Within a week it was clear which of the freed slaves would make soldiers and which were useless as soldiers. Four of the girls and two of the boys were given menial tasks around the property, while the remaining twenty-four continued to train with weapons.
Tal had cautioned Masterson about leaving the girls alone, unless they invited his attention, and sent him to the city a couple of days a week to get drunk and spend time with the whores. Since arriving at the farm, Tal had established his chain of command. Quint was his deputy, while Baron Visniya was his intelligence officer. Within a few days, Visniya had messages on their way to contacts of his in Opardum. These were people he trusted, he told Tal, and he kept the language of the message circumspect enough that if Kaspar’s agents intercepted them, they would discover nothing useful. They would wait for replies before attempting to develop any intelligence about Opardum. Stolinko turned out to be an adept quartermaster and a natural-born trader, so he often went to town to buy supplies.
One morning Tal stood out on the porch of the farmhouse, watching Visniya teach the former slaves how to ride a horse. He absently started scratching at his stump, then pulled his hand away. It was tender.
He went inside and sat down at the table they used for meetings and started unwinding the bandage from around the stump. When he got it clear he looked at his severed arm and saw that a lot of the skin was flaking off. He picked at it a little and then noticed little bumps at the point of the stump. He examined it closely, wondering if Nakor’s priest friend had somehow given him something that was making it fester. He got as close as he could without crossing his eyes and saw that there were five distinct protuberances coming up.
He studied it for a long minute, then gave up and washed the stump. The soothing bath seemed to help the itching, but did nothing to alleviate the return of the sensations he had experienced for a long time after his arm had been severed, the impression of having fingers and a hand, and the feeling of “connection” that he should somehow be able to use those digits. He shrugged and returned to his work.
Within a few weeks he would start actively recruiting mercenaries. He had inquired about the difficulties he faced in building a private army and had been told that he could do pretty much anything outside the city as long as local officials were bribed. The power in the region was divided equally between the Lord Mayor of the city and his ruling council and the local Baron, Lord Reslaz. An independent navy, funded by everyone along the coast with an interest in keeping their own ships afloat, was based out of Traitor’s Cove. When it came time to secure transport for his army, Tal would have to talk to them; they had an office and a representative in Karesh’kaar.
Tal had introduced himself to the Lord Mayor and offered him a sizable gift. He had done the same with Lord Reslaz. By the time he had left the Baron’s castle, they had consumed a great deal of wine and Reslaz had let Tal know that if he was looking for allies in some great undertaking, Tal could count on his support, for a reasonable split of any booty.
Tal was sitting at the table pondering the situation when Quint entered and said, “You look lost.”
“I was just thinking. We’ve landed in a nation of pirates.”
Quint pulled up a chair and sat down. “There are moments when Kaspar’s desire to bring order to the region looks attractive.”
“It’s how he wishes to bring order I object to,” said Tal. “He regards people as disposable.”
“He wasn’t always like that, you know,” said Quint. “I’m not trying to make excuses for him. He was always a hard man, even when he was little more than a boy; he could be beaten bloody by older boys in a game of ball and want to get right back in to give as good as he got. But he was never murderous.” Quint reached over for a pear from the nearby counter and took a bite. “I mean, if he had an enemy, he could be ruthless, but that was only with enemies. Now he just doesn’t care who gets hurt.” Quint shrugged. “I think it’s Varen. I think he’s the cause of Kaspar’s change.”
“Whatever, he’s got to be stopped.”
“You’ll need more than that bunch of babies out in the pasture learning to ride.”
Tal laughed. “I know. I’m keeping them around mostly because I don’t know what else to do with them. I can’t get them back home, and I won’t sell them, and I would like to have at least a dozen or so men with swords walking around when I start to recruit.”
“When will that be?”
“A couple more weeks. I’m waiting for a message from up north.”
“From whom?”