"They call themselves patriots," Garion answered.
"Inevitably," the courtier sneered.
"Such attempts are not uncommon," the king stated. "We will take
steps to guard against them. I thank thee for this information."
"There's more, your Majesty," Garion added. "When they attack,
they're going to be wearing the uniforms of Tolnedran legionnaires."
Silk whistled sharply.
"The whole idea is to make your nobles believe that you've been
killed by the Tolnedrans," Garion continued. "These men are sure that
Mimbre will immediately declare war on the Empire, and that as soon as
that happens the legions will march in. Then, when everybody here is
involved in the war, they're going to announce that Asturias no longer
subject to the Arendish throne. They're sure that the rest of Asturia
will follow them at that point."
"I see," the king replied thoughtfully. "'This a well-conceived plan,
but with a subtlety uncharacteristic of our wild-eyed Asturian
brothers. But I have yet heard nothing linking the emissary of Taur
Urgas with this treason."
"The whole plan was his, your Majesty. He gave them all the details
and the gold to buy the Tolnedran uniforms and to encourage other people
to join them."
"He lies!" Nachak burst out.
"Thou shalt have opportunity to reply, Nachak," the king advised him.
He turned back to Garion. "Let us pursue this matter further. How
camest thou by this knowledge?"
"I can't say, your Majesty," Garion replied painfully. "I gave my
word not to. One of the men told me about it to prove that he was my
friend. He put his life in my hands to show how much he trusted me. I
can't betray him."
"Thy loyalty speaks well of thee, young Garion," the king commended
him, "but thy accusation against the Murgo ambassador is most grave.
Without violating thy trust, canst thou provide corroboration?"
Helplessly, Garion shook his head.
"This is a serious matter, your Majesty," Nachak declared. "I am the
personal representative of Taur Urgas. This lying urchin is Belgarath's
creature, and his wild, unsubstantiated story is an obvious attempt to
discredit me and to drive a wedge between the thrones of Arendia and
Cthol Murgos. This accusation must not be allowed to stand. The boy must
be forced to identify these imaginary plotters or to admit that he
lies."
"He hath given his pledge, Nachak," the king pointed out.
"He says so, your Majesty," Nachak replied with a sneer. "Let us put
him to the test. An hour on the rack may persuade him to speak freely."
"I've seldom had much faith in confessions obtained by torment," Korodullin said.
"If it please your Majesty," Mandorallen interjected, "it may be that I can help to resolve this matter."
Garion threw a stricken look at the knight. Mandorallen knew
Lelldorin, and it would be a simple thing for him to guess the truth.
Mandorallen, moreover, was a Mimbrate, and Korodullin was his king. Not
only was he under no compulsion to remain silent, but his duty almost
obliged him to speak.
"Sir Mandorallen," the king responded gravely, "thy devotion to truth
and duty are legendary. Canst thou perchance identify these plotters?"
The question hung there.
"Nay, Sire," Mandorallen replied firmly, "but I know Garion to be a truthful and honest boy. I will vouch for him."
"That's scanty corroboration," Nachak asserted. "I declare that he lies, so where does that leave us?"
"The lad is my companion," Mandorallen said. "I will not be the
instrument of breaking his pledge, since his honor is as dear to me as
mine own. By our law, however, a cause incapable of proof may be decided
by trial at arms. I will champion this boy. I declare before this
company that this Nachak is a foul villain who hath joined with diverse
others to slay my king." He pulled off his steel gauntlet and tossed it
to the floor. The crash as it struck the polished stone seemed
thunderous. "Take up my gage, Murgo," Mandorallen said coldly, "or let
one of thy sycophant knights take it up for thee. I will prove thy
villainy upon thy body or upon the body of thy champion."
Nachak stared first at the mailed gauntlet and then at the great
knight standing accusingly before him. He licked his lips nervously and
looked around the throne room. Except for Mandorallen, none of the
Mimbrate nobles present were under arms. The Murgo's eyes narrowed with a
sudden desperation. "Kill him!" he snarled at the six men in armor
surrounding him.
The knights looked shocked, doubtful.
"Kill him!" Nachak commanded them. "A thousand gold pieces to the man who spills out his life!"
The faces of the six knights went flat at his words. As one man they
drew their swords and spread out, moving with raised shields toward
Mandorallen. There were gasps and cries of alarm as the nobles and their
ladies scrambled out of the way.
"What treason is this?" Mandorallen demanded of them. "Are ye so
enamored of this Murgo and his gold that ye will draw weapons in the
king's presence in open defiance of the law's prohibitions? Put up your
swords."
But they ignored his words and continued their grim advance.
"Defend thyself, Sir Mandorallen," Korodullin urged, half rising from his throne. "I free thee of the law's constraint."
Barak, however, had already begun to move. Noting that Mandorallen
had not carried his shield into the throne room, the red-bearded man
jerked an enormous two-handed broadsword down from the array of banners
and weapons at one side of the dais. "Mandorallen!" he shouted and with a
great heave he slid the huge blade skittering and bouncing across the
stone floor toward the knight's feet. Mandorallen stopped the sliding
weapon with one mailed foot, stooped, and picked it up.
The approaching knights looked a bit less confident as Mandorallen lifted the six-foot blade with both hands.
Barak, grinning hugely, drew his sword from one hip and his war axe
from the other. Hettar, his drawn sabre held low, was circling the
clumsy knights on catlike feet. Without thinking, Garion reached for his
own sword, but Mister Wolf's hand closed on his wrist. "You stay out of
it," the old man told him and pulled him clear of the impending fight.
Mandorallen's first blow crashed against a quickly raised shield,
shattering the arm of a knight with a crimson surcoat over his armor and
hurling him into a clattering heap ten feet away. Barak parried a sword
stroke from a burly knight with his axe and battered at the man's
raised shield with his own heavy sword. Hettar toyed expertly with a
knight in green-enameled armor, easily avoiding his opponent's awkward
strokes and flicking the point of his sabre at the man's visored face.