by DAVID B. COE
"But all Qirsi. Not just the Y'Qatt?"
Tirnya's father narrowed his eyes slightly. "No, it's not just the Y'Qatt. We'd heard that it started in some of the Y'Qatt settlements, but it's spread westward into Fal'Borna land since then."
"May the gods save us all," Pyav muttered, looking ill himself.
"Well, as I say, it only strikes at Qirsi. I don't think you need to fear for your people. That's not why I came."
"What?" the man said, as if rousing himself from a dark dream.
"I said we didn't come here to warn you about the pestilence. I don't think it poses any threat to you."
Pyav rubbed a hand over his face. "Well, she's not here anymore," he said. "She lived here once, but she's gone now. I don't know where she's gone."
For several moments Jenoe said nothing, his expression so puzzled that it might have been comical had Tirnya not been certain that hers looked just the same.
"I'm sorry," Jenoe said. "I don't know who or what you're talking about."
Pyav stared back at him. "No," he said. "I don't suppose you do. I'm sorry. I… I was confused for a moment. Please, why is it you've come?"
As he had in Shaldir, the marshal spoke briefly of the history of the Central Plain and the Onjaef family. He still seemed puzzled by the eldest's behavior, and he rambled on a bit, but eventually came to the crux of the matter.
"So you mean to attack the Fal'Borna while they're weakened."
"Yes, we do," Jenoe told him. "And we'd like to enlist the Mettai as allies in this venture. We can offer you land, and we can promise that it will be yours for as long as we hold the plain."
Pyav shook his head slowly. "First a plague," he whispered, "and now a war."
"Your magic would be a great boon to us."
"No," Pyav said, shaking his head more vehemently this time. "Our magic has done enough damage already. We want no part of a new Blood War." He turned and started to walk away. "Take your men and go, Marshal. We can't help you."
"He's a strange man," Enly said, watching the eldest hurry away from them.
Jenoe furrowed his brow. "Possibly. Certainly there was something odd in the things he said to us. 'Our magic has done enough damage already'? I have no idea what he meant by that." He looked at Tirnya. "Regardless of his reasons, though, that's twice now we've been turned away. How many more villages do you think we ought to visit before we accept that this isn't going to work?"
She felt Enly watching her. "I don't know," she said, her voice flat. "A couple."
Her father nodded. "All right. Two more, then. After that, if we still haven't convinced any Mettai to join us, we'll turn back."
"No," she said. "That's too few."
"You're the one-"
"Yes, Father, I know. And now I'm telling you that it's too few. We've been in Mettai territory for two days. That's all. Rather than limiting ourselves to two more villages, we should give this a set amount of time. Five more days, let's say. After that we can go back."
Jenoe looked past her to Enly. "What do you think?"
Enly exhaled, chancing a quick glance at Tirnya. "I think you could take an entire turn, visit twenty more villages, and it wouldn't change a thing. The Mettai have been shunned by both the clans and the sovereignties for hundreds of years. And while they might not have wanted to be ignored, they have managed to survive and avoid the wars. None of them want anything to do with us or the white-hairs." He gave a small, dry chuckle. "I can't say that I blame them."
"Someone among them will want to join us," Tirnya said. "They're Eandi. I don't care what kind of magic they possess, nothing can change that. We're offering land, and a chance to rejoin Eandi society. There must be one leader among them who'll want that."
Enly shrugged. "Maybe. But you have to wonder…" He stopped, shaking his head.
"You have to wonder what?" Tirnya demanded.
"Nothing. You may be right. That person may be out there somewhere. But how long will it take us to find the right village?"
Chapter 21
LIFARSA, NEAR THE COMPANION LAKES, MEMORY MOON WANING
After leaving Kirayde, all of them still puzzled by the odd behavior of the village's eldest, Tirnya, Enly, and Jenoe led the Qalsyn army deeper into Mettai lands. They continued to follow the banks of Ravens Wash, believing that most Mettai settlements would be found within sight of the river. They found no more villages that day, however, and though they set out at first light the following morning, by midday they had yet to see any other settlements.
