“Tobin, please. You mustn’t make this deal. El Olam…,” said a small whisper from behind.
Tobin quickly whipped around. “El Olam is not here, Walor. As Warleader I speak with his voice, not you.” Walor noticeably flinched back at the brush remark. Tobin met the eyes of several other of his Kifzo. “Nor does any anyone else.” He turned back, the piercing hatred of his warriors’ eyes traded for the greed in Mawkuk’s eyes.
“Excellent,” said Mawkuk, grinning ear to ear. “Then we have a deal?”
“Wouldn’t you like to hear my father’s terms again?”
“Seems like a waste of time.”
“I don’t think so.”
Mawkuk chuckled in a raspy voice. “Very well.”
Tobin nodded. “Yes, my father is looking to make use of your warriors. In return, he would be willing to give you one third of all spoils. Of course, he must have first choice.” Mawkuk let out a snort which Tobin ignored. “Second, he would extend your lands by half into those lands currently held by the Yellow Plain Clan. You would still be required to pay tribute each year to him as will each of the other clans. However, if your men prove themselves worthy on the battlefield, I think he would be willing to reduce the tribute required of the Gray Marsh Clan.”
Mawkuk laughed deep and long, nearly choking. “Obviously, I must refuse your father’s terms.”
“I thought you might say that.”
“So then we are agreed that my terms are fairer?”
“Fairer? Possibly. Acceptable? No. Your terms are an insult.”
Mawkuk’s face grew dark. “An insult? You dare talk to me like that in front of my people? We’ve given you every courtesy and treated you hospitably!”
“How did you treat us hospitably? You kept us up high in your trees, where we were guarded by poorly disguised warriors. You made us wait, to wear us down. Now, you make ridiculous demands without even the simple respect of hearing our terms first. Then you
dare
speak to me as some servant in front of
my warriors
,” said Tobin seething.
Mawkuk’s eyes widened at the sudden change in tone. “So, the son thinks he can intimidate me as well as his father? You can tell Bazraki there will be no alliance and he will have to be content with the land he already has.”
Tobin started to laugh. He noticed Mawkuk’s men shift nervously, tightening the grip of their weapons as he did so. “For a man who claims to know so much about my people, you sorely misjudge my father. He would ignore everything else he had planned to bring his full might upon this treehouse you call a city. Even if it set him back years, he would destroy you.”
Mawkuk laughed back. “You talk brazenly for a man with only eleven others watching your back. I’ve heard the tales of your brother’s fierceness on the battlefield. I’ve seen firsthand the savagery behind his eyes. I see little of that from you.” His leaned forward. “You are not your brother,” he said in a condescending tone.
Tobin seethed.
It always comes back to Kaz.
Mawkuk waved a hand. “We are done.” He paused and looked at his men. “See them to their boats. But if our guests give you any trouble, kill them.”
Tobin snarled as a man near his right stepped forward. “Enough!” He moved in a blur, pulling free two daggers. The throws landed where intended.
Let’s see if my men understand the gesture.
He rolled under the lunging marsh warrior and reached over his shoulder for another concealed blade. In less than two long strides, he was at Mawkuk’s throne, the dagger’s point resting on the skin just below his sunken left eye. “Everyone stand down or he dies,” Tobin snarled.
The Gray Marsh warriors halted. After a moment, one chanced a step and Tobin pushed the tip of his blade into Mawkuk’s skin, just enough for a single bloody tear to run down his cheek.
“Stop!” the ruler screamed, his voice cracking. The warrior froze.
A strong stench filled Tobin’s nostrils as Mawkuk relieved himself. Tobin spared a glance toward his own surprised men.
Good, they understood me.
Several Kifzo crowded around the two daggers he had thrown in the dirt. They understood the targets Tobin marked and knew not to harm them without his command.
After a moment he spoke, eyes glaring at the frail old man. “You are right. I am not my brother. Kaz would have long ago lost his temper at your endless slights. He would have killed you before your warriors could have stopped him.” He grinned. “Even now, I could do the same. But I see little value in that.
