The only secrets are the secrets that keep themselves. - George Bernard Shaw
Spring turned into summer and Kensie discovered that, despite the stories in the Court of 'our brave guards clearing out bandits', there was actually very little fighting. Kensie's squad went on numerous patrols without encountering a single bandit or robber. Aside from one incident when Jai Smith's squad captured three robbers, nothing happened in three moons. Even the three Jai arrested proved to be nothing more than a group of village thugs who thought they were tougher and smarter than they actually proved.
After yet another long, uneventful patrol on a scorching midsummer day, Kensie mentioned the lack of bandits to Lieutenant Krandall.
"That's because we are here." The lieutenant replied. At Kensie's puzzled expression, Krandall went on "The guard is here. We make constant patrols. If there are reports of bandits, we patrol more often where they are preying on people. If they are clever bandits, they move somewhere else. If they are stupid bandits, they stay around and get caught. Then we either hang them or put them in the road gangs.
"If there are no bandits in the area, then we are doing our job." Lieutenant Krandall finished.
Kensie absorbed this. "Right, Sir. I see."
Just before midsummer, Herald Courier Ylsa arrived with dispatches from Haven. She also brought disturbing rumors of slavers kidnapping people, especially children, for sale to illicit brothels and for slave labor outside of Valdemar. The Royal Council thought the slavers might be working with the pirates who operated on Lake Evendim. Pirates had struck two villages along the southern shore. They had killed most of the adult men and taken everyone else away, presumably to sell as slaves.
As Herald Tobias had on his visit, Herald Ylsa contrived to 'accidentally' meet Kensie and question him about using his gifts. Kensie had nothing to report. His gifts remained a secret.
As the summer wore on, Kensie did begin using his gifts, though not directly as a mindspeaker.
When people in the villages protected by the guard post would get lost, men from the post would go out to assist with the search. Shortly after Herald Ylsa's visit, Captain Peregrine decided that Kensie was now sufficiently familiar with the territory to help with the searches.
A tow-haired boy mounted on a sturdy pony galloped into the parade square mid-morning on a Rest Day. He had come from the village of Blaumeer, about ten miles north of the outpost. One of the men of the village had gone out hunting the day before and not returned. Captain Peregrine dispatched Kensie and Ensign Jai Smith to go with their squads to help with the search.
The guardsmen arrived at Blaumeer in the early in the afternoon. The missing man, Horst Young, had gone out with his bow the previous morning. His wife, Lysa, said her husband had been expected back the previous afternoon. Ensign Smith got directions from the other villagers for the area that Horst usually hunted. Within a candlemark, Jai and Kensie had divided the area for search between them and set out.
Two candlemarks later, the searchers heard three short blasts on a whistle, indicating that a sign had been found. They made their way to the spot. Privates Essig and Defeo had found the remains of a recent campfire. The fire pit was still wet from water that had been poured on it to douse the flames. There was also a crude bed of leaves and grass nearby.
They found tracks leading away from the campsite. Fanning out from the campsite, the two squads tried to track the missing man.
The sun reached the angle agreed upon as the 'turn-back' time without any further sign of the missing man. Kensie stopped, frustrated. Privates Style and Wertz stopped on either side of Blood. "Reckon we better head back, Sir." Private Wertz said.
Frustrated, Kensie slumped in Blood's saddle. "I think you're right, Wally." Kensie replied. Kensie stared off into the woods, thinking. It was worth a try, he decided. He lowered his mindshield and reached out into the woods.
He found the missing man. Off to the left. From the feel, only a few hundred yards away. He send Blood into a canter, crashing through the bush and leaping fallen trees. The two startled privates ran after him.
In a sunwidth, Kensie broke into a clearing. The missing man stood there, looking frightened, with an arrow drawn and pointed at Kensie.
Seeing it was a soldier, the man lowered his bow. "I thought you was a bear." He said.
"Horst Young?" Kensie asked.
"That I be." The man said. "Who are you?"
Without answering, Kensie pulled the horn from his saddlebag and blew a long blast – the signal that the quarry had been found.
