170
Slowly you step away from the boulder and motion Acraban to follow as you descend the steep trail to the beach. Prince Karvas walks towards you, his right hand resting purposefully on the hilt of a short sword sheathed by his side. Despite his dishevelled appearance, he moves with a proud aristocratic gait that reveals his noble ancestry.
With a polite formality usually reserved for the King’s court and council chambers, Acraban bows to the Prince and makes his introductions. In sober tones he informs him of the unhappy events which have transpired in Siyen, events which have brought you both to Sheasu in search of him. Prince Karvas is saddened to hear of the death of his father. He glances at the mound of sand close to the base of the trail and you notice a tear in his eye. Lying alongside this mound is a plank of driftwood carved with the name Amarelda. It marks the last resting place of the Prince’s young wife.
‘This is bitter news you bring, my lords,’ says Karvas, his sonorous voice wavering with emotion, ‘for my grief is doubled. I have now lost my wife and my father—the only two people I have ever truly loved.’
You and your companion offer the Prince your deepest condolences, and Acraban suggests that perhaps it would be best if you all left the beach. Karvas nods his consent and together you climb the trail back to his house atop the cliffs.
Over a cup of berry wine, Prince Karvas tells you the story of how he came to Sheasu to live the life of an outcast. A decade earlier, during a chance encounter in a foreign court, he had met and fallen helplessly in love with Princess Amarelda—the daughter of the King of Lunarlia. She, too, had fallen for him, and had accepted his offer of marriage. For centuries the neighbouring lands of Lunarlia and Siyen have been enemies, yet the sudden prospect of a marriage between Prince Karvas and Princess Amarelda promised to put an end to many years of rivalry and bloodshed. At first his father, the King of Siyen, approved of their union. But later he changed his mind and forbade his son to marry her on pain of exile. Karvas defied his father and was forced to leave his homeland. He travelled to Sheasu where he was later joined by his beloved Amarelda. She, too, had disobeyed her father’s command and had been cast out for her act of defiance. Karvas talks fondly of the years they spent here alone together. Then, with sadness, he tells you that she recently fell ill with a fever from which she never recovered. For more than a month she fought the illness until, only three days ago, she passed away quietly in her sleep.
The news that Baron Sadanzo plans to steal his birthright enrages the Prince. For years he has blamed the Baron for his exile, for he alone openly opposed the marriage that would have healed the rift between Lunarlia and Siyen. Karvas is convinced that the Baron turned his father’s mind with sorcery, and he agrees readily to leave Sheasu and journey with you aboard the Starstrider to Seroa to thwart Sadanzo’s plan. The Prince’s willing acceptance to return to his homeland raises your spirits. Acraban proposes a toast to the future King of Siyen and Karvas accepts the gesture in good humour. Then Acraban imparts the glad news to Lord Zinair by means of the seeing stone given to him by the elder magician. Zinair, who is sailing back to Suhn, congratulates you both for successfully finding the exiled Prince and he wishes you all a safe and speedy air voyage to Siyen.
