Dardelan laid a hand on the ward’s arm. “Zarak, let us be clear on this. Were they following Serba?”
“I don’t know,” Zarak admitted. “She said they were after her, and they came. But maybe they were sent there to seize the ferry.”
“I think we can assume that if a great horde of soldierguards rode up to the ferry port openly, they know she had reached us and that we are alert to the trap that was to be sprung tonight in Port Oran,” Reuvan said.
“Why did the Misfits not foresee this in the minds they probed?” Brocade demanded.
“I don’t know,” I said evenly. “It may be that these bands Serba spoke of prevented our people from entering the traitors’ minds. Or maybe the traitor is not a rebel but someone intimately connected to a rebel, someone who would not be tested. Or perhaps the traitor simply has not submitted him or herself to be tested yet. Even on this side of the Suggredoon, we have not probed every mind.” I looked now at Malik.
“The one thing we do know is that the traitors are on the west coast, else what happened to the rebels there would have happened here,” Gevan declared.
Some of the others nodded, but Elii said sharply, “Right now, the identity of the traitors is the least of our worries. What’s more important is to know what the Council plans to do.”
“Obviously they will attack us,” Brocade said shrilly. “We must post a heavy force along the Suggredoon immediately.”
Zarak shook his head. “You forget that the ferry is on our side of the river and is the only way across. No one would dare swim with the water being so tainted.”
“Of course, by the same token, we cannot sally out and engage them since the ferry is too small to take more than a meager force,” Elii said. “I daresay that is what the soldierguards came to prevent. Of course, they will have to guard their shore constantly to prevent our sending over spies.”
“In time, they will try to send their own spies using small vessels at night,” Brydda rumbled. “They would no doubt have done so already, except for this huge trap they planned. Fortunately for us, they obviously focused on the west coast, just as we concentrated our first moves this side of the Suggredoon. If not for Serba and the Misfits with her, we would have fallen into a deadly trap.”
There was a grim silence.
“Brocade is right. We ought to set up a shore watch along the Suggredoon,” Dardelan said.
Jakoby rose, saying she would post some of her people while we decided on a course of action. I caught her thought that this development could have definite consequences for her people.
“What of seagoing vessels?” Reuvan said when she had gone. “They could come straight in from the ocean and land hordes of soldierguards somewhere this side of the river. We ought to set up a shore watch everywhere a ship can anchor and let off passengers.”
“A good point,” Zamadi said. “But we need not worry about that so swiftly. Such a venture would take time to organize.”
“Of course, we could turn the tables and send our own ships out,” Dardelan said, calling all eyes in the room back to him. “The Council cannot possibly guard all of that western shoreline, for you could beach a ship almost anywhere along it without difficulty and without being seen because it is so sparsely settled.”
“Now there is a truly cheering thought, because even if we don’t do it, the Council can’t afford to overlook the possibility that we might. They will be stretched dangerously thin trying to guard that shore,” Brydda said. “But I think sending out ships of our own is a brilliant idea. Elspeth, I know your people cannot scry over the tainted waters of the river, but could a farseeker scry to land from the deck of a ship?”
“Perhaps,” I said. “If the shore has not been tainted and if the vessel was very close in to shore.”
Dardelan nodded. “We will speak further of plans to attack once we have made sure of our defenses. Brydda, you and Reuvan can look into a preliminary strategy for sea approach to the west coast. Zamadi, will you and your people take charge of patrolling the riverbanks? The Sadorians are too few to watch the whole shoreline, and I’m afraid that is what will ultimately be needed.”
“I will, but that’s a cursed lot to watch. We’ll need to have people set up right away along the bank past the Ford of Rangorn to the Blacklands,” Zamadi said.
“I’ll assign more people to you when we are organized,” Dardelan promised.
“Good enough,” Zamadi said, and sat down to mutter to a couple of his people.
