Don Bassingthwaite - Word of traitors

22 Sypheros

Aruget stood outside the map room of Khaar Mbar’ost. “Ashi’s here?” Ekhaas asked.

The guard nodded. “Geth and Dagii, too.” He hesitated, then added, “Is it true you ride east with Dagii’s army?”

Ekhaas flicked her ears. “You know?”

“By command of Haruuc and Lady Vounn, I remain close to Lady Ashi. But I keep my secrets.” His ears rose high. “Swift travel and great glory, Ekhaas duur’kala.”

Ekhaas bent her head to him, knocked once on the door, then went in.

Midday light flooded through a window and illuminated a room hung with maps, with cabinets containing more maps lining the walls. In the middle of the room stood a large table. Dagii, Geth, and Ashi looked up from it. Under the sunlight, Dagii’s face was creased and weary, though his eyes brightened at the sight of her.

“Saa, Ekhaas,” he said. “Come look.”

She joined them at the table. A large map had been laid out on it, a fine map depicting the whole of Darguun in good detail. The Seawall Mountains on the west had been drawn in slate blue, Kraken Bay off the southeastern coast and the Thunder Sea off the southern in brighter shades. The great rivers Ghaal and Torlaac divided the land into thirds with shining threads of silver. Roads were red, lightly drawn for lesser roads, heavily for the fine trade roads maintained by House Orien. The names and locations of town and villages showed in crisp black, except for Rhukaan Draal, which had been marked with gold. The border of the Mournland, running more than half of Darguun’s length and pressing against its entire northeastern side was colored in stormy, featureless gray.

All of the text was written in Goblin. This was no human map, drawn over and recolored to suit a conquered territory. It was a fresh new map, made by dar to show a nation of dar. Her heart stirred at the sight of it.

Markers had been placed on the map, short sticks and round counters of polished wood, tracing a route across the Ghaal River then east and slightly south to the black dot that was Zarrthec. Ekhaas looked up at Dagii. The warlord of Mur Talaan twitched his ears.

“The advance regiments of the army have already started marching east,” said Dagii. “We’re using a staggered deployment to reach the area hit by the Valenar raids quickly.” He reached out with a thin wooden wand and traced a line from Zarrthec to the wide scattered dots, close to the gray blotch of the Mournland, that were the eastern clanholds.

“Senen will be angry I’m not riding with the first troops,” Ekhaas said. Dagii’s ears twitched again and stiffened.

“If Senen wants to record the heroic tale of soldiers marching to camp, she’s welcome to ride in their dust herself.” He drew back the wand and tapped Zarrthec. “You and I will leave tomorrow after the games finish-I need to stay for the naming of Haruuc’s heir. We will be able to catch up to the advance regiments before they pass Zarrthec. Your story can begin there.”

Geth bared his teeth and gave a little growl. “Grandfather Rat. It’s bad enough that Tariic pushed you into leading this army. You don’t have to sound like you’re enjoying it.”

“Tariic turned the situation to his advantage, but I would have taken command in any case. Darguun must be defended. The Valenar raids must be answered.” Dagii stood back from the table. He smiled. “We’ll be in more danger than you will be here.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Geth looked at Ekhaas. “What about the false rod? How are we going to get it if you and Dagii are gone? T-” He cut himself off before he said the artificer’s name and his eyes darted to Ashi.

The human woman wrinkled her nose. “I know. You promised not to reveal the artificer’s involvement. Whoever he is, you’re not going to be able to go on the day of the coronation and get it from him, and he’s not likely going to deliver it to Khaar Mbar’ost.”

Ekhaas had already weighed the problem. “He’ll just have to deal with one more person knowing his secret,” she said. “Ashi, you’re going to have to get it from him. His name is Tenquis. I’ll take you to him today to show you how to get to his workshop and to tell him about the change in plans.”

“What about Midian?” Ashi asked. “Should we tell him?”

Beyond Ashi, Dagii tensed and Geth twitched and Ekhaas knew they were thinking of what Chetiin had hinted at. The same thoughts had occurred to her, but she had an answer ready. “No,” she told Ashi smoothly. “We did make a promise to Tenquis. We’ll bend it out of necessity, but we won’t break it. One more person needs to know but not two.”

Ashi grimaced, but nodded. “I suppose. It feels strange to be keeping secrets from Midian, though-especially when we’re being broken up. We’ve already lost Chetiin.”

“We’re always going to have secrets,” Dagii added. “Whatever we do with the Rod of Kings, we’ll have to keep a secret.”

“That’s not the same as keeping secrets from each other.”

The irony of Ashi’s words put a slightly sick feeling into Ekhaas’s gut-they were already keeping the secret of their suspicion of Midian from her-but then Ashi pressed her lips together for a moment and added, “There’s something I’ve been holding back. Vounn and Pater didn’t want me to say anything, but Sindra d’Lyrandar wasn’t in the gallery yesterday, and there are no Lyrandar ships at the docks-the Valenar may have used House Lyrandar to get their raiders into Darguun.”

Ekhaas raised her ears at the news but Dagii only nodded. “Some of the warlords already guessed that.”

Ashi’s face turned red.

Dagii shook his head. “No, thank you for telling me, Ashi. I appreciate it.” His ears flattened. “Lyrandar knows we’ll need to welcome them into Darguun again eventually. This war is only business for them-as it is for all the dragonmarked houses. Vounn and Pater have come to me. Orien wagons will follow our army and form our supply lines. House Deneith has contracted a regiment of our own mercenaries back to us.”

“Bastards!” said Geth. “I served House Deneith as a mercenary during the Last War. They’ll do anything for a profit. Sorry, Ashi.”

Ashi shook her head. “No, I know Vounn and Deneith. You’re right. Darguun has always provided Deneith with mercenaries, but they’ve never needed anything but gold in return. Vounn came to Darguun to try and reverse that.”

“She’s found her opportunity,” said Dagii. “The mercenaries were waiting at the Deneith enclave at the Standing Stone for a chance to work outside Darguun. Deneith was able to offer them to us more quickly than we could raise another regiment of our own. Vounn has even offered us mercenaries from other nations if we want them.”

The idea pinched Ekhaas like a dissonant note. “Will you take them?” she asked.

Dagii’s smile was thin. “Right now I couldn’t if I wanted to. Tariic has made sure this will be a war of dar against elves. Even people in the streets are saying the war is muut, our duty.”

Geth looked at the young warlord of Mur Talaan. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s a war.” Dagii’s smile vanished entirely. “Dar or mercenaries, it has to be fought, and it has to be won. That is my muut to Darguun.”

The arrival of Munta and other warlords marked the end of their privacy and they separated, leaving Dagii to plan strategy while Ekhaas and Ashi went out to pay a visit to Tenquis.

Geth headed back to his own chamber vaguely envious of Dagii’s role in what was to come-not of the warlord’s command of Darguun’s armies but of his excursion onto the battlefield. Sneaking, conspiring, and playing at politics weren’t for him. The assembly of warlords the day before had been an embarrassment, but there had been no way to escape. He had his muut, Dagii might have said. One heroic act had bound him more closely than being thrown into a dungeon.