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the clouds was welcome, more than welcome. He turned to Ayrlyn.  Your turn.
 Right. With a grim smile, she turned her mount and .began to ride back
along the part of the column that contained their two squads plus of trainees
and troublemakers.
The sun hung just above the western hills when they reached a ridge crest.
On the other side, the road swung down in an arc into a gentle valley cut by
the river. There were no bridges, just what appeared to be a flat sloping
ford.
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 Clynya& Clynya& 
The mutterings that came back through the road dust confirmed to Nylan that
they were nearing their immediate destination.
 It is not even sunset, proclaimed Tonsar.
 Good, murmured Sylenia.
Nylan just wiped away more muddy sweat, and glanced up at the still-dark
clouds that covered two-thirds of the sky. They felt like rain, but there
hadn t been any, not even a hint of moisture on the light breeze out of the
east that had done little to cool him on the afternoon s ride.
He studied the valley as they began to ride down toward the ford. Unlike
Rohrn, Clynya was on the eastern side of the river, on a slight hill nearly
two kays north of the ford itself. Was that because the greater threat
happened to be the Jeranyi? Using the river as a defense made sense to Nylan,
but he wondered if towns and cities were located for such sensible reasons.
The plateau he had picked out as a possible city site made more sense than
Lornth s location, but there wasn t even a town on the plateau.
Just across the ford, less than a kay from the river, and to the left of
the road, were a series of earthworks, and behind them, blackened timbers. The
grass reached halfway up the earthen barrier, but had not covered all the
blackened ground or ashes.
 What was that? asked Ayrlyn.
 I believe that must be the Jeranyi fort-the one that Lord Sillek
destroyed. I have not been this far south, but Huruc was, and he said that
Lord Sillek had destroyed the fort and driven the Jeranyi back across the
grasslands. Tonsar shrugged.  They will try again. They always have.
 Wasn t there some sort of agreement? Ayrlyn pursued. Nylan looked toward
Sylenia, who was turned in her saddle and trying to give Weryl a drink of
water.
 Ildyrom cannot be trusted. He is a Jeranyi. Tonsar shrugged.  They will
be back.
Nylan frowned. For the Jeranyi to have built a fort on the Lornian side of
the river& Sillek had indeed had his troubles. To have succeeded in pushing
the Jeranyi back across the grasslands, and then still having been forced to
fight Westwind-the engineer shook his head. The Lornian holders appeared
singularly stupid, but, maybe, there was something he and Ayrlyn didn t know.
Maybe.
 There aren t many trees, said Ayrlyn, breaking into his thoughts,  even
near the river.
 The sheep like the green shoots, and, Tonsar shrugged,  there is not that
much rain.
Nylan glanced up at the clouds.  This doesn t make sense. There s enough
rain here for there to be trees.
 Unless the summer is very dry and long and hot, suggested Ayrlyn.
 Hot& very hot, agreed Tonsar.  Rain. It rains seldom. . The engineer did
not even want to think about a summer that hot and dry.
A line of rain gusted over the low thatched roofs of Clynya and swept
westward down the road toward the column of armsmen, down toward the ford, the
West Fork, the grasslands, and Jerans. Almost as the sprinkling of rain had
come, it was gone.
Yet after the splattering of rain, all that was left were dark spots on the
road, and a hint of dampness in the air.
Nylan stood in the saddle as the column ahead slowed in an open space
before several buildings. While the timbered two-storied barracks had a rough
plank roof, the stable was roofed with sod, and long streamers of brown grass
hung over the thick eaves. Some sections of the roof sported new growth.
Still, the barracks and the stable were large, large enough for the several
hundred levies.
Nylan turned to Tonsar.  You get to make sure that Wuerek buries that
body-and deep.
 Yes, ser angel. Tonsar s voice was weary.
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 If he gives you any trouble, tell him I ll bury him next to it.
 Yes, ser. A faint smile crossed Tonsar s lips.
 Tonsar&  suggested Ayrlyn.  Don t invent trouble.
Nylan thought the subofficer was going to roll his eyes, but the man only
nodded. As Tonsar rode toward the rear of the group, one word escaped his
lips, loud enough for the two to hear.  & angels& 
 He s not used to being understood, said Ayrlyn dryly.
 Thanks to you, Nylan answered.
Sylenia glanced from Nylan to Ayrlyn. The nursemaid opened her mouth, then
closed it as another rider neared.
 The front stalls of the stables are for us. You angels have the upper
middle quarters, Fornal said smoothly, gesturing toward the wooden outside
steps.  They are large enough for your needs. We all eat in the barracks hall
after the two bells ring.
 Thank you. Nylan smiled politely.  Where are the subofficers billeted in
case we need to find Tonsar?
 At the end in the rear. Fornal gestured vaguely in the direction of the
long building.  They each have a small room.
After the coregent rode toward the stables, the two angels followed,
trailed by Sylenia and Weryl, letting Fornal enter the stables first. A
handful of chickens skittered away from all the horses, flocking toward a
gap-planked and tilting structure to the south of the stable. Some form of hen
house, Nylan guessed, both from the low roof line and the smell.
 This way, sers, called a grimy youth.  Officers at the front here.
The stalls were small, smelly, and the clay underfoot slimy.
Nylan raised his eyebrows and glanced across the stall wall at Ayrlyn. She
shrugged. What could they do-except share a wry smile?
After stabling their mounts, and grooming them, the three walked toward the
barracks building, where they climbed the outside steps to the central rooms.
Nylan opened the door, and a faint wave of dust-and something else-roiled
up around him. There were two rooms, consisting of a small bedchamber with a
double-wide bed, and a main front room with two couch beds, and a small
hearth. There was no wood for the hearth, not that they needed a fire in the
early summer heat. An open area before the windows showed marks on the
wide-planked floor where other furniture had been removed.
 It s not too bad, but there s something&  Ayrlyn frowned.
So did Nylan.  Chaos. Some time back, though. It s gone, except it s not.
Sylenia, juggling a squirming Weryl, glanced from one angel to the other.
 One of Sillek s wizards? suggested Ayrlyn.
 Probably-there was one out here in the grasslands to hold off the Jeranyi.
Someone told us that. He s probably the one that burned out the Jeranyi fort
we passed.
 Sillek was resourceful&  Ayrlyn paused and turned to Sylenia.  You can put
Weryl down and let him totter around. There s nothing here that can hurt him.
 But you said- began the black-haired woman-girl. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]