'Swordlady, any conditions you would set, I would gladly meet. Who am I to contest the judgement of those who destroyed Tha-'
'Hush!' Kethry interrupted him swiftly, and cast a wary glance over her shoulder. 'The less that is said on that subject, the better. I am still not altogether certain that what you were about to name was truly destroyed. It may have been merely banished, and perhaps for no great span of time. If the second case is true, it is hardly wise to call attention to one's self by speaking Its name.'
'Our conditions, merchant, are simple,' Tarma continued unperturbed. 'We will, to all appearances, leave on the morrow. You will tell all, including your fellow merchants, that you could not convince us. Tomorrow night, you- and you alone, mind-will bring us, at a meeting place of your choosing, a cart and horse ...' Now she raised an inquiring eyebrow at Kethry.
'And the kind of clothing and gear a lady of wealth and blood would be likely to have when traveling. The clothing should fit me. I will be weaving some complicated illusions, and anything I do not have to counterfeit will be of aid to me and make the rest stronger. You might include lots of empty bags and boxes,' Kethry said thoughtfully.
Tarma continued: 'The following morning a fine lady will ride in and order you to include her with your next packtrain. You, naturally, will do your best to dissuade her, as loudly and publicly as possible. Now your next scheduled trip was-?'
'Coincidentally enough, for the day after tomorrow.' Grumio was impressed. These women were even cleverer than he'd thought.
'Good. The less time we lose, the better off we are. Remember, only you are to be aware that the lady and the packtrain are not exactly what they seem to be. If you say one word otherwise to anyone-'
The merchant found himself staring at the tip of a very sharp dagger a scant inch from his nose.
'-I will personally remove enough of your hide to make both of us slippers.' The dagger disappeared from Tarma's hand as mysteriously as it had appeared.
Grumio had been startled, but had not been particularly intimidated; Tarma gave him high marks for that.
'I do not instruct the weaver in her trade,' he replied with a certain dignity, 'nor do I dictate the setting of a horseshoe to a smith. There is no reason why I should presume to instruct you in your trade either.'
'Then you are a rare beast indeed, merchant.' Tarma graced him with one of her infrequent smiles. 'Most men-oh, not fellow mercenaries, they know better; but most men we deal with-seem to think they know our business better than we simply by virtue of their sex.'
The smile softened her harsh expression, and made it less intimidating, and the merchant found himself smiling back. 'You are not the only female hire-swords I have dealt with,' he replied. 'Many of my trade allies have them as personal retainers. It has often seemed to me that many of those I met have had to be twice as skilled as their male counterparts to receive half the credit.'
'A hit, merchant-lord,' Kethry acknowledged with open amusement. 'And a shrewd one at that. Now, where are we to meet you tomorrow night?'
Grumio paused to think. 'I have a farmstead- deserted now that the harvest is in-which is at the first lane past the crossroad at the south edge of town. No one would think it odd for me to pay a visit to it, and the barn is a good place to hide horses and gear.'
'Well enough,' Tarma replied. All three rose as one-Grumio caught the faint clink of brigandine mail from Tarma's direction, though there was no outward sign that she wore any such thing beneath her worn leather tunic, brown shirt, and darker breeches.
'Merchant-' Tarma said suddenly.
He paused halfway through the door.
'I, too, have known loss. You will have your revenge.' He shivered at the look in her eyes, and left.
'Well?' Tarma asked, shutting the door behind him and leaning her back up against it.
'Magic's afoot here. It's the only answer to what's been going on. I don't think it's easy to deceive this merchant-he caught on to our 'divide and conquer' trick right away. He's no soft money-counter either.'
'I saw the sword-calluses.' Tarma balanced herself on one foot and folded her arms. 'Did he tell us all he knew?'
'I think so. I don't think he held anything back after he played his high card.'
