Chapter 14: New Allies

Noia didn't look around; instead she opened the door to the building and went inside without hesitation. The day had been a little hazy outside, but the sun was bright enough that she had to spend a few heartbeats letting her eyes adjust to the dimness inside the shop.

A young man appeared and smiled pleasantly at her. "May I help you, noble lady?"

"I'd like to speak to Solon, please. I've come from afar."

The clerk bobbed his head. "Trader Solon is always fascinated by stories from far away, my lady. Who may I say has come to call?"

"I am Noius," she told him.

He nodded and walked briskly towards a long counter that ran across one end of the room she was in. He went behind it, and then up a flight of stairs that she'd only dimly noticed.

After a few minutes an older man, a man who'd seen many hard days, but who had grown soft recently, came down the steps behind the young man.

The older man held out his hand to Noia. "I'm Solon. I hear you're from far away."

"Zarthan, a small county south of Echanistra," she said, nodding.

"Goodness! That is far! And because of the war, there's been almost no travel! I don't suppose you would like to come sit in my office, sip some tea, have some very nice biscuits and tell me of your travels?"

"That would be fine, sir. I'd like that."

He led the way up. It wasn't until she was nearly at the top of the steps did she notice that the pace up was very brisk and that evidently she'd been wrong about Solon having grown soft.

In a moment they were seated at a table and he poured her some tea in an odd mug. It wasn't a very generous serving, she thought.

"Do you have something interesting for me?" he asked.

Noia reached into her belt and pulled the coin out, then set it on the table in front of her and started it spinning on one edge. As it started to slow, she scooped it back up and returned to her waistband.

"No names," Solon said, "but where did you come by that?"

"North Port."

"Ah! That Noius! I thought so! So you've come to learn about the new forms of ship building?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, tell me of your journey here. Once again, no names."

So for the next palm-width she described her trip to Echanistra, then Baytown, Outpost, Hostigos Town and finally Harphax City.

At the end he nodded. "The world is getting smaller, eh? Five moons ago you were on the other side of the world!"

"Well, certainly the other side of this part of it," she told him.

"Ah! The High King's odd notion of the shape of the world! Round like a ball! It is a little much to accept."

"It fits with what I've seen on my journey," she told him. "You see the tops of mountains, the tops of ships first, as you approach them, until finally you get close and see the bottom. That wouldn't happen if the world was flat."

"True enough, but as all men know, the earth isn't flat. There are highs and lows, mountains and valleys."

"Not on the ocean," Noia told him.

He crooked his head and looked at her. "No, I suppose not. I'm afraid I'm not very fond of open water, Lady Noius. It goes up and down and while not as much as the land, much more quickly and much too often. I'm afraid my belly is entirely too large to be upset."

She smiled and nodded.

"You understand that I wouldn't mind hearing more of stories such as yours," he told her. "I have a circle of friends who, like me, vicariously enjoy hearing about the exploits of someone in distant lands, while remaining safe at home. I have a number of correspondents in various places who forward such stories to me."

"So I'm given to understand."

"Again, without mentioning names, after you return home, the previous person should work for the time being. Discretion is useful, you understand?"

"Yes, of course."

"And... well, I understand that you will shortly be going to sea."

She smiled. "I can't say when, but eventually, yes."

"Come please, I want you to see something."

He walked out of his office and along a catwalk that looked down on a huge warehouse floor, a floor filled with bales and boxes, stacks of grain and stacks of who knew what, everywhere.

At the far end there was a large window, one of the largest Noia had ever seen in her life. The window looked down on a busy freight yard. Men and animals toiled, loading and unloading wagons. Bags, boxes and crates were moving in all directions, some to wagons, some into the warehouse.

"Do you see the wagon just beneath us?" Solon asked and Noia assured him she did.

"In a moment a man will emerge from the warehouse, watch for him. He's a little shorter than most of the rest, but that's not his most memorable feature."

Solon wasn't forthcoming about what was memorable about the man, which was curious, but Noia waited patiently.

