Bearers of the Black Staff

“There,” Tasha advised, coming up beside her and pointing.

She peered out across the foothills and into the hazy air of the plains to the place he indicated. At first she saw nothing but a mix of dark and light terrain. Then she saw what looked like thin, barely noticeable columns of smoke rising out of the largest of the darker patches. She realized that there was movement within the patch, a rippling of life.

“Taureq Siq’s army,” she said quietly.

“Just so.” Tasha’s voice was equally soft. “Spread out for several miles on the flats. Been like that for three days now.”

Both Orullians were standing next to her, one at either shoulder. Phryne glanced from one to the other. “What’s it doing here?”

Tenerife shrugged. “Waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it?”

“What’s troublesome is that it hasn’t sent out scouts, not even into the foothills let alone these mountains,” Tasha interjected. “The Trolls don’t seem particularly interested in investigating. I thought when the army first appeared that it had come to claim the passes. But it hasn’t moved since setting up camp.”

“Waiting,” Phryne repeated.

They stood where they were for a long time as she peered out at the camp, trying to reason it out. The Trolls had struck their old camp and come here, presumably in preparation for their meeting with the leaders Panterra had promised them would come. But would they just sit there trusting to his word without trying to do more? They might, if they thought that his fear for Prue Liss was strong enough that he would do what they had demanded. But how could they be sure he would be able to persuade anyone to come out to meet with them?

How could they be sure of anything?

Something about all of this was deeply troubling, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Apparently her cousins hadn’t had any better success.

“Have you gone down to have a look?” she asked.

“And risk incurring the wrath your father visited on you?” Tenerife asked in mock horror. “Of course we have.”

“There isn’t much to see, even up close,” his brother rumbled, easing back a step, as if his bulk made him more visible than the other two. “We saw it all from the rise the last time you were up here while we waited for our chance to rescue Panterra and Prue. Nothing’s changed but the location. The Trolls and the tents and all the rest look just the same.”

Phryne shook her head. “I don’t understand it. Why aren’t they searching for a way in? Why aren’t they looking for the passes? They know we’re in these mountains somewhere.”

Tasha snorted softly. “We’ll know soon enough. The full moon comes in ten days. If no one appears to negotiate, I’m pretty certain they’ll stop sitting around.”

“Of course, they could be searching without our realizing it,” Tenerife mused. “They were pretty good at creeping up on our Tracker friends without them knowing, and not many are able to do that.”

“No,” Tasha said, frowning. “We would have seen something. We’ve had eyes trained on the approach from the day we arrived to begin work on the defenses, and no one has come into the mountains.”

“Could they have found another of the passes?” Phryne asked. “Farther south?”

The brothers thought it over for a moment. “If they knew where we were and how to get to us, why bother with requesting a meeting? No, I don’t think they know a way in just yet. I think that’s what they’re waiting for. I just don’t know where they think the information is coming from if they don’t search it out.”

They talked it over awhile longer, but when Phryne was satisfied that she had seen all there was to see, they retreated into the pass. A short time later they had regained the barricades and were observing the progress of the construction once more.

“Will you stay the night?” Tenerife asked as they climbed down from the ladders on the far side.

She nodded. “I want to look around a bit more.” She paused. “Did you send anyone to tell my father about the Trolls?”

Tasha shook his head. “Haren decided not to bother. Nothing to tell, he said. It’s not as if it’s a surprise that they’re here. We knew they were coming. If they do something worth reporting, we’ll send word then. You can tell your father yourself when you return to the city.”

She didn’t like it that it had been left to her to do something the captain of the Home Guard should have done, but she guessed it was his decision, not hers.