Servant of the Empire. Janny Wurts

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СКАЧАТЬ He made proper obeisance before his Lord, then threw his burden to the floor, where two servants rushed to unroll it.

      Tasaio drew his sword. In a short, neat movement, he indicated the meandering blue line that represented the river Gagajin. ‘Once through Sulan-Qu, Mara will send her wagons southward on the Great River Road, or else she will put them aboard barges and take the water route. She will draw much attention upon this false caravan, so she will not risk her real wares to follow through the woodlands to the east of her holdings. It is too close to the false cargo.’ His sword scratched across the river that offered the main avenue of trade through the heart of the Empire; east and west, major roads were inked in red lines. ‘Here,’ said Tasaio, stabbing his sword at a minor line twining south from the Acoma border. ‘Keyoke is certain to cross south through Tuscalora lands and pass through the foothills of the Kyamaka Mountains. He will make for the delta north of the Great Swamp, and continue directly for Jamar, gateway to the southern markets.’

      Leaning forward over the chart, Desio anticipated him. ‘You’ll attack in the foothills?’

      Tasaio tapped his weapon at a serpentine bend in the road. ‘At this narrow pass. Once into it, Keyoke’s forces can be bottled up at both ends, and with the Red God’s blessing, no Acoma warrior will survive.’

      Desio tapped his full lips with a finger, silent. ‘But Mara might keep her Force Commander with her. Suppose her Strike Leader, Lujan, is sent in Keyoke’s place?’

      Tasaio shrugged. ‘Mara has shown cleverness in trade, but in battle she must delegate command. Her options besides Keyoke and Lujan are a half-blind old strike leader soon to retire and two others newly promoted. She’ll do the only intelligent thing: send her proven officers with her two caravans and trust her cho-ja allies’ raw power to protect her home estates.’

      Yet Desio was not satisfied. ‘Can we arrange an accident for Lujan, also?’

      Tasaio considered this with abstracted interest. ‘Difficult. Mara’s soldiers will be expecting trouble, and even a gifted assassin would be unlikely to get near their commander.’

      ‘Unless …’ Desio arose from his mat and squatted on the stair above the map. After a studied moment, he said, ‘What if we arrange to have our young Strike Leader come rushing down to aid his commander?’

      Tasaio’s eyes widened. ‘You’ll need to be clearer, my Lord.’

      Pleased to have surprised his cousin even slightly, Desio set his chin on clenched knuckles. ‘We “expose” one Acoma spy, torture him enough to convince him we’re serious, and while doing so, brag about our trap – we’ll even tell him where it will occur. Then, at the moment Keyoke cannot be recalled, we’ll let him escape.’

      Tasaio’s face was expressionless. ‘And he’ll run home to the Acoma.’ Deliberate in his movements as always, he returned his sword to his scabbard. The click as the laminated blade slid home resounded through the near-empty hall.

      ‘About here,’ Desio went on, shifting position to touch the river road line with his toe, ‘just to the south of Sulan-Qu, our released spy will encounter Lujan and his caravan. By then the Acoma Strike Leader will be jumping at every sound, expecting our overdue ambush. When he hears that Keyoke is the real target, he’ll turn his army and race downriver to try a rescue.’ Smugly Desio concluded, ‘By the time relief arrives, Keyoke will be dead and our men in position to ambush Lujan’s force.’

      Tasaio’s lips thinned in serious doubt. ‘I think the plan a bit overbold, my Lord. Removing Keyoke with his little troop should pose no problem, but Lujan will be commanding as many as three companies of a hundred, hundred and twenty men each, hot for a battle.’

      Desio brushed such concerns away. ‘At the worst, Lujan will prove too difficult a foe and we’ll withdraw, leaving Keyoke dead and the Acoma’s most likely new Force Commander shamed by his failure to effect a rescue.

      ‘Better,’ Desio finished, a finger upraised for emphasis, ‘with a little luck, we could remove at one stroke the only other able field commander the Acoma bitch has. That’s worth the risk.’

      ‘My Lord –’ Tasaio began.

      ‘Do it!’ Desio shouted, overriding his cousin’s caution. Then, with all his lordly authority, he calmly repeated his command. ‘Do it, cousin.’

      Tasaio bowed his head, turned, and left. While the aide who had carried the map hurried belatedly to catch up, Desio motioned to Incomo. ‘I shall be drilling with my personal guard for the next hour. Afterwards I shall bathe. Instruct the hadonra to have serving girls ready. Then I shall dine.’

      Uncaring that he had demeaned his First Adviser with instructions more suitably put to a body servant, the Lord of the Minwanabi arose. Slaves hastened to set crumpled cushions to rights and to clear away trays that held discarded fruit rinds. Force Commander Irrilandi, in his orange-plumed helm, trailed his master unobtrusively from the hall. Incomo watched with narrowed eyes. As the doors boomed closed, and only slaves and servants remained, he bent his leathery neck and regarded the map still spread on the floor by the dais, creased now where the Lord had trodden across it. Incomo descended the stair. Posed like a shore bird with one foot in Lash Province and the other poised over the border to Hokani, he shook his head sharply. ‘If Lujan is a fool, our Lord is a genius,’ he mused to himself. ‘But if Lujan is a genius …’ He pored over the map and muttered, ‘Now if our headstrong young Lord would listen, I would –’

      ‘I see several problems,’ a crisp voice interjected.

      Startled by Tasaio’s silent return, Incomo jerked his chin upward. ‘You might explain.’

      Tasaio pointed. ‘I came for the map.’

      Incomo removed himself from the parchment as if walking on eggs. Tasaio was dangerously annoyed, and if he chose to elucidate, he would do so best without badgering.

      Tasaio motioned, and his aide knelt down to roll the chart. The First Adviser waited, still with patience.

      ‘What could go wrong?’ said Tasaio in candour. He took the rolled map from his officer and slung it casually under his arm. ‘My cousin’s boldness does him honour as head of the clan. However, he depends far too much on events proceeding as Minwanabi desires would have them. From experience I suggest it is wiser to prepare for the worst.’

      ‘Then you expect the double raid to go wrong,’ Incomo prodded, skilfully implying a defeat that Tasaio would face death rather than to allow.

      Tasaio lifted tawny, black-lashed eyes and returned a merciless stare. ‘I will not be able to stay and lead this raid to ensure that things will go right. Nevertheless, it is often said that battles are won and lost before the first arrow is shot. The Acoma will certainly emerge with losses. I will spend my last hours before I depart for Dustari preparing for every imaginable contingency, and our Force Commander will receive instructions as detailed as I can make them. Irrilandi was Keyoke’s boyhood friend and knows his temper. He should be able to anticipate which action Keyoke will take in response to our efforts. If I give Irrilandi detailed instructions for each option, he will emerge victorious.’

      Incomo bristled at the doubt implied in Irrilandi’s skills; still, the criticism was fair relative to the man who had been the Warlord’s Subcommander, the First Adviser conceded as Tasaio and his aide marched smartly from the hall. Desio’s cousin was probably the most skilled field officer in the Empire, having earned a reputation for valour and cunning in the rise of the Minwanabi under Jingu, then refining his natural СКАЧАТЬ