Things came
together nicely after the defeat of the relief column. Murgen said
nobody else was likely to challenge us without help from beyond the
mountains. Which help, unfortunately, was on the way already.
Soulcatcher was airborne and lurching southward in small, erratic
leaps that, nevertheless, were bringing her closer faster than any
animal could do—even one of those magical stallions from the Tower
at Charm—but still definitely very feebly for a flying carpet. Once
upon a time the Howler could conquer the miles between Overlook and
Taglios in a single night.
Soulcatcher had to rest several hours for every hour she spent
aloft. Even so, she was on her way. And the impact of the news on
the troops was electric. With only days left, or possibly only
hours, everyone buckled down and put their back into it. I saw very
little slacking, little wasted effort, and some very serious
concentration when it came to honing military skills.
Suvrin was right in there with the troops, drilling his behind
off. Literally. Though he had been with us only a short time, he
had begun to lose weight and show signs of shaping up. He
approached me soon after Murgen and Goblin began issuing regular
reports about Soulcatcher’s progress. “I want to stay
with you, ma’am,” he told me.
“You what?” I was surprised.
“I’m not sure I want to be part of the Black Company
but I do know for sure that I don’t want to be here when the
Protector shows up. She has a reputation for seldom letting herself
be swayed by the facts. The futility of me having resisted you
won’t impress her.”
“You’re right about that. If you shirked because you
would’ve gotten killed doing what she expected, she’ll
arrange it so you get dead anyway. In a less pleasant way, if
possible. All right, Suvrin. You’ve kept your word and
you’ve been a good worker.”
He winced. “You understand what ‘Suvrin’
actually means?”
“Junior, essentially. But you’re stuck with it now.
Most people in the Company don’t go by their birth names.
Even most of the men who go by regular names don’t go by
their real ones. They’re all getting away from their past.
And you will be, too.”
He grimaced.
“Report to Master Santaraksita. Until I find something
else for you, your job will be to assist him. Old Baladitya is no
use at all. He’s worse than Santaraksita, who keeps getting
farther and farther behind in his packing because he keeps getting
distracted by his books.” Santaraksita had managed to acquire
several antique volumes locally that had, miraculously, survived
the countless disasters that had beset the region these past
several decades.
Suvrin bowed. “Thank you.” There was a fresh bounce
in his step as he walked away.
I suspected he and Master Santaraksita might have a lot in
common. Heck, Suvrin could even read.
Tobo materialized. “My father says to tell you that
Soulcatcher has reached Charandaprash. And that she’s
decided to rest there before she crosses the Dandha
Presh.”
“A few more hours’ grace. Excellent. Means
there’s a good chance there won’t be anything left here
for her to find but our tracks. How are you getting along with your
mother? Did you make any effort at all?”
“Dad also says he wants you to post somebody with a
warning horn that can be sounded once the Protector gets
dangerously close. And he says you should pull in the pickets
watching the pass now, just in case Soulcatcher changes her mind
about taking some time off.”
That was a good idea.
Runmust and Riverwalker made the mistake of being close enough
to be seen. I sent them to go bring the scouts home. “Tobo,
you can’t ignore your mother. You’ll end up getting
along with her worse than she gets along with your
grandmother.”
“Sleepy . . . why can’t she just
let me grow up?”
“Because you’re her baby, you idiot! Don’t you
understand that? When you’re twice as old as One-Eye
you’ll still be her baby. The only baby that cruel fate
hasn’t gobbled down. You do remember that your mother had
other children and she lost them?”
“Uh . . . yeah.”
“I’ve never had children. I never want to have
children. In part because I can see how horrible it would be to see
my own flesh and blood die and not be able to do anything to
prevent it. Family is supposed to be extremely important to you
Nyueng Bao. I want you to drop whatever you’re doing. Right
now. Go over and sit on that boulder. Spend two hours not thinking
about anything but what it must have meant to your mother to see
your brother and sister die. Think about how badly she must not
want to go through that again. Think about what it must be like to
be her after everything else she’s had to go through.
You’re a smart kid. You can figure it out.”
