"Seems we'd better be ready," Cresenne said. "If there's anything I really need to know, you should tell me right now."
She glanced at him. He was sitting straight-backed and tall atop his mount, his eyes alert, the muscles in his jaw bunched.
"No time now," he said, his voice low and tight. "Let me do the talking. They're a patriarchal clan-more so than most, at least here on the plain. Only speak to them if they ask you a question."
She nodded, feeling foolish for ever having been impatient with his precautions.
The Fal'Borna rode swiftly, and as they came closer Cresenne noted that all four of the riders were men, and all of them rode without saddles.
They stopped a short distance from where Cresenne and Grinsa waited. Cresenne wondered if they should dismount, or bow, or show in some other way that they meant the men and their people no harm. But Grinsa remained motionless in his saddle, and she thought it best to follow his example.
"You're on Fal'Borna land," one of the men said, his voice sharp. He was a young man, powerfully built, with a square face and skin that was almost golden, like the color of freshly baked bread. Cresenne couldn't help noting that he was remarkably handsome. Indeed, so were his companions. They were dressed in loose-fitting pants and shirts that appeared to have been made from animal skins. Their shoes were of dark leather. The man who had spoken wore a thin black necklace from which hung a single white stone. Otherwise the men were unadorned. "Who are you?" the man asked. "What clan?"
"My name is Grinsa jal Arriet. This is Cresenne ja Terba and our daughter, Bryntelle ja Grinsa. We're not from any clan of the South- lands. We've come from the Forelands."
The man showed no surprise at this last bit of information, but merely asked, "Why are you on Fal'Borna land, Forelander?"
"Our ship made land in Aelea. We had no choice but to cross Eandi land as quickly and directly as possible. That brought us here."
This seemed to satisfy the man, at least for the moment. "You ride proud animals," he said. "You got them from the Eandi?"
"Yes, we did."
He nodded, regarding the horses for another moment before looking at Grinsa again. "Are you bound to a clan, Forelander?"
"Not yet, no."
"But you intend to be?"
"Perhaps."
"You're a Weaver."
The guard in Yorl also had known that Grinsa was a Weaver, and though Cresenne understood that Weavers were far more common here than in the Forelands, it still took her by surprise to hear people speak of them so openly. Weavers were feared in the Forelands. Here it seemed they were openly revered.
"That's right."
He glanced at Cresenne. "And is she as well?"
Something in the way he asked this told Cresenne that he knew the answer already, but felt the need to ask, not for her sake, but for Grinsa's. An instant later she remembered the Eandi guard asking the same thing. Were Weavers here expected to be joined to each other?
"No, she's not."
Again, the man nodded. "The Qirsi of rival clans are not permitted to cross Fal'Borna land without leave from the Tesserate."
"I've already told you: We belong to no clan."
"But you also say that you might bind yourself to one."
"We might bind ourselves to the Fal'Borna," Grinsa said.
The man grinned, though not kindly. "That's not a decision for you to make. The Fal'Borna choose who we will and will not accept into our clan."
"Fine then," Grinsa said coldly. "Where will I find this Tesserate of whom you speak?"
"Thamia, on the north shore of the Ofirean. And the Tesserate isn't a person. It's a council. It could take several turns to gather all its members and the clanlord so that they can render a decision."
"What is it you want?" Grinsa asked.
"What makes you think I want anything?"
Grinsa didn't answer, at least not directly. But an instant later Cresenne heard the splintering of wood, four times in rapid succession. And as she watched, the heads of the men's spears fell to the ground. It wasn't what she would have done in his position, and she could only hope that he hadn't provoked the men.
Grinsa didn't appear concerned. He grinned, just as the Fal'Borna had done moments before. "As you say, friend: I'm a Weaver. And as such, I'm not someone to be trifled with."
The man's grin had vanished, but he didn't look particularly troubled by what Grinsa had done. He nodded once more. "Good, Forelander. Very good. A Fal'Borna Weaver would have gotten to it faster, but you're a stranger here, and I'll assume that you were trying to show some patience."
"He was testing you?" Cresenne asked, looking at Grinsa.
"He's a Weaver, too," Grinsa said, his eyes never leaving the man's face.
Another Weaver. At least she'd been right in assuming he knew without asking that she wasn't a Weaver. A Weaver could sense without asking what magics another Qirsi wielded.
"My name is Q'Daer."
He dismounted and stooped to pick up the head of his spear, which looked to be made of bone. His companions did the same, and a moment later Grinsa dismounted as well. He cast a quick look Cresenne's way, indicating that she should, too. He took Bryntelle from her, and she climbed off of her mount. Only then, facing the four Fal'Borna, did she realize how short they were. They looked formidable on their mounts, but even this Weaver, Q'Daer, was nearly half a head shorter than Grinsa. Q'Daer brushed the dirt and grass off his spear tip and slipped it into a small pocket on the side of his pants.
"A Fal'Borna wastes nothing," he said. He extended both hands to
Grinsa. When Grinsa put his hands out, the man gripped Grinsa's wrists in such a way that Grinsa could do the same. "That is a proper Fal'Borna greeting."
"You honor us," Grinsa said.
"You're a Weaver," the man said, as if that explained everything. "A
Weaver with no clan-" He stopped himself and smiled thinly. "I'm getting ahead of myself. The a'laq will want to see you. We can talk after."
"The a'laq?"
"Every sept has an a'laq, a leader. Ours is named E'Menua, though you're to call him A'Laq."
Q'Daer returned to his horse and swung himself onto the animal's back. "Follow," he said.
The other Fal'Borna remounted and rode after the man, leaving Grinsa and Cresenne little choice but to do the same.
"That went better than I thought it would," Cresenne said, as she got back onto her mount. "Particularly after you broke their spears."
He nodded, handing Bryntelle up to her. "We're not safe yet. If this E'Menua doesn't like us we'll be lucky to get away. From what I hear, the Fal'Borna aren't gentle with those they consider their enemies."
They rode after the four men, following them to the middle of the settlement. Once again, people stared at them-it seemed to Cresenne that since reaching the Southlands, they had been the objects of endless curiosity. But at least here, she sensed none of the hostility that she had felt in Yorl and the other Eandi villages. Men and women, young and old-they all stared at them, but for the most part their expressions were mild, and even those who looked at them warily did so seemingly without hatred.
And in truth, Cresenne couldn't help staring back at them. She had never seen so many Qirsi in one place-there were hundreds of them, and not an Eandi face to be seen. Just white hair and pairs of pale eyes in more shades of yellow than she had ever known existed. Like the men who rode out to greet them, all of these Qirsi had light golden skin. They're beautiful, she thought to herself. They're the most beautiful people I've ever seen.
Grinsa seemed to notice as well. "In all my years of living with the Eandi," he said to her in a whisper, "I never felt as conscious of how white my skin is as I do right now."
She just nodded, and they rode on.
Q'Daer dismounted before a large circular structure. It was made of wood, and it had animal skins pulled taut all around it. Cresenne saw Grinsa look the building up and down, admiration in his eyes. At last, he nodded.