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“They’re at least twelve miles out. They’ll be here this afternoon.”
“Twelve miles? You can see that far?” Then Seth realized, “Your arcane eyes.”
Seth could not imagine having his eyes replaced. Somehow, that disturbed him even more than the idea of the quicksilver. Had Raider’s eyes been damaged? Or had he deemed the arcane advantages worth the horror of their implantation? It must have been gruesome.
Raider seemed to hesitate at Seth’s observation, but then he muttered, “Yes, they’re annoyingly useful.” He switched focus. “I should check the snares I set yesterday. It’s best to have a gift if we want to ask for something.”
Seth frowned. “What are we asking for?”
“They’ll spend the night here then move on. We should move with them if they’re headed our way. It’s always good to travel with a caravan when possible. We’ll add two more guards to their roster, and they’ll share their shelter and water, more than we can carry on our horses.”
“If they need guards it’s because they’re transporting goods, which means they attract trouble.”
“There won’t be any trouble, at least not of the human variety, for several days, probably none at all.”
“In that case, they’re not going to offer us water and shelter for a few measly rabbits.”
“No,” Raider acknowledged as he turned to walk off into the trees, his movement still stiff.
Seth wasn’t done with that subject, but the moment was gone. For now.
Raider said without looking back, “They’ll do it because they’re good people.”
Raider was clearly pleased that the caravan was approaching, but Seth wasn’t ready to be excited. Because two men against a whole caravan? They could find themselves robbed. Maybe dead.
“You know them well? You trust them?”
“With my life,” Raider called over his shoulder. “And even with yours.”
Seth supposed he would have to accept that, but he wasn’t sure how much that really meant.
CHAPTER 17
ACCORDING TO RAIDER, tribal etiquette required that they show themselves as the Sudai approached the oasis. Once they were seen, they departed, leaving three long-eared hares in the Sudai’s path as a welcome gift. After the tribe had set up camp and settled, they would return and speak with the chief.
When Seth and Raider returned near dusk, this time bringing sacks of foraged fruit, Seth’s curiosity began to overpower his wariness. He loved encountering new peoples, and nomadic tribes like the Sudai tended to be difficult to approach. But the chief’s pleased smile as they drew near said that Raider’s relationship with the tribe guaranteed their welcome.
Raider had not explained that relationship. The day had been busy with preparations to resume travel, so during the few times Seth and Raider had spoken, it had been easy to focus on practical, impersonal things.
The fluidity had returned to Raider’s body, bringing with it his usual, easygoing manner. Raider had even teased Seth about the tidiness of the campsite, asking if it was truly necessary to stack firewood with mathematical precision. (In Seth’s opinion, yes, it was.)
There had been a few times that Seth had felt an intense, scrutinizing look aimed his way, but whenever he turned to meet Raider’s gaze, he’d found only that lazy smile.
Now, as they approached the Sudai’s camp, a warm smile, a real smile, was on Raider’s face. These people meant something to Raider.
The Sudai encampment looked like a colorful city that had sprung up among the trees. Men and women in bright robes, bedecked with tassels, glinting coins, and strings of polished stone, bustled about tending fires and shaking sand from rugs and bags. Dogs barked and children laughed. Horses and camels grazed at the edges.
“Chief Karek,” Raider whispered to Seth as they approached a man of about sixty.
Chief Karek wore a billowing kaftan of sunny yellow fringed with light blue tassels. His turban of darker blue crowned a graying head, though he moved with the litheness of a younger man, and his keen, intelligent eyes sparkled with youthful joy, even though his smile was reserved.
Setting down the sacks of fruit, Seth mimicked Raider’s bow to the man.
Then Raider offered a knife in what he’d briefly told Seth was a traditional exchange to demonstrate peaceful intentions. It was the curved dagger in the jeweled sheath that Raider held out, and the chief’s eyes lit with pleasure at the sight of it. In this setting, the dagger did not look as ridiculous as usual. In fact, it looked entirely proper.
Chief Karek returned the bow and accepted the dagger, offering an ivory-handled one in exchange.
Taking it, Raider spoke as though he could not hold back his words for one more second. Seth didn’t know the language he was speaking and only caught one word that echoed the trade tongue: happy.
