Suvrin wakened me
early. He sounded glum. I could not see his face in the darkness.
“Trouble, Sleepy,” he whispered. And I have to give him
credit. He was first to realize the implications of the fact that
it was snowing. But then, he had seen more of the white stuff than
any of us but Swan. And Willow had been away from it long enough to
turn into an old man.
I wanted to moan and groan but that would have done no good and
we needed to get a handle on the situation right away. “Good
thinking,” I told him. “Thanks. Go around in that
direction and wake up the sergeants. I’ll circle around to
the left.” Despite my nightmares, I felt rested.
The snowfall in no way recognized the presence of the protection
shielding our campsite. Which meant the boundaries were no longer
obvious. I sensed a heightened killing lust amongst the shadows.
They had seen this before. It would be snack time if anyone started
running around nervously.
We had One-Eye and Goblin on our side. Tobo, too. They could
winkle out the whereabouts of the boundaries.
But they needed a little light to do the job.
One by one I made sure everyone wakened and understood the
gravity of the situation, especially the mothers. I made sure
everyone understood that no one should move around until
daylight.
Wonder of wonders, nobody did anything stupid. Once there was
light enough, the wizards started drawing lines in the snow.
I arranged for teams to enforce the boundaries.
Everything went so well I was feeling smug before it turned time
to go. Then I discovered that it was going to be a long day—which,
of course, I should have known instinctively.
This next leg of the journey had taken the Captured only a few
hours. It would take us far longer. The shattered fortress could
not be discerned behind the falling snow. The old, old men would
have to mark out every step before it could be taken, walking to
either side of Tobo and the Key, keeping him centered on the road—but never getting ahead of him. Just in case.
A quarter mile along I was worrying about time already. We had
too many mouths and too few supplies. Harsh rationing was in place.
These people had to be gotten across the plain fast, excepting
those of us who would bring out the Captured.
“This’s getting out of hand!” Goblin yelled.
“If it gets any heavier, we’re up Shit
Creek.”
He was right. If this snowfall turned into a blizzard, we were
going to have no other worries. If it worsened much, we were going
to die out here and make Soulcatcher the happiest girl in the
world.
She probably was anyway, now that she had had time to reflect on
the fact that there was no one left able to dispute her in any whim
she cared to indulge. Water sleeps? So what. Those days were
over.
Not while I was still standing, they were not.
Swan joined me for breakfast. “How’s my wife this
morning?”
“Frigid.” Darn! Open mouth, insert boot with manure
veneer.
Swan grinned. “I’ve known that for years.
Isn’t this something? There’s more than an inch
already.”
“It’s something, all right. Unfortunately, I
don’t encourage myself to use the kind of language needed to
describe it. Most of these people have never seen snow. Watch out
for somebody to do something stupid. In fact, you might stick close
to the Radisha. I don’t want her getting hurt because
somebody doesn’t use his head.”
“All right. Did you dream last night?”
“Of course I did. I got to meet Kina right up close,
too.”
“I saw lights on the road to the east of us.”
That got my attention. “Really?”
“In my dream. They were just witchlights. Maybe the
plain’s own memories, or something. There wasn’t
anything there when I went to look.”
“Getting bold in your old age, are you?”
“It just sort of happened. I wouldn’t have done it
if I’d thought about it.”
“Did I snore again last night?”
“You solidified your grasp on the all-time women’s
championship. You’re ready to compete at the next
level.”
“Must have something to do with the dreaming.”
Sahra drifted up. She looked grim. She did not like what was
happening even a little, the snow or the way we had to cope with
it. But she bit her tongue. She understood that it was now too late
to be a fussy mom. Like it or not, her boy was carrying us all
right now.
One-Eye limped along using a staff somebody had made for him
from one of the smaller bamboo weapons. I did not know if it was
still armed. Very likely so, he being One-Eye. He told me,
“I’m not going to last at this, Little Girl. But
I’ll go as long as I can.”
“Show Tobo what to do and let him take over as soon as
he’s got it. Let Gota carry the pickax and you get up on the
horse. Advise from there.”
The old man just nodded instead of finding some reason to argue,
betraying his true weakness. Goblin scowled at me, though, assuming
he was going to get a large ration of unsolicited counsel. But he
shrugged off the temptation to debate.
“Tobo. Hold up. You really understand what we have to do
today?”
’“I’ve got it, Sleepy.”
“Then give your grandmother the Key. Where is that horse
buddy of mine? Get up here, you. Carry One-Eye.” I noted that
the white crow had left the beast’s back. In fact, the bird
was nowhere to be seen. “Up you go, old man.”
“Who you calling old, Little Girl?” One-Eye drew
himself up as tall as he got.