Then a man walked out and she only caught the briefest glimpse of his face. He was short and squat, and if anything, even less beautiful than Noia. She managed to control her anger and stay her tongue, but she wasn't sure how long she could maintain an air of indifference.

Other men were lined up at the wagon, waiting for bags of what appeared to be grain. Two men on the wagon would drag a bag from the pile on the wagon and place it on the back of the next man in line and he'd lug it into the building.

The man she been watching turned slightly when he reached the wagon and took a bag over his left shoulder, not on his back. Then he turned a quarter turn and received another sack of grain on his right shoulder.

A hundred pounds each! Noia thought as she saw him start back towards the warehouse, carrying them both as easily as the others carried one. Seen from the front, he was even uglier than she'd thought before. He had a beetled brow, his hair stuck out wildly in all directions, with equally bushy eyebrows. His arms were thick, his legs were thick, his neck was thick, and his expression seemed to indicate he was a bit thick as well.

"That is a man named Phelen," Solon told her. "He came to me a few days ago with a tale of meeting the War God himself and being told to head for Harphax City so he could join the navy and fight the heathen who sacrifice people on pyramids."

He laughed. "Further inquiries found that he debauched his baron's daughter. The girl's father has sworn to kill Phelen at the first opportunity. Understand that I have seen the daughter and the baron should be amazed that as fine a man as Phelen would even look twice at her. She weighs perhaps three times what Phelen or I do."

Noia swallowed. Someone uglier than her? What did that say about her own hopes to someday find a man who could love her? She looked at Phelen and winced. There was a lot to be said for a life of celibacy!

"The baron has been very insistent that Phelen be turned over to him, but I appealed to the High King's judge here in Harphax City. When the judge saw the daughter, and then listened to her plea to be permitted to marry a commoner, the judge chastised the baron about not having first asked if Phelen would do the right thing. It turned out that Phelen had indeed asked for her hand as soon as he knew she was with child.

"The judge ordered that the marriage take place and the baron said he will never permit it. I had a word with the judge, who was all set to throw the baron into jail for a half moon to teach him respect and suggested something else to him instead.

"He did throw the baron into jail for three days. On the first of those days the daughter and Phelen were married; since she is with child the marriage had some urgency to it. Phelen spent his wedding night and the next night with his new bride. Now, however, he's hiding out from his irate father-in-law who will be released tomorrow.

"I would have Phelen report to you for duty, before the baron will be released from jail. Hopefully, with the deed done, some time to cool off and think about it, the baron will not be so angry. Phelen, off on sea duty, being out of sight and mind, would do his part to help the High King, while at the same time giving the baron even more time to cool off."

Noia rocked back in her chair, thinking. The problem was that she knew what was going to happen. The ship would be outfitted with weapons and equipment over the next moon, and then they'd put to sea. There would be stops, of course, but their destination was Blassdorf, well to the south. From there, they'd be under the command of another admiral, and they could be sent to other duties even further from Harphax City. She was supposed to be returned here before the Winter Solstice, but that was a long time away.

"Men of the sea frequently are away from home for long periods, and men of the High King are frequently called away for long periods with short notice," Noia said, not wanting to speak of the sailing schedule.

"Of course, of course. I understand that. Phelen will understand it, too. He'll make provision that his pay will go to his new wife. I was hoping perhaps, since he would be serving you directly, you might add a small sum to his naval pay."

"And why would I want a servant the likes of Phelen?" Noia asked.

"Well, he's very strong, as you can see. That can be useful aboard a ship, I understand. In spite of his appearance, he is intelligent. He swears he was apprenticed to a carpenter as a boy, and he does seem to know his way around a hammer and saw.

"And of course, the last little thing is that I trust him completely, and he knows a fair number of my contacts up and down the coast of the Great Western Ocean."

"And how would he have traveled there and back?" Noia asked.

"Like I said, he's a very interesting fellow," Solon told her.

"And would he have an easy time or a difficult time enlisting in the navy? I assume they have some physical standards."

