The Five Noble Families were represented by the heads of House and their best warrior. From vai Keller were Tau and Lord Cail, Elina was the sole representative from House vai Tischer, though she was much more a tactician than a warrior, and Lady Kalo and her twins, Ragar and Marga, represented vai Banda. The grizzled old veteran Lord Islan vai Auin had evidently not found any worthy souls among his House to name as a warrior, though he had a plethora of children, nieces, nephews, and cousins. Kiera and her father completed the Five.
Nor were the Five Noble Families the only representatives of Tia Vashil’s finest present. The famous burgher swordsman Hui Fir sat stroking his chin across the table. Mena Gloss, the master grappler, and Lok Rebyn, said to be the finest archer in the Metropolises, were huddled together beside her, whispering to each other. They had begun flirting almost immediately upon entering and it seemed as though they were now taking any excuse to touch each other.
At the head of the table sat Mistress Heldi. On her right was a man that Kiera recognized as Master Garen, the Guild’s Spymaster, though she’d never been introduced to him. He was a striking man, with dark hair and eyes to match Kiera’s own. He and Heldi had the manner of old friends, lovers even; familiar, jovial, shared jokes between them, comfortable reaching out to grasp one another’s hands, or stroke a cheek. Sorcerers were well known for the lack of recognition of the limits of respectability. The same sort of behavior that might have earned a censure among the Exarch’s court was accepted as the feature of a Guild whose members often had a century of experience with one another. When she had been in Coulain, the Lord Mayor had mentioned to Kiera his thankfulness it was a noble sent to negotiate with him, rather than one of the “forward Sorcerers.”
But the person in the room who had Kiera chewing her lip in consternation was the man to Heldi’s left, Sorcerer Pol Burr. She’d have to get used to calling him Sorcerer instead of just “thief.” He had been introduced to the company as the Master of War’s personal assistant. Kiera, however, noted that there was far more than just a professional atmosphere between Heldi and Pol. More than once her hand had rested on his thigh. Kiera was at least gratified to see that, in the handful of weeks Pol had been at the Guild, he still looked around the room with a sort of uncomfortable awe, clearly not used to dealing with this sort of company. Or perhaps he was merely uncomfortable with sharing a room with her again.
“Your attention, my fine friends,” said Garen.
Hui Fir grumbled. “Not all of us are fine.”
“Nor all of us friends,” said Islan vai Auin. He was well known to be an advocate for the Guild being removed from the head of governance of Tia Vashil. But he was a dutiful man, and he’d come when called.
“In this room, for the moment, consider your natures improved and your comrades increased,” said Ked.
“We’ve not asked you here for semantics on pleasantries, in any regard,”said Heldi.
“What have you asked us here for?” asked Elina. “I see a group of excellent Vashili warriors, but no enemies. Just a few talented sorcerers.”
On “talented” she looked in Pol’s direction and he grinned. Kiera’s cheeks flushed, thinking about the encounter between the two she’d witnessed. A pang of jealousy that Pol wasn’t sharing a private joke with her—was there some way to slip in a reference to a manure cart? No, probably not—shot through her, but she did her best to smother the feeling.
“Just so,” said Garen. “We’ve asked you here because you are warriors, and the best the city has to offer. We would like volunteers for a mission to Tia Joi.”
The room grew silent as everyone contemplated the request.
“I’ve been called stupid,” said Ragar, into the void of conversation. “But I’m not dumb.”
“Why?” asked Mena.
“Because I’m not going up against the Dragon Clans without an army, that’s why,” answered Ragar.
“No, why would the Guild like volunteers?” asked Mena.
“The Dragon Clans are currently led by a woman called Olene,” explained Heldi. “She is the chief of their lead clan, the Sky Clan. While this placed her in a position of importance, it did not ensure loyalty or deference. Much like our own Exarch does not command the fealty of our Five Noble Families, as I’m sure he well knows.”
Her eyes rested on Ked, who gave a wan smile.
“Somehow she managed to secure the support of the other four clans for another war with the Metropolises. Under her leadership, the Clans have behaved... unusually. They moved almost unnoticed to Tia Joi, and defeated the entire Joian army in a single day. Five thousand knights, who have disappeared without a trace.
