Mickey Reichert - Flight of the Renshai

Griff bobbed his shaggy head. "Tem'aree'ay visits them regularly. She tells me they're happy." He laced his fingers through his beard. "As I recall, when the first pirating incidents happened, the elves were still here. We would have known."

"Unless it happened accidentally." Tae scratched behind Imorelda's ears, and she raised her head high to expose her throat, practically driving her head against his moving fingers. "While they were opening portals for us to gather the Pica shards."

Murmurs swept the room. It seemed the most logical answer.

"Or," Matrinka added, "they come from across the ocean, like Darris surmised."

"A giant of a man," Tae quoted. "With a sword so big most men couldn't lift it. Are these pirates enormous?"

Again, Darris tipped his head from side to side, indicating "yes" and "no" simultaneously.

Griff explained. "Well, no. Not most of them. But my men report more than the normal number of impressively-sized warriors, and we have captured a few weapons that befuddle our strongest."

"Big?" Tae tried to clarify.

"Huge," Griff confirmed. "A few. But most are normal-sized. Impressively well-tempered and forged, too. Early on, many Renshai were happily taking enemy swords in lieu of payment."

Matrinka's eyes widened at a fact she clearly had not heard before. "And you know how picky Renshai are."

Imorelda made a noise distinctly like a sneeze.*Not too picky, apparently. One made a baby with the likes of you.*

Tae ignored the insult.*She means about their swords.* *So they're more careful with their swords than their children?* *Renshai?Yes.* *Sounds about right.* Imorelda curled back into Tae's lap.*Nasty things.* *Renshai? Or swords?* *Children.*

Tae disengaged to ask Bearn's king, "I presume you still have some of these weapons? Their make-?"

"Our best experts couldn't identify the workmanship, though they were most impressed by it. We reused as many as we could. The ones too damaged or large, we melted down and recast." Griff sighed. "Iron ore shortage, you know."

"I know." Tae did not wish to discuss trade issues now. The East still had a reasonable amount, but its price had tripled because of the West's shortage. Only the North still had a strong, steady supply. "It's common, though, for armies to see the other side as having a greater percentage of larger men."

When no one said anything, Tae continued.

"Just as it's customary for enemies to multiply during battle. You know, a few dozen men seems like a hundred when you're fighting for your life. And a hundred men seems more like ten thousand."

"Yes," Darris finally spoke again. "But these are Bearnides."

Tae glanced at the king and queen, and he got the point. Matrinka had sported a whale-boned frame even before she carried the extra childbirth weight, and Griff had always looked more like a bear than a human. Tae chuckled. "Yes, I suppose when Bearnides start reporting an unusually large number of huge warriors, it's probably not exaggeration." Though he enjoyed the conversation with his old friends, it seemed pointless to continue in this vein. "So, we seem to have established that the enemy comes from beyond our known boundaries, likely from beyond the Western Sea. What next?"

"I don't know," Griff hung his leonine head. "I thought if only we could communicate, we might parley. Or, at least, learn what to expect. Right now, we're fighting this war blind. We don't even know what they're after." He shook his head. "But if you can't talk to them…"

Tae allowed his brows to creep steadily upward. "Who said I can't talk to them?"

All eyes jerked instantly to the Eastern king, who remained utterly composed, more from habit than intention.

"Eventually," Tae added, the plan he had considered on his walk taking a more solid form in his mind. "Given the right circumstances."

"Go on." Darris leaned far forward in his chair, excitement lighting up his hazel eyes.

Tae kept his attention on Griff. "Didn't you tell me you managed to capture a second man?"

"Two days ago.Yes."

"Can you put the two together? In the same cell?"

Griff's head started to shake, slowly at first, then with more force. "Tae, the reason it took us so long to take prisoners is because these enemies fight to their last breath. When things look hopeless for any one of them, they choose death over capture. In fact, several took the lives of companions and their own rather than surrender."

Though not directly spoken, Griff's issue became clear to Tae. "It's hard to kill yourself alone without sharp or heavy objects."

"It is impossible," Griff finished, "to strangle yourself with your bare hands."

That made conjoining cells unworkable as well, since one could reach through the bars, and the other, presumably, would allow it. "So," Tae continued, "you could put them in the same area, so long as there was one entire cell between them."

Griff nodded, clearly waiting for Tae to explain.

"They could talk freely. And, if some ratty little thief got put in the cell between them…"

"No!" Matrinka leaped to her feet. "I'm not letting you lock yourself in that filthy, disgusting place."

Rantire started laughing, the sound startlingly loud and out of place given the intensity of the discussion. "Your Majesty," she managed between guffaws. "You just called-the king of the Eastlands-a ratty little-"

Matrinka would have none of it. "I didn't call him that. He called himself that."

"I know." Rantire could scarcely get the words out. "You only concurred." She lapsed into another fit of laughter.

Imorelda patted Tae's ear.*A more fitting queen would have her beheaded.* *Matrinka is the best queen in the world and totally fit for her job.* "Actually," Tae continued aloud, "I didn't say who the ratty little thief was, but thanks for clarifying it, Matrinka."

Matrinka flushed. Rantire could not stop grinning, but at least her laughter ceased.

"I only meant I would pretend to be a ratty little thief who happened to get imprisoned between them. In the past, I've learned languages just by listening to conversations." Tae added for Rantire's sake, "It's how I picked up Renshai, for example."

Rantire's jollity disappeared completely.

"And I still say 'no.' " Matrinka placed her hands firmly on her ample hips. "We are not going to lock Tae in that horrible place, wedged between two killers."

Griff cleared his throat softly. "I'm not sure we have a choice." Matrinka whirled to face her husband, clearly speechless.

"We can see to his comfort there. Warm, soft blankets, good food."

Though the idea pleased him, Tae knew it could not happen that way. "No. If they see me getting special treatment, the captives will guard their tongues."

Matrinka opened her mouth, but Tae spoke over her.

"Believe me, the eyes of inmates miss nothing. In fact, it would be best if we could do this without the guards knowing."

"But that's just stupid, Tae!" Matrinka had to get her words out. "Someone might hurt you. Even the guards themselves. And the food. It's… it's unsanitary."

"I'm sure I've eaten worse."

"You have?" the words were clearly startled from Griff. His features screwed into a knot. "Ewww."

Tae barely stopped himself from laughing. Despite nearly two decades on the throne, Griff still fell back into his naive farmboy ways at times. In fact, childlike simplicity seemed to be a prerequisite for passing the tests that chose the king of Bearn.

Matrinka looked positively pained. "How will we talk to you? What if you find out something important? Or you're hurt? Or in trouble?" *I always take care of you.* Imorelda yowled.*Is she insulting me?* *Not deliberately.You know she loves you.* Aloud, Tae spoke for the cat. "Imorelda can let you know if I'm in trouble."