"I am Ensign Poldara from the North Evendim guard post." Kensie said. "We've been searching for you." He blew another long blast on the horn.
Horst looked annoyed. "Ah, bother. Why all the fuss? Sure, I got a bit off track, but I'd a' made it home."
Kensie didn't bother to answer as Privates Style and Wertz jogged into the clearing following Kensie's track. Shortly, the rest of the search party gathered in the clearing while the object of their search protested he hadn't needed help.
When the last of the searchers had assembled and the sergeants reported all present, the squads turned back towards Blaumeer. As they walked, Sergeant Urquart delivered a blistering lecture to Goodman Young about how stupid he had been.
Kensie and Jai rode their horses at the rear of their men.
"We had just turned back when we heard your horn." Jai said. "That was a lucky last moment find."
"It was." Kensie agreed, even as he wondered if the Heralds would excuse the use of his mindspeech. "Wally had just said we should turn back when I thought I heard something." Kensie winced inwardly at the lie even as Private Wertz looked back and smiled at the mention of his name.
"Could have been nothing." Jai said.
"It could have been." Kensie said. "But it was worth a fast look. In any case, it means we don't have to keep searching tomorrow."
The sun was just touching the horizon as the guardsmen entered Blaumeer. The villagers cheered the return of their lost man. Lysa Young scolded her husband even as she wept on his shoulder and their three children clung to their father.
The villagers laid on an impromptu celebration and feast for the guardsmen.
Kensie and Jai consulted Sergeant Urquart and Sergeant Mann. "The men would sleep happier in their own beds, Sirs." Sergeant Mann said.
The twilight was fading as they left Blaumeer and it was full dark before they reached the guard post. Captain Peregrine welcomed them back as they came through the gate and sent them all to bed with his congratulations.
Three days later, Herald Mata spent a night at the post on her circuit. Kensie caught her attention before dinner and they arranged to meet in the stable during the evening. As soon as they were alone, Kensie told her about using his mindspeech to find Horst Young and asked her if that was an acceptable use of his gift.
"Of course!" She said without hesitating. "You weren't spying and you may have saved his life. You also saved your men from having to spend more days searching. Don't hesitate to use it in that situation."
She saw the relieved look on Kensie's face. "Herald Tobias told me about your gifts. I am sure you know we are keeping an eye on you. You are doing fine."
"Thank you." Kensie said. "I will use it on future searches. One thing, though: If I start finding people too quickly, won't Captain Peregrine and the other officers start to wonder?"
Mata looked impressed. "You have thought about this, haven't you? I'll tell you what. I'll drop a suggestion in the captain's ear that I think you may have a bit of a knack for finding lost people. You will probably pay the price of being sent on searches more often, but he'll accept that as an explanation."
Kensie thanked her. Before they returned to the barracks, she introduced him to her Companion, Calan. The stallion nodded in response to Kensie's greeting and went back to his hay.
Herald Mata spoke to Captain Peregrine as promised. To the captain, Kensie's supposed 'knack' was another tool to use in the efficient operation of his command. He shared the information with his officers and it spread from them to the men.
Kensie became the search expert for the post. Captain Peregrine sent him out every time there was a report of a missing person. His only 'failure' was a tragic case of a boy who had drowned. It took three days searching to find the body. Kensie took the 'failure' personally, despite the reassurances of Sergeant Urquart and Healer Leon, who told him that the boy had been dead before word reached the post.
The other major summer duty for the guard post was fighting forest fires. In the heat of the summer, the men of the post were called out a score of times to fight blazes large and small. The work was hot, grimy and backbreaking. Kensie wielded a shovel alongside his men as they fought to contain and extinguish the fires. He choked on the smoke and picked up numerous small burns from flying debris. Sergeant Urquart taught Kensie the techniques of supervising and guiding his men even as he labored beside them.
Kensie's only moment of pleasure from the fire-fighting was seeing Kadhael's explosive temper tantrum when Lieutenant Krandall ordered him to pick up a shovel and get to work. Lieutenant Krandall backhanded Kadhael to the ground and told him that he either helped fight the fire or face a court martial for insubordination. Trembling with outrage, Kadhael picked up the shovel and joined the fire line.
