“Washavokis were fleeing black robes like sheep that see prowling wolf.”
“Black robes? I don’t understand. Who were they?”
“They looked like washavokis, but they didn’t act like them.”
“Hai,” agreed his brother. “They moved strangely, as if their bodies had no feeling. They carried two poles that held large black box.”
A litter! thought Dar. She glanced at Sevren, and his face mirrored her alarm. “Othar?”
“Did black robes walk like have no spirit?” asked Sevren.
“Only those who are dead lack spirits,” replied the elder brother.
“In box is maybe Black Washavoki,” said Sevren. “It take spirits. Make washavokis say yes, even if kill them.”
“Those black-garbed ones seemed heedless of their persons,” replied the orc. “Perhaps their wills had been subjugated.”
Dar saw that Sevren didn’t understand the reply. “He said they seemed possessed,” she said in the human tongue.
“It has to be Othar,” replied Sevren in the same language. “His presence changes everything. Torch this place and flee with the mothers.”
“If the army finds a burnt hall, it’ll start hunting us immediately.”
“They’ll start soon enough anyway. Get out of here quick!”
“No, Sevren. I won’t trade my subjects’ safety for my own.”
Sevren sighed and bowed his head. Dar turned to the two bewildered orcs and spoke in their tongue. “Sevren fears for my safety. I told him these are dangerous times.” She made the sign of the Tree. “Muth la will protect us. Join your muthuri. Protect her and other mothers. You have pleased me.”
Zna-yat returned a short while after the two brothers departed, and Dar told him what she had learned. Like Sevren, Zna-yat urged Dar to leave with the fleeing mothers. Again, Dar wouldn’t think of it. Nir-yat arrived a while later. “Muth Mauk, families are ready to depart.”
“Good,” said Dar. “Are they carrying as much food as possible?”
“Hai. And each has received their deetpahis.”
Dar turned to Zna-yat. “All remaining food must be destroyed. That’s critical.”
“Not one root will remain for washavokis,” said Zna-yat.
“Good,” said Dar. “Sister, families shouldn’t use road. Instead, lead them down north slope of mountain using pathways between terraces. Try to cover your tracks as we did when we fled Taiben.”
Nir-yat bowed. “Would you bless each family before they depart? It would bolster their spirits.”
“Of course.”
“And Sister, I’ll lead this retreat if you command it, but.” Nir-yat hesitated, clearly uncomfortable. “.I think there is wisdom in another course.”
“What course?”
“Our clan’s matriarch.”
“Muth-yat opposed me!”
“Hai, but she knelt eventually. If you ask her to lead, it would restore her honor. That would put her in your debt.”
“So I must humble myself and ask for her help?”
“That deed won’t demean you,” replied Nir-yat. “It’s said that only big chests have room for forgiveness.”
Dar made a wry face. “It’s also said that Wise and Easy seldom walk together.” She sighed. “Let’s go see Muth-yat. I suppose I should see Muthuri also.”
Muth-yat stood in the middle of her hanmuthi beside a pile of its possessions. Her expression was so desolate, Dar’s feelings softened. “May Muth la bless you, Muth-yat, and all your hanmuthi.”
“Shashav, Muth Mauk,” said Muth-yat, her voice cold and formal.
“These are hard times,” said Dar. “And hard words have passed between us. Yet I know you’re devoted to our clan. So am I. If we’ve disagreed, it hasn’t been because of that.”
Muth-yat nodded.
“Our clan needs you, Matriarch. Will you lead them to safety?”
“I thought you wished to supplant me with Nir-yat.” “Nir-yat accompanied me to Taiben and saw what Black Washavoki has wrought. She understands our peril. Since I must linger in this hall while others escape, I turned to Nir-yat to guide our clan to safety. In her wisdom, she now turns to you.”
“Matriarch,” said Nir-yat. “If you lead our flight, it will reassure everyone. Will you do it? We need you.”
Some of the despair left Muth-yat’s face. She straightened. “I won’t forsake my clan.”
“Shashav, Muth-yat,” said Dar. “It’s time to leave. Come with me as I give blessings. Nir-yat will tell you about route I’ve chosen.”
Muth-yat bowed. “Hai, Muth Mauk.” She turned to her family. “Come. Let’s discover what fate Muth la has decreed for us.”
The hanmuthi they entered next was Zor-yat’s. Dar was unprepared for the nostalgia she felt when she gazed about the room. Soon this will be a blackened ruin, she thought with a pang of loss. Memories welled up: The night of her welcoming feast. The celebration of her rebirth. Her camaraderie with her sisters. I experienced so much joy here.
Zor-yat seemed surprised to see Muth-yat by Dar and Nir-yat’s side. She seemed even more surprised when Dar embraced her after bestowing her blessing. “I love you, Muthuri,” she said. Then Dar switched to the human tongue, in which Zor-yat was fluent. “I know you can think like washavokis, because you’ve lied to me in the past. You grasp the uses of deception. Use that ability to help Nir-yat understand our foes.”
“You want my help?” asked Zor-yat in Orcish.
Dar suspected Zor-yat switched languages so everyone would understand Dar’s reply. “Hai,” she said. “It’s Muth la’s will.” Then she switched back to human speech. “I’m queen because of you. My rebirth and my first journey to Taiben were your doing. This hall’s destruction was foretold, and you played a part in it. Now help our clan survive.”
Again, Zor-yat replied in Orcish. “I’d be honored to aid you and Nir-yat. How can I help?”
Dar responded in Orcish. “Help mothers hide from washavokis. Also, Sevren knows ways to defeat soldiers. Help sons understand his plans.”
Zor-yat regarded Dar thoughtfully, then bowed very low. “Please forgive me, Daughter. I spoke foolishly in Great Chamber.”
“Pain and sorrow caused you to speak that way,” replied Dar. “I know you love me.”
Zor-yat bowed again. “I do, Daughter.”
Dar didn’t know if Zor-yat was sincere. However, a reconciliation would unite the clan, and unity would help it to survive. As Zor-yat’s family left their hanmuthi, Dar hurried off to bless the next family and send them on their way.
The hall spilled warm bodies into the storm. Mothers, children, and sons snaked down the
snow-covered terraces. Their burdens were heavy and the way was slippery, steep, and narrow. The mothers were abandoning the only home they knew, the place they had expected to spend their lives. That frightened them almost as much as the hardships ahead and the threat of a brutal death. Dar watched Nir-yat depart with the last orc family. Girta and Kovok-mah accompanied her sister, along with Sevren, who led Skymere down the steep path. Nir-yat directed the sons trying to smooth the trampled snow using brooms made of bundled reeds. Dar hoped the storm would improve upon their efforts.
Soon, the fleeing figures disappeared into the swirling snow. Dar stood alone, staring at the empty whiteness. Then duty called, and she headed into the hall to wait for General Kol’s army.
Zna-yat was in the Great Chamber when Dar arrived. He was staring so intently at the nearest hilltop that, for a terrifying moment, Dar though he was gazing at a signal fire. When he didn’t turn at the sound of her footsteps, she concluded he was not. “Families have departed,” she said.
“I wish you had departed with them, Sister.”
Dar changed the subject. “How is work proceeding?”
“Well. All food is on piles for burning. So are deetpahis.”
“Have sons smash all windows and throw their wooden frames on piles,” said Dar. “Windows in Welcoming Chamber have best view of valley. We should go there to wait for washavokis.”