'I think, on the whole, I'd just as soon take my chances with those things you chased off. I'd rather not get caught in another all-out war.
Especially not a war involving magic.' Again, he spoke before he thought, with a little more scorn than he had intended to show. 'And what do you know of warfare?' She scowled. 'I've fought in a few battles,' she snapped. 'Have you?
And you still haven't answered my question.'
'Why should I?' he retorted. He raised his head proudly, planting his fists on his hips. 'I know nothing of you, other than that you came across the Plains-and that you likely did without the knowledge of the Shin'a'in' What, you want my credentials?' she scoffed, now obviously very angry, but keeping a firm grip on herself. She turned quickly to her saddlebag and turned round again with a roll of vellum and something else. 'All right, I'll give you what you'll recognize. My teacher's teacher was Tarma shena Tale'sedrin. My teacher is Captain Kerowyn of the Skybolts, cousin to most of the Tale'sedrin. She no longer rides a warsteed, but when she did, it was always called Hellsbane. I came to Kata'shin'a'in looking for Tale'sedrin. One found me; a Kal'enedral.
He, she, or it gave me these.' She thrust the roll and an enameled copper disk at him. The latter, he recognized. It was one of the Clan tokens customarily used to identify Clansfolk passing through Tayledras lands. And it was, indeed, a genuine Tale'sedrin token. He even recognized the maker's glyph on the back. That they had given this Outlander one meant that they expected her to be passing through both the Plains and Tayledras territory, and had granted her as much safe passage as they could.
But the other thing, the roll of vellum, proved to be as great a shock as the spirit-horse.
It was a map of the Plains. Darkwind had heard of such things, but the normally secretive Shin'a'in had never before let one out of their hands, to his knowledge, not even to their cousin, Captain Kerowyn.
And it was a genuine map, not a fake. It showed every well and spring in the Plains, used the correct reckonings, and showed the correct landmarksat least as far as he could verify. For that much it was priceless.
It showed more than that; it showed, if you knew what to look for, the locations of common camp-sites of the four seed-Clans and the offshoot Clans. Anyone who had that information would know who held which territories, and where to find them...And it also showed the ruins here on the rim, circled in red ink, fresher than anything else on the map.
'That was where I was supposed to go, at least that's what I guessed,' she said assertively, stabbing her finger at the red mark. 'I don't know what it was I was intended to find, but it certainly looks to me as if I was to come here. If you know better, I'd be pleased to hear where I'm supposed to be.'
'No,' he replied vaguely, still staring at the solid evidence of Shin'a'in cooperation in his hands. 'No, I would say that you are correct.'
This incident was rapidly turning into something he was not ready to deal with. It had looked like a simple case of Outlanders wandering
where they didn't belong. Then it became a case of keeping these people out of Falconsbane's hands. But now it looked as if the Shin'a'in had sent these Outlanders here. And what that could mean, he did not know.
'Please,' he said, rolling up the map and handing it back to her.
'Please, if you would only rejoin your friend, the young man, I need to speak with Treyvan.' She set her chin stubbornly, but he could be just as stubborn. He crossed his arms over his chest and stood between her and the pathway out, silent, and unmoving except for his hair blowing in the breeze.
Finally she stuffed the map back in her belt with an audible sniff and turned to enter the lair.
She went inside-but the white spirit-horse did not.
The mare stared at Darkwind for so long he began to feel very uncomfortable.
It was very much as if she was measuring him against some arcane standard only she knew. In fact, she probably was, given the little he knew about manifesting spirits; Starblade had once seen a leshya'e Kal'enedral, but he never had, and he had been perfectly content to have it remain that way.
Evidently the gods had other ideas.
A word with you,' the spirit-mare said. Then she looked up at Treyvan and included him in the conversation. 'Both of you,' she amended.
Treyvan looked down at the little mare from his resting place atop the lair, and rumbled deep in his throat. 'We have many problems and little leisure, my lady,' he replied in Mindspeech. 'I do not mean to belittle your troubles, but we have no time for yours.' She tossed her head and stamped one hoof with an imperiousness that matched her rider's. 'that is exactly what I wish to speak with you about, your troubles! You are being very foolish to dismiss us so lightly. I tell you, you need us, and I swear to you that you may trust us..
With every word, she glowed a little brighter to his Mage-Sight, until he finally had to shield against her.
