Chapter 4
It was dusk the next day when Urgit returned to Rak Urga, riding at the head of his army with Prala on one side and General Talka on the other. The three were deep in conversation and the general's expression was tense, troubled, yet somehow hopeful. Barring the hope in the older man's eyes, the city of Rak Urga was almost a mirror of the general. The guards at the gate and on the walls were tense. Calloused hands held onto spears and swords tightly and grim, scarred faces stared out from the city, eyes darting everywhere as if expecting attack from all sides at any moment. "As you command, My King," Talka said respectfully as their conversation ceased.
"Good man," Urgit replied urbanely. The general smiled slightly and turned his horse back to confer with his officers. Urgit rode ahead a ways with the princess, past shops and homes where his subjects and a few foreigners - mostly Tolnedran merchants but possibly a few Drasnian agents as well - walked the streets, talking in hushed voices. They were nearing the center of the city, the halfway mark between the Drojim Palace and the Temple of Torak on either side of the city, when they were met by a group of armed Murgos on horseback. "Ah, Captain Karsah," Urgit greeted his captain of the guard amiably. "So nice of you to come greet us here."
"You're Majesty," Karsah responded flatly. "Oskatat sent me to escort you back to the palace." His gaze turned to Prala and he nodded politely. "Princess," he greeted her. "I trust you are well?"
"Tolerable, Karsah," she replied distantly. Prala had never held any regard for the man. "I note that you did not inquire as to His Majesty's health," she added, her tone and expression suddenly sharp. "Shouldn't that be high on your list of priorities, Captain?" she asked him. "You are, after all, charged with his safe keeping and good health." The young woman smiled sweetly and Karsah winced. Urgit just raised an eyebrow, staring at the man.
Karsah turned his attention back to Urgit, a condescending expression on his scarred young face; Karsah, at twenty-five, was one of the youngest guard captains in recent history. I know what he's thinking, Urgit said to himself. He's thinking that I need others to fight my battles for me. Well, that belief will change. He held up his hand, forestalling anything his captain might say. "I'm well," Urgit told him. "Well enough, at any rate. Please take me to the palace." A part of him wanted to say "Please take me home" but the Drojim Palace had never really felt like home to him. It was a place full of madness, daggers and the death of his brothers all so that he might survive to someday rule a kingdom he'd grown to despise.
"As you command," Karsah said. Urgit knew that he'd intentionally left off any proper honorific. He shrugged, let his guards surround him and his fiancee, and followed them to the palace. Once inside he and Prala immediately asked as to the whereabouts of the Lady Tamazin and Lord Oskatat. They found the two in one of several large studies in the palace, sipping wine and talking quietly. Urgit put his hand on Prala's shoulder and waited, watching them.
The stiff expression the seneschal wore was softened in Tamazin's presence, as was his mother's normally aloof countenance. "I just worry for him so," Tamazin was saying. "He's been gone for days with Belgarion and his band and we've had no word." She sighed and took a sip of wine. "I should have never let him leave. I certainly should have objected more strenuously to Prala's leaving with him."
"Urgit is a grown man, Tamazin," Oskatat told her firmly. "And he's surrounded by some of the most powerful people in the known world. He's fine and so is the princess." He stood up and looked toward the entrance. "Aren't you, Your Majesty?" he asked. He chuckled. "Still eavesdropping on conversations, I see."
Urgit sighed. "How in Torak's name do you do that?" he asked. Urgit looked at Prala with a smile. "He's always been able to find me when I've been where I shouldn't have been." He walked into the room as Tamazin rose, her hand to her mouth the only sign of her surprise. The elderly woman walked to Urgit with stately grace and put her arms around him. Urgit returned her embrace and felt her trembling against him. Her grip on him became tighter. "I'm fine mother," he whispered in her ear. "I'm back."
Slowly, the Queen Mother released her son and stared into his eyes. "I have missed you, my son," she said. Gently taking his hand she led him into the study. "You will have to tell us about your journey."
Urgit nodded soberly while shaking Oskatat's hand. "In due time mother," he replied. His eyes widened slightly as Oskatat turned the handshake into a brief hug. "Why my Lord Seneschal," the King said lightly. "One would think you actually missed me." He laughed and hugged the old man tightly, slapping him on the back.
"I have, my King," Oskatat replied after breaking free of the hug. The two men stared at each other for a long moment. "In your absence I was forced to see to the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom," he said with a grimace. "Never go off like that again!" They all laughed at that and then Oskatat looked around. "Let's get comfortable so you can tell us about your adventure. Where is Belgarion? Is he well?"
"He is," Urgit said. He looked at Tamazin. "Mother, would it be all right if we used your quarters? The walls have ears, you know." The old woman nodded and they left the room.