“You, so old you’ve gotten shorter than me. Get your
tail up there. I really want to get there today.” I offered
Goblin a hard look, just in case he got a notion to try poking
sticks in the spokes. He just looked back blankly. Or maybe
blandly.
Spoiled brat, me. I got my way. The ruined fortress loomed out
of weakly falling snow around what felt like noon. Once Tobo got
the hang of discovering the boundaries well enough to keep up with
Goblin, the band began moving at a pace limited only by Mother
Gota’s capacities. And she seemed taken by a sudden urge to
hasten toward whatever destiny awaited whoever arrived with the
Key.
My natural pessimism went almost entirely unrewarded. Had
Iqbal’s boys not discovered the wonders of snowballs, I would
have had nothing to complain about at all. Even then I would have
been entertained had not a few wild volleys of missiles not strayed
my way.
We arrived at the chasm Murgen had mentioned, a tear in the face
of the plain rent by powers almost unimaginable. The earthquake
responsible had been felt as far away as Taglios. It had flattened
whole cities this side of the Dandha Presh. I wondered if it had
wrought as much destruction in the other worlds connected to the
plain.
I also wondered if the quake had been natural in origin. Had it
been caused by some premature effort of Kina’s to rise and
shine?
“Swan! Willow Swan! Get up here.”
Mother Gota had halted at the lip of the chasm simply because
there was no way for her to go forward. The rest of the mob crowded
up behind the leaders because, naturally, everyone wanted to see. I
snapped, “Make a hole, people! Make a hole. Let the man get
up here.” I stared at the wrecked fortress. Shattered was too
strong a description but its state of disrepair went way beyond
neglect, too. I supposed if the original golem garrison were still
around, it would be in perfect condition and right now the whole
crew would be outside dusting off the snow patches attached to
every little roughness of the stone.
Swan grumbled, “You need to make up your mind, darling.
You want me to look out for the Radisha or—”
“Never mind. I don’t have time. I’m cold and
I’m cranky and I want to change that. Look at this crack. Is
this the way it was before? Because even though it’s pretty
impressive, it’s nowhere as huge as Murgen made me think it
would be. Everybody but Iqbal’s baby can skip across
this.”
Swan studied the gap in the plain.
Immediately evident to any eye was the fact that there were no
sharp edges. The stone seemed to have softened and oozed like
taffy.
“No. It wasn’t like this at all. It looks like
it’s been healing, it’s not a quarter as wide as it
was. I bet in another generation there won’t even be a
scar.”
“So the plain can heal itself. But not so things that were
added later.” I indicated the fortress. “Except for the
spells protecting the roads.”
“Apparently.”
“Start moving across. Swan, stick with Tobo and Gota.
Nobody else has any idea where to go from here. There you
are,” I answered an impatient caw! from above. If I kind of
squinted and looked sideways, I could make out the white crow
perphed on the battlements, looking down.
Still muttering to himself, though somewhat good naturedly, Swan
stepped across the crack, slipped, fell, skidded, got up exercising
a string of out-of-shape northern expletives. Everyone else
laughed.
I summoned Runmust and Riverwalker. “I want you two to
figure out how to get the animals and carts across. Draft Suvrin if
you want. He claims he’s had some minor experience in
practical engineering. And keep reminding everyone that if they
remain calm and cooperative, we’ll all get to sleep in a
warm, dry place tonight.” Well, maybe dry. Warm was probably
too much to expect.
Uncle Doj and Tobo helped Mother Gota across. Sahra followed.
Several other Nyueng Bao followed her. That made an awful lot of
Nyueng Bao concentrated in one place suddenly. My paranoia began to
quiver and narrow its eyes suspiciously.
I said, “Goblin. One-Eye. Come along. Slink? Where are
you? Come with us.” Slink I could count on to be quick and
deadly and as morally reluctant as a spear when I pointed and said,
“Kill!”
Uncle Doj did not fail to note the fact that even now I trusted
him only incompletely. He seemed both irked and amused. He told me,
“There isn’t anything for our people here, Annalist.
This is all for Tobo’s benefit.”
“That’s good. That’s good. I wouldn’t
want the future of the Company to be placed in the slightest
risk.”
Doj frowned, disappointed by my sarcasm. “I have not won
your heart yet, Stone Soldier?”
“How could you? You keep calling me names and won’t
even explain.”
“All will become clear. I fear.”
“Of course. Once we reach the Land of Unknown Shadows.
Right? You’d better hope there aren’t any half-truths
or outright cover-ups in your doctrine. ‘All Evil Dies There
an Endless Death.’ It could still be true.”
Doj responded with a baleful look but it seemed neither angry
nor calculating.
I said, “Swan. Show us the way.”
