“Things are different there,” the captain explained. “More . . . your Elkati would probably call it more civilized. I’d be inclined to call it more decadent. People don’t live communally, as they do here. At least, the wealthy don’t. They don’t focus on the function of things; they look for luxury. Pointless, ostentatious collections of wealth in the hands of a few, while the poor there . . . well, therearepoor there. There are people starving.”
That was hard for Theos to imagine. Everyone in Windthorn was expected to work, of course, but there was food for everyone, and places to sleep. Luxuries like Theos’s private room had to be earned through seniority and achievement, and little extras came to successful squads, but those wereextras. “Starving?” he asked with a frown. “In the central valleys? Where does all their produce go, then? And our tribute?”
“Into the hands of the wealthy. Men and women who never lift their hand in labor, but who know the right people or have made the right alliances.”
Theos frowned. It didn’t sound anything like the Torian values he’d been raised to respect. But still . . . “What does that have to do with an Elkati spy?”
Tamon sighed. “Nothing directly. But it may have rather a lot to do with the man who’shelpingthe spy.”
“There’s a faction within Windthorn that feels we are too austere,” Photina said. Her tone made it clear what she thought of such whining. “A group that would like us to adopt many practices of the central valleys.” She glanced at Tamon, then looked back at Theos. “You may think we’ve been sitting around, but in reality we’ve been working hard, trying to determine how strong each side’s support is here. Figuring out who is allied with whom. If it comes to a battle, even if we won, it would still be costly to the valley, with many dead or injured. And it would be even worse if welost.”
Theos didn’t want to think about that for too long. “They’d actually fight for this? For the right to . . . be lazier? To have more belongings than someone else?”
“That’s not how they’d present it,” Tamon said. “They’d say they’re fighting for freedom, I expect. The freedom to succeed. They’d say they work hard, and it’s unfair to take their wealth, or the wealth of their parents, and give it to people who are too stupid or lazy to earn their own.”
Freedom. Yes, people might fight for that. “Are we sure they’re wrong?” Theos ventured.
Tamon raised an eyebrow. “You’re strong and smart. You’d do better in that sort of system. Is that what you’re thinking?”
“Me? No. I’m just a soldier. But if someonewassmarter than others, or did work harder, wouldn’t they deserve a reward?”
“Maybe,” Tamon said with a shrug. “But there’s a Torian way to do that. We talk about ideas, and vote on them. We don’t sneak around and weaken the empire from within.”
“So why aren’t they doing things the right way?”
“Because they know they’d lose if they did,” Photina said. “If they had the support of the majority, they’d come out in the open. They’re sneaking around because they know most of usdon’twant the changes. Hoarding property for themselves and treating womenlikeproperty, to be possessed by a man? No. The majority don’t want that. So the only way the warlord can hope to succeed is by stealth.”
Theos felt the truth of those words. “And you’re sure the warlord is involved in the sneaking part?”
Photina nodded decisively. “Yes. We’re quite sure of that, now.”
“Why was he trying to ship the spy back east? And was he the one who tried to help him escape tonight?”
“We think the first attempt—shipping him east—was meant to be another escape,” Tamon said. “The warlord was probably going to have his men attack the traders as soon as they were away from the valley and set the Elkati free. So both were attempts to help him escape.”
Photina added, “Both attempts were very risky, though. The battle at the start, and then the long travel in the winter mountains? The warlord wanted the Elkati out of our control, absolutely. We assume he was worried the boy would talk, or give in under torture. So if he couldn’t get him safely away, he’d have been happy to just have him die in the attempt.”
“He tried to take him from me. Tried to buy him.”
“That worried us.” The captain frowned. “I thought about ordering you to give him up. Or giving him to the warlord for more questioning.”
“Youwantedthe warlord to have him?” This entire situation was making Theos’s head spin.
“No. But we were worried that desperation might be enough to push the warlord out into the open. If he’d taken the boy from you, and you’d pushed back—which I assume you would have—it all could have exploded. We’re still hoping to solve this by negotiation, and, luckily, it seems the warlord is hoping for that too.”
“Unless he’s just biding his time,” the reeve said darkly. “He may not be ready to strikeyet, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t marshaling his strength and getting ready to move. Unfortunately, we’re still not sure what direction he’ll movein.”
“So the men who came tonight. The warlord sent them. And they came to kill the Elkati, you think?” Theos might be happy to kill Finnvid himself, but he didn’t want anyone else doing it.
“I can’t imagine they thoughtthey could get him out of the valley, not once we’d been warned.” Tamon nodded. “So, yes, I expect they came to kill him. He’d be a useful asset alive, but he's too dangerous to leave in our hands indefinitely.”
“Why?” Theos demanded. “What’s so special about him?”
Tamon and Photina exchanged a look, then Photina said, “I imagine the warlord wasn’t pleased that the boy seemed to be growing close with a Sacrati. Tell me, did you get him into your bed, yet? My understanding is that bets were being taken on how long he’d hold out.”
She wasn’t really answering his question, but she was distracting him pretty effectively. Theos thought of the kisses. The first one had been public, for a reason he couldn’t now discern. But the second had clearly been designed to mislead him. “He’s a very good liar. If people thought he was warming toward me, it’s because hewantedthem to see it. I have no idea why he’d want that.”
“Neither do I,” Photina said. “But, whatever the reason, I can imagine the warlord seeing your apparently growing friendship and becoming concerned.”