"They may be clustered nearer to the lakes," Jenoe said at one point. "In the years following the end of the Blood Wars the Mettai were pushed pretty far north."
Neither Tirnya nor Enly said anything, and they continued on.
By nightfall, they still had found nothing, and Tirnya's frustration mounted. She'd thought that by arguing for a set time period in which to search for potential allies, instead of agreeing to visit a certain number of villages, she was helping her cause, making it more likely that they would find Mettai who were willing to help them. Now it seemed that she might have miscalculated.
Clouds began to move in as the soldiers made camp and by the time Tirnya went to sleep it had begun to snow, further darkening her mood. If the weather turned against them, her father might insist that they start back toward Qalsyn, even if that meant visiting no more villages.
When they awoke the next morning, the first of the new waning, all the camp had been covered with a light dusting of snow. The skies, though, had already started to clear, and while Tirnya's father made jokes about how poorly Tirnya's mother would have fared under such circumstances, he said nothing about returning to the city.
Tirnya had also feared that the cold might dampen the spirits of the soldiers, but as the men broke camp that morning, they threw snowballs at one another, acting more like children on an outing than grown men marching to battle.
For the first few hours, the snow hindered their progress some. But by midday, the air had turned warm and much of the snow had melted, allowing the men who were on foot to walk faster. Still, they came upon no settlements. Tirnya kept her eyes fixed on the northern horizon, straining her eyes for any sign of the Mettai.
Finally, late in the day, she spotted a town ahead of them. At first, both Enly and her father thought she was imagining it, but eventually they saw it, too. This came as a great relief; for just a short time, she had started to fear that in her eagerness to find the Mettai she really had started to imagine things.
Once more Jenoe marched his army to the outskirts of the village before continuing on into the heart of the settlement with Tirnya and Enly. As they rode up the lane leading into the center of the settlement, Tiryna felt her hopes rising. This village was similar in size to Kirayde, but it didn't look nearly as prosperous as Pyav's village. Several of the houses were in disrepair, and the land around the village didn't appear as fertile. Many of the garden plots were filled with wispy grasses, and the few animals they passed looked underfed.
"This is the one," Tirnya said quietly.
Her father looked at her. "You think so?"
"Look at the homes. Look at the garden plots. They need us as much as we need them."
"I'm not sure that's reason enough to make them our allies," Enly said. Tiryna looked at him sharply. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Just that we're going to be counting on these people in battle. We need them, yes. But we should be able to trust them. If they're just doing this because they need more fertile land-"
"That's as good a reason as any," Tirnya said. "You're just looking for ways to keep us from succeeding. One day you say that the Mettai won't ally themselves with us because of how they've been treated. Now you're saying that if we can overcome their doubts by offering them a better place to live, we shouldn't trust them. So by your reckoning, the only Mettai worthy of being our allies are the ones who are too principled to join us."
"That's not…" Enly stopped and looked at Jenoe.
; The marshal raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I agree with her. We came prepared to offer them land, because we knew that might be the best way to win their support. This is war, Enly. We're fighting for land ourselves. Yes, there's more than that at stake for Tirnya and me, but essentially, we're trying to win back the Horn and Deraqor. Why should we expect more of the Mettai?"
"I suppose," Enly said, not sounding convinced. He looked at Tirnya. "I'm not trying to keep you from succeeding. I just… I'm suspicious of magic, be it Mettai or white-hair. I don't like the idea of going into battle depending on sorcerers to save my life."
"Would you rather face an army of sorcerers without any magic on your side?"
Enly tipped his head, acknowledging the point. "No. I'd rather have nothing to do with magic at all."
"Then you shouldn't have come," Tirnya said, facing forward again.
As they approached the village marketplace, they saw that several people were standing in the middle of the lane, apparently waiting for them. One of them, an older woman with short white hair and a narrow face, raised a hand in greeting. But Tirnya noticed that most of the men and women standing behind her held axes, hoes, spades, and hammers. They looked like they were ready for a fight.