Kadhael's fury made him break the long silence with Kensie as he ranted about the lieutenant's 'laying hands on him' and the captain's 'disrespectful' reply to Kadhael's complaint. When Kensie laughed at him, Kadhael glowered and turned to the letter he was sending to his father.
When Viscount Corbie's reply arrived, Kadhael tore it up and threw it in the fire. Kadhael became even more sullen and tight-lipped.
Near the end of Corn Moon, Kensie spent a Rest Day afternoon riding on the beach. After a long gallop with Blood, he exercised several of the guard horses. These were horses kept for general use, such as taking messages between posts and the surrounding villages rather than the personal mounts of the officers.
When Kensie returned to the stable, Corporal Lutz came by as Kensie untacked and groomed a grey gelding. "You got the gift, haven't you?" Corporal Lutz said.
Kensie looked at the corporal in surprise, holding the brush in mid-air. How had he betrayed himself?
The corporal smiled at Kensie's reaction. "Oh, you've been careful. But I've noticed how you get the horses calm and settled like nobody else. They don't fight you, neither. I've got a touch myself – that's why I'm stableman – but you have it real strong."
Kensie went white. "Please don't tell…" He began.
Corporal Lutz held up his hand. "Oh, I won't tell no one, lad. 'Cept maybe the captain if there's need. I think a certain other Ensign might get a wee bit upset if he knew you had the gift. I remember hearing that there's a bit of bad blood between you and him over another horse. Wouldn't do to stir things up, would it?"
"Thank you, Corporal." Kensie smiled with relief. "Where did you hear about Gamin?"
"Oh, he doesn't miss a chance to give you a bad word, an' you're not around. Course, nobody believes him anymore. You're pretty straight arrow and the men like that. A few have their doubts 'bout you, but none of them got any use for some-un's going around speaking ill of another all the time." The corporal gave a snort of contempt.
Kensie nodded. "Thank you, Corporal. For your discretion and what you just told me. It means a lot."
A few mornings later, a hurried summons brought Kensie running to the Captain's office. A corporal Kensie did not know sat in a chair beside the captain's desk. The exhausted corporal's uniform was stained with sweat and coated with grime.
The captain waited until all of the post officers arrived. "Corporal Frye has come with a message from Captain Stroud at Goldenoak. I think you should all hear it."
Corporal Frye told how a tinker had arrived that morning with word that pirates had attacked the village of Fish Cove last night. The tinker was camping two miles from the village when screams and shouts awakened him. Cautiously, the tinker crept close enough to see the pirates as they loaded their captives and the meager loot from the village onto their ships. Once sure the pirates were gone, the tinker had run to the Goldenoak guard post.
Captain Stroud had rushed to the village and confirmed the tinker's tale. There were no living people in the post. All the men older than twelve were dead along with a few women and all of the elderly. The pirates had taken everything of value and killed all the livestock they could not carry away.
With nothing to be done for the villagers, Captain Stroud sent Corporal Frye to North Evendim post and another messenger to the Stag River guard post in the other direction. She requested her neighboring commanders to come and review the situation and share thoughts on the attack.
Captain Peregrine addressed the officers. "Lieutenant Krandall will remain here with the troops. He will have full authority while I am away. The rest of you will come with me to have a look. I recommend that you bring a cloth that you can soak with vinegar to cover your nose and mouth. We leave in a quarter candlemark."
Captain Peregrine and his officers arrived at Fish Creek in the middle of the afternoon. Captain Termole from Stag River was already there with his officers.
Captain Stroud had left the bodies in place while she and her officers studied the scene. In the warm sun, the bodies had already begun to stink. Her troopers were digging mass graves outside the walls. Kensie splashed a scarf with vinegar and covered his nose and mouth.
