Chapter 38
The team used the next few days as an opportunity to recover from their injuries and decide on the best course of action. The options seemed to boil down to three: carry on as before, carry on with some kind of modification, or return to the capital.
"The question is," Kyminn reflected, "What, exactly, is our primary duty? Is it to strengthen the Guard or collect information? I admit, it makes me uncomfortable to know that our own people think we were spying on them."
"We were never spying on anyone, Kyminn. That aspect of it is purely a Karsite fabrication. Were we collecting information? Of course. But we weren't collecting secrets. We weren't trying to catch anyone out. There's a big difference." Randen played with his glass of ale, drawing small rings on the tabletop. They had moved back to the local Guard station and were settled in a corner of the dining hall, discussing the situation.
"Trying to figure out the big picture is always complicated. Everyone has an agenda, or a bias, and you have to weigh that. By just listening anonymously, we can sift through a lot of that. No one is trying to put on their best face for the Herald, or try to prove they're tougher than the Guardswoman." The damp rings formed a daisy chain, marching back and forth in front of the Herald. "In times like this, we need all the information we can get and usually it's information that people don't realize is important."
"When someone's neighbor manages to sell a load of wool to a passing trader instead of having to send it on to the next town or city, that's a reason to celebrate over a glass of beer. It's not something you'd bother to tell the Guard or a Herald, it's not news." Nikki broke in. "But when we collect all these small bits of not-news, we see a pattern emerging. All these things are items that can stockpile easily, goods you might need if you thought a region might be less productive in the near future."
"Also," Allek was quiet, "Everything we've seen is war materiel, but nothing obvious. No iron or coal, no finished weapons. Not even seasoned hardwoods for spears and arrows. All of it is raw materials, things easy to explain away."
"I have to admit," Randen grunted, "It's very subtle. Not enough to get people talking from village to village and not enough being siphoned off that it would make a noticeable shortage to the market overall. Just a small, very local swell of demand. And, as far as we know, it's only here, along this southern border."
"And no one, absolutely no one," Nikki was sour, "will admit that the final destination is Karse. Some of the goods we've tracked have changed hands two or more times, and only the last buyer knew where the stuff was going. Most of the brokers were perfectly honest traders, enjoying having made a slightly-better-than-usual deal."
"I would be willing to wager that by the time the fall beast fairs are done, the locals price of cattle will have gone up noticeably." Kyminn was thoughtful.
"I won't take that bet. Derris has been listening to the stable-hands. People are already starting to talk about the good price they're seeing for beef." Randen saluted the Healer and savored a mouthful of ale.
"I must admit," Nikki said ruefully, "I certainly didn't expect the Karsites."
"Nobody expects the Karsites!" The ale glass hit the table with a dull thump. "That was just a bizarre complication. Gads! I mean, every Valdemaran knows that a traveler is going to carry news from village to village, and if anything seems important, it will get mentioned to the Guard. That is not spying. We are at least three days from the border, so it's certainly not like we can be thought to be spying on Karse!" He raked his hands through his hair in frustration, scattering the trim, black waves.
The Herald was in full rant mode. "Because, obviously, if we are travelling, and talking to people, and talking to the Guard, we must be spies. Spying on our own people. Which hurts Karse how exactly? Because, you know, Valdemaran spies, inside Valdemar, spying on Valdermarans makes just NO sense! It makes even LESS sense that Karse would even care, much less put a bounty on us! Those people are INSANE!"
"Not insane," Nikki objected, "Just Karsite. And that, my friend, is a completely different colour of horse indeed. I've been talking to the local commander and he's had quite a lot to say about the folks from the south."
"Like they're all mad?" Randen growled, but subsided. He waved a hand for Nikki to continue.
"Here in Valdemar, we're used to rulers that respond to the people, that write down and communicate laws and go to great lengths to make sure the people are educated, aware and feel like they are being justly governed. You know as well as I do that Karse's government rules in name only, that all the power rests in the hands of the priests. Have you ever really thought about what that means to the people on a day to day basis?"
The other three shrugged. "I always figured it meant you had two sets of rules to worry about," Allek spoke up. "One was the laws of the king, the other their writ. I always pitied them, because I can figure out what happens to the poor fellow who gets caught between the two, or with an unscrupulous priest who picks only certain parts of writ to follow."
