Markan Sword

  Though quickly suppressed, something very like rage flashed across Grayar's features. "You might find Sandev has no more of those," he snapped.

  Kelanus opened his mouth to speak again, but Tahena laid a hand on her husband's leg.

  "Thank you for your help, Grayar," she said. "Once again, you have proved invaluable."

  Grayar's disapproving sniff bordered on a snort. He nodded again to Tahena, looked at the sylphs, then wandered towards the copse of trees. Despite putting distance between himself and the small group, when he finally projected, all six sylphs subconsciously rubbed their arms and stared at each other again. They knew what caused their sudden unease.

  Marshal Janost, the senior Eldovan present, smiled as he stared across the verdant landscape. "The Barren," he announced in tones of deep satisfaction.

  "Prefecture of Feylkin," corrected Kelanus, absently.

  "The Barren is a good enough name," murmured Hanmer, Kelanus's yeoman.

  With no other sign of human habitation, the road ran east to west, and even Eldovans still called it the Marka Road.

  "Certainly a waste of good land," said Tahena.

  Overhearing, Janost sniffed. "Hingast had the people moved, Mistress Tahena. These lands are a buffer no army moving against Eldova can cross easily. Further east there is no agriculture, so no food to plunder. A defensive ring for Eldova, at little cost."

  "Except in people's lives, Marshal Janost." Tahena's voice was cold. "Hingast had more butchered than were moved."

  Janost shrugged, an almost imperceptible movement that Tahena would have missed had she not been watching for it.

  Janost carried on as if he commanded, rather than being a prisoner. All four Eldovans here – three humans and the only sylph not covered in scouting paint – were prisoners, captured either by Kelanus – as in Janost's example – or the shadow riders. Though what their exact status would become once the rest of the soldiers rejoined them remained unclear.

  General Mirrin – another Eldovan – joined them. "Waiting here for the walkers to catch up before we move into Mpopa?" he asked, jerking a thumb westwards.

  Most of the Eldovan prisoners had been disarmed after their capture and later released to make their own way home. Roads from the east eventually led here, where the Markan Road entered Mpopa, part of the Eldovan lands.

  "Yes," replied Kelanus. "They cannot be far away now, so with luck we'll not be waiting long."

  Kelanus and his small group had cheated, using Grayar's Gift to move them westwards from Marka. The Gifted had not been happy about that. Not so much moving the people, but the weapons.

  Unable to carry them all, the victorious Markans had buried the defeated Eldovans' swords and axes. Everybody feared the Eldovan soldiers regrouping again for another attack; it had happened once already. But attacks were difficult when the enemy was stripped of weapons.

  But Kelanus had asked Grayar to take him and some soldiers to the battle sites and recover the buried arms. This, Grayar had frostily informed the General, skirted very close to the edge of principle.

  Two of the sylphs – Belaika and Fhionnen – had projected with them to the western battle site. These two sylphs had suffered three moves using the Gift, but looked to be holding up better than the other four, who had suffered one. Perhaps the first two had grown used to the Gift.

  "Grayar feels we abused his talents," said Mirrin, making conversation. Of the Eldovans, he was the easiest to get along with. The sixth sylph in the small group – named Shashi – belonged to him and she now heeled her owner.

  "He's done it before, so I fail to see what his problem is this time," countered Kelanus. "We had to get ahead of all those returning to Eldova and we had to recover their weapons. The Gift was the only way."

  "But done under protest." Mirrin's dark brown eyes looked towards the copse where Grayar had last been seen.

  Kelanus turned his attention to the five sylph scouts that, by some small miracle, he had been allowed to bring with him. "Except for Shyamon, the rest of you disappear and get on with it. Ean, you take Samel; Fhionnen stays with Belaika."

  "Se bata!" came from four scouts and they scampered away, quickly blending into their surroundings while they formed a ring around the small group. Shyamon's earpoints twitched as the scouts sent pingers to each other while they found the best positions.

  "Right," said Kelanus, "we'd better get our camp set up."