Jenoe raised a hand in return. "Greetings," he called to the woman. She said nothing.
"Friendly place," Enly said under his breath.
The three riders dismounted a short distance from the villagers and covered the remaining distance on foot.
"I take it you're the eldest of this village," Jenoe said.
"I am," the woman answered warily. "My name is Fayonne. And you are?"
"Jenoe Onjaef, marshal under His Lordship Maisaak Tolm in Qalsyn. This is my daughter, Tirnya, and His Lordship's son, Enly. What village is this, Fayonne?"
"Lifarsa. We saw your army from a great distance. If it's supplies you need, you've come to the wrong place. We haven't food to spare, at least not enough to make a difference to so many."
Jenoe smiled. "No. We're well provisioned."
Fayonne had a sharp chin and large, wide eyes, which she narrowed now, making her face look feline. "Then why have you come?"
Jenoe asked her about the pestilence, of which she'd heard a good deal, and then spoke to her briefly of the history of house Onjaef. Like Kenitha, in Shaldir, Fayonne understood immediately what he had in mind.
"You intend to take back your land," she said. "You're going to fight the Fal'Borna."
"That's our intention," Jenoe said. "And we'd like to propose an alliance with the Mettai. We're going to fight against sorcerers, and we'd like to have magic wielded on our behalf as well."
"How much do you know about Mettai magic, Marshal Onjaef?" the woman asked.
"I'd be the first to admit that I know very little. I know that it's blood magic, that you need to cut yourself in order to wield it. Beyond that…" He opened his hands and shrugged.
"Our magic doesn't work the way Qirsi magic does. Some would say it's not as powerful, although we Mettai know better. But it is different. We have no Weavers; we can't combine our powers in any way."
Jenoe looked at Tirnya, a question in his eyes. She nodded.
"We understand all of that, Eldest. We still wish to discuss an alliance."
Fayonne, in turn, glanced back at those who were standing with her before facing the marshal again. "Very well," she said. "What would we get in return?"
Tirnya suppressed a smile. At long last, they'd found what they were seeking. Her eyes flicked toward Enly, who was already looking at her, the expression in his pale eyes unreadable.
"If we manage to take back Deraqor and the Horn," Jenoe said, "we can offer you land. I don't know where exactly." He looked around at the village. "I can promise you, though, that it will be more fertile than the land you have here."
The eldest eyed him for several moments, her tongue pressing her cheek outward. "I'd like for us to discuss this further, and I need to talk to my Council of Elders. You can remain here for the night?"
Jenoe nodded. "Of course."
"Good. Again, we can't feed all your men. But if the three of you will return at dusk, we'd be pleased to have you as our guests for the evening meal."
"You honor us, Eldest. We'll look forward to supping with you."
The woman nodded, her expression so grave one might have thought that she'd told Jenoe and his army to leave at once.
The three riders turned and started back down the lane toward the army, saying nothing until they were certain that the Mettai couldn't hear them.
"Seems you were right," Tirnya's father finally said.
Tirnya grinned. "Yes."
"They were very quick to agree," Enly said, not looking nearly as pleased as Tirnya felt. "They must be desperate to leave this land."
Jenoe glanced around, frowning slightly. "I can't say that I blame them."
"Neither can I," Enly said. "But still, there's something odd about this place. I can't see any reason why the land here should be any worse than it was in Kirayde or Shaldir. But clearly it is."
"Maybe the soil gets worse as one moves northward," Tirnya said. Enly shook his head. "I've never heard that."
"And since when are you an expert on farming?"
"I've never heard it, either," her father said.
Tirnya wanted to tell them both that they were being foolish. They'd found allies for their war. The rest hardly mattered. But she could imagine what Enly would say to that. In the end she simply said, "Well, then perhaps they have some other reason for wanting to leave."
Even that wasn't enough to end their discussion.
"Exactly," Enly said pointedly. "And I, for one, would like to know what that reason is before we ride into battle with them."
