Warlords Rising (24 page)

When they hit the patch of ground that was soaked and
waiting for them, it turned from a golden sand to a more rich dark brown color.
“That looks much better.”

“Soil’s almost perfect right now,” Trev’nor agreed, proud
and satisfied. “Having Azin along is speeding up the process a lot.”

Azin blushed and stammered and looked anywhere but at their
eyes.

Trying to extract the girl from her embarrassment, Becca
informed them, “Ehsan says there’s two underground rivers right under our
feet.”

“Oh really?” Trev’nor asked him, “How large?”

“Sizeable, as thick and deep as the city’s walls.”

“In that case, let’s build a canal here and start it toward
the city. Azin, draw all of our excess over here and let’s put it to work.”

Becca stood back and watched as the three fell into a
companionable working atmosphere with each other. Her job right now was just to
be on hand in case someone’s magic went out of control; it wasn’t like she
could do any good until her storm arrived. Considering how fast they all
worked, though, she gave it three days before this entire area became fertile
and bursting with new buds.

The thought made her smile.

Becca found Nolan bent over a table with Sosa at his side,
and two women that she didn’t recognize. He’d sent a message to her via mirror
broach that he wanted her and Trev’nor to meet him in the main marketplace, but
she hadn’t expected there to be a crowd of military men standing around him. As
she slid in between people, forcing her way to Nolan’s side, she saw signs that
this was an information broker’s table, as there were charts hanging from
several lines and a collection of colorful maps strewn out on top of the table.
“Nolan.”

The Life Mage glanced up and pointed her into a stool next
to him. “Bec, Trev, glad you came so fast. I’ve found out some very interesting
information.”

Is that why he was vibrating in his chair? “Like what?”

“Well, you know how we were talking about what to do with
Trexler once we captured him?”

“No,” she denied pleasantly, “I don’t.”

“Ahhh…” Nolan trailed off, an almost visible question mark
on his face.

“She’d already gone to bed before we started talking about
that,” Trev’nor reminded him.

“Oh, right. Right. I’d forgotten.”

Becca felt mildly irritated at both of them. “Did the two of
you discuss something important and make decisions without me?”

“Bec, I know better than to wake you up,” Trev’nor drawled,
not in the least worried. “You zap people when peeved. Besides, considering the
cultural rules here, I didn’t dare.”

If he had barged into her room to wake her, the two of them
would be considered automatically engaged, so she was rather glad he had
stifled the impulse. It also robbed her of an argument, though, so she huffed
out a resigned breath.

Nolan leaned in a little and whispered, “You two need to be
especially careful. People know that I’m not staying, that you two are, and
they’re already forming conjectures about when you’ll marry.”

“Again?!” Trev’nor squawked.

“We already disabused the notion in Rurick. Are we going to
have to do it everywhere we go?” Becca groaned.

The two looked at each other in disbelief, then in unison, spat
out, “Ewwww.”

This made people in the crowd chuckle. Becca flushed and
realized that she had automatically been speaking in Solish, as that was the
only language she’d been really using these days. Habit was such a wonderful
thing. At least some had understood their exchange and were getting a good
laugh out of it. Clearing her throat, she tried to regain her dignity. “You
were saying about important discussions held in the middle of the night?”

“Ah, right.” Nolan sat back and returned to a more normal
tone. “We were talking about what to do with Trexler once we had him in hand.
It seemed like a bad plan to just execute him and move on. Taking Tiergan has
taught me that we have to stop and spend at least some time straightening out
governmental affairs, cleaning house, and such before we can move on.”

That had become very obvious to Becca as well. Conquering
Tiergan had been an eye-opener in several ways. It wasn’t like taking Rurick at
all in some aspects. “You two thought of a plan?”

“We can’t just be young upstarts to these people,” Trev’nor
explained to her. Well, explained to everyone, as he certainly had everyone’s
attention. “We don’t want to be an outside source pressuring them into
something they don’t want to do. Instead, we need to make them a part of our
revolution.”

“So,” Nolan picked up the thread smoothly, “we thought to
really examine the laws of Khobunter, especially Trexler’s brand of laws, and
see if the man is guilty of violating his own rules. Then we choose people from
Tiergan and the army, and have them sit in judgement over him. That way, we’re
sharing joint responsibility for what happens.”

