Their swift parade of successors had shattered stability by warring among themselves while launching unwise foreign adventures.
"I'll be pleased to command Eastern Army. I'm honored that you think me competent. I'll begin selecting staff today."
A faint irritation flickered across Kuo's face. He was being dismissed—he. Then he smiled. Ssu-ma could not shake old habit. Younger men were trainees... He rose. "I wish you luck, Lord Ssu-ma."
"Thank you." Shih-ka'i wasn't really listening. He was engrossed in his work once more.
He had to hide in the training reports for a while. This stroke of fortune would take some digesting.
Shih-ka'i found that he had to guard thirty-four hundred miles of border with thirty thousand men. The eastern legions were, at least, at strength. None had been involved in the ill-starred western campaign.
He also had to govern and keep the peace in the military frontier zone.
His predecessor had done the obvious and employed local auxiliaries. They weren't much. The peoples of Shih- ka'i's new proconsulate were all savages. Only a few tribes had a Bronze Age level of technology, though storytellers spoke of a past age of greatness. They had revealed a few ruins in support of their claims.
Shih-ka'i followed the lead of his predecessors and made his headquarters with the Seventeenth Legion. The Seventeenth's zone of responsibility faced the questionable desert. The legion had taken all the reported losses.
The Seventeenth had raised a stout new fortress just miles from the edge of the badlands. Shih-ka'i arrived to find the commander engaged in a vigorous program of exploration. One wall of the fortress's main hall had been plastered smooth. Legionnaires were painting in a huge map, bit by bit, as exploratory teams contributed details. Shih-ka'i did not bother visiting his new quarters before going into conference.
He strolled along the one-hundred-fifty-foot length of the wall, studying and memorizing each detail. At one point he asked, "Does it truly begin this suddenly?" He indicated a line near the floor, where green gave way to brown along a well-defined line.
The commander of the Seventeenth, Lun-yu Tasi-feng, replied, "Virtually, Lord Ssu-ma. It fades from forest to grassland to dust and sand within a mile. Were the wind not blowing consistently eastward, the desert would crawl this way like an unstoppable army."
"Rainfall?"
"Considerable, Lord. Both here and there. In the desert you can watch the clouds pile up against these mountains, but nothing grows."
"Uh-hmm." Shih-ka'i studied the sketchy outline of the mountain chain. "Rivers?"
"Several flow out. The only life we've found is a few fish that have swum upstream. They don't travel far. They find nothing to sustain themselves."
Shih-ka'i let his gaze wander. In time, he asked, "Elements of the Seventeenth were involved in the war with Escalon, were they not?"
Tasi-feng replied, "I was there myself, Lord."
"Does this compare to the desolation created there?"
"It's even more thorough, Lord. The thought occurred to me too. I'm operating on the assumption that the land was smitten by the Power, though we've yet to find certain proof."
"Historical research?"
"Nothing on record anywhere, Lord."
"It's very old, then. What about oral traditions among the tribes? I've heard there are ruins in the forests. Have you tried to determine their age?"
"The tribes say there was a war among the gods. The ruins are at least a thousand years old. Probably a lot older. I have my leading necromancer working in the best preserved city. He hasn't been able to determine more."
"Have you consulted Outside?"
"Demons either don't know or won't tell."
"I see. How many men have you lost?"
Shih-ka'i listened to an exact recitation of every detail known about a dozen group disappearances. Tasi-feng indicated their last known positions on the map. Each party had reached the mountains. No other pattern was apparent.
"Have you tried high altitude search?"
"Birds refuse to fly over the desert, Lord. I wanted to send a dragon, but my request was refused. Too many perished in the western campaign, they say. They say they need to breed their numbers up. Personally, I think they're as frightened as the birds."
"Oh? Have they been interrogated? Some would be older than those ruins."
"If they know anything, they're not saying. They're less talkative than the demons."
"Curious. Most curious. Lord Lun-yu, I commend you. You've been thorough."
"There's little else to do out here, Lord. The centurions complain that it's just makework."
Shih-ka'i smiled behind his mask. "They would. I'm curious. Lord Kuo seemed to think this a critical puzzle. He was quite concerned. Could you guess why?"
"I'm not certain, Lord. Perhaps because there have been flickers of the Power beyond the mountains." He raked a pointer along the top of the wall, over a distance of twenty feet. "They emanated from somewhere here."
Shih-ka'i's gaze bored into the map. In time, he asked, "What's the quality of the water in those rivers? Fit to drink?"
"Heavy with minerals, as you might expect. But potable, Lord." Tasi-feng seemed puzzled by the question.
"So. We begin narrowing the scope, Lord Lun-yu. The lost missions face the area you just indicated. Accept it as a pattern. We'll send expeditions immediately, on parallel tracks. A Tervola will accompany each. At evening camp a transfer portal will be opened." He took the pointer. "When the expeditions reach this line, we'll set up movable transfers. Five centuries will remain battle-ready at all times. They should be prepared to transfer at a moment's notice. Hourly reports will be returned, and news of any anomaly immediately. The parties will travel light. Weapons and equipment only. They'll be supplied through the transfers. They'll continue their advance till we have some answers. We'll keep fresh people out there by rotating through the portals."
"Lord, that ambitious a program will require the support of the entire legion."
"You yourself said there's nothing else to do. And Lord Kuo expressed a more than passing interest in obtaining answers."
"Of course, Lord."
"Is there anything else I should know?"
"No, Lord. That's all... There have been two reports of dragon sightings, Lord. From natives. There was no confirmation. The dragons themselves deny making overflights."
"I see. I commend you again, Lord Lun-yu. You've been as thorough as anyone could ask."
Shih-ka'i retired to his quarters. His batman had everything prepared. He allowed the decurion to remove his mask. "Are you tired, Pan ku?"
"Not if my Lord has a task for me."
"It's nothing immediate. When you have the free time. Mix with the legionnaires. See what they're saying. Find out what they're talking about most."
"As you wish, My Lord."
"I'll rest now." Shih-ka'i stretched himself on his new bed. He did not sleep, though he closed his eyes. He felt a presence in the east. It was something strange. Something alien. It was not tangible, yet it was disquieting. He wondered if Lord Kuo had felt it too.
The exploratory parties had advanced seventy miles into the desert. They were past the last known positions of the lost parties. Of those the only evidence so far found was a single cracked piece of lacquer off the elbow joint of a soldier's armor.
"That's suggestive," Shih-ka'i said. "They wouldn't travel in armor. Too hot out there. Search the area more carefully."