"We'll learn what we can at supper," Jenoe said.
Enly nodded his agreement. "What will you promise them?"
"No more than I have to."
"Father!" Tinrya said.
Jenoe held up a hand. "I'm just saying that there's too much we don't know right now. How much land will we win back? Which parts of the territory will be easiest to take? I can't promise them much, because we don't know yet what we have to offer."
He had a point. Still, Tirnya had hoped that her father at least would join her in celebrating their good fortune. Instead, he sounded nearly as doubtful as Enly.
They reached the army a few moments later and immediately Enly and Tirnya informed their lead riders that they wouldn't be marching any farther this day and that the men should begin to make camp. As word of this spread, cheers went up from the soldiers. Not wishing to be near her father or Enly for now, Tirnya remained with her soldiers.
She hadn't spoken much with her lead riders in the last few days, and she missed their company. Oliban returned to her a short while after she'd given the order to make camp, trailed by several of his men.
"Th' men are askin' if they can hunt, Captain," he told her. "They'd like some game for their suppers."
Tirnya considered this for just a moment. "I don't see why not." She smiled at the soldiers. "Good hunting."
"Thank ya, Captain!" the men said, before hurrying off.
She and Oliban watched them go.
"So these are th' ones, eh?" Oliban asked after some time. "These Mettai I mean."
"It looks that way," she said. "Their leader wanted to speak with their Council of Elders, but she seemed eager to help us."
"So we'll be goin' t' war after all."
Tirnya eyed him a moment. He'd kept his tone light, but it seemed an odd way to phrase the question. "Were you hoping we wouldn't?"
"No, Captain," he said quickly. "We was jus' wonderin'. That's all."
She nodded, though she didn't quite believe him. "Well, as I say, we'll be speaking with their leader again this evening. I'll let you know what happens."
She turned away from him and began to walk among her men. Many of them shouted greetings to her that she acknowledged with a wave or a smile. But she spoke
with no one.
At dusk, she joined her father and Enly, and the three of them rode back into the village. Once again, they found the eldest waiting for them in the marketplace. Several torches had been mounted on poles, which were arrayed around a long table. It seemed they were to eat right there, out in the open, despite the chill creeping into the night air. The eldest had been joined by perhaps ten men and women, most of them white-haired like Fayonne. They were already seated, leaving four spaces at the table's center. All of them stared at Tirnya and the others, but they didn't smile or say a word. They just watched.
"Welcome," Fayonne said. "Thank you for coming."
The words were kind enough, but once again there was something grim in the woman's manner. In spite of herself Tirnya wondered if Enly might be right about this village and its people.
Fayonne indicated the table. "Please, join us." She led them to the table and sat, clearly expecting them to do the same.
There were already loaves of bread on the table and a bowl of dark stew at each place. The eldest picked up her spoon, dipped it into the stew, and held it up, glancing at Jenoe, a thin smile on her lips.
"Again, welcome," she said. "Enjoy."
With that, she began to eat, as did the other Mettai.
Jenoe nodded to the two captains and picked up his spoon as well. Tirnya followed his example, tasting the stew tentatively. It was awful. It had been heavily spiced with some herb that burned her tongue but didn't quite mask the sour taste of whatever meat had been used in the dish. What few vegetables there were had been badly overcooked, and the meat was tough and stringy. She reached for some bread at the same time Enly did.
Her father had taken one spoonful, and now he laid his spoon back down on the table and looked at the eldest.
"Have you and your council come to a decision?" he asked.
"We have," the eldest said, in between spoonfuls. One might have thought it was the most delicious meal she'd ever had. "We'll join you in your war against the Fal'Borna, and in return we want land, gold, and horses."
Jenoe raised an eyebrow. "I see."
"Surely you can offer us all of that and more," Fayonne said. She put down her spoon and took a sip of water, which was, Tirnya realized, the only thing there was to drink. "I see your army, your weapons, your horses, and I think to myself, 'Here are people with riches to spare.' "
