Traveler of the Void - Part 3 Chapter 2 - Attack and Defense

  Traveler of the Void

(Book 4 of the Guardian of the Spirit Series)

Author: Uehashi Nahoko

Translator: Ainikki the Archivist

 

Part 3 - The Night of the Ceremony

Chapter 2 - Attack and Defense

     

    Near the palace, there was a grand mansion where men of high rank could partake in good food and expensive wine. It usually only opened in the evenings, but it had been ordered to open at noon that day by Sangal’s Island Guardians. A special meeting chamber was prepared for them inside.

    The faces of the Island Guardians appeared pinched and nervous. That morning, on orders from the king, their soldiers had been sent back to their islands to prepare for an impending attack. The Island Guardians’ emergency meeting had been convened to address these recent alarming events.

    Usually, their wives would accompany them to such a meeting, but today they were holding their own emergency meeting in the Flower Pavilion, so the Island Guardians had seized this chance to meet in secret. Dishes containing slices of fresh fish, sweet accal fruit, and tender beef (very rare on the islands) were spread upon the table, but none of the Island Guardians ate. Although it was only just past noon, all the men were drinking.

    “The royal family suspects us. Our soldiers have been sent away.”

    “You’re reading too much into that. It’s only natural for the king to fortify the islands when he hears about a possible attack.”

    Adol listened to the conversations of the other Island Guardians in silence, then set down his wine glass. “What’s most important now is not what the royal family thinks, but what we think.”

    The Island Guardians’ chatter fell silent like a pot of boiling water suddenly removed from a flame. The nervous atmosphere in the room intensified. Some of the Island Guardians had already decided to join the Talsh. Some still wavered, unsure of what would serve their interests best. It was the eleventh hour, and betraying a king was no simple matter. Many of the Island Guardians had come to this meeting to gather the courage required for such a deed.

    “We don’t have anything to worry about,” a man with red-rimmed eyes said. He had many islands under his control, Rasu chief among them.

    “We are caught in the flow of a current, “ another man said hoarsely. He was not the sort of man to mince words, and he considered joining the Talsh in this situation an inevitability. “The kingdom of Sangal is being sucked into a whirlpool. We’d do best to ride the current away from the whirlpool, or we too may wind up at the bottom of the sea.”

    Some among the Island Guardians deeply loved their wives, but their feelings had soured somewhat when they’d realized how much their wives prioritized the royal family’s interests ahead of their own. They were connected to Sangal’s royalty by familial bonds, but their sons would not necessarily succeed them, nor would they inherit any kind of high social rank. The history of the Sangal kingdom was short, and the current king had been amply blessed with children. The Island Guardians felt that having their children excluded from the same privileges the royal children enjoyed was deeply unfair.

    “We’re being watched by the Talsh even now,” Adol said in a hushed tone. “By the time the three-day term of Prince Tarsan’s sentence has elapsed, we must kill the king and Prince Karnan to prove our loyalty. With Prince Tarsan fled to whereabouts unknown, we have no reason at all to wait. What should we do?”

    The men looked at one another in silence for a moment. Then the Island Guardian from Rasu placed his glass upon the table with a heavy thud. “The fact that Prince Tarsan ran away doesn’t change his guilt any,” he said, cutting through the room’s tension with a light and easy tone. “He’s as good as dead. Forget about him. We need to decide on a course of action before our wives figure out what we’re doing.”

    The Island Guardian from Shan island nodded his head. “We already know what the outcome will be. Our main difficulty will be in getting around the King’s and Prince Karnan’s guards so that we can kill them. Prince Karnan is still recovering from his grave injury, so his guards are on high alert. Getting to the king will be even more difficult. We must also consider which would be best to kill first. Their bodyguards are strong. By killing one, we’ll effectively be doubling the guard on the other.”

    The Island Guardians sat in contemplative silence for a while. Adol shifted his gaze to each of them in turn, then said, “I have an idea. Would you like to hear it? Or has anyone else come up with something?”

    The Island Guardians looked bitterly at Adol in silence. Adol chuckled. “All right. But if my plan works, I expect you all to give me the proper respect for it.”

    Rasu’s Island Guardian snorted. “Respect? What do you mean?”

    Adol stared at Rasu’s Island Guardian. “I want you to promise that you will treat me as your leader. I want the right to negotiate directly with the Talsh as our representative.”

