Tortall

by Tamora Pierce

  At 12 the princess was joined by the 8-year-old Buriram Tourakom, called Buri, the child and sister of her mother’s sworn K’miri bodyguards. Buriram held their place with the princess as guard, even at court ceremonial occasions. She is permitted to do so under Kalasin’s wedding treaty and as part of the blood bond between Kalasin, her child, and Buriram’s family. When Kalasin destroyed herself, Buriram’s mother and brother gave their lives so she might proclaim her wrath with the king to the people. Buriram herself has been often wounded in defense of Thayet jian Wilima.

  Apparently the addition of Buri was the last feather on the king’s burden of grievance with his wife’s “barbarian ways.” His quarrels with Her Majesty became infamous: she was very popular with the Saren people for her kindness and good works. He brought his mistresses to court and paraded them before the queen and princess at public occasions. He also began a program of persecution of the K’mir, passing laws against them and arresting, imprisoning, and hanging them for newly created crimes.

  Kalasin and Thayet did their best to try to influence him, but the nobles and lowland Sarenites found advantages to be had in taking K’mir horses and property.

  In December 436, Kalasin sent Thayet to the Mother of Mountains convent, supposedly to tame her wildness, but in reality to keep her from her father’s displeasure. In late 437, King Adigun enacted, among other laws, one demanding the K’mir come to the fortresses and register their names no later than April 15th, or be considered in revolt. Kalasin protested, refusing to appear anywhere in the king’s company. She ordered his mistresses be thrown out of the palace. Before his ministers could agree according to Saren law, the king ordered her to a convent. Kalasin sent word through the capital of her plans. Two days later, before a crowd of citizens, she ascended the highest tower of the palace, spoke of the king’s inhumanity to his people, and leaped to her death. Buriram’s mother and brother died defending the doors to her tower room so her protest would go uninterrupted.

  By April 439, when Princess Thayet returned to the capital, the king was dead. Our watcher in the convent here in Rachia, where she stayed before her departure, said that no one approached her with regard to remaining in Sarain to fight in the coming civil war. Rather than become a trophy to those in contention for the crown, she chose to accompany Lady Alanna of Trebond, Liam Ironarm, the Shang Dragon, and Coram Smythesson, a man-at-arms, on a quest eastward, out of Sarain. Once they crossed the M’kon River on the eastern border, my sources were able to learn only that they traveled to the Roof of the World and returned from there, to take ship to Tortall. If she was contacted by agents in the mountains, we have no way of discovering it.

  There was one small bump, as you will see in the enclosed letters, but it has been taken care of. Her friends in Sarain wish Her Royal Highness all prosperity in her new life.

  Buriram Tourakom

  -Thiratay Tourakom, mother, tribe K’miri Raadeh, deceased in combat, May 3rd, 438

  -Pathom Tourakom, older brother, tribe K’miri Raadeh, deceased in combat, May 3rd, 438

  -Susatahan Longprum, father, tribe K’miri Sembou, deceased in combat, 429

  Like all K’mir children, she takes her name from her mother’s family. Her family is as close to nobility as the K’mir get, apart from the bloodlines of the old royalty, of which Kalasin and Thayet are the last descendants.

  Buri’s heritage is twice rich in honor for the manner in which her mother and brother died, keeping soldiers from sullying Queen Kalasin’s denouncement of the king for his treatment of his people. Such a death is sacred among the K’mir and those who know of K’mir ways. To be stopped from finishing such a death is a great shame to the family of the one who embarked on it.

  Thiratay and Pathom now hold places on the roll of honor, to be named on the great holidays. A horsehair is burned for each in the Midwinter fires. As their only descendant, Buri will be able to command the help of any K’mir or ally of the K’miri tribes, and great things will be expected of her. No doubt she will attract the more adventurous members of her people west to Tortall, to serve her and Thayet.

