At the time, R'Shev had taken this to mean that the commander threatened the Mettai, but the eldest denied it. He said a bit more then, referring vaguely to things that had happened recently-R'Shev hadn't understood what he meant. And then the man said, "The Mettai have never had any dispute with either the clans or the sovereignties… but there may be others in my position who feel differently."
Again, R'Shev had been confused by this-the eldest had spoken in riddles throughout their conversation. But this was essentially the last thing the man said before warning R'Shev to leave Stelpana, and it struck the merchant as being at the crux of whatever he and the sovereign's marshal had discussed.
He considered the matter for nearly the entire day, repeating the eldest's words to himself as if they were a litany. By the time the sun began to go down, he was well past Turtle Lake, once again following the course of the Silverwater. Eventually he made camp for the night, lit a small fire, and ate a modest meal of cheese and hard bread. He tried to sleep, but still his thoughts churned, keeping him up. Eventually he pulled out a sealed flask of H'Bel wine, one he could have sold, and opened it. He rarely drank alone, and was usually reluctant to treat himself to something that could have brought him gold, but he needed his sleep, and he knew that with his mind working so furiously he wouldn't get any without a bit of help.
Sleep still came grudgingly, and he was awakened repeatedly by strange, frightening dreams in which he was pursued by hordes of Eandi warriors. Still, he managed to sleep later than he had intended, waking to a high sun and a pounding headache. His stomach felt tight and sour, and all through the next morning, as the motion of the cart jostled him, he cursed himself for ever opening that flask.
Near the end of his third day out from Kirayde, R'Shev finally reached Owl Lake, turning slightly westward to follow its shoreline. Before long, he reached Lowna. He was no closer to figuring out what the eldest had been trying to tell him, but at least now he could warn the Fal'Borna. Perhaps they could glean something from the man's words that he could not.
He steered his cart to the center of the village, where most peddlers were just putting their wares back into their carts.
"A bit late, aren't you, old man?" one young Eandi trader called to him.
Another Eandi laughed, but R'Shev said nothing, searching instead for anyone who seemed to live in the village. The two men shook their heads and went back to packing their carts. For a moment R'Shev considered warning them to leave Fal'Borna land. With a war coming, they were no safer on this side of the Silverwater than he had been in Stelpana. But his first allegiance was to his people, and he feared that such a warning given to the dark-eyes might eventually get back to Stelpana's army. Best not to let the Eandi know that the Fal'borna would be readying themselves for an assault.
A moment later, he spotted a Qirsi woman and two young girls walking away from the marketplace. He flicked the reins, and Ebbie started after them.
"Hello there!" he called.
The three of them turned. The woman was older than he had expected her to be, given the age of her children. But she had a kind face, and she smiled at him, though she looked just a bit puzzled. The two girls eyed him warily.
"Hello," the woman said in return. "Can I help you?"
"I hope so," R'Shev said. "I'm searching for whoever governs your village. An eldest perhaps?"
"You mean our a'laq?" she asked.
"Of course," R'Shev said, shaking his head at his own foolishness. It hadn't been that long since last he was among the Fal'Borna. He should have remembered. "Your a'laq. Do you know where I might find him?"
The woman smiled, clearly amused. "Actually, our a'laq is a woman. Her name is U'Selle." She pointed at a small house just off the marketplace. "She lives there."
"Thank you." He always carried sweets with him to offer to children. He pulled some out now and held them out to the girls. "If it's all right with your mother, you're welcome to these."
The younger of the two girls, a beautiful, fine-featured child with brilliant yellow eyes, turned away, burying her face in her mother's dress. The older child, who was also very pretty, though with a look of deep sadness in her eyes, merely stared back at him and shook her head.
R'Shev frowned.
"Thank you anyway," the woman said, running her hand over the older girl's hair and patting the back of the younger one. "They're shy with strangers.”
"Well, then perhaps I can give them to you, kind woman, and you can see that they have them later, after they've had their supper."
She smiled, and stepping forward, took the sweets from him. "Thank you."
They walked away, leaving R'Shev to steer his cart toward the house the woman had pointed out to him. Before he reached it he heard someone coughing, and he realized that there was an older woman sitting outside the house. He climbed down off his cart and covered the remaining distance on foot.
The woman was still coughing when he reached the house, her body racked by the paroxysm. She saw him approach, waved him forward even as she still struggled to draw breath. Once the spasm had passed, she sat back in her old chair and closed her eyes briefly.
"Forgive me," she said. "It gets worse with the colder air."
"Can I get you anything?" R'Shev asked. "Some water perhaps?"
She dismissed the offer with a wave of her hand. "I'm all right now. You're looking for me?"
"I am if you're the a'laq."
The woman nodded. "That I am, for the moment at least." She eyed him for a moment, her eyes narrowing. She was small, her face wizened, her body bent and frail-looking. But her eyes remained clear and her voice was strong, despite her coughing. "Have we met?"
"I don't think so, A'Laq, though I've traded in your village before." "Ah," she said. "A peddler. I tend to avoid getting involved with disputes in the marketplace. Best you work things out on your own."
He grinned at that. "A wise policy, A'Laq. But that's not why I'm here."
"Then why?"
"I've come from Kirayde, a Mettai village south of Porcupine Lake. While I was there, an Eandi army, nearly two thousand men strong, stopped outside the village. The army's commander spoke briefly with the village eldest, seeking some boon from him, though I've yet to figure out what it might have been. The eldest refused him, but I gather from all he told me later that the commander intended to speak with other elders in other villages. And I gather as well that eventually this man and his army intend to cross the Silverwater and bring war to the Fal'Borna."
Her eyes didn't widen; her face didn't blanch. She didn't say anything or leap to her feet or otherwise betray any hint of fear. If the strength of a leader could be measured by her calm in the face of such tidings, U'Selle had to be very strong indeed.
"You're certain of this?" she asked after a brief silence, her voice even. "I am, A'Laq."
"How many days has it been since you saw this commander and his army?"
"Three."
She raised an eyebrow. "You got here quickly."
"As quickly as I could, A'Laq." He grinned. "A younger man might have been here sooner."
The woman smiled at that. "Maybe. A younger man might not have known what to do with such news. I'm grateful to you. All of us will be before long."
He nodded.
"I'd like you to speak with the members of our clan council. Would you mind remaining here for the night? We can offer you food and perhaps even a place to sleep."
"I can sleep in my cart, A'Laq, but I'll gladly take the food. After a while a man tires of his own cooking."
"Very well." She stood and started to make her way down the lane. After taking only a couple of steps, though, she turned and faced him again. "What's your name, friend?"
"R'Shev, A'Laq."
"And what clan are you from?"
"I was born Nid'Qir."