"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 Ring'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?"
Kendrick stood up. "What's going to happen is that a lot of soldiers from Olasko will be marching through the woods around here soon, so I'd better make sure we're ready for them."
He left and Talon asked, "Will they attack?"
"Probably not," answered Caleb. "They don't consider us a big enough threat to leave behind them, and they can't spare time to dig us out."
Robert said, "It's known we have resources beyond the modest ones apparent to casual observation. I suspect that Kaspar will leave us alone while he commits his next act of bloodshed against innocents."
"What are we going to do?" asked Talon.
"Why, we're going to sit tight," said Robert. "Latagore can fend for itself. It's not that important whether Kaspar's friends rule or the Dominar stays in power. What's important is that we move ahead with our own . . ." He caught himself just in time and said to Talon, "You may leave us now. Go and see if Leo needs help."
Talon hesitated, then rose and went into the kitchen.
As he returned, Meggie said, "What was all that about?"
Feeling that he was included in a select group and not wishing to share the information, Talon said, "I can't tell you." He had expected some sort of reaction from the slight girl, but all he got was a shrug, as if secrets were nothing new to her, so instead he asked, "What can I do to help?"
"Everything is just about finished," she replied. "You can carry that bucket out and dump it."
Talon picked up the indicated bucket then said, "I haven't seen Lela. Where is she?"
Meggie's expression turned troubled. "That's what I was trying to tell you when you came rushing through a while ago. Lela's not here."
"Where is she?"
Meggie looked down, as if not wanting to look him in the face. "Gone. She left yesterday with Count Ramon DeBarges's entourage. They turned up two days earlier, and when they left to go back south, Lela went with them."
Talon didn't know what to say. He carried the bucket outside and dumped the contents in a trench near the wall. He paused for a moment to listen to the shift of sounds in the surrounding woods as day gave way to night. He savoured the noise of night creatures awakening, sounds so familiar to him and so different to the sounds he had experienced in the city. He let the familiarity of the woodlands flood over him, then headed back to the kitchen. When he returned, "And Lars and Gibbs?"
"They went, too." With a shy smile, she said, "I guess for a while it's just the two of us, Talon."
Talon looked at the slender girl and felt a sudden stab of confusion. She was flirting with him the way she had with Lars when they weren't fighting. But Lela was gone! He had thought himself in love with her, until Caleb had told him that he had been with her, as had both Lars and Gibbs. Now the girl he thought of as Lars's woman was turning her attention to him.
Suddenly he was very tired. The tension of the trip, the simmering rage of seeing the men who had been responsible for the death of his family, the knowledge that they were returning north; and his confusion at the strange games in which Robert and the others were involved were all taking their toll.
Just then an odd popping sound came from outside, followed by a sizzling sound like ball lightning rolling across a distant meadow.
Meggie exclaimed, "Magnus is here!"
Before Talon could ask how she knew, the kitchen door opened wide and the white-haired man entered. He glanced around the kitchen then, without saying a word, passed into the common room.
"I thought he was on some journey to visit his family," said Talon.
Meggie leaned forwards. "Haven't you understood it yet? Magnus and Robert can do magic! They can come and go in the blink of an eye if they wish it."
Talon remembered the conversation with Caleb which had confirmed his suspicions. It made him feel uncomfortable. It was another thing Robert had neglected to tell him, another thing he had had to find out for himself.
Leo and Martha prepared a small meal for the four of them; then Leo took food into the commons for the others. They dined in relative silence, with Leo or Martha occasionally asking Talon about something he might have noticed in the city. More often than not it was a question about some feature of the city he had neglected to notice. Halfway through the meal the conversation fell off into an awkward silence.
After the kitchen had been cleaned and preparations made for the morning meal, everyone turned in, leaving Talon alone in the kitchen. He ventured to peer into the common room and there he saw Robert, Caleb, Pasko and Magnus deep in conversation. Robert glanced up and seeing him standing there, said, "Good night, Talon."
Talon closed the door and stood outside for a moment, uncertain of what to do. He had no room of his own to go to, having left the barn for Lela's room. After some consideration he decided that if she was gone, he might as well use the room for himself.
He mounted the back stairs and opened the door. The room was empty. The simple chest stood open, and the bed was made up, but there were none of Lela's personal belongings left behind. Her brush was missing from the small table, as were the tiny boxes in which she kept the few belongings she had acquired over the years.
He fell hard upon the straw-filled mattress, causing the rope-and-wood frame to groan, and lay thinking. What was to become of him? He had stumbled upon some insights, but he knew there was far more going on than he imagined. Robert was obviously involved with people a great deal more important than Kendrick. Caleb had mentioned his father in passing, but Talon had no idea of his name or what his stake in these things might be.
The conversations downstairs appeared to be much more earnest than they would have been if they'd simply been gossiping about the coming war, or concerned over the defence of the steading.
No, there was far more here than Talon had yet comprehended, and it frustrated him not to understand the full picture.
He was so lost in thought he barely heard the door open behind him. He rolled over and saw Meggie slip through the door. She smiled at him and whispered, "I thought I might find you here."
He was about to ask her what she wanted, when he saw her reach up and unfasten the ties at the shoulders of her shift. The simple dress fell away and she came over and knelt upon the pallet next to him. "Move," she snapped, as if he was too slow to understand, and when he did, she slipped under the blanket.
He stood in mute amazement, until she said, "It's chilly and you didn't seem inclined to offer me the blanket." When he continued to stand mute, she said, "Well, don't be addled. Get in here!"
Pushing aside his momentary confusion, he obeyed the girl. She pushed him back out of the bed and he landed on the floor. "What?"
She giggled. "It's easier if you get undressed before you get into bed, stupid."
He quickly did as instructed, and slipped into the bed next to her. She put her arms around his neck and said, "Obviously, Lela didn't teach you very well. We'll have to do something about that."
Then she kissed him and all concerns for what was occurring in the common room below were forgotten.
CHAPTER EIGHT - Magic.
Talon sat up.
His heart raced as he heard footsteps pounding up the stairs and for a moment he was disoriented. Meggie stirred next to him and he glanced over and felt more disorientation, though this time it was emotional. How easy it had been to let Lela become a dim memory while he was in Meggie's arms.
The door opened to reveal Magnus standing there. He was wearing his slouch hat and holding his staff, and across one shoulder hung a large black belt, supporting a leather bag at his hip.
Meggie stirred and her eyes came open. Suddenly they went wide as she spied the magician and she pulled the blanket up to her chin.
Magnus ignored her, "Talon, get dressed and gather whatever personal belongings you have. We leave at once."
"Huh?"
But the door had already slammed shut behind the departing magician.
Talon stumbled out of bed and looked around. He didn't have many personal belongings. He had two clean tunics and another pair of trousers, the boots beside the bed, and a small pouch with a few coins he had earned doing extra work for guests. Even the sword and dagger he used were not his, but belonged to Caleb.
He looked down at Meggie who smiled shyly up at him. Not knowing what else to say, he said, "I've got to go."
She nodded. He dressed, gathered up his meagre pile of possessions and hurried down to the common room, where Magnus was waiting with Robert.
Robert said, "Talon, you're to go with Magnus. Do as he bids as if he was speaking for me. I will see you again, but not for a while."
"Where am I going?" Talon asked as all vestiges of sleep fell away from him.