“She then secured the city of Tia Joi without a siege, and is currently holding the Princess Fione hostage, having taken the entire populace as thralls to the Clans.”
“They shall pay for any atrocities under their occupation of Tia Joi, Vash damn them,” Lord Cail swore.
“We do not believe this is an occupation. They have brought everyone with them from the West, every child, every thrall,” said Garen. “This is conquest. The Clans are here to stay. We are being invaded, and for the first time in our history, the Dragon Clans have taken a city. We expect their next move will be against Tia Vashil and the Guild.”
“So we’ll fight,” said Lord Cail. “Our walls have withstood the might of the Clans before. We’ll fight and we’ll win.”
“Perhaps,” said Heldi. “But it may be a victory we’ll wish we’d never won. The Clans have many times our numbers. If they attack the city with even a quarter of their army, the cost of our victory might preclude us from being able to free Tia Joi. And there may be reprisals for opposing them in the first place.”
“What reprisals?” asked Tau.
“They’ll kill the Joians, starting with Princess Fione,” said Kiera. Everyone looked at her.
“The Clans are nomads. They don’t build. They believe in hostage-taking. Clan warriors steal their spouses from other clans. It keeps them from total war with one another. A chief’s brother might be a hostage and husband to the daughter of that clan’s chief. If she values her brother’s life, she can’t attack.”
“This is our fear,” said Garen. “If Tia Vashil does not surrender without a fight, there will be no Tia Joi left to free even if we win the fight. At least from the Guild’s perspective, they have a powerful bargaining chip in Princess Fione. She is the last in the direct vai Joi line, and it is an old family, with few immediate cadet lines and too many competing claims from others if it ends. If we free Tia Joi but fail to save the princess, there will be chaos in the aftermath, trying to decide the succession or even establishing a new government entirely. And, despite any rumors you all may have heard of her, Princess Fione is an adept administrator, who can play her subjects like a mon-to box. We need her to hold the city together, come what may.”
“You want volunteers to go to Tia Joi, sneak in, pluck the Clans’ most valuable hostage out from under their noses, then sneak out and make it back to Tia Vashil,” Islan summarized.
“Yes,” said Heldi.
“And gather whatever intelligence about the Clans and Chief Olene as you can determine,” added Garen.
“Is there a plan?” asked Lok Rebyn.
“The outline of one: go to Tia Joi, pose as Dragon Clan warriors, locate the Princess, rescue her.”
Lady Kalo snorted.
“Foolishness,” she said. “No one here could pose as Dragon Clan. They’re far too foreign.”
There was a murmur of agreement. The Clans of the West were wild people, more feral even than the Canians, though not a separate creature like the forest wildmen. The Vashili were bound by rule of law, by money, not by caste, or clan, or some primeval view of honor.
“I could,” said Kiera.
The gathered company turned to look at her.
Heldi smiled. “How?” she asked.
“In Coulain, I met some of the Earth Clan envoys sent by Chief Forg. They taught m
e a little. Not enough to make a home, but enough that I wouldn’t stand out in a crowd. I’ll need to cut my hair again. The warriors generally favor crests. And I’m afraid I have nothing in the way of dragon jade jewelry, or the piercings to hold it. I will look unimpressive in their eyes...”
“That may be to your benefit,” said Garen, privately doubting that Kiera could ever be seen as unimpressive. “You may attract less attention that way.”
“Lady Kiera,” said Heldi. “Will you go to Tia Joi?”
Once again, Kiera felt the weight of the stares of the gathered company. Pol and Tau were looking at her with concern, while the rest of the warriors seemed suspicious or doubtful. Only Garen’s and Heldi’s faces betrayed nothing of their inner thoughts.
“Yes,” said Kiera.
“Then I’ll go as well,” said Tau, without thinking.
“Tau…” Kiera reached out to touch his shoulder, but he took her hand instead.
“A year, Kiera. A year apart. I don’t know that I can stomach another day separated. And if you don’t return from this mission, then neither will I.”
“You’re not exactly the picture of a Dragon Clan warrior, Tau.”
“We’ll figure something out. I’ll pose as a Joian.”
Heldi nodded. “Very well. Do we have any other volunteers?”
