Prajichitas was as ugly a man as Erik had ever encountered, but smart and likable. Vajasia was a fading peacock of a man, still vain despite advancing years, and the two dissimilar men were as loyal to each other as brothers.
Miranda said, “Boldar, any trouble?”
The walking arsenal removed his helm, revealing a youthful face, freckled and pale, with red-brown hair and blue eyes. A slight sheen of perspiration was the only sign of exertion, while Praji and Vaja both came into camp and sat with open displays of fatigue.
The man named Boldar said, “None. It took me a while to track down your two friends, Calis.”
Calis glanced at Miranda, who said, “I described you. He was to come here and find you even if I had gone.”
Calis didn’t look pleased at the “if I had gone” part. He asked Praji, “How goes it in the east?”
“Badly. Worse than we’ve ever imagined. This Emerald Queen bitch is far worse than we remembered at Hamsa and the other places we’ve run across her.” He pulled off his boots and wiggled his toes. “Do you remember General Gapi? From the mercenaries’ rendezvous before the assault on Lanada? He was sent against the Jeshandi in the northern steppe—a big mistake, from my experience with those horsemen—and they beat him to a bloody stump. One man in ten sent into the grasslands got back. Anyway, the Emerald Queen took it personally; she had Gapi staked out over an anthill and smeared honey on his balls. Made all her generals watch until he stopped screaming.”
Vaja shook his head. “You don’t fail in her army.” The old fighter smiled. “Gives a whole new meaning to ‘do or die.’”
Calis said, “So the Jeshandi still hold?”
“No more,” answered Praji, a sad note in his voice. “After Gapi’s failure, they unleashed five thousand Saaur into the grasslands. The Jeshandi handled themselves well enough—they made the lizardmen bleed more than anyone else so far—but they were finally crushed.”
Erik nodded in silence. He had faced the Saaur and their monstrous horses only once, but he knew that despite their size the Saaur were as good horsemen as he had ever seen. No human force could face them one to one; it took three or four human riders to neutralize one Saaur. In his idle moments, Erik had wrestled with plans to defeat the Saaur in open combat, and had yet to devise one that seemed remotely plausible.
Praji said, “There are some stragglers still riding in the foothills, raiding a camp here and there for food, but as a force, the Free People are no more.”
Calis was silent a moment. Of all the cultures in this remote continent, the Jeshandi counted the largest number of elven people. Each elf who was killed was a loss no human could understand. His mother’s people would be mourning this news for decades. Shaking off his reflective mood, he asked, “What of the Clans to the south?”
Praji said, “That’s where he”—he pointed at Boldar—“found us. We were in a camp with Hatonis last night—”
Erik blurted, “You were in the Eastlands this morning?”
Praji nodded. “This lad has the means of getting us around in a hurry.”
Boldar held out a device, turning it slightly in his hands. It was an orb with a series of small protruding switches. “We got here in the blink of an eye,” continued Praji. “We spent most of the day trekking around these bleeding mountains trying to find you.”
Turning back to Calis, Praji said, “We are pretty helpless, old friend. The Emerald Queen’s fairly got her army lining the banks of the river on both sides these days. We hardly get a bowshot at her lumber barges. Best we can do sometimes is attack from ambush and try to run a barge aground on the banks, that sort of thing. The last time we tried to raid into the City of the Serpent River we lost half our force and did no damage to speak of.” He sighed. Looking directly at Calis, he said, “The war here is over, Calis. Whatever you propose to do here in the Westlands, it had better be something special, because that fleet she’s building is going to be ready to sail next year, year after at the latest. We thought we were buying ten years for you, but it’s more like three or four.”
Calis nodded. “And two of those are gone.” Looking at the two tired old men, he said, “Get something to eat.”
As Praji and Vaja were handed cold rations, Miranda turned to Boldar. “Did you bring it?”
Boldar unshouldered his bag and reached inside. He pulled out a small amulet. “Cost a fair bit, but not as much as I thought it would. I’ll add the cost to what you owe me.”
“What is it?” asked Calis.
Miranda handed it to him and Erik observed it as Calis held it up. It seemed nothing more than a simple gold neck decoration. Miranda said, “It’s a ward against scrying magic. As of this moment, no magician can find you and anyone within a dozen paces of you. This may save our lives when it’s time to get out of here.”