'You denied the request, again and again. Priests, our patience is at an end.'
Rath'Shadowthrone crowed his laughter. He threw up his hands. 'Indeed! Excellent! Very well! Brothers and sisters, let us grant the Barghast all they wish! Delicious irony, to freely give all that we are about to lose! Will the Pannions honour it?' His mask shifted into a sneer. 'I think not.'
Hetan shook her head. 'I said our patience has ended, beetle-under-rock. Our past requests no longer obtain. This city will fall. The Pannions will offer no welcome. The desire of Barghast pilgrims none the less must be answered. Thus.' She crossed her arms.
The silence stretched.
Then Rath'Queen of Dreams gasped.
Hetan faced her squarely. 'Ah, you know the truth of it!'
With a visage of thoughtful regard belied by the flustered alarm evinced by her posture and gestures, the priestess cleared her throat. 'Not all among us. A few. Very few.' Her head turned, surveyed her brothers and sisters. Rath'Burn was the first to react, her breath hissing through the slitted mouth of her mask.
After a moment, Rath'Hood grunted. 'I see. An extraordinary solution indeed-'
'Obvious!' Rath'Shadowthrone snapped, jerking in his seat. 'No secret knowledge required! None the less, we must consider the matter! What is lost by relinquishment? What is gained by denial?'
'No,' Hetan said. 'Denial shall not force our hand into defending this land. Humbrall Taur, my father, rightly guessed the twist of your thoughts. If it must be, we shall accept our loss. However, my brother and I will kill everyone in this chamber before we leave here today, should you choose to deny us. Can you accept your loss?'
No-one spoke for a long moment, then Rath'Queen of Dreams coughed again. 'Hetan, may I ask you a question?'
The grey-faced woman nodded.
'How will you effect the expediting of … of what you seek?'
'What secret do you withhold?' Rath'Oponn shrieked. 'You and Rath'Hood and Rath'Burn! What are you all going on about! The rest of us must know!'
'Use that kernel of a brain,' Rath'Shadowthrone sneered. 'What do pilgrims go to honour and revere?'
'Uh … relics? Icons?'
Rath'Shadowthrone mimed a tutor's patient, condescending nod. 'Very good, brother. So, how do you put an end to the pilgrimage?'
Rath'Oponn stared, his mask blank.
'You move the relics, you idiot!' Rath'Shadowthrone screamed.
'But wait!' Rath'Beru said. 'Doesn't that assume their location is known? Weren't all the mounds flattened? By the Abyss, how many estates and Camp hearthhomes have some battered Barghast urn up on a shelf? Are we to set out and search every house in the city?'
'We care nothing for vessels,' Hetan rumbled.
'That's precisely the secret!' Rath'Shadowthrone chimed to Rath'Beru, head wagging from side to side. 'Our two sisters and one brother know where the bones lie!' He faced Rath'Queen of Dreams. 'Don't you, dear? Some fool or wise spark gathered them all those centuries back and deposited them in one place — and that place still remains, doesn't it? Put that nauseating coyness to bed and out with the goods, woman!'
'You are so crass,' the priestess hissed.
Itkovian stopped listening as the bickering continued. His gaze was on Hetan, his attention sharpened. He wished he could see her eyes, if only to confirm what he now suspected.
She was trembling. So slight, the Shield Anvil doubted anyone else noticed. Trembling … and I think I know why.
Movement caught his eye. Karnadas was backing away, edging towards Brukhalian's side once again. The Destriant's gaze seemed to be fixed on the brothers and sisters on the council, in particular upon the silent, slight figure of Rath'Fener, seated on the far right. The set of Karnadas's back and shoulders — and his deliberate avoidance of focusing on Hetan — told Itkovian that the Destriant had come to the same revelation — a revelation that had the Shield Anvil's heart thumping.
The Grey Swords were not part of this. Indeed, they were neutral observers, but Itkovian could not help adding his silent will to Hetan's cause.
The Destriant withdrew to Brukhalian's side, casually glanced over and met Itkovian's eyes.
The Shield Anvil responded with the faintest of nods.
Karnadas's eyes widened, then he sighed.
Aye. The Barghast gambit. Generations of pilgrims. long before the coming of the Capon and Daru, long before the settlement was born. Barghast do not normally honour their dead in such a manner. No, the bones hidden here — somewhere — are not simply the bones of some dead warchief or shoulder-man. These bones belong to someone. profoundly important. Valued so highly that the sons and daughters of countless generations journeyed to their legendary resting place. Thus, one significant truth. which leads to the next one.
Hetan trembles. The Barghast spirits. tremble. They have been lost — made blind by the desecration. For so long. lost. Those holiest of remains. and the Barghast themselves were never certain — never certain that they were here, in this earth in this place, were never certain that they existed at all.
The mortal remains of their spirit-gods.
And Hetan is about to find them. Humbrall Tour's long-held suspicion. Humbrall Tour's audacious — no, outrageous — gambit. 'Find me the bones of the Founding Families, daughter Hetan.'
The White Face clans knew that the Domin would come for them, once Capustan fell. There would, in truth, be war. Yet the clans had never before been unified — the ancient blood-feuds and rivalries ever gnawed from within. Humbrall Taur needed those ancient holy remains. To raise as a standard. To knit the clans together — all feuds forgotten.
But Hetan is too late. Even if she wins, here, now, she is too late. Take the mortal remains, dear, by all means — but how will you get them out of Capustan? How will you get through rank upon rank of Pannion soldiers?
Rath'Queen of Dreams's voice cut through his thoughts. 'Very well. Hetan, daughter of Humbrall Taur, we accede to your request. We return to you the mortal remains of your ancestors.' She slowly rose and gestured to her Gidrath captain. The soldier stepped close and she began whispering instructions. After a moment the man nodded and exited through the door behind him. The masked woman turned once again to the Barghast. 'Some effort will be required in … reaching the resting place. With your permission, we would like to speak with Mortal Sword Brukhalian in the meantime, on matters pertaining to the defence of this city.'
Hetan scowled, then shrugged. 'As you wish. But our patience is short.'
The Queen of Dreams mask shifted into a smile. 'You shall be able to witness the extrication yourself, Hetan.'
The Barghast woman stepped back from the Navel.
'Approach, Mortal Sword,' Rath'Hood rumbled. 'Sword sheathed, this time.'
Itkovian watched his commander stride forward, wondering at the high priest's admonition, and at Brukhalian's answering cold smile.
Rath'Shadowthrone leaned forward. 'Know, Mortal Sword, that the Mask Council finally acknowledges what was obvious to you and me from the very start — the inevitable destruction of Capustan.'
'You are mistaken,' Brukhalian replied, his deep voice reverberating in the hall. 'There is nothing inevitable about this impending siege, provided we each hold to a unified defence-'
'The outlying redoubts shall be held,' Rath'Beru snapped, 'for as long as is possible.'
'They will be slaughtered, you blinkered fool!' Rath'Shadowthrone shrieked. 'Hundreds of lives thrown away! Lives we can ill afford to lose!'
'Enough!' Rath'Queen of Dreams shouted. 'This is not the issue we are meant to discuss. Mortal Sword, the return of the Shield Anvil's troop was witnessed by many. Specifically, the appearance of… large wolves. Reputedly somewhat … worse for wear. These creatures have not been seen since-'