The next morning, Corec left the inn early to find mounts for his companions. There weren’t any mules for sale, but he got lucky and found a farmer who’d ended up with some horses he didn’t need. It only cost sixty silver to buy a five-year old gelding for Shavala and an older mare for Bobo, plus saddles, tack, blankets, and saddlebags.

He returned to the inn and left the animals in the stable yard, then went inside to find his friends getting everything packed up.

“I just need to get my armor on,” he said. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“Do you really need it?” Katrin asked. She sounded friendly this morning, as if she no longer considered him responsible for their situation.

“Probably not around here, but it’s a habit, and Dot and the pack mule don’t like it if I load it onto their backs.”

“You should call him Boy,” she reminded him, with a hint of a smile. “He likes it better.”

Corec laughed. “I’ve never noticed that he cares one way or another, but you’re welcome to call him that. Anyway, I was able to find some horses, so we can stop at the store if anyone needs anything. I sold the crossbow and bought food last night, but Shavala, Bobo, if you want a lean-to or some extra blankets, you can get them. The weather’s been hot and dry so far, but you never know.”

“Does the store have candy?” Shavala asked.

“Candy?”

“I had a copper coin once, but the traders wouldn’t give me anything for it except for a bag of something they called candy. It tasted like maple syrup.”

Katrin giggled, the first time Corec had ever heard her do that.

“Maple candy,” he said. “You might have better luck up north or in Larso. It’s usually only made around here in the spring, after the traders bring the syrup.”

“Oh.” Shavala looked disappointed.

“How do you know so much about it?” Katrin asked him.

“Remember the tutors I told you about?” Corec said. “I had to learn all the crops harvested in the Black Crow Mountains. The maple harvest was how my…how the family I lived with made some of their money. Maple trees grow around here, but not the right kind, and the winter usually doesn’t get cold enough.”

While his companions were taking the packs and saddlebags downstairs, Corec put his armor on. He joined them in the stable yard, where they were saddling Dot, Flower, and the pack mule.

“Bobo,” he said, pointing to the dun mare, “this is Rose. She’s getting on in years, but she should be able to keep up on the trip to Tyrsall.”

“Thank you,” Bobo replied, and walked over to greet his horse.

“Shavala,” Corec said, “this is Socks. He’s smaller than our other horses, so I thought he’d be easier for you.”

“Oh, he’s pretty,” Shavala said. She walked around looking at the gelding, a roan with white markings going up most of the length of its forelegs. She was about to step behind him when Corec grabbed her by the arm.

“Wait! Don’t walk behind a horse!”

“Why?”

“It might kick you if it doesn’t know what’s behind it. If you’re going to walk behind him, be sure to touch him and speak to him the whole time so he knows you’re there. You haven’t been around horses before? Do you know how to ride?”

“Don’t you just get on that thing there,” she said, pointing to the saddle, “and then the horse takes you where you want to go?”

“It’s more complicated than that. We’ll teach you how to ride as we go. We’ll need to take breaks anyway if this is your first time, or it’ll be too hard on your legs.”

“It’s been a while for me, too,” Bobo said.

“We’ll take it easy for the first couple of days.”

“Wait, why am I the only one riding a mule?” Katrin asked. Corec couldn’t tell if she was angry or not.

“I just bought what I could find,” he said. “The last village had a mule, this one had two horses. I thought you liked Flower?”

“I do!” she said, wrapping her arms around the mule’s neck. “I just don’t see why there’s always a horse available when somebody else wants one.”

He laughed. Katrin might be in a better mood, but apparently she wasn’t done giving him a hard time yet. “I’m not sure one time counts as always, but I’ll tell you what. When you’re ready to buy your own, we’ll wait until we can find a horse.”

She glared at him, but she was smiling underneath it.

#

Two days later, they’d gotten up and on the road early. To save money, they’d spent the night camping rather than stopping at an inn. With the long days and the pleasant weather, they’d been making good time despite frequent breaks. Now that everyone had gotten used to being in the saddle, they’d be able to speed up their pace.

They’d been riding for an hour when Corec realized that the faint whispering noise he’d been hearing was Shavala talking to her horse. Glancing back, he was shocked to see Socks wasn’t wearing his bridle.

“Whoa!” Corec said, bringing the procession to a halt. “Shavala, what are you doing?”

She had taken to riding easily. He’d watched her with her saddle and tack the previous day and she’d seemed to have it under control, so this morning he’d let her handle it on her own.

