‘For now, yes. Look, right now… right now this is about saving our lives. Tut and look as shocked as you want. Call me a coward. I’ve no problem with that; I’m just telling the truth. The reason we are alive is that we are useful. The moment that stops, we are dead. The moment we become a threat? Dead.
‘So yes, let them set the taxes. Agree to run the economy to deliver. Govern. We already have the system in place to keep the threads working at what we want for how much we want. The thread segregation system is perfect for that. For a few years they’ll leave a heavy presence, but when they think they have us in their pockets, they’ll reduce and reduce because men are expensive to keep here.
‘And all the time we can work to increase our fighting strength. Over time, we can train a whole new army. Men will lose focus on us if we keep sending them their taxes. And as the old ones die and new ones take over, that focus will get ever more blurred. And us? Well, you are immortal; I’ve got a couple of thousand years left if I’m careful.
‘It doesn’t matter if it takes a hundred years. Two hundred. We have time. They do not. And when we are strong enough, we simply stop sending them their coin. By that time the elves will be behind us. Their hatred of man will be at such a pitch that they will be baying for conflict. And we will preside over victory. Hate turns to love when slavery turns to freedom.’
Sildaan knew Helias was talking complete sense. She could see both Llyron and Hithuur knew it too, distasteful as it was.
‘But before you start there’s one big problem out there,’ said Hithuur. ‘The forest is untameable by us or by man. Never mind what we’ve been trying to do, it is too vast to police and it is where rebellion will inevitably arise. And then of course there are the TaiGethen and the Silent Priesthood. How do you deal with them?’
Helias spread his arms. ‘Hey, I’m a negotiator, not a soldier. Garan and his people can sort it out. After all, if you want to own the jungle, you have to deal with the predators.’ Katyett pushed the mage in front of them. They were closing on the warehouse. Burned buildings were all around them. Few sounds other than wails and angry shouts could be heard beyond the restless noise of the ocean.
‘Shout for help if you want. Run if you desire. Just know that you will die and we will escape and your death will have been a complete waste.’
‘What I want is you tell me what you want,’ said the mage. He was called Palant. It was at least the tenth time he had rephrased the question. ‘Then will I help.’
His elvish was passable. A bit confused but mostly comprehensible. He had a broad bruise growing across his chin and lower jaw and he had several chipped teeth. A headache too, probably, and he kept on working his jaw from side to side to relieve the aching and stiffness.
‘You plant those traps of magic – what did you say they are called?’
‘Wards.’
‘Wards.’ The Balaian word sat uncomfortably on Katyett’s tongue. ‘We need access to the harbour master’s warehouse and we don’t want to explode before we get there. You will dig them up, or whatever you do.’
‘Dis-spell,’ said Palant.
‘That’s why you’re in front. You hit the bad stuff first.’
‘A fire or ice ward will kill us all,’ said Palant.
‘You first,’ said Merrat. ‘Fancy it much?’
Palant shook his head. ‘Wards are thick approach south. In buildings walls high.’
‘You di – dis – spell them.’
‘Why? You me kill any ways.’
‘That remains possible,’ said Katyett. ‘But not as certain as if you don’t.’
‘No need dis-spell to them,’ said Palant. ‘No wards on sea side approaches.’
‘Oh,’ said Katyett, surprised. She took out a knife, clamped a hand over Palant’s mouth and slid the blade between his ribs and into his heart. ‘Thank you.’
The Tai ran, turning right at the next junction, heading back towards the harbourside. Palant might have been lying but Katyett did not think so. It made partial sense if you thought about it. She supposed there had to be a safe corridor to get people in and out of the area. But to leave every harbour approach clear was careless.
They picked their way through the wreckage of Ynissul businesses that had crammed the docks with life and commerce less than ten days ago. From a vantage point inside a partially collapsed shop, they could see a guard of eighteen soldiers and three mages spread across the front of the warehouse.
Most were gathered around a large timber fire about midway between water and warehouse. Others patrolled in front. The warehouse doors, damaged when Pelyn had made her escape, had been competently patched up. Guards walked up and down the sides of the warehouse. Their attention was not keen. The warehouse had been built for strength and security.
‘No one is going near the door,’ said Merrat. ‘Look.’
She was right. In fact, now they looked, a semicircle of barrels Katyett had assumed were makeshift seats marked a no-go area. The door must have had wards placed on it.
‘There goes our first plan,’ said Katyett. ‘Any ideas?’
‘Can a ward be so delicate it triggers by just walking too close?’ asked Grafyrre.
‘I’d ask Palant but I’m afraid he’s a little under the weather,’ said Katyett a little sharply. ‘We don’t know so we don’t risk.’
‘You misunderstand. I think we need to brief everyone inside before we liberate them. I just want some idea what would trigger whatever it is on the doors. They’ll have spun them some story inside. But what’s the truth?’
Katyett smiled. ‘Fair enough. Well, we can’t ask the humans and I still say there’s too many to take on in this much space, so let’s go and ask our friends, shall we? But let’s be careful. We don’t know how far up the roof that ward spreads.’
The three TaiGethen moved in cover towards the rear of the warehouse. Palant’s information on wards focused their attention. They watched guards approach, stop, turn and head back. Counting paces, marking exact distances and moving with caution.
When they were agreed on a strategy, Katyett led them closer. Precious little noise came from within. Most would be asleep. Katyett was gambling that each thread would have marked its own area and set guards against attack by others. She had no idea how many were within but it had to number thousands.
Cramped. And revolting by now.
The guard was almost at the end of his patrol. He stopped, looked towards the end of the warehouse and turned on his heel. Katyett waited until he had moved away five paces. She beckoned her Tai to follow her. They moved quickly and silently, beginning to climb immediately. The warehouse was made of sturdy timbers strengthened with iron bands and with a pitched roof of slate. It had withstood hurricanes, arson and attempted robbery. The harbour master was proud of his store and maintained it in superb condition.
It all made for an easy climb. Not a rivet was out of place, not a timber was loose. The TaiGethen had swarmed up the wall and onto the roof well before the guard returned. They crawled along to the skylight left partially open by Pelyn. Katyett stuck her head through the opening and withdrew it in the same movement. Her eyes were watering.
‘Dear Yniss save us, it reeks in there.’
She took a deep breath and took a second look. The warehouse had been stripped of everything down to the last shelf and rack. The floor space was covered in sleeping bodies. Elves walked to and fro. As she expected, there were distinct gaps between various groups indicating division along thread lines.
At the southern end, with what looked like the less numerous Cefans nearest, were what passed for latrines. A few boxes had been set in a row and had holes knocked in the tops to sit over. The boxes sat on sailcloth which had been tied around them. It was woefully inadequate. Katyett could see pools of urine and excrement at the base of every box. Other pools indicated where some had not bothered to wait for a box to be free, or perhaps could not face sitting where they were supposed to.
Down by the doors there was a single length of rope laid in a semicircle, matching the barrels without. The floor was clear inside this boundary. Katyett scanned the floor quickly. The threads were in rough thread longevity order from door to latrines. To the left of the doors was a small group. No guards. Katyett looked more closely. She counted them. Thirty-four. Covered in sheets.
Katyett withdrew her head. Her expletives surprised even Graf and Merrat.