When you are around people long enough you get a feel for how
they react. I could see his first petulant inclination was to
remind me that I had been younger than he was now when I attached
myself to Bucket and the Company, which had little to do with the
argument at hand but which was the sort of tool you grab when you
are that age.
“If you intend to say something, make sure it makes sense
before you do. Because if you can’t think logically and argue
logically, then there isn’t much hope that you’ll have
any success with the sorcery, no matter how talented you are. I
know. I know. From everything you’ve seen, the bigger the
wizards are, the crazier they are. But within the boundaries of
their insanity, every one of them is rigorously, mathematically
rational. The entire power of their minds serves their insanity.
When they stumble it’s because they let emotions or wishful
thinking get in the way.”
“All right. I surrender. I’ll sit on the damned rock
until it hatches. Oh, Dad also said to tell you that Narayan Singh
is somewhere close by. He can sense the Deceiver but he can’t
pinpoint him. Kina is protecting him with her dreams. Dad says you
should ask the white crow to look for him. If you can find it and
get it to sit still long enough.”
“Crowhunter. Maybe I’ll call myself that. It sounds
more glamorous than Sleepy.”
“Tobo sounds more glamorous than Sleepy.” Tobo
headed for the boulder and settled in an approved attitude. I hoped
I had planted seeds that would take root and sprout while he was
trying to think of everything else but.
“At least you get to change your name when you grow
up . . . ” Stupid. Anytime I feel like
it I can tell everyone to call me whatever strikes my fancy.
Crowhunter gave up her name. She was a failure. The white
monster was nowhere to be found. So I went and spent some time with
Sahra even though she did not welcome me right away. We recalled
old days, hard times, her husband’s lack of perfection, till
I thought she was relaxed enough to actually listen to what I had
to say about Tobo.
The villain himself scored a coup by showing up with an olive
branch at the perfect time. I elected to remove myself while things
were going well. I hoped the peace would last but did not count on
forever.
I would settle for one halcyon week. In a week we would know if
it was possible to resurrect the Captured. In a week we would
either be dead on the glittering plain or ready to return as a
force of ultimate destruction. Or
maybe . . .
Things came
together nicely after the defeat of the relief column. Murgen said
nobody else was likely to challenge us without help from beyond the
mountains. Which help, unfortunately, was on the way already.
Soulcatcher was airborne and lurching southward in small, erratic
leaps that, nevertheless, were bringing her closer faster than any
animal could do—even one of those magical stallions from the Tower
at Charm—but still definitely very feebly for a flying carpet. Once
upon a time the Howler could conquer the miles between Overlook and
Taglios in a single night.
Soulcatcher had to rest several hours for every hour she spent
aloft. Even so, she was on her way. And the impact of the news on
the troops was electric. With only days left, or possibly only
hours, everyone buckled down and put their back into it. I saw very
little slacking, little wasted effort, and some very serious
concentration when it came to honing military skills.
Suvrin was right in there with the troops, drilling his behind
off. Literally. Though he had been with us only a short time, he
had begun to lose weight and show signs of shaping up. He
approached me soon after Murgen and Goblin began issuing regular
reports about Soulcatcher’s progress. “I want to stay
with you, ma’am,” he told me.
“You what?” I was surprised.
“I’m not sure I want to be part of the Black Company
but I do know for sure that I don’t want to be here when the
Protector shows up. She has a reputation for seldom letting herself
be swayed by the facts. The futility of me having resisted you
won’t impress her.”
“You’re right about that. If you shirked because you
would’ve gotten killed doing what she expected, she’ll
arrange it so you get dead anyway. In a less pleasant way, if
possible. All right, Suvrin. You’ve kept your word and
you’ve been a good worker.”
He winced. “You understand what ‘Suvrin’
actually means?”
“Junior, essentially. But you’re stuck with it now.
Most people in the Company don’t go by their birth names.
Even most of the men who go by regular names don’t go by
their real ones. They’re all getting away from their past.
And you will be, too.”
He grimaced.
“Report to Master Santaraksita. Until I find something
else for you, your job will be to assist him. Old Baladitya is no
use at all. He’s worse than Santaraksita, who keeps getting
farther and farther behind in his packing because he keeps getting
distracted by his books.” Santaraksita had managed to acquire
several antique volumes locally that had, miraculously, survived
the countless disasters that had beset the region these past
several decades.