Malik rose, and I half expected him to challenge Dardelan’s authority. But this time there was no talk of Dardelan being too young or being Brydda’s pawn. Instead, the gray-eyed rebel offered his force, Vos’s, and Brocade’s to arrange a watch of the vulnerable places along the sea coast. This was less of a job than it sounded, for the combination of sheer cliffs and impassible shoals meant that there were only a limited number of landing places.
“Done, then,” Dardelan said. “You should begin by setting up a watch on the wharves in the city, too. A spy could easily come in that way under the cover of dark.”
“I can organize that,” Reuvan offered.
“Very well,” Dardelan said. “I’ll assign you some of my father’s people. And, of course, aside from watching, we must devise plans in case they do attack in force either here or somewhere else on our coast.”
“Dardelan, I’d like to try getting inside the cloister as soon as possible,” Elii said. “After all, the demon bands that block the Misfits’ powers are of Herder making, and they obviously knew at least a day before what was going to happen here. Maybe they also know what happened on the west coast.”
“Truespoken,” Dardelan said. “I am not opposed to your making an attempt at getting in, if no one else objects.” He looked around but no one else spoke. “Very well. Lydi, I am afraid it lies with your group, then, to take control of watching the prisoners.”
“I assume you mean the prisoners here and elsewhere?”
“All the prisoners ought to be brought to Sutrium eventually for the trials, but let’s leave the ones outside Sutrium where they are for the time being. Have someone go up and let the rebels guarding them know what has transpired and set up watch rosters. We should know better how we stand in a few days. Besides, when we do collect them, the locals will want to know what is going on. We will have to be prepared to talk to them. I will give some thought to it.”
“What about the city?” Lydi asked. “This plague ruse won’t last forever.…”
Malik cut in brusquely. “We cannot spare the forces to control civil unrest nor the time to institute alternative systems right now. I will have some of my men dress as soldierguards and patrol the streets shouting that several people disobeyed Council orders and therefore plague is now rampaging through the city. That will keep them in their houses for at least another day or two.”
Dardelan looked around at the others and, seeing no dissent, nodded. “I don’t like it, but we can’t afford for anyone to get wind of what is happening on the other bank of the Suggredoon yet. There will be a panic if people fear the city is likely to become a killing ground. We must begin to take some sort of visible control of the city soon, though, or matters will slip out of our hands. That means we will have to make decisions I had hoped might be made after all the fighting was done. But let’s get moving now. We will meet here again in the morning.”
There was a general movement toward the door, but Tomash sidled through the crush to me. “Elspeth, Elii wants me and some of the others to come with him when he tries broaching the cloister walls.”
“Go, then,” I said. He departed with Wila in tow, and as other Misfits approached, I instructed most of them to remain with the groups they had been assigned to. Others, I decided, would return to Obernewtyn. There were more than enough of us to help the rebels, and given what had happened with Malik, I preferred there to be less rather than more of us working with them.
I asked Zarak to let everyone at Obernewtyn kno
w what was happening. I suggested Dameon return as well, but he said gently but firmly that he would return when I returned, and I was selfish enough to be glad.
I told him who I wanted to return to Obernewtyn, and when Zarak heard Lina’s name, his eyes lit up. “She is here?”
I realized then that he had no idea what had happened in the White Valley. Rather than tell him of Malik’s treachery, I bade him talk to Lina and work with her to gather the others who would ride back to Obernewtyn. I knew she would explain everything.
Promising to see me before they departed, Zarak went to find Lina. I turned to Dameon. “We have had no chance to talk, and there are so many things I want to ask you about.”
He found my hand unerringly. “Do not concern yourself with me right now. I will go and sit with Kella and her patient. We will have plenty of time later.”
I hugged him impulsively, at the same time instructing Ceirwan to take him to Kella. By the time the guilden returned with Brydda, the council room was virtually empty.
“What now?” Ceirwan asked.