The room was silent, the other invited warriors not meeting anyone’s gaze. Kiera tried to see if Elina might agree, but the young woman studiously avoided her, staring instead at one of the tapestries in the chamber.
“I’d like to go,” said Pol.
Now, finally, a flash of emotion crossed the faces of Garen and Heldi, betraying the Sorcerers’ shock.
“Absolutely not,” said Garen.
“It would not be wise, Acolyte Pol,” said Heldi.
“Why not?” ask Pol.
“You’re too valuable an asset, Acolyte Pol,” said Garen. “In a month or two, when you’ve refined your mastery, we could put you to work as a Guild agent, but as it stands now, you still need training.”
“I’m a thief who’s a Sorcerer, Master Garen. Who here is better suited to stealing something from the Dragon Clans?”
“You are not to go,” said Heldi. “That is an order. We can discuss the reasoning later.”
“You ought to give them magical support,” said Islan. “If you’re sending them to die on Guild business, you ought to send a Guild member with them.”
Heldi’s gaze was cold as it fell on Islan.
“Would you volunteer to go, Lord vai Auin? If you will agree to join Sir Tau and Lady Kiera, then I will happily accompany you. What do you say?”
Islan stared at her for a moment, before he shook his head.
“As I thought. If there are no more volunteers, than Master Garen and I will brief our two new Guild agents about their first, and hopefully only, mission to Tia Joi.”
* * * * *
The next morning the road to Tia Joi had been mostly refugees traveling in the opposite direction. Mothers and fathers carrying their children, their possessions stacked in carts or tied to their backs. Many of them had barely that. Kiera had stopped to talk to a few but almost none were from Tia Joi itself, but rather the independent towns and villages that surrounded it, fleeing raiding parties from the Dragon Clans. Their descriptions of the raiders were half-truths, naked men and women with partially shaved heads, tattoos and piercings covered in green jewelry which matched Kiera’s experience, but in the stories they were all generally eight to ten feet tall, and if they captured someone, they killed them and then either ate them or bathed in their blood.
They’d seen only one person heading towards the city, a man with long mustaches who’d looked at Kiera and Tau suspiciously as he’d spurred his horse on past them.
When the trail of refugees had thinned to a couple of families every mile, Kiera and Tau guided their horses off the road, riding just adjacent to it over the ground. It slowed their progress considerably, but it would be harder for Dragon Clan scouts to detect them, and it would give them some warning.
When the sun was beating down on their heads, Kiera finally called a rest, tying their horses up and sharing a lunch of fruit, cold meat, and bread. Tau, never a good early riser, had sprawled out under a tree for a nap while Kiera tended to the horses. She was caught up in feeding Blade that she didn’t notice Tau come up to his horse, Courage, until he was pulling his sword from the scabbard ties to the saddle.
“What?” asked Kiera, but Tau held a finger to his lips to silence her. He nodded in the direction of the road.
Hoofbeats could be heard, coming down hard on the packed earth, the shoes tapping on the pebbles and rocks with a fury, a horse in full gallop further down the road. Kiera drew her own sword, following Tau out towards the road. He dodged across to the other side, leaving Kiera pressed behind a tree.
The hoofbeats grew louder and louder, but the pace began to slow, the rider’s mount falling into a loose trot as he neared the place where Kiera and Tau had set their ambush. Kiera signaled across to Tau to hold his place.
The rider was wearing a dark black cloak, the hood drawn up over his head, obscuring his face. His mount looked more cart horse than a charger and he did not seem to be carrying a weapon. A messenger, perhaps? A Dragon Clans spy returning to his masters?
Kiera stepped out into the road, brandishing her weapon in front of her. The rider inexpertly drew up his reins, causing his horse to turn in a lazy circle.
“Hold there, sir,” said Kiera. “What are you doing on this road?”
“Kiera?” asked the rider.
“Pol?” she asked, recognizing the voice, and then suddenly the mount as well. It was Brady.
“Tau, no!” she barely had time to shout. But it was too late. The other man had sprung from the underbrush, dashing at full speed toward Pol, pulling him from the saddle and tossing him roughly in the dirt, sword going to his throat.
