That was not what I wanted to hear. I asked, "Will they bother your people or mine?" I should not have shoved in. I apologized immediately.
Ky Sahra poured more tea for me, before even she served her grandparents.
Ky Gota manifested like a demon conjured for its serrated tongue. She barked at her daughter in a harsh, lilting gale.
The old man looked up, said one word sharply. Hong Tray supported him with a complete sentence in what I would have to call a sharp whisper. It seemed she could speak no other way.
Ky Gota withdrew. There were well-defined limits and absolute hierarchy inside the Ky family.
I glanced at the beautiful woman. She met my eye again, rocked back and rose. Flushing.
Was something going on? They would not try to manipulate me, would they?
It would not work. No woman, not even this woman, was that special. And Ky Dam had seen enough of me to guess that about me.
If he wanted to manipulate me he would have better luck trading me the straight poop on why the hell everybody pissed blue when the Company got mentioned.
He and the old woman batted whispers back and forth in flurries. Suddenly, he told me, "We will join you in this enterprise, Standardbearer. Provisionally. Hong believes that fighting between the Jaicuri and the soldiers of the black men is imminent. It will be fierce but might not touch the rest of us. That would provide sufficient distraction. But I must insist that Doj has the option to end it if it risks calling unfriendly attention to our people."
"Excellent. Of course. Done. Though I would have tried it without you."
Ky Dam permitted himself a small smile, either at my enthusiasm or at the prospect of adding a little more misery to Mogaba's life.
After dark, assuming the riots got started, we were going to steal Mogaba's food stores.
68
It started like a well-rehearsed play where Mogaba's characters were desperate to please their audience. The rioting, that is. Uncle Doj and I formed work parties to take advantage. We got into the storage chambers without challenge, ten Old Crew and ten Nyueng Bao. We started dragging off sacks of rice and flour, sugar and beans. The riots were nasty from the start. They swamped the whole southern half of Dejagore. Every man Mogaba controlled was out there helping crush the rebellion. And every Jaicuri man and boy seemed to want to get at the Nar, even if they had to exterminate the whole First Legion to reach them.
My people went on the alert, established in strong positions, long before nightfall. Likewise the Nyueng Bao, who had no immediate trouble. We ambushed one mob. A shower of missiles from front, sides, and above swiftly changed their minds.
Mogaba's men had more problems. They were not ready. Worse, they were scattered, often in isolated work parties and patrols.
For a while everybody joked and cracked wise and speculated on Mogaba's first words after the fighting ended and he found his cellars plundered.
I ran into Bucket my second trip back. "Beans," I told him, dropping a huge sack. "The change of diet will do us good."
"It's real bloody out there this time, Murgen. Mogaba has asked for support twice. We told him we couldn't find you."
"Well, keep on not being able. Unless it looks like we would end up worse off if we didn't help."
"That's not likely. He has most of the weapons. His men have been throwing people off the wall by the hundreds, just anybody, whether or not they're rebelling, men, women and children."
"That's Mogaba's way. What about those fires?" There were a few. Whenever there is disorder somebody starts burning things down.
"They're burning themselves out."
"Everything is going fine, then. But keep an eye out."
I went back to my looting happy as the proverbial clam. This might be the end of Mogaba as a royal pain in the ass.
Uncle Doj caught me in the storage chamber later. "Some Taglian soldiers are abandoning their posts for the safety of the citadel. If we continue this raiding we will get caught."
"Yeah. If we don't get spotted Mogaba will blame it on natives who knew about the passageways." This raid was going to cost us our opportunity to spy on any more staff meetings.
It was worth it.
Would I feel the same way tomorrow, when Mogaba began looking for his stores? When I had a full belly?
"There is a small problem, Standardbearer," Uncle Doj said a while later. Each of us staggered under a last sack of rice. We were the last brigands out.
"What's that?"
"News of our success is sure to leak."
"Why? Only a few people know. It's in all their interests to stay clammed."
"Someone talked about what I showed you earlier."
"Huh?"
"The dark ceremonies. Someone talked. The rumors sparked tonight's riots."
"I don't believe that. They were too organized."
"There was an organized cadre, naturally, but this uprising was more widespread. It is also out of control."
"Whatever you say." He had spent his evening with me. He had had no chance to observe any riots.
Before he could respond Thai Dei popped out of the darkness. He gobbled away, becoming too animated for the space. If he killed my candle I was going to choke him. As soon as I found him. "What's happening?"
"The black men are trying to break open the north gate and flood the city."
"They're what?" That would take care of the riots, all right. But not even Mogaba would go that far. Would he?
Uncle Doj and I did our best to run carrying sacks of rice. I bet we looked silly.
69
"Otto. Hagop. One-Eye. Goblin. Geek. Freak. Bucket and Candles. You guys come with me. The al-Khul company will help us. Wheezer went to get them. We'll go straight along the battlements. If the Nar get in the way we trample them. If they fight us, we kill them. That understood?"
Not even Goblin or One-Eye tried to lawyer. We were some of the people Mogaba meant to drown.
The Taglians arrived. They were Vehdna by religion and the best Taglians attached to the Company. They were reliable and almost friendly. Of six hundred who had come south from Taglios months ago only about sixty were left.
I explained what was happening, what I wanted to do about it and how they could help. They would overrun anyone trying to open the gate after Goblin and One-Eye softened them up. "Don't hurt anybody unless they just plain force you."
"Why not?" Candles demanded. "They're trying to hurt us,"
"Mogaba is. These guys are just following orders. I'll bet you we don't find any Nar there when we get there. And I'll bet you that if they open the gate they get hurt as bad as anybody else. Mogaba doesn't need them anymore."
"Let's just do it," Goblin groused. "Or go back and catch a few beers."
I moved them out.
Maybe my blackouts gave me the gift of prophecy. There were no Nar at the North Gate. The fighting was so brief and desultory it almost did not take place. The Taglians working there fled. Damn! Mogaba would find out who foiled his latest nastiness. I told One-Eye, "This will mean no more pretending we're buddies."
"Yeah. Show me how to sneak into the citadel. I'll put a sleep spell on him, then leave pieces of him all over his crazy temple."
That did not sound like a bad idea.
We had no opportunity to implement it.
Somebody yelled up at me. I peered down into the gloom. It was Uncle Doj. I had not included any Nyueng Bao in this. I had not seen any need to put them onto Mogaba's bad side, too.
"What?"
He shouted, "This was a diversion! The real flooding will start at... "
"Oh, shit! Yeah." Mogaba did know me well enough to anticipate that I might interfere. "Come on!" I snapped. "Everyone!" I hustled down to the street. "Where?" I demanded of Doj.