“For all your talk, you cannot hide your fear of the Blue Island Clan. Isn’t that why you would only meet with us in front of your people? Little good that did you,” he said grinning wider. He gestured with a tilt of his head toward the two people his daggers had marked. “It’s also why you dressed your daughter and son as servants and mixed them with the others waiting on you. You assumed you could hide such things from me.” Tobin leaned in close, his voice barely a whisper as he slightly twisted the point of his dagger, drawing forth more blood. “But I know things. I know they are your weakness. You see, my father has spies too and they are much better than yours. I could have killed them. I threw my blades at their feet to let you know how helpless you really are.” He leaned in even closer. “So tell me. Do you see the same savagery in my eyes that you saw in my brother’s?”
Mawkuk trembled, he wheezed with each intake of breath. “What must I do?” he finally rasped. “I will accept your father’s terms then.”
Tobin clicked his tongue. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. Those terms were meant for someone who would help our cause willingly. Things have changed. No, rather than one third of the spoils, you will be rewarded with one fifth instead.”
Mawkuk’s eyes shot down to the blade at his face. “Agreed,” he said with a quick intake of breath.
“Good. And since you’ve proven that we cannot trust you, your children will be coming with us.”
“No! Wait, I…”
“You had your chance. Don’t worry. As you said, I am not my brother. I promise you they will stay safe as long as you uphold your end of our deal. Betray us in any way, and I will see that they suffer in ways you can’t even imagine.”
Mawkuk noticeably sunk in on himself, seeming even more frail as Tobin pulled back the knife from his face. “I will not betray our deal,” he said. A heavy sadness filled his voice as he eyed his children.
“Good. Tell your people to clear a path for us.”
Mawkuk straightened in his throne, trying to appear more authoritative. “The Blue Clan will not be harmed. Anyone caught doing so will face not only their own execution but that of their family’s,” Mawkuk shouted, his voice growing stern once again.
The people reluctantly parted as the anger and confusion upon their faces slowly turned into despair.
Tobin suppressed a smile.
A better deal without any bloodshed.
He looked down at his dagger and then to Mawkuk’s face.
Well, maybe a little. Kaz could not have done this, and neither could my father.
“Walk with me down to our vessels. You and your Warchiefs. We will discuss what is expected of you, and when it is expected to be carried out.”
Mawkuk nodded, eyes never leaving his children’s faces.
* * *
Bathed in moonlight, Tobin moved one foot in front of the other. He shuffled backward and then hopped forward. The sword in his hand slashed, stabbed, and spun while he teetered on the narrow railing of the ship. His balance was improving, though it was taking him longer than he liked to relearn proper technique with two strong legs beneath him. Three quick steps and then a front flip. Landing softly on the ship’s deck, he sheathed his sword.
“After coming in so late this evening, I thought even you would have tried to catch up on rest,” said a voice from behind.
Tobin spun around. “You know I don’t sleep well. Besides, it’s the first real chance I’ve had in some days to go through my forms uninterrupted.”
Nachun looked down. “And the ankle?”
“I know it is as strong as it once was but I still find myself favoring it out of habit.”
“It’ll come. I can already tell a difference in the way you move.” He paused. “That means your body is becoming more accustomed to the change.”
Tobin raised an eyebrow, glancing around at the clear star-filled sky. “So, you stayed up to check in on my ankle?”
Nachun smiled. “Not exactly. I haven’t had a chance to speak with you in private about what happened with Mawkuk. Walor filled me in, though, and said that you surprised even him on how you handled yourself.”
Tobin walked over to a skin of water and drank deep. “I hope he isn’t angry with me for keeping my plans from him. I haven’t been able to talk to him about it.”
Nachun shook his head. “I think he understands. You were wise in not telling anyone. Your men are looking at you differently now?”
Tobin nodded. “I’m not sure how much of it is respect.”
“Some, I’m sure. But respect will come with time. What I’m talking about is that look of uncertainty in their eyes. I can see it, so I know you can too. Even after all the years together with your men, they only cared enough about you to know what Kaz told them. Now, they are second-guessing that. They wonder who you really are, and they’re going to compare you to Kaz even more until they realize you are his better.”
Tobin spat and balled his hands into fists. “The hunger he had for death and destruction I do not share. I did things…but only when I had to.”
