Althalus gave chief Albron a puzzled look. ‘Have you got a quarrel of some kind with somebody in Treborea, my Lord?’
‘No, it’s a business arrangement. In the old days the lowlanders were always trying to persuade the Clan-Chiefs of Arum to agree to alliances with them – alliances where we’d do the bleeding and they’d get the profit. There was a conclave of all the Clan-Chiefs of Arum about fifty years ago, and the chiefs all agreed that there weren’t going to be any more of those alliances with the lowlanders. The way things are now, if the lowlanders need soldiers, they have to rent them.’
‘Rent?’
‘It works out very well for us, Master Althalus. We don’t ally ourselves with anybody during those wars, so we don’t get swindled out of our share when the war’s over. It’s all strictly business now. If they want soldiers, they pay for them – in advance – and we won’t accept promissory notes or paper money. They pay in gold, and they pay before any of our men start marching.’
‘How did the lowlanders take that?’
‘From what I’ve heard, their screams of outrage were echoing off the moon. The Clan-Chiefs of Arum have held firm, though, so now the lowlanders either pay, or they fight their own wars.’ Albron scratched his chin reflectively. ‘We’re a war-like people here in Arum, and there was a time when almost anything could set off a clan war. It’s not that way here any more. There hasn’t been a clan war in Arum for forty years.’
Althalus grinned at him. ‘Why burn down your neighbors for fun when you can set fire to Perquaine and Treborea for profit?’ he said. ‘Which Treborean city bought the services of this young Eliar?’
‘Kanthon, wasn’t it, Rheud?’ Albron asked. ‘Sometimes I lose track. I’ve got men involved in a half-dozen little wars down there right now.’
‘Yes, my Lord,’ Rheud replied. ‘This was Eliar’s first war, so you sent him off to one of the quiet ones so he could get his feet wet in shallow water his first time out. That war between Kanthon and Osthos has been simmering for the last ten centuries, and nobody’s taking it very seriously.’
‘Well,’ Althalus said, ‘I guess I get to go to Kanthon then. There’s something to be said for that, I suppose.’
‘Oh?’ Albron asked.
‘It’s open country down there in Treborea. I don’t want to offend you, my Lord, but there are too many trees here in Arum for my taste.’
‘Don’t you like trees?’
‘Not when one of my cousin’s assassins might be hiding behind any one of them. Flat, open country’s sort of boring, but some boredom might give my nerves a bit of a rest. Here lately they’ve been stretched as tight as a bowstring. What does Eliar look like?’
‘He’s sort of gangly,’ the red-bearded armorer said. ‘He’s only about fifteen years old, so he’s still growing. If he lives, he’ll probably turn into a fairly respectable warrior. He isn’t any too bright, but he might outgrow that. He’s got a lot of enthusiasm, and he’s convinced that he’s the greatest warrior alive.’
‘I’d better hurry, then,’ Althalus said. ‘Young Eliar sounds like a fellow who’s just brimful of incipient mortality.’
‘Nicely put, Master Althalus,’ Albron said admiringly. ‘That description fits just about every adolescent male in the whole of Arum.’
‘They’re good for business, though, aren’t they, Chief Albron?’
‘Oh, yes,’ Albron smirked. ‘I can usually get double price for the young ones.’
Althalus and Emerald left Albron’s castle the next morning and traveled south. ‘Do you know the way to Kanthon?’ Emmy asked as they rode on down the canyon.
‘Of course, Em. I know several ways to just about every city in the world.’
‘And several other ways to get out of them?’
‘Naturally. Getting out of town in a hurry is sometimes very necessary for people in my profession.’
‘I wonder why?’
‘Be nice, Emmy. Where do we go after we get the Knife away from Eliar?’
‘I haven’t the faintest idea.’
‘What?’
‘Don’t worry, Althalus. The writing on the Knife will tell us where to go.’
‘I thought the words on the blade were there to identify the people we’re going to need.’
‘That’s part of what they say, but only part of it. The writing on the blade is much more complex than that, pet, and it changes with the circumstances. It tells us where to go, who we need to find, and what we’re supposed to do next.’
‘It sounds to me as if it’s almost like the Book.’
‘Sort of, yes. The Knife changes, though, and the Book doesn’t. Let’s move along, Althalus. We have a long way to go.’
They rode down onto the plains of Perquaine, and after about a week they reached the city of Maghu. There had been many changes in Maghu since Althalus had last been there, but the ancient temple was still the most prominent building in town. As they rode past it, Althalus was a bit startled by Emmy’s reaction. She was riding, as always, in the hood of his cloak, and she laid back her ears and hissed at the temple. ‘What was that all about?’ he asked her.
‘I hate that place!’ she replied vehemently.
‘What’s wrong with it?’
‘It’s grotesque!’
‘It’s a little fancy, but not much more than other temples I’ve seen.’
‘I’m not talking about the temple, Althalus. I’m talking about the statue inside.’
‘You mean the one with all those extra bosoms? It’s just the local goddess, Em. You don’t have to take it so personally.’
‘It is personal, Althalus!’
He could feel her fuming outrage, and he looked sharply back over his shoulder at her. A sudden notion struck him, and he sent a probing thought into that part of her mind she’d always insisted was personal and private. He was stunned by what he found. ‘Is that who you really are?’ he gasped.
‘I’ve told you to stay out of there!’
‘You’re Dweia, aren’t you?’
‘Amazing. You even pronounced it right.’ Her tone was snippy. She was definitely not in a good humor.
Althalus was awed. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ he demanded.
‘It wasn’t any of your business who I am.’
‘Do you really look anything like that statue?’
‘Like a brood-sow, you mean? – Like a whole herd of brood sows?’
‘I was talking about the face, not all those extra – ’He groped for a non-offensive word.
‘The face isn’t accurate either.’