    The men in the room talked over each other at this demand. Adol pitched his voice to cut through the din. “Assassinating the king is extremely dangerous. That’s what I’m proposing. I’ll do it for you, all of it. It’s only reasonable to grant the man that takes the greatest risk the greatest reward.”

    The men exchanged glances. The Island Guardian from Rasu said, “All right. Let’s hear this plan. If it seems feasible--and if it succeeds--we’ll give you the respect you’ve asked for.”

    Adol spread a large sheet of paper out on the table. “I want everyone’s name and drop of their blood on this contract to seal the deal.”

    The Island Guardians crowded in to read what was written on the paper. It was a pledge of loyalty to the Talsh empire; it also established Adol as their leader. The Island Guardians felt that Adol had been one step ahead of them this whole time, and grew restless.

    Rasu’s Island Guardian glared at Adol. “I should’ve guessed you’d be prepared for this. I hope your plan is as good as you seem to think it is.”

    Stung by his sarcasm, Adol leaned over the table. In an ingratiating tone, he said, “We’ll assassinate the King and Prince Karnan at the same time. For Karnan, I’m thinking of using all the people that are praying for him and sending well-wishes... Let me make the necessary preparations, and I’ll fill you in on all the details later.

    “As for the King, we’ll wait until he’s unprotected. Tomorrow night, at the Soul Return Ceremony of the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita, he will have a light guard.  The ceremony is sacred. The only people permitted at the Soul Return Ceremony are the King, his bodyguards, the Island Guardians, a small number of priests, and the girl herself.”

    “Don’t bullshit us. The King may be relatively unprotected during the ceremony itself, but all of his guards will be waiting along the cliff just below. We don’t have the men to break through them after we’ve done the deed. And if the royal family anticipates this plan, they will undoubtedly separate us from our scant remaining forces.”

    Adol grinned. “But we do have enough men. Prince Tarsan’s men were removed from his service this morning.”

    Some of the Island Guardians gasped in comprehension; others nodded.

    “That’s right; they’ve been temporarily assigned to Princess Karina. Their status has also been significantly demoted. It is these demoted men that will be charged with protecting the King tomorrow night. Let’s make use of them. It will be their first night of duty since being transferred. I know these men well; many of them come from Kalsh. Many also still revere Prince Tarsan, and their demotion has made them...temperamental.”

    “I see. You intend to use their loyalty for Prince Tarsan to fan flames of unrest against the King.”

    Adol nodded. “What kind of story should we use to rile them up? I have a few ideas.”

    When they finished listening to Adol, every single Island Guardian frowned deeply. “We don’t have control over Prince Tarsan. We don’t even know where he is. After our lie is discovered, how will you beat back the soldiers from our own door?”

    “After we assassinate Prince Karnan and the King, anything can happen. Don’t forget that we act as a shield for the northern continent against the Talsh. For the sake of peace, our generals will put down any revolt among common soldiers. Right now, our first priority is to ensure that both assassinations are successful.”

    Adol offered his fellow Island Guardians a self-satisfied smile.

 

 

At around the same time the Island Guardians were conducting their secret meeting, Surina was bringing her recent catch of fish back to shore. She had kept her promise to Dogol, but she still wouldn’t see her family anytime soon. She didn’t even know if she’d get a chance to see them; she had no idea where they were. Whenever she thought about it, she nearly cried.

But her life kept going, and so did she. She spent most of her days aboard her ship, leaving at dawn to go diving for fresh fish. She gave these fish to Rakora, who allowed her to take her meals with him and his wife. As if sensing her loneliness, they also taught Surina how to help out in making wine and running the shop.

While gazing out over the surface of the sea, Surina thought about Eshana, who would be tossed into these same waves tomorrow night.  I wish I had asked to save Eshana when I had the chance...

She remembered her meeting with Princess Karina and sighed. She’d been so scared at having to give her report again. Princess Karina had been beautiful, but in hindsight Surina was disturbed at how freely and casually Karina had touched her. She felt like Princess Karina’s hands were just as capable of harming her as helping her. She and Prince Tarsan were siblings, but they couldn’t be more different. Surina also got the sense that no one she had spoken to in the hall with the generals would have given her the time of day ordinarily.

I’m such an idiot. I always have the best ideas after the fact...

If only, if only. She plucked at her anxious thoughts as if she were picking lint from cloth. She couldn’t stop thinking about what she could do for Eshana.