There was a moment of confusion when Tau made the same discovery about the rider’s identity that Kiera had, but he didn’t put his blade up.
“What are you doing here, thief?” he asked. “Are you a spy for the Dragon Clans?”
Kiera shouldered Tau aside, forcing him off Pol. His blade didn’t return to his sheath as she helped her friend to his feet.
“That’s ‘what are you doing here, Sorcerer?’” Pol corrected.
“My apologies, Sorcerer,” said Tau. “Are you a spy for the Dragon Clans?”
“Of course not,” said Pol. “I came to help you two out. Wasn’t sure I’d find you, though. Wasn’t sure you’d be happy I came. Guess I was right.”
“You chased us from Tia Vashil all day?”
“Only since mid-morning. I would have caught up earlier, but my bodyman, Artan, appears to have deserted me in the night, so I was a little slow getting up.”
“Why?”
“Beats me, I think you’d have to ask him.”
“No. You were given a direct order from Mistress Heldi to stay in Tia Vashil. Why’d you come after us?”
Pol stared at Kiera for a moment before looking back at Tau.
“I guess I felt like I couldn’t live with myself if I let the only friend I have in Tia Vashil go fight the Dragon Clans on a suicide mission without me.”
Now it was Tau’s turn to stare, measuring the Sorcerer before him. He slid his blade back into its scabbard.
“I know the feeling,” he said.
Kiera shook her head, walking over to untie Blade from the tree she’d left him at.
“If you two are done showing off who is doing more to protect me, we’ve still got quite a ways to go to Tia Joi. If we push ourselves, I think we can get there in four days.”
Kiera turned out to be wrong. Staying off the roads slowed them down, and the longest Pol had ever traveled before was the trip from Lowvale to Tia Vashil with Kiera. This meant he hadn’t packed himself nearly enough food, necessitating a side trip to a nearby fishing village to barter, since b
oth Tau and Kiera had prevented him from robbing them. Tau had nearly been fleeced by a fishmonger until Pol had intervened.
To Kiera’s surprise, and some dismay, Tau and Pol seemed to have developed a bit of a friendship. They could not have more dissimilar, the brawny noble and the svelte former thief, but the evenings gathered around the fire eating dried fish stewed in water and whatever berries and roots could be found had made them into companions nonetheless.
On the evening of the fourth night, Tau slipped into Kiera’s bedroll when they were turning in after dinner. He’d kept to himself, presumably due to Pol’s presence, the previous nights, but he apparently couldn’t put himself off any longer, his hands slipping under her smock to roll her on her side, then grasp at her breasts, teasing the nipples and kneading the soft flesh. He’d discarded his underwear before sliding in, and Kiera could feel his cock, already hard, pressed into the cleft of her bare ass.
“Careful, Tau,” she whispered, gesturing to where Pol lay on the other side of the dying fire. The thief’s head was turned away from them, so he couldn’t see the movement of the bedroll as Tau slipped his hand down between her legs to rub it against her pussy.
“We can’t,” she said, although it came out strained, as Tau’s fingers teased the soft opening between her legs. He kissed the nape of her neck.
“Of course we can,” said Tau. His hips moved slightly, pressing the firm bar of his cock a little harder against her buttocks. He freed the hand on her breasts, tilting her forward a little, giving his lips access to her back as he rolled her smock up over her breasts to just under her armpits. Two fingers were stroking along her pussy lips in tandem, riding the edge.
“Oh, Tau…” she said. His fingers rode up over towards her clit, circling it. Her breath caught in her mouth, willing him to stroke her. Finally, after what seemed like an age, one finger reached out and rubbed against her clit. Kiera stifled a moan, conscious of Pol just across the fire, but her body shifted to give Tau better access, and she closed her eyes.
“Oh, Tau,” she whispered. “Fuck me.”
Tau tucked her knees up, shifting his hips around until they were below hers, then lifted one of her legs over his to give him access. She felt him take his cock in his hand, then the head press against her pussy. He pushed slightly and she sighed at the feeling of him entering her. She placed a hand on his hips, keeping his pace from getting out of hand with Pol so close by. His hand returned to attend to her clit.
Dragon Jade Chronicle: The Warlock And The Warrior Page 21
