"Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction." - Margaret Thatcher
The stars shone bright and cold as they rode away from the Gillhold waystation. The clear sky showed not even a hint of light in the east. The day would be bitterly cold. The Companions moved into a light trot to warm themselves; Bredin and Kensie covered their faces against the wind of their passage.
The packed snow creaked under the Companions' hooves as they went down the laneway. Before they rounded the bend, Kensie looked back to see Ragnar still holding his lantern, staring after them. Kensie smiled to himself.
::You have a right to be proud.:: Losanir said. ::You did a good thing.::
::I wasn't sure until last night.:: Kensie said. ::I think he's going to be a very good man.::
::I agree.:: Losanir said. ::He has a lot of promise. He listens and watches and thinks and learns.::
Kensie remembered Ragnar's comment about the Companions. ::What was that 'spirit' thing all about?::
::Ylsa says he has an awareness of the Spirit World. She thinks he would have become a shaman among his own people.::
Kensie thought about it for a moment. ::So, when he goes home, he will have a place of honor among his people. Maybe he can get them to give up piracy.::
Losanir stayed silent for a long time.
::Is there a problem?:: Kensie asked.
Losanir chuffed softly. ::As a captured warrior, he is dishonored among his people. He is unclean and would not be welcomed back.::
Kensie sighed in disappointment.
"What's the matter?" Bredin asked.
"I was just talking to Losanir about Ragnar." He told Bredin what Losanir had said. "I'm glad I spared him, but I see that I've loaded him with other problems."
Bredin snorted. "First of all, it wasn't you who spared him…." Kensie turned to Bredin, ready to protest. Bredin went on. "Oh, you didn't kill him in the battle, I'll grant that, but it was the Tribunal and the Heralds who decided not to hang him. So, you are no great angel of mercy."
"I spoke up for him at the trial!" Kensie said.
"How noble of you, but it still wasn't your decision. As for his problems, you didn't create them either. He's from a savage, backward culture that thinks slavery and piracy is just dandy, so long as you don't get caught. He got caught and now they don't want him back. That's his problem, not yours."
Kensie bristled at Bredin's words. He was about to retort when both Companions began to jig and swish their tails. ::Chosen, let it go.:: Losanir said. Kensie clenched his jaw.
Lacaral spoke to Bredin. ::That's a little harsh. He did the right thing. No need to belittle him.::
::He does something right and he acts like he saved the kingdom.:: Bredin said.
Lacaral gave an exasperated snort. ::He did the right thing. He could have slit the boy's throat after the boy killed his horse and no one would have batted an eye. He stood up at the trial to speak for the boy when everyone else wanted to hang him. He can take very justifiable pride in that.::
Bredin frowned. The awkward silence continued until after the sun came up. They squinted against the glare of the brilliant sunlight on the snow. "It's getting colder." Bredin said at last.
"It was always coldest when the sky got clear at North Evendim. Lieutenant Krandall said it was because the cold air is coming out of the north."
"I hadn't thought about it." Bredin said. "Now that you mention it, that's what I remember from the Northeast Corner Circuit."
The weather got colder through the day, making it difficult to talk. The only mercy was that the north wind was at their backs. When they stopped at inns, the first order of business was to blanket the Companions and see that they got warm water. Then they would huddle as near the fireplace as possible with cups of kava.
It took a long time to warm the waystation that night.
###
The cold continued to deepen for the next few days. When they reached the waystation at Sweetsprings, the ice in the well was six inches thick despite the layer of hay to insulate it. It took half a candlemark to break through for water.
It was Kensie's turn to care for the Companions that night. He added hot bran and molasses to their grain before looking around the stable unhappily. The walls were solid enough, but it was horribly cold. "Are you sure you will be alright?" He asked the Companions.
::We'll be OK.:: Losanir said. ::A little chilly, but we'll stay close together.:: Lacaral nodded. Still worried, Kensie left them to their feed.
Kensie went through the narrow passage connecting the stable to the waystation. He sighed with relief at the relative warmth, but kept an extra sweater and hat on. He noted that Bredin had done the same. Sweetsprings was a busy stopover, the waystation was built for four Heralds. Kensie got an idea as he looked at the extra beds.
::Are there any more expected here tonight?:: He asked his Companion.
::No one for two days in any direction.::
"Losanir says there's no one else coming. Let's borrow the blankets from the other beds." He said to Bredin.