Suvrin bowed. “Thank you.” There was a fresh bounce
in his step as he walked away.
I suspected he and Master Santaraksita might have a lot in
common. Heck, Suvrin could even read.
Tobo materialized. “My father says to tell you that
Soulcatcher has reached Charandaprash. And that she’s
decided to rest there before she crosses the Dandha
Presh.”
“A few more hours’ grace. Excellent. Means
there’s a good chance there won’t be anything left here
for her to find but our tracks. How are you getting along with your
mother? Did you make any effort at all?”
“Dad also says he wants you to post somebody with a
warning horn that can be sounded once the Protector gets
dangerously close. And he says you should pull in the pickets
watching the pass now, just in case Soulcatcher changes her mind
about taking some time off.”
That was a good idea.
Runmust and Riverwalker made the mistake of being close enough
to be seen. I sent them to go bring the scouts home. “Tobo,
you can’t ignore your mother. You’ll end up getting
along with her worse than she gets along with your
grandmother.”
“Sleepy . . . why can’t she just
let me grow up?”
“Because you’re her baby, you idiot! Don’t you
understand that? When you’re twice as old as One-Eye
you’ll still be her baby. The only baby that cruel fate
hasn’t gobbled down. You do remember that your mother had
other children and she lost them?”
“Uh . . . yeah.”
“I’ve never had children. I never want to have
children. In part because I can see how horrible it would be to see
my own flesh and blood die and not be able to do anything to
prevent it. Family is supposed to be extremely important to you
Nyueng Bao. I want you to drop whatever you’re doing. Right
now. Go over and sit on that boulder. Spend two hours not thinking
about anything but what it must have meant to your mother to see
your brother and sister die. Think about how badly she must not
want to go through that again. Think about what it must be like to
be her after everything else she’s had to go through.
You’re a smart kid. You can figure it out.”
When you are around people long enough you get a feel for how
they react. I could see his first petulant inclination was to
remind me that I had been younger than he was now when I attached
myself to Bucket and the Company, which had little to do with the
argument at hand but which was the sort of tool you grab when you
are that age.
“If you intend to say something, make sure it makes sense
before you do. Because if you can’t think logically and argue
logically, then there isn’t much hope that you’ll have
any success with the sorcery, no matter how talented you are. I
know. I know. From everything you’ve seen, the bigger the
wizards are, the crazier they are. But within the boundaries of
their insanity, every one of them is rigorously, mathematically
rational. The entire power of their minds serves their insanity.
When they stumble it’s because they let emotions or wishful
thinking get in the way.”
“All right. I surrender. I’ll sit on the damned rock
until it hatches. Oh, Dad also said to tell you that Narayan Singh
is somewhere close by. He can sense the Deceiver but he can’t
pinpoint him. Kina is protecting him with her dreams. Dad says you
should ask the white crow to look for him. If you can find it and
get it to sit still long enough.”
“Crowhunter. Maybe I’ll call myself that. It sounds
more glamorous than Sleepy.”
“Tobo sounds more glamorous than Sleepy.” Tobo
headed for the boulder and settled in an approved attitude. I hoped
I had planted seeds that would take root and sprout while he was
trying to think of everything else but.
“At least you get to change your name when you grow
up . . . ” Stupid. Anytime I feel like
it I can tell everyone to call me whatever strikes my fancy.
Crowhunter gave up her name. She was a failure. The white
monster was nowhere to be found. So I went and spent some time with
Sahra even though she did not welcome me right away. We recalled
old days, hard times, her husband’s lack of perfection, till
I thought she was relaxed enough to actually listen to what I had
to say about Tobo.
The villain himself scored a coup by showing up with an olive
branch at the perfect time. I elected to remove myself while things
were going well. I hoped the peace would last but did not count on
forever.
I would settle for one halcyon week. In a week we would know if
it was possible to resurrect the Captured. In a week we would
either be dead on the glittering plain or ready to return as a
force of ultimate destruction. Or
maybe . . .