“Stop,” she said to Socks, who stopped. “What do you mean?” she asked Corec.

“Where’s the bridle and reins? You can’t ride like that!”

“Why not?”

“Because you can’t control the horse that way!”

She looked puzzled. “He does everything I want him to.”

“Even if you’re controlling him with your legs and your seat, you can’t do everything that way, and you’ll want the reins to reinforce the commands.”

“I’m not using my legs. I just tell him what I want him to do, and he does it. He doesn’t like the bridle or bit.”

“He’s trained to voice commands?” While most horses would follow a few voice commands, Corec had always been taught that a rider shouldn’t rely on them.

Shavala shrugged. “Socks, walk in a circle.”

The horse walked around in a tight circle, which certainly wasn’t a standard voice command.

“How did you do that?”

“Animals can understand what a druid says to them, if they’re smart enough. Remember the wolf I mentioned the other night? I asked him to leave us alone, and he did.”

“So, it’s magic?”

“It’s not a spell, but the elder magic is about more than just spells.”

“How are you going to stop him if he gets spooked and runs away?”

“I’ll ask him not to.”

“Do you really think that’s going to work?”

“If he can hear me, yes.”

Corec sighed. “All right, but you still need to learn to use your legs and seat. It’s as much for you as it is for him. If you have to go fast or turn quickly, you’re going to need to grip him with your legs, and you don’t want to grip him the wrong way or it’ll conflict with…whatever you’re telling him, and then he won’t know which command to obey. Besides, there may be times when it’s too loud for him to hear you, but if he can feel you on his back, you can still direct him.”

“Oh. I see. Can you show me again?”

#

As they drew closer to Tyrsall, the road got busier, with people walking, riding, or driving wagons or carriages. Midday on the sixth day after leaving the village, they crested a rise and saw the city in distance.

Corec brought the group to a halt.

“Oh,” Shavala said, bringing her horse to a halt. When he glanced at her, she was looking at the city in fear.

They were too far away to see individual buildings, but it was obvious that Tyrsall was massive. He still remembered his first view of it. He’d visited Telfort while he’d been training as a knight, but Tyrsall was even larger. The outskirts consisted of smaller hamlets that had gradually been absorbed into the city, and then farther in were larger industrial buildings and warehouses. It wasn’t possible to see the city center or the harbor from this distance, but they added to the indistinct grayish-brown mass that spread before them.

He turned to Katrin. “We’re an hour’s ride away. We can go back to that last village, which will add another hour, or we can set up camp if you still want to stay outside the city. If we stay, this is as close as we can get—the constabulary sends out patrols to make sure people don’t camp on the outskirts. And we’ll need to keep watch all night, to make sure nobody steals the horses.”

“I…don’t know,” Katrin said, running her fingers over the rune on her forehead. “Maybe just for the first day, while you try to find a wizard?”

Corec had given up on trying to conceal his runes after a few days without any success, but Katrin had kept practicing. She could do it with her eyes open now, but she still had to concentrate or the mark became visible again. Shavala hadn’t shown any interest in hiding hers, though she’d replaced the hawk feather in her hair with three bluejay feathers tied to a leather cord, hanging down in front of her left ear.

“You could set up camp in that batch of trees we saw a mile back,” Bobo suggested. “That way, you won’t be right out in the open.”

“That’s a good idea,” Corec said. “I’ll come back tonight and let you know what I find out.”

Shavala hadn’t taken her eyes off the city. “How big is it?” she asked hesitantly. “It looks as big as the forest.”

Corec laughed. “No, it would take almost two weeks to go through the full width of the forest. Tyrsall is about twenty-two miles north to south, so you could walk its longest distance in a day, even if the streets are busy.”

If anything, hearing the actual size made her look more nervous. She stared at Tyrsall, biting her lip. “I’ll stay here with Katrin. Just for today.”

“What about you, Bobo?” Corec asked.

“By the time we get there, it’ll be too late to get started in the library, but I should at least stop by and make sure they’ll let me in. I can work on that while you’re looking for a wizard.”

“All right, let’s get going then.”

#

Three and a half hours later, Corec and Bobo reached the city center and split up, planning to meet after running their errands, so they could head back to the camp together.

It took Corec another thirty minutes to reach the constabulary building, and he went inside to the bounty office.

“I remember you,” the man at the desk said. “Any luck with those thieves?”