It took over an hour for Urgit and Prala to tell their tale. Both Tamazin and Oskatat listened with baited breath as the story unfolded with both Urgit and Prala speaking, sometimes disagreeing with each other about details, sometimes reinforcing details of the story. They went on almost uninterrupted save for near the beginning when Prala mentioned Urgit and Kheldar's night of carousing on board the ship. "Urgit!" Tamazin said disapprovingly. "You never drink like that. What possessed you?"
"Kheldar said he was helping me to get in touch with my Alorn side," Urgit said with a rueful look. "To be honest, I could have done without learning about that particular part of my heritage. My head was killing me, my mouth was thick and I was nauseous the next day." He shrugged slightly. "It was fun while we were doing it, though - I think," he added.
"You should have heard him, my Lady," Prala said brightly. "Kheldar and Urgit regaled Ce'Nedra and I with their singing." She smirked at Urgit. "I believe he invented several new notes," she went on, unknowingly echoing something Ce'Nedra had said years before about Garion. "You really shouldn't drink so much, Your Majesty," she finished with a prim look.
"Do you mind?" Urgit asked acidly. He sighed sadly and looked at the other two in the room. "Spending time with Ce'Nedra, Liselle and Polgara has thoroughly corrupted her," he told them. "I don't think she'll ever be the same sweet, innocent girl we once knew and adored."
"You still adore me Urgit," Prala told him confidently. She tossed her hair and smiled at him, laying her hand gently on his. It seemed to be an innocent gesture, but Urgit could almost feel a cold manacle sliding around his wrist. From the look on his mother's and Oskatat's faces they could see what he felt. However, the slight dread Urgit experienced was in no way seen on their expressions. In fact, the Lady Tamazin looked somewhat pleased and Oskatat was thoroughly amused.
The story ended and then Urgit sat up, looking serious. "There is something I'd like to discuss with the two of you," he said slowly. "And you, my dear," he added with a look at Prala. All three looked at him expectantly. "During our travels Belgarion gave me some advice," he went on. "He told me, fairly bluntly, exactly what I was doing wrong as King. I intend to rectify those mistakes."
They sat for hours talking, eating a small supper there in Tamazin's quarters after Urgit had called in a servant to fetch them food. When they were done Tamazin and Prala looked at Urgit, impressed; Oskatat, too, was impressed, but also dismayed by one portion of Urgit's plan. "They'll be able to hear the screams from here to Melcene," Oskatat predicted as he tried to maintain a positive outlook.
"I know," Urgit said merrily. "Isn't it grand? We have to play this carefully." Urgit's nose began to twitch. "But, there are some things that must be attended to as soon as possible."
Urgit rose the next day and dressed in Western style clothing. His doublet was red, trimmed in blue and his hose were blue. At his side was his sword, its sapphires glowing brightly and its bell tone ringing muted in his ears. He immediately went to the kitchens to eat a quick breakfast, his guards following along behind him. As he was eating Oskatat approached with a sheaf of papers in hand. "What do you have for me today, Oskatat?" he asked.
"The usual, Your Majesty," Oskatat said. "A meeting with the Tolnedran ambassador regarding yet another alteration of the current treaty with the Empire, the Royal Treasurer would like to have a word with you, and Princess Prala has asked if you would like to go riding today."
"Gods," Urgit sighed. He stood up, tossed down his napkin and frowned. "We'll put off the ambassador until later - tomorrow if possible. I'll meet with the treasurer immediately." Urgit gestured to one of his guards to approach. "Please inform Her Highness that I will be at her disposal sometime this afternoon." The guard nodded and walked off.
"Come with me," Urgit commanded his seneschal. He went into the throne room, followed by Oskatat and his guards, pulled on his ponderous robes of state and picked up his crown. Shaking his head, the little man tossed the heavy adornment onto his throne and waited, leaning against the hard chair nonchalantly. Oskatat picked up the crown and quietly handed it to his sovereign. "I'll have a beast of a headache within the hour," the King said accusingly. Sighing, Urgit put the heavy crown on. His mind was moving a mile a minute, revisiting old plans, editing them as necessary, and formulating new ones.
It wasn't long before the Royal Treasure, an arrogant Murgo with very little imagination and too much ambition named Kalef, entered the room. His robes, under which jingled chain mail, swished as the broad shouldered money handler stalked up to the throne. The robes were a necessary part of his job; they made Western diplomats and merchants more comfortable than if Kalef were merely dressed in the usual Murgo chain mail. "I believe we have a problem Your Majesty," he said.
