Finitan had brought the genistar egg cradle from his office in the Blue Tower. But it sat on his desk empty.
Topar took a seat next to Edeard, refusing a cup of tea.
'Well, Finitan started. 'We managed to survive an entire twenty days without you.
'Yes, sir, Edeard said.
'The city isn't really a problem any more. People seem to have accepted my term without too much resistance.
'They certainly have. Kristabel is complaining about how long the furniture she commissioned will take to build. The craftsmen are run off their feet right now. It's the same all across Makkathran. People are spending their money again. They have confidence in you, sir.
'My apologies to your wife. Finitan put his cup down, and gave Edeard an uncomfortable stare. 'Unfortunately, the city's current bout of good fortune isn't being repeated beyond the Iguru Plain.
Edeard gave a short nod. 'I know.
Topar cast out a strong seclusion haze. 'I've been sending scouts out into the provinces, he said. 'Good men: ex-constables, sheriffs, even a few reserve officers from the militia. People who know how to look after themselves, people I can rely on.
'We wanted to build up a picture of these damn raids, Finitan said. 'See if there was a pattern behind them, a purpose.
'That's where it gets strange, Topar said. 'If they're trying to soften us up for an invasion, they're going about it in a very odd way. There have been no bandit raids at all in the Rulan province since midsummer; in fact the west seems clear of all disturbances. They've moved steadily east through the three largest mountain ranges, causing a lot of damage, and setting light to a wildfire of fear and rumour. In fact, that's our worse enemy right now. Any dispute that results in violence is attributed to bandit raids, from landowners fighting with poachers to a tavern brawl, so bad is their reputation. It's hard to determine what's real and what isn't. The provincial governors aren't reliable at the best of times, now any trifling squabble is seen as an excuse to petition Makkathran for militia support.
'It doesn't help that Owain sent the regiments out so willingly before, Topar said. 'Expectations of support were set too high.
'He's left you a real mess, Edeard said.
'Yes. That's politics, and to be expected. But we took a very good look at the information we can confirm. It's a worrying result.
'In what way?
'Basically, we've established there are six main packs of bandits, Topar said. 'Two are heading along the Ulfsen Mountains. One is using the Komansa range for cover. Two started out in the Gorgian Mountains, though one of those is now heading north east along the Yorarns. And the last is plaguing the Sastairs all the way down to the southern coastal provinces.
Edeard closed his eyes, trying to picture what he'd just been told on a map of the known lands. 'They're stretched quite thin, then.
'I prefer the term "widespread", Topar said. 'We're a basically peaceful society, and their physical impact is minimal given the size of the areas concerned, but the disturbance and worry they cause is near universal.
'So what are they doing?
'One last thing. Finitan pulled a piece of paper across the desk, and started to read. 'In Plax province there were raids on Payerne, Orastrul, Oki, Bihac, and Tikrit. All villages or small towns. The manor houses and their lands at Stonyford, Turndich, Uxmal, Saltmarch, Klongsop, Ettrick, and Castlebay have also suffered extensive damage during the last two months. He gave Edeard an expectant look. 'Anything ring a bell?
'I've heard of the Uxmal manor, the Culverits own it. I think it's a big parkland holding, they raise sheep there. He had a nasty feeling one of the families from the third floor had gone there to make their new home.
'Indeed. Every one of those estates belongs to an ally of mine,
Finitan said. 'Allies and supporters also have considerable assets in or around the targeted villages.
Edeard felt cold. 'How could bandits know that?
'Somebody told them, Topar said. 'Someone who has conducted a comprehensive search through the official Treasury registry.
'It took us a while to work it out, Finitan said. 'Everyone I met at a party or dinner was complaining about their losses. I heard nothing else. I thought the invasion had already begun until I realized my allies were being singled out.
'Lady!
'Which brings us back to the question of who are they and what are they doing?
'They must have collaborators in the city, a shocked Edeard said.
'At the very least, Topar said. He exchanged a worried glance with Finitan. 'There's also the question of the guns. If there isn't another city equal to us…
'No, Edeard said. 'The weapons Guild… They had the long-barrel pistols all this time. But whoever supplied the bandits with repeat-fire guns killed Ashwell.
'Too early to make that accusation, Topar said abruptly. 'And we have no proof whatsoever.
'This is why we asked you in, Finitan said. 'I know a lot of your power comes from whatever relationship you have with the city itself, but you still have the strongest psychic ability I have ever known.
'A week ago a report came in of a raid on Northford, Topar said. 'That's a village in the Donsori Mountains, Edeard, just four days ride from Makkathran for the Lady's sake. Rapid-fire guns were used. We know that for a fact. One of the Ulfsen mountain groups must have pushed eastwards in the last month.
'If we can capture one of them alive, Finitan said, 'We might just be able to find out what exactly is going on, who those collaborators are.
'I'm going to take a small group of the best people I know and trust, Topar said. 'We'll have ge-eagles and ge-wolves, and the best pistols available. Even so, I could do with some help.
'Oh Lady, Edeard put his cold tea cup back on the desk. 'When do we leave?
Despite all he'd been through in Makkathran, the city had made him soft, Edeard acknowledged on the second day. An easy life was an easy trap to fall into. Life on the road was a sharp reminder of the way he used to live. Making camp each night. Looking after the genistars himself rather than asking a servant. Collecting wood to make a fire. Cooking his own food. Sleeping under a blanket and an oilskin beneath the nebula-swathed sky. That was cold enough. Then after the third day they didn't even have a fire for fear the bandit crew would notice it, and they were high in the Donsori Mountains by then.
But at that he did better than Dinlay and Macsen. They were real city boys. So he alleviated his own discomfort by enjoying theirs.
Their third night out from North Gate they camped on the side of Mount Iyo, half a day's ride from the main road through the mountains. There was still a lot of traffic on the road, with caravans and wagons and carriages rattling along the broad paved slabs that switchbacked along the rugged slopes. But all of them were accompanied by packs of ge-wolves. The wealthier travellers had their own guards as well. There were also daily patrols of local militia squads. Edeard's own party went under the guise of trading Guildsmen, a common enough sight on the roads. As well as himself and Topar, they had Boloton, an ex-sheriff from Oki who had spent over half of his seventy years roaming across the countryside. The second of Topar's companions was Fresage, a huge man whose bulk was mostly muscle; another outdoors type who had seen membership in a southern provincial militia as well as serving ten years as a costal warden. In turn, he was good friends with Verini, born to a caravan family, who was taking a decade long break from the eternal trade routes to scout round new markets and learn the roads in different territories. Then there was Larby, who had the manners of a Grand Family son yet was clearly comfortable with road life, and proficient with a pistol. He said little about his background, but Edeard suspected he had been affiliated to the families in a fashion not too dissimilar to Argian.