"Good idea." Bredin left the simmering pot for a moment and the two of them stripped the spare beds, adding the blankets to their own.
They waited for the meal to cook, holding their hands over the stove to warm them. "At least the wind has died down." Kensie said.
"We're in a pocket valley." Bredin said. "There are hills all around us, so we're sheltered. Unfortunately, it also traps the cold air, making it colder that way."
"When did you become a weather wizard?"
"Mani explained it to me. They put a lot of waystations in pocket valleys. Partly to hide them, but also it is better overall to be sheltered from the wind." Bredin shivered. Taking a blanket from his bed, he pulled it over his shoulders. Kensie followed suit.
The waystation warmed slowly. By the time it was ready to eat, they were able to sit comfortably at the table. After dinner, they tried to play chess, but, now they were warm, they found themselves yawning. Unable to concentrate, they quit the game and prepared for bed.
Each made a very quick trip to the privy; when Bredin returned, he saw Kensie warming pails of water on the stove. "Good idea." He said. "I'll take it to them before we put the lights out."
::Thank you.:: Lacaral said.
Once the water was hot enough, Bredin lifted the pails down from the stove and prepared to take them through to the stable. He stopped, staring at the door. He looked around the waystation, which was roomier than most. "You know," he said, "it's not as if we have to worry about them being housebroken…."
They could hear the snorts of the Companions even through the thick walls. ::We'll forgive that crack, but we'll have to come around to the front. The passageway is too narrow for us.::
Kensie looked blankly at Bredin for a moment, then laughed as he understood. "Excellent! It will ease my mind to know Losanir is not out in the cold." Chuckling, he went to the door of the waystation and held it open while the two Companions squeezed inside.
They stoked the fire one last time, took off their whites and got into bed.
The fire in the stove slowly died down and the waystation got colder. After a few candlemarks, Bredin woke, shivering despite the extra blankets. He curled up, pulling them around him as closely as possible. "Tholan, I'm freezing." He whispered to himself. He had an idea. He wondered if he dared….
"Bredin?" Kensie said softly.
"Yes?"
Kensie's voice was tentative. "I was thinking – you may not like this – but I was thinking that two sleep warmer than one."
Both Companions whickered their amusement.
Bredin laughed out loud. "I was just trying to get up the nerve to ask the same thing."
Kensie laughed back. "Your bed or mine?"
"Yours is a bit larger, I think." Bracing himself, Bredin got up. He stopped for a moment to add wood to the stove, then climbed into Kensie's bed.
They arranged themselves as comfortably as possible and pulled the blankets tight.
"Wallis Mittel would love to be here right now." Bredin said. They both laughed. Still chuckling, they went back to sleep.
###
Baron Grayson Poldara proudly hosted his father and mother when the Count and Countess stopped at Bransat on their way back to Poldara from Midwinter Court in Haven. Count Wyeth and Lady Lora would spend four days at Bransat to discuss their second son's wedding to Lady Mina Larkin, who would come of age this year.
On the second night of their stay, Grayson hosted a formal dinner in honor of his parents, inviting the ranking families of Bransat to the manor.
Despite their eldest sons' quarrel – in fact, partly because of it – Count Poldara and Baron Mittel had taken pains to remain on speaking terms, though their conversations were somewhat strained. Neither wanted a feud between the families or even the appearance of one, so Faro Mittel accepted Grayson's invitation. Over dinner, he and Wyeth spoke generally about the doings of Court and business affairs.
When the meal concluded and the entertainment began, Baron Mittel asked Count Poldara if they could speak privately for a moment. The two men withdrew to the study; Wyeth pulled curtains over the doors to muffle sounds; he poured a glass of cherisette for each of them and they took comfortable seats near the fireplace.
"I need to talk to you about Wallis." Faro Mittel began.
"How may I help you?" Wyeth said cautiously, unsure of Baron Mittel's purpose. He knew about Wallis' obsessive hatred of Kensie. On the other hand, Wyeth's agents had told him of the tension between Faro and his son over Wallis' sexual preferences. Faro was very hidebound and parochial; Faro had essentially told Wallis not to come home unless he was willing to be a 'real man.' Either topic could be difficult to discuss.
"He is talking about killing Kensie. Frequently and publicly. I am afraid he might actually try something. He may be a buggerer, but he is still my son. I don't want him to do anything stupid. Nor do I want to see anything happen to your son."
