Bergsten nodded. ‘Exactly what are you going to do, Sparhawk?’

‘I thought I’d go and destroy Azash, kill Martel, Otha and Annias and then come home, Your Grace.’

‘Very funny,’ Bergsten said dryly. ‘Details, man. Give me details. I have to make a report to Sarathi, and he loves details.’

‘Yes, Your Grace. We’ve all more or less agreed that we don’t have much chance of catching up with Martel and his party before they get across into Zemoch. He’s got a three-day start on us – counting today. Martel isn’t very considerate of horses, and he has a lot of incentive to stay ahead of us.’

‘Are you going to follow him, or just ride straight on to the Zemoch border?’

Sparhawk leaned back in his chair. ‘We’re a little tenuous on that, Your Grace,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘I’d like to catch Martel, certainly, but I’m not going to let that sidetrack me. My main goal is to get to the city of Zemoch before a general war breaks out in central Lamorkand. I had a talk with Krager, and he says that Martel plans to go north and then to try to cross over into Zemoch from somewhere up in Pelosia. I more or less want to do the same thing, so I’ll follow him – but only up to a point. I’m not going to waste time chasing Martel all over northern Pelosia. If he starts wandering around up there, I’ll break off the chase and go straight on to Zemoch. I’ve been playing Martel’s game ever since I came back from Rendor. I don’t think I want to play any more.’

‘What are you going to do about all the Zemochs in eastern Pelosia?’

‘That’s where I come in, Your Grace,’ Kring told him. ‘There’s a pass that leads into the interior. The Zemochs don’t seem to know about it for some reason. My horsemen and I have been using it for years – any time ears get scarce along the border.’ He stopped abruptly and looked with some consternation at King Soros. The King of Pelosia, however, was busy praying and appeared not to have heard the Domi’s inadvertent revelation.

‘That’s about all there is to it, Your Grace,’ Sparhawk concluded. ‘Nobody really knows for sure what’s going on in Zemoch, so we’ll have to improvise once we get there.’

‘How many of you are there?’ Bergsten asked.

‘The usual group. Five knights, Kurik, Berit and Sephrenia.’

‘What about me?’ Talen objected.

‘You are going back to Cimmura, young man,’ Sephrenia told him. ‘Ehlana can keep an eye on you. You’ll stay at the palace until we come back.’

‘That’s not fair!’