Chapter Text
Geras sent me to see if the women had any meatrolls or pastries we could have. “I want a word, Ryo, and I think it’s better to do this down by the river or somewhere else away from people.”
We took the meatrolls and walked down to the riverbank. I stopped, looking at Geras.
“He will not hear us, I think.”
“He won’t hear me, that’s for sure, but I know he can hear you a long way off.”
“Not so far as this, certainly. He left earlier this morning. He will be far south by now.”
Geras shrugged. “I’d prefer he doesn’t know. Not that this is a secret or anything, mind you. But he’s heading to Lorellan, which I guess is going to be a right tricky job. We don’t want him bothered with this kind of nonsense.”
Aras intended to travel to Tarasan in the county of Lorellan, to meet with Berent Rava Picat, the new lord of Lorellan, and discuss how best to progress the recovery of that county from the depredations of the sorcerer Serat Aneka Tesaras. It was not a task I could assist with.
“I plan to visit my mother’s camp while he is away. He has agreed.”
“Of course, Ryo.”
We sat and ate the food the women had given me.
“It’s actually Esau who needs a bit of help. He’ll be along soon. He’s got a small spot of trouble.”
“That is not so very surprising.” Trouble was not altogether unusual where Esau was concerned.
We finished our meal. “Esau’ll tell you,” said Geras, standing up. He had heard horses approaching. “Like I say, it’s no secret, but I still reckon the less I know about this the better. From what I understand the rules may have to be bent a bit to get this sorted out.” Geras was always concerned with proper behaviour, not only because he was a troop leader, in charge of Aras’ house guard, but because he was that kind of man, a man everyone would rely on to know the right thing to do.
Esau was riding a Lau horse and leading another. He dismounted and came up to us. Geras nodded to him. “I’ll let the talon commander know what’s happening,” he said, and walked off in the direction of the barracks.
“Ryo,” said Esau, “thanks for agreeing to help.”
“I have not agreed to anything yet.” Of course I would help Esau with any problem, as he knew well enough. He grinned.
“Let’s go get your stuff, I’ll tell you on the way.”
“Where are we going?”
“Dumau Sen. Got a little Ugaro problem there. Are you at Lord Gaur’s house or the barracks?”
“Geras did not mention Ugaro. I am sleeping at the house.” I knew Esau’s file and three other files, half a Lau division, were currently accommodated at Dumau Sen, a town which had been largely destroyed during the fighting between Lau and Ugaro. Dumau Sen was near the border between the Lau counties of Sensuran and Marotau. Across the river were inKera lands, and the border with inGeiro lands was close by. Aras considered it a useful place to keep some of his soldiers, at least until the town was completely rebuilt and the people resettled.
We led the horses back along the river road and I went indoors to collect my pack, which during the past months had become very like the packs of the Lau soldiers, except that I carried more water than they did and did not trouble with any coat. I also carried my Ugaro clothing for when it might be useful for me to wear it, but I had no weapons except a belt knife.
Esau gave me a boost to mount the Lau horse. We left the town along the river road, heading east.
“Anyway, Ryo, this is kind of semi official. Hopefully you’ll be able to sort it out real quick. If we could all just talk to each other I don’t think it would ever have got to be such a problem.”
“No-one there speaks taksu? Or no Ugaro speaks darau?”
“There’s a few people can manage a couple of useful phrases. These Ugaro don’t seem to know any darau, or at any rate won’t speak it.
“You know the town was burned. They’re rebuilding, but a lot of people, families, women and children, whatever, haven’t returned. People are staying with relatives in the villages or on farmsteads, until there’s a proper town to come back to. There’s no trade yet across the river, or no doubt we’d have been able to ask the Ugaro women for help. There’s also a certain amount of feeling still, of course.” He looked at me and I nodded. The Ugaro had undertaken a successful raid on the town during the fighting, and many Lau soldiers had been killed. Although few of the townspeople were hurt, there was a great deal of destruction and many cattle had been stolen from the fields.
“Anyway, these Ugaro –“
“Esau, you say ‘Ugaro’. Do you know these men’s tribe?”
“InKera.”
That was unfortunate. The inKera were only recently allies of inGara, and the tribe had suffered severely from Lorellan’s sorcery.
Esau grimaced. “Not so good?” he said, no doubt sensing my feelings.
“It would be simpler if it was inGeiro, because they are our close allies and would probably be willing to allow me to offer my assistance, even though I am young.”
“The inKera aren’t allies?”
“Yes, but only recently. Lorellan enslaved many inKera. And it was inKera who burned Dumau Sen.”
“Right. Got it. Explains a bit I guess.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“Yes, so these three inKera warriors, and I think you would say respected warriors, they certainly looked the part by all accounts, must have forded the river somewhere a couple of days ago. They turned up at a farm a bit west of the town and caused a stir. This one grabs hold of a child, a boy maybe six or seven years old. The kid is screaming, the farm hands turn out with billhooks or whatever they have in that kind of place, and there’s a whole lot of shouting and running around until the warriors draw back. Someone runs for the guard, which is us. By the time we get there it’s all calmed down, but we leave a couple of troopers to keep watch overnight.
“Sure enough the Ugaro come back just before dawn, creeping in quietly. Luckily our lads are wide awake – well, it was Laraut and Kosas, you know them.” These were two of Esau’s file. “They got a hold of one of the men. The others got away.”
I was impressed, though I knew Laraut and Kosas were clever and experienced fighters. “They captured this Ugaro?”
Esau grinned. “They did. Course they’ve had a little practice against Ugaro recently. He’s locked up. We haven’t seen the other two, but I don’t suppose they just went back across and abandoned him. They’ll be around somewhere.”
“And you do not know why they came?”
“Something to do with the kid. I think he’s the son of the first warrior. Boy has the Ugaro look, and Laraut recognised the word. Laraut reckons it wasn’t a simple raid, there’s something going on, but we don’t know what. And now every missing spoon and straying goat in the entire place is being blamed on Ugaro bandits.”
“So. At least it is different from blaming Lau soldiers.”
Esau laughed.
“There have been no other inKera?”
“Not unless some showed up while I was travelling. Is it likely the warleader would send more warriors, do you think? If it was Lau soldiers the troop leader would definitely be sending men after them by now.”
Clearly he wanted reassurance. “They will certainly not attack the Lau here. If it is a private matter, as seems likely, probably the warleader will not know. Eventually these men’s wives may send to Hokino inKera, if the warriors do not return, but that will not happen soon. It is not like the Lau army.”
“No, I know that,” said Esau, but he glanced across the river anyway.
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