With that, Talha left.
“To an extent, the Progressions themselves are also real, but who dictates the walkers thereon? Not who currently does, but who has that right?”
—From the Discourses on Knowledge, Volume 19, Year 1259
A few days after seeing the Orinai army and making plans with the Rahuli leaders and Tadeo, Gavin walked down along the lower half of the valley, finally able to find the time to go and speak with Samsin. He tugged at the collar of his uniform, not yet used to the new, stiff fabric. Still, despite the discomfort, he was quite proud of the Rahuli women for getting all forty-eight made in such a short time. The uniforms were a deep, rich green, stiff at the collar and shoulders, but form fitting and snug through the chest, fastening with a double row of brass buttons down the chest. Though they were a bit of an annoyance to fasten, they kept the fabric formfitting even while sitting.
The shirt was long enough that the belts each man wore were fastened over them. Each man was also given white trousers made of a thick, tough material, matching boots, and a matching cloak.
Farah had gotten one of the smiths to fashion some small metal pins to go on his collar in the shape of a raindrop turned on its fat end, with several lines behind it. She had said it was a representation of the three mystic powers and would help him, Cobb, Evrouin, and her stand out as the leaders of the group when Brisson’s people saw them. Gavin wore one on each side of his collar. Cobb, Evrouin, and Farah only wore one on the left side. All in all, even without the leather armor, the uniforms were better than Gavin could have hoped for and he’d already noticed a difference in how the former slaves in the valley treated him and the other Rahuli. A change that would, hopefully, begin to work in their favor.
Gavin stopped fidgeting with his collar and dropped his hand instead to the hilt of his greatsword. He had a long knife on his other side to balance out its weight, but the greatsword was a constant companion now. He’d noticed how the others in the valley watched it. When Gavin asked, Benji had been quick to tell him that the weapon was something of legend as well, but not in the same way as Gavin understood it. Greatswords weren’t able to be manipulated by magic, not even by the Great Ones. They were weapons designed to kill magic users, to kill Great Ones, those who were, like Samsin, the next level of power up on the Schema and a higher Iteration, to use the correct term. So, even though Gavin no longer really cared for the weapon, it remained at his side whenever he was around anyone who could see.
Benji had taken to living with Gavin and the others quite well. In fact, Shallee had immediately taken the boy under her wing, cleaning him up and making sure he had clothes and shoes and whatever else he needed. At first, Benji had seemed uncomfortable with all the attention, but he’d soon adjusted to it and now spent almost as much time with her as he did with Gavin. Shallee didn’t seem to mind.
Gavin turned away from the path after a while and headed toward the circle of boulders nestled against the cliff wall that hid Tadeo’s little group of huts. It was far enough away from the main path that it wasn’t likely to ever be discovered even though Gavin often wondered how Tadeo had managed to keep Samsin hidden for so long. When Gavin had asked during one of the—now infrequent—moments that he and Tadeo had a moment free from listening ears, Tadeo had refused to answer. Gavin had let the matter drop. It didn’t really matter that much anyway.
Samsin was waiting for him, leaned up against the side of a boulder like he’d been three days before. He looked stronger than he had, though he was still bruised, broken, and bandaged almost from head to foot. When he saw Gavin coming, Samsin managed a smile and gave a half-hearted wave.
“I wondered when I would be seeing you again,” Samsin said, nodding toward a stump where Gavin could sit and talk to him. “Tadeo said you’d gained a little time and have a plan to distract the army.”
Gavin nodded.
“That’s good. The snows will come by then, I have no doubt.”
“I wish I could be that certain,” Gavin said, unable to keep the frustration out of his voice.
Samsin sat up straighter, adjusting the cloak he was using as a blanket over his bottom half. “Part of my powers as a Storm Ward allows me to feel the weather,” he said. “The threads of winter are there in the sky. I can feel them, even if I don’t have the strength yet to manipulate them. It’s harder now, with what I had to do in the Arena, weather is all linked together, you see. The Sisters will have a hard time in the coming years, organizing Storm Wards to fix the chaos it will cause.”