  For herself, she is a well-trained warrior, even though she is young, and a fine rider and judge of horses. Her teachers say her manners require polish if she is to go among lowlanders. For those who appreciate a fine maker of compound bows, which require much patience, and a gentle hand with newborn foals and hounds, Buri’s lack of a feathered tongue is no bad thing.

  October 23, 439 H.E.

  Skullcap—

  It is my understanding that the slut has made her way to Tortall and is throwing herself on the mercies of the milksops there. Mithros only knows what lies she is making up about our situation regarding the rule of the realm, our intelligence gathering there, or anything else she learned before she fled. All we need is for her to convince the boy who is due to take the throne to get charged up with youthful ardor and send a force to do battle for the wronged princess.

  Take your team and find some way to deal with the situation. The woman, her so-called K’miri “guard,” that Shang fellow, that disgusting female who calls herself a knight, and the servant that rode with them. I don’t care how you do it, just leave no tracks. It would be best if they simply disappeared.

  Your first half-payment is in the usual place. I believe it is sufficient to satisfy even your greedy heart.

  November 14, 439

  Master Olau, this is the document I chanced to lay my hands on recently.

  Do not concern yourself about the writer or his correspondents. There are no other copies, and the writer has been persuaded that this was a very final course of action to take.

  Harvest Spider

  P.S. I tracked down the payment he would have gotten and gave it in equal shares to the temples of the Horse Lords, Mithros, the Great Goddess, the Trickster, and the God of Shadows, who rules the dead.

  H.S.

  November 15, 439

  Spies of the Merchant Lord in the West,

  I write on behalf of the council of K’mir chiefs, gathered at this time as is our custom when great decisions must be made. You have sent your little spies among those who trade with the tribes and marry among us. They ask questions with regard to Thayet jian Wilima and Buriram Tourakom, who have been forced from this land by the plots and murders of the Saren lowlanders.

  Know this. Thayet is free to go where she wishes and to live how she wishes. She understands that she cannot return to the tribes of the K’mir. As long as she bears her father’s blood the greedy lowland noblemen will use her to claim the throne. They will search for her among the forests and grasslands of the K’mir unless it is known she is not to be found there. Buriram is still held by her family’s oath to Thayet’s mother’s line and will remain with her.

  Never again will the K’mir bind themselves to the lowlanders. We gave them a woman of our most precious bloodline to seal a peace, and their king gave us theft, oath breaking, evil laws, and bloodshed. Now we will take back our forests and grasslands. We will drive the lowlanders from them. There can be no peace with the noble born of Sarain. They will learn the price of every drop of blood they have taken from us and our young, down to our newborn foals. Warn the lowlanders if you like. They believe us to be fools. They will learn otherwise.

  Our chiefs and their tribes wish all good things to Thayet and Buriram. May they find happiness far from this land of sorrows. We will all meet again, in the lands of the Horse Lords, when the time for mortal fury is done.

  Sir, this was in my saddlebag when I went to leave the city upon sending my information to you. I had thought I did a good job in covering my tracks so no one would know of my queries, but it seems I was not so clever as I believed.

  H.S.

  Report by Hostler Low Tide, February 12, 443

  Name: Musenda Ogunsanwo

  Also called: Sarge (arena and Rider nickname)

  Date subject first reported seen in Tortall:

  January 443

  Born 415


  Homeland:

  Carthak, born of a West Coast tribe

  Family:

  -Father Abeid, smith; mother Edo, carpenter—parents killed in rebellion when Musenda was 8

  -6 children, sisters and brothers taken and sold as slaves—1 brother known deceased

  -Sister-in-law, widowed, 3 children—moved to Tortall with her second husband Added May 444: settled in Port Legann

  -Musenda big for age, sold to gladiator training masters and trained for arena combats

  -No children

  Precise description:

  Height: 6 feet 5 inches

  Build: heavy, muscled

  Age: 29 at present date

  Hair color: black, cut short to skull

  Eye color: brown

  Skin color: dark brown

  Added markings:

  Enough to make even me sick, and I was in the army:

