‘Harokas? The name is not familiar to me.’
‘He says he has a message from the Earl, whatever that may mean.’
‘Nothing good, I’ll wager,’ muttered Beltzer. ‘So, what do we do?’
‘We wait,’ said Chareos.
‘She could have armed men moving in on us,’ argued Beltzer.
‘Indeed she could,’ agreed Chareos. ‘Even so – we wait.’
*
‘I do not know why you are still alive, farm boy,’ said Harokas, as he and Kiall sat at a bench table in the crowded eating-house. ‘Tanaki is not usually so gentle with enemies.’
‘I am not her enemy,’ Kiall told him, spooning the last of the hot broth to his mouth.
‘Are you not?’
‘Why should I be?’
‘It was here that your beloved was dragged to the auction block. Does that not make you angry?’
Kiall sat back and stared into the cold eyes of the scarred man. ‘Yes, it does. Are you saying it was . . . Tanaki . . . who led the raid?’
‘No,’ answered Harokas. ‘Tanaki merely controls the auctions. Nadren raiders travel here from all over the Steppes. You should see this place at market time; it’s a revelation.’
‘I still do not understand how an Earl’s man is welcome here,’ said Kiall.
Harokas chuckled. ‘That is because you do not . . . yet . . . understand the ways of the world. But I see no harm in instructing you. You will learn soon enough. You know, of course, that the Lord Regent outlawed the slave trade a decade ago?’
‘Yes. And ended the serf laws. It was good policy.’
‘That depends on your viewpoint. If you were a slave or a serf, indeed yes. But not if you were a nobleman. The wealth of the nobility used to depend on land. Not any more – not with the fear of Nadir invasion. Crops bring profits, to be sure, but then the Gothir lands are rich and food is cheap. No, the real profit was always in slaves. The Lord Regent did not take this into account with his new laws. Are you beginning to understand me?’
‘No,’ admitted Kiall.
‘So slow? I took you for an intelligent man – but then you are also a romantic and that must cloud your reason.’ Harokas leaned forward. ‘The nobility never gave up the trade; they merely found another way of continuing. The raid on your village was sanctioned by the Earl. He takes a share of the profits and I am here to make sure his share is just.’
Kiall felt the taste of bile in his mouth. He swallowed hard and took a sip of the ale Harokas had purchased. ‘We pay him taxes. We look to him for protection. And he sells us out to line his pockets?’
‘It is not a nice world, is it, farm boy?’
‘Why tell me this? Why?’
Harokas shrugged. ‘Why not? Your chances of leaving here alive are negligible. And anyway, perhaps I am sick of it too.’ He rubbed his eyes. ‘I am getting old. There was a time when I believed in heroes – when I was young, like you. But there are no heroes – at least not the ones we want to see. Every man has his own reason for every deed. Usually it is selfish. Take your friends. Why are they with you? You think they care about Ravenna? No, they seek to recapture lost glories, lost youth. They want to hear their names in song again.’
‘I do not believe that,’ said Kiall. ‘Chareos and the others have risked their lives for me – and for Ravenna. And you cheapen them, merely by speaking their names. Thank you for the meal.’
Kiall rose and left the table. The air outside was crisp and fresh, and he strode to the battlements. The two sentries ignored him as he gazed out over the land. He did not look in the direction of the camp, but waited until the voice of Okas sounded in his mind.
‘What do you have to tell us?’ asked Okas.
‘Nothing,’ replied Kiall. ‘Tell Chareos not to come to the wall. I am waiting to see the woman, Tanaki.’