Once outlined, it became apparent to her that it was a wise
way to go. Half the trouble they’d had the first day in Tiergan was because no
one had wanted to bow their heads to three teenagers. “You two actually thought
of this last night in the wee hours of the morning?”

“From the ethers of desperation comes inspiration,” Nolan
intoned. “As Garth loves to say. What do you think?”

“I think it’s great. It’s better he’s judged by the people
than us doing it. I take it you’ve been researching that all morning?”

“Not quite me,” Nolan denied. “I was planting half the
morning. Sosa and…forgive me, have you met anyone else at the table?”

“I have not,” Becca denied before standing and giving them
both a quick bow. “I am Riicbeccaan.”

“This is Yasmina,” Nolan introduced the woman to his
immediate right, who looked to be in her late sixties, as there was not a
strand of black to be found in her silver hair, “who is the equivalent of a
city historian, in our terms. Her title here is Rikksha.”

“A pleasure to exchange names,” Becca and Trev’nor said,
almost together. Yasmina smiled and inclined her head toward them.

“In Rurick, we met their Rikkana, which apparently is a
universal position in Khobunter,” Nolan started only to stop. “Sosa, can you
explain this? I want to make sure I’m not confusing them.”

“In this land we have experts on law and tradition,” Sosa
stated, words carefully expressed and slow. He knew how shaky they were with
the language. “The Rikkan and the Rikkana. They are male and female, always,
one expert in female laws and the other in male laws. They sit in judgement or
offer advice for the city.”

“Sorry,” Trev’nor held up a hand to stall him, “I’m seeing a
similarity in all of these titles. Do they mean something?”

It was Ehsan, standing behind them, that leaned in over
their shoulders and broke it down. “Rikk meaning living, sha means history. An
and ana are the male and female versions of ann, or law.”

So their titles literally meant living history and living
law? “Thank you, Ehsan. That makes it easier to remember.”

Sosa seemed glad someone else had explained. His Solish
wasn’t always the best. “Our Rikkan and Rikkana are Shiva and Akbar.”

Becca wasn’t clear if these two were married or not but they
certainly looked like they were. They sat closely enough that their shoulders
were overlapping, perfectly at ease with their close contact. They looked of
the same age as Yasmina, which made Becca wonder, was advanced age a
requirement in this job? Or were you stuck with the position until death after
you were hired? The similarity, even in her head, created a sharp pang in her
chest when she remembered that they still had no idea where Rikkana Sumi and
the rest had been carted off. Becca had to stop and breathe through the pain
for a moment before she could manage in a level voice, “A pleasure to exchange
names, Rikkan, Rikkana.”

They smiled at her greeting but it was Akbar that responded
in a creaking voice, “Blessings on you, Raya.”

“Also with us are Danyal, Commander of the Tiergan forces,”
Nolan continued with a gesture toward a very stoic man with closely cropped
hair, still in the sand-colored uniform of the military, “and his two captains,
Nima and Hadi. When I explained to them what we wanted to do here in Khobunter,
they readily swore allegiance to us.”

Just like that? Becca was very surprised to hear this, as
she had been under the impression that not many leaders in Tiergan were willing
to switch sides. “Thank you for the gift of your names.”

Danyal gave them a sharp salute. “Raya, Rajas, we have been
given an oath by Raja Nolan that you will serve the people. As long as you do
so, we will serve you.”

In that moment, Becca felt like she was speaking with
Xiaolang. Or a more serious, darker version of Shad. She scooted her stool back
and snapped into the same military bearing, exchanging the salute. “We will
honor them, Commander. My word as a Riic.”

Every person at the table appeared surprised except her two
childhood friends. The commander and his two captains actually smiled at her as
Danyal dropped the salute.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Ehsan wondered aloud.

“I was raised by two soldiers,” she drawled, dropping back
into her stool. “You pick up things. Alright, Nolan, I think we know everyone
at the table. Tell me what you’ve discovered.”

“First off, Trexler has not been a good ruler.”

