"Why not? I am more use to Lowst-ya over there."
Mirrin chuckled. "Don't be too sure of that."
***
Raynor Shedry ran a hand over his ten minutes' worth of stubble that already showed over his pointed chin. The skin felt smooth enough under his fingers, but if he looked in a mirror, he would appear unshaven. His mother always told him he could thank starting to shave too young in life for that.
He next ran his hand over his forehead, reaching hair somewhat later than in his youth. A shame the hair there could not be so bountiful as that on his face. A few more years and baldness would rule up there, instead of glossy black hair that still showed no hint of gray.
His other hand rested on a small pile of hurriedly penciled music sheets, his sylph's attempt to write down the whistles Raynor asked Shyamon to whistle across, addressed to the captive sylph Aiten. The replies were also there, together with any other whistles she had happened to overhear.
Raynor had gladly given his life over to service. A soldier for over thirty years, he had privately questioned some of the orders he had received in the past fifteen or so, but served loyally. But for most of those years, his commanders had utilized a talent that had manifested itself very early in his career.
Raynor could crack codes and uncover hidden messages. He had no idea how, but it seemed as if he could read a letter, and immediately see any underlying meaning. Or see unusual patterns in the words, suggesting a hidden code.
When old Aelfrec still ruled Eldova, before his insane son took over, the Prefect had asked one of the Gifted to look Raynor over, to see if he had any latent abilities.
No such luck, the Gifted had said – in Raynor's view a great blessing – but the Gifted suspected coming from a musical family might have something to do with his ability to crack codes and spot unusual patterns.
It might even be true.
Raynor had spent most of the past year thinking about the Markan sylph scouts and their peculiar method of communicating. Crack those whistles, and a lot of the advantage the Markans enjoyed would dissipate in an instant. Whistling allowed almost instant communication, but it might also prove a weakness.
And it took his mind off other matters. His daughter had married a Sergeant six years before, but Imin was among those who had marched east with Hingast and not returned.
And his son Dagban, not yet twenty, and eager to help Hingast complete his claim to the Markan Throne. He, also, had not returned home. Son and son-in-law among those Hingast accused of cowardice and treason.
Or already dead.
"Tonight's message, enya?"
Raynor blinked and turned his blue-gray eyes onto his sylph. He smiled. "Of course, let me think a moment."
When he married, two infertile sylphs had been presented as wedding gifts. Littersisters, and looking identical, both had already begun training in musical instruments and – of essential importance now – how to read and write musical notation.
Unnis and Lynnis always brightened the newly-weds' evenings with their music and songs; Unnis always accompanied her owner on campaigns, especially once he attained the rank of Sergeant.
And Unnis had proved herself useful now.
Unlike Raynor, she could hear the sylph scouts' whistles, and unlike most other sylphs, she could write down what she heard. And for the past coulpe of days, Raynor had carefully controlled the messages sent to Aiten.
Capture an enemy sylph scout and feed him messages, get another sylph to write down the whistles in musical notation, then work on the code.
Raynor already knew the sylphs did not use a whistle for a single word, like the strange writing system used in Pelirno. Rather the notes and pitches represented a single sound, much like the letters in the Markan alphabet used over most of the rest of the continent.
And Raynor could already see a pattern in those whistles.
He knew he was not the first to think of this as the way to crack the sylphs' code and he marveled how someone had managed to create it. Probably a human, but sylphs could be surprisingly inventive. Then again, few sylphs were literate in these troubled times.
It didn't matter.
"Right, tonight's message," he said, leaning back after checking which sounds he had not yet used. "Slightly different. Ready?"
Unnis nodded.
"Hope all is well with you Aiten. The Father will shelter you until released in Eldova. Aiten, be strong." Raynor smiled. "Pass it back."
"Ala, lena ginad tul ewa, Aiten. Naya, Zhenya merinmin abut Eldov nebonda. A oplal, Aiten."
Raynor thought for a moment. "Make the 'we' exclusive, not inclusive," he instructed, "so a repeat 'you' appears in there."