The assembled officers listened to Captain Stroud. She pointed to the gate, which was open as they had found it. There was no sign that the pirates had forced the gate or breached the wooden walls. "My guess is that they sent one or two men over the wall by stealth. They killed the man on guard and opened the gate for the rest." She pointed to the body of a man near the gate whose head was split open by a blow from behind.
"I've noticed a pattern in the attacks." Captain Stroud said. "They all come at the first quarter moon."
"That would allow them to use the moonlight to get ashore and in position." Captain Termole said. "Then they could attack at full dark." The other captains nodded agreement.
After Captain Stroud escorted them on a quick walk around the village pointing out the signs of killing and looting, the officers split up and wandered on their own. Kensie, Kadhael, Jai and Rusty walked together. Urson Tewkes-Felthan joined them.
For Kensie, the saddest sight was a group of ten men lying in a heap. Their hands were bound behind them and their throats had been cut. Evidently, they had been captured then murdered in cold blood.
"They learned the folly of their cowardice." Kadhael sneered. "They should have fought. Maybe they'd have taken some of the pirates with them."
The four others looked at Kadhael in shock. "For Kerenos' sake, Kadhael, show some decency." Kensie said.
"They surrendered and paid the price." Kadhael persisted. "Cowards deserve no respect."
"They were fishermen, not soldiers." Kensie said. "They didn't have a chance."
"They should have learned to fight. I'm not surprised you sympathize with cowards, Poldara. You're one of them. Too scared to fight."
The other ensigns drew hissing breaths and glanced from Kadhael to Kensie.
"Get lost, Corbie." Rusty Green interrupted. "You're a slacker and mud-slinger. You stink worse than the bodies around here."
Kadhael sneered. "I'm not surprised that a lowborn lout like you would be impressed with Baron Coward's title. Will you run away like he did?"
"You seem to know all about what Kensie did, Corbie." Jai Smith joined in. "What did you do in the Tedrel Wars?"
Urson snorted. "He hung around the palace in Haven with his father, doing important behind-the-lines war profiteering. He was still there when my father and my brothers and I got home after the war."
Kadhael looked disdainfully at the others. "I see no reason to hang around with the likes of you."
"And we see no reason to enjoy your company." Jai retorted as Kadhael stalked away.
The four resumed their exploration, eventually returning to the village square. In the middle of the square lay a single body, face down. There was a stab wound in the middle of his back.
The four stopped beside the body. Bracing himself against the stench of decay, Kensie bent down. He rolled the body on its side. There were no wounds on the front of the body.
Kensie remembered Geoffrey Toews. He leapt to his feet and kicked the body. "You son of a bitch! You filthy, traitorous son of a bitch!"
The three Captains were standing nearby. "Poldara! What in the nine hells is the meaning of this?" Captain Peregrine walked toward the ensigns, who seemed as astonished by Kensie's diatribe as the captains.
"This man betrayed the village! He killed the guard and let the pirates in!" In his outrage, Kensie omitted the 'sir' as he addressed Captain Peregrine. "He betrayed his neighbors and the pirates paid him back in his own coin."
Captain Peregrine was taken aback. "What do you mean? How do you know that?"
Kensie remembered who he was talking to. "I apologize for my outburst, Sir. This man betrayed the village, I'd stake my life on it."
By this time, most of the other officers and a few of Captain Stroud's troopers had gathered around. Kensie pointed at the wound on the dead man's back. "He was stabbed from behind with an upward blow. See how the wound is above the hole in his shirt? That means whoever killed him was standing right behind him."
One of Captain Stroud's lieutenants, a middle aged man with a touch of grey at his temples, nodded as Kensie spoke.
Kensie pushed the toe of his boot under the body and rolled it up once more. "He has no wounds anywhere else. He never fought the pirates. He let them in the gate and let them kill his neighbors.
"There is no sign of fighting around here. All the other bodies are bunched together. This man was standing here alone after the fight, waiting for his reward." Kensie snorted with contempt. "They paid him off, alright. Just not the way he expected."
The Captains and the other officers looked at each other thoughtfully. "I'd say the lad is right." the Goldenoak lieutenant said.
