Asprin, Robert - Thieves World 10 - Aftermath

239 Pages·2016·0.71 MB·English

by  Asprin Robert

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AFTERMATH Copyright © 1987 by Robert Lynn Aspnn and Lynn Abbey
Dramatis Personae copynght © 1987 by Face of Chaos, Inc
Introduction copynght © 1987 by Robert Lynn Aspnn
"Cade" copyright © 1987 by Mark C Perry
"Wake of the Riddler" copyright © 1987 by Paradise
"Inheritor" copynght © 1987 by David A Drake
"Mercy Worse Than None" copyright © 1987 by Brunner Fact and Fiction
Limited
"Seeing is Believing (But Love is Blind)" copyright © 1987 by Face of Chaos, Inc
"Homecoming" copyright © 1987 by Andrew J Orfiilt
All rights reserved
"THIEVES' WORLD" and "SANCTUARY" are trademarks belonging to Robert
Lynn
Aspnn and Lynn Abbey
This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by mimeograph or any
other
means, without permission For information, address the Berkley Publishing
Group
All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons,
living or
dead, is purely coincidental
Endpaper maps by James R Odbert
Published by arrangement with
The Berkley Publishing Group
200 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10016
Printed in the United States of America
Quality Printing and Binding by
R R Donnelley & Sons Company
1009 Stoan Street
Crawfordsville, IN 47933 USA
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AFTERMATH
CONTENTS
Dramatis Personae, Lynn Abbey ..................... 5
Introduction, Robert Lynn Asprin .................... 11
Cade, Mark C. Perry ............................ 14
Wake of the Riddler, Janet Morris .................... 49
Inheritor, David Drake ........................... 79
A Mercy Worse Than None, John Brunner .............. 131
Seeing Is Believing (But Love Is Blind),
Lynn Abbey ................................. 153
Homecoming, Andrew Ojfutt ....................... 177
AFTERMATH
Dramatis Personae
The Townspeople
AHDIOVIZUN; AHDIOMERVIZ; AHDIO—Proprietor ofSly's Place, a legend-
ary dive within the Maze.
AYE-GOPHLAN—Captain of the palace guard before the arrival of Prince
Kadakithis. Now he is one of three men charged with keeping the peace
in Sanctuary.
LALO THE LIMNER—Street artist gifted with magic he does not fully un-
derstand.
GILLA—His indomitable wife.
GANNER—Their middle son, slain during the False Plague riots of
the previous winter which signaled the end of severe civil unrest
in Sanctuary.
VANDA—Their daughter, employed as nursemaid to the Beysib at
the palace.
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HAKIEM—Storyteller and confidant extraordinaire.
HORT—Son of a fisherman and now Hakiem's sometime apprentice.
6 AFTERMATH
JUBAL—Prematurely aged former gladiator. Once he openly ran Sanc-
tuary's most visible criminal organization, the hawkmasks; now he
works behind the scenes.
MASHA ZIL-INEEL—Midwife whose involvement in the destruction of the
Purple Mage enabled her to move from the Maze to respectability up-
town.
MELILOT—Owner of a scriptorium where letters can be written or trans-
lated.
MRADHON vis—Nisibisi adventurer and sometime spy. He has betrayed
almost everyone and been betrayed in return, but he is a consummate
survivor.
MYRTIS—Madam of the Aphrodisia House.
SHAFRALAIN—Sanctuary nobleman who can trace his lineage and his
money back to the days ofllsig's glory.
ESARIA—His nubile daughter.
EXPIMILIA—His wife.
CUSHARLAIN—His cousin. A customs inspector and investigator.
SNAPPER JO—A friend who survived the destruction of magic in Sanctu-
ary. Now employed as a bartender in the Vulgar Unicorn.
ZIP—Bitter young terrorist. Leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation
of Sanctuary (PFLS). Now he and his remaining fighters have been
designated as officials responsible for peace in the city.
The S*danzo
ILLYRA—Half-blood S'danzo seeress with True Sight. Wounded by PFLS
in the False Plague Riots.
DUBRO—Bazaar blacksmith and husband to Illyra.
