Free The Seascape Tattoo by Larry Niven Page A

instance, the Brothers of Blood were known to hold hostages, have they not?”
    Aros felt his heart sink. The Brothers of Blood was his pirate crew, the tribe of brigands he’d captained for three years. He’d thought that his connection to them remained unknown. Certainly, it had never arisen in his trial. The judges had sentenced him to death without knowing all about his past. If they had known, they would have skinned him and rolled him in salt.
    Best to say nothing. But … who was this man? Could he be lured another step closer? “You cannot connect me with that crew.”
    â€œNot without effort,” the man said. “But what I can do … is set you free.”
    Aros felt it again, a tug at his leashed emotions. A hammer strike against the boulder he had rolled atop his hopes and dreams.
    â€œIn your time,” the man said, “you have been many things. A thief, a pirate, a soldier, a … taxman.” The hint of a smile. “I want to know if you can play one more role.”
    â€œWhat role is this?”
    And now, for the first time, Aros had the sense that the man was revealing his actual feelings about … something.
    â€œThe princess Tahlia has been taken. We have good reason to believe that the nation of Shrike took her.”
    â€œThen go and get her. Quillia has an army.”
    â€œBut where in Shrike is she?” Another hint of emotion. This man cared. Fascinating. “And where’s the proof? If we invade and fail to find her, we will have started a war for no reason. Our relations with the Eight Kingdoms would crumble.”
    That made sense. In fact, unless his ears deceived him, this stranger had just spoken to him man to man, without the carefully judged obliqueness that had defined his speech until now. There was something emotional. Something personal . Hope leapt within Aros. A man of high speech, with the power to enter his cell and speak to him privately. Yes, this was hope.
    And hope killed.
    â€œGo on,” he said.
    â€œWhere armies cannot go, another approach might bear fruit.” And now, for the first time, the stranger came closer. Now, if Aros whipped his chain up, he might be able to wrap it around the neck. A snap at that point would be satisfying beyond belief. But that would also destroy whatever small chance this represented.
    And Aros knew that the stranger knew it. Damn.
    â€œI asked about your ability to play a role,” the stranger said. “And this is why I asked. Some say a minor prince, General Silith, is the most powerful man in the kingdom of Shrike. It is difficult to tell, because no one has seen the king for years. Some say this is due to fear of assassination. And others that he is already dead, and that Silith is Shrike’s actual leader. Little is known of the general, except that he is a prince or half prince who had no hope of inheriting the throne. Instead of a life of leisure, he apparently chose the military path and has succeeded brilliantly. We know he is reputed to be one of the finest swordsmen in the world and a brilliant tactician as well. I see Sinjin Silith’s hand in this kidnapping.”
    â€œYou wish him killed?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWhat, then?”
    â€œFifteen years ago, his son Elio traveled with the son of a king of another of the Eight Kingdoms, as companion. The caravan was ambushed, the prince held for ransom. The general’s son disappeared in the chaos and was not recovered when the ransom was paid. It is known that the general held his employers responsible and left to find his fortune elsewhere.”
    â€œRevenge?”
    â€œAlways a powerful motivator.”
    Damn it, now they were talking. Almost as if one of them were not covered in offal and crouching in chains.
    â€œIs the boy dead?”
    The man nodded. “Yes. But the general cannot be certain of this. He assumes it, yes. But his wife, Jade, has never given up hope. It