She nodded. "That's part of it, but it goes much, much deeper than that. You know the nursery song that goes 'Hush little baby, don't you cry, angel's going to be here by and by'?"
"Sure," Allek was puzzled. "Everybody knows that one:
"Hush little baby, don't you cry
Angel's going to be here by and by.
Sweet little baby, when you sing,
Angel's going to give you a shiny ring.
Sleep little baby, don't you cry,
Angels protect you all the night."
"Yes, well, if a Sunpriest caught you singing that, both you and your bairn would probably be sent to the Fires."
Three jaws dropped. "What?!" "That's obscene!" "Whyever for?" Voices bounced off each other as the three cried out their shock.
"Because, first of all, there are no angels in the writ. Demons, cats and other manifestations yes, angels no. So that right there denies writ and is blasphemy. Secondly, even if there were angels, all good things come straight from Vakandis. So any other supernatural source of gifts, or protection, is anathema." She leaned forward, her face intent.
"Try and picture growing up where every song, every story, every folk tale you ever heard comes from just one source. Every child's game or innocent little dittymust conform to the writ, and everyone around you is so steeped in it that if you deviate even a little bit, everyone notices. Now factor in that any such deviation is punished by losing your home, your livelihood, your family or even your life – and that in some absolutely horrifying ways. Is it any wonder that those bandits had every reason to believe that every single word we heard would be reported back to those in power? It's the only thing they could think – it's all they've ever known."
Kyminn shook his head slowly, "That's…hard to imagine. Logical, when you explain it like that, but it's hard to picture living like that. We'd probably be guilty of some kind of accidental blasphemy just by opening our mouths."
She nodded. "Exactly. Which is why we were not sent inside Karse. But back to those bandits – they assumed that we would know all kinds of things about what people were thinking and doing: like if they were dissatisfied with the capital, that their neighbor was acting strangely...maybe even we'd know troop movements. There was also a chance that, us being spies and all, we might actually be spying on Karse, or trying to spy on Karse. So there would have been value in trying to figure out how much about them we actually know – or thought we knew."
"I agree that it makes sense," Randen sighed. "It also means that any bandits in the area are sure that we're a big, fat prize, redeemable for either a trip back to Karse or enough gold to retire. I don't know that there's much else we can accomplish, this close to the border. If we go on as we are, we're just going to make bigger targets of ourselves."
"Well," Allek said slowly, "what about doing just that? Making targets of ourselves?" He looked at each of the others. "I mean, everyone in this village knows that Randen and I are Heralds, even if they aren't sure what exactly you two are. I don't think we can exactly go back to traveling incognito at this point. We could just carry on, only this time as ourselves."
"Which, in turn, leads one to ask – would that be the best use of a pair of Heralds?" Randen countered. "It was one thing when we were responsible for sifting through all the intelligence and figuring out what leads to pursue. Once we start working openly as Heralds, we lose any chance of getting that kind of information. Brokering and training horses for the army is valuable, but – at this point, probably not the best use of resources."
Kyminn gave his cousin an apologetic glance. "I have to agree with Randen on that score. There's a lot of people who could do that part of it. I happen to be particularly good at it and I certainly can't do it alone, but there's hundreds of capable, talented people that could help me. There's only so many Heralds – or, might I add, cavalry officers." He cocked his head at Nikki.
A decisive nod. "True enough. Kyminn certainly doesn't need me for this and I have a very strong suspicion that if I wasn't already going to be recalled soon, I will be once this all comes out." The idea of returning to her army duties appealed to Nikki, especially in light of all they had learned.
"We were expecting to start back in by the end of this month anyway," Randen pointed out. "I think we should plan on starting back now, instead. I'll make sure the appropriate messages get sent and I'll let them know our planned route. That way, our new orders will be sure to catch up with us. Having said that, there's no reason we can't continue to look at stock on our way back. As far as the circle still knows, Allek and I won't be back until just before winter. Once they find out what's happened, Talamir and the dean might have something else for us to do, but in the meantime, we may as well make the most of it and accomplish as much as possible."
SCENE BREAK
At the Guard commander's insistence, a squad of half a dozen Guardsmen accompanied them as far as the next large village. At that point, it had been judged, they were far enough from the border that encountering any further Karsite bounty-hunters was considered unlikely.
