“I have already promised not to tell any that you were here,” Flyn said. “I will abide by that, but I cannot swear the rest of my command will do so for long. They will not tell any Mechanics or Mages, but sooner or later no matter what oaths they swear, they will have too much ale and tell friends who will tell friends, and thus word may nonetheless filter back to the Great Guilds eventually.”
Mari looked glumly at the mountains beyond the general. “I expect a good head start, General. I need a good head start. You owe me that.”
The general indicated the camp of the soldiers. “Lady, we owe you a great deal more than that. At least six men and women who would have died last night still live because of the medical supplies you brought and gave us freely. All of us here would probably be dead but for an act of yours, slaying that dragon, for which you have asked a ridiculously small payment. I assure you that I will do all I can to confuse your trail.”
“Good. I’ve got another deal for you.”
Alain saw wariness spring into Flyn’s eyes. No surprise there. Centuries of poor treatment from the Great Guilds had left their legacy with the commons. Alain thought that Mari had noticed as well, but if so she let the general’s first reaction pass without comment.
“That dragon-killer of mine,” she said. “I’ve got another. It’s easy to use. Would you like it?”
The general nodded. “You know I would, Lady.”
“I should let you know that you’ll have to keep any other Mechanics from seeing it. If they catch you with it, it would go ill for you. In trade for the weapon, I need more food and some water. I know you can’t spare a lot, but I don’t have much left and will need a few more days’ worth. The Mage and I need that. But the biggest part of the price is this: that you tell everyone that Mage Alain slew that dragon but died in the process. No Mechanic was here and no Mage left this place alive.”
Flyn’s eyes went to Alain. “Sir Mage? Do you want us to report this to your Guild?”
Alain nodded. “Yes. Word of my death will be welcome to them.”
The general hesitated before speaking again. “Sir Mage?”
“My Guild seeks my death, General. I have no doubt of this after the events of yesterday.”
“I see.” Flyn bowed to Alain. “Then we will do as you ask, reporting your demise with as much detail as your Guild elders could possibly desire.”
“That will be of great service to me,” Alain said, “though it will do little good. Any Mage you speak to will know you lie.”
“I am aware of that, Sir Mage.” Flyn paused to think. “But perhaps I can make them think the lie is elsewhere, by claiming that my men and I slew the dragon after it had finished you. The Mages will think you must have inflicted a death-blow on the dragon as it killed you and assume we’re trying to take credit for an act only one of their own could have accomplished.”
“That might prove an effective ruse,” Alain agreed.
“Do we have a deal then?” Mari asked.
“Aye, Lady, we do, though as the Mage says, our lies may not fool his Guild for long. Nor, as with you, will all of my troops be able to keep from speaking of him when their tongues are loosened by drink. I will do my best to bind them to silence, though, and at worst to misdirect anyone asking after either of you. Do you then plan to depart together?”
“We do,” Alain said.
Flyn scratched his beard. “If I breathe a word of this I will be branded the biggest liar in the history of Dematr, even including the Mages. Very well, Sir Mage. We would be glad to escort you and the Lady at least part of the way to wherever you go.”
Mari shook her head. “I assume that you’re heading back west. We’re going east.”
“Into Imperial lands?” Flyn gave her and Alain an alarmed look. “The legions are out, Lady. This is no time to try to cross the high plains.”
“We have to, General.”
He eyed her, then nodded. “Getting to Kelsi or going back through Alexdria would require backtracking, would it not, Lady Mechanic? And it’s plain enough that you do not want to be found by your Guild, who you expect to be on your trail. Am I right? I know ways to Palla from here, from which you could get to Ihris.”
“We need to go east, General.” Mari had not raised her voice, it did not sound in any way harsher, and yet it rang with a finality that demanded respect.
“All right, then.” Flyn pondered her statement, then pointed. “You would be captured for certain if you go back the way we came. Well, given what you two have done, not easily captured, and perhaps even able to fight your way through. But there would be a fight, and my guess is that you seek to enter the Empire without attracting the attention a battle royal would generate.”
“That’s right,” Mari said. “We don’t want to attract any attention at all.”
“There are other routes east,” Flyn advised, “some unknown to the Imperials. One I know of will bring you well north of our track before leaving the Northern Ramparts. It would require three days’ march, about, from this point. The track is unsuited for any large force, and for horses as well, but two on foot could make use of it.”
Alain nodded. “This seems to be wise advice, Lady Mari.”
He had never called her Lady Mari before, but her sudden smile at him showed that she liked hearing her name said that way. General Flyn noticed that as well.
“Horses can’t do it?” Mari asked the general, then looked toward her steed. “General, it seems I have a horse for sale.”
Flyn grinned. “You’ll need Imperial currency. Let me see what I can scare up.”
When the general returned, it was with a substantial bag of coins. Mari frowned at it. “How much is in there?”
“I didn’t count it, Lady Mari. Every man and woman contributed what they could. A good amount of it isn’t Imperial coin, but you should be able to get it exchanged with the money lenders in Umburan, or wherever your destination lies.”
Mari took the bag, obviously disconcerted by the weight. “I’m no merchant, but I know this is too much. I have no interest in cheating anybody, and I won’t take money I haven’t earned.”
This time the general laughed. “Did you wonder that I asked if you were really a Mechanic? The troops insisted upon giving whatever they could, Lady.”
“Why?” Mari demanded.
“Because they know you saved them yesterday, Lady.”
Alain looked at the general. “There is something else that you have not said.”
The general nodded, grimacing. “Serves me right for speaking half-truths in front of a Mage. All right, Lady, the full truth is not just that you slew yonder dragon before it could massacre every man and woman here. It’s that the troops believe that you’re the daughter of Jules, of whom legend has long spoken.”
Alain had no trouble hiding his reaction to the news that the commons had guessed who Mari was, but unsurprisingly Mari had more trouble with it.
Mari stared at the general for a moment before managing to reply. “The daughter of Jules?” She laughed, trying to sound mocking, but Alain could hear the worry underlying that. He could understand that worry, if Mari was not yet ready for many to learn of her importance. “My parents were commons,” Mari continued, “of no special note. Why would anyone think I am related to Jules?”
Flyn’s own expression remained serious, his eyes on her. “My soldiers see that you wear the jacket of a Mechanic and have the skills of a Mechanic, yet you treat the common folk with courtesy. Though a day ago they would have declared it impossible, they see that you work with a Mage who has himself proven to be most unusual. They saw you stand watch over that Mage as he slept, protecting him just as you saved them. They know you expected the same treatment as them, and gave generously to save their injured comrades. And you killed a dragon with one blow, the sort of feat which Jules herself might have done. You are like no one any of them has seen or heard of, so they hope that you’ll be the one, Lady, the one the prophecy speaks of, the one who has come at last to overthrow the Great Guilds.”