“It has the advantage of simplicity,” Fidelias pointed out. “We recover the information, give solid evidence to the Crown, and let the First Lord launch a more comprehensive antisedition campaign.”
“Yes, that’s simpler. But once whoever is running this camp knows that they have been observed by the Cursors, they will simply disperse and move their operations elsewhere. The Crown will simply spend money and effort and lives to pin them down again—and even then, whoever is putting out the money to field their own army might simply get away.”
Fidelias glanced up at her and let out a low whistle. “So you want to get in and out undetected, get word to the Crown and — then what?”
“Lead a few cohorts of Knights Aeris back down here and crush them where they lie,” Amara said. “Take prisoners, have them testify against their backers, and wrap it all up right here.”
“Ambitious,” he commented. “Very ambitious. Very dangerous, too. If they catch on to us, they’ll kill us. And it’s reasonable to expect that they’ll have Knights as well — and that they’ll be on the lookout for a Cursor or two.”
“That’s why we don’t get caught,” Amara said. “We play the poor, greedy smuggler and his slave, haggle for all the money we can get from them, and leave.”
“And keep the money.” Fidelias frowned. “On general principle, I like any mission that involves a profit. But, Amara—there’s a lot that could go wrong with this one.”
“We are the First Lord’s messengers, are we not? His eyes and ears?”
“Don’t quote the Codex at me,” Fidelias snapped, annoyed. “I was a Cursor before your mother and father had called their first furies. Don’t think that because the First Lord has taken a shine to you that you know better than I do.”
“You don’t think it’s worth the risk?”
“I think there’s a lot you don’t know,” Fidelias said, and he looked very old for some reason. Uncertain. “Let me handle this, Amara. I’ll go inside. You stay here, and I’ll pick you up on the way out. There’s no reason to risk both of us.”
“No,” she said. “In the first place, this is my mission to run. In the second, you will need your full attention to play your role. I’ll be able to make observations—especially from up here.” She slapped the gargant’s broad back, and the bull snorted up a small whirlwind of trail dust in response. “I’ll also be able to watch our backs. If I get the impression that they’re onto us, we can get out of there.”
Fidelias muttered, “I thought we’d just use this guise to pose as travelers. Get close and slip into the camp after dark.”
“When no one else is coming in and when we’re certain to arouse suspicion if we’re seen?”
He blew out a breath. “All right,” he said. “All right. We’ll do it your way. But you’re gambling yourself with the crows.”
Amara’s stomach fluttered again, and she pressed a hand to it, trying to will the fear away. It didn’t leave. “No,” she said. “I’m gambling both of us.”
Though the gargant’s plodding steps seemed slow, each covered many strides of a man. The great beast’s thick-clawed feet ate the miles, though it stripped the bushes and trees of leaves along the way, adding to the layers of blubberyfat beneath its hide. If allowed, the humpbacked beast would wander into the richest forage and graze, but Fidelias handled it with a sure and calm hand, keeping the beast moving along the road, while he marched at the quickstep beside it.
A mile more, by Amara’s estimation, and they had come within picket distance of the insurgent Legion’s camp. She tried to remind herself of her role — that of a bored slave, sleepy and tired from days of travel — but it was all she could do to keep the mounting tension from rising in her shoulders and back. What if the Legion turned out to be nothing more than rumor, and her intelligence gathering mission, so carefully outlined and planned, turned out to be a costly waste of time? Would the First Lord think less of her? Would the other Cursors? It would be a paltry introduction into the ranks, indeed, if she stepped forth from the Academy and straight into a monumental blunder.
Her anxiety grew, like bands of iron stretching across her shoulders and back, and her head started to pound from the tension and the glare of the sun. Had they made a wrong turn? The old trail they followed seemed too well-worn to be an abandoned lumber track, but she could be wrong. Wouldn’t they be seeing the smoke of a Legion’s fires? Wouldn’t they hear something, by now, if they were as close as she suspected?
Amara was on the verge of leaning down to call to Fidelias, to ask his advice, when a man in dark tunic and leggings and a gleaming breastplate and helmet melted into view beneath the shadows of a tree on the road no more than ten strides in front of them. He appeared without a warning of any kind, without a flicker of movement — furycrafting involved, then, and a fairly skilled woodworking at that. He was a giant of a man, nearly seven feet tall, and he bore a heavy blade at his side. He lifted one gloved hand and said, his tone bored, distant, “Halt.”
Fidelias clucked to the gargant bull, slowing the beast to a stop after several steps. The wagon creaked and groaned, settling onto its wheels beneath the weight of the ore.
“Good morning to you, master,” Fidelias called, his voice oozing nervous, obsequious good cheer. The senior Cursor doffed his hat and clutched it in his slightly trembling hands. “And how are you doing on this fine autumn morn?”
“You’re on the wrong trail,” said the dark giant. His tone was dull, almost sleepy, but he laid a hand on the hilt of his weapon. “This land is not friendly to travelers. Turn around.”
“Yes, master, of course we will, master,” Fidelias simpered. “I am but a humble peddler, transporting his cargo in the vain hope of finding a ready market. I have no desire for trouble, good master, only for the chance to attempt to recoup my losses on this most excellent but lamentably ill-timed bounty of —” Fidelias rolled his eyes skyward and dragged one foot through the dust of the trail. “Iron.” He shot the giant a sly smile. “But, as you wish, good master. I’ll be on my way.”
The dark man stepped forward and said, “Hold, merchant.”
Fidelias glanced back at him. “Master?” he asked. “Can I perhaps interest you in a purchase?”
The dark man shrugged. He stopped a few feet from Fidelias and asked, “How much ore?”
“Nearly a ton, good master. As you can see, my poor gargant is all but done in.”
The man grunted, eyeing the beast, and swept his gaze up it, to Amara. “Who is this?”
“My slave, good master,” Fidelias said. His voice took on a cringing, wheedling tone. “She’s for sale, if you like the look of her, master. A hard worker, skilled at weaving and cooking—and more than capable of giving a man an unforgettable night’s pleasure. At two lions, she’s surely a bargain.”
The man snorted. “Your hard worker rides while you walk, merchant. It would have been smarter for you to travel alone.” He sniffed. “And she’s as skinny as a boy. Take your beast and follow me.”
“You wish to buy, master?”