service with Arutha, and the sewers and back alleys had been his means of bringing contraband into the city.
Hull conferred with Cook, then the older man rubbed his chin. His finger pointed at a spot on the map where a dozen tunnels came together in a near-maze. ‘If the Nighthawks were living down in the sewers, the Upright Man would have spotted them before they could have dug in. But it may be they’re using the tunnels as a way in and out’ – his finger moved to another spot on the map – ‘here.’ His finger lingered over a portion of the docks resembling a crescent along the bay. Halfway along the curve the docks ended and the warehouse district began, but also nestled against the water was a small section of the Poor Quarter, like a pie-shaped wedge driven between the more prosperous trading areas.
‘Fish Town,’ said Jimmy.
‘Fish Town?’ echoed Arutha.
‘It’s the poorest section of the Poor Quarter,’ said Cook.
Hull nodded. ‘It’s called Fish Town, Divers’ Town, Dockside, and other things as well. Used to be a fishing village a long time ago. As the city grew northward along the bay, it was surrounded by businesses, but there’re still some fisher families living there. Mostly lobstermen and mussel rakers who work the bay, or clam diggers who work the beaches north of the city. But it’s also located near the tanners, dyers, and other foul-smelling sections of Krondor, so no one who can afford better lives there.’
Jimmy said, ‘Alvarny said the Upright Man thought they were hiding in a place that smells. So he thinks of Fish Town as well.’ Jimmy shook his head as he considered the map. ‘If the Nighthawks are hiding in Fish Town, finding them will be difficult. Even the Mockers don’t control Fish Town as firmly as they do the rest of the Poor Quarter and the docks. There’s a lot of places to get lost in there.’
Hull agreed. ‘We used to run in and out near there, through a tunnel to a landing once used to carry cargo into the harbour from some merchant’s basement.’ Arutha studied the map and nodded: he knew where that landing lay. ‘We used a number of different locations, moving things in and out, varying where we kept them from time to time.’ He looked up at the Prince. ‘Your first problem is the sewers. There are maybe a dozen conduits leading up from the docks to Fish Town. You’ll have to block each one. One of them is so big you’ll need to block it with a crew in a boat.’
Aaron Cook said, ‘The trouble is we don’t know where in Fish Town they’re hiding.’
‘If that’s where they are,’ said Arutha.
Cook said, ‘I doubt if the Upright Man would even mention it had he not a good notion that they’re down there somewhere.’
Hull nodded agreement. ‘That’s a fact. I can’t think of any place else in the city they could be hiding. The Upright Man would’ve pinned down the location as soon as a Mocker caught a glimpse of the first Nighthawk. Even though the thieves use a lot of the sewers to skulk about in, there are parts they don’t pass through much. And Fish Town is worse. The older fisher families are independent and tough, almost clannish. If someone took up residence in one of the old shacks near the docks, kept to himself … Even the Mockers only get silence from the Fish Town folk when they ask questions. Should the Nighthawks have infiltrated slowly, no one but the locals might have a hint. It’s a regular warren there, little streets all twisted about.’ He shook his head. ‘This part of the map’s useless. Half the buildings shown here are burned down. Shacks and hovels built anywhere there’s room. It’s a mess in there.’ He looked at the Prince. ‘Another name for Fish Town is the Maze.’
Jimmy said, ‘Trevor’s right. I’ve been in Fish Town as much as anyone in the Mockers, and that’s not much. There’s nothing worth stealing in there. But he’s wrong about one thing. The biggest problem isn’t blocking escape routes. It’s locating the Nighthawks. There are a lot of honest folk living in that part of town and you just can’t ride in and kill everyone. We’ve got to find their hideout.’ He considered. ‘From what I know of the Nighthawks, they’ll want some place that’s first of all defensible, then easy to flee. They’ll probably be here.’ His finger pointed to a spot on the map.
Trevor Hull said, ‘It’s a possibility. That building is nestled against those two walls, so they’ve only two fronts to cover. And there’s a network of tunnels below the streets there, and those tunnels are all small and difficult to navigate unless you’ve been there before. Yes, it’s a likely place.’
Jimmy looked at Arutha. ‘I’d better go change.’
Arutha said, ‘I don’t like the need, but you’re the best equipped to scout.’
Cook looked at Hull, who nodded slightly. ‘I could come along.’
Jimmy shook his head. ‘You know parts of the sewers better than I, Aaron, but I can slip in and out without making the water ripple. You haven’t the knack. And there’s no possible way you can get into Fish Town unnoticed, even on a noisy night like this. I’ll be safer if I go alone.’
Arutha said, ‘Shouldn’t you wait?’
Jimmy shook his head. ‘If I can locate their warren before they know they’ve been discovered, we may be able to clean them out before they know what hit them. People do funny things sometimes, even assassins. It being a festival day, their sentries will probably not expect someone nosing around. And, with the city in celebration, there will be lots of noises filtering down from the streets. Odd and out-of-place sounds will be less likely to alert anyone below the buildings. And if I have to poke around above ground, a strange poor boy in Fish Town isn’t as likely to be noticed this night as much as other nights. But I need to go at once.’
‘You know best,’ said Arutha. ‘But they’ll react should they discover someone’s seeking them out. One glimpse of you and they’ll come straight after me.’
Jimmy noticed Arutha didn’t seem troubled by that fact alone. It seemed to Jimmy the Prince wouldn’t mind an open confrontation. No, Jimmy knew what bothered him was his concern for the safety of others. ‘That goes without saying. But chances are excellent they’re coming after you tonight anyway. The palace is crawling with strangers.’ Jimmy looked out the window at the late afternoon sunset. ‘It’s almost seven hours after noon. If I were planning an attack on you, I’d wait about another two or three hours, just when the celebration is at its height. Performers and guests will be going in and out of the gates. Everyone will be half-drunk, tired from a day-long celebration, and feeling very relaxed. But I wouldn’t wait much after that or your guards might notice a late arriving guest entering the grounds. If you stay alert you should be safe enough while I snoop around. I’ll report back as soon as I have a hint.’
Arutha indicated permission for Jimmy to withdraw. Quickly Trevor Hull and his first mate followed, leaving a troubled, seething Prince alone with his thoughts. Arutha sat back, balled fist held before his mouth as his eyes stared off into nothing.
He had faced the minions of Murmandamus near the Black Lake, Moraelin, but the final contest was yet to come. Arutha cursed himself for becoming complacent over the last year. When he had first returned with Silverthorn, the key to saving Anita from the effects of the Nighthawks’ poison, he had been nearly ready to return at once to the north. But the affairs of court, his own marriage, the trip to Rillanon to attend his brother’s wedding to Queen Magda, then Lord Caldric’s funeral, the birth of his sons, all these had come and gone without his attending to the business north of the Kingdom. Beyond the great ranges lay the Northlands. There lay the seat of his enemy’s power. There Murmandamus marshalled his forces. And from that seat far to the north he was reaching down again to touch the life of the Prince of Krondor, the Lord of the West, the man fated by prophecy to be his undoing, the Bane of Darkness. Should he live. And again Arutha found himself struggling within the confines of his own demesne, the battle carried to his own door. Striking his palm with his fist, Arutha voiced a low, harsh curse. To himself and whatever gods listened, he vowed that when this business in Krondor was finished, he, Arutha conDoin, would carry the struggle northward to Murmandamus.
The darkness hid a thousand treasures amid a million