“You stay with Dardelan,” I decided. “Everything that happens will be relayed back to him, and you can farsend it to me.”
Brydda ran his fingers through his hair in a gesture of frustration. “This is a cursed mess.”
“It is,” I said.
“I have not had time to tell you how sorry I am about what happened in the White Valley. Rest assured that Malik will be brought to answer for what he did, though I know that can be no consolation to you.”
I said nothing. The deaths in the White Valley and now the news that the Misfits sent to the west coast were trapped in a hostile situation, utterly beyond our help, was almost too much to bear.
“Despite everything, it is good to see Dameon again,” Brydda went on.
I smiled wanly, for it was true. “When did he arrive?”
“On a ship yesterday evening with Jakoby and her people. He wanted to go up to Obernewtyn when you did not arrive, but Malik said you would come.”
“What exactly did Malik say when he arrived here without us?”
The rebel scowled. “He said there had been a mishap.” He strode about restlessly, then suggested we go to Dardelan’s home, saying he wished to speak with Bodera.
As we made our way along the street, I was struck again by the silence that lay over the metropolis. For all its appearance, there were hundreds of people on all sides, many times outnumbering the rebels occupying the city. Dardelan was right in saying control could slip from the rebels’ fingers all too easily if they did not tread very carefully.
“You won’t be able to keep these people penned up forever,” I said aloud.
“Dardelan said in the meeting that he would think about how we might assume peaceful control, but the reality is that he has been giving it considerable thought for some time. He has a plan.”
“A plan?”
He nodded. “He believes we should begin by organizing a series of trials of soldierguards and Councilmen as a way of demonstrating our disinclination to rule by brute force. This will allow us to remind the people of the tyranny and greed of their erstwhile masters. The trials will also focus people’s attention on what comes next. I should let him explain, but I can say Dardelan wants to institute other changes.”
“Will he be able to do so with the west coast situation?” I asked.
He sighed, and his stride slowed. “First we have to consolidate our position this side of the river. We must ensure that what we have won cannot be taken back. Then we must find a way to wrest control of the west coast from our enemies. I am afraid what has gone before will be nothing compared to what will come, for there will be open confrontation.”
“You are speaking of civil war,” I said.
He nodded morosely. “I am afraid so. Of course, we will not speak those doubts very loudly. If we are to hold what we have gained, we must instill confidence in people by showing them we can run things competently. Otherwise, they will collaborate against us for fear of what will happen if the Council resumes control.”
“I wouldn’t let people know much about the situation on the west coast to start with, then,” Reuvan opined.
“Exactly my feeling,” Brydda agreed.
“You won’t be able to stop people realizing that something is going on when they can’t use the ferry,” I said.
“Truespoken, but we can make it seem as if the port is held in a desperate move by a few soldierguards,” Brydda said.
The big rebel stopped outside a small house and knocked softly. It was opened by the scarred blond woman I had first met long ago with Domick. Instinctively, I probed for news of Domick or Rushton in her mind, but there was nothing. She had not seen Domick in many sevendays, and she had never seen Rushton.
She paled to hear Brydda’s news but asked calmly enough what he wanted her to do.
“Help Reuvan set up a watch of the city piers,” the big man said.
Reuvan lifted his head and grasped the big rebel’s arm.
“What is it?” Brydda asked impatiently.
“Smoke,” the seaman said. “Can’t you smell it?”
Now that he had pointed it out, I could smell it, too. Reuvan pointed to the sky, and I turned to see monstrous billows of black smoke, streaked with orange and red, rising over the buildings.
“It’s coming from the wharves,” Reuvan said. “One of the sheds must be on fire.”
Brydda groaned. “Not the sheds, curse it! The ships!” He broke into a run.
28
“THE STINKING BASTARDS,” Brydda cursed as we stood helplessly on the pier, watching every ship in the port burn, including the ancient Sadorian vessel, Zephyr. Dirty black smoke hung in a thick veil over the sky, and the angry red of flames was reflected in the waves as a blighted dusk.