Unnis barely hesitated. "Ala, le naya ginad tul ewa, Aiten. Naya, Zhenya merinmin abut Eldov nebonda. A oplal, Aiten."
"Good to have the long 'shee' sound." Raynor smiled. "That appears rarely enough in the language. Right, get it sent."
"Se bata."
Unnis disappeared at a near run, and Raynor bent his head over the music sheets again. A harder code to crack than usual, but he would get there. Eventually.
***
"Donenya, Mirrin-ya has sent a messenger; he should be here soon."
Kelanus looked up from his conversation with Tahena and blinked at Shyamon.
"Belaika just whistled it through," continued the sylph. "I think Mirrin-ya wants an exchange."
"Who for whom?" asked Kelanus.
"I think Aiten for me." Shyamon blinked. "Belaika says that he thinks Mirrin-ya doubts he will get the swap though."
"Oh?" Kelanus raised an eyebrow. "Surely they are missing Aiten over here; his scouting mate Vyren certainly looks lost without him."
"They do not let me run with him," said Shyamon.
"They know you'd just run back to Mirrin."
Shyamon grinned.
Kelanus excused himself to Tahena and crossed the short distance to where Lowst readied to move on. The Markans, who had given their word, were again armed, though Lowst had been reluctant to let Yeoman Taved anywhere near a weapon. Kelanus needed half a night to persuade his yeoman to behave.
"But they're Eldovans, Sir," Taved protested. "The enemy."
"Not for the moment," Kelanus had retorted. "Right now, they're doing what we want, which is taking us to the city."
That had been that, Kelanus hoped. Either way, Taved wore his sword and, from the lack of dead Eldovans, the General assumed his yeoman had behaved himself so far.
As Kelanus approached, Lowst's Sergeant-of-Signals abruptly straightened and folded some papers. Both men eyed his approach warily, while the infertile sylph who entertained them with music in the evenings peered shyly around a tent flap.
"Shyamon tells me Mirrin is sending a messenger across," said Kelanus, wondering why the Sergeant flinched at the mention of the scout's name.
Lowst nodded. "I'm sure he will be brought before me with all courtesy."
Kelanus turned to the sylph. "We all enjoyed your music last night," he told her.
She bobbed her head, flushed a brighter blue and her one visible earpoint twitched straighter in pleasure. She grew even shyer and withdrew from sight altogether.
"Delightful," remarked Kelanus. "She plays well for one so young."
"She's nearly thirty," grunted the signals Sergeant.
"Shy for her age then."
"That's infertiles," replied the Sergeant.
So you're Sergeant Raynor, reflected Kelanus, filing the snippet away, holding his silence as Sergeant Utlen brought a young rider before Lowst. He stayed close.
"Messenger Nayliss, Sir," said the rider, introducing himself.
"General Lowst. What does Mirrin have for me?"
"He offers an exchange, Sir. The sylph you hold captive for the sylph we hold captive."
Kelanus hid a smile. Again, a sylph's perception had proved right.
Lowst glanced at his signal Sergeant. "Raynor?"
Kelanus blinked as the Sergeant gave the sma
llest shake of his head.
Lowst turned back to the messenger.
"Submit my compliments to General Mirrin and thank him for his kind offer." Lowst smiled. "But I decline. If we swap the sylphs over, we have no way of communicating with each other, should the need arise."
Kelanus ignored the flowery partings as a few pieces turned over in his mind. The musical sylph belonged to the signal Sergeant. Signalers were often used as encoders and code breakers. Eldovans had tried to use a music-literate sylph to crack the scouts' whistles before...
"You look surprised, General Kelanus," remarked Lowst.
"I thought you might like the chance to get your sylph back," replied Kelanus, while watching Raynor. I don't even need to ask; I expect your musical sylph can read and write musical notation. "I'd better get back, I expect the march will be tiring for my horse."
Lowst smiled and nodded. "We'll be leaving very soon," he promised.
Kelanus hurried back and supervised men saddling horses for Kelanus and Tahena. Lowst had not provided spare animals for Taved and Felis, but neither man had voiced a complaint.
"Shyamon."
The sylph was at Kelanus's side in a moment.
