‘Yes, the man called Stark.’
Caleb leaned against the wall, his eyes upon the door. Time passed slowly, then a pair of men walked up to the door and entered without knocking. ‘Well, then,’ said Caleb.
‘What?’
‘Let’s go back to our rooms,’ he said.
‘I want to see what happens next.’
Caleb reached down and gripped Talon’s upper arm, pulling him to his feet. ‘What happens next, my young friend, is war.’
‘What?’
Not waiting to answer, Caleb turned and walked back towards the Blind Juggler. ‘I’ll tell you when we’re out of the city.’
Talon followed him quickly.
The wagon lumbered out of the gate, and Talon looked over his shoulder. It was unusual for a wagon of trade goods to be leaving the city so late in the day, and as a result there was no other wagon ahead of them for inspection and they left quickly. They would spend the night at the Inn of the Happy Farmer and leave at first light the next day for Kendrick’s.
Caleb had finished his shopping with unnatural speed, and had arranged for a variety of goods to be shipped to Kendrick’s rather than wait for them to be loaded into the wagon. It would cost more, but Caleb seemed to think nothing of the added expense.
When they were free of any chance of being overheard, Talon said, ‘Tell me.’
‘That man Webanks called “Stark” is no mercenary.’
‘I assumed that much, since he was wearing the tabard of the Duke of Olasko when he raided our village.’
‘His name is Quentin Havrevulen, and he is the fourth son of a minor noble from Roldem, now serving as Special Captain in the service of Kaspar, Duke of Olasko. Captain Quint, as he’s called, is as tough a man as they come and an exceptional soldier. He gets all of Duke Kaspar’s difficult assignments.’
‘What is one of the Duke of Olasko’s captains doing in Latagore, disguised as a guard for some merchants?’
‘Meeting two officers of the Latagore Army.’
‘The two men you saw enter the building?’
‘The same. One of them I recognize by sight, but the other I know by name and have spoken with. He’s Captain Janoish, and for him to be speaking with Quint means that Latagore has been betrayed.’
‘Why?
Moving the horses along the road at the best rate he could manage, Caleb said, ‘Because Janoish is in charge of city defence, and for him to speak to an officer of another nation’s army is treason.’
‘So war is coming?’
‘It has arrived, my young friend. I’ll wager every coin Webanks offered you that Olasko’s army is on the march.’
Talon said, ‘Why would the Duke of Olasko want to attack Latagore?’
Caleb replied, ‘Ask Robert.’
Talon glanced at his companion and saw a firmness to his jaw that indicated that further questions would be pointless.
The return journey took longer, for the wagon was now loaded with provisions and the horses required more rest. The sense of urgency mounted as each day passed.
Eventually, they came within sight of the steading and as soon as Caleb was inside the gates he told Talon to care for the horses and get Gibbs and Lars to unload provisions while he went to find Kendrick. Talon did as he was instructed and when the wagon and horses were put away he hurried into the inn.
He passed through the kitchen with only a perfunctory greeting for Leo, Martha and Meggie. Leo started to speak to Talon, but his words were lost as the young man pushed his way through the door into the common room.
There Robert and Pasko sat with Kendrick. There appeared to have been a lull in the conversation, for when Talon appeared, all were silent. Robert motioned Talon to sit down. Then he turned to Caleb and said, ‘I’ll send word at once to your father and ask him to have your brother return as quickly as possible.’
With a wry smile Caleb replied, ‘Which means Magnus will be here a minute after your message arrives at the island.’
Robert then turned to Talon. ‘It is clear from what Caleb has told me that you have become aware of issues that might have better remained unknown to you.’
Talon shrugged. ‘I cannot claim the wisdom to know whether that is true or not. I do know that you’ve hidden things from me, and that you know more about the destruction of my people than you have thus far admitted. I also know that some of the men responsible for this horror are now in Latagore plotting to overthrow the Dominar and his council.’
Kendrick glanced at Robert, as if seeking permission to speak. Robert shook his head slightly and turned back to Talon. ‘We know all this, and more.’ He looked at Talon for a long time, then asked, ‘What do you think of all this?’
Talon was torn between his natural frustration at seemingly pointless questions and the suspicion that Robert’s questions tended never to be pointless. He stopped and considered. Finally, he spoke: ‘There are several ways to look at the situation, Robert. Politically, I know from what I overheard when Count DeBarges was visiting that there’s a royalist movement in Latagore.’
Caleb smiled slightly.
‘So it may be that the Duke of Olasko thinks it to his advantage to help them overthrow the Dominar and restore the old King’s grandson. But then the question arises as to why Duke Kaspar of Olasko would care who sat at the head of the Council of Latagore.’
‘Care to wager a guess?’ Robert asked.
‘I can guess at reasons, but I do not know for sure.’ Then Talon leaned forward, ‘Unless it’s a military reason.’
‘And that would be?’ asked Kendrick.
Talon said, ‘Until this week I could not begin to imagine why the Duke of Olasko’s men would help an army of murderers to obliterate my people. But now I realize I had it backwards. Raven and his company were working for the Duke. Their only reward was gold and perhaps slaves. The Duke, however, obviously wanted the Orosini out of their mountains.’ He paused, as if considering what to say next. ‘I could not imagine the reason, until now.’
‘This military reason?’ Kendrick asked.
‘Yes. With the Orosini out of the mountains, and Latagore in the hands of a friendly ruler, or at least in the throes of civil war, then there is only one conclusion I can draw. He wants Latagore neutralized on his flank, so that he can attack the Duchy of Farinda.’
Kendrick said, ‘Where did you learn about military strategy?’
Talon looked embarrassed. ‘I didn’t, or I mean I haven’t. But you talk a lot about your battles and things like keeping your flanks protected seem to be very important.’
‘He’s a bright one, yes?’ Kendrick said to Robert.
Robert smiled. To Talon he said, ‘Your deductions are clever, but incorrect.’
Talon said, ‘They are?’
‘Yes. There’s far more in play than you understand, but your ability to deduce as much as you have is very unusual. The Duke of Olasko does wish to have a friendly regime in Latagore, and eventually he will invade Farinda, but probably not for a few years yet. You’ve done well to spy out even a few pieces of the puzzle.’
Talon looked a little embarrassed. ‘Then what is going to happen?’