"Oh, I do believe that any of the Naval Examiners would come to the conclusion that a man who can carry two hundred pounds of grain at a time is fit. A literate man, well versed in the new numbers."

"And, once I start back west, would he have a difficult or hard time being detached?"

"Well, if he's as handy with a hammer and nails as he says, why he might be just the sort of person they'll want to send on with you."

"And I'll be paying him from my own pocket?" Noia laughed at the audacity of it.

"Not much, enough for some wine, an occasional dinner not of ship rations."

"You understand that I came away penniless? That I live on the charity of others? That until four days ago I had less money than Phelen?"

"And now?"

"And now I have some. If Phelen is willing to live on the leavings from my table, he's going to be living on short rations and the ship's beer."

"We all make do, my lady, with what we have," he told her. "Now, I suggest you return to the others before they wonder where you've gotten to."

"I told them I was going shopping for a decent pistol."

"Well, see there! You've come to the right place! I have just the thing! Follow me."

He led her back to his desk, opened a drawer and pulled something out. It looked like a pistol, but was close to twice the size of a regular pistol.

"This is one of the new weapons that the High King is distributing to his officers. It is unique in many ways."

For one thing, it had two barrels. Noia had heard of double-barreled pistols, but they were famous for not working when you needed them. This was easily the largest pistol she'd ever seen.

"What's unique about this is that it will be used by the High King's Marines, the High King's soldiers who serve aboard warships, as opposed to men who sail and fight the ships."

He pulled a long brass tube from the desk and handed it to Noia. It was brass, she thought, longer by a little, than her longest finger and nearly as big around as her thumb. It had a two flat ends, one flanged, the other crimped.

"This is the equivalent of grape shot," he told her. "It fires six small balls, each the size of your little finger tip. There's a wax plug in the end to keep the workings dry, then the balls, then the powder." He reversed the cartridge and showed her the bottom. There was a dimple in the center. "That is a smaller version of the device that detonates mortar shells when fired or when landing.

"The fireseed in the shell is the smokeless variety, as well. Which is to say it produces about a tenth of the smoke as a standard pistol and the rounds carry about a third further."

He held up another brass cartridge. This one had a wicked point on the end. "This is a standard shot. I've seen what it can do." He waved at a twelve-inch post that was one of those running through the building. "If I were to shoot at a post like that, the odds are fair it would cut it in two. Fire it at a man's stomach in this room and you'll blow his guts out his back." He held up both his hands clinched together. "A hole this size in his back."

Noia blinked. "These are deadly."

Solon smiled. "That is the good news about these. The bad news is that you'll want to use both hands to fire it, and even then you'll want to be careful, because they kick like an angry mule. But, as I say, the Marines aboard your ship will have these, and, I suspect, very soon, the officers as well."

"Shell and shot?" she asked.

"I'll send along a couple of boxes of each sort. Fifty rounds per box. There will be more that your Marines will have."

"I have a couple of others I'd like to outfit like this," she told him.

For the first time Solon looked a little exasperated. "I don't have drawers of samples, my lady. I will whisper in a few ears and they will be distributed to your ship's officers soon."

"And how long do they take to reload? You didn't say. Is it as fast as a regular pistol?"

Solon quickly regained his composure. "There is a lever here," he pushed it, and the pistol broke in half and he inserted the two brass tubes into it, and pushed it back together. There was a metallic click and the pistol was ready.

Another click and it was broken again, and he pulled the two brass tubes out, and then put them back in. "It's easier when you're firing," he told her. "You just dump the brass on the deck." He smiled at her. "Oh, and the brass? You can teach a good man how to reload these in a moon-quarter. Save them if you can, as the brass is expensive. Saving brass, though, isn't worth your life. First, concentrate on staying alive."

"That part's easy enough to remember," Noia told him.

"Go then and let me prepare some notes so that I can inform my friends of what you've told me. Please, don't forget old Solon, on your travels!"

"With Phelen close by? I suspect it will be hard."

