The Silver Mage - Katharine Kerr [78]
“Without seeing it, I can’t possibly tell.” Kov made his voice as casual as he could, but thoughts of escape were filling his mind. “I’d have to go there and take a look at it, but normally it takes a long time to build solid stone walls and the like, if that’s what they’re doing.”
“I’m told,” Lady said, “that they have many slaves working upon it.”
“Then it could rise much faster, of course. If you and the spearleader want to prevent them from settling there, we’d need to act quickly. If I could just be taken there for a look—”
Leejak cleared his throat with an angry growl and crossed his arms over his chest. Lady glanced at the spearleader with a nervous toss of her head. “He did suggest that,” she said, “but I fear you’ll leave us suddenly if we let—”
“There be a need on us to take some action,” Leejak interrupted her. “It does trouble my heart, thinking of Horsekin so close.”
“It troubles mine, too,” Kov said. “You’re sure they’re building in stone?”
“For now the buildings are only made of wood,” Lady said, “or so they told me, the messengers, that is, but they say that the Horsekin are hauling in stones from the west. They come on river barges, and then big cows pull them to the fort.”
Oxen, Kov supposed. “If they finish building stone walls around this fort,” he said aloud, “there’ll be precious little we can do about it, even if it turns out that we should do somewhat.”
She winced, then glanced at her hands, where rings glinted in the bluish light. “As long as our people are safe in their tunnels,” she said, “I’d rather merely post watchers up at Long Barrow.”
“Not enough.” Leejak glared at her. “What say you, Kov?”
“I agree,” Kov said. “Last summer I was part of an army fighting Horsekin. They’re ruthless, and we’d best not take chances.”
Lady moaned under her breath and tipped her head to rest it against the back of her chair. “I’m so afraid.” Her voice trembled on the edge of tears. “There are so few of us. The risk—if we lost more—” She let her voice trail away.
“There be risk in doing naught.” Leejak said.
But what can we do? Kov thought. Frail Dwrgic spears would never pierce Horsekin armor. Leejak cleared his throat as if he were about to speak again, but Lady sat up straight and with a wave of one hand forestalled him.
“We’ll do naught till I know more.” Her voice turned firm. “There are so few of us. We can’t risk losing anyone in some rash way.”
Leejak shrugged, rolled his eyes, but said nothing. Kov bowed to them both and left the chamber with the spearleader close behind. Out in the corridor the servant lass waited with a pair of light baskets. Leejak took one from her.
“Go sleep,” he said. “I walk him back.”
With a bob of her head and a smile, the Dwrgi lass hurried off down the corridor. Kov and Leejak strolled after, silent until the blue glow from her basket turned a corner and disappeared.
“When Lady be like this,” Leejak said in a soft voice. “There be no use to argue.”
“I got that impression, my lord.”
The spearleader snorted and shrugged. “Later mayhap we do talk more, make her think more.”
“Do you think she’ll change her mind?”
“I do. She does this other times, before.” He paused, struggling for words. “She does think good after while. There be a need on her for time to think good, I do mean. Soon you do see this or so I do hope.”
“So I do hope as well, my lord. I can assure you of that.”
They walked up a long ramp and turned into a corridor that Kov knew well. Through an open doorway, a bluish glow greeted them.
“Here’s the treasure chamber,” Kov said. “I have a light basket in there, my lord. I’ll just fetch it and see myself home.”
Leejak nodded and strode off. Kov went inside, picked up the basket of fungi then lingered for a moment, letting the gold and its invisible mist soothe his troubled mind. Horsekin nearby—ah ye gods, he thought. Will we never escape these savages? As he turned to leave, the light in his basket flickered on a heap of coins and cast the blocky shadow of some object protruding