The druid nodded. ‘A hard woman. I did not take to her. Is her daughter safe?’
‘Yes, she is organizing the rebuilding.’
‘Go back and tell her I am on my way.’
‘You can ride behind me,’ Conn offered.
‘I’ll walk,’ said the druid. ‘It will give me more time to pray for the dead.’
Throughout the long day Conn worked alongside the people of the settlement, dragging away half-burned timbers, bringing in fresh wood from the northern woods. He rested briefly with a score of men at noon, and sat silently as they talked around him. ‘Why us?’ was the most common comment. Conn was wise enough to know that this was not the time for an answer. Ten years of relative safety had made them complacent. When the raiders attacked there was no sentry on the wall and the settlement gates were open.
Would they learn, he wondered?
For a while. Then the years would pass …
It is not worth thinking about, he decided.
He found his mind wandering to his last conversation with Ostaran. The Perdii had been defeated, and were about to be annihilated. ‘Will it be the Gath next?’ Conn had asked him.
‘Of course not. We are allies to the people of Stone.’
‘Were the Perdii not Jasaray’s allies last year?’
‘You make for depressing company, my friend. What would the people of Stone want from us?’
Ostaran could not see it, though it lay revealed before him like a blood-drenched map. The people of Stone wanted it all. They would not be content until all the inhabited lands were under their sway. ‘Look,’ said Conn, taking a stick and sketching a line on the damp earth. ‘These are the lands of the Gath and Ostro. They are too far from Stone, and the areas they control, for an invading force to be equipped and supplied for a push towards the sea. But here, nestling between them like an arrowhead, are the lands of the Perdii. Rich farmland, thousands of cattle and horses. They will move into this land, establish towns and fortresses. From here they can strike out where they will.’
‘But why should they?’ asked Ostaran.
‘Because they must. It is, for them, an economic necessity. They have a huge standing army. The soldiers need to be paid. Conquest supplies the plunder that makes the generals rich and secures the loyalty of the soldiers. In Gath there are . . . what? . . . ten gold mines?’
‘Fourteen now,’ said Ostaran. ‘And five silver.’
‘Then the people of Stone will take them. And who will come to your aid now, Osta? The Addui are destroyed, the Perdii finished.’
‘We will need no aid,’ said Ostaran. ‘We will smash any invading force. The Gath are not like the Perdii. Our fighters are twice as powerful.’
‘You can still believe this, after all you have seen? Jasaray’s Panthers are well armed and armoured, disciplined and motivated. They will not be broken by a sudden charge, no matter how brave the warriors.’
‘You are gloomy today,’ put in Ostaran, with a sudden smile. ‘We have just won a great victory. Jasaray has given you chests of gold, and the stallions you so desired. My men and I have been paid, and the sun is shining. And let me tell you this, my doom prophet: Jasaray himself assured me he has no plans for further campaigns. He wants to return to Stone and become a scholar again. He says he misses the quiet charm of the university. There! What do you say to that?’
‘I will say only this: when the end comes, bring as many warriors as you can to Goriasa. Seek out Garshon the merchant. Remind him of the promise he made to me. Then with his help sail across the water, and ride up to the lands of the Northern Rigante.’
‘I tell you what I will do, my friend,’ said Ostaran. ‘If Jasaray comes, then when we have defeated him, I will send you his head.’
Conn’s mind was jerked back to the present as the men around him rose and continued their work. Conn stayed with them until dusk, then sought out Parax. The old man had spent much of the afternoon asleep in Phaeton’s house. Conn did not berate him. Parax was not young, and the exertions of the night before had taken their toll on him.