Mulldoos laughed, nearly a snort. “Like to see this notebook with all the counsel he’s logged and ignored over the years. Thicker than my forearm, I’m guessing.”
Braylar looked at Hewspear. “You see-nothing counterfeit there. Insubordinate and unruly grousing, laid bare and naked for all the world to see.”
“Just you, Cap. And the old goat.” He jerked a thumb at me and Vendurro. “Couple other witnesses, maybe. But never more public than that.”
Braylar turned to face his brawny lieutenant, and it was hard to tell if he was planning on applauding him or lashing out when Vendurro jumped in. “Begging your pardon, Cap, but-”
“Lodging apology on the front end only serves to put me on edge. What is it?”
“Sorry for that too, then, Cap, and sorry for being sorry upfront, but-and this ain’t meant as no kind of insubordination, or any kind of ordination, for that matter-but what do we have to gain by baiting your sister? Is pissing on her boots a ploy of some kind? Just trying to see the upside, is all.”
The captain smiled, devoid of humor, not even a hint, and said to me, “Betwixt the tall man’s slippery smarm and the pale man’s brusque belligerence, we find Vendurro, either the cleverest in the group, or the only one unable to commit to one stance or the other. Be grateful we do not need ditches or latrines dug, as you would have the first three shovels.”
Braylar walked off in one direction, then Mulldoos slapped the trunk of a tree and went off in the other.
I knew the other two were likely one step behind so took the opportunity to ask, “Why is there such obvious discord between the captain and his sister? Is this how Syldoons and Memoridons normally engage? Because I get the distinct impression it’s more than that.”
Vendurro looked at Hewspear and the older man kept his gaze on the distant horizon, and I knew there must have been a significant story there, but I also sensed that it was very unlikely I was about to hear it.
After a pause, Hewspear looked at Braylar, still walking away from our makeshift camp. “You have the right of it. There is indeed a great deal more than that. But this is something best heard from the captain himself, provided he felt like sharing the details. Which I suspect he will not. So,” he looked directly at me, his eyes registering the severity of the warning, even if he chose his words more carefully, “I suggest not pursuing this line of questioning with any of his men, and I’d wager you avoid any wroth unpleasantness by thinking twice about putting the question to him either.”
Hewspear stalked off, and even as I started to look at Vendurro, he raised both hands in the air and starting backing away as if I held a loaded crossbow trained on his chest. “Nope. Nuh uh. Don’t even think about. You heard the lieutenant-when you’re standing over a really nasty snake hole, real bad idea poking your pecker in to see what happens. Best just to walk off and leave well enough alone.” And with that, he left me alone as well.
Well, my curiosity was only inflamed more with that kind of response. Despite waiting to ask until Mulldoos left, in retrospect, he might have been my best hope of hearing some unvarnished or unguarded response. Though it just as likely might have resulted in my landing on my back in the dirt with his boot on my chest.
Still, even as I’d learned quite a bit more about the Syldoon in the last few days, there was something oddly comforting about being completely excluded from some information. If they suddenly divulged everything I asked, I would have suspected they were lies in the entirety or my life was about to end.
Soffjian and Skeelana arrived before the wagons, and the former was as happy as a cat dunked in a barrel of water. Though, in her case, it was a jungle cat from Thulmora, and even that animal might have been less of a threat to the dunkers.
Braylar had returned from his brief trek into the woods, and was sitting near Hewspear and Mulldoos, and the three of them were talking-arguing, more like, as that seemed their preferred form of communication-and while Skeelana veered off and headed to an unoccupied spot alongside the road with the spare mounts, Soffjian rode directly toward her brother. Even from a distance, and with her being generally guarded in her expressions, it was obvious she wasn’t going to hand him lilies.
I started walking in their direction as well. I had no obvious reason for attending, other than satisfying my curiosity, but that was enough for me, and I suspected the heated exchange would distract anyone from my appearance anyway.
Swinging one leg over her horse’s neck, Soffjian dropped to the ground. “You might have told me you intended to stop unexpectedly, Bray.”
Braylar stood up as he replied, “And you might have asked before storming off like an intemperate child. Our wagons are nearly here-my scouts informed me they made much better time escaping the warrens of Alespell than expected. So it was pointless to continue.”
“And you couldn’t be bothered to send a rider after us?”
“I didn’t imagine you’d ride halfway to Drivenfort. I assumed, being preternaturally alert, you would notice we weren’t directly behind you and eventually return. And see-here you are.”
Soffjian took a step forward. Like Hewspear, she always seemed to have her pole arm with her, and unlike a traditional sidearm that was sheathed, scabbarded, or on a belt and posing no immediate threat, a pole arm always seemed one quick motion from spilling blood. Or perhaps it was the size. Either way, with her ranseur held in one hand, and the look on her face, I half expected the other hand to come up and the fingers to spread as she assaulted him in that unseen and terrifying way she was capable of. Or to simply stab him with the thing.
Instead, she said, “Needle me as you like, Syldoon. Thwart me as you choose on this road. And the next that leads us home. Your prerogative. But do not think you will do so unscathed.”
Braylar stepped in to meet her, stopping only when they were close enough to smell each other’s breath. “Home, is it? Even now, so many years later, I never imagined you would espouse such affinity and affection. Rigid obedience, yes, but I always suspected you would withhold your heart. It seems I was wrong.” She started to reply, but he tilted his head toward the road and cut her off, “And our wagons are in sight, so we can be homeward bound soon enough. You are welcome to sit in one. Give your horses a rest.”
She didn’t look where he indicated and hadn’t cooled in the slightest. “The only thing I’d welcome is a chance to see you laid low. And every moment journeying together convinces me I won’t have to wait long.”
Soffjian plopped the ranseur on one shoulder, nearly poked Hewspear’s eye out as she spun on her heel, grabbed her horse’s reins, and headed over to Skeelana.
Braylar turned to his retinue. “There,” he said. “You see what being cordial gets me. Ready the men. Once the wagons are back in the fold, we head out. Arki, you will ride with me in the lead wagon.”
As the captain moved away from us and unstoppered a bottle of wine, I wondered if staying in the saddle might actually be more comfortable after all. The captain seemed to be weathering the unseen things he endured, but I suspected he was going to need quite a bit more wine or ale to maintain that, and while he could be prickly sober, he was even less predictable and pleasant drunk.
The wagons joined our small caravan, and after the drivers reported their departure from Alespell had gone without incident-apparently the ripper running around eviscerating townspeople was exactly the distraction the Syldoon had been hoping for-we got set to keep moving. Besides Yargus and his bloody mouth, and Bulsinn losing a hand to the beast, the casualties in the pre-dawn battle had not been as high as I expected. Certainly, plenty of Syldoon were nursing injuries, but none as serious as Bulsinn’s that I could tell, and the small company had lost four in the fighting. Which, considering the odds, wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. But now with the soldiers in the two wagons, the total was a fighting force of twenty-five men, the two Memoridons, and myself. I wondered how many of the Syldoon had been involved in infiltrating the various temples and baronial households, and how many had been assigned to uncover the scrolls and parchments.