"When that sylph brings her message for Aiten tonight, don't whistle it."
Shyamon shrugged. "We use that message to hide our own orders," he said.
"That sylph belongs to a signal Sergeant named Raynor," said Kelanus. "I expect the messages come from him. They're trying to work out your whistles."
Tahena watched them, dark eyes troubled. Taved growled something under his breath, hand on sword hilt. Felis shrugged and said nothing.
Shyamon gave a sylph's slow blink.
"Tonight, you will tell the yenakula to ensure their whistles, except for any acknowledgments, must be passed between each other beyond the possible earshot of any enemy sylph in either camp."
Kelanus waited for Shyamon to nod before continuing.
"This will be your last message; tomorrow I'll tell General Lowst that you'll send no more messages to Aiten, because an offer of exchange was made and refused."
"What's happening?" asked Tahena.
"They're trying to crack the scouts' whistles. That's why Lowst is happy for Aiten to stay over there," said Kelanus. "The lad is probably as unhappy about it as we are."
"Are you sure?" asked Tahena.
"Not definitely, but we know from Belaika that they've tried before. This time, they're using owner and owned together."
"We don't even know that sylph can even read musical notation."
"Willing to take the risk?" Kelanus raised an eyebrow. "Neither am I."
"Told you we can't trust 'em," muttered Taved, hand stroking his scabbard.
"Don't go running amok just yet," warned Kelanus. "Let's get to Eldova in one piece, eh?"
***
The four Markan scouts came together in a huddle at the end of the day. A long message had been whistled in from Shyamon, and Belaika had made up a suitable message for Aiten's benefit, even though there had been none. After all, Eldovans were not stupid, or not particularly so, and they would realize that if nothing came for Aiten, then the whistle must contain another message.
After all, the other sylphs marching with Mirrin had hardly gone deaf.
The scouts came together, and their stance suggested outsiders were not invited, as a couple of the camp infertiles learned. Even Shashi, usually welcomed by Belaika, wandered away disgruntled.
"Long message," remarked Fhionnen. "We must go even further afield to whistle to each other."
"And how can we give warning of any attack?" asked Samel.
"Send a double pinger," suggested Ean. "Ordinary pingers for positioning ourselves, like now; double pinger for trouble. We will still have to run to pass the message on anyhow."
Belaika nodded in approval. "They must be trying to understand how our whistles work again," he said. "Even sylphs here can duplicate them. If they whistle from this group to that one, and they have another sylph who can write them down..."
"How can they work out meanings though?" asked Samel, who wanted to believe everything sylph scouts did was infallible.
"Humans are clever," muttered Fhionnen.
Ean gave Fhionnen a doubtful look.
"They look for patterns," said Belaika. "That is how it is done. Any human who understands how our language sounds will find the same patterns in our whistles they can find in our speech."
Fhionnen and Samel, the least experienced of the four scouts (and the least trained, according to Belaika and Ean), looked at each other, earpoints wilted.
"Like I said, humans are clever." Fhionnen shook his head.
"Kelanus-ya had better be clever," said Ean. "According to Mirrin-ya, we will see Eldova City soon."
"We have a way of getting orders without whistling," Belaika told the others. "But it is dangerous." He quickly outlined the plan he and Ean had worked on most of the day and the other two sylphs nodded in appreciation. Their enthusiasm increased when they realized Belaika intended to penetrate Lowst's camp alone.
"But what if Kelanus has got no plan?" asked Samel.
Belaika shrugged. "He will have a plan," he said. "He always does." The scout fell silent again. When they reached the city, no matter what else happened, he had his own plan to see through.
***
Kelanus stirred in his blanket. Sleeping under the stars could be a pleasant experience in warm, dry weather, pretty much as they enjoyed right now. He blinked in the darkness, wondering if someone had touched him, or whether he had just been dreaming.
Stars seemed to glow in the cloudless sky above, countless endless stars. Land was a black mass when compared with the bright night sky. No moon. He stared up at the heavens, wondering when the Ark Star would next put in an appearance.
He turned his head at a small sound and saw a pair of sylph eyes regarding him, glowing as they reflected surplus light.
