CHAPTER FORTY NINE

Sigmar, his karmikvals and guests ate in a grand marquee which formed part of his headquarters. He ate alone, sitting at a small table raised on a dais below which was the long table where everyone else sat.
Chaldez was placed next to Vanchis; on his other side was a Soan nobleman, introduced to him as Gemle.
Vanchis was very friendly, and Chaldez decided he liked him. The Laifyan was a tall man, with a moustache but no beard, hardly a hair on his head and with grey bushy eyebrows overhanging and almost hiding his small eyes. The lids drooped at the corners which gave him a tired, world-weary look, but Chaldez guessed that he was nothing of the sort. Leaning over towards Chaldez, and speaking very quietly, he named some of the other people at the table. Chaldez looked where he was directed to, but for several moments his attention lingered on the small, red-headed man whom Vanchis identified as Patra, the king-in-exile of Eujinni. The barbarians had defeated his army, Vanchis said, and he had fled with his few surviving noblemen and soldiers to join Sigmar. Chaldez reflected that this was the man who had tried with such determination to bring his adventures to an end, and he looked at him with interest. Vanchis waited until he had got Chaldez's attention again, and then pointed out to him another exiled king, this one being Babra of Kroya. Chaldez remembered him as the ruler defeated by Cregitzig on behalf of Havil. It was rumoured at the time that he and his entourage had sought refuge at Sigmar's court in Felewith, and apparently they had. Chaldez guessed that he was older than his protector. He was a big man, and portly, and there were large bags beneath his eyes. His thinning hair was shoulder-length, and his full beard was flecked with grey. He was gobbling his food and at the same time gabbling away to his neighbours, either unaware or uncaring that he was splattering them with the contents of his ever-full mouth. Chaldez thought him the most vile individual he had seen since Valtrern the Laifyan.
Vanchis said "I see you are very taken by the king of Kroya?"
Chaldez became embarrassed. "We are in very exalted company," he said quickly. "Two kings at the same table? I was wondering how King Babra lost his throne, and why he is here, in a military camp?" It was important that he play up his supposed ignorance; officially he did not even know that Sigmar had occupied the Sairish throne.
Vanchis said "He and the Danbedekkan are related. He sought his protection when his kingdom was invaded."
Chaldez decided now to broach the question of Sigmar himself. "The Danbedekkan has the authority of a ruler. Was he one?" He hoped he sounded perfectly ingenuous.
Vanchis laughed, and clapped him on the shoulder. "You don't know?" he exclaimed.
Chaldez looked perplexed.
"He is King of Sair. A very great king, too. I can say that because I was with him when he came to the throne, and I have remained at his side from that day to this."
"But you are of Laifya . . . " Chaldez objected.
"Yes. Before he was king he rid my country of a tyrant. I have served him ever since."
"You say he is a great king. But has he not been driven, like Babra, into exile?"
Vanchis gave him a sharp, sideways look. "The barbarians are the most formidable people on earth. The Danbedekkan had to retreat or be destroyed."
"I see".

"The Sairish people," Vanchis continued, "were at one time encompassed in a mighty realm ruled by Bedekka the Great . . . "
Chaldez realised then why Sigmar called himself "Danbedekkan." Indeed, the name of the Sairish hero was not unknown to him; Lewvin had told him that the Roe Aada ruby, which he now kept in a leather pouch sewn into his tunic, had come from Bedekka's sword. Chaldez became conscious of its weight and he was reminded of his mission.
" . . . but the kingdom inherited by my Lord Sigmar" (Vanchis had not paused) "was but a small portion of it; poor and insignificant, bullied by its neighbours, rivven by disputes and infested by outlaws. The army he created spread his authority wherever he turned. His dominions exceeded those of Beddekka himself, his influence was felt by every kingdom, and until this last tragedy Sair had never been so safe or prosperous . . . " Vanchis's voice trailed off and for a moment he looked as though he was close to tears.
Quickly Chaldez asked if Sigmar was married, and at once Vanchis seemed to forget Sair's unhappy condition. Sigmar's queen, he said was Kessey, and in answer to Chaldez's next question, he said that she was in Soa where an ally was giving her safe refuge. And then, encouraged by Chaldez, he began to talk again about Sigmar's activities before the Murak invasion.
Every question Chaldez asked masked his real interest; more than anything else he wanted to know how Sigmar had come to the throne, and how his own mother and father had died, but he could see no way of steering Vanchis towards these areas without giving himself away. The closest he got was to ask if Sigmar had not got any brothers and sisters, to which Vanchis replied that he had been an only child. Later, Chaldez would go into a cold sweat at the thought of how close he came to contradicting him.
Before the meal was ended Sigmar left his table on its dais and went into an adjoining tent. Presently his servant returned and spoke to Vanchis. Vanchis turned to Chaldez and said "I am summoned," and left, obviously to join Sigmar. Chaldez had no-one to speak to now. He looked at his other neighbour, the man called Gemle, and thought wryly how surprised he would be if he knew that the commander from the Sei Empire sitting beside him had at one time passed through his homeland an impoverished minstrel.
After an interval, Sigmar's servant returned once again. This time he approached Chaldez. Speaking Laifyan, he said "My lord requests that you attend him."
Chaldez glanced at Dan, who was staring at him, then he got up and followed the servant, his stomach knotted with apprehension.
The adjoining tent was comparatively small, and lit by a single torch. Sigmar was sitting down, Vanchis standing at his side.
Sigmar, speaking Laifyan fluently but incorrectly and with a distinct accent, hoped Chaldez had eaten well. Chaldez thanked him, and Sigmar at once asked him what he knew about the Muraks. Chaldez told him about Feldak's experiences, and Sigmar listened intently.
"Tomorrow you will meet another witness of how the Muraks operate. It is important we all understand the enemy and for that reason I have studied him closely. My informers are everywhere; an army without information is defeated before it begins the battle, do you not agree?"
Up to a point Chaldez did, but spying, as such, he believed to be sly and underhand. "I distrust spies," he said. "My experience is that they are without principles."

Sigmar laughed. "A man who informs for gold is, I agree, not to be trusted. But a man who informs because he has seen his home burned, his wife ravished and carried into slavery and his little children murdered is very different. The Muraks are no ordinary enemy. They are fiends. Your religion speaks of the Realm of Darkness whose lord is Galgaug?"
Chaldez shook his head.
Sigmar looked surprised. "Mine does. The Muraks have erupted from it like puss from a boil. They call their god Histigga, but I tell you, Histigga and Galgaug are one and the same. What they do not know, and have yet to learn, is that my god, the Lord Arwarnhi, is greater and more powerful. I act in His name."
For several moments after this revelation, Chaldez was not aware of what Sigmar was saying, then his voice penetrated the mist. " . . . gold from the kingdom of Kroya."
"Kroya?" Chaldez repeated.
"A tiny kingdom, close to mine, but rich. Its hills are made of iron, gold and silver; the slaves the Muraks take are put to work in the Kroyan mines. The Muraks have swords of finest Kroyan steel, and they subvert realms and kingdoms with Kroyan gold. Kings and princes sell their own peoples into slavery; for gold they lay down their arms, disband their armies. I tell you this so that you will know why I say that Kroya lies at the very heart of the Murak empire. Cut them off from their Kroyan gold and their armies will wither."