Kings of the North - Elizabeth Moon [64]
“If the necklace is royal regalia,” the king said, “how did part of it end up in a brigand’s lair so far away from the rest?” He led the way to the treasury, where the Verrakaien gifts were set apart from the rest. He opened the chest, then lifted out the items one by one, setting them on a table.
Arianya stared at the crown, the goblet, the contents of the box. “I can’t imagine any of the Verrakaien selling part of the set, but it certainly looks similar in design.”
“It could have been stolen,” Paks said.
“What bothers me,” Arianya said, “is the way the pieces seem … alive in some way. I saw that ring Duke Verrakai found under the floor. And you and she both say these things were controlled, somehow, by blood magery—that can’t be good. I wonder how dangerous it will be to bring the necklace and the others together.”
“Did the ring make the whole stronger?” Paks asked.
“Duke Verrakai didn’t say anything about that,” Arianya said. “She didn’t think it was evil in itself. Then again, she’s a magelord.” Arianya shook her head. “It’s annoying. All my life I’ve considered magelords inherently wicked—any with magery, at least—but I can’t see Dorrin that way.”
“I must know,” the king said. “One way or the other, I must know if it is part of the same set. If it is … would you sell it?”
“To you? Why would you want it? It’s not your regalia; you already have a crown.”
“I don’t know,” the king said. “I just feel that if it is part of the same set, they should be together. They’re not really mine, but for now I’m their guardian.”
“You say that as if they were alive,” Paks said. “As if they had a will.”
“You said you saw the crown rise in the air,” Arianya said. “So did the king.” She turned to the king. “And if they are not yours, then whose are they, and what will happen if you keep them?” Arianya did not want to imagine the king—or queen—who might come to claim them.
“I don’t know,” the king said. “I would be more comfortable, to tell the truth, if they were not here. What do you think now, Marshal-General? Is that necklace part of the set?”
Arianya nodded. “If it’s not, it’s made by the same hand as made these—and both rockfolk and elves claim they did not, whoever that may have been. And there’s only one way to tell. They must be brought together. I don’t suppose you’d lend them to me to take to Fin Panir.”
He hesitated. “If it were me alone … but, Marshal-General, if it is known that the Marshal-General is bringing a magelord crown to Fin Panir, how will that sit with the Fellowship?”
Arianya thought for a moment. “Not well,” she said. “But the cloth that wraps the crown is definitely the same design as what we found in Kolobia, and we know there was a priest of Esea, which is what they called the High Lord. The High Lord’s Hall in Fin Panir is the only surviving holy place built for Esea Sunlord. Perhaps these were made for such worship, and would be at peace in those precincts.”
“I had not thought it might be made for a god,” the king said. “Would these things be worn by a priest, then?”
“Possibly. Who knows what their priests wore?”
“I will think on it,” the king said. “To some of my nobles, the obvious value of these things is taken as surety for the behavior of Dorrin Duke Verrakai. To dispose of them—even to you and the Fellowship of Gird—may cause comment for me, as well as what Girdish opinion might be of you.”
Arianya felt a prickle of irritation. “We cannot live our lives by others’ opinion, Sir King.”
“No, but neither can we utterly ignore them if we wish to rule our people well. You could consider bringing the necklace here, you know.”
“So I could,” Arianya said. “In fact, that was my first intent, to see if it matched. But seeing again that embroidered cloth, so like an altar-cloth, it occurred to me that we might learn more—and more safely—if the pieces were brought together in a place of worship.”
“I will consider,” the king said. “Understand, Marshal-General, it is not my greed that wants those things