Gavin studied the man, looking for signs that what he was saying was true.
“How can you feel it?” Gavin asked. “I can’t even get enough energy pulled together to light off more than a few sparks. From what I know, your abilities as a Storm Ward are just more powerful versions of my own.”
“That’s an extremely crude way of putting it. Were I the man I used to be, I’d likely take offense. As it is, I’m only mildly annoyed.”
Gavin met Samsin’s gaze. So the condescending, arrogant Samsin who Gavin had gotten to know was still there somewhere.
“Still, it all starts with the same basic principles,” Samsin said after a long, awkward pause. He shifted his back and adjusted his shoulders, apparently trying to find a comfortable position against the boulder. “You found the man you were looking for then? The other mystic?”
Gavin nodded. Tadeo had found Darryn early yesterday morning about ten miles south of the valley, once again trying to leave. This time he’d tried using his powers to get away and Tadeo had been forced to put an arrow in him. Apparently Tadeo, as a former member of an Honor Squad, used glass tipped arrows instead of metal ones. Tadeo had had one of Evrouin’s men bring him back to be healed, but it had been hard to explain to Maryn and the other women there.
“What principles?”
Samsin made a wheezing noise that Gavin only identified as laughter by the fact that Samsin’s eyes glinted with mirth rather than tears.
“Not easily dissuaded, are you? Very well. I will retract my earlier proclamation that I would not betray my people and let you know the secrets of the Great Ones. I will teach you what I can, but first you must do something for me.”
Gavin sighed. “What this time?”
Samsin raised an eyebrow, making the bruises on his face shift and seem to undulate. “This time? No, I’m going back to the original time. I said I had information from Nikanor on where other Orinai detractors could be found, ones who could be persuaded to move against the elements in Estrelar.”
“And what good will that do us?”
“Use your head, boy,” Samsin snapped. “Don’t be a fool. You’re not an idiot; I know that for a fact. Don’t act like one.”
Gavin felt his temper flare, but bit back a retort. Though barbed, Gavin recognized the tempering the statement had gone through from the way Samsin would have said if before. He truly wanted Gavin to think.
“I don’t know what Estrelar is,” Gavin said slowly, thinking it over while still attempting to still his anger and annoyance. “But additional allies would mean more people. They can’t get to us because there’s an army out there and we’ll soon be cut off from them by the winter snows.”
“And what do you think that army is going to do while you’re all holed up here? Sit quietly and play pairs?”
Gavin frowned at the unfamiliar expression, but shook his head. “Of course not. They won’t leave either, despite what Brisson says. No, while we’re here they’ll . . . they’ll . . .” Gavin trailed off as realization hit him and it all made a sudden sense. “They’ll be sending for more men to augment their armies. They’ll know we’re here and they’ll also know there’s no place we can go. By the time the snows melt and we’re ready to face them they’ll have twice as many soldiers.”
“Or more.”
“So . . . so we send out messengers to these other people Nikanor knew. Maybe they could stop the reinforcements or at least delay them a while.”
“Precisely.”
Gavin dropped his head down into his hands, running his fingers through his hair on both sides. He and Evrouin had already been out on several patrols in the last two days, though they’d been mostly gathering information on terrain and the area around them rather than any sort of offensive or military maneuvers. The best they could hope for was to circle around to the other side of the army and attack them from there, hoping to draw them away. Without additional men, from Brisson’s people or from outside, they couldn’t do any more than that. Even if every able man inside the valley were trained and armed, it wouldn’t be enough to defeat the hardened Orinai troops which far outnumbered them.
Problems on top of problems on top of problems.
“Alright. That means we don’t have much time to try and get information out then, do we?” Gavin said, looking up, but keeping his elbows on his knees. “The same snows that trap us in here will also keep any messengers from getting out. How long do you think we have before they arrive, then?”
