventual wedding of Arutha and his princess, Anita, but the other had been the development of an apparently successful partnership between the Mockers and smugglers that had gone on for years.
There are moments, said Arutha, when I think making Krondor a tariff-free port would save the Crown more cost than we make arresting smugglers.
But where would be the fun in that? asked James.
With a wave of his hand Arutha indicated James should get back to the point.
James continued, We can rule out any sort of encroachment from the eastthere is no criminal group of note between here and Salador. There are plenty of criminals between here and there, but they are not organized.
So that leaves Kesh, said Arutha.
Absolutely. Its possible some group from Queg or the Free Cities might be working for this Crawler, but as weve not found a single Quegan or Free City man so far among the Crawlers crew, logic dictates its Kesh. And if its Kesh, that means Durbin.
Well, thats the most likely place to start, said Arutha.
Not quite yet, Highness. We cant merely take ship to Durbin and wander off the docks asking where we can find the Crawler. We need a convincing story to cover our arrival.
What did you have in mind? asked the prince, his expression revealing anticipation for one of Jamess more entertaining plans.
CHAPTER THREE
Recruitment
MEN SHOUTED.
As the ship came into dock heavy bags of stuffed canvas on ropes, called fenders, were dropped alongside, preventing damaging contact. Still a solid thump and a groan of wood accompanied the last motion of the ship as the dock staff tied her off and the crew prepared to roll out the gangway.
James scampered down the ratlines from the mainmast, then nimbly leapt off the railing to land between two dock workers, startled by this unusual manner for a sailor to depart his ship. He ran to where the gangway was being secured and made a show of lashing down some random rope around a stanchion, then with two steps he was off into the crowd on the pier.
Sir James, newly minted Knight of the Princes Court in Krondor, had been left behind on the docks of that city. Dodging through the press of sailors, dockhands, prostitutes, thieves, and other assorted miscreants, was one Jimmy the Hand, master thief.
He worked his way through the crowd, watching faces. He moved with purpose as if on his way to a specific destination, but his eyes were constantly seeking out clues as to where he might begin his search. He reached the far end of the docks, where the quay ended and a cluster of hovels occupied the shoreline for several hundred yards, turned and saw a stall where a bored-looking garment-dealer stood.
James knew from his demeanour and position that he was a seller either newly come to the docks or someone who had run foul of whoever allocated locations for merchantsprobably a corrupt official in the Governor of Durbins courtfor the only worse location James could imagine would be outside the gates of the city. The man tried not to appear too anxious as James approached, reaching for his belt pouch.
I travel the sands tomorrow, said James.
If the merchant was puzzled by one who was obviously a sailor needing caravan garb, he said nothing, but rather broke into a rattling discourse on the high quality of his wares. James ignored him, nodding absently as if listening, but looking for just the right gear to blend into the city. He pulled out a pair of chalwar, those loose-fitting, dark-indigo trousers favoured by the desert travellers. These were of good cloth and the merchant said, Ah, you have an eye for quality! These are the finest
James just continued to nod. He spoke passable Keshian, having dealt with them in Krondor over the years, but his accent clearly placed him as a Kingdom man, so he kept his comments down to grunts and occasional words. Finally he had selected a dark tunic, a matching turban, and a haik, a large cloth worn around the body, which was useful in many ways when travelling the desert. In the heat of the day it could be converted to a makeshift tent simply by raising it over the head with a riding crop or some other stick, or even on the hilt of a sword. It was also a blanket when needed, and could save ones life in a sandstorm.
James made a show of haggling, for not to do so would attract attention, and when all was done, he quickly changed his outfit and went back the way he came. He carefully changed his walk from the rolling gait of a sailor to an almost pigeon-toed wide stance, raising his knees like a man used to walking through deep sand. More than one spy had died because the way he moved gave him away. As he followed his previous course in reverse, he saw that the three men he had marked in his first passage were still in place: a barrel-maker who had made no progress on his keg since James had seen him last, an apparently shiftless dockhand who wasnt seeking work or trying to stay out of the mid-morning heat but sat in the sun carefully watching all who walked by, and at the last a prostitute who avoided finding clients.