Both Ezekiel and Insharah grinned, and Egalion narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
“And what do you plan to do about it?” Egalion said.
“I have heard so much about the Isembaardian military prowess,” Georgdi said, “and yet I have not had an opportunity to view it firsthand. You’ve done a great deal of moving from place to place — and in my land, may I point out — but little to demonstrate your great reputation.”
“Are you about to give us a chance to demonstrate it, then?” Ezekiel said, leaning forward a little, his eyes bright.
“And you and your Emerald Guard,” Georgdi said to Egalion, ignoring Ezekiel for the moment. “What you did that night the Lealfast attacked was extraordinary. I’m betting Maximilian has never allowed you very far off the leash in all the time you have trotted about in pretty green columns at his back.”
Egalion chuckled. “Either you are trying to make us angry, or you have a plan, Georgdi. I think the latter.”
“I have always been a great fan of the unexpected,” Georgdi said. “Axis expects us to sit here and hold the fort for him. Maximilian expects everyone to sit and twiddle their thumbs awaiting his glorious return. The Lealfast think to have us trapped impotent in this citadel. No doubt the Skraelings scampering their way toward us also think we sit around dreading their arrival. Well, I am sick of all this sitting. I’d like to see what you and your commands can do, and I’d like the chance to show you what the Outlanders can do.”
“Not the Strike Force?” Ezekiel said.
“The Strike Force can sit this one out,” Georgdi said. “They’ve had their chance.”
“And you think to . . . ” Insharah said.
“Look,” Georgdi said, finally unlacing his fingers and sitting up straight, “we cannot free ourselves from the Lealfast siege, but I see no reason why we cannot make things uncomfortable for them. I think some niggling, embarrassing action could unsettle them enough to make them do something stupid. They do have an awful lot of Icarii blood in them, after all.”
“Never say that in front of Axis, or StarDrifter or StarHeaven,” Insharah said.
“Am I saying it in front of Axis, or StarDrifter or StarHeaven?” Georgdi said. “No? Then don’t worry about it. Any of those three would want to plan some grand — and no doubt foolish — action which would see too many of our friends dead. I don’t want to do that. I’d rather see none of our friends dead. Just a little bit of action is all I ask for.”
Georgdi smiled as he reached into the leather pocket of his jerkin and pulled out a small square block of brown fibrous material.
“Do any of you know what this is?” he said.
His smile broadened at the looks of puzzlement on the faces of the other three.
“It is a block of pressed seed pods from the falamax plant,” Georgdi said. “Falamax grows fairly widely on the Outlands’ plains and our people often carry a small block like this on their persons. Many of my warriors here do. The falamax plant is a fairly innocuous shrubby perennial that is remarkable for one thing only — the value of the spores contained within its seed pod. Mostly we use it for cooking purposes.” Georgdi turned the block over in his fingers. “A tiny bit of this crumbled into our food gives flavour along with a mild intoxicating and warming effect.”
Georgdi paused. “But if this is crumbled and blown into the wind, and if someone inhales it, well then . . . then the falamax spores become a powerful hallucinogen.”
“Ah .” Ezekiel said, and he grinned.
Chapter 13
Elcho Falling
StarDrifter stood with Georgdi, Insharah and Egalion on the balcony where earlier in the day Georgdi had conversed with Josia. It was almost full night and across the lake the Lealfast were settled in front of fires, drinking what was left of the Isembaardian wine. There were a hundred or so in the air, barely visible, but the majority were in the former Isembaardian military camp.
“I don’t understand,” StarDrifter said, “why you don’t use this trick to mount a full-scale military assault on the Lealfast?”
“Because I am not completely sure how this will affect the Lealfast,” Georgdi said, “or how long any effect will last, or even if I have enough of the falamax pods to affect all of the Lealfast. I am not going to commit every man in this citadel to action, without knowing if I may lose every last one of them.”
