It had not been easy. He had had help. There had been a woman, put together in the northern style. A woman Svavar was sure he had seen before but could not place. He knew no women here. During his sojourn in Brothe he had been more celibate than any Episcopal priest.
The woman had cast a glamour on the Deves chasing him. First, they lost their emotional edge. Then they became confused and vented their anger on one another.
The woman bewitched him when he tried to approach her. She seemed amazed that he had noticed her.
She was his guardian angel?
He did not tell Shagot. He did not know why. But he was sure Grim would be pissed off when he found out.
Shagot said, 'I still have some money in my bag.'
'All right. We're out of time. Me killing that Deve asshole will get them stirred up all over again.'
'You're right. Did you round up anything to eat? I'm fucking starving.'
'Good. I was worried.'
Shagot and Svavar Departed Brothe four days after Svavar gave the Deve money man what he had coming. They left via the gate they had used to enter the city. The guards there were not concerned about people leaving. Particularly people who did not look Calziran. Nor were they alert for three men, a dog, and a mangy mule pulling a wreck of a wagon. The third man soon stopped being part of the group.
'Get the money back,' Shagot said from the wagon.
'As soon as this damned dog … Shit. Give me a sword. I'll chop the fucker's head off.' Svavar was not afraid of the mongrel, though it was large and still had most of its teeth. After the Great Sky Fortress it would never occur to Svavar to be afraid of any mortal hound.
He was in a foul temper. 'Shit! He must've left the money with his woman.' He was not kind to the dog.
'Don't sweat it. We can always come up with money. Get shut of the bodies before somebody comes along.'
Svavar did so, just in time. They had not traveled another two hundred yards before the vanguard of a cavalry force appeared ahead. Svavar guided the mule off the road in order to be out of the way.
'Recognize those standards?' Shagot asked.
'No. But the one with the keys must have something to do with the Patriarch.'
The soldiers were from Maleterra, where their job had been to hold me road to Brothe if the Emperor decided to lash out at Sublime.
Svavar wondered who was poking it to whom in the romance between Johannes and the Patriarch.
The going was slow while the soldiers hogged the road.
The brothers turned east when they reached a road that ran across the Firaldian peninsula. Later, they turned south on the eastern coast road. Vondera Koterba was still hiring in Alameddine. His army would become their hideout.
Shagot remained immersed in his obsession. Shagot was confident that they would encounter the Godslayer again in Calzir. Svavar, no longer in control, lapsed into despair.
Svavar began to see things. Things that may have been there, following wherever he went — or maybe things that were just in his mind. Things that men who had not passed through the Great Sky Fortress would never notice.
Thewoman was taller than any of the soldiers. She was attractive but not in the lush style favored in Firaldia. She was solidly built, well-muscled, without fat. She wore golden hair in braids rolled up at the sides of her head. Her stride was long and businesslike. The troops paid her little heed, which was remarkable for their sort.
The woman left the road. She moved some dead brush. Flies swarmed up, buzzing, angry about being disturbed at work. She considered the corpses of an old man and a headless dog.
The woman scowled. She was disgusted — despite having seen worse ten thousand times before.
Because no one was watching no one noted the fact that, at some point, the woman was no longer there.
27. Brothe, Preparing for a War with Calzir
Polo told Else, 'This place is busier than a dog that's been dead for a week.'
Else grunted. Polo was right. The Bruglioni citadel was in a ferment. Divino Bruglioni had bullied the rural family into providing funds to hire workmen. And rustic Bruglioni were returning — lest they lose what estate they enjoyed.
Principal Bruglioni's threats, in Paludan's name, were draconian.
Else went into the countryside twice, leading veterans of the fighting with the pirates. He dispersed parasitic Bruglioni relatives carefully selected by Uncle Divino. That electrified the rest of the family. That and the new wealth and new estates that were sure to fall to the Bruglioni during Sublime's upcoming Calziran adventure.
The Patriarch had proclaimed a crusade. A large majority of the Collegium urged him to do so.
Else expected to take part. Paludan had directed him to raise an infantry company at Bruglioni expense.
Else did not understand Sublime's confidence. It seemed based exclusively on faith.
History was littered with the bones of empires confident of the fearful swift sword of their god. But the scales never fell from men's eyes. They never failed to trust the treacherous Instrumentalities of the Night.
Else attended the planning meetings. His questions generated frowns but weakened no one's confidence.
More time went into divvying Calzir up, all the way down to the parish level, than went into planning the campaign.
Else appealed for instructions from al-Qarn, once through Gledius Stewpo via the Devedian route, once through the Kaifate's embassy. He received no response. He had to make his own choices. Meaning he would always be wrong. If Gordimer chose to see it that way.
Else's borrowed accountant had no trouble penetrating the number thickets of Mr. Grazia's accounts. Else took the evidence to Uncle Divino. The Principal betrayed a malicious delight. He used the material to bludgeon and blackmail those he wanted to keep in Bruglioni service.
Whenever Else left the citadel, it seemed, he ran into someone who was unhappy about the Bruglioni resurgence.
Principatй Doneto, in particular, complained that Piper Hecht was not sufficiently devoted to the advancement of Bronte Doneto's agenda.
Plnkus Ghort found Doneto's exasperation amusing.
'Pipe, I ain't never seen nobody as self-centered as our old jail buddy. Long as he's got pals who'll put up with him pushing them around.'
'I'm not surprised. I've had to deal with his type since I was tall enough to toddle. I'll probably turn into his type if I live long enough and rise high enough. So will you.'
'Yeah. I can see me wearing Grade Drocker's slippers next time we hit the Connec. Take me along a troupe of them baby whores like Bishop Serifs had, only girls.'
'You're disgusting.'
'But fun. You got to admit that. You gonna be ready to go when the troops head south?'
'Ready and looking forward to it.' Which was a lie. He did not want to war against fellow Pramans. But al- Qarn left him no choice. He had to go on being this character he had created until he did receive instructions.
'That's good. Me, too. How's your lady?'
'Anna?' He and Anna Mozilla had begun to develop a social life. That made him nervous, of course, but Anna was right at home. She drew attention away from him. But if someone decided to study Anna Mozilla they might begin to wonder when Piper Hecht had had an opportunity to develop a relationship with a woman from Sonsa.