Allek and Randen, for the first time since their departure, travelled openly as Heralds. Allek's travel Grays had been used so little that they looked odd at first, at least until he'd had a chance to break them in somewhat. As for Jareth, he was positively delighted at having exclusive rights to his Chosen for once and practically danced under the saddle for the first few days.
The courier caught up to them about a fortnight later. In addition to various official documents, she carried a few pieces of personal mail as well. Kyminn was bemused to find letters from his family, dated from back in early spring. He wondered just how far those bits of paper had travelled in order to catch up with him. Reading them, it was oddly disjointing to hear of events long past, from people he hadn't seen in nearly a year and a half. It seemed so dear, yet so distant at the same time. Still, he folded them up carefully and tucked them aside, to treasure again later. Guiltily, he vowed to at least attempt to write his mother more often.
Randen, Allek and the courier spent quite a long time alone in the wagon, reviewing the various reports and preparing the most recent summaries. The other two joined them for dinner, the unspoken understanding being that business would wait until after the meal.
At last, bellies full and curiosity whetted, the five of them squeezed in around the small table.
Randen didn't mince words. "The circle has confirmed that Karse has hired the Tedrel mercenaries as a fighting force, with an eye to attacking us sometime early next year."
A small wave of his hand for attention, and Kyminn said, "We heard rumours of a mercenary force, but I've never heard of these 'Tedrels'. Who are they?"
"Partly a who, partly a what." The courier was a slim, hawk faced woman, her jaw set in a grim line as she explained. "It was described to me like this: first you have Guild mercenaries, then you have non-guild mercenaries. After that you get random sell swords, armed scum, random bandits, and Tedrel mercenaries – in that order. The Tedrels hire for money, but they fight for land. It's their belief that it is their destiny to fight for others until they buy, conquer or are granted – and they don't care which – their own country. Karse has offered them a homeland. Ours."
Kyminn's guts turned to ice. All of a sudden, the letter he'd received from Talamir made a horrible kind of sense.
"As near as we can tell, it's Karse's intention to let the Tedrels wipe out the entire nation of Valdemar and then let the Tedrels have it." Her voice was cold with loathing. "Talamir told me that you all knew we expected war. I should tell you that this last part is not yet public knowledge and is not to become so." She pinned Nikki and Kyminn with her stare. "I profoundly hope he has not misjudged you both."
A slow shake of his head was Kyminn's only response. Arguing with the Herald would be pointless and timewasting. The only proof he had of his integrity would be his actions.
Randen took up the thread of the conversation again. "This news – along with our own complication on the border – means a change in our plans. Allek and I," he nodded to the trainee, "have been instructed to return to the capital as soon as possible. That means, at Companion speed I'm afraid. I'm to be reassigned, but I don't know where yet. Allek here is going into Whites as soon as we get back."
That news startled all of them, most especially Allek. "But…I still don't know how to be a field Herald! I don't know anything about mediating disputes, or magistrates appeals or anything like that!"
"Which is why you'll be assigned to a field Herald and leave immediately on your internship. The dean has decided – with my recommendation – that you have enough experience and background knowledge to be able to cope. To be honest, it wouldn't surprise me to find you serve a rather short internship, depending on what happens next spring."
Allek snapped his mouth shut and looked dazed. Jareth must have been giving him an earful too, for the trainee finally grimaced, shook his head and looked pensive.
"As you might expect, I've been recalled." Nikki's news surprised no one. "There's a Guard cavalry post in the Jaysong hills, just outside the Holderkin lands. I'm to report there 'with all dispatch'."
The four of them turned as one to regard Kyminn, the only one not a servant of the crown and, as a Healer, free to choose his own road.
He took a deep breath, one hand resting on Talamir's letter. "I have received a very flattering…note… from Herald Talamir. It seems that he and Dean Tannel of Healers would like me to formalize the current arrangement as their agent. I would work for the Healer's Hall, with the understanding that they – or the Heraldic circle – will assign me where needed. For the near future, that means a posting to the Guard training fort at Warford for at least the next several months. I would serve as one of their Healers, in addition to helping train the cavalry animals. It would also mean," and his voice grew quiet, "That I will be accompanying them when they are deployed next spring."
His words echoed in the cool evening silence. "I'm going to accept."
