Thieves World

Hakiem grimaced, but the other boys jumped and clapped their hands with enthusiasm. Unlike Hakiem, they never tired of hearing this tale.

'Very well,' Hakiem sighed. 'Make room here!' '

He shoved roughly at the forest of small legs before him, clearing a small space in the ground which he swept smooth with his hand. With quick, practised strokes, he outlined the southern part of the continent and formed the north -south mountain range.

'The story begins here, in what once was the kingdom of Ilsig, east of the Queen's Mountains.'

'... which the Rankans call the World's End Mountains ...' supplied an urchin.

'... and the Mountain Men call Gunderpah ...' contributed another.

Hakiem leaned back on his haunches and scratched absently.

'Perhaps,' he said, 'the young gentlemen would like to tell the story while Hakiem listens.' .'• •

'No they wouldn't,' insisted Ran-tu. 'Shut up, everyone. It's my story! Let Hakiem tell it.'

Hakiem waited until silence was restored, then nodded loftily to Ran-tu and continued.

'Afraid of invasion from the then young Rankan Empire across the mountains, they formed an alliance with the Mountain Tribes to guard the only known pass through the mountains.'

He paused to draw a line on his map indicating the pass.

'Lo, it came to pass that their fears were realized. The Rankans turned their armies towards Ilsig, and they were forced to send their own troops into the pass to aid the Mountain Men in the kingdom's defence.'

He looked up hopefully and extended a palm as a merchant paused to listen, but the man shook his head and moved on.

'While the armies were gone,' he continued, scowling, 'there was an uprising of slaves in Ilsig. Body-servants, galley slaves, gladiators, all- united in an effort to throw off the shackles of bondage. Alas ...'

He paused and threw up his hands dramatically.

'... the armies of Ilsig returned early from their mountain campaign and put a swift end to the uprising. The survivors fled south ... here ... along the coast.'

He indicated the route with his fingers.

'The kingdom waited for a while, expecting the errant slaves to return of their own volition. When they didn't, a troop of cavalry was sent to overtake them and bring them back. They overtook the slaves here, forcing them back into the mountains, and a mighty battle ensued. The slaves were triumphant, and the cavalry was destroyed.'

He indicated, a point in the southern portion of the mountain range.

'Aren't you going to tell about the battle?' Ran-tu interrupted.

'That is a story in itself... requiring separate payment,' Hakiem smiled.

The boy bit his lip and said nothing more.

'In the course of their battle with the cavalry, the slaves discovered a pass through the mountains, allowing them to enter this green valley where game was plentiful and crops sprang from the ground. They called it Sanctuary.'

'The valley isn't green,' an urchin interrupted pointedly.

'That's because the slaves were dumb and overworked the land,' countered another.

'My dad used to be a farmer, and he didn't overwork the land!' argued a third.

'Then how is it you had to move into town when the sands took your farm?' countered the second.

'I want to hear my story!' barked Ran-tu, suddenly towering above them.

The group subsided into silence.

'The young gentleman there has the facts of the matter right,' smiled Hakiem, pointing a finger at the second urchin. 'But it took time. Oh' my, yes, lots of time. As the slaves exhausted the land to the north, they moved south, until they reached the point where the town stands today. Here they met a group of native fishermen, and between fishing and farming managed to survive in peace and tranquillity.'

'That didn't last long,' snorted Ran-tu, momentarily forgetting himself.

'No,' agreed Hakiem. 'The gods did not will it so. Rumours of a discovery of gold and silver reached the kingdom of Ilsig and brought intruders into our tranquility. First adventurers, and finally a fleet from the kingdom itself to capture the town and again bring it under the kingdom's control. The only fly in the kingdom's victory wine that day was that most of the fishing fleet was out when they arrived, and, realizing the fate of the town, took refuge on Scavengers' Island to form the nucleus of the Cape Pirates, who harass ships to this day.'

A fisherman's wife passed by and, glancing down, recognized the map in the dust, smiled, and tossed two copper coins to Hakiem. He caught them neatly, elbowing an urchin who tried to intercept them, and secreted them in his sash.

'Blessings on your house, mistress,' he called after his benefactor.

'What about the empire?' Ran-tu prompted, afraid of losing his story. ;•

'What? Oh, yes. It seems that one of the adventurers pushed north seeking the mythical gold, found a pass through the Civa, and eventually joined the Rankan Empire. Later, his grandson, now a general in the empire, found his ancestor's journals. He led a force south over his grandfather's old route and recaptured the town. Using it as a base, he launched a naval attack around the cape and finally captured the kingdom of Ilsig, making it a part of the empire for ever.'

'Which is where we are today,' one of the urchins spat bitterly.

'Not quite,' corrected Hakiem, his impatience to be done with the story yielding to his integrity as a tale-spi

A faraway look came into his eyes.

'Those were the days of Sanctuary's greatness. Three or four caravans a week laden with treasures and trade goods. Not the miserable supply caravans you see today - great caravans that took half a day just to enter town.'

'What happened?' asked one of the awestruck urchins.

Hakiem's eyes grew dark. He spat in the dust.

'Twenty years ago, the empire succeeded in putting down the Mountain Men. With the Great Pass open, there was no reason to risk major caravans in the bandit -ridden sands of the desert. Sanctuary has become a mockery of its past glory, a refuge for the scum who have nowhere else to go. Mark my words, one day the thieves will outnumber the honest citizenry, and then ...'

'One side, old man!'

A sandalled foot came down on the map, obliterating its outlines and scattering the urchins.

Hakiem cowered before the shadow of one of the Hell Hounds, the five new elite guards who had accompanied the new governor into town.

'Zaibar! Stop that!'

The unsmiling giant froze at the sound of the voice and turned to face the golden-haired youth who strode on to the scene.

'We're supposed to be governing these people, not bludgeoning them into submission.'

It seemed strange, seeing a lad in his late teens chastizing a scarred veteran of many campaigns, but the larger man merely dropped his eyes in discomfort.

'Apologies, Your Highness, but the Emperor said we were to bring law and order to this hell-hole, and it's the only language these blackguards understand.'

'The Emperor - my brother - put me in command of this town to govern it as 1 see fit, and my orders are that the people are to be treated kindly as long as they do not break the laws.'

'Yes, Your Highness.'

The youth turned to Hakiem.

'I hope we did not disturb your story. Here - perhaps this will make up for our intrusion.'

He pressed a gold coin into Hakiem's hand.

'Gold!' Hakiem sneered. 'Do you think one miserable coin can make up for scaring those precious children?'