Garander did not find that as reassuring as Ellador apparently intended it to be, but he did not say anything about that. “Can you meet me tonight, after dark?” he asked. “I’ll take you to the shatra, and you can enchant him.”
“Well, I can try,” Ellador said. “I told you, I can’t be sure it will work on a shatra.”
“We’ll see,” Garander said. “Shall we meet here?”
“All right. After dark.”
“And if anyone asks what we were discussing here,” Azlia interjected, “Ellador and I have been trading spells, and we were talking to you about buying ingredients for them-herbs and feathers and bones.”
“Oh,” Garander said. “That’s a good idea.” He looked to the west; the sun was touching the treetops of the windbreak around Felder’s dooryard. “We should go; Tesk will be coming to talk to the nobles soon.”
“Indeed,” Ellador said. “Does he know what you’re planning?”
“Not exactly,” Garander admitted. “But I’ll tell him.” Then he turned and hurried back toward the meeting point in the west field.
He found Velnira waiting, and a glance back over his shoulder showed him Lady Shasha approaching, as well. He wondered whether she had been able to contact Lord Edaran with one of her wizards not present; perhaps that was something Zendalir could handle by himself, or perhaps one of the other magicians knew some sort of communication magic.
“Well?” Velnira demanded, as Garander ambled up to her. “Where is the shatra?”
“How should I know?” Garander asked, startled. “I’m his friend, not his keeper.”
Velnira did not look satisfied by this, but had no immediate answer. She simply glared at the farmer’s son.
Annoyed by this, Garander asked, “Where is Lord Dakkar?”
“In his tent,” Velnira replied. “I am to speak for him.”
Garander could not say why, but that made him slightly uneasy. Wouldn’t the baron want to bask in his success, if he made Tesk a winning offer?
But maybe he knew his best offer was not good enough, and did not want to see it rejected. Garander grimaced, and turned to watch Lady Shasha march up, accompanied by Zendalir and a plump woman Garander did not recognize but assumed to be another magician of some sort.
The aristocrat curtsied to Velnira and Garander, then ostentatiously scanned her surroundings, making a silent point of Tesk’s absence.
“I’m sure he’ll be here soon,” Garander said.
“Of course,” Lady Shasha said, with a significant glance to the west. The sun was below the horizon now, and the clouds above were outlined in brilliant orange.
Garander looked around, to see whether the shatra was visible. He did not see Tesk, but he saw that his father and sisters had emerged from the house and were watching. His mother was not in sight.
And then he did see Tesk, emerging from the shadows between his father and the barn. The shatra paused and said something to Grondar, startling him; he paused to ruffle Ishta’s hair, then strode on toward the waiting emissaries.
Garander glanced at the two women, gauging their reactions. Lady Shasha seemed imperturbable as ever, but Velnira looked distinctly nervous, and Garander’s suspicion that Lord Dakkar’s offer was embarrassingly inadequate grew stronger.
The threesome waited silently as the shatra approached.
Tesk stopped a few feet away and said, “I have come, as I agreed I would.” Then he looked directly at Garander and asked, “Why are you here, instead of safe with your family?”
Startled, Garander realized he did not have a good answer ready; the truth was that it had never occurred to him not to be there. He had simply taken it for granted that he should be present for any negotiations.
Tesk was waiting for an answer, and at last Garander said, “I’m here to represent my family. After all, this is our land. And I thought you might want a friend present.”
“I certainly have no objection to his presence,” Lady Shasha said. “While I hope that someday you might call me your friend, I know that as yet the term does not apply, and I welcome the young man in that capacity.”
“I don’t care whether he’s here or not,” Velnira said. “Let’s get on with it.”
That did not sound good, Garander thought. Such gracelessness was worrisome.
“Shall I begin, then?” Lady Shasha asked.
“Go ahead,” Velnira said, with a wave of her hand.
“Excellent!” The Ethsharite smiled. “Tesk, Lord Edaran regrets that you cannot enjoy the comforts of his city, and apologizes for any discomfort his ignorance of your limitations may have caused. He would still very much appreciate your services as an advisor in matters magical and military, and access to your devices and your own body, so that his own magicians might study and learn from them. In exchange, he offers to provide you with transportation anywhere you might wish to go, by any means within his power-the flying carpet that brought me, for example, can be placed at your disposal. Perhaps you would like to visit the ruins of your homeland, to see if there is anything to be salvaged there, or if there are any rites or ceremonies for the dead to be performed. Furthermore, given that you have said you seek companionship, he would be happy to send visitors to see you, at whatever intervals and for whatever duration might best suit you, and these visitors shall be of your choosing. If you would like the company of singers, perhaps, or dancers, or storytellers, that can be arranged. Should you be interested in educating yourself in the ways of our people, he would be happy to send teachers-historians, perhaps, or scholars of one sort or another. If there is something you would like to teach us, in addition to your magic, that would be appreciated-your native tongue, perhaps, or the history and culture of the Northern Empire as seen from within. We know so little of your people! If you do not wish to see your own language lost to the world, we have students eager to learn it.”
As she paused for breath, Garander marveled at the cleverness of this offer. Helping the memory of his people survive might indeed appeal to Tesk, but Garander was sure that the Ethsharites were more interested in knowing Shaslan so they could read surviving Northern documents-especially magicians’ records of their magic.
“That is everything we have thought to offer,” Lady Shasha continued, “but if there is anything else you desire, we will consider whether we can reasonably provide it. Exotic foodstuffs, perhaps-Lord Azrad’s Ethshar is becoming famous for its spice trade, and the small kingdoms that now rule Old Ethshar have developed some interesting cuisine. Fine clothing, if your nature allows it and you take any interest in your appearance. Whatever the wealth of Ethshar of the Sands can comfortably provide can be yours. There must be limitations, of course; you cannot ask us to put any innocents to death, or to perform any extravagant acts of destruction, but Lord Edaran is ready to be extremely generous, and to accommodate your nature as best he can. I await your decision.”
Having concluded her speech, she curtsied again, and took a single step back.
Tesk regarded her for a moment, then said, “That is a better offer than I expected.” He turned to Velnira.
She threw an angry glance at Lady Shasha, then cleared her throat.
“Lord Dakkar, Baron of Varag, has given due consideration to your earlier statements of why you are not interested in the offer he made earlier, and has concluded that there is no rational way to pay you for your services with anything but your life. Furthermore, since you are a Northern abomination trespassing on the baron’s lands, and since no formal peace was ever made with the Northern Empire, the proper thing to do would be to kill you. However, Lord Dakkar is a merciful man, and a practical one. If you agree to assist his magicians in studying your magic, and his soldiers in learning the arts of combat, he will allow you to live. If you do not agree, he will have you hunted down and slain, whether here in these woods, or in the wastelands where the Empire once ruled, or in the streets of Ethshar.”