Suvrin wakened me
early. He sounded glum. I could not see his face in the darkness.
“Trouble, Sleepy,” he whispered. And I have to give him
credit. He was first to realize the implications of the fact that
it was snowing. But then, he had seen more of the white stuff than
any of us but Swan. And Willow had been away from it long enough to
turn into an old man.
I wanted to moan and groan but that would have done no good and
we needed to get a handle on the situation right away. “Good
thinking,” I told him. “Thanks. Go around in that
direction and wake up the sergeants. I’ll circle around to
the left.” Despite my nightmares, I felt rested.
The snowfall in no way recognized the presence of the protection
shielding our campsite. Which meant the boundaries were no longer
obvious. I sensed a heightened killing lust amongst the shadows.
They had seen this before. It would be snack time if anyone started
running around nervously.
We had One-Eye and Goblin on our side. Tobo, too. They could
winkle out the whereabouts of the boundaries.
But they needed a little light to do the job.
One by one I made sure everyone wakened and understood the
gravity of the situation, especially the mothers. I made sure
everyone understood that no one should move around until
daylight.
Wonder of wonders, nobody did anything stupid. Once there was
light enough, the wizards started drawing lines in the snow.
I arranged for teams to enforce the boundaries.
Everything went so well I was feeling smug before it turned time
to go. Then I discovered that it was going to be a long day—which,
of course, I should have known instinctively.
This next leg of the journey had taken the Captured only a few
hours. It would take us far longer. The shattered fortress could
not be discerned behind the falling snow. The old, old men would
have to mark out every step before it could be taken, walking to
either side of Tobo and the Key, keeping him centered on the road—but never getting ahead of him. Just in case.
A quarter mile along I was worrying about time already. We had
too many mouths and too few supplies. Harsh rationing was in place.
These people had to be gotten across the plain fast, excepting
those of us who would bring out the Captured.
“This’s getting out of hand!” Goblin yelled.
“If it gets any heavier, we’re up Shit
Creek.”
He was right. If this snowfall turned into a blizzard, we were
going to have no other worries. If it worsened much, we were going
to die out here and make Soulcatcher the happiest girl in the
world.
She probably was anyway, now that she had had time to reflect on
the fact that there was no one left able to dispute her in any whim
she cared to indulge. Water sleeps? So what. Those days were
over.
Not while I was still standing, they were not.
Swan joined me for breakfast. “How’s my wife this
morning?”
“Frigid.” Darn! Open mouth, insert boot with manure
veneer.
Swan grinned. “I’ve known that for years.
Isn’t this something? There’s more than an inch
already.”
“It’s something, all right. Unfortunately, I
don’t encourage myself to use the kind of language needed to
describe it. Most of these people have never seen snow. Watch out
for somebody to do something stupid. In fact, you might stick close
to the Radisha. I don’t want her getting hurt because
somebody doesn’t use his head.”
“All right. Did you dream last night?”
“Of course I did. I got to meet Kina right up close,
too.”
“I saw lights on the road to the east of us.”
That got my attention. “Really?”
“In my dream. They were just witchlights. Maybe the
plain’s own memories, or something. There wasn’t
anything there when I went to look.”
“Getting bold in your old age, are you?”
“It just sort of happened. I wouldn’t have done it
if I’d thought about it.”
“Did I snore again last night?”
“You solidified your grasp on the all-time women’s
championship. You’re ready to compete at the next
level.”
“Must have something to do with the dreaming.”
Sahra drifted up. She looked grim. She did not like what was
happening even a little, the snow or the way we had to cope with
it. But she bit her tongue. She understood that it was now too late
to be a fussy mom. Like it or not, her boy was carrying us all
right now.
One-Eye limped along using a staff somebody had made for him
from one of the smaller bamboo weapons. I did not know if it was
still armed. Very likely so, he being One-Eye. He told me,
“I’m not going to last at this, Little Girl. But
I’ll go as long as I can.”
“Show Tobo what to do and let him take over as soon as
he’s got it. Let Gota carry the pickax and you get up on the
horse. Advise from there.”
The old man just nodded instead of finding some reason to argue,
betraying his true weakness. Goblin scowled at me, though, assuming
he was going to get a large ration of unsolicited counsel. But he
shrugged off the temptation to debate.
“Tobo. Hold up. You really understand what we have to do
today?”
’“I’ve got it, Sleepy.”
“Then give your grandmother the Key. Where is that horse
buddy of mine? Get up here, you. Carry One-Eye.” I noted that
the white crow had left the beast’s back. In fact, the bird
was nowhere to be seen. “Up you go, old man.”
“Who you calling old, Little Girl?” One-Eye drew
himself up as tall as he got.