"Kensie is now a Herald. He is outside of my protection." Wyeth said.
Faro Mittel raised an eyebrow. "You've disowned him? I thought you'd satisfied yourself as to his courage."
Wyeth shook his head. "No, no. I could not be prouder of him. He's the first Herald in our family in over two hundred years. He's proved his courage many times over. It's just that he cannot be my heir and be a Herald. He belongs to the Crown now."
"But you disinherited him." Faro insisted.
Wyeth tried to recall if there had ever been a Herald in Baron Mittel's family. Patiently, he explained the rule that highborn Heralds had to give up their birth rank. "That's why Grayson is now Baron of Bransat and my heir. I love Kensie, but I can't protect him anymore."
Faro digested this for a moment. "I see. I was hoping you could do something."
Count Wyeth raised his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "I will pass on your warning. That's all I can do."
Faro sighed. "Hopefully, Lord Orthallen will talk to him. I can't see that he would want someone in his service who talks of murdering a Herald."
"You might plant a word in Wallis' ear about that. Gaining a place on Orthallen's staff was quite a coup. He wouldn't want to lose that." Privately, Wyeth wondered why Orthallen had taken Wallis on. Usually, Orthallen's aides either came from families of much higher rank or had personally distinguished themselves in some way.
Faro nodded. "I will write to him. We rarely speak. Frankly, if he didn't have the position with Orthallen, I might pass over him in favor of Pryce."
Wyeth hid his distaste for Baron Mittel's notion. To divert the conversation, he said. "And how is your grandson?"
Faro grinned and launched into stories about the toddler's doings. Wyeth, in turn boasted about his youngest son.
###
Bredin and Kensie arrived at Redruth one day before Herald Leo. Colonel Chase welcomed them to the Guard station and assigned Urson Tewkes-Felthan – now a captain – to show them to their quarters.
Both of them were happy to see Urson and congratulated him on his promotion. It was mid-afternoon. Once they had seen to the Companions and stowed their gear, they met with Colonel Chase and several of her officers for a briefing on the military situation. She told them of the general belief that Karse was allowing bandits to base themselves within Karse to raid Valdemar, so long as the bandits left Karse alone. The Heralds nodded; Alberich had said the practice dated from when he had been in the Sunsguard.
After the briefing, Urson took them on a tour of the newly built Guard Post. While they went, Urson and Kensie spoke about their experiences near Lake Evendim. Bredin felt left out of the discussion. The tour finished at the wall, where the watch tower looked south and east towards Karse.
His eyes on the hills, Urson said. "What we really need are scouts and trackers. People who can move unseen and detect hidden movements. Haven gave us couple of really good ones, but we need to train more."
Bredin and Kensie exchanged glances. Adrian had told them of Ragnar's tracking skills. "I think I know where you can find one." Kensie said.
"Who?" Urson asked.
As strong gust of wind blew a spray of snow over the tower. All three shivered in the blast. "Let's go inside to talk about it." Kensie said.
The three returned to the officers' social room. Getting themselves cups of kava, they took a seat at one of the tables.
"You remember that pirate youngster the tribunal spared?" Kensie began.
Urson nodded. "Ragnar? Yes, definitely. He shouldn't have gone to the road gangs. Too young."
"What?" Kensie asked.
"Yep." Urson said. "He was only fifteen, if that, when we captured him."
"I'd have sworn he was older."
Urson shook his head. "We found out during his trial. Or rather, the appeal of his conviction. Herald Percy was the one who discovered it."
"Trial?" Kensie was puzzled. "I don't remember that at North Evendim. And Percy wasn't there. The Heralds were Emeric and Harrow."
"I meant his murder trial at Watford prison." Urson said. He grinned at Kensie's startled look. Urson told Kensie and Bredin how Ragnar had killed two men in the prison and how Percy had overturned the conviction, ruling that Ragnar had acted in self defense. "During his investigation, Percy found out that Ragnar was under sixteen and did not belong in an adult prison, so he commuted his sentence to two years' service at Gillhold."
"I'd wondered how he wound up at Gillhold." Kensie said. "Adrian didn't explain.
"In any case, Adrian told us that Ragnar is an excellent scout and tracker. He's been teaching the guardsmen at the breeding station there. Once he's finished his sentence, maybe you could take him on as a scout."
::He's really attached to Adrian.:: Losanir put in. ::He might not come.::
"Assuming he's willing to come." Bredin put in. Lacaral had said the same to him.
