Scholar

76

A day and a half later, Quaeryt was still riding with Rescalyn, after a fashion. Although the governor spent more time with Commander Myskyl than with Quaeryt, he returned intermittently to ride with the scholar and even talked to him occasionally, but almost never with any warning, even if his voice was nearly always hearty and cheerful. That heartiness was beginning to irritate Quaeryt. Then that might have been because the governor was never less than always perfectly in command and cheerful, even when no one was looking.

The afternoon wasn’t as hot as midsummer, but it was still sultry. Quaeryt’s undershirt stuck to his back, and his legs were sore because he’d hardly been riding for the past week, and little enough since he’d returned to Tilbora. The column was headed straight west, possibly less than ten milles from the last line of hills that formed the eastern edge of the valley that held Boralieu.

Abruptly, Rescalyn asked, “Did you actually read all the papers from the Khanar’s document room?”

“Yes. Well … some of them I just skimmed over after I read the first part.”

“Why?”

“Because documents can tell you what it might take years to discover through experience. I was trying to determine if the Khanars had the same sort of difficulties with the hill holders as you have had.”

“Did they?”

“It seemed much the same, except there was a kind of bribery on both sides, and less fighting. But then, the hill holders couldn’t claim, not in the eyes of most Tilborans, that the Khanar was an outsider.”

“Do you really trust what was written?”

“Even when someone isn’t writing everything, or they’re glossing over things, or misrepresenting them, if you read enough, you can tell things by the way they’re written or by what’s not there.”

“Are you Bhayar’s spymaster or one of his top assistant spymasters?”

After a moment, when he was truly surprised, Quaeryt laughed. “No. If he has a spymaster, I have no idea who it is.”

“Then why are you here? Why would he send you here?”

“Why not? He likes me, or doesn’t dislike me. He’s known me since we were students, and he was getting tired of my questions. He’s worried about the amount of troops required here, and he doesn’t want to leave Solis right now because he’s also worried about what Kharst might do. If I can’t tell him, then there’s no harm done, and he has several months without me around.”

“You almost convince me, scholar.” Rescalyn’s voice remained cheerful.

“Of what?”

“That you are what you say.”

“Everything I’ve said is true.”

“I’m certain it is, but that doesn’t mean you’ve told me everything.”

Quaeryt shook his head ruefully. “There’s no end to that. To tell you everything about me, or for you to tell me everything about you, would take more time than either of us has.”

Abruptly, the sound of a horn echoed from the rear. Quaeryt didn’t understand the signal, but Rescalyn did, for he wheeled his mount.

“They’re being attacked!” The governor stood in the stirrups. “Column halt! Commander! Take charge here! Scholar! Follow me!”

Quaeryt did indeed follow Rescalyn back along the shoulder of the road, although the distance between them widened with every moment that passed. As the commands passed down the column, companies were turning, and weapons were out and at the ready.

Quaeryt caught up with the governor at the head of the wagons, near the two engineering wagons, and the supply wagons behind them. Rescalyn had reined up and was talking intently to a graying major, who seemed to shrink into his saddle with each word from the governor.

After halting the mare well away from what was clearly some sort of dressing-down, Quaeryt waited and looked to the east. The two last supply wagons were burning fiercely, with black and gray smoke rising into the gauzy sky, seemingly eventually mixing with the high haze. While two companies rode back toward the column from the northeast, Quaeryt saw no sign of any attackers. Suddenly, he realized that he was carrying full shields-and he hadn’t even noticed. He almost shook his head, but lowered them to the lighter shields, with the triggers for contact … and waited.

After a time, Rescalyn nodded to the major, then turned his gelding and rode back toward Quaeryt. Since the governor didn’t stop, Quaeryt turned the mare and swung up alongside Rescalyn, keeping pace with him, but saying nothing.

After several moments, Rescalyn spoke, gesturing back and to the right. “They rode out of a swale back there. They caught the rear guard by surprise.” He shook his head. “You’d think that by now…”

“They only think that surprises happen in the hills,” Quaeryt pointed out.

“You’re right.” Rescalyn laughed ruefully. “Expecting only what happened before cost a score or more of the rear guard their lives. It could have been worse, if the hill forces had been looking for a fight. I pointed that out to the major.”

“They were just trying to destroy supplies?” asked Quaeryt. “With fire arrows?”

“Quarrels filled with flaming pitch … or something like that. They’re trying to make the point that they can destroy our supplies and attack anywhere.”

“The rear guard didn’t go that far after them. They were riding back by the time I got to the supply wagons.”

“No. There’s no point in that. The major did understand that. Before long, we’d be spread over hundreds of milles and be bleeding from scores of cuts.”

Quaeryt waited.

“You aren’t saying anything, scholar.”

“You have a different plan. I was waiting to hear it.”

“It’s simple enough. Once they return to the woods and hills, they split up. There’s no point in trying to track down individuals, but we don’t have to. The winters here are long and cold, and without supplies, even the angriest hill holders can’t do much. First, we break the siege at Boralieu. By besieging it, they’ve done us a favor. That concentrates their forces, and we can do more damage to them. Then we move on each hill hold and level it. We take the supplies we can use and destroy the rest. The hill holders have been a plague on Tilbor for too long.”

“Won’t they just attack the column once you leave Boralieu?”

“That’s what scouts are for. It’s hard on them, but it cuts overall losses.”

While Quaeryt admired the brutal simplicity of the plan, including the fact that it was timed just after most harvests were gathered in, he had to wonder, as he knew he did too often, whether Rescalyn’s abilities matched his confidence.