  ***

  Nobody had brought large campaign tents, but small canvas affairs that each man could carry. Even Shashi had her own tent, which she erected within whispering distance of Mirrin. Only the scouts would sleep under the sky, even Shyamon who remained in the camp. Kelanus liked the idea of small tents and decided he would introduce them to the Markan army when he returned. Even so, with four carts and fourteen horses, the camp took some time to set up.

  Grayar had wanted to keep the group even smaller, but Kelanus could manage no fewer than eight humans and six sylphs. Grayar then suggested leaving the sylphs behind, but Belaika and Shashi objected loudest to this.

  Understandably, Shashi did not want to be separated from Mirrin, but Belaika refused to reveal his motives. Ever since he had caught wind of Kelanus's plan during the winter, he insisted on coming along and not even his owner could stop him.

  Worst of all, there were no cooks until the remnants of Eldova's proud army joined them. Those who had never before cooked for themselves now learned new skills, with varying degrees of success.

  They divided their camp by unspoken agreement.

  Kelanus and Tahena sat to one side with Shyamon, the sylph tending the pot hanging in the flames of their small fire, using a wooden spoon to stir the stew. Yeoman Hanmer and Messenger Felis were both Calcanese and wanted to have as little to do with the Eldovans as possible. Their small tents were set up close to Kelanus, if still far enough away to allow privacy.

  But the Eldovans were also divided. Mirrin sat with Captain Jediyah, Yeoman Taved and Shashi, while Janost set his tent up slightly apart from the rest.

  Of the Eldovans, Kelanus trusted Janost least. The man had acted honorably enough since his capture, having the decency to surrender before all his men were slaughtered, but he had been Hingast's man to the core. Even now, he refused to believe that the man who now called himself Hingast was an imposter.

  Even more secretive about his reasons for coming than Belaika, the marshal seemed quite happy to stay away from everybody else.

  "A shame we couldn't have lost Janost," muttered Kelanus.

  Tahena glanced towards the Eldovans. "Can we be sure of Mirrin? Of any of them?"

  Kelanus glanced at Shyamon. The scout concentrated too hard on stirring the pot not to be listening. "Belaika seems certain we can," he replied.

  "Belaika is close to Shashi. Be careful."

  Kelanus chuckled, a bass rumble. "Not that close," he replied. "He was their prisoner, not a guest."

  "Those," retorted Tahena, "are usually the most dangerous relationships of all." She looked at Shyamon. "What do you think?"

  The sylph scout squeaked and almost dropped his wooden spoon into the fire. His earpoints thrashed momentarily before stabilizing again. "The stew is ready," he said, a touch breathlessly.

  Kelanus laughed aloud. "Do you think Mirrin can be trusted?"

  Shyamon's eyes betrayed wariness and his earpoints wilted. "He is Eldovan," he replied, as if that explained everything.

  "We'll take that as a no," said Kelanus.

  Shyamon said nothing further as he used a wooden hook to pull the pot free from the flames. Setting out three wooden bowls, he served the vegetable stew in characteristic silence.

  ***

  General Mirrin sat crosslegged before his small tent, one hand resting atop his alovak. Shashi ignored all protocol and sat immediately in front of her owner and leaned back in the hope he might tease her earpoints, an increasingly rare treat these days.

  Shashi wriggled closer as Mirrin remained silent. Her exp
ectant smile faded and, feeling neglected, she looked over her shoulder.

  The General's eyes focused and he forced a smile. "All of us from Eldova have been played for fools, Shashi," he said, answering her unasked question.

  His sylph blinked, but wriggled around to face her owner, earpoints slanted forward to show she paid attention to his words.

  "Hingast never wanted the throne for himself," continued Mirrin. "He wanted to destroy it and Marka. He intended to use us to enslave or massacre Marka's people."

  Shashi shivered; sylphs disliked such talk. "Makes no sense."

  "Makes every sense," retorted Mirrin. "Hingast wanted to remove the competition and build a new empire based around Eldova. That's why he allied with Re Taura and didn't care about them monopolizing trade in the Bay of Plenty."

  Shashi, who had never seen the sea, shrugged. "Thought you agreed he wasn't the real Hingast."

