A Hollow Mountain (The Brightest Shadow Book 2), page 13
The food was simple, a mix of local game, dark bread, and random delicacies that must have been stolen from caravans. Had Tani been present, he suspected that she could have found joy in it. Certainly the Bloodskins seemed to, eagerly tearing into their food and making toasts. Slaten couldn't find any of that in him.
Instead he merely ate. Not to celebrate, but to prepare.
Chapter 9
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"Though the Sotunnese raiders refer to themselves as clans, they have no great heritage and in many cases little shared kinship. As near as we can determine, they are a mixture of mercenaries driven out of the Maenhu, peoples from south of the mountains, and those few native inhabitants of the region. Clans vary considerably in size, some possessing villages the size of towns."
- Scholars of the Blue Mask
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The journey north to Wahleen had been good for Celivia's band, but bad for her personally. She had expected a trial that would temper them, but instead they traveled along a well-defended path that cut directly north. Yet their previous combat seemed to be enough of a base to strengthen the band's ties, and having faced real death they were more vigilant about their nightly guard duty.
Despite the long period of time spent with her band, she had yet to fully relax around them. They might respect her to a limited degree, but Big Ragh still made thoughtless statements, Brifik deferred to Ghasfik instead of her, and Splinters hated her with every fiber of his being.
Combined with the constant threat of human attack, Celivia hadn't been able to train to exhaustion or in any way that might risk injury. Instead she had fully focused on her sein, and though she'd increased her capacity considerably, mere volume would never lead her to a breakthrough. She told herself it might be useful if she applied for a Catai rebirth again, though that presumed that her meetings in the north went well.
"We're almost there!" Krafan appeared from atop the next rise, waving his arms. "Come on, you can see everything from the peak!"
After so long traveling through the mountains, most of her band rushed forward to finally see their destination. Celivia was curious as well, but followed at a more sedate pace. For her, this position was only the first step in a longer journey. Her band might fight from the outpost, but she herself needed to answer the summons to Castle Wahles itself.
When she reached the top of the hill, she did take a moment to stare over the landscape. The mountains had been receding for days, but this was the first time she had been able to look forward and see a stretch of land not ruled by peaks.
At the base of the trail sat a fortress and what appeared to be a small town, but it was of standard mansthein construction and she mostly ignored it. The location bridged the gap between their mountain trail and the beginning of the Santiid river, which traveled north from the mountains before allegedly swerving west into Portant. From her vantage point, it seemed to veer east, and it was hard to match the modest river to the thick line on her map.
Outside the strip of life around the river, she saw nothing but the Sotunn Desert. It swallowed the horizon, Wahleen entirely invisible in the distance. Technically those sands were claimed by Wahleen, but they only cared about rights to the mountain pass and the river. The desert was hostile enough that few traveled the shortest path northeast, instead following the river west and then backtracking to reach Wahleen.
"Is that Sangaad?" Little Ragh asked, pointing down at the fortress. Fijn shot him a mocking look.
"Did you guess that because Sangaad is the only city you know in Wahleen?"
"That's not true! I know Castle Wahles. And, uh, Throne Wahles."
Fijn just rolled his eyes, while Ghasfik spoke up to the band. "Sangaad lies far to the north, near the border. This is a purely mansthein outpost, but it's where we'll most likely be stationed. Unless you've received orders, band leader...?"
"Nothing new." Celivia shook her head, but decided that this was as good a time as any to address her band. "They won't tell me our next assignment until I've spoken with the generals at Castle Wahles. So all of you will remain here until they give me our next task."
"You don't need an aide to go with you?" Krafan asked. Celivia could only shake her head again.
"I'm supposed to go via Voidwalker, and they have harsh limits on how many people they can transport. There aren't many here - this is the southernmost point in Wahleen that they ever travel to."
Big Ragh grabbed Splinters around the shoulders, shaking him good-naturedly. "Yo, Splinters! You reckon you'll run into anyone you know?" The shorter man looked like he wanted to stab Big Ragh, but at least his venom turned away from her for a while.
Huthur blinked at both of them. "What's this about?"
"Splinters here went to Voidwalker training, but he failed out! Guess you couldn't hack it, huh?"
"It's a difficult discipline." Splinters finally extricated himself and stood at a distance, glaring at both of them. Though Celivia felt a touch of pleasure to see the others mock him, she decided that this was not the time to open new wounds.
"I failed out of the Voidwalker training too," she said. "They're selective in who they accept, and even then they graduate less than one in a hundred."
The others nodded as if this was to be understood and Celivia wondered how many of them had even seen a Voidwalker. Splinters' only thanks was to glower at her again, but he never did anything else. Not having pinned her hopes on any change, Celivia headed down the mountain trail toward the outpost.
