In Suss itself, and in the villages, men and women dressed in smocks that were no more than tubes of cotton with shoulder straps. Here the field hands wore only loincloths. For everyone, though, the brutal sun of Sussvale made the wheel-sized straw hats essential wear. Turbans were just not adequate. T'lin outfitted himself and his companions by buying hats right off the heads of children who ran out to see the dragons. Four copper mites bought four serviceable hats, which the original owners could replace with a few minutes’ work. Even Sister Ahn made no complaint when T'lin leaned over and placed one on her head.
"We're still heading northeast,” Eleal said. “So we're not going to come out near Thogwalby at all. Probably nearer Filoby. And I wish I knew what that smoke was!"
The black pillar had not dispersed; indeed it still seemed to be thickening. It stood almost dead ahead, towering over the hills like a menacing giant. The top spread out in a sooty layer, drifting gently westward, but for most of its height it was a vertical scar upon the hot, still afternoon.
"I expect we'll find out soon enough,” she added. The side valley was about to enter Sussvale proper.
"How big is Filoby?"
To avoid saying she had no idea, Eleal risked a guess. “About a hundred homes, more or less."
Gim nodded. “Built of what?"
"Er. White stuff. Like those.” She pointed to a cluster of farm buildings.
"Adobe. That doesn't burn very well. What else is there at Filoby?"
"A waterfall."
Gim rolled his eyes and joined in her laugh.
"The Convent of Iilah,” she said.
"Describe it."
"I'm not sure,” she admitted. “I've only passed by. The buildings are mostly hidden in the trees. There's this sacred grove, you see. It's a little round hill covered with mighty oaks. The temple is quite small. All you can see is the dome and some red tile roofs."
"Tiles need beams. Anything else?"
"No,” she admitted, worried.
"Then there's your answer,” Gim said with a frown. He nodded at the smoke. “The late sacred grove."
Almost imperceptibly, the valley widened into Sussflat. The peaks of Susswall came into sight to the north, shimmering behind veils of heat haze. The rich plain was familiar to Eleal—a mosaic of orchards, bright green crops, tiny white hamlets—but she knew it must seem strange to Gim, native of a bleaker land. At times a star flashed in the distance; she pointed it out to him, explaining that it was sunlight reflecting from the temple roof in Suss itself. To the east, the ominous smoke still crawled into the sky.
Red dirt tracks between the fields led eventually to the main Filoby—Thogwalby highway, which was no more than a wider version of the same rutted trail. In this hottest part of the day traffic was light: scrawny herds being driven to fresh pasture, a few ox wagons. Once Gim cried out in astonishment and pointed to a party of men riding long-legged moas in the distance. Eleal suspected they were soldiers and was relieved to have missed them.
Eventually T'lin halted Starlight and waited for the others to gather around. “We must take a break,” he said, scowling at the mounts. “They can't take this heat.” He nodded at a hillock ahead, capped by tall trees. “Head over there; I'll catch up with you.” He rode off toward a cluster of farmhands, who were gaping at the dragons.
Normally the others would have tried to follow Starlight, but now they were too dispirited to argue. Gim persuaded Beauty to move. Lightning and Blaze followed. The trees were smooth pillars, erupting into green canopies very high from the ground. Their shade seemed dark as a cave, and nothing else grew in it.
Gim said, “Wosok!” and beamed when all three dragons obeyed him. He looked around approvingly at the grove. “Cool!"
Eleal slithered down from Lightning's saddle, feeling as old and stiff as Sister Ahn. “It isn't really. It just seems cool after the heat outside."
"You have to argue, don't you? What are these trees called?"
"Parasol trees."
"Do you know that, or are you guessing?"
"I know that, of course.” After all, she had just called them parasol trees, so they were called parasol trees by her, even if other people had other names for them. She sat down on the sand and leaned back against one of the great leathery trunks. The air did feel sort of cool. Filoby could not be much more than five or six miles away; even the flames were visible now.
Gim had helped the nun dismount. The old woman seemed barely conscious. She did not ask for her sword, which was a bad sign.
Ahn had never said that she was Eleal Singer's protector. Although the sword seemed to imply that, the nun had firmly denied that it was a weapon. Nor had she ever claimed that the Maiden had sent her, only that she was fulfilling the prophecy. The Youth had designated Gim to rescue Eleal from the temple, but had sent him no further orders, no vision of later events. T'lin Dragontrader was Eleal's guardian and keeper now. Her secret friend had turned out to be the most important person in her life. He was big and gruff, and she knew he had secrets she did not share, but she had no one else to trust. She wished she knew which god had sent him.
T'lin joined them in a few minutes. He sat down, wiping his forehead with a brawny arm. His face was as red as his beard, and he was glaring. “Well, that's the sacred grove, as we thought. Last night a large group of men went by here, heading for Filoby. Fifty or sixty of them. They joked that they were going to call on the goddess."
"What?” Eleal shouted. “You mean it was deliberate?"
"Typical Sussian atrocity."
Defile the abode of a goddess? “Who were these savages?"
Gim was frowning. Sister Ahn was slumped over, apparently barely conscious.
T'lin's green eyes were cold as ice. “The trainees from Garward's monastery, led by some of the monks. At dawn they roused the people of Filoby to join them, and they sacked the convent. Anyone who refused to help was beaten and his house destroyed."
"Why would they do such a thing, sir?” Gim asked softly.
"What happened to the nuns?” Eleal demanded.
T'lin shrugged, apparently in answer to both queries.
Despite the heat, Eleal now felt thoroughly chilled. “Last night you said there was a serious squabble in the Pentatheon, didn't you?"
"Seems I was right, then."
She was a token in a game being played by the gods. Garward was another avatar of Karzon and apparently just as much involved in this affair as Zath. The Man and the Lady were against her in all their aspects. The Youth was helping her, and now it seemed that the Maiden was on her side also—or at least on the opposite side from the Man, which must mean the same thing ... mustn't it? And the stake in this whole evil game was the Liberator, a baby.
Sister Ahn stirred and tried to sit up straight. She still wore her woolen habit, which must now be intolerably hot. Somehow her face was both flushed and haggard. After a moment she spoke in a surprisingly firm voice: “Woe to the Maiden, for the Man shall ply his strength against her. Woe to her holy place. Virgins are profaned. See blood and ashes paint the face of sanctity. The sacred place yields to the strength of the Man and only lamentation remains."
"I suppose that's part of your precious prophecy?” T'lin sneered.
She nodded, blinking tears. “It is so written in the Testament, but there is no date given. I weep to see it."