"I assure you, Phelen is a gentleman, even a dandy with the ladies. The baron's daughter isn't the first time he's been in trouble with a woman. Wait a moment and I'll have him fetched."

Noia smiled and followed Solon down the steps again. Again he went at a pace she found mildly unsettling, just a bit too fast for her. It was, she was sure, something he did deliberately to put his visitors on the defensive. When she thought about the reasons why that might be a good idea, she ended wondering what she could do that would serve the same purpose.

Phelen came in and bowed to her. "Lady Noia." His voice was probably the biggest surprise in her life, since she'd looked up at her father's palace when the bell began to toll his death.

Phelen's voice was a rich baritone, vibrant, confident and clear. For an instant he was erect, confident and competent in appearance as he took it all in with a glance. Then came a grating nasal voice with his next words. "Whatcha wanna me call's ya, aways from here, like?"

"I believe the phrase I keep hearing here is 'no names, ' isn't that right, grain merchant?"

Solon laughed. "True enough, but Lady Noia, there are times we carry these things too far. Outside these walls, making a mistake could be fatal, but here we should trust each other, eh?"

A moment later she was back in the street. Solon had given her a holster for her "pistol" and it felt awkward and uncomfortable, and she was sure everyone was looking at it and her. However, as awkward as it felt, she was pretty sure the bags of grain on Phelen's back had felt worse.

They'd gone most of the way back to the yards when Phelen moved up next to her from his position one step behind. "Solon gave you just the one shotgun?"

Noia nodded.

"Unless the gate guards know a lot more about the High King's secrets than I suspect, they'll scratch their heads and pass us through without looking very closely at our weapons. They're worried, mostly, about sailors who decide to go home early and sailors who want to bring whiskey or wine aboard a ship. Fireseed weapons might be smuggled out, but not in."

Noia nodded and he went on, "Don't mention you have one to anyone and when they come to distribute weapons to the officers, accept another. They make one in ten of the holsters to accommodate left-handed men, get one of those."

"You called it a shotgun?" Noia asked him.

"Aye, Lady Noia. It's what the High King calls it too, since it fires many shots at once. When we get a chance, you should practice. One thing you want to be careful about is never pull both triggers at once."

"And what happens if you do?"

He smiled at her. "I get knocked on my ass. A featherweight like you? Ya's gonna go flying out the door!"

Noia remembered the High King's warning about flattery and her quick dismissal of its possibility in regards to herself. Evidently the King's concerns had been justified. It just served to steel her resolve.

Phelen watched her then spoke softly as they walked, "Today was the one and only time you can do this, Lady. The Mexicotal spies marked you when you showed up at Solon's. The last one following us is now sure that you're returning to the yard and has turned away.

"By tomorrow, Lady, all of their spies will have spent time with a drawing of you and will know you on sight and will report wherever you go and whoever you see. The word will get back to their boss, a man we don't know, and odds are, if we've heard of you, he has too. He will order you killed, do you understand?"

She didn't need to ask why; she knew full well how much was depending on her mission.

"If you know who their spies are, why don't you just arrest them?" she asked.

He grinned. "Lady, you have much to learn! I will teach you! Dead spies, my lady, tell no tales. Arrested spies tell very few tales. In most cases, these men are part of the local underworld and are simply told to watch or follow so-and-so and report back to their boss. Such men are lazy and easy to defeat.

"Kill them, my lady, or arrest them and they know you're on to them. Worse, next time they will seek out a higher class of person to do their work. Higher class meaning more capable. At some point or other, they will hire men who can slip anywhere undetected. Better by far, Lady Noia, to leave the incompetents in play. The Duke of Mexico kept warning his soldiers that one day the fools who led the armies of the God-King would all be dead and the ones left would be very good indeed. Rumors abound, my lady, of a competent man, just as Lord Tuck surmised, who is now their King."

A very great deal for her to think about! And then, just to prove she had no idea, both Trilium and Tanda Sa were less than enthused that she'd added a third person to her entourage without consulting them. Captain Amby was even less pleased.

