Fool’s Quest

“Emissaries in search of a particular bargain. But let us say no more of that now, but only eat and drink together, as old friends and new.” Amber walked her fingertips on the table, found and lifted a glass filled with a golden wine. “To friends well met!” she offered, and all drank to her toast. When she set down her glass, she added, “I had so hoped to see Phron while I was here. He is well, I trust?”

Malta stopped chewing the bit of meat she had taken. Amber smiled innocently but I saw his dart had struck true and wondered why he had launched it. After a moment, Rey said quietly, “Phron’s health remains delicate. Perhaps he will join us briefly after the meal, if he feels up to meeting guests.”

“I am grieved to hear that,” Amber replied softly. “The last word I had of him was years ago. At that time, I believe he had begun to thrive.”

“Years ago,” Malta said softly. Sometimes, when a bell is struck, another vibrates in sympathy. The parent in me echoed the concealed pain in her voice, and I wanted Amber to stop pressing her. Something was seriously wrong with her child. I would never make it a bargaining point and I was not sure what Amber was leading up to.

Reyn spoke, his tone a bit acerbic. “I’m surprised you had any tidings of Phron.”

Amber shrugged lightly. Her fingers danced delicately over her food, and then, almost as if she were sighted, she cut a bite from a slice of preserved fruit on her plate. I did not recognize the fruit and took a cautious bite of mine as she spoke. “It was years ago. You know how such gossip travels, from friend to friend. You recall Jek, my shipmate on the Paragon?”

Oh, neatly done. I now guessed the true source of her news. Jek was one of the few names I knew from Chade’s network of spies and information gatherers. I suspected that while news of this Phron was years old, the Fool had rummaged it out from Chade’s scrolls. No: He was blind. It would have had to come from Spark. Or Ash. So the youngster was deeply, deeply the Fool’s now, enough to purloin not only dragon blood but also precious information for him. I was not sure if I was glad that he had such a loyal person at his command or resentful that such a useful resource had been lured away from Chade.

Malta’s brow creased briefly, making the scaling wink. “I do not recall her. Perhaps we did not meet.”

“She handled much of my business here after I had to leave Bingtown.”

“Oh, yes. I remember her now. The repayments of the loan were made through her.”

Amber nodded.

“We haven’t forgotten,” Reyn said. “Ready money was very scarce at the end of our war with Chalced. When you loaned out much of your share of Igrot’s treasure, it helped many in Bingtown to rebuild. So many of our heritage merchants suffered the loss of their shops and stock. And it helped many of the Tattooed to make a fresh start here.”

“And it was financially wise of you,” Malta added, reminding all that Amber had undoubtedly shown a profit on her kindness. “We were years paying it back to you.”

And now I knew the source of Lord Golden’s stream of income in his wild gambling days at Buckkeep court. What he had invested wisely in Bingtown, he spent with a shocking profligacy in Buckkeep Town. Because he had known then that he was going to die and saw no point in saving any of it. Oh, this was good. So many bits and pieces of the Fool’s lives were being handed to me. I smiled at Amber across the table and somehow she knew, for she showed me her teeth. “It helped me through a difficult time,” Amber responded congenially.

Malta spoke delicately. “I cannot help but notice that life has put you through many changes since last I saw you. I mourn that you have lost your sight. And I had not realized that you had had enough contact with dragons to undergo a change.”

There was a baggage train of questions packed into that comment. I waited. “I promised you my story when I came to you, and you have waited so patiently. Let us finish eating, then, and I shall tell it.” Ah, so I was not the only one he used his delaying tactic upon.

The rest of the meal passed uneventfully. Lant said little except to thank them for the meal and to compliment the food, and I volunteered little more than that. Often I felt Reyn’s eyes upon me, measuring me, and I strove to behave as a Farseer prince should, even as I wondered what sort of a tale Amber had spun around us.