ARTON—Their son, marked by the gods as part of the emerging
diety known as the Stormchildren. He was sent to the Bandaran
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DRAMATIS PERSONAE 7
Islands for his education and safety—and to remove him from
Sanctuary.
LILLIS—Their daughter, slain in the False Plague riots.
TREVYA—A newborn orphan girl placed in their care by Walegrin.
MOONFLOWER—S'danzo seeress of remarkable obesity who was slain by
Beysib guards who had mistakenly attacked her husband.
THE TERMAGANT—Oldest of the S'danzo women practicing her craft in
Sanctuary.
The Magicians
ENAS YORL—Quasi-immortal mage cursed with eternal life and a con-
stantly changing physical form.
ISCHADE—Necromancer and thief. Her curse is passed to her lovers who
die from it. Her rivalry with Roxane drew her into the murky realm of
Sanctuary's politics from which she has yet to extricate herself.
ROXANE; DEATH'S QUEEN—Nisibisi witch. Nearly destroyed when Storm-
bringer purged magic from Sanctuary, she is trapped inside a warded
house and a dead man's body.
HAUGHT—One-time apprentice oflschade who betrayed her and is
now trapped with Roxane.
TASFALEN—The dissolute Rankan nobleman, one oflschade's lov-
ers, whose body has become Roxane's prison.
STRICK; TORAZELAN STRICK TIFIRAQA— White Mage who has made
Sanctuary his home. He will help anyone who comes to him, but there is
always a Price, sometimes trivial and sometimes not, for his aid.
AVENESTRA; AVNEH—Once a preteen prealcoholic barfly at Sly's
Place. Now Strick's very young receptionist with a sweet tooth.
FRAX—Former palace guardsman, now Strick's fiercely loyal
guard.
WINTSENAY; WINTS—A down-and-out young Ilsig whose life has
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improved immeasurably since he began working for Strick.
AFTERMATH
Visitors in Sanctuary
JARVEENA—A woman, once Melilot's apprentice, who. with Enas Tori's
help, unveiled a plot to assassinate Prince Kadakithis shortly after his
arrival in Sanctuary. In the intervening years she has been employed as
Melilot's trading agent, and her many hideous scars have been slowly
fading.
SAMLOR HIL SAMT, Trader from the north. His sister died in Sanctuary
and his business sometimes brings him back to the city.
STAR—His seven-year-old niece. A single lock of white grows amid
her black hair. The Beysibs claim this is the mark of the favor of
their gods and the child does seem to have some strange abilities.
The Rankans Living in Sanctuary
CHENAYA; DAUGHTER OF THE SUN—^ beautiful and powerful young
woman who is fated never to lose a fight. She is the prince's cousin and is
working to raise an army of gladiators which will place him on the
imperial throne.
PRINCE KADAKITHIS—Charismatic but somewhat naive half-brother of
the assassinated emperor, Abakithis.
KAMA; JES—Tempus's daughter. 3rd Commando assassin. Sometime lover
of Critias. Zip, and Molin Torchholder.
MOLIN TORCHHOLDER; TORCH—Archpriest of Sanctuary's wargod
(whichever deity that is at the moment). Architect for the rebuilt walls of
Sanctuary. Supreme bureaucratic administrator of the city.
RANKAN 3RD COMMANDO—Mercenary company founded by
Tempus Thales and noted for its brutal efficiency.
GAYLE—A member of that company.
STEPSONS; SACRED BANDERS—Members of a mercenary unit loyal to
Tempus. Their years in Sanctuary have been among the worst in their
history and they are eager to leave for anywhere else.
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DRAMATIS PERSONAE
CRITIAS; CRIT—Longtime mercenary in the company. An intelli-
gence gatherer and assistant to Tempus. Also the partner of
Straton, though that pairing has been in disarray for some time
now.
STRATON; STRAT; ACE—Partner of Critias. Injured by the PELS at
the start of the False Plague riots. He has been Ischade's lover
and though her curse has not killed him, most of his former
associates count him among Sanctuary's damned.
TEMPUS THALES; THE RIDDLER—Nearly immortal mercenary, a partner
of Vashanka before that god's demise; commander of the Stepsons;
cursed with a fatal inability to give or receive love.