Tanda Havra contemplated her son, as Lady Inisa once again was changing him. The news from Tecpan was unsettling. The news from Baytown was unsettling. She'd talked about it with Tuck the night before and he had made her concerns worse, not less.

"Tanda, sometimes the timing of a deed can have as much impact as the deed itself. If, tomorrow, a Ruthani discovered fireseed independently of Styphon or the High King, everyone would yawn. Whereas the High King and that nameless priest of Styphon had impacts far greater than most men.

"If there came a time when things were looking bad, if someone killed one or both of us and John... it would go a long ways towards unnerving the people. It could mean the difference between victory and defeat in the final battle. Now -- now, it just might make everyone angry and show that Xyl isn't that much different than the old priests."

"Anyone who comes after either of us better be swift and sure, for if they are not successful, what happens will be very unpleasant. And if they come for John -- they will feel wrath like that the gods wreck on mortals, for I have told my family to avenge me," Tanda told her husband.

Tuck nodded, knowing she wasn't talking about Manistewa. Lion had many strong sons, not a few strong daughters, and they would track down those responsible and after that... well, the Ruthani were pragmatists. If you talked quickly, you'd die quickly. But you would talk.

"Speaking of your family, I understand that Lydia and Judy are sending you Puma."

"Yes, Shuria likes her, which is no small compliment. She should be here after High Sun today."

"And I have to talk to one of the Sixth Mounted's officers, who has a penchant for blowing things up. I can't believe I haven't remembered this before."

"Remembered what?"

"Two weapons from the war I fought in. They aren't complicated. I'd be concerned if we were going to be on the attack anytime soon, but I don't see that this time. Five to one odds against, I can deal with, with ambushes and surprise attacks. Standing my forty or fifty thousand men in a field and letting them bang away at the quarter million coming at them... that's not something I want to see.

"So, we dig trenches, and we'll add these two weapons."

"Are they so secret you can't tell your wife?" she asking, grinning.

"No. One is called a mine. They come in a variety of types, but for right now, we'll stick with the ones called 'claymores.' They consist of a curved plate of steel, with lips on the top, bottom and sides, then a layer of smokeless fireseed, then a mess of lead balls, covered with a thin layer of copper. There's a spring-loaded striker to set it off, and I suppose we can make some fused versions. Basically, you set it up with copper side facing the enemy, wait until they get close and set it off."

"A little like a shotgun, then," she told him.

"A little. They aren't very big, and they aren't very expensive to make and they're fairly simple to use, so long as the soldier can remember the difference between iron and copper. Plus, it'll be curved and that'll help."

"And the other weapon?"

"A flying bomb," he said baldly. "Again, a simple device, but somewhat more difficult in practice to make. It consists of a tube filled with regular fireseed, and a big fat round head with an explosive charge. Wrapped with either lead balls or another steel plate and filled with our best explosives.

"These are light enough for a single man to carry and fire. They are only good for about fifty yards and would be mainly of use if we have to fall back to the city. A single hit with one of these rockets will disable an artillery piece, or penetrate a wall someone is hiding behind. It's a close in and direct weapon, like a combination of a mortar and cannon."

"Tuck, wouldn't the person who fires it have to stand in plain sight to do so?"

Tuck nodded soberly. Tanda winced. There would be many young rocket men, many bold rocket men. And, as Tuck had said once about something else, there would be no old, bold rocket men.

A messenger came in to report that a woman named Puma had arrived, claiming to have an appointment with Tanda. Tanda nodded. "Send her to the conference room, I'll see her there."

Tanda stood, smiled at Lady Inisa and went down the hallway, the messenger trailing along behind her. She stopped and faced the man. He was of middle years, a little pudgy, his hair starting to go.

"I'll see Puma alone," she told the man.

"My lady! After what happened to Captain Legios, that wouldn't be wise! Do you know who she is?"

Tanda Havra laughed. "My sister. Now please, I wish to talk to my sister in private."

The man stood up to her. "I was told you have no brothers and sisters!"

