'Really?' Anglhan's expression showed the deep hurt he was feeling. Furlthia relented and patted Anglhan on the arm.
'Yes and no,' he said. 'I know you've always done right by me and you didn't mean nothing bad to come of this. I just wish you had listened to me.'
The two of them sat in silence for some time; Furlthia poked the fire with a stick, Anglhan nursed his mug until the steam stopped rising from it.
'You should find out where Aroisius is going,' Furlthia said.
'What? Aroisius is leaving?' Anglhan straightened up from the doze that had been settling over him. 'How do you know?'
'I heard some of the others talking about packing for an expedition. I didn't hear where. They're leaving tomorrow.'
'This won't do at all,' said Anglhan, heaving himself to his feet, the blanket falling to the rocky ground. 'I can't have him going off without knowing where.'
The landship captain finished off his cold ale with a wince and tossed the empty mug to Furlthia. He looked around the cave, wondering where to start his investigations. There was the usual mix of cretins: escaped debtors; flat-faced hillmen; former turncranks from his crew; haggard womenfolk and noisy children. Not one of the chiefs could be seen. Time was short, so Anglhan decided that the direct route would serve him best.
With a huff of trepidation, he pulled his cloak tighter and ventured out into the snowstorm. His ears were burning within moments, eyes watering and cheeks reddening. He turned right, towards the head of the valley, and forced himself through the flurries of snow.
He passed two cave entrances glimmering with firelight and stumbled on, almost losing his footing on a snow-buried rock. It was another fifty paces to his destination and by the time he reached the shelter of the cave mouth, his whole face was numb and his boots wet. He barely noticed, such was the allure of fresh activity.
The cave was much smaller than the one Anglhan had left, connected to many others by mine workings that delved deeper into the mountains and to internal galleries above. He had explored a little of their workings, but such was their extent he doubted any of the rebels had fully mapped them. He had, during his deepest misery, toyed with the idea of trying to navigate his way through the depths to find another way out of the valley, but had been put off by the thought of spending so much time in the lifeless, confined tunnels.
A few of the chieftains' lieutenants lounged around a fire near the back of the cave but there was no sign of their masters. One of them looked up, his face pitted, one eye obscured by a drooping eyelid, and pointed to a tunnel branch off to the left, guessing Anglhan's intent. The captain waved his thanks and set off in the direction indicated.
Inquiries with the men in the next cave led Anglhan up a set of shallow steps into a long, narrow cavern. The weapons he had bought had been confiscated from the men and were stacked against the walls; to protect them from the elements and keep them out of the hands of the squabbling rebels until they were needed.
The next chamber contained the last of the preserved meat, which was carefully rationed out by the chieftains every few days. As he passed the barrels, Anglhan reckoned there to be only enough for a few more meals. After that, it would be stew made from tough roots and whatever was left of the dried grain. It was a prospect that fuelled Anglhan's desire to get out of the mountains even further.
He found Aroisius in the next chamber, with half a dozen of his chieftains. The cave was dimly lit by a handful of stubby candles, yet Anglhan's eye was immediately drawn to a small chest just behind the rebel leader; the one that contained the Askhan gold. Aroisius frowned at Anglhan as the captain ducked through the low entrance with a smile.
'You're not an easy man to find,' Anglhan said.
'Not for you,' replied Aroisius. 'What do you want?'
'Wherever you are going, I want to come with you,' Anglhan said. He was aware of the squelching his boots made as he crossed the cave to sit down next to the others.
'Really? And what makes you think I want you to come along?'
Anglhan blew on his cold fingers, his breath steaming in the cold air.
'To keep an eye on me, perhaps,' he said.
'I do not think there is too much trouble you can cause here,' replied Aroisius, though he smiled at Anglhan's honesty. 'You do not even know where I am going.'
'I can make a guess,' said Anglhan, tapping the money chest with his toe. 'You have friends who want to know why we aren't drinking your health in the beer halls of Magilnada.'
Aroisius's smile disappeared.
'You are far too clever for your own good, Anglhan,' said the rebel leader. He sat for a moment staring at the landship captain, one finger stroking his bottom lip.
'He's handy to have when you're bargaining,' said Barias. 'You should have seen him with that Salphor bastard with the weapons.'
'Yes, you might prove useful,' Aroisius said. 'You have a way with persuasion that might be needed.'
'Anything I can do to help,' Anglhan said with a grin. 'Just get me out of these spirit-cursed mountains. Even if it's just for a day!'
II
Anglhan was groggy as the party set off down the valley midway through the following morning. He had spent a restless night, mind abuzz with possibilities. Aroisius had offered no clue as to where they were going or why, but Anglhan felt it in his waters that they were meeting the rebels' Askhan sponsor.
There were eight of them in the group: Anglhan; Aroisius; Barias; two other chieftains called Gedderik and Stal; a pair of hillmen guides, Dulkan and Gerril; plus the red-headed Reifan. The snows had lightened but the sky was filled with clouds that hung low across the mountains. Anglhan was soon out of breath keeping up with the hillmen's brisk pace along a narrow goat trail that meandered down the dawnwards slopes towards Ersua. By the time they called a break mid-afternoon, the landship captain's feet were sore, his back and legs ached and he was sure he was developing a fever.
They pressed on relentlessly as the snow thickened again towards evening, eventually making a rough camp in a stand of pines. After the wind and snow, the peace within the trees leant the place an air of sanctuary. Anglhan flopped down into the carpet of needles covering the ground, and rested his head on his travel sack. Within moments he was asleep.
III
He woke the next day with the smell of cooking meat in his nostrils. Suddenly aware that he had not eaten the night before, he sat up to find himself covered by a thick blanket lightly dusted with snow. The smell came from a small fire to his right, where four hares were roasting. Reifan sat close by, turning the meat. Beyond, a large canvas had been tied between two trees to create a windbreak, and in its lee Aroisius and the chieftains talked quietly with the two guides.
Anglhan yawned, stretched and stood up, sweeping the blanket from his lap to his shoulders. Reifan looked over at him with a gappy grin.
'You looked dead on your feet,' said the rebel. 'I wondered if you would wake up this morning.'
'I have you to thank for this?' said Anglhan, lifting up the corners of the blanket.
Reifan shrugged as Anglhan joined him, squatting next to the fire to warm his hands.
'No point letting a man freeze to death. I was going to have to wake you; we need to set off soon.'
'After breakfast?' Anglhan said hopefully.
'These are for later,' said Reifan. He turned and rummaged through a bag, pulled out half a loaf of hard bread and tossed it to Anglhan. 'We've already eaten. Toast that and catch some of the dripping juices.'
