It didn't slow her much, just made her shiver uncomfortably in those few seconds when she wasn't actively moving.
She came to the end of the Thicket and finished in a swift spin, dropping to one knee in the snow and striking up and back, sinking both hatchets into what would have been the lower backs of two enemy "warriors." And only then did she notice the man standing just beyond the array of posts, watching intently.
He was a burly fellow, wearing a thick black beard. In his youth, he might have resembled a bear clad in armor, but much of his bulk-not all, she could see that immediately, but much-had run to fat as age sank its claws into him. His hands, rough and callused, were crossed over a barrel chest that bore the crimson tabard of the Royal Soldiers of the Black Gryphon. Unlike the others Ellowaine had seen, however, his was trimmed in gold, both around the edges and surrounding the iconic gryphon.
"Good afternoon," he said without preamble. "I'm General Rhykus."
Ellowaine rose, offered a shallow bow, and sheathed the hatchets at her side. "I'm honored." She knew nothing of Rhykus, save that she'd heard the name and that he was one of only three soldiers to carry that rank in the royal Cephiran military.
Which, for the moment, made him her employer.
"Walk with me." He turned away, clearly accustomed to instant obedience.
For the sake of her coin purse, that's what she offered, falling into step beside him, her long legs easily keeping pace. She wasn't certain if he was gathering his thoughts or waiting for her to open the conversation, but after a few moments of crunching through shallow snow toward no apparent destination, she decided to take the initiative.
"I'm assuming you're not here to critique my performance in the Thicket. Sir," she added quickly. That's going to take some getting used to.
"Do you feel it needs critiquing?"
Ellowaine swallowed a flash of annoyance. "Not really. And I'm assuming if you did, you'd have said something."
"Just so." A few more steps. "You're the same Ellowaine who served under Rebaine during your nation's so-called Serpent's War?"
Her blood ran cold as the surrounding snows. Surely the Cephirans wouldn't hold that against her?
"I am," she said carefully.
General Rhykus nodded. "I normally have little personal interaction with our mercenaries," he told her.
"Should I be honored again? Or worried?"
The coal-dark beard split in a grin. "I see you're accustomed to speaking your mind. Few of my soldiers will. Not to my face, anyway.
"No, Ellowaine, you needn't worry. In fact, I require your assistance."
They crested a small rise, and Ellowaine saw a great pavilion before them. Even from here, she could feel the radiating warmth of a fire.
"Join me for a meal," the general invited. "There's much I would discuss with you."
"Such as?" she asked, still vaguely suspicious.
"Why, such as everything you can possibly remember about Corvis Rebaine." "AND OF COURSE, YOU TOLD HIM everything," Corvis said disgustedly.
"Why not?" Despite her bonds, she matched him glare for glare. "You hardly provided me any reason for loyalty or affection."
'She's not wrong, Corvis. When it comes to loyalty, you pretty much fall somewhere between a scorpion and, well, an even more unfaithful scorpion.'
He shrugged, so far as the cat in his arms permitted. It wasn't as though he was about to argue the point-not with her, and certainly not with himself. He saw Ellowaine's eyes dart past him as Irrial entered the room, saw them widen briefly in recognition. They'd never met, that much he knew, but doubtless the Cephirans had spread her description far and wide.
"Was it necessary," Ellowaine asked abruptly, voice hard, "to kill my men?"
Again, Corvis shrugged. "We needed to ensure that we'd have time alone to talk with you. And anyway, this is war."
"Oh, I see," she scoffed. "Now you're a patriot, are you?"
Corvis dropped to one knee so that he could look the bound prisoner in the face. "I've always been a patriot, Ellowaine. Don't ever think otherwise."
The cat, perhaps for no better reason than to break the silence, leapt from his arms to the floor between them.
"How did that thing bite through my boot, anyway?" the mercenary demanded.
"Magic," the cat said. Corvis was morbidly amused to see Ellowaine jump, but her shock didn't last.
"Ah, I see. Seilloah?"
"Ellowaine." The witch didn't offer an explanation for her current form, and Ellowaine obviously knew better than to ask.
"So tell me," Corvis began, "why did…?" He paused, watching carefully as the prisoner shifted in the chair. She might have just been repositioning herself after the sudden start, but then again…
Scowling, he moved behind her, saw a swift glint of metal that she couldn't quite hide in her fist. He reached out and yanked the sharp-edged needle from her fingers, ignoring the profanity she spit his way.
"Where the hell were you hiding that?" he demanded. He didn't really expect an answer, which was a good thing, since she clearly wasn't about to offer any. He leaned in, examining the ropes, and decided with a soft grunt that she hadn't cut through enough of the thick hemp to matter. He casually flicked the steel shard into a distant corner and stood before her once more.
She raised her face to the ceiling, chewing on the inside of her cheek and mumbling a few more curses, before looking his way once more.
"Tell me," he said again, "why General Rhykus wanted to know about me. And Ellowaine, please don't waste my time, or yours, by lying."
"If you think you could tell, you're kidding yourself," she said. "But I've no need to lie. The truth is, I really don't know. He obviously had his reasons, given how thoroughly he pressed me on it. He got me to remember details I hadn't even realized I'd ever known. But he never once told me why."
"And you didn't ask?" Irrial asked incredulously.
"Wouldn't have mattered. If he'd wanted me to know, he'd have told me. Besides, I'm used to following people without knowing the whole story. It's what I get paid to do." She stopped and glowered at Corvis. "What I usually get paid to do."
Corvis turned, first toward Seilloah at his feet, then Irrial behind him. The baroness shrugged, while the cat merely flicked her tail.
'You've really got a way with women, haven't you? No wonder you can't seem to keep one.' Corvis would, in that moment, have gladly drilled an awl through his own temple if it meant digging out that damn voice.
"So what are we thinking, then?" Irrial asked. "Is the whole thing a Cephiran operation? To what end?"
"Distraction," Seilloah suggested. "Something to keep the Guilds and the nobles from countering their invasion?"
"Maybe." Corvis didn't sound convinced. "It seems awfully convoluted, if that's all it is, though."
Ellowaine leaned forward, so much as the ropes would allow. "You're talking about the murders. It wasn't you, was it?"
Again they glanced at one another, then Corvis nodded.
"I thought so. I couldn't imagine what you'd have to gain. Now I understand."
"And does it bother you?" the baroness demanded. "Knowing that you provided information that led to the murder of innocents?"
"Why would it?" the mercenary asked, her tone philosophical. "I'm a soldier; I kill. The Cephirans offered me work when nobody else would-thanks to him." She actually smiled at Irrial. "Whatever he's promised you for your help, lady, I'd suggest you count it in advance."
"No," Corvis said, only half listening. "Think of where the murders occurred, the fact that they targeted so many of the people connected to me."
Seilloah nodded, her whiskered snout wrinkling. "If the Cephirans could get into the Hall of Meeting like that, they wouldn't need this sort of deception. They could just take the government down and be done with it."