  -Shackle galls, wrists and ankles

  -Whip scars, ridges on ridges, all over his back and sides

  -Sword scars: right upper chest, left of belly button, left upper thigh

  -Brand on left shoulder—property of Carthaki Empire

  Occupation:

  Gladiator training, lesser arena combats, 430–434

  Gladiator combats, 434–443

  Caravan guard (caravan Paolin, caravan Inek), 443–444

  Habits of speech:

  -while issuing orders, a thundering, splendid roar; otherwise quiet-spoken; a Common speaker, not learned

  “lambkins,” “my lamb,” “ain’t,” “sweet-lookin’,” “darlings”—terms he uses often to those he commands

  Physical habits and skills:

  very early riser, goes for loooong runs

  -does shadow fighting with weapons, bare fists, kicks

  -then bathes in nearest cold river or stream

  -good campfire cook

  -mends his own clothes and the bits of armor he has

  -very good with horses

  Combat skills:

  -javelin, staff, spear, chain (yes, chain, he wears it around his waist and he brained a pirate with it once), short sword, knife

  -bare-knuckles fighting, wrestling, kicks

  -can lift a grown man near as big as he is over his head and hold him there

  Magic:

  none that this Hostler was able to spot

  He carries a couple of little doll figures in his kit and burns bits of food in front of them before he settles for the night—says those are just for his parents. He burns food or incense for them so they know he remembers them.

  He spoke openly enough about his family during the handful of times I traveled with caravans where he was a guard. The company promoted him fast, from on trial to second-in-command. They like him. He’s steady—gets everyone and everything to where they’re going, Master Artan, the owner of Paolin, told me, be they headed to Port Legann or to Persopolis. Artan waved off those Wanted posters on Sarge, saying, “If those Carthaki snakes can’t hang on to a man, they shouldn’t be allowed to have him.”

  Three times on my last trip strangers were asking too many questions about Sarge till the big man turned up missing one morning, packs and all. I was sad he ran. It was glorious to see him fight!

  Subject File:

  Highest-Level Secrecy

  All readers must have clearance from Chief Falcon, Deputy Chancellor of Operations, or Chancellor of Operations before handling records.

  Name: Numair Salmalín

  Also called: Arram Draper (birth name)

  Homeland:

  Tyra—7 years

  Lived 12 years in Carthak, speaks Common with slight Carthaki accent

  Date subject first reported seen in Tortall:

  February 443: Subject was possibly the wandering juggler reported in villages between Pearlmouth and Fief Oshirom on the western bank of the Drell.

  March 16, 443: Kourrem Hariq, Bazhir wandermage and trusted informant of this service, reports encounter with Numair Salmalín, vagrant juggler, on western bank of the Drell several miles north of Fief Oshirom. Unusually for this informant, she allows him to travel with her as far as north of Fief Skyl’s Hook.

  Other sightings and reports follow:

  Note by Whisper Man: My copies of these appear to have been placed in another of the crates—one more reason to clear out this room!

  Family:

  -Father—Yusaf Draper, cloth merchant, sale, import, export

  -Mother—Kabidi Draper, formerly Terrliz

  -Brother and wife—Pattel and Zerumy, 3 sons, 2 daughters

  -Brother and wife—Haran and Noaia, 5 daughters, 2 sons

  -Sister and husband—Kerinna and Dofev, 3 sons

  -Sister Adasa, brothers Gellab and Mattan

  -Father’s father—Metan Draper, cloth merchant, sale, import, export

  -Mother’s father and mother—Iluya and Hazzel Terrliz, cloth merchant, sale

  -Mother’s grandmother—Bithua Vivim (grandfather dead), lacework

  Added by John Juggler:

  —Married May 462: Veralidaine Sarrasri

  —Daughter Sarralyn, May 462

  —Son Rikash, April 464

  Precise description:

  Height: 6 feet 4 inches

  Build: very thin, had recently lost weight in first report

  Age: over 20 as of January 24, 445

  Hair color: black

  Eye color: brown

  Skin color: brown

  Occupations—past and present:

  Teacher, Carthaki University

  Student healer, Carthaki University

  Street performer

  Instructor, Tortallan University

  Mage in service to Tortallan Crown

  Owl, Shadow Service

  Habits of speech:

  -talkative concerning academic matters, easily distractible concerning such things

  -polite to elders

  -uses educated speech, many references to scholars

  Physical habits and skills:

  -walks great distances

  -juggles

  -performs sleight of hand

  Magic:

  none posed as having none upon arrival in Tortall

  CORRECTION January 24, 445: A powerful mage—treat with all care

  Further notes—

  anything that may be of use to the shadow service:

  June 12, 445, note by the Whisper Man:

  Our agents have now gathered a great deal of information about the man calling himself Numair Salmalín, born Arram Draper in Tyra. He is a strong mage from the university at Carthak, perhaps one of the greatest according to what my agent was able to read in their documents. Emperor Ozorne has a price on his head for high treason and now demands Their Majesties return Salmalín to him upon pain of war. Given the project Salmalín is now working on with Their Majesties’ approval, the Carthaki emperor will have a long wait.

  Name: Veralidaine Sarrasri

  Also called: Daine

  Date subject first reported seen in Tortall:

  March 22, 449: Hostler Onua, the Cría horse fair in Galla. Hired the girl to bring ponies to palace for Queen’s Riders, learned her story on the way

  Homeland:

  Town called Snowsdale, in Galla

  Family:

  -Sarra Beneksri, mother, slain by bandits, March 449

  Added by Owl Numair: Sarra ascended to the Divine Realms and was made minor goddess of local mountain women, southwestern Galla and northeastern Tortall

  -Benek Todorsra, grandfather, slain by bandits, March 449

  -Father unknown

  Added by Owl Numair: Weiryn, father, minor hunt-god of southwestern Galla and northeastern Tortall

  -Married May 462: Numair Salmalín

  -Daughter Sarralyn, May 462

  -Son Rikash, April 464

  Precise description:

  Height: 5 feet 5 inches

  Build: thin

  Age: 13 at first report

>   Hair color: brown, curly

  Eye color: blue-gray

  Skin color: fair

  Occupation:

  Assistant to Queen’s Riders horsemistress, Onua Chamtong, March 449–spring 450

  Assistant to Numair Salmalín on behalf of the Riders and the Crown, July 450–July 451

  Assistant to Numair Salmalín and special envoy to Carthak on behalf of the Crown, September 451

  Special mage in the employ of the Crown, October 451 to present

  Habits of speech:

  -soft-spoken, polite

  -says “odd’s bobs,” “oh glory,” “mouse manure,” “my heart bleeds buttermilk”

  Physical habits and skills:

  -horse care, tracking, hunting, fishing, camp cookery, sewing

  Combat skills:

  -longbow and crossbow archer (good archer)

  -sling (good sling)

  Magic:

  We met Numair on the road. He believes she has that wild magic he is forever going on about, and I for once agree.

  —Onua, spring 449

  Daine is certainly a wildmage, bound to mortal animals, able to communicate with immortal creatures, invaluable to the realm. She is also a demigoddess.

  —Whisper Man, November 452

  Remaining records doubtless somewhere else in this room! Note to myself—do not leave papers where children can get at them!—W.M.

  Report by Harvester Stabler, August 457, a servant girl who was allowed to stay in Tortall with Princess Shinkokami

  Name: Kuni Yoro

  Date subject first reported seen in Tortall:

  September 456

  Homeland:

  Saikai, Eniwa Island, the Yamani Islands

  Family:

  -Hostler Bifu says his people can’t learn anything of Yoro’s family. When his Sparrows ask anything careful-like in or near Saikai village, they get nothing at best, and threats at worst. Bifu told them to drop it before they risked themselves. In any case, she left home at 5 and was sent to the Imperial Palace.