Trev’nor tsked mockingly. “Color me surprised. How many
major rules has he broken?”

“At least three that we can prove. I’ll let each of our
experts explain. Rikksha Yasmina, if you could start off?”

“Raja Nolan asked me what the first laws of this land were,”
the woman stated, speaking in careful Solish. Her accent was thick enough to
slice and serve on bread, so Becca paid max attention to make sure she
understood her. “I would need to lecture him for a week to answer this question
completely.” She might have winked at Nolan before continuing, “I think perhaps
I should answer the question he truly wished to ask. In the beginning, slavery
was not allowed at all in Khobunter. All of the warlords agreed on this. When
the magicians came in from the south and created Rheben, the laws started
changing at that point. When Rheben fell, and the magicians taken, then the
laws were altered to allow magical slaves.”

Becca seethed in anger. “That was very convenient.”

“People in power always change the rules to benefit them,”
Trev’nor stated, more rhetorically than anything else. “It’s how the world
spins. Rikksha, has the law changed at all after that? Is it still only magical
slaves allowed?”

She did not answer but turned to the two living law experts.
Akbar seemed to study the three before carefully stating, “It has not changed.”

Giving a growl of satisfaction, Becca rubbed her hands in
evil anticipation. “Then we have him dead to rights there.” Glancing up, she
realized that only the magicians understood what she meant by that. “You do
realize, I hope, that while magic can be inherited, not all of the slaves you
have are magicians?”

Becca got a lot of blank stares in response.

“In fact, in this group, you have six that aren’t,” Trev’nor
clarified.

It was Nima, one of the captains, that had to demand, “Are
you sure?”

“Very sure,” Nolan stated. “We can see magic. It’s clear as
day to us. Are you seriously telling me that in the past hundred years you’ve
been enslaving magicians, you didn’t realize that some of them couldn’t do
magic?”

“We…thought they had little talent and so couldn’t perform
magic like the others,” Rikkana Shiva offered weakly.

Becca felt like banging her head against the table. Trev’nor
actually did, which made a few people jump.

Nolan had more patience than either of them although his
frustration bled into his voice. “No, magic can skip a generation like any
other talent. It’s not guaranteed to have a magician just because both parents
are one. I actually hadn’t thought of that angle, Becca. We knew we had him on this
because he routinely takes any citizens that he conquers and makes them
slaves.”

“Like what happened in Rurick?”

“Exactly like that. It’s apparently a common practice with
some of the warlords.”

That thought made her anger burn all over again. “So that’s
a major one. What else?”

Rikkana Shiva seemed glad for a chance to move off this
uncomfortable topic. “We have a particular tax here called the War Tax. It’s
quite high, forty percent of a man’s income, and is to be used strictly for war
funding.”

Nolan winced. “That’s very high for a tax. How long have you
been paying this?”

“Years, now. The laws stipulate that it is not to be used
for more than a year at a time unless actively in war.”

“You weren’t actively in war until we showed up,” Trev’nor
stated more than questioned.

“That is correct, Raja. He has violated the law by leaving
it in place so long.”

Danyal cleared his throat. “Permission to speak, Raja.”

“Please do, Commander.”

“I know for a fact that the money from the War Tax has not
been given to us here. We’ve been on short pay as long as I’ve been stationed
here.”

Becca let out a low whistle. She knew all about ‘short pay’
from growing up around soldiers. It was not a good idea to leave soldiers
indefinitely on that. They got very cranky very quickly. Badgers with
toothaches were known to be more pleasant than soldiers on short pay. “And how
long has that been, Commander?”

“Seven years, Raya.”

She stood so fast her stool toppled over. “Seven—!” she
blurted out, past astonished. “Why haven’t your men revolted?!”

The commander gave her a bitter smile. “Nowhere to go,
Raya.”

That was so wrong on so many levels.

“It gets worse, Bec,” Nolan warned her. “Tell her,
Commander.”

“We can’t take leave, Raya.”

Becca was absolutely certain that her ears were not working.
That was the only explanation for it. He couldn’t have possibly said what she
thought he’d said. Maybe it was an internal mistranslation on her brain’s part.
“I’m sorry?”