‘Thanks.’
Lorn nodded. He took his dagger from his belt, wiped the blood from it thoroughly on a piece of cloth used to wrap the cheese, then began slicing long strips from the wheel and popping them into his mouth. He then cut the wheel completely in half and gave the second portion of it to the man, who accepted it gratefully.
The two ate in comfortable silence. They were both too hungry for words now anyway. It was not until he had slaked the worst of his hunger that Lorn began wondering about his odd guest. He didn’t even know the man’s name. His garb, however, spoke volumes. A Liirian, formerly of that country’s vaunted Royal Chargers. Lorn had seen them before, in Norvor. After the fall of Liiria many of them had turned mercenary. They were among Jazana Carr’s favourite freelances.
‘So,’ he began casually, ‘you’re coming from Norvor?’
The man managed to nod as he gnawed on a length of tough sausage. ‘Uh-huh.’
‘You’re a soldier?’
This time a shrug. ‘In a manner of speaking only. I was a soldier. A Royal Charger, but they’re gone now.’
It was a well-known story. After the death of King Akeela and his general, Trager, Liiria and its military had collapsed. The Royal Chargers had fractured and gone their separate ways. Some were holed up in Koth’s great library. Others went to Norvor or scattered to the winds. And some, it seemed, didn’t know where they were going.
‘Why are you returning to Koth?’ Lorn asked.
‘I have my reasons,’ replied the man. He looked up at Lorn. ‘Don’t you want to know my name?’
‘I do. But names are dangerous things, and if you’re on the run. .’
‘My name is Vanlandinghale, and I never run,’ the man declared. ‘I go where I wish when I wish, and I call no man master, not any more.’
‘Vanlandinghale? That’s a mouthful and a half!’
‘It is,’ the man agreed. ‘So people call me Van. You may call me that.’
‘Van.’ Lorn tried the name and liked it. ‘My name is Akan,’ he lied. ‘This is my daughter.’
‘I’m grateful for the food, Akan,’ said Van.
‘And I for the company,’ replied Lorn, surprising himself. It felt good to talk to another man, and he had so many questions. ‘I have seen Royal Chargers in Norvor, in the employ of Jazana Carr. Are you one of her men?’
‘I was one of her men,’ Van corrected. ‘I’m not any more.’
‘What happened? I heard her to be a generous employer.’
‘Aye, she’s generous, true enough. But she’s won the war in Norvor, and I heard rumours she has her sights on Liiria now. Call me a loyal fool, but that bothers me.’
‘Liiria? Are you sure about that?’
Van shrugged. ‘Soldiers hear things. Some things are true, others about as useful as a straw hat in a rainstorm. I don’t know for certain what Jazana Carr has planned, but it’s no secret she desires Liiria.’
‘No,’ Lorn whispered. ‘True enough.’ It was stunning news, though, and left his heart racing. ‘What do you know of Koth? Are you going home to defend it?’
‘Defend it? Defend what? There’s nothing left, friend.’
‘I heard there are men holed up in the great library, former soldiers like you. I heard they’re defending the city against people like Ravel, the merchant-baron.’
‘Did you also hear what fools these men are?’ asked Vanlandinghale. ‘Aye, it’s true about the library; there are men there. Some former Royal Chargers, even. An old fellow named Breck leads them.’
Lorn nodded. He had heard the name Breck before, but was glad to have Van corroborate it. ‘What about you? Don’t you want to defend your city?’
Van laughed a miserable laugh. ‘The men defending Koth are idiots. Whatever they’re defending died years ago.’ He lowered the sausage he was eating and stared at Lorn. ‘All my life I wanted to be a Royal Charger. When I was a boy we used to tell stories about them. They were good and brave. That’s what I wanted to be.’
‘So you became one,’ said Lorn.
‘Aye, I became a Charger. I served with General Trager. And do you know what he had us do?’
‘You marched into Jador. I know the story.’
‘That’s right. We marched across the desert and when we got to Jador we slaughtered people by the hundreds, all because King Akeela and Trager were both out of their minds with madness. I followed orders because that’s what I thought a good soldier was supposed to do. But I was wrong. A good man doesn’t kill innocents, no matter who gives the order.’
Van stared into the fire, his lips twisting, holding back angry words. Lorn didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing. Instead he waited for Van to compose himself and finish his dark tale.
‘Akeela and Trager both died in Jador,’ he said finally, ‘but I didn’t come home with the rest of the army. I left. I simply said goodbye to all that and headed for Norvor. That’s where I spent the last year, fighting for Jazana Carr against that piss-bucket Lorn. I heard about those other Chargers defending the library, of course, but I didn’t care. Still don’t. I’m my own man now. I don’t take orders from anyone.’
‘But you’re going back to Koth,’ said Lorn, still confused. ‘Not to help defend it?’
‘I told you, I’m not one of Liiria’s pawns. I have no quarrel with Jazana Carr, but I won’t help her conquer my homeland either. I just want to be left alone.’
‘But you won’t be left alone, don’t you see that? If you’re right and Jazana Carr comes for Koth, what will you do then? Just let her have it?’
Van smiled wickedly. ‘Why shouldn’t I?’
‘Because this is your country,’ flared Lorn. ‘Because a man doesn’t run; he fights!’
‘I do fight,’ argued Van. ‘Fate above, I do nothing but fight! I’m sick of fighting. I want to be left alone.’
‘Even if it means your country falls to a witch like Jazana Carr? Even it if means brave men die in your stead? There’s a time to retreat, yes, but there’s also a time to make a stand.’
Van stared at Lorn as if he couldn’t believe his ears. ‘Who are you to lecture me? Will you fight if Jazana Carr comes to Koth?’
‘I will,’ declared Lorn. ‘Gladly.’
‘Then you are a fool.’ Van sighed and picked up the wedge of cheese. As he scraped his knife over its surface he shook his head in obvious confusion. ‘A Norvan heading to Koth to fight. Is that your business in Koth, Akan? To join those fools at Library Hill?’
‘No,’ said Lorn, though that wasn’t quite the truth. ‘I just want to look after my daughter in peace. Maybe I can find a job there. But I fought Jazana Carr in Norvor and lost. If she comes to Koth, I’ll fight her again.’
‘You mean you fought for Lorn? Great Fate, now I’ve seen everything. You seemed liked a good man, Akan. I can’t believe you fought for that tyrant.’
‘I was a soldier,’ Lorn lied. ‘Like you. I did what I was told.’ Then he thought for a moment and said, ‘Lorn was a good man. I was honoured to fight for him. You Liirian fools don’t understand that. You’re so full of that nonsense King Akeela constantly spouted, about freedom and men and women being the same. Well, they are not the same, and if I could kill Jazana Carr and send her soul to an everlasting hell I would do so gladly. That woman is a pestilence. If not for her, Norvor would have been great again, and Lorn would have been a great king.’
‘Stop,’ said Van, holding up his hands. ‘I’m pleading with you, enough now. I don’t care about your politics. You’re a man with causes. I’m not. Let’s leave it at that, all right?’
But Lorn wasn’t sure he could let it lie. Vanlandinghale was a strange man, and not easily figured out. Was he dangerous? Lorn didn’t know. Men without a cause had always puzzled him.
‘A man should have something to believe in,’ said Lorn. He fussed a little with Poppy, waking her as he got himself more comfortable. The baby gave an irritated cry. ‘You say you don’t care what Jazana Carr does, yet you won’t help her take Koth. It makes no sense. What is a man who refuses to take sides?’
Vanlandinghale looked bored. ‘Is this a riddle?’