Kadumi was waiting with a thin Bedine dressed in sooty black robes. As Ruha and Lander approached, the sentry came forward with a waterskin.
“Stop and drink, berrani.” The sentry offered his skin to Lander, repeating a typical Bedine greeting. “You have had a long ride and must be thirsty. Are you hungry as well?”
Lander accepted the other waterskin. “Hungry, no,” the Sembian said, taking a long gulp.
The sentry did not mind the rudeness. He grinned and turned to Kadumi. “At least he shows more courtesy than the Black Robe and his short guide.”
Lander pulled the waterskin away from his mouth, spewing water all over his camel’s neck.
“Black Robe?” he gasped.
Kadumi nodded. “The Zhentarim arrived this morning,” he said. “We’ll have to wait until he leaves to meet the sheikh.”
“No!” Lander protested, thrusting the skin back at the sentry. “We must meet the sheikh before the Zhentarim poisons his thoughts. Perhaps if I had reached the Mtair Dhafir’s sheikh earlier, they’d still be alive.”
Kadumi grimaced, but turned to the sentry. “At which lake is your sheikh camped?”
The sentry pointed at the emerald pool. “Sheikh Sa’ar makes his camp at the green waters. I’ll announce your arrival.” The sentry lifted his amarat and blew three shrill notes, then lowered it again. “I’d take you into camp myself, but the Zhentarim are only five miles to the north. The sheikh has ordered the sentries to stay at their posts under all circumstances.”
“Sheikh Sa’ar is a wise man,” Kadumi responded, climbing onto his kneeling camel.
The first five hundred yards of descent were steep. The camels plunged down the slope, almost galloping to keep from tumbling head over heels, kicking up great billows of black ash that engulfed each rider in a tiny dust storm. With each jolting lunge, Ruha gritted her teeth and grasped her saddle more tightly, expecting to go sprawling through the ebony cinders in a whirlwind of waterskins, kuerabiches, and roaring camels.
A few moments later, the beasts slowed into a jolting canter. With the ash clouds billowing no higher than the camels’ humps, the trio could carry on a quivering conversation.
“You didn’t tell the guard about my magic, did you Kadumi?” Ruha asked.
“Perhaps I will tell the sheikh,” the boy responded, avoiding the widow’s gaze.
“A man must do what he thinks is right,” Lander agreed.
The Harper’s statement stunned Ruha. She began to wonder if she had misjudged Lander’s character.
Before she could condemn him, the Harper continued, “Of course, a man’s duty to his brother’s wife counts for a lot.”
The youth glowered at Ruha. “My brother would not have knowingly married a witch.”
Lander nodded. “Probably not. Still, Ruha was his wife …” The Harper let the statement drift off without adding anything further, and they continued in silence.
A short time later, Kadumi asked, “What will you say to Sheikh Sa’ar, Harper?”
“I don’t know,” Lander responded, grasping his makeshift saddle with both hands. “What do you think I should say?”
“The Zhentarim will no doubt promise him many great gifts for becoming his ally,” Kadumi began.
“And threaten him with swift destruction if he does not,” Ruha added.
“I can promise neither.”
“What about your Harpers?” Kadumi asked, motioning at the pin still hidden over Lander’s heart. “What will they give Sa’ar for joining them?”
Lander shook his head. “They don’t work that way,” he said. “Even if I were in contact with them, they would promise him little. We prefer more subtle methods.”
“Subtlety will not drive the Zhentarim from Anauroch,” Ruha said. “That will require warriors.”
“Bedine warriors,” Lander replied. “Not Harper warriors. If the Bedine will not fight for their freedom, the Harpers have no interest in doing it for them.”
“Then why did they send you here?” Kadumi demanded, precariously twisting about on his camel’s back. “I lost three good mounts getting you here, and you brought nothing to offer Sa’ar?”
“I can offer him liberty,” Lander replied.
His voice was so calm that Ruha knew the Harper was missing the point. “We do not know Sheikh Sa’ar,” she said. “And he does not know us. The destruction of the Qahtan and the Mtair Dhafir mean nothing to him. You cannot expect him to turn the Black Robes away just because they destroyed two khowwans to which he had no ties.”
They reached the bottom of the basin. As the terrain leveled, their camels slowed to a jolting walk.
“The Zhentarim are strong,” Kadumi said, still taking care to avoid speaking directly with Ruha. “Sa’ar will want to ally with them.”
“I thought the Bedine loved freedom,” Lander countered, relaxing his grip on his saddle harness.
Ruha guided her camel closer to the Harper’s. “They do, but the desert has always been here. No Bedine can conceive of the chains that will stop him from escaping into it.”
Lander shook his head sadly. “The Zhentarim don’t hold their slaves with chains—”
“They hold them with hostages, blackmail, fear, and worse,” Ruha responded. “But Sa’ar will not know this. He will think only of what the Zhentarim can give him, not what they can take away.”
“If we cannot promise gifts from the Harpers,” Kadumi said, driving his mount to Lander’s opposite side, “perhaps we should concentrate on what we could steal from the Zhentarim. With such a big army, they must have a lot of camels and a fortune in steel blades. Raiding is something Sa’ar will understand.”
Kadumi’s idea was the best they had come up with so far, but Ruha did not think it would work. “Why raid when you can simply ask? Will the Zhentarim not promise all these things in return for an alliance?”
“Being paid is not the same as taking,” Kadumi countered hotly, finally addressing Ruha directly.
The widow was not listening. A sudden flash of insight had just occurred to her. “We can never promise more than the Zhentarim,” she said. “So what we need to do is get rid of the Zhentarim agent before the sheikh makes an agreement.”
Both Kadumi and Lander frowned.
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” the Harper said, craning his neck to look at her, “but wouldn’t the sheikh take a dim view of assassinating his guests?”
“We’re not going to kill the Zhentarim,” Ruha laughed, pointing at Lander. “He’s going to try to kill you.”
The Harper frowned, then leaned close to Ruha so Kadumi could not hear what he whispered, “I’m beginning to understand why your visions always come true.”
“Don’t worry,” Ruha replied, speaking aloud to prevent Kadumi from thinking any secrets were being kept from him. “You’ll just make the Zhentarim so mad that he’ll try to kill you.”
Kadumi smiled. “Honor will dictate that the sheikh save you and banish or execute the man who assaulted his guest. You’ll have the sheikh’s ear to yourself.”
“Just in time to warn him about the Zhentarim’s impending attack,” Ruha finished. She leaned close to Lander and added, “Do not worry about the attack I saw on Rahalat’s shoulder, for in the vision you had clearly been surprised by the assault from behind.”
When Kadumi scowled at the widow, she straightened and said, “If the plan works, Lander, you will be expecting the Zhentarim to attack. Kadumi will be there to protect your back, so you will have nothing to fear.” Her brother-in-law stiffened at the compliment.