“Four or five days, if the patterns I feel hold true. The weather is a fickle mistress, as changeable as the sea.”
“That doesn’t help.”
Samsin shrugged and then grimaced at the pain.
“I need to speak with Evrouin and the others again, then,” Gavin said, getting to his feet. “I will be back to discuss the magic and Estrelar. Do you think you can tell me where these others are, without a map?”
Samsin nodded. Gavin turned to leave, then stopped and looked back at Samsin. “Thank you,” Gavin said.
Samsin gave him a wan smile.
***
“Do you ever actually sleep, Gavin?” Evrouin asked. He looked up from where he was seated at the low table in the hut he shared with Gavin and the others as Gavin entered. Evrouin’s uniform coat was unbuttoned, though he still wore it. He’d just come off a long patrol earlier that morning, as had Gavin, but it appeared that Evrouin had taken the time to catch some sleep while Gavin had been talking to Samsin.
“I’ll sleep after the snows come,” Gavin said. “We’ve got a problem, though.”
Evrouin immediately perked up, sitting straighter in his chair. “The army?”
Gavin shook his head, then told him the realization he’d just had with Samsin, though he left out any mention of the Orinai Storm Ward. Outside of Farah, only he and Tadeo knew the man still lived.
Evrouin’s expression darkened with each word. He swore when Gavin finished, using words Gavin had only heard a very few times before.
“So what do we do?” Evrouin asked at length. “Run? As you said before, there’s no place for us to go. We can’t fight them off.”
Gavin hesitated, trying to decide whether or not to tell Evrouin about Samsin. He doubted Evrouin would react poorly to the information, but he still didn’t completely trust the man either. Gavin’s perception of him had changed after his confrontation with Farah, but not
that
much.
“Brisson mentioned a few places to Tadeo where someone might find allies among the Orinai,” Gavin said, hoping his lie sounded both natural and plausible. “People like Nikanor who work against the Seven Sisters and the Empire.”
Evrouin frowned. He wasn’t as familiar with any of the information regarding the Orinai, even when compared to the little that Gavin actually knew, so Gavin assumed he was puzzling out what Gavin’s words actually meant.
“You intend for us to flee to them?” Evrouin asked. “If you remember, there’s a giant army between us and anywhere south of us we’d want to go.”
Gavin shook his head. “No, I’m saying we have potential allies outside this valley, but they can only help us if they know we need it.”
Evrouin nodded with sudden understanding. “Messengers. You want to sneak messengers out to them. What do you expect? They’ll just come on up here and save us?”
“Maybe,” Gavin said, taking a seat on one of the other chairs. “What other choice do we have, though? What do we even know about fighting Orinai? We’re simple men, Evrouin, used to living a simple, if dangerous, life. We’re completely unprepared for any of this.”
“I feel about as ready for all this as I was for each Migration,” Evrouin said. “But here’s the thing. No matter how much I planned and prepared my clan for it, something always went wrong. What’re we going to do if they don’t come?”
“I have no idea,” Gavin said honestly. “But let’s buy ourselves a little time first. We need to send messengers out now before the snow starts. We’re just going to assume it’s coming,” Gavin added, seeing the argument already forming on Evrouin’s lips. “We can use the distractions we’ve already planned as a way to help the messengers get out.”
“You’re putting a lot of faith in some information passed on secondhand,” Evrouin said.
“I know!” Gavin snapped, then forced down his impatience. “I know. But again, what choice do we have? There’s nothing else we can do. It’s like we’re sitting in the Oasis all over again, just waiting for the genesauri and Kaiden’s traitors to come kill us all.” Gavin stopped himself, realizing what he’d just said.
“Save it, Gavin. You’re right, that’s exactly how this feels.” Evrouin’s voice was calm, but the hand resting on the table had clenched into a white-knuckled fist. “I’ll go. I’ll be one of the messengers.”
Gavin shook his head, but before he could speak, a female voice spoke.