She brought the fish she’d caught back to Rakora’s and began scaling and boning them. Her nose twitched at the bitter smell of someone fermenting cham in the kitchen, but even the bitterness of the fermenting wine couldn’t distract her from thoughts of Eshana.

She ceased preparing her fish and looked up at Rakora. “Uncle Rakora...if Eshana’s soul returns tomorrow night, what would happen?”

“What are you asking?” Rakora asked. He tasted a bit of the cham. His lips puckered in distaste. As he imagined the sight of a little girl being thrown from the cliffs above the palace, he shuddered. “Don’t make me say it. Let’s just pray that the worst doesn’t happen.”

“Hosorou cape isn’t all that high,” Surina said. “Kids that fall off it can usually be rescued.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” Rakora said. “They will tie the child to a stone. And they’ll throw her into the sea at night, not during the day, so once she sinks it’ll be impossible to find her. Give up. The more you think about it, the worse you’ll feel.”

“That’s terrible! To think they’d do something so awful like weigh them down...”

Surina shook all over. She’d carried Eshana in her arms when she was a baby. For her to be thrown into the dark ocean, all alone, weighed down so that she couldn’t even swim...it was too much for her. She remembered Eshana’s soul crying out to her in the palace garden, desperately wanting to go home, and felt like she’d been stabbed through the heart.

I want to save her.

But if Rakora was right, there was no way to save her after she’d been tossed into the waves. She wouldn’t be able to see anything at all, sunk beneath the waves in the dark. As she envisioned it all in her mind, she gasped.

Surina had an idea.

 

 

A single night remained until the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita would be given to the sea in the Soul Return Ceremony. As thanks for the previous day’s invitation, Princess Karina sent a gift of beautiful flowers in a box to Chagum’s room after breakfast. Saluna opened the box carefully and rummaged through its contents.

“There’s probably a message,” she said.

Saluna’s guess proved correct: at the very bottom of the box was a letter wrapped in oiled paper.

“Go ahead and read it,” Chagum said.

Saluna unwrapped the letter and opened it. “Crown Prince Chagum. I offer my sincere thanks for your gracious invitation...” 

Karina’s letter was brief. She intended to expose the Island Guardians’ role in the Talsh plot tonight. She had assigned her own personal guards to keep watch over the King, but Prince Karnan lacked any kind of additional protection. She was concerned that the Island Guardians’ personal guards might be compromised, so she requested the use of Chagum’s personal guards to protect him. She hoped that Chagum would agree to this request, given Sangal’s long history of defending the nation of New Yogo, which had not been invaded or attacked for over a hundred years. She reaffirmed Sangal’s solemn vow to always provide New Yogo with military support and committed to a free and open exchange of information.

“The letter reflects her personality, as does her request,” Saluna said.

Chagum lifted his head and looked at Shuga. “Should I accept?”

Shuga narrowed his eyes and considered. “The problem is the number of men we have. That is to say, not terribly many. And I fear we may be involving them in something very dangerous. Much depends on how strong the Island Guardians’ forces are. If Princess Karina’s plan should fail...we must consider the risks. Right now, all the representatives of Sangal’s allied nations are gathered in one place. If any of those representatives are killed, Sangal’s diplomatic position weakens dramatically.”

Chagum’s eyes snapped wide open. “You’re saying that this could also be the perfect time for Talsh to weaken the northern continent by killing the guests. Or killing us.”

“Possibly, but that really does depend on the Island Guardians. If they’re determined to crush the royal family, they may not hesitate to do more damage. But just because it’s possible doesn’t mean I think it will happen.”

Without using so many words, Shuga was telling him that if he loaned his guards to Prince Karnan, he would be left defenseless. “I don’t really think the Island Guardians would do that, though.”

Saluna muttered something, then snapped her mouth shut. She wanted Chagum to lend his guards to Karnan, but she also didn’t want him to do anything reckless.

Chagum’s eyebrows drew together as he thought things over. Finally, he said, “We need more allies.”

“Allies, Your Majesty?” Shuga asked.

Chagum’s eyes glittered. “Well, we have allies here in Sangal, but I think this is a good chance for us to expand the definition of the word. We can say that we want to strengthen the relationships between our neighboring nations. Kanbal is far to the north of Sangal and Rota is to the west, but all of us are bound by hidden ties. If Sangal falls, Rota will definitely be invaded first--before New Yogo. Kanbal is farther away, which should give them more time to prepare, but if Sangal, Rota, and New Yogo fall, Kanbal is next.”

