She stopped short and looked at him quizzically. “In a way, yes. Are you criticizing me?”
“Ah, I have offended you now. I wondered what possessed you to charge in like that. You were assuming we would rush in behind you? You communicated nothing. I saw you rise up and shoot down those hapless men then rush into the thick of them. It frightened me out of my wits. The one advantage to your action was it surprised them and drew their focus to you. The second is that it forced Dieyre to make a stand, one way or the other. I do not see how the Queen Dowager will forgive him for killing her men. So you may have committed him to our side without intending to. It was bold, Lia. But never do that again.”
She gave him a curious expression. “You were worried about me?”
“You should have worried more. Have a care next time.”
Lia felt a flush of pleasure at the words. “One of the things Martin did teach me is that war is about suprising your enemy. Doing something they cannot anticipate. Throwing dust in their eyes. Stomping on their foot. A man cannot fight if you cut off his thumb. Being unpredictable is your best weapon. If you can get them to react to what you are doing, it gives you more choices than reacting to what they are doing. To be honest, my only goal was to thwart a murder. To draw the attention from inside the hovel to outside. I knew you and Dieyre were behind me. We did what had to be done.”
His frown was not stern, just troubled. “Just warn me next time,” he insisted. “Before doing anything rash.”
When they looked back, there was land.
“Ah, there is Steep Holm,” Pen-Ilyn said. “We will take a short rest there.”
*
The hamlet of Enarth was smaller than the village of Muirwood. Perhaps a dozen small dwellings, a muddy road, and a single dock with fishing boats tethered there.
“It is a humble place, but we will stay with my sister who lives a short way from here,” Pen-Ilyn said. He clasped their hands, one by one. “Per our agreement, my lord, we will wait on this side of the shore for you to return. You paid for two days, so we will wait for two days, despite other business that may be lost. If the Dahomeyjan cowards return, they will find our place desolate. If we wait any longer, our livestock may all be gone when we return. We get our milk and cheese from cowherds in Enarth anyway, so that will not trouble us. Be careful. The land is treacherous. Mind the snakes and scorpions.”
Lia thanked him for his advice and the two headed off into the woods where she could use the Cruciger orb discreetly.As she cupped it in her hands, she thought of Ellowyn’s face, how terrified she must be, and focused her intent on where they would be and if there was a path that they could safely take to head them off and away from Pry-rians who would challenge them. The orb was cool in her hand, then it started to spin and pointed clearly. Colvin looked relieved and secured his rucksack against his shoulders. His sword dangled from his belt. Together, they followed the direction and forsook the muddy road.
Pry-Ree was a wild and untamed land. The trees were different than the ones that grew in the Bearden Muir. They were taller, thicker, more ancient. The ground was rugged and mottled with boulders and stones. The greenery was sickly with weeds, and Pen-Ilyn’s warning about snakes was soon justified. There were snakes and voles everywhere. The serpents feared their passing and slithered away as they tromped through the brush, but their very presence made Lia shiver with revulsion. They crossed a wild lowload valley but on the other side rose an imposing crag of mountains with giant trees. There was a haunting familiarity about the land, like a song that had once been sung, its echo dying on the breeze.
About mid-day, they came across a small cabin in the midst of the valley. There was no smoke from the chimney and the fence was in tatters. They approached cautiously, but there was no sign of anyone living there. The garden was spoiled, there were no animals in the pens. All life had been scrubbed clean. After passing the property, they found other similar dwellings, abandoned or forsaken with no trace of fire or harm. As if the owners had simply abandoned them and walked off.
“It is strange,” Colvin muttered, looking at another abandoned dwelling. “Not a soul.”