“Not yet, but I think I saw the old man. The bounty’s not worth chasing him down, but in case I can get him to come in willingly, what are their penalty fees?”

“Willingly? Good luck with that, but I’ll check for you.” The man pulled open one of the drawers and searched around, finally finding the paper he was looking for. “Here we go. Based on what they stole, the penalty’s assessed at seven gold for each of them to avoid prison. But it still goes on their record, so if we catch them at it again, it’ll be worse.”

“Well, if I run into him, I’ll let him know.”

“If you bring him in yourself, you still get the bounty, even if he pays his penalty.”

Corec nodded, then glanced at the other poster he was interested in. “I don’t think the Herman brothers will be a problem anymore. It looked like them, anyway.”

“Oh? You got any proof?”

“No, I was just letting you know. It looked like they tried to waylay someone who didn’t want to be waylaid.”

“I’ll make a note of it, but I can’t take down the poster without proof. It’ll be good if someone’s finally done them in.”

Corec’s next stop was the Senshall Trading Company’s main office, since he hadn’t found anyone at the western loading yard on the way into the city. Inside, he found the duty agent, a man named Cal, speaking with someone dressed in expensive clothing. Corec was waiting for them to finish, but Cal saw him.

“Corec! Jak wasn’t too happy when you didn’t show up. We weren’t able to find a substitute in time, since he expected you to be there.”

“I’m sorry—I had do something away from the city. I thought I’d be back in time, so I didn’t take my name off the list, but then I got delayed. I just got into town today, but I don’t think I’ll be around for the next run, either.”

“You miss two in a row, you’re going to lose your reserved spot,” Cal said.

“I know, but I can’t help it. I’ve got to head out to Four Roads ahead of the next trip. I’ll probably run into Jak on his way back, so he can yell at me then.”

“Four Roads?” the other man asked, looking over Corec’s armor and sword. “Heading through Dalewood? I’ve got a message going that way, and I’m looking for a runner. How long will it take you to get there?”

Corec thought about that. “Dalewood by the West Road is four hundred twenty miles. Figure ten or eleven days’ ride, but I’ve got some things to take care of in Tyrsall first, so it would be a few days before I could leave.”

“That’s still faster than waiting for Jak or the next Larso run,” the man said, “and you’ve got a good reputation, this little incident aside. I’m Varsin Senshall.” He held out his hand, so Corec shook it.

The more successful family-run trading companies had given themselves family names, as if they were noble houses. Some of the families were wealthier than the lesser nobles, and held more influence, and the Senshall family was one of the wealthiest. Varsin was young, perhaps thirty, so he wasn’t likely to hold much sway, but Corec would still need to stay on the man’s good side if he wanted to keep working for the company.

He figured he should be polite. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“That family crest on your armor,” Varsin said. “I don’t recognize it.”

“I’m from Larso. Corec Tarwen, third son of Lord Ansel, Baron of Tarwen, by way of his concubine.” Corec rarely introduced himself formally, but he figured the man would take him more seriously that way. It seemed to work, and he could see Varsin’s demeanor change.

“I’m afraid I’m not familiar with the Larso peerage,” Varsin said.

Corec shrugged. “It’s one of the smallest baronies in the kingdom. Not many people have heard of it out this way.”

“Third son? I take it that’s why you’re working here?”

“Yes,” Corec said, without elaborating. It felt strange enough talking about his family. He didn’t want to go into detail about his past, too.

“You said you’re heading to Four Roads, right? Going to Larso to answer the king’s call?” Four Roads was in the free lands, but it lay on the most direct route to Larso.

“King’s call?”

“King Marten has put out a call for mercenaries. You hadn’t heard?”

Corec shook his head. “No. Why would he need mercenaries? Larso’s not at war, and they’ve got a standing army, plus the Knights of Pallisur.”

“I don’t know,” Varsin said, “but I wouldn’t want to be one of the hillfolk right now. We’re adjusting our caravan routes to try to keep away from any trouble.”

“Well, I’m no mercenary,” Corec said. “I’ve got a few things to take care of, but I hope to be back here soon, ready to work.” Privately, he doubted the hillfolk were the target. The knights kept the occasional band of hillfolk raiders under control, and there wasn’t anything in the hills to make them worth conquering.

Varsin nodded. “Good to hear. Courier pay to Dalewood is…how does it work, Cal?”