Shuga felt a warmth like a excitement spread through his chest. “Think it over, Your Majesty. It will be difficult to negotiate with Rota and Kanbal. We will need a strategy.”

Chagum grinned and nodded his head. His previous dull, depressed mood transformed completely after being given something to do. He felt like he’d just been asked to draw up mock battle plans for the strategy game of racharon that he and Shuga played at the palace.

 

 

Before negotiating with Rota and Kanbal, they had to solidify their plans with Princess Karina. But there never seemed to be a right time to call a meeting. Chagum seized the opportunity to meet with her at lunch, though they had to do so in full view of all the other guests.

“Whenever anyone’s in trouble,” Chagum said, “offering a helping hand to assist them through that trouble is both kind and generous. But alliances between nations aren’t quite as simple as that. Countries can be allies even if their rulers personally hate each other. All that’s really required to maintain an alliance is sufficient give-and-take from both sides.”

Karina plastered on a false smile and listened politely to Chagum, acting like he was saying something trivial or witty.

“But,” Chagum continued, “it’s clear that New Yogo, Kanbal, and Rota owe Sangal a debt of gratitude for protecting them from war for so long. Right now, the situation Sangal faces can’t be resolved without significant sacrifice on Sangal’s part. It’s only fair for Sangal’s allies to ease some of their burden.”

Karina poured sweet wine into Chagum’s glass and nodded. “I understand your proposal. Last night, I received full discretion from my father to handle this matter. I like this plan to call upon our allies. I will draw up a letter to each of the nations you’ve mentioned, affixed with the royal seal, and pass them to Your Highness. I shall rely on you.”

Chagum glanced over to the other side of the hall at the king of Kanbal, then returned his gaze to Karina.

“The king of Rota has a keen mind,” Karina said. “I am certain that he will grasp the situation immediately and find some way to twist negotiations to his advantage. I do believe he will lend us his support, for a price. But winning over Kanbal may prove difficult.”

Chagum’s eyebrows rose slightly. Karina smiled. “It would be an amazing accomplishment if the king of Kanbal could be persuaded to lend us his spearmen. I would not fear for our success if we had such skilled help. But even New Yogo and Rota’s assistance should be enough. I will be very happy if you succeed. If negotiations go well, send me a box of flowers.”

Chagum drank his wine glass dry and nodded. “Understood, Princess Karina.”

Karina’s eyes shone with a strong and steady light. “Tonight, after dinner, the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita will be returned to the sea in the Soul Return Ceremony. The ceremony will take place at the very tip of Hosorou cape, which is at the westernmost point of the palace grounds. It is a highly secretive ceremony, so none of our foreign guests will be permitted to attend.

“The King will be escorted by guards to the cape. The only ones permitted at the actual site of the ceremony are the King, four priests, their attendants, and the girl herself. Island Guardians are also required to attend.”

Chagum’s eyes glinted in comprehension. He nodded at Karina.

“There will be a separate banquet held for our foreign guests, to serve as a farewell and to bolster Prince Karnan’s health. It is believed in Sangal that song and dance are greatly therapeutic, so both of these entertainments will be given at the banquet. Karnan will also be in attendance, though he his still in his sickbed. It will be a simple enough matter for you to protect him.”

“Is it really all right to move him in his condition?”

“The bleeding has stopped, and he is awake and lucid. I have consulted with him regarding all the particulars of this plan, and we are in complete agreement. I and all the other members of the royal family will be attending the Soul Return Ceremony, but Karnan will be left in the hall with you. He has been fully briefed about everything that’s going on. I believe that he’ll be all right.”

Karina elegantly lifted her wine glass and took a dainty sip. “I’ve heard that the wind will be exceptionally strong tonight.”

 

 

Shortly after dinner that night, it was announced that Prince Karnan would throw a banquet to celebrate his return to health and to encourage his further recovery. Adol looked at Karina and tried to suppress his anxiety. This banquet would be the culmination of all Adol’s hopes, and he was concerned that he may not have planned well enough for every possibility.

“Is it really all right for our esteemed brother to be moved?” he asked. “Perhaps the singers and dancers should be invited to entertain him privately.”