WALEGRIN—Rankan army officer assigned to the Sanctuary garrison
where his father had been slain by the S'danzo many years before. He is
now one of three officers responsible for the peace in Sanctuary. He is
also Illyra's half-brother.
The Beysib
SHUPANSEA; SHU-SEA—Head of the Beysib exiles in Sanctuary; mortal
avatar of the Beysib mother goddess. Lover of Prince Kadakithis whom
she wishes to marry.
CHABOSTU; CHA-BOS—A daughter born before Shupansea was
driven into exile.
INTRODUCTION
Robert Lynn Asprin
Military units have never been noted for their punctuality, and the
Stepsons were no exception. Even though their departure was originally
planned for shortly after dawn, it was nearly noon before the first pair
actually swung aboard their horses and headed off amid waves and good-
natured catcalls from their comrades. This was not a regular army unit,
but a free company of mercenaries, so the formations and columns one
might expect in a troop relocation were nowhere in evidence. Rather, the
men set out on their journey in pairs or small groups as they were ready,
with no thought to waiting for the others. Indeed, it was doubtful they
would even all take the same route to their new posting. However disor-
ganized or leisurely their departure might be though, one thing was clear.
The Stepsons were leaving Sanctuary.
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Relatively few townspeople had gathered to witness their passing, but
the first pair waved at them anyway as they set off. No one returned their
salutation.
Of the watchers, two men were notable if only from the diversity of the
pair. One was old, his hair more silver-white than gray, while the other
was a youth barely out of his teens. The younger was dressed in the
humble garb of the town's lower class, while the elder man's finery
marked him as one who moved in richer, perhaps even royal, circles,
That they were together, however, was never in question. Not simply
because they stood together and exchanged comments, though that
Would have been sufficient evidence for most. Even more apparent was
their manner. While they conversed freely, their eyes never met, but
instead remained focused on what was going on around them. Close
12
AFTERMATH
attention was paid to the departing pair of Stepsons as if attempting to
memorize their appearance and gear, then switched once more to the
preparation of the remaining mercenaries.
Were they not so open in their scrutiny, the two might be mistaken for
spies. As it was, they were ignored, for neither was unknown around the
city. The younger was Hort, a lowly storyteller; the older, Hakiem, once
a talespinner himself and mentor to Hort, was now adviser to the ruler of
the Beysib.
"Well, it actually looks like they're going."
"Of course," Hakiem replied without looking at his friend. "Did you
doubt it?"
"Yes, and so did you." Hort smiled. "But that didn't keep us from
being out here at dawn. We should have known that even if anything
happened, it wouldn't happen until later."
"True enough. Still, if we had slept in and they had decided to get
underway on time, we would have missed it completely."
The younger man snuck a sideways glance at Hakiem.
"I can see where that would affect me," he said, "but why should it
make any difference to you? Your storytelling days are behind you now."
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"Call it habit," the old man grunted. "Besides, an adviser needs infor-
mation as much as a storyteller, and the best information is still that
which you gather yourself."
The men fell silent as another pair of Stepsons rode by
"Well, it actually looks like they're going," Hort repeated, almost to
himself.
Hakiem hawked and spat noisily in the dust.
"Good riddance!" he declared with sudden vehemence. "The sooner
they're clear of the town, the better it will be for all of us! There has been
nothing but chaos and death in the city since they arrived. Maybe now
things will return to normal!"
Hort struggled, but lost his brief bout with silence-
"As I recall, Hakiem, there was chaos and death in Sanctuary long
before the Stepsons put in their appearance. I don't see where they've
been any worse than Jubal's hawkmasks used to be ... or your pet fish-
eyed friends for that matter- It's wrong to try to blame the Stepsons for
all our problems . . . and dangerous to think things will return to nor-
mal when they've left. I don't think I even know what normal is any-
more."
Hakiem turned away, his eyes avoiding both Hort and the departing
Stepsons.
"You're right, of course," he admitted. "Though the Beysib have been
far gentler with our town than the Stepsons, who were supposed to be
INTRODUCTION 13
guarding it. Water does not flow upstream, nor does time run backward.
