One of Kwan's tormentors plunged a knife into the old man's liver. After the last scream died away, the khahan continued. "We have serious things to consider. The mares have stopped giving milk, and we have drank so much stallion blood that we should change our name to 'People of the Leech.'"
A chorus of raucous laughter rounded the circle of barbarians.
The khahan turned his golden goblet upside down. A few curdled drops of milk slid out of the cup. "This is the last of the kumiss," he said. "In another week, we will be reduced to drinking water and eating our friends."
Batu thought that Yamun was making another joke, but no one laughed.
The khahan looked toward Koja. "It is good, then, that Koja, my anda, returns from his mission successfully."
Koja bowed, then said, "It was the light of your wisdom and the fear of your wrath that persuaded the ruler of Shou Lung to accept our terms," he said. "I was only the humble vessel of your message."
"No doubt," the khahan replied. Looking in Batu's direction, he said, "I see you have brought a guest."
Taking Batu by the arm, Koja walked into the middle of the Tuigan circle. Remembering the elaborate security precautions surrounding his own emperor, Batu was surprised to see that no one took his sword.
Though the barbarians were seated outside, the air was ripe with the fetid smell of old sweat and fermented milk. Fortunately, Batu had grown accustomed to the odor of unbathed soldiers on the trail. He showed no outward sign of his disgust.
After guiding Batu into a kneeling position, Koja said, "Illustrious Emperor, I present Batu Min Ho, the commander of the Shou armies who opposed your mighty will."
The khahan leaned forward, staring at Batu with a fierce expression of displeasure. The ruler had the butter-colored skin and flat nose common to the Tuigan, but his features were so strong and sharp that they seemed chiseled in stone. The shape of his face was almost square, marked as it was by the hard lines of his jaw. A narrow mustache drooped over the corners of his tense-lipped mouth, and his strong cheekbones rode high on his face. His black and narrow eyes were set under a coal-colored brow.
The khahan looked back to Koja. "I did not ask for this man's life."
"I asked to see you," Batu said, daring to speak without permission.
Though clearly surprised that Batu spoke his language, the khahan did not seem offended at the Shou's boldness. "Why?"
"To present you with a personal gift," Batu said.
The khahan shifted his feet, purposely knocking a jade statue and an ivory talisman out of the chest. "Your emperor has sent me gifts," he said, curling his lips into a sneer.
"I am sure the Illustrious Emperor of All Peoples will find Batu's gift more to his liking," Koja interrupted. "Your guards are holding it outside the gate."
"Very well," the khahan responded suspiciously. "Bring it in."
An officer dutifully opened the gate, then one of the khahan's black-robed guards led in a horse bearing a small portion of Batu's gift.
The khahan's eyes lit up when he saw the two casks. "Wine?"
Batu nodded. "There are a hundred more casks, all from the finest plum orchards in Ching Tung."
"Wine from plums?" sneered one of the men seated with the khahan. He was a lean soldier with shifty eyes and a mistrustful expression.
"Wine is wine, Chanar," the khahan responded. "Tap a cask!"
Several Tuigan rose to obey, and the khahan watched them with a rapacious expression. After they had inserted the spigot, Yamun thrust his goblet at a quiverbearer to have it filled, then turned back to Batu. "Your gift is most welcome. We have done without wine since our second battle in this land." He paused and frowned. "Rather than leave a drop for our tongues, your peasants spilled it on the ground, the dogs!"
"On my orders," Batu revealed.
"That order cost many Shou lives," the khahan responded, grimacing at the remembrance of so many days without libation.
"It also slowed your advance," Batu replied, "and that cost many Tuigan lives."
The officer returned the khahan's goblet, but the Tuigan leader did not immediately drink. "You would do well to remember that you are in the enemy camp," Yamun warned.
Batu shrugged, not intimidated. "It is written that there are no rules in war."
The khahan's eyes narrowed and once again he regarded Batu suspiciously. "I have no use for reading," he replied, looking down his nose at the full goblet in his hand. A moment later, he handed the wine back to the quiverbearer. "I forget my manners" he said, staring into Batu's eyes. "Our guest has no cup. Let him drink from mine."
The other Tuigan, who had been waiting for the khahan to drink before lifting their own cups, nervously glanced at their own wine and wondered if the Shou had poisoned it.
The officer delivered the khahan's goblet to Batu, then stepped away.
"Go ahead," the khahan urged.
Batu raised his goblet to Yamun's companion, saying, "To the khahan's health."
The officers blanched, then lifted their vessels toward their lips. Even if the drink were poisoned, refusing to toast the khahan's health would have been an insult to their commander.
"No!" the khahan boomed, rising to his feet.
Sighing in relief, the officers stopped short of drinking.
"Our guest should drink the first cup alone," Yamun continued. "After all, he has had a long journey and we would not want him to find us lacking in courtesy."
Looking around the courtyard, Batu was glad the wine was not poisoned. Every officer held a full cup in one hand, and kept his other wrapped around his sword hilt. If the renegade general had refused to drink, he was sure he would have met a fate worse than Kwan's.
Batu rested his gaze on Yamun, then lifted the goblet in the powerful Tuigan's direction. "To my health, then!" He drained the wine in one long gulp.
The ronin wiped the spillage off his chin with his sleeve, as he was sure any Tuigan would have done. Still not taking his eyes off the khahan, Batu thrust the cup at the quiver-bearer, ordering, "Get me another."
The khahan smiled broadly, then called to the servant, "Not before you fetch me a fresh cup!"
As the youth scurried into the mansion in search of another goblet, the khahan returned to his seat and addressed Batu. "Your nerve amuses me, General, but war is no game. When it is over, opponents do not meet each other to brag about their victories over cups of wine—even if it is not poisoned. Why have you come to my camp?"
"I am a soldier in search of a war," Batu responded.
The khahan frowned, then twisted the end of his drooping mustache between his thumb and forefinger. "What do you mean?"
"I am ronin, a soldier without a country," he said. "I have an insatiable appetite for fighting and war, and Koja suggested I would find plenty of both with you."
"You did express your admiration for the enemy general's talents, Divine Master of the World," Koja interjected.
"That was before he knew the man would betray his own country," responded the lanky officer known as Chanar.
Batu turned on Chanar. "You are unaware of my reasons for leaving Shou Lung, so I will forgive your insult—once."
Scowling, Chanar reached for his sword, but Yamun raised a hand to stop him. "Chanar, you have just earned the right to stand in my sight again," the khahan said. "Are you so anxious to lose it?"
"You heard the dog!" Chanar objected.
Koja leaned toward Batu and whispered, "Him, you must watch. Were Chanar not an old friend of the khahan, his treachery would have been the end of him long ago. As it is, he only regained the right to stand within the Mighty One's sight by saving the khahan from capture."