“How do you know that?” Quaeryt asked, almost in jest, because he didn’t think Elsior had ever been that close to him when his shields had been under attack.
“Oh … I can sense shields.” Elsior looked almost embarrassed.
“By pressing yours against others?”
“No, sir. I’ve always been able to sense shields. Yours are stronger than any imager’s, even the best of the Autarch’s imagers. You always carry strong shields all the time, don’t you?”
“I do that to keep in practice. You ought to try the same.”
“I’ve been doing that, sir. So have Khalis and Lhandor. They told me that.”
Quaeryt smiled wryly. Those two would. “Do you know if other imagers can sense shields the way you do?”
“I don’t know, sir. I never told Magister Trewyno.”
“Because revealing something was dangerous?”
Elsior nodded.
“From how far away can you sense shields?”
“Not all that far. It depends on the shields. For you … maybe a hundred yards.”
Quaeryt pondered that for a moment and was about to ask another question when he saw one of the scouts riding back toward them. He waited until the trooper had turned his mount and was riding beside him before grinning and asking, “What is it? Another bad bridge or a swamp?”
”No, sir. The road’s about the same as always. Just thought you’d like to know. There’s another burned-out hold up ahead, sir, maybe a half mille around the bend in the river. Doesn’t look like anyone’s nearby, but there are sheep in the pasture to the north and in the fields across from it to the east.”
“Thank you.”
As the scout rode forward to rejoin the other scouts, Elsior asked, “Sir? Is it true that Rex Kharst burned the places of High Holders he didn’t like?”
“He burned the holdings of those who displeased or angered him.”
“Why? He could have killed them and kept their goods and valuables.” Elsior immediately added, “I don’t mean … I mean that’s not good, but … if you’re going to take people’s things, why destroy them? That’s stupid.”
“He may have taken their valuables and any livestock. He probably did, but we don’t know for sure.”
“But these hold houses … they’re worth a lot.”
“And in some cases, he salted the land immediately around the house so that little of value would grow there.”
Elsior shook his head. “The Autarch wasn’t even that bad.”
“Did you ever meet him?”
“No, sir. Most imagers never did. That’s what Magister Trewyno said. Will we ever meet Lord Bhayar?”
With a slight jolt, Quaeryt realized that none of the imagers had properly actually met Bhayar-and that wasn’t good. After a moment he said, “Some of the imagers who were with me from the beginning have seen him, fairly close up. I will make sure, once we get back to Variana, that you all get a chance to meet him.”
“What is he like, sir? They say you were students together.”
“We studied with the same scholar. It might be stretching matters to say that we were students together, although that is how we came to know each other.” Quaeryt paused. Exactly what could he say that was both accurate and not misleading in some way or another? “He wants to be a strong ruler, but not a cruel one. He does his best to be a just ruler. I cannot recall a time when he has executed a High Holder or someone who served him, although he has discharged those who have failed him, or sent those who made mistakes to lesser posts, sometimes in most remote regions. He is deeply in love with his wife and, to my knowledge, has never taken a mistress. He does have a temper, but when he is truly angry he turns stern and cold. He has, I believe, deferred too much upon occasion to the High Holders of Telaryn, but that is because he relies more heavily on their tariffs than he should.” Quaeryt thought about saying that Bhayar wanted to unite Lydar into one land, because Bhayar believed that there would always be war if someone did not, but decided against saying that because he suspected that was as much his own goal as Bhayar’s. Bhayar had only talked about the need to conquer Bovaria because whoever had been rex there had always caused trouble for Telaryn.
“How well do you know him, sir?”
That’s a very good question. “I suspect I know him as well as anyone besides his wife and mine. It helps that Lady Vaelora can offer insights.”
Elsior nodded.
Before that long, Quaeryt and Elsior were approaching the burned-out hold house. As was often the case in Bovaria, along the rivers, the road swung away from the water, so that the hold house sat at the top of a slope overlooking the river. Only the stone foundations of the gateposts remained, and a stone-paved drive ran due west toward the ruins.
The hold house had been extensive. That didn’t surprise Quaeryt. What did was the fact that the damage looked to be comparatively recent … sometime within the last year, possibly less than six or seven months ago. The remaining brick walls held soot that was largely still black, but there was no odor of smoke or recent fire. The grounds were still black, and nothing grew up through the charred soil, a fairly good indication that the ground had been salted as well-and, given the lack of tilling, possibly through imaging.
Why did Kharst have imagers torching and destroying high holdings in the middle of a war? The more Quaeryt saw of Bovaria, the less he felt he understood.
* * *
“It was a large hold.” Elsior shook his head.
“Most of those burned were,” replied Quaeryt.
Once they were well past the ruins, Quaeryt sent Elsior back to rejoin the other imagers and motioned for Calkoran to rejoin him.
“The young one, he looks like he came from Khel,” observed the older subcommander.
“It’s likely his mother and father did, but he doesn’t know.”
Calkoran nodded. “There have been many like that over the past years.”
Quaeryt removed his visor cap and blotted his forehead, then replaced the cap. He turned toward Calkoran. “It may be two weeks before summer’s here by the calendar, but I’d say that it’s already arrived. This is almost as bad as Solis at this time of year.”
“Then I would not wish living in Solis on anyone,” replied Calkoran in his accented Bovarian.
“At least, we haven’t had much rain-except for that shower on Vendrei, and not having rain has been good for travel,” said Quaeryt.
“Don’t speak that too loudly,” replied Calkoran. “The rain listens and will come when you least desire it.”
“You’re probably right about that,” admitted Quaeryt ruefully.
“Commander, sir!” came a call from the shoulder of the road behind Quaeryt. He glanced back to see a ranker riding forward. “Sir! Major Zhelan requests your presence. Fifth squad captured some dispatch riders.”
Quaeryt’s reaction was immediate. “Company! Halt! Pass it back!”
Once everyone had reined up, Quaeryt turned to Calkoran. “Subcommander, I’d appreciate it if you’d accompany me. I’m certain Major Eslym can guard the road.”
“He can indeed.”
“Undercaptains! You’re to remain here to protect the company. Major Eslym is in command.”
“Yes, sir!” rejoined Khalis and Lhandor.
“That includes you, Elsior,” Quaeryt added.
Quaeryt followed the ranker back along the worn shoulder of the rutted dirt road, finally coming to a halt at the end of the column, where Zhelan rode up to meet them.
“What happened?” asked Quaeryt, reining up.
“The rear scouts saw three riders in uniform in the distance. I thought they might be dispatch couriers. So I stationed a squad in the woods beyond the ruined hold, and they let them pass and then captured them.”
“Didn’t they see first company?” asked Quaeryt.
Zhelan smiled. “I asked them that. They did. They were given orders that if they came upon Telaryn troopers, they were to hold back. When they could, without being seen, they were to go around the troopers and continue on. They were told that was to avoid unnecessary delays, since the dispatches didn’t concern us. They didn’t hold back far enough.”