“Who did this?” Reuvan said incredulously. “The Council?”
“Who else could it have been?” Brydda raged. “They must have set someone up here to burn the ships. Who would think they would be far-sighted enough to consider the possibility that their plan might fail?”
Other rebels were arriving now, Dardelan among the first, with Ceirwan at his heels.
“I saw th’ smoke an’ turned back,” the young rebel panted.
Jakoby came running up. Seeing the conflagration, her eyes sought out the Zephyr, which Dameon had told me had been among the ships that had carried her people on their raid of New Gadfia. She swore coldly.
“Why didna th’ crews sound an alarm?” Ceirwan asked.
Dardelan said, “Hiding inside their homes for fear of plague germs, I suppose.”
Reuvan said in a queer, flat tone, “No ship would ever be left unwatched. There would always be at least a skeleton crew aboard.”
“My people had no home in this place but the Zephyr,” Jakoby said very softly, her eyes shimmering with reflected flames.
No one said a word, for we saw then what we should perhaps have realized immediately. It was not just the boats that had been destroyed. Anyone who had been aboard them had been murdered.
Suddenly Ceirwan spoke. “Isn’t that a ship way out there?”
“It’s going out,” Brydda muttered. “I would bet my life that the people who did all of this are aboard and are even now bound for the west coast to report to their masters.”
Reuvan shook his head decisively. “That ship is bound for the open sea.”
“Open sea …,” Brydda echoed blankly.
“That, or Herder Isle,” Reuvan murmured.
“Herder Isle,” Dardelan repeated. “But what has Herder Isle to do with this?”
“Maybe nothing,” Brydda said slowly. “That ship might simply have turned back when it saw the smoke.”
“What if th’ Herders are th’ ones who fired th’ ships?” Ceirwan said breathlessly. Then he shook his head. “No, that’s stupid. Why should they?”
“Why, indeed,” Brydda said darkly. “I think we had best go and see how Elii is faring
with the cloister.”
“What about the ships?” Reuvan protested.
“There is no saving them,” Jakoby murmured.
“I must speak to my father,” Dardelan said. “I will come to the cloister after that.” As he turned away, I bade Ceirwan mentally to stay with him.
“I will wait here,” Jakoby murmured, her eyes on the burning Zephyr. “I can do nothing to help her, but some things must be witnessed to the bitter end.”
“I will stay, too,” Reuvan mumbled. Brydda gave him leave with a look of compassion. He knew that, as a seaman, Reuvan would have known most of the men and women killed.
On our way to the cloister, Brydda strode so fast that I had to run to keep up, his face set in a mask of cold rage.
I was more frightened than angry. There seemed something nightmarishly sinister in the possibility that the Faction were involved in the destruction of the ships and their crews. I thought again of the nightmares of Ariel and wondered if he could have anything to do with what was happening.
Soon we came in sight of the cloister. I had not clapped eyes on one since I had tried to rescue Jik from the clutches of his former masters. But this was larger than the cloister in Aborium. Set apart from other buildings, the cloister and its grounds were surrounded by a high wall of hard stone.
Greenery showed above the wall, and though I could not see it, I pictured the manicured gardens and lawns surrounding the square buildings where the priests lived and went about Faction business.
I tried to farseek beyond the wall, but my mind could not penetrate the perimeter. As Zarak had described, it felt exactly like trying to scry over badly tainted ground. I frowned up at the walls. Once I might have thought the use of tainted material an accident, but that had been before the Herders manufactured their demon bands. Now it seemed very likely that the stone had been chosen and used specifically to thwart Misfit powers.
“There,” Brydda said, pointing. Elii and a group of rebels had come from a nearby street, carrying lanterns and dragging a log they clearly meant to use as a ram. Seeing the big rebel, Elii hailed him cheerfully and asked if he had come to lend his muscles to the ramming.