the Guardians will betray her companions'.'
'I fear the evidence suggests that such a terrible shadow has indeed consumed some of the Guardians,' said Joss, feeling the weight of the words in his heart.
On the training ground, as the light deepened to a hazy gold in the last drawn sigh of afternoon, about two hundred persons had assembled: mostly young men with a few women and older men among them. Most were seated cross-legged on the ground, listening as a Qin soldier recalled the battle of Olossi in some detail. The soldier's precise descriptions, rendered without the gestures and chant usual to tales, brought a stark power to the narrative and held the locals quite fascinated. The rest of the Qin stood at the back of the group or had taken watch positions on the walls, keeping an eye on road and river.
Anji hung back, evidently not wanting to disturb the flow of the story. The censor bent his head close; the two men were still talking. Joss fell in beside them.
'I am aware,' Anji was saying in a low voice, 'that your militias are organized into cadres, companies, and cohorts. If you have experienced men to serve as sergeants, I am prepared to leave as many of my own men here to serve as captains, over companies, as you have companies to fill. How many companies can this area raise?'
'Who would command these gathered companies?' asked the censor.
'Naturally they will serve under your formal command and oversight, since you know the region best. Consider, if an army marches out of the north, it is likely they will use either West Track, as they did before, or Rice Walk, to approach Olossi.'
'Having used West Track once, they might try Rice Walk the second time. Better forage, too. More paths to Olossi, won't be confined to the one road as they are on West Track.'
'Exactly. Therefore, we must be prepared, and we must have trained, disciplined soldiers to face them. If I learned one thing from the battle at Olossi it is that the army — however large — that marched against us did not have good discipline. They expected that brutality and fear — and sheer numbers — would win the day for them. But it did not.'
'How many soldiers do you want?' asked the censor, scratching his beard.
'Can you raise six companies?'
'A full cohort? The hells! That would be over six hundred men. Maybe in the tales you could gather so many. We're moving into transplanting season. Folk are needed in the fields.'
Volla said, 'How will these soldiers be fed and clothed?'
'Taxes, both local and regional. In kind and in coin. You are paying to protect yourselves.'
Volla was about Joss's age, with a healthy girth and healthy color in her brown cheeks. Not a woman, Joss supposed, who dismissed danger lightly in the hope it would flit away. 'We have seen refugees on the road, and resettled a few families in this area in the months since the year's beginning.'
'You know what is at risk,' said Anji.
'A standing army.' The censor shook his big head like an ox dealt a blow. 'I don't like it. Seems like too much. What do you think, Marshal Joss? I hear tell you came out of Clan Hall, before you was appointed marshal at Argent Hall. Not a day too soon, if you ask me, for there was trouble at the hall.'
'There'll be worse trouble sooner than you dare think,' said Joss. 'There was confusion within our enemy's forces after the defeat in Olossi, but the northern army has redoubled its efforts to bring Haldia and Istri under its control.'
'Haldia and Istri?' asked Volla. 'That's a lot of country.'
'Clan Hall sends reports that a huge army is marching south down the Istri Walk toward Toskala. If they take Toskala, and after that Nessumara, what's to stop them from striking against Olossi? Do you want to take the chance that they won't?'
'They might kill themselves, trying to do too much,' said Guri. 'Wear themselves so thin, they break.'
'They might,' agreed Joss. 'I hope they do.'
'Eiya!' said Guri. 'I catch your drift. Well, then, Captain Anji, you're saying you'll leave a few men here to do the training, whip these colts into shape, and maybe keep the captaincies of what companies I can raise?'
'Trained men can go home to their farms once they're no longer needed,' said Anji. 'As I hope they can all do in time.'
'I doubt I can raise an entire cohort, but I'll fling my net wide, as it says in the tale.'
A delighted shout rose from the assembly as the soldier reached the part where the eagles had dropped ceramic vessels filled with oil of naya over the army. Yet the memory of what Joss had seen when oil burst into flames gave him no delight.
'We'll have some trouble raising taxes, in coin or in kind,' said Volla. 'Folk will want protection, but they won't want to pay.'
'Do what you can,' said Anji, 'and apply to Olossi's council for additional supplies of rice and cloth if necessary.'
Guri grunted, frowning as he narrowed his eyes. He glanced at Joss. 'Giving Olossi's council another rope around our necks.'
Volla nodded, but she looked skeptical. 'Marshal, there's another thing, since you're here. We've need of a reeve to preside over our assizes. We have a number of cases to settle.'
'I'll sit this evening, if that will help you. What I cannot clear, I'll be sure to let the stewards at Argent Hall know needs attention. They'll send a reeve out.'
'I thank you, then. I'll see an assizes table is set up after supper.'
'I have one other request,' continued Anji. 'If there are respectable young women available, looking for husbands, I'd ask that the men I leave here be allowed to marry according to the custom of your country and set up a household. I could have women sent up from Olossi, but it might provide my men with more stability within the local area if their wives come from local families.'
'Outlanders.' Volla eyed the dour Qin soldiers as they listened to the tale of their bravery and bold counterattack. 'That won't be easy.'
'Any woman who marries one of my men will live well, and be treated properly.'
Guri shook his head. 'Why is it necessary? They can visit the temple of Ushara, if that's what you're worried about.'
'My understanding is that any man can visit a temple, or other such establishment,' said Anji, 'but that is not how a man would propose to conduct his entire life. Is that what you would want for your own sons, censor?'
'I have no sons. I've never married. I'm dedicated to the Thunderer.' He chuckled as he looked Anji up and down. 'I'm not fashioned in the same way you are. I like the same flesh Volla does.'
She slapped him on the chest, in a jesting way. Joss smiled. These two trusted each other, which meant they could probably work together effectively in dire times.
Anji had a way of marginally tightening his eyes that revealed, to Joss, that the captain, however clever he undoubtedly was, had not worked out the meaning behind the exchange.
'Dedication to the gods is a worthy service,' the captain said finally, 'but nevertheless, my men want to get married. The temple is not part of the custom of the land we come from. No man of my people will feel himself complete without marriage. That's just how it is.'
'Did none of these men leave behind wives in your old country?' Volla asked.
'Some did, but since we are exiles and can never return, those women may as well be dead to them.'
She pressed him. 'How can we be sure they will not mistreat a woman here? No offense intended, I'm meaning, just we hear stories about how badly the Southerners treat women.'
'We are Qin, not Sirni,' said Anji. 'However, it's true not every mating is a happy one. It is dishonorable for one party to leave another without proper negotiations. If there is trouble, you may bring the matter to the attention of my wife, in Olossi. I can assure you she will not allow any woman to be mistreated. If any of my men does so, I will whip him myself.'
This coolly delivered promise satisfied Volla. 'I suppose a woman who marries one of your men will be assured a decent house and furnishings, utensils, clothing.'
'The opportunity to set up a workshop of her own, if she has a trade, which is a condition my wife insisted on. I only insist that you deal fairly with my men in this issue, that only hardworking and healthy women come forward, not leavings that no other clan would take. If you would prefer negotiations on these matters to go through my