  Mirrin smiled. "Hard to believe that Sandev's claim might be true. All right, so it is true. If Kelanus gets his way, we'll soon find out."

  Shashi shivered again. She knew what Kelanus "getting his way" meant. More death and another killing. Would humans ever learn to adapt without slaughtering each other? This sounded like more danger for her owner.

  She motioned sideways with her eyes. "What about him?"

  Mirrin glanced across to Janost, sniffed and pursed his lips. "It's never easy to learn that you've been living a lie," he said. "Some people adapt quicker than others."

  "Why did he come?"

  Mirrin smiled. "Most observant," he remarked.

  Shashi scowled and waited for an answer.

  "Perhaps he wants to see for himself. He might know something no imposter can possibly know."

  "From the way he has been talking, he knew last year that Hingast was an imposter."

  "Whatever his reasons for coming," said Mirrin, "we'll find out what they are soon enough. Perhaps he's just homesick, like the rest of us."

  They fell silent as Yeoman Taved and Captain Jediyah returned with more water from the stream.

  "How much longer before they get here, Sir?" asked Taved, more to make conversation than through genuine enquiry.

  "Days I expect," replied Jediyah. "They can't be all that far away."

  "And it'll be our lads who get here," added Mirrin. He glanced towards Janost again. "I'm not sure the other lot can be fully trusted. Though they should come in along the North Road."

  "More sylphs," said Shashi. "Instead of... them." She glanced towards Shyamon and her earpoints wilted.

  "Thought you liked them now," said Mirrin.

  "Belaika yes," qualified Shashi. "He stopped them from killing you, enya." She blinked back sudden tears.

  Mirrin decided that sylph interpersonal relationships were often confusing and said no more on the matter. From the far southwest of Eldova's small empire, Mirrin preferred to surround himself with men from Eldova's outer Prefectures. He trusted such men before any others. And the rest might have been tainted from their association with Hingast. Or whoever had replaced him.

  In the gathering gloom, Mirrin shuddered.

  ***

  Belaika and Fhionnen worked quickly together. Based to the east of Kelanus's small group, they would be first to make contact with any Eldovans making their way home after last year's battles. Belaika would know all those expected to come along this road. He had hoped never to see some of them again.

  Working together they scraped out a shallow byawta, but made only one sleeping place. The two scouts would share the watches, to prevent anybody or anything from surprising the small group of humans from this side.

  They worked well together, despite one being not yet fully trained.

  In fairness, Fhionnen's skills had improved over the winter. After last year's adventures, the field held no terrors or discomforts. One of the few city sylphs recruited in Marka to be retained by the scouting corps, he had earned the already-trained scouts' respect. And one of the few not overawed by the more experienced sylph.

  Being the first sylph scout ever captured, Belaika had feared ridicule after suffering this ignoble distinction. His experienced colleagues had certainly teased him over this humiliation. But the rest...

  He had been captured, resisted giving anything away despite interrogations by one of The Ten, and he had escaped. All Belaika's protests about the help that he had received fell on deaf ears.

  Belaika was special and somehow more than an ordinary sylph scout.

  Fhionnen resisted such nonsense. He knew Velisar had rescued the prisoner, rather than Belaika escaping from the Eldovans. He also knew about the restrictions forced on Nicolfer and her methods. And he knew how terrified Belaika had been most of the time, rather than the heroic figure imagined by the less experienced scouts.

  But Fhionnen had done and said nothing to silence them, either.

  The sylphs inspected their work.

  In byawta rankings, it might manage somewhere near the bottom, though in fairness they had very few materials to work with. They had cut a couple of saplings to form a square for a roof, and Fhionnen found enough broadleafs to tile that roof before Belaika piled some earth over and grass over the top.

  "At least it cannot be seen more than a paca away," said Belaika, after a moment's silence.

  "Probably the best we can say for it." Fhionnen grimaced. "If the Eldovans are further away than Mirrin thinks, we can always work on it a bit more." He glanced at his trenching tool and shrugged. "At least it will not fall in on us."

  Belaika grinned. "On you," he replied. "I will take first watch tonight."