“In time, you’ll be able to right some of those wrongs and you’ll have my help in doing so. But you can’t expect to do it all at once.” He paused. “I also heard from Walor about what happened with Mawkuk’s daughter.
Tobin nodded. “On our first night out of Cypronya, I had to stop a warrior who thought to force himself on her.”
And I had to refrain myself from killing the man because she reminds me so much of Lucia.
“Walor said the others backed you up there. Isn’t that a start in the right direction?”
Tobin shrugged. “They heard me give my word to Mawkuk. That and Odala's station make her case different than raping some peasant. I doubt they would have seen my point if we were raiding a village like Munai.”
“Eventually, I think they will. Use the time on our trip back to improve your relationship with those here. Once these are on your side, you’ll have help in swaying the others at home.”
Tobin grinned. “Since you seem to have all the answers, how am I to do that?”
Nachun shrugged. “Fight. Train. Joke. I don’t know. I did not grow up with these men. You did. Even if they don’t know the real you, it seems like you know the real them.”
I do know the real them and that’s the problem. I probably like them less than they like me.
* * *
The first thing Tobin noticed as the ship pulled into Juanoq’s docks was the progress made in the shipyard. Workers swarmed around Nachun’s creations. Those massive vessels, some capable of holding hundreds of warriors, according to the shaman, dwarfed the smaller ship Tobin was on.
At such a pace, Nachun will far exceed his timeline of completion.
Tobin wondered how quickly captains could be trained to pilot such vessels, and how soon they could be put to use.
For Father, probably not soon enough.
“The shaman surprises us once again, Warleader. I wonder how someone can know so much,” said Ufer walking up beside him. He matched Tobin’s gaze on the nearest ship with three masts looming high overhead. Workers dangled from various pieces of rigging and swung precariously in the cool breeze coming off the water. “It seems unusual.”
“He is an intelligent man. One who’s learned a lot from the old ways.”
“So he says. Yet, I find it odd that he’s so much better at understanding the old ways than anyone else. He has not been the only intelligent man in Hesh since crossing The Great Divide. Others have attempted to study those texts for centuries.”
Tobin turned, not liking the accusatory tone in Ufer’s voice. “He is our ally,” careful not to call Nachun friend. “What has he done to show us otherwise?”
“Perhaps there isn’t one specific instance, but his behavior does not seem right to me. Even in Munai, how he came upon us, and then was later accepted so quickly by El Olam. Kaz felt unease about him too. He wanted Nachun dead.”
“Yes, he did, and without ever knowing him. And if we had listened to my brother we wouldn’t have had the weapons and armor we now wear, would we?” he said gesturing to the sword at Ufer’s hip. “Or these ships?” he added with a wave of his hand. “Or many other things, including the Kifzo lives he saved by using his sorcery in battle. I think it is safe to say that Kaz was wrong about Nachun.”
Ufer shrugged. “As you say.” And after a moment he added. “I’ll grab the boy and girl. You will want them for your meeting with El Olam, I assume?”
“Yes.” After Ufer turned his back and headed toward the hull, Tobin took a deep breath. He had found himself holding much of it in as his anger rose due to Ufer’s voiced concerns.
The influence of my brother runs so deep.
Still, he felt that he had maintained his composure on the matter and for that he was pleased. The fact that Ufer came to him in such a way was a step in the right direction, and something that would not have happened even a week ago.
As Nachun said, it will take time.
* * *
Marching shoulder to shoulder, shield arms cleared a path along the busy dock as a half dozen of Bazraki’s personal guards greeted Tobin as he stepped off the ship. Tobin noticed each of them was adorned in a deep blue breast plate. Gauntlets and shin guards were of a lighter hue.
I see everyone is making the most of our new armory.
Like all of his father’s personal guards, they held an air of superiority, even toward Tobin, who officially outranked them. Rather than acknowledging him as Warleader with a bow, their captain emphasized the need for haste in reporting back to El Olam. Tobin knew he should have used the opportunity to make a point to the captain that he was the guard’s superior, but out of habit he let the moment pass and realized his error too late. He cursed to himself for the mistake.