He pointed down to the causeway. “The only viable way we can exit and re-enter is via that causeway.” Georgdi had heard of another possibility from Elcho Falling’s servant, but it was even more unfeasible than the causeway. “It is narrow. To start with, I can’t get many men out without everything becoming congested or taking six weeks to accomplish, nor can we retreat without the same problem. I take sixty men with me and sixty only. I just want to make a point, StarDrifter, but it is going to be a damned good point.”
“And you’re going to have some fun,” Insharah said. He was a little out of sorts because he was to be left behind, but Georgdi hadn’t wanted to risk every commander they had in the citadel. Georgdi and Ezekiel would be going with the sixty men — comprising twenty Isembaardians, twenty Outlanders and twenty Emerald Guard — but Insharah and Egalion would remain within Elcho Falling.
“And I am going to have some fun,” Georgdi said. “StarDrifter? Can you do this?”
StarDrifter glanced at Georgdi disbelievingly. “Of course I can do this. But won’t the spores affect you as well, when you go into the Lealfast camp?”
Georgdi shook his head. “We’ll give it two hours . . . the spores do not last long in the open air and will disintegrate. By the time we sally forth it will be safe.”
StarDrifter picked up a large wickerwork basket full of crushed and crumbled squares of falamax pods. Georgdi had earlier collected the squares from his men . . . now it was up to StarDrifter.
“Just be careful you don’t inhale any of it,” Georgdi said, taking a precautionary step back.
StarDrifter closed his eyes and counted to ten, finding within himself the means to ignore that unnecessary remark.
Then he fixed his eyes on the basket and began to weave magic out of the air.
It took a moment or two, but soon a ribbon of spores rose slowly from the basket, higher and higher into the air. Gradully, the ribbon of falamax spores broadened and moved over the lake toward the Lealfast encampment.
There the ribbon widened and thinned until it covered the entire camp, then, infinitely gently, the spores drifted downward.
Eleanon lay slouched about the fire, as he had the previous night. He felt warm and content, and slightly inebriated once again.
He wondered if Ravenna was anywhere close, and was vaguely thinking he might go look for her when, close by, Bingaleal looked into the air in terror.
“We’re under attack by gryphons!” Bingaleal shrieked, pointing upward.
Eleanon took a moment to ponder the fact that he didn’t feel like reacting very energetically to this pronouncement despite the terror and urgency in his brother’s voice, before, equally unsurprised, he saw one of the Lealfast who had been patrolling the skies about Elcho Falling fall directly into the fire.
Bingaleal was on his feet, shrieking over and over that it was a gryphon.
The Lealfast in the fire was writhing and shrieking, too (not particularly surprising, Eleanon thought, again somewhat amazed at the tranquillity of his thoughts), and shouting something about misshapen giants attacking the outer permitter of the camp.
Misshapen giants, Eleanon thought. How ridiculous. He has been drinking too heavily of the wine.
Still, he supposed he should do something about the situation. He yawned and stretched, rising to his feet to watch, puzzled, as something bulbous and warty (the ghastly result of a mating between a warthog and a bull?) stepped up behind Bingaleal, then gutted him with its horns.
Bingaleal staggered a few paces away, clutching at his belly. He dropped to the ground with a nauseating wet thump.
“Oh,” said Eleanon.
The creature then turned to Kalanute and Sonorai, standing to one side observing Bingaleal’s misfortune with wide, glazed eyes, and gutted them as well.
Then it turned to Eleanon, and for the first time Eleanon felt terror.
The creature waved its bloodied and gore-streaked horns at Eleanon, and spoke. “I might come back, Eleanon. One day, when you are asleep. Do you dare sleep ever again, do you think?”
Georgdi looked at Eleanon who had, finally, begun to shriek in horror. Then Georgdi laughed as Eleanon pissed himself.
“I hope you remember that in the morning,” Georgdi said, waving his bloodied sword at the dark stain running down Eleanon’s breeches, then he turned and shouted the order for his men to retreat into Elcho Falling.