Sanctuary will never be what it was. Hawkmasks, Stepsons, Beysib - . .
they've all had their impact on the town, and their presence will never be
completely removed. Even the new laborers who are here to work on the
walls will change our lives, though in what ways we have yet to find out.
All we can do is what we've always done: watch. Watch and hope."
"Speaking of the new laborers," Hort said with an almost forced casu-
ainess, "have you heard anything of people disappearing?"
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"I assume you mean dropping out of sight without turning up dead
later," Hakiem retorted drily.
"That's right." The youth nodded. "Able-bodied men you'd think
would be able to take care of themselves. I've heard of three so far."
"It's news to me. Still, I'll keep my ears open."
A group of Stepsons walked their horses by, not even looking at the
assembled watchers.
Though he would never admit it openly, the withdrawal of the Step-
sons as well as the Rankan 3rd Commando from Sanctuary concerned
Hakiem much more than the disappearance of a few common laborers.
He wondered how much of what was happening in town Hort was aware
of and simply not commenting on and how much he was actually oblivi-
ous to.
There was a fight brewing. A contest of wills, if not swords, between
the town and the Rankan Empire. He did not for a moment believe that
it was coincidence that the Stepsons were being pulled out of town just
when the tax issue was reaching a head. The question was, would they be
back? If the empire tried to enforce its orders by force, would the Step-
sons be the whip for the empire or the shield for the town? Or would they
stay away, maintaining a mercenaries' neutrality, and not return until the
matter was resolved ... if they returned at all?
The old man studied faces, but could not find a clue to the future
written anywhere: neither a hint of the future in the faces of the merce-
naries, nor a glimmer of realization of the stakes that were being played
for in those of the townsfolk.
CADE
Mark C. Perry
In another time, in another place, he could have been something else.
He could have been a hero, or a general, a pnest, or a king But he was
born in Sanctuary and that made him a killer.
Cade stood on a low hill looking down on the city. Sanctuary. He
turned his head and spat Sanctuary, the capital of hell He had left the
city eleven years ago, after killing a man, his first Now he was back, to
kill again Somewhere in that cesspit his brother's body lay rotting, all his
bones cracked by some torturer It was that someone whom Cade was
going to kill
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The wind shifted and the stench of the city assaulted him After the
long nde through the clean desert the smell was a physical force, full of
wet decay, the smell of man at his worst. Victim and hunter were all the
same in Sanctuary The evil of his birthplace was alive, active, infecting
everything that came into contact with it.
The sun was going down, dusk slowly covered the decrepitude of the
city's ancient buildings, but the shadows could not hide it all, even from
this distance. Cade was surprised to see a new wall going up around the
town but it hardly helped the view, for surely that wall was not so much
to keep enemies out as the inhabitants in. Even a madman would see
there was no gain to be had by conquering Sanctuary
Cade smiled to himself at the thought Attack Sanctuary—better to
fight for a beggar's bowl He turned to face west. A house or something
burned sullenly there, ignored by the inhabitants of Downwind, the worst
part of the whole place. Downwind .
And that, he told himself, is a place and a name you promised never to
CADE 15
have anything to do with again But of course he knew promises meant
nothing m hell . .
If Sanctuary could be called the place of his birth, it was Downwind
that had created him There he had lived between the age of six and
sixteen There he had learned about the world, the real world, the truth
behind all the lies that men blind themselves with He had learned about
fear, fear in his poor brother's eyes, who had always tried to protect his
younger sibling, even though it was Cade who was the real protector He
learned of despair, as the money became scarcer and the food rarer, and
their mother did anything, anything, so that she could keep her little
family together
He remembered her tears when she heard he'd joined the gang, she was
dead by the time he became their warlord His time with the Demons
taught him the most valuable lesson of Sanctuary He learned about
blood, and death
Cade was so talented then, talented in the harsh passion of the violent
The street brought out the blood in all its miserable inhabitants, but some
like Cade were born for blood and shed it and lost it with equal calm
He called it the waterfall, though he was eighteen before he ever saw a
real one. It was the moment when you either let go and hit until you fell
or you were pulled off and fear never entered into it at all That was the