'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 ofgold and silver reached the kingdom of Ilsig and brought intruders into ourtranquility. First adventurers, and finally a fleet from the kingdom itself tocapture the town and again bring it under the kingdom's control. The only fly inthe kingdom's victory wine that day was that most of the fishing fleet was outwhen they arrived, and, realizing the fate of the town, took refuge onScavengers' Island to form the nucleus of the Cape Pirates, who harass ships tothis 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, elbowingan 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 themythical gold, found a pass through the Civa, and eventually joined the RankanEmpire. Later, his grandson, now a general in the empire, found his ancestor'sjournals. He led a force south over his grandfather's old route and recapturedthe town. Using it as a base, he launched a naval attack around the cape andfinally 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 yieldingto his integrity as a tale-spinner. 'Though the kingdom surrendered, for somereason the Mountain Men continued to resist the empire's attempts to use the