Karina shook her head decisively. “It is important for our guests to see how well Karnan has recovered before they go home tomorrow morning. We want to leave them with a favorable impression of us. And the physicians have given their consent to move him.”

Singing and dancing had been considered therapeutic in Sangal as a matter of long convention, so the banquet almost had the weight of a religious event. No one in the banquet hall would be permitted to carry weapons, not even guards. To wear weapons to such an event would be a sign of rudeness and disrespect. Of course, Prince Karnan’s armed guards would be waiting just outside the banquet hall,  alert to any threats to his safety...but Adol believed that he’d found a flaw in the guards’ preparations.

Wind, blow my way.

Adol tamped down his excitement before it could go to his head.

 

 

Chagum made the excuse that because their time of departure for New Yogo was imminent, he wanted to exchange greetings with his country’s nearest neighbors once more to wish them well on their travels. He gave first priority to the Rota kingdom.  Chagum had heard from Karina that if he presented his case calmly, the King would certainly hear him out as if he were his own son. His face would not be an easy one to read, but Karina had told Chagum that the king of Rota’s slight smile was the same as the Mikado’s frozen lack of expression: a sure sign of favorability and success.

Chagum visited the King of Rota’s guest quarters and handed him Princess Karina’s letter. He scanned it, then passed it around to his guards and retainers. He heard their opinions, then decided quickly and decisively to ally himself with Sangal and New Yogo. The king had the reputation of understanding the hearts of his own people well, and the swiftness of his decision was largely due to the unanimity of opinion among his followers on this matter.

King Yosam’s physique reminded Chagum somewhat of the warriors of Kanbal, but he spoke Yogoese with an accent particular to Rota. “We’ve had peace in the north for a long time. Our country is small, so we have always approached disputes with a policy of strict neutrality. But we can’t permit this plot to succeed. Rota and New Yogo are not large, as nations go. Let us join hands and brace against the advancing wave.”

Chagum offered the King his sincere thanks. He bowed to him deeply before he left.

 

 

The guest quarters of the Kanbal King were at the northern end of the palace in a detached villa that had been specially designed and built for guests from the cold and snowy north. It had been erected along the coast in a place that received cold air from the deep waters of the ocean beyond Hosorou cape.

Chagum walked along a corridor as the late afternoon sunlight stretched the shadows around him. His nervous tension heightened as he moved.

I wonder what the King of Kanbal’s like?

A door in front of him opened. Chagum walked into the room and identified the King of Kanbal standing in the very center of it. Four well-muscled warriors stood around him, carrying spears with shafts that were decorated with a golden ring below the tip. Compared to them, the king appeared delicate and even somewhat frail.

The king was sweating profusely. He was undoubtedly wearing his summer clothes, but clothing in Kanbal was woven or knitted out of fur, so Chagum imagined that he must be unbearably hot. Light brown hair stuck up from his forehead.

The king offered Chagum a seat. Chagum sat, then spoke to Kanbal’s King exactly as he had to Rota’s. As he spoke, the King became visibly nervous. His eyebrows furrowed together. When Chagum showed him Princess Karina’s letter, his eyes darted around in confusion, as if he was utterly lost.

The King passed the letter to the King’s Spears. “What do you think?”

“I would first like to hear the opinion of Your Majesty,” the eldest of the King’s Spears said in a deep voice.

Fine wrinkles appeared on the King’s forehead. He fidgeted and blinked a few times, then looked at Chagum.

“Crown Prince Chagum, I understand your request. But Sangal is very distant from Kanbal. Even if the Talsh attacked, Kanbal’s terrain is mainly mountainous, perilous even to those who live there. And so...” He gave Chagum a regretful smile.

“My country is very poor,” King Radalle said. “If we were wealthy like Sangal, I could easily see why the Talsh would want to conquer us by force. But I have no desire to spill blood needlessly. There is nothing we have that the Talsh might want.”

“Don’t your people harvest luisha from the mountains?” Chagum asked.

The King winced at Chagum’s question. Luisha was a precious blue gemstone with mysterious properties that could only be found in Kanbal. Due to its rarity, it was also very expensive.

“Luisha is not like other gems. It cannot be mined or dug out of the ground.” The King tried to explain, but he started and stopped frequently, as if searching for the right words, and finally he lapsed into silence. Revealing any of luisha’s secrets was forbidden.