"I'm Lieutenant Rebane." He introduced himself. "What the lad says fits with the evidence." He spat on the body. "If that scum had fought at all, he'd have wounds on his front. If they'd killed him running away, they'd have stabbed him a few times more just to make sure.
"I'd guess the pirates believe in the old saying 'Never trust a traitor, even one you've made yourself.'"
The three Captains exchanged glances once more, nodding to each other. "Where did you learn this, Ensign?" Captain Peregrine asked.
Kensie flushed. "Sir, I was betrayed by my manservant, who tried to set me up for murder. The killers paid him off the same way the pirates finished this dog. After that, one of my father's agents taught me what to look for."
The officers stood quietly for a moment, looking at each other and the dead man. "Well, that solves how the pirates got in." Captain Stroud said. "It gives us something to watch out for. We'll warn the village headmen to watch out for someone making contact with strangers.
"I think we have learned all we can here. Time to bury the dead."
The mass graves were now ready. Soldiers took the bodies and laid them in the graves. A priest from the next village said a prayer for the dead as the soldiers covered them. The soldiers dragged the body of the traitor into the woods and left it for carrion.
The officers from Stag River and North Evendim headed back to their posts. They rode silently, contemplating the horror they had seen. Captain Peregrine and the lieutenants rode in front, the four ensigns rode about twenty yards behind.
Half way back to North Evendim, Kadhael said "Why am I not surprised that Poldara knows so much about traitors?"
"Shut up, Corbie." Rusty Green said before Kensie could react.
On the morning of Fall Day, Kensie Poldara stared through the window behind Captain Peregrine's desk. Bright sunshine filled the parade square. The map beside the window had five red markers showing the locations of Fish Cove and four other villages pirates had sacked in the past two years, the latest of them only a fortnight ago near the Lakeshore guard post.
Ensigns Kadhael Corbie and Kensie Poldara stood rigidly at attention in front of Captain Peregrine's desk. The Captain glowered at them both. In his hand, the captain held a sheet of paper covered with rows of random numbers. Lieutenant Krandall stood at attention at one side of the desk.
"So where did you find this, Ensign Corbie?" The captain's tone was flat with suppressed anger.
"I found it hidden in a pocket in Ensign Poldara's diary, Sir." Kadhael said.
Kensie opened his mouth, but shut it after a quick frown from the captain.
"Where was Ensign Poldara's diary when you found it?" Captain Peregrine asked.
"It was in his trunk, Sir." Kadhael said.
"Was his trunk open?"
"No, Sir."
"You opened his trunk?" The captain's voice did not change.
"Yes, Sir."
The captain frowned slightly. "Why did you open his trunk?"
"I was looking for evidence, Sir." Kadhael sounded prim.
"Evidence of what?"
"That Ensign Poldara is a traitor, Sir." Kadhael said.
Captain Peregrine arched an eyebrow. "Why did you think Ensign Poldara might be a traitor?"
"Ensign Poldara showed an understanding of traitors when we were at that village sacked by pirates." Kadhael's smiled slightly as he spoke.
"I see." The captain said. "Did I tell you to investigate Ensign Poldara?"
"No, Sir."
"Did any officer tell you to investigate Ensign Poldara?"
"No, Sir."
The captain's eyebrows rose higher. "So you decided to begin an investigation on your own initiative?"
"Yes, Sir."
The captain held up the sheet of paper. "What do you think this is?"
"I think it is coded instructions from Ensign Poldara's contacts, Sir. And proof he is a traitor." Kadhael sounded positively smug.
Captain Peregrine put the paper down. He leaned back in his chair and heaved a sigh. "It is not." He said. He rose to his feet. "It happens that I know exactly what it is. I knew of its existence, though I did not know where it was.
"You have, unwittingly, exposed an official secret through your unauthorized snooping." The captain stressed the word 'unauthorized.'
Kadhael's face fell.
Captain Peregrine held up his hand. He raised a finger. "You have exposed an official secret." He raised another. "You have snooped in the private possessions of a fellow officer without approval." He raised a third finger. "You have invaded the privacy of a fellow officer." He raised a fourth. "And you have made a slanderous charge against a fellow officer."