“Thirty-three silver, plus eleven for expenses. You get a quarter now, half when you bring back proof of delivery, and a quarter if that delivery happens by the designated day.”

“Let’s say…fourteen days?” Varsin suggested. “Will that give you enough time in the city?”

It would give him two or three days before he needed to leave. “I think so,” Corec said, “but I’ll bring the package back if it looks like I’ll be delayed.”

He wasn’t sure what sort of message was worth paying forty-four silver for special delivery, but after subtracting the money for expenses, it would come out to the same daily rate he’d been earning on guard duty. Or at least it would if he could find a message to bring back on the return leg. And if he could make himself known to the Senshall family, it might lead to full-time courier duty, which would pay a lot more than working as a guard.

He still had to solve the problem with the runes, but once that was taken care of, he’d need to look toward his future—especially now that he’d offered Katrin most of his savings to get her brother out of prison. She’d be heading back to Circle Bay soon, Shavala would leave on her travels to see the world, and Bobo would run out of excuses to stick around, so life would be back to normal in a few weeks, and Corec could return to work.

“Let’s get that set up, then,” Varsin said to Cal.

Corec realized Varsin might have the information he needed, so he said, “The reason I’m in the city is to help a friend who’s run into a bit of a problem. She asked me to find a wizard, but I’ve never met one before. Do you know anyone I could speak to?”

“The family mostly works with Yelena,” Varsin said, “but she won’t talk to you, not even with an introduction from me. There’s another man we’ve used to verify the authenticity of some items, name of Deshin. He seemed capable enough.”

Corec had heard Yelena’s name before, but not Deshin’s. “Do you know how I can get in touch with him?”

“He bought a bookshop, if you can believe it. He does all his work through there. You can find him in the Tailors’ Quarter.”

#

For the sake of propriety, Treya stopped in the front garden and pulled her thin, lace-up boots out of her pack. Like the other mystics, she preferred to go barefoot, but she doubted they’d let her inside without footwear. Appropriately clad, she strode up the walkway to the large house and used the door knocker.

An elderly man opened the door and looked her over expressionlessly, pausing when he saw the waterskin tied to her belt and the pack slung over her shoulder. “May I help you?”

“I’m here to see Renny,” Treya said.

“Mistress Renny Senshall?” he said, enunciating the full title. “And who may I say is asking to see her?”

“It’s me, Mr. Jovan. Treya. Just like last week, and the week before, and the week before that.”

The butler had taken a dislike to Treya for some reason she couldn’t fathom. Unless he honestly didn’t remember her, but she doubted that.

“I will see if the Mistress is taking visitors.” He let her enter, then said, “Please wait here.”

Leaving her in the entrance hall rather than inviting her to the sitting room was a new snub that Jovan must have thought up since Treya’s last visit.

A moment later, she heard someone running down one flight of stairs, then another, and then Renny was there, hugging her. “Treya! I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow. Why are you carrying your pack?”

“Can we go up to your rooms and talk?”

“Of course. Come on.” Renny took her by the hand and led her up to the third floor, where she had her own suite. They didn’t see Jovan on their way up, so Treya figured he’d taken the back stairs. Renny dismissed her maid and closed the door behind them, then they both took seats in her private sitting room. Treya glanced through the other door, to the bedroom, and tried not to blush when she saw the large bed. Hopefully this time, her old roommate wouldn’t insist on telling her, in detail, about all the use it had been getting.

“Now, what’s up?” Renny asked. “Why do you look like you’re about to go on a trip?”

“Because I am. Kelis says I’ve graduated, and it’s time to start my journeying,” Treya said.

“What? So soon? I thought you’d have more time.”

Treya laughed. “Soon? I’ve been training for six years. She said I could have graduated with Enna, but she didn’t think I was old enough to be off on my own. And then the whole priestess thing happened, and she didn’t know what to do with me.”

Treya still didn’t know how she’d become a priestess, or which god she was supposedly a priestess of, but a priest of The Lady had confirmed that her healing was divine magic. It had been useful for taking care of minor sparring injuries after practice, though she wasn’t strong enough to help with anything serious.

“But if you’re gone, who’s going to visit me?” Renny said.

“Is it that bad here?”

“Not bad, exactly. Varsin is a dear, the children are adorable, and Kelsa is…all right. I’ve been using the things they taught us in concubine classes to put your partner’s wife at ease, and it’s working, but she’s still getting used to me. I’m just bored. I thought I’d be able to help Varsin with his business, but he already knows more languages than me, and he knows all the noble houses in Tyrsall, and he knows all the crops and goods and where they come from. Most of the things they taught us, he knows better than I do.”