“We do not understand this Talsh empire,” the King said after a brief silence. “To us in Kanbal, it has the peculiar charm of the exotic about it. They certainly aren’t our enemies.” His expression hardened. “All these things being the case, I cannot add Kanbal’s support to your alliance. You would be asking me to significantly weaken my own personal defenses. And if I died, there would be no further help for Sangal from Kanbal, ever.”

The King’s Spears exchanged glances with one another, then looked at Chagum. It seemed like they wanted to say something, but they clearly agreed that their first duty was to protect the King, and in the end, they said nothing.

Chagum put his all into persuading this King that cared so much about protecting himself to also care about protecting others. “I am sorry for bringing such a petition before you in such a thoughtless way. I am young, but as I see it, when a nation sends out a cry for help, the country that extends no aid and stands independent can expect to be likewise abandoned when they are in need of assistance. Sangal, New Yogo, and Rota are extending their hands to you. Won’t you accept them?”

The King of Kanbal flushed pink. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you are still only the Crown Prince of New Yogo. Are you empowered to speak as New Yogo’s leader? Do you have the authority to enforce what you say? What would happen if you proposed an alliance of friendship with Kanbal here, and your father the Mikado opposed it?”

Chagum felt his face heating up. He felt like the King had just called him an idiot. He steadied his breathing and suppressed his feelings.

“King Radalle. It is true that I am still only the Crown Prince of New Yogo. But I will become the Mikado. I know you see no advantage in joining forces with me now, but I beg you humbly to reconsider. For the sake of the future of all our nations, join this alliance.”

The King’s mouth opened and closed suddenly. He remained silent for a few moments. When he addressed Chagum again, he said, “I shall consider it.” And that was all.

He knew there was no time to reconsider--Prince Karnan’s banquet was tonight!--yet he still gave no clear answer.

Chagum returned to his rooms, angered at being so summarily and yet indecisively rejected. He told Shuga, Saluna and Tarsan what had happened. As he was speaking, one of his attendants knocked on the door and announced the arrival of a guest.

Saluna and Tarsan concealed themselves in the secret passage in Chagum’s bedroom, and had just stepped out of sight as the door to Chagum’s rooms opened.

The visitor was certainly unexpected. A man entered his rooms with brisk strides. Chagum recognized him immediately as one of the King’s Spears that had stood in King Radalle’s shadow. Only one. The young man bowed to Chagum.

“I am called Kahm of the Musa clan. I am the son of the clan’s head, and have the honor of being one of the King’s Spears. The King of Kanbal has sent me to Your Highness to deliver a message,” he said in a light, bright voice. “I have come to accept your proposed alliance. Kanbal shall join New Yogo and Rota to save Sangal.”

Chagum stared at Kahm in amazement.

“Thank you,” Chagum breathed. “Thank you. Can I ask what changed the King’s mind?”

Kahm gave him a secretive smile. “He didn’t change his mind; he just needed time to consider matters thoroughly. He is not a person that decides things quickly.” Kahm’s expression became grim. “I command Kanbal’s military forces. The first duty of all the King’s Spears is to protect the King. So you must understand that we do not ordinarily protect others, but the King has given me special dispensation. For this evening only, I am at your disposal.” His tone was as pointed and direct as Chagum would’ve expected from a warrior of Kanbal.

“I thank you for your aid. The strength and skill of the King’s Spears is well-known even in New Yogo. Let us be allies and friends from this point forward. Please convey my sincere thanks to the King of Kanbal.”

Kahm bowed his head and withdrew.

Saluna and Tarsan heard the door close after Kahm left and emerged from hiding. “And with that, I don’t think there’s anything more we can do,” Saluna said.

Chagum nodded. “Everything’s gone better than I expected. We still have a little time before the banquet--I finished everything before the sun set. When Shuga and I leave, these rooms will be deserted for a while. Feel free to use them as you see fit--relax, take a bath, whatever you’d like.”

Saluna grinned, but she looked tired. Chagum had brought in hot water for her and Tarsan to bathe the night before. Offering to do so again so soon was a consideration that Saluna considered a trifle excessive.

“Thank you for arranging for our clothing and our comfort,” Saluna said. “I want to be prepared for whatever happens tonight.”

Tarsan wasn’t listening to her or Chagum. He stared out the window, watching the sun sink below the horizon.

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