Urson looked pensive. "Well, he's not Valdemaran. But we might take him on as an auxiliary."
"There are foreigners in the guard already." Bredin said. "We don't exclude them. Why not take him on?"
"There are still a lot of those who were in the grand army we had in the Tedrel wars who want to join the regular guard." Urson said. "Way more than we need. Valdemarans are given preference. Maybe, if your lad proves himself in the auxiliaries, he can slide over to the regulars. We always need specialists."
Bredin shrugged. "I'll send a note to Herald Adrian and you can write to Corporal Tilton, who runs the mule breeding station there."
"A corporal in charge of a post?" Urson said.
"There are only nine men, counting the corporal. Technically, they are part of the garrison at Three Rivers. A lieutenant or captain from Three Rivers comes over to check on them a couple of times every sennight." Bredin explained what Adrian had told them.
"We should warn you that he's a mindspeaker." Bredin said. "He's also got a couple of other Gifts."
"What kind of Gifts?" Urson said. "If you are going to tell me he has some sort of spirit gifts, I already know that."
Kensie nodded. "According to Ylsa and Randen, he can see the spirit world."
"See it?" Urson said. "He practically swims in it." He told Bredin and Kensie about the manifestations of the Eagle at Watford. "Half the witnesses were ready to bolt from that courtroom."
Bredin and Kensie looked at their friend skeptically.
::Irian and Derris both saw it. So did Percy and Randen. It was real.:: Lacaral said.
The two Heralds looked at each other. "Losanir and Lacaral tell us you are right." Kensie said. "It sounds unbelievable."
Urson snorted. "If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't believe it. Anything else?"
"There's another powerful Gift. But it is blocked and we don't know what it is." Bredin said.
"Who blocked it?"
"We don't know." Bredin shook his head. "We're worried about that one."
###
Leo arrived late the next afternoon. "Damned, ignorant, insular, pig-headed Holderkin. Took me ages to find out who was breaking the fences between them and their non-kindred neighbors." He said, explaining his lateness. "I'm sorry to leave them to you, but I'd damned glad to be shut of them myself."
Leo spent the next day briefing Kensie and Bredin about the circuit. "Kerenos help you with the Holderkin." He said. "They sit and listen to the laws like blocks of wood. Or the men do, anyways. The women and children stay out of sight. They never bring any cases forward. I'm sure they cheat on their taxes, but the records always look perfectly in order. I've tried to get some of them to open up, but they just turn their backs.
"There was one young man in Sensholding who got a little friendly, but he got killed in a bandit raid." Leo ground his teeth. "All too conveniently."
Bredin raised an eyebrow. "You mean they killed one of their own?"
Leo frowned. "I don't think so. It was a real bandit raid. My guess is that he was ordered to 'heroically lead the counter-charge'.
Kensie nodded. "You mean the Uriah treatment?"
"Exactly." Leo's face showed his disgust.
Other than the Holderkin, Leo mainly talked about the bandit intrusions coming out of Karse. "It's not merely that the Karsites are allowing them bases," Leo said, "it's like they are getting information about our plans and movements. Colonel Chase and I are sure they have agents here, but we haven't caught any yet. As your friend mentioned, we need scouts and trackers to help warn us.
"I also wonder if they are getting information from Haven. Two tax trains and a couple of pay coached have been hit along with several rich caravans. We didn't know they were coming; there was no one here who could have tipped off the bandits. We just found the bodies and wreckage afterwards. The bandits allowed easier but less choice travellers to pass unmolested while they waited for their targets. All of the targets were carefully guarded secrets. No one outside of Haven was supposed to know they were coming. I reported my suspicions to Haven and they sent a bait caravan, shadowed by a company of guardsmen. The bandits never showed up."
Leo finished his briefing early in the afternoon. With the short winter days, there was not enough daylight to get to the next waystation, so he put off starting home until the morning. Instead, he asked Bredin for some unarmed combat practice in the post's training room. Several of the guardsmen joined them. Kensie offered to help, but the others mainly paid attention to Bredin. After watching quietly for a candlemark, Kensie went to the stable and groomed Losanir. When he was done, Lacaral and Jaracin whickered quietly. Kensie laughed and groomed them as well.
After their third night at the guardpost, Bredin and Kensie waved goodbye to Leo where the road parted and set off on the circuit.