I looked him in the eye. "And if it's true rebellion, Marcus?"
He shrugged. "It will be as it must." He rose, cutting off the conversation, and moved away.
I took a sip of kavage. Why would a village of farmers and their families defy the Warlord? Didthey think to use pitchforks and hoes against him? It made no sense.
But then Xymund had shown me that there was little 'sense' to be had in war.
* * *
Keir strode in, signaling me with a hand to remain seated. He accepted kavage from Marcus,nodded to a few of the leaders, and then moved to kneel next to me. He shook his head at thequestion in my eyes. "I know no more. The scouts are outside, we will hear their reporttogether."
I leaned forward, speaking in Xyian. "Keir, Iften is talking against Gils. I'm afraid that he willtry to use him as a pawn against you!"
Keir frowned, and replied in the same language. "What is a'pawn'?"
I blinked, then shook my head at my own stupidity. How could he know, since I doubted heknew the game. "It's a piece in a game. A pawn is an unwitting tool. An innocent person usedagainst a friend."
"Ah." Keir stood and moved to stand before his blanket, waited until he had the attention ofthe group, and then sat, sinking down onto the pad. While Iften was second in command, therewas no place made for him at Keir's side.
The rest seated themselves, and Keir waited a breath before calling them to order. There wasless formality at this senel then there had been in the past, but I could see Marcus at the back,and he had Keir's token in his hands.
Keir spoke, silencing the group. "I have called for the scouts who met with violence, to heartheir truths." Keir gestured to Marcus, who pulled aside the leaves. Two men entered, walkedto stand before Keir, and knelt, heads bowed.
"Ortis."
At the sound of his name, Ortis stood. "Warlord, I assigned the scouts sent to cover the front. Isent these two warriors, Tant and Rton forward along the road to the village."
"A village sworn to us?" Keir asked.
"Aye. The headman, the leader…"
"The mayor?" I asked, using the Xyian term.
Orris nodded. "That is the word he used, Warprize. The mayor had sworn fealty to you someweeks ago, Warlord. The walled village, where the goats roamed around the well."
Keir chuckled. "I remember. They called it Wellspring. The mayor almost soiled himself duringthe oath." There was a soft murmur of laughter at that.
A walled village meant that it was a remnant of my ancestor, Xyson. Few of those guard fortsremained on the main road, fewer still had managed to retain a complete set of walls.
"Tant. Rton."
The other two men lifted their heads. I recognized Tant, since he'd been the scout that foundme on the road, following Keir. His eyes widened to see me sitting there, and he looked down,clearly uncomfortable.
The other man, Rton, spoke first. "We approached the village to find the gates closed,Warlord. We hailed them with a shout, but there was no response."
Rton glanced at Ortis, and continued. "We moved closer then, and I dismounted to approachthe gates, when someone started throwing rocks at us from the walls. A voice cried out, andthen more rocks, and finally an arrow arched over the wall."
"What did the voice say?" Keir asked.
"I have no city talk, Warlord. But it sounded angry and defiant." Rton gestured nervously. "Imounted, and we moved off but there was no pursuit."
"Our orders are, we meet resistance, we retreat and report." Tant spoke up quickly, almostdefensive. "So we circled round the walls and came back at a run."
"How many warriors were on the walls?"
Tant and Rton exchanged looks. Tant shrugged. "Didn't see any, Warlord."
Rton nodded his agreement. "They never exposed themselves to us."