"You believe we have a problem?" Urgit echoed, glancing at Oskatat out of the corner of his eye and smiling slightly. "We're at war with boundless Mallorea. Kal Zakath, Emperor of Mallorea, wants nothing less than our complete eradication from the face of the world. Recently, a Grolim priestess tried to raise a demon in order to supplant her spiritual leader - for which she paid dearly, I might add. The people are tense and scared, the Tolnedran ambassador seems to be interested in taking advantage of the situation again, and I'm being pursued by a sixteen-year-old Princess who most likely wants to ruin her life and mine by marrying me." He raised an eyebrow. "So, what problem have you brought me today, Lord Treasurer?"
Kalef seemed taken aback. Slowly, he walked forward and began to speak. "It is actually Ambassador Valis I wished to talk to you about," the treasurer said. "It has come to my attention that the ambassador and diverse Murgo merchants are trying to upset the timber market. They have bought out several small loggers around the kingdom. That in and of itself is not too worrisome, Your Majesty. The real problem is that these same merchants have systematically been buying up the surrounding mills. They use their new acquisitions to undercut independent loggers and then charge exorbitant prices to those businesses that need the lumber." He paused. "The exception to this extortion is the Tolnedran Empire. Ambassador Valis has seen to it that they have a very lucrative deal with these merchants."
"Take them back," Oskatat suggested. Urgit and Kalef looked at him curiously. "You're the King," the seneschal explained. "Technically everything in Cthol Murgos belongs to you anyway, so take the mills from these merchants." He shrugged. "They'll whine and curse your name, but there's really nothing they can do about it."
"That's not a bad idea," Urgit agreed. He furrowed his brow in thought. Suddenly, he looked at the Lord Treasurer. "Buy them," he amended. "Make it seem that the merchants are getting the best of the deal but don't really let them." He smiled. "Then sell the mills back to their previous owners at a reasonable price. That way everybody wins; the merchants are happy, the mill owners are happy, and no one wants to kill me. As for the loggers themselves, leave that part of it alone for now." He scratched his chin. "But, we need to write up a new law. No merchant or group of merchants can ever do anything like this again." He waved his hand negligently. "You know how to write it up, Kalef. Take care of it."
"As you wish, my King," Kalef said. He bowed low and left the room. Urgit stretched. He took his crown off again, ignoring the look of disapproval on Oskatat's face. Stepping away from the throne he walked toward his captain of the guard.
"We'll talk more at dinner Oskatat," Urgit said to his friend. "I need to speak with Karsah." The small man walked off and gestured for his guards to follow him. "Walk beside me, Karsah," he ordered the captain. When the younger Murgo was at his side, Urgit continued. "I need your help."
"I live to serve, my King," Karsah replied in a neutral tone. He still smarted from the Princess's rebuke the day before. The soldier kept his gaze straight ahead, one hand resting casually on his sword. As always, Karsah seemed the epitome of Murgo manhood. His chain mail was oiled and bright, without a hint of rust; Urgit knew the same would be true of the sword in its scabbard at his side. His conical helm gleamed and his face was smooth, without even the ghost of a beard. The other guardsmen behind Urgit and Karsah were the same. The captain of the guard led a disciplined company. "What assistance can I offer?"
Urgit deigned not to answer until he walked outside onto the training grounds adjacent to the palace and drew his sword. "As you probably already know," Urgit stated, "the Princess Prala and I were ambushed by Mallorean deserters on our way to warn the army." Karsah nodded warily, eyeing the sword in Urgit's hand. The other guards also stared at the exposed weapon curiously. "It is mere luck, and no skill of mine, that we survived that encounter," Urgit said bluntly. "I am, to put it mildly, rusty with the blade Karsah. As captain of the guard and the best swordsman in the Drojim Palace you will assist me in sharpening my skills."
Karsah was silent a moment as he took in Urgit's words. "As you wish, My King," he finally responded. Before Urgit could say anything - before the King could hardly blink - Karsah's sword was out and Urgit was working hard to keep his head on his shoulders. The ring of steel on steel continued for a mere two minutes before Urgit was disarmed and pushed onto his back. "The use of the word 'rusty' is a kindness," Karsah told Urgit, again in that damnably neutral tone. "If this had been a real fight, my King, you would have been dead after the second stroke."
"I stand corrected then," Urgit said, feigning a jocular tone. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest as he stared at Karsah. Suddenly, he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. "Don't touch that," he barked, halting the guardsman who was about to pick up Urgit's sword. Walking over quickly, Urgit picked up the blade. He glanced around at the others. "No one is to ever touch this blade," the King said gravely. "Is that clear?" There was a general murmur of agreement and Urgit sighed in relief. He could clearly see in his mind one of his guardsmen or servants innocently picking up the newly ensorcelled blade and hurting himself. Urgit turned back to Karsah, raising his blade in a defensive position. "Again," he ordered.