Kensie looked straight ahead and tried to stay expressionless as Captain Peregrine made his accusations. Kadhael went paler with every word the captain spoke.
The captain came around the desk and stood inches in front of Kadhael. Coldly, he said "You will leave this office and return with your signed resignation within half a candlemark. You will change out of your uniform and leave this post before noon. You will never appear in guard uniform again or enter a guard post anywhere in Valdemar without the specific permission of the commanding officer. Do you understand?"
Kadhael's jaw worked for a moment before he could speak. "I – I will not resign, Sir." He said. Lieutenant Krandall's eyebrows shot up and his mouth opened in a round 'O' of surprise.
Captain Peregrine gritted his teeth. "If you do not resign, I will have Lieutenant Krandall arrest you. You will appear before a Court Martial on charges relating to this matter plus charges of disaffection for your ongoing campaign of rumors against Ensign Poldara. I have no doubt the Court will convict you. You will, if you are lucky, receive fifty lashes. You may also be sentenced to prison. You will be stripped of rank and dishonorably discharged in the parade square before the assembled officers and men. You have a choice."
The blood drained from Kadhael's face as the Captain spoke. Kensie kept looking through the window.
"I – I will resign, Sir." Kadhael said.
"Very well, dismissed." Kadhael saluted and left. The captain did not return his salute.
Kensie relaxed. He saluted and prepared to leave.
"I have not dismissed you, Poldara." The captain said. Kensie snapped back to attention.
The captain returned behind his desk and sat down. "Be seated, gentlemen." His glance took in Kensie and Lieutenant Krandall, who both sat down. The lieutenant relaxed while Kensie sat bolt upright.
Captain Peregrine picked up the sheet once more. He looked at Kensie. "You knew that I was aware of this, of course. I was told that one of you had it but forbidden to ask who. Master Corbie has now revealed where it was."
Kensie's mouth twitched as he noted that the captain referred to Kadhael as a civilian. "I was told never to mention it without need, Sir."
The captain snorted. "I suppose you know what the letter I received from the Lord Marshall says?"
Kensie nodded. "I know the information it contains, Sir, though I don't know if there are any orders in it."
"And you are the person who may authorize decoding the letter?" The captain said.
Kensie gulped. "Yes, Sir."
"And you are the only person who may decide if I need the information in the letter?" The captain arched an eyebrow.
Kensie gulped again, still sitting rigidly in his chair. "Yes, Sir."
"It is rather awkward for a senior officer to depend on a subordinate's judgment of necessity." Captain Peregrine's voice was thick with irony.
"I understand, Sir. It is awkward for me as well. But my orders come from the same source as yours. I may not reveal what I know unless there is need." Kensie chose his words carefully, trying to avoid hinting about his secret.
"Mmm, I see. Well, we are both bound aren't we? Would you mind telling me why – " Captain Peregrine stopped himself " – Forget that. It would probably give the secret away." Joshua Peregrine was highly intelligent. That was why he was one of the youngest captains in the guard and why senior officers were grooming him as a potential future general or even Lord Marshall.
"Sir. I can only say that, if I told you without need, the knowledge could be as disruptive to your command as not knowing." Kensie paraphrased what the Lord Marshall's Herald and Dean Elcarth had told him.
"Very well. For now, I will retain this cipher key in the post strongbox. Since its whereabouts are known, it is best if it were in a secure place. I will not use it until you tell me there is need. Dismissed."
Kensie saluted and left. He avoided going back to his quarters and deliberately occupied himself elsewhere until Kadhael Corbie had left the post.
To Kensie's disappointment, Lieutenant Krandall took over direct control of Kadhael's squad until a replacement arrived. Kensie had hoped he would be given the responsibility.
Herald Courier Tobias arrived the next night. When Kensie told him of the discovery of the cipher key, Tobias demanded the exact wording of his conversation with Captain Peregrine. Once satisfied that Kensie had not told the captain of his gifts, Tobias shrugged and said he would let the Lord Marshall's Herald know.