"Well, someone told you very wrong. Forty-two, I believe. She is one of the daughters of the Lion of the Ruthani."

He blinked. "Oh!"

"That's okay," she said pleasantly. "It's good to be concerned, but now, be someplace else."

He nodded, a sheepish look on his face.

She went inside to find Puma eating a piece of fruit from a tray that had been brought. The young woman looked at her and spoke softly. "Sister, I asked a servant for this tray of fruit. It was a long trail."

"You chased down Maya with Shuria and then came straight here! I imagine it was long indeed."

"Dusty, too. Sister, I have come to respect Lady Lydia and, above all, Lady Judy. To know that such things are possible -- my heart sings and my feet skip along the paths I have to take."

"Speaking of paths, perhaps it was fortunate that you went with Shuria after Maya. Those are your choices, sister. Scouting and such things with Shuria and the others of the Ruthani, doing those things we Ruthani do best, or help me in the ways Lady Lydia showed you."

"The last, sister. I have been shown a path that I never imagined was possible. To walk the halls of a palace like this one and have people bow and call me 'Lady Puma.' To have dukes, counts and the important men of the villages nod in respect after they listen to what I have to say."

Tanda listened to that and sighed. "Puma, would you like the good news or the bad news if you choose that path?"

"The bad news, sister!"

"Well, it's pretty bad. Half of those people will be plotting behind your back to pull you down, so that they may have your place. Half of the rest have the brains of a prairie squirrel! The last quarter -- those are the ones worthy of your respect and they'll only respect you if you deserve it."

"It isn't that much different in the villages," Puma replied, her chin high. "You know the petty jealousies and the preening and bragging."

"Yes, I do. However, when kingdoms and the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are affected by the outcomes of your actions, you will find that it is quite different than trying to be the next harvest maiden."

"And what of the good news?"

Tanda rocked back in her chair and smiled. "Two and a half years ago, I was the woman in Mogdai who gathered various herbs and remedies, mostly for women. I hunted as well, particularly in lean times. I wasn't a lady; I wasn't a duchess. I was a simple woman of the village.

"Then I met Tuck and his young students. That's what they were, and in truth Tuck wasn't even their teacher -- he raised horses on a piece of land you could throw a rock across. He wasn't a lord or a duke. Judy, Lydia and Becky weren't countesses or ladies and Elspeth wasn't a queen.

"You're right. If you do your duty, if you're smart, brave and lucky, you too can be what you dream. Because, Puma, if you agree to this path, you can style yourself 'Lady Puma' from this moment forward. You will be working with the powers of Xipototec. Not just Tuck and myself, but the also with members of the Duke's Council and the Army Council. You will go among the women of Xipototec as Lady Lydia has done, dispensing advice, helping them organize.

"You will need to spend some time with Tuck, who knows a good many things about such things."

"Then, sister, that is what I want to do. Lady Puma!" Puma clapped her hands in glee.

"Before you go giddy with delight, understand that lords and ladies are people. Your night soil stinks, you piss sitting down, as all women do. Not all of the jobs you will have will make you feel like skipping.

"Lady Inisa is the woman who takes care of my son, when I have to work. In truth, keeping a baby clean is something I'm pleased to delegate to someone else, and my husband even more so.

"Queen Elspeth and King Freidal recommended Inisa to Tuck and me. However, there is a problem that vexes me.

"In the lands of the Hostigi and Zarthan, younger sons and daughters of nobles may be 'fostered' in another noble's household. In Lady Inisa's case she was fostered to the household of the Count of the Central Valley, Xitki Quillan. From the time she was six summers or so, she lived with Count Quillan.

"Back home, her father was an adherent of foul Styphon, as were her two older brothers. Then, perhaps five years before the war, when Lady Inisa was sixteen summers, her father, the baron, died. Her oldest brother become baron in his place and continued to do the bidding of Styphon.

"When the war started, her brothers were both in Baytown, working to further Styphon's machinations. They must have known of the plot against the king and became afraid. They fled to Styphon's temple farm in South March and after the plot was revealed, they were arrested.