“You, so old you’ve gotten shorter than me. Get your
tail up there. I really want to get there today.” I offered
Goblin a hard look, just in case he got a notion to try poking
sticks in the spokes. He just looked back blankly. Or maybe
blandly.
Spoiled brat, me. I got my way. The ruined fortress loomed out
of weakly falling snow around what felt like noon. Once Tobo got
the hang of discovering the boundaries well enough to keep up with
Goblin, the band began moving at a pace limited only by Mother
Gota’s capacities. And she seemed taken by a sudden urge to
hasten toward whatever destiny awaited whoever arrived with the
Key.
My natural pessimism went almost entirely unrewarded. Had
Iqbal’s boys not discovered the wonders of snowballs, I would
have had nothing to complain about at all. Even then I would have
been entertained had not a few wild volleys of missiles not strayed
my way.
We arrived at the chasm Murgen had mentioned, a tear in the face
of the plain rent by powers almost unimaginable. The earthquake
responsible had been felt as far away as Taglios. It had flattened
whole cities this side of the Dandha Presh. I wondered if it had
wrought as much destruction in the other worlds connected to the
plain.
I also wondered if the quake had been natural in origin. Had it
been caused by some premature effort of Kina’s to rise and
shine?
“Swan! Willow Swan! Get up here.”
Mother Gota had halted at the lip of the chasm simply because
there was no way for her to go forward. The rest of the mob crowded
up behind the leaders because, naturally, everyone wanted to see. I
snapped, “Make a hole, people! Make a hole. Let the man get
up here.” I stared at the wrecked fortress. Shattered was too
strong a description but its state of disrepair went way beyond
neglect, too. I supposed if the original golem garrison were still
around, it would be in perfect condition and right now the whole
crew would be outside dusting off the snow patches attached to
every little roughness of the stone.
Swan grumbled, “You need to make up your mind, darling.
You want me to look out for the Radisha or—”
“Never mind. I don’t have time. I’m cold and
I’m cranky and I want to change that. Look at this crack. Is
this the way it was before? Because even though it’s pretty
impressive, it’s nowhere as huge as Murgen made me think it
would be. Everybody but Iqbal’s baby can skip across
this.”
Swan studied the gap in the plain.
Immediately evident to any eye was the fact that there were no
sharp edges. The stone seemed to have softened and oozed like
taffy.
“No. It wasn’t like this at all. It looks like
it’s been healing, it’s not a quarter as wide as it
was. I bet in another generation there won’t even be a
scar.”
“So the plain can heal itself. But not so things that were
added later.” I indicated the fortress. “Except for the
spells protecting the roads.”
“Apparently.”
“Start moving across. Swan, stick with Tobo and Gota.
Nobody else has any idea where to go from here. There you
are,” I answered an impatient caw! from above. If I kind of
squinted and looked sideways, I could make out the white crow
perphed on the battlements, looking down.
Still muttering to himself, though somewhat good naturedly, Swan
stepped across the crack, slipped, fell, skidded, got up exercising
a string of out-of-shape northern expletives. Everyone else
laughed.
I summoned Runmust and Riverwalker. “I want you two to
figure out how to get the animals and carts across. Draft Suvrin if
you want. He claims he’s had some minor experience in
practical engineering. And keep reminding everyone that if they
remain calm and cooperative, we’ll all get to sleep in a
warm, dry place tonight.” Well, maybe dry. Warm was probably
too much to expect.
Uncle Doj and Tobo helped Mother Gota across. Sahra followed.
Several other Nyueng Bao followed her. That made an awful lot of
Nyueng Bao concentrated in one place suddenly. My paranoia began to
quiver and narrow its eyes suspiciously.
I said, “Goblin. One-Eye. Come along. Slink? Where are
you? Come with us.” Slink I could count on to be quick and
deadly and as morally reluctant as a spear when I pointed and said,
“Kill!”
Uncle Doj did not fail to note the fact that even now I trusted
him only incompletely. He seemed both irked and amused. He told me,
“There isn’t anything for our people here, Annalist.
This is all for Tobo’s benefit.”
“That’s good. That’s good. I wouldn’t
want the future of the Company to be placed in the slightest
risk.”
Doj frowned, disappointed by my sarcasm. “I have not won
your heart yet, Stone Soldier?”
“How could you? You keep calling me names and won’t
even explain.”
“All will become clear. I fear.”
“Of course. Once we reach the Land of Unknown Shadows.
Right? You’d better hope there aren’t any half-truths
or outright cover-ups in your doctrine. ‘All Evil Dies There
an Endless Death.’ It could still be true.”
Doj responded with a baleful look but it seemed neither angry
nor calculating.
I said, “Swan. Show us the way.”