  Fhionnen decided it might be better for him to try and sleep now. He took his blanket and disappeared inside the byawta.

  Belaika found a place slightly away from their small cave, where he sat with his back against one of the small trees dotting the deserted land. As darkness strengthened, he continued to think.

  And watch.

  Before long he stiffened. Firelight? Belaika stood and glanced at the short tree. He decided it would hold his weight and shinned up. He saw a good three dozen specks of flickering light out there.

  He hoped people were still awake. He sent a pinger, and waited for an acknowledgment. It came eventually, suggesting Shyamon's attention had wandered, or he had been asleep. Belaika sent his report and waited again.

  Over there, Shyamon was probably waking Kelanus and asking for orders.

  Belaika waited.

  Maybe the other scout dithered, but he had worked with Kelanus before. Shyamon would know there would be no trouble, even if Belaika had got it wrong about the fires. There were fewer now, but that only meant the people out there were beginning to settle down.

  Finally, a reply.

  Investigate. Do not get captured this time.

  Belaika scowled in the dark and acknowledged the command. He deliberately ignored the dig about capture; that sounded more like Kelanus than Shyamon.

  He woke Fhionnen.

  "We have company," he whispered, and explained what he had seen. "You stay here, I will go and see."

  "You think it is them?" Fhionnen had woken in an instant, one of the good things about him.

  "It might be."

  Fhionnen sat outside and both sylphs glanced around. Thanks to the stars, the sky was more gray than dark, and clearly delineated from land, but no moon hung in the sky to flood everything in light. A large, bright star moved briskly across the sky: the Ark Star continuing its eternal voyage. Wind rustling through the grass would help Belaika, but also mask the sound of anyone else moving. If that camp belonged to the Eldovans, they would have their own sentries and scouts. And the camp sylphs might have heard the whistles carrying their messages.

  "Lots of light," Fhionnen remarked, looking into Belaika's faintly glowing eyes.

  "Too much."

  "Good luck."

  Belaika left. He knew that even to Fhionnen's sylph eyes, he would disappear before taking more than a few steps. Keeping low in
the grass ensured he would not stand out against the starry sky.

  Before long, he had left the waiting Fhionnen behind.

  He moved fast and low, keeping his head below the height of the grass. He used the stars as guides, quickly closing the gap between his small camp and the larger one to the east. Any other scouts out would be human, which meant he held a slight advantage.

  He glanced up at the sky with its countless glittering stars. However imperfectly, even humans could see in this. Even he would be seen if he stood upright. Still no hint of a moon, another advantage.

  Belaika paused often and looked around carefully for anything out of place. After pausing for a quick sniff, rabbits ignored him or moved out of his way; if any humans were near, the rabbits' behavior would be quite different.

  Soon, he saw no more rabbits.

  He stopped and carefully lifted his head, hoping no light reflected out from his eyes. His instincts were good. A dark shape ahead, that might be mistaken for a rock, but for the wind rippling what he assumed was a cloak. He lay lower in the grass.

  Scout.

  Earpoints twitching and eyes questing for more scouts, Belaika went around this one, but the perimeter guards were the next humans he saw. At least these were easier to spot than the scout, because they moved about and stood out against the sky.

  He slipped past undetected.

  Only a couple of fires still burned, threatening to destroy his night vision. Wagons surrounded tents in a series of defensive squares and only a few soldiers were still about. But what a camp! Stretching for some distance, the watching sylph estimated at least two thousand here, including camp followers.

  He began to recognize people.

  Tempted to report immediately, Belaika remembered how camp sylphs had pointed him out the last time he reported this particular army's location. And that had led to humiliation. Though this army had somehow shrunk in size compared with last year, he knew that there were well over a hundred sylphs here, all with ears that would now recognize a scout's whistle.

  Not only the first sylph scout captured by an enemy, but so far the only sylph scout captured by an enemy. His face burned in embarrassment.

  He successfully and easily evaded the perimeter guards for a second time, moved carefully until past the scout again (the man had not moved, which surprised the sylph) and had almost reached the byawta before pinging Fhionnen.