Shadowgod by Michael Cobley Read Free Book Online Page B

to a further meeting in the next day or two.
    For the third meeting, Bardow had left the palace and crossed the city to Gauntlet Square where senior merchants were gathering at the offices of the Trades Guild. There, the arguments had been labyrinthine, a convoluted tangle of specious precedent, dubious legalities and sheer arrogance which all came down to one basic premise - that the merchants of Besh-Darok be allowed to trade whatever goods they liked with whomever they liked, with no tariffs while paying minimal taxes to the Crown. Bardow had listened to all this with a mounting sense of incredulity and the realisation that even after the fall of the Empire and sixteen years of occupation, these greedy men still did not understand the nature of the evil that threatened them all. The world teetered on the brink of an abyss and they thought only of lining their own pockets.
    Yet the new government of Besh-Darok needed them, their experience and their webs of contacts. With the prospect of further savage conflict looming in the spring, there was a great need for huge amounts of iron and wood for the weapon forgers, horses for the cavalry, stone for fortifications, textiles for military tailors and sail makers - the list was near endless and the treasury’s funds were finite. So, without making any important concessions, Bardow had to appear sympathetic to the Guildsmen while persuading them to sign a few vital contracts. Bardow had brought with him a personal message from Yasgur (who had dealt with them in previous years), a scroll which he had passed to Serjeant Jamek before entering the conclave hall. Later, while preparing to leave with the signed documents, Bardow had mused on the persuasive effects of a seal- and ribbon-adorned letter full of manly exhortations read aloud by a steely-eyed, six foot four, strikingly attired Knight Serjeant.
    Now, as they hurried along the coast road, buffeted by cold gusts coming in from the bay, a bleak mood stole over the Archmage. Only he and a few others - Medwin, Alael and Terzis and some of the mages - truly understood the threat of the Shadowkings. The Crystal Eye certainly made use of the Lesser Power easier, and stronger in some cases, while serving as a sentinel against Wellsource adepts in and around the city (Nerek it seemed to recognise as an ally). But those who worked with it the most found themselves gaining unsettling insights into the darkness surrounding them. With his perceptions of the sorcerous landscape waxing, he became increasingly aware of the Shadowkings themselves and the sheer scale of the powers at their command. Every so often he had felt the dread weight of their gaze across the hundreds of miles like a black, insidious pressure upon his consciousness. For these brief periods, he had a focus for his purpose, a foe to struggle against, a beguilement to deny. At other times, he threw himself into work on the city’s innumerable problems, hoping to evade contemplation’s burden of despair.
    Yet it seemed unavoidable. Even now, with the sound of thundering drums growing as they neared Five Kings Dock, his attuned senses could feel the faint, patient expectation of distant observers. The fine threads of some malefic intrigue were being drawn together this day and even with the Crystal Eye he had been unable to discern its nature.
    Crowds milled around the street level archways that led into Five Kings Dock, but Bardow pointed out a wooden ramp, one of several newly-built ones which led up to the first and second tiers. Snow was swirling about them as they hurried up to the first tier. Pillared walkways ran along the rear and either side of the Dock, part of the original stone yard that was built over five hundred years ago. The massive wooden superstructure with its roof was only added a century ago by Emperor Tavalir IX, who had grown weary of conducting ceremonies in the open air.
    They were part way along the rearward gallery when Bardow spotted someone