She murmured, opened her eyes and sat up. Randronoth was awake, seated in the chair and looking at her. She jumped out of bed, ran over and kissed him on both cheeks.
"I'm sorry I was angry," she said. "I was that tired and frightened and it was such a shock. I'll do my best to help you, Randro: only it's enough to scare anyone, you must surely see that."
He nodded, holding her hands and kissing them. "I want your servants to think there's nothing out of the ordinary-- for the moment, anyway. I'm here as your lover--your porter thinks so and your slave-girl too. I've told my soldiers to say nothing to the contrary. The girl--what's her name, Ogma?--do you generally send her to the market?"
She nodded.
"Let her go. It can't do any harm. I've already given her money and told her to say nothing outside about my being here. We'll have breakfast now."
During the morning Maia did all she could to give the impression of having recovered her calm. For a time she worked on a piece of embroidery, then read for an hour and practiced her writing. She was hoping that Nennaunir or Otavis might come to the house, but there were no visitors. The city, when she went up on the roof towards noon, seemed more than usually still and unstirring in the heat: the markets looked almost deserted.
"The caravans aren't coming in," said Randronoth when she remarked on it. "There's nothing arriving now from Ikat, you see, or Herl--or from Dari, for that matter. But I dare say stuff will still be coming from the north, unless trouble's broken out there, too."
She offered an inward prayer for the safety of Nasada, but said no more.
During the early afternoon Randronoth became increasingly restive, making Maia accompany him while he returned several times to the roof to look out to the southward.
"Seekron should have been here by now," he said. "I hope nothing's gone wrong."
"Why, how could it?" asked Maia, hoping with all her heart that it had.
"Well, before I left Lapan I'd found out all I needed to know about the whereabouts of Erketlis; and of the Beklans--the Chalcon force, I mean. But EHeroth--that's another matter entirely."
"I've heard of this Elleroth before," answered Maia. "Who is he? I thought he was with Erketlis?"
"He's the eldest son of the Ban of Sarkid; and as to what he is, he's a very active young fellow spoiling for trouble, that's about it. He's popular in Sarkid, he's a good leader and he's never made any secret of his heldro sympathies. As soon as Erketlis took up arms, Elleroth got together a bunch of volunteers and went off to join him in Chalcon. But after the battle, when Erketlis went south to take Ikat, Elleroth lit out on his own to break up the slave-farm at Orthid in Tonilda. And where he may have got to now I've no idea. That bunch of his can move very fast when they want to, and I wouldn't put it altogether past him to be giving Seekron some trouble."
"But how would he know about Seekron?" asked Maia. "My friend Shend-Lador was here only yesterday and he had no idea what you were up to."
"Well, it's simply that I don't trust Elleroth not to be anywhere, that's all," said Randronoth, and relapsed into a moody silence.
About an hour later Maia, dozing on her bed, was roused by knocking on the outer door. Looking out the window, with Randronoth at her elbow, she was startled to see none other than Brero, dishevelled and covered with sweat and dust, gesticulating and talking earnestly with old Jarvil and Randronoth's two soldiers.
Randronoth drew her back into the room. "Who's that?"
"It's Brero!" she answered, staring. "My soldier as used to look after me. He was one of those as went off with Durakkon three days ago--"
"With Durakkon?"
"Yes; against Fornis. Randro, something bad must have happened!"
Randronoth reflected a moment, staring down at the floor. Then he said, "Let him in," and led the way downstairs.
82: BRERO'S RETURN
Brero, when he came into the parlor, was obviously close to exhaustion. His eyes were bloodshot and his sweat had left long, grimy streaks in the dust clinging to his face. He seemed scarcely able to stand as he saluted them with a dirty, bound-up hand across his chest.
Maia pointed to a chair. "Sit down, Brero. Ogma!" (for the girl, sensing bad news, was peering in at the door) "bring some wine!"
"Water for me, saiyett, if it's all the same to you," said Brero, coughing. "I--I'll pull myself together in a minute. I'm right done up and that's the truth."
When the water was brought he drank almost a pint without stopping, drew breath for a few seconds and then drank again.
"You've hurt your hand," said Maia.
"It's nothing. I'm sorry, saiyett; my feet are that dirty-- your floor."
"Oh, never mind about that. You'd better have a bath, Brero, and we'll find you some fresh clothes."
"Thank you, saiyett: but first of all I think you'd best hear what I've got to say--you and this gentleman--"
"This is Lord Randronoth, governor of Lapan."
"I'm sorry, my lord." He tried to rise to his feet: Randronoth motioned to him to sit down,again. "You'd better hear it at once. The High Baron's dead. Queen Fornis--"
"Durakkon--dead?" cried Randronoth. "Are you sure?"
"I saw it with my own eyes, my lord. I'll tell you the way of it."
"Yes, quickly," said Randronoth.
"I'll be as quick as I can, my lord, for tell you the truth, I believe the Serrelinda may be in danger."
"Go on," said Randronoth. He shut the door.
"As you know, my lord, we left here three days ago. I saw the High Baron more than once during the march. He didn't strike any of us as acting like himself; not like a man in his normal senses, so to speak. Seemed like he was in a kind of daze. Well, once, for instance, when we were crossing some roughish ground on the plain, he tripped and fell; and if you'll believe me, saiyett, he never tried to get up on his own account; just lay there until two of the officers helped him back to his feet. There was some of the lads was saying in so many words that he must 'a been bewitched. And yet at night--both nights--when we'd pitched camp, he come round and spoke to everyone as kind and pleasant as you please. Of course, he was always very well-liked, you know, saiyett, was the High Baron--"
"Get on with it!" said Randronoth. "What happened?"
"Yes, of course; my lord; I'm sorry. Excuse me, I'm that dry." He drank copiously once more and then continued.
"It was yesterday morning, still fairly early--maybe three hours after sunrise--when one of our patrols came back to say that the Palteshis were only two or three miles off. We were marching in four columns, side by side, it being very open country, like, out on the plain, as you'll know, my lord, and it just so happened that I was quite close to Lord Kerith-a-Thrain and the High Baron when the patrol came in, so I could hear what they were saying. 'Within an hour, I'd guess, my lord,' the officer said. "They're in no sort of order--strung out all over the place--but I'd say they might be about twice as many as what we are.'
" 'But what about their quality?" asks Lord Kerith-a-Thrain. 'How did they strike you?'
" 'No sort of quality at all, my lord, most of 'em,' says the patrol captain. 'There's a iew look all right, but half of them's no more soldiers than what they're musicians.'
"So with that Lord Kerith-a-Thrain gives the order to halt and form line, with our two wings sloping back. That's what's generally done for a defensive fight, you see, saiyett, if there's a risk of outflanking--"
"Will you get on and come to the point?" said Randronoth.
"I'm sorry, my lord. So after a little we saw their dust and then they came in sight. Well, you've told me to be quick, so I won't say more than that the patrol captain was right. There certainly were a lot of them, but just louts for the most part: just an armed mob. They was all yelling and shouting and no sort of order to them. They stopped about a quarter of a mile away from us, just as they were, in their different crowds and companies, all over the place. I could see Queen Fornis; there was no mistaking her. She was right in the center, with a crowd o
f Palteshi officers, and she was armed just the same as they were.