“You can act as his assistant,” Treya suggested. “He must be a busy man.” Varsin was the younger son of the majority owner of one of the largest trading houses in the city.

“We’re still working on that,” Renny admitted. “It’s only been four weeks, and he’ll need to trust me before he can send me to do things in his stead. I need to convince him to bring me with him more often, so I can learn the business.”

“And what about trading letters with the rest of our sisters?” Treya said. Passing information back and forth was one of the oldest traditional roles of the concubines, dating back to a time when very few people learned to read.

“I will. I just haven’t met anyone yet that would be helpful to correspond with.”

“Mother Ola could probably introduce you to a few by letter. You don’t necessarily have to meet them in person first.”

“Oh! That’s a good idea. Even something simple like knowing how the crops are growing in Larso or Matagor might help him make decisions about his caravans.” Then she frowned prettily. “Or at least tell his father and brothers.”

“Problems?” Treya asked. Concubines were taught to share personal matters freely, though only amongst themselves—never with outsiders.

“Not really, but he’s youngest son. I get the impression they gave him the less important tasks.”

“Well, that’s what you’re here to help with. What are the rest of them like?”

“His father’s all right, but I don’t like his brothers. And they never bring their concubines, only their wives, so I haven’t had a chance to meet them yet.”

“You can go to their homes. It’s your right to visit your Sisters.”

“That’s true,” Renny said, brightening. “I’ll do that.”

Treya smiled, happy to have improved her friend’s mood. Then she had a thought. “Does Senshall have any fishing boats?”

“No. Why?”

“Well, you know fishing. I thought maybe you could help there.”

“I left fish behind a long time ago, and my father’s the one who knows everything. But I do still have my share of my bond price. I feel like I should invest it in something. Maybe I’ll talk to my father and see if he has any ideas.”

Renny had fetched a high price, and half of it had gone to her. Usually the other half would go to the Orders, but since she wasn’t an orphan, it had been split between the Orders and her family.

“How are you getting along with the staff?” Treya asked.

“You mean Mr. Jovan,” Renny said. “Luckily, he reports to Kelsa. She’s told the staff to obey me as they would her, and Jovan’s the only one that has a problem with it. But he doesn’t come to the third floor very much, so I stay here most of the time. The others are fine, and Eva’s great. I can depend on her for anything.” Eva was Renny’s lady’s maid.

“Mr. Jovan doesn’t like me, either,” Treya said. “Maybe he’s got a problem with the Orders.”

“I think he’s got a problem with concubines,” Renny said, “and he sees anyone from the Orders as a concubine. But anyway, we keep talking about me, and you’re the one who’s going off! Is that really all you’re taking? Just that pack?”

“I’ll be okay. You know what my training was like. The fewer distractions I have, the easier it is to focus.”

“I think starving to death would be a pretty big distraction.”

Treya grinned. “Well, Kelis gave me some money, and the chapter houses will feed me, and I’ve got some idea of how to live off the land. Mostly, I’m supposed to do whatever jobs come up.”

“What, like fighting?”

Renny still didn’t approve of Treya learning to fight—and she approved even less of learning to fight without weapons. She was convinced Treya would end up getting stabbed the first time she faced a man with a sword. Most of Treya’s training for the past two years had been against weapons, and Renny had even watched some of the practice sessions, but she still wasn’t convinced.

“Maybe,” Treya said. “Shana does that. But I took the same classes as you, so I could work as an advisor or interpreter. Or I could do like Enna—she’s working as a bodyguard down in Circle Bay. Though…umm…I think she’s doing more on the side.”

“You mean an untrained concubine? Mother Ola will have a fit!”

“Only if she actually calls herself a concubine. She’s probably just sleeping with her employer. Anyway, Kelis won’t tell Ola unless there’s a problem.”

“You could do that, you know,” Renny said thoughtfully.

“What do you mean?”

“Go find some baron’s son and become his concubine in public. You wouldn’t be breaking the rules—you’re fully trained…mostly. But you’re also secretly his bodyguard! His enemies would never expect it! It would be so romantic!”

Treya laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Oh, fah! Do whatever you want, then. Where are you going to go?”

“Four Roads first, I think. Maybe some of my old friends are still at the chapter house.”