"What is it, Shyamon?" he whispered.
Those eyes swung from side to side as their owner shook his head.
"Belaika? What are you doing here?" Kelanus fought to keep his voice under control. Even a whisper sounded unnaturally loud in the stillness of the sleeping camp.
"Waiting for orders," whispered Belaika. "Now we are not whistling, this is the only way."
"No more orders until we reach Eldova," replied Kelanus. "Go back now and take no more unnecessary risks. We'll meet again in Eldova."
Belaika nodded. "Se bata."
"Get gone," commanded Kelanus. "And don't get caught."
He watched the scout's shape as he crept away through the camp. Foolish sylph, putting himself at risk this way. Well, if the boy had succeeded to get in undetected, he should be able to get out again.
Kelanus lay awake a little longer, mulling over his plan, what there was of it. When they reached Eldova, he would be taken before Hingast. He smiled as he thought of standing beside the man who ruled in the city. Once confronting the man who called himself Hingast, he would...
His eyes closed and he drifted away into a deep, and pleasant, sleep.
***
As they reached the highest point of the pass through the last range of hills, General Lowst invited Kelanus and Tahena to ride ahead with him. Tula trotted beside Kelanus's stirrup, not wanting to be separated. With more than a thousand men snaking behind, Lowst had commanded all his scouts to keep a careful eye open behind, in case Mirrin broke his word and attacked in the pass.
The scouts reported that, so far, Mirrin kept his distance, though he had sent his own scouts into the hills on either side of the pass. He might fear Lowst planned to attack him, despite assurances and promises.
The road turned a corner and, abruptly, they looked down on fertile land, with small woods dotted about. And in the distance, lay a city.
Kelanus granted Eldova looked impressive, though few cities could match Marka. Many rivaled Marka, in size and complexity at least, but no other had anything quite s
o impressive as Marka's pyramid. No such relic from the first civilization graced Eldova and Kelanus had never seen or heard of any relic as large as the polished black pyramid without Marka's walls.
"Eldova," announced Lowst, with a proprietary sweep of his arm. "From here, Hingast plans to rule an empire of his own."
Kelanus grunted. "The city looks well tended," he said, "though perhaps difficult to tell from here."
"Thur Ran Racken has been looking after it," said Lowst. "The man hates being used as an administrator, but he is good at it." Lowst sniffed. "In fairness, the man is rather good at everything he turns his hand to."
"Never heard of him," said Kelanus. "But if that is an Eldovan name, I'll eat my boots."
"Originally from Pelirno," replied Lowst. "Made General last year. Maybe the future Marshal of Eldova."
"Not one sent forward with Hingast then." Kelanus grinned.
Lowst leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Hingast used to dislike him. Nobody knows what changed his mind."
I do, thought Kelanus. "When will we reach it?"
"Tomorrow or the day after," replied Lowst. "I've no doubt more men will come out to meet us, process Mirrin and take you into custody."
"Process Mirrin? Sounds ominous."
Lowst smiled. "I already told you, Mirrin is not tainted with the charges leveled against the men who fought further east under Hingast."
"And he knows I'm your prisoner."
"He should do; I sent messenger pigeons. Several pigeons, in case of raptors."
"Thoughtful fellow," remarked Kelanus. "If I were you, I'd put out feelers and ask if Mirrin might not like to join us. With all his men."
Lowst managed a smile, though his dark blue eyes held a considering look. "Still hoping for a chance to take us over?"
"I gave you my word," retorted Kelanus. He pulled his spyglass free, but not even the famed Sandesteran lenses could provide much more detail of Eldova from this distance. "And Hingast is not to be trusted."
"While we're alone, why can we no longer hear your sylphs whistling?"
Kelanus smiled. "You're an intelligent man, General Lowst. I suspect you know the reason. And I've given strict orders to Shyamon, about sending no more, ah, encouraging messages to Aiten."
Lowst pursed his lips, then nodded. He turned to Tula. "Take yourself out of earshot, girl. I want to speak privately."
"Se bata." Tula's earpoints barely twitched as she wandered across the short distance to Tahena.