Free At the Gates of Darkness by Raymond E. Feist

encounter soldiers of the Empire, at their ease after a battle.
    “‘I remark on this for two counts’—reasons is what he means, I am certain—‘that first they were not of the militia, yet were Legionaries from Queg that had been haste posted to this region, and last that they had struggled mightily against the Demon Brothers and their living dead.’”
    “Back then most of the Bitter Sea was still under control of the Empire of Great Kesh,” Pug remarked.
    “What’s interesting about this passage, Pug, is that it supports two other sources we are aware of, one in our possession, another not.” He looked at the magician and his two companions with a satisfied smile. “Varis wrote sixty-five volumes over his lifetime, so I had to skim a couple before I could find this passage.” He pointed to the page and said, “The source we possess along with this is a fairly standard tally of captured goods returned to Queg by the expedition encountered by Varis. We know that Varis was surprised to find Imperial Legionaries in that town instead of local soldiers; it implies something significant was being undertaken. Legionaries were only stationed in three garrisons around the Bitter Sea at that time: Durban, Queg City, and Port Natal. They were not used unless there was an uprising or some other menace of equal weight.
    “If we look at what that expedition brought back withthem, we encounter an unlikely list of things; along with an unusually short inventory of gold, silver, copper, and lead, livestock and slaves, we also see a very long list of idols, books, and scrolls.”
    Pug looked interested but uncertain of what was being said to him. “It sounds as if they raided a library.”
    The monk smiled. “There were no libraries, either Imperial or maintained by any order of temple known to us at that time, anywhere west of Malac’s Cross or north of Queg, in the Empire! Oh, some rooms of books here and there, but nothing that would require a detailed cataloguing that the Empire was so famous for at that time.” There was a merry glint in the man’s eyes as his smile broadened.
    “What is it?” Pug said, unable to resist returning the man’s smile.
    “It’s your Demon Brothers!”
    “According to this inventory of captured items, over a score of volumes came from the ‘frateri demonicus,’ which is very bad Quegan spelling for Demon Brothers, or more accurately, Brothers to Demons!”
    “The necromancers?” asked Pug.
    “Not a common name, by any measure,” said Brother Victor. “And there’s more.”
    “More?” asked Magnus a moment before Jim echoed the word.
    “The title of a volume; the maker of this list was, by any measure, barely educated. Legionaries were not as a rule much better educated than the common Keshian Dog Soldiers of today. The officers read and write—a necessity for giving and receiving orders—but the common soldiers, no. Either this list was compiled by a relatively uneducated officer, or the task was given to one of the common rank who claimed to write. In any event the title given is Libri Demonicus Amplus Tantus or Really Big Demon Book. ”
    Amirantha laughed. “I speak Quegan, and it’s nothing I recognize.”
    “It’s four hundred years old. I originally thought the scribe just didn’t understand that ‘Amplus’ and ‘Tantus’ have similar meanings—ample and large—but it occurs to me now our less than scholarly scribe was trying to describe two aspects, that it’s a physically large volume, and also that it’s important. ‘Tantus’ can mean ‘of such great size,’ but ‘amplus,’ besides ample, can also be read to mean ‘of great importance.’ So, what you may wish to consult is a very large, very important book concerning demons, written by a four-hundred-year-dead necromancer.”
    “I don’t suppose you have that volume here?” asked Amirantha.
    “No,” said Brother Victor with a regretful expression. “I wish we did. It sounds