Isak gave a noncommittal grunt; he got the joke, but it wasn't enough to lighten his mood.
The branch quickly caught and Vesna turned back towards the camp. As he walked away he caught the bitter scent of incense and heard Isak's voice, murmuring. He picked up his pace as a woman's purring laugh echoed distantly on the wind and a dead finger ran down his spine.
Not for the first time, Vesna pressed his fingers against his left forearm and traced the shape of the flat silver case that held Karkarn's tear. The action reminded him of when his father had died and he had inherited the two gold earrings of rank; he had been forever checking the heirlooms were securely fastened, and that reminder brought a renewed ache to his heart. He had been count for six months before he grew used to their presence, and only then did the guilt of inheritance start to ebb.
When do mortals deal with Gods and come away from it well? he asked himself for the hundredth time, looking back at Isak. And still 1 keep Karkarn's tear close at hand. Still I have not refused him.
CHAPTER 33
Nai paused at the entrance of the Fearen House and pulled his coat tighter around his body. He looked back the way he had come and saw Sergeant Kayel watching him in the distance. The other two soldiers the Duchess of Byora had brought with her were busy marvelling at their first sight of the valley. The sickly-looking blond man from the Byoran Guard couldn't tear his eyes off the winged white-eye, Kiallas. The slim Ruby Tower major was more interested in the massive white buildings.
There was no respite from the icy wind, even in the portico of the Fearen House. It howled around the valley like a spiteful harpy. Nai worked the arm-thick brass latch and he found himself dragged in by the door as the gale caught it and pushed it open. He managed to stop it crashing against the wall, nearly pulling his arm out of its socket in the process, but still got a furious look from the guardian who'd had to jump out of the way.
The man watched Nai struggle for a moment to close the tall door before reaching to help.
'Thank you,' Nai growled in his native tongue as the guardian's efforts made no appreciable difference. 'Nice to have a useless streak of piss getting in the way.'
The guardian's expression made it clear Nai's tone had crossed the language barrier even if the words meant nothing. As the door clanged shut he gave the man an insincere grin and headed to the centre of the room where Lord Styrax had taken over the largest of the desks. Major Amber was there as well, sitting beside his lord and staring disconsolately down at a large book lying open in front of him.
Both men wore the formal grey uniforms of the Cheme Third Legion, and Lord Styrax's massive shoulders sported the gold epaulettes of a general. Nai suspected it amused Lord Styrax to conform to the library's rules one day and ignore them the next. Up above he could hear the wind rushing over the great dome. They had lit more lamps against the gloom of a day that had never properly brightened after dawn; midday approached and still heavy shadows lurked in every corner of the library.
'My Lord,' Nai murmured when he reached the U-shaped desk.
Lord Styrax held up a hand to stop him. 'Unless you're an expert in Elven cross-pentameter, I'm not interested.'
'It is urgent.'
Styrax opened his mouth, then shut it again in a rare moment of indecision. It was another few heartbeats before he spoke again. 'Very well – but quickly.'
Nai noticed a curious face that had also broken off from its work. Quickly the woman looked back down again, but still Nai walked around the desk and bent down so he could whisper directly into Styrax's ear.
'My Lord, I do not know what your intelligence tells you, so I will repeat everything. A Farlan army approaches from the north; it will reach the city within three days. The Duchess of Byora offers her troops to support your own men in battle.'
'She said this to you herself?'
'Her man, Kayel, told me.'
Lord Styrax was silent for a long while. Unable to read the man's expression, Nai had no idea if this was news to him or not.
'That was unexpected of them,' he said at last, with the hint of a smile. 'It's been a while since anyone surprised me.' He pointed in the direction of the gate with his damaged left hand – the dark stain of blood underneath each fingernail looked almost glassy compared with the swirls of white scar tissue covering the rest of his hand. 'Find General Gaur and repeat what you told me, then tell him I want the Third Army pulled back to the Ismess-Byora border.'
Nai turned to leave when Lord Styrax grabbed his arm. 'Once you have done that, go to Sergeant Kayel and tell him I accept his offer, then accompany him back to Byora. Larim knows your mind well enough to speak into it?'
The necromancer wavered a moment before saying, 'I have prob-ably spent enough time in his company, yes; I assume his technique will be very similar to Isherin Purn's.'
'Go then.'
Nai gave a short bow and hurried off.
Amber watched as the bare-footed man struggled to control the southern door, then turned to Styrax. 'My Lord, do you have orders for me?' he asked, still wondering what it was Nai had revealed.
'That I do.' Styrax smiled and pointed at the book in front of the major. 'What have you learned so far?'
Amber glanced down. 'Not a whole lot, my Lord. I'm afraid I don't understand a word – magical theory has never made any sense to me.' He was beginning to fear he was going to be set another intellectual task.
'Time for a lesson on codes then,' Styrax said, not appearing to care that Amber hadn't understood.
Amber suddenly remembered something he'd heard from Colonel Uresh, his commanding officer: he'd said that Lord Styrax was an unusual sort of genius and his preferred way to work things out was a willing pupil rather than a quiet study. It was in the explanation to another that Lord Styrax found insight.
'My Lord, I am all yours,' he said with a slight smile. If this was what it took…
Styrax looked at him quizzically, then began, 'First of all, this is not a code – it is a hidden message. A code is something we would use in a dispatch to prevent it being read by anyone intercepting it – though our preferred method is to ensure the enemy doesn't get it in the first place. This tells us something about the message before we have even read the first line.'
'That someone wants it to be read?' Amber said uncertainly. 'Why put it in plain sight if you don't want people to try and read it?'
Lord Styrax nodded. 'Exactly, and if someone wants it to be read, then the key must be available. Making it hard to read simply means they have some choice over who does so.'
'A message for scholars only?'
'Of a fashion.' Styrax said cryptically and pulled over the long sheet of parchment onto which he had painstakingly transcribed the entire text of the puzzle. 'Here it is in full. I have copied it down so I can work on sections. I think in Menin, of course, but the more 1 work on this, the easier it becomes to use the original Elven.'
'How does the magical theory fit in?' Amber interjected before Lord Styrax could get into full flow.
'Problems are best solved from a variety of directions. "In warfare all approaches should be considered in the light of dawn, midday and dusk".'
Amber nodded, recognising the quote from a treatise on combat called Principles of Warfare. Every Menin officer read it, and the Mystics of Karkarn devoted years to its study, despite its heretical author.
'I believe I know what I am looking for,' Styrax continued, 'and have done ever since studying the Library of Seasons as I planned this campaign. The hunt becomes easier if one knows what one is looking for.'
'But no magic works here,' Amber said, 'so what use is the study of-' He paused to check the book again and read, 'field rigidity and the period petrification effect?'