Though Sotfaal was the closest they'd come to civilization in a long time, it didn't strike her as a particularly welcoming sight. The fortress itself was more of a house for soldiers than a true defensive fortification. It seemed that a small town had grown up around it, but she had visited soldier towns before and had never been comfortable in them. Fortunately, she would not be staying long.
When they reached the outer wall, the guards waved them on through. She barely even needed to show identification: the guards existed to keep out humans, not to interrogate mansthein - after all, who would come this far from civilization if not with the military? It occurred to her that this was a security flaw, as it could be exploited by rival factions or mansthein who ran smuggling operations.
Within the dusty little town, she spent more time examining the inhabitants than the drab buildings. Only mansthein, with not a human in sight, yet their presence wasn't entirely familiar. Most had reddish mottling that was unknown to her, and they wore more armor than standard regulation. Those not in armor wore thick clothes with animal furs sewn into them, and even some of the soldiers had furs as well.
To her surprise, she noted that there were a reasonable number of women, many dressed rather well. Wahleen had no reputation regarding women that she knew of, but she had expected worse. Almost all of them wore brightly colored turbans matching their skin tone, which struck her as unusual. It occurred to her belatedly that they might wear turbans to prevent the sun from burning their heads. She hadn't worried about such things for years, but the light red coloration might be vulnerable to burning.
"Booze!" Big Ragh dropped down to his knees in front of what appeared to be a tavern, dramatically raising his hands to the air. "Praise the Dark Lord, there's booze!"
"On your feet, soldier." Ghasfik struck him with the butt of his spear. "No recreation until we've taken our places here."
"Come on, Ghasfik." Brifik wheedled him from the other side. "We haven't had anything to drink since we ran out... how many days ago was that?"
"That's no excuse for lacking discipline. You want to shame us before the garrison here?"
No one seemed to be paying them much attention, but Celivia decided to cut off the conversation with a simpler observation: "None of you have any money. Unless you keep it together long enough to receive your pay, you can't afford anything."
This argument got their attention immediately and they quickly fell into line. The town sprawled over the hills without any planning, but simple practicality ensured that the path from the entrance to the fortress wasn't very long. At the gate they met further security, including two armored women, who barred their way.
"Name and rank?"
"Band leader Celivia." She gave them a polite nod. "We should be expected."
"You and several other bands." One of the guards gave a lazy shrug as they stood down. "Seems like they're scaling up for something here in the south."
"I was told we'd receive back pay and supplies."
"Aye, head on in and talk to the quartermaster. Oh, but just you and your second. The others will have to remain outside."
"Fine." Celivia turned back and clapped Fijn on the shoulder. "Keep these idiots from drinking each others blood until we come back with their money."
He delivered an unnecessarily sharp salute in response. Celivia turned away and followed the guards into the fortress itself. The interior of Sotfaal fortress proved as unremarkable as she had expected: it must have been built in the early Wahleen campaigns, and the army did solid work, but years of grime and heavy use had rendered all the cramped rooms dingy.
The guards swiftly brought them to a small office, filled with so many partially opened boxes that it was difficult to see if it contained a desk at all. A woman sat doing paperwork on a large box, wearing regulation armor and a dark red turban. When she saw them, she set down her quill and sighed.
"I'm going to tell you the same thing I told the other bands: we don't have enough. The trouble with Portant caused our last shipment to get delayed, and no, they can't bring anything in via Voidwalker. So you'll get what you get, and bitching to me won't do anything."
"Trouble with Portant?" Ghasfik spoke up for her so she could save herself for what mattered. "Humans took a shipment?"
"The Portantese took a shipment." The quartermaster sat back and gave them both a harsh look. "I don't know where you're from, but if you're like the other bands, you came straight in from Orphos. This is Wahleen, and it's not like what you're used to."
"We aren't bringing any demands, we were simply told to come here." Celivia tried to smile as she spoke, without smiling too much. "My name is Celivia. I take it you're the quartermaster for Sotfaal?"
"Name's Fuleen." The other woman sat back, looking slightly less irate. She reached into an apparently random box of wax tablets, but after only a short time found the one she needed. "You're owed pay for eight soldiers, plus a band leader's salary. Unless you lost some on your assignment?"
"We're still a full band."
"Shit. Would have made it easier, because we don't have enough. I'll give you what we set aside for you, you can divide it how you want, and you can argue about the remainder with the damn Zeitai if you want."
Ghasfik cleared his throat. "We should also receive new equipment. Our band started out with minimum equipment and our first assignment in the Sotunn Mountains took a toll."
"Tough. All you're getting is this." Fuleen reached into a different box by her feet and handed Celivia a small square of paper. It was better stock than average, but the text was Reili and nearly illegible to her. "That chit will get you some equipment if you can find someone who has any to spare. Not a full resupply, and certainly not any real Maenhu steel, but it's what we have."
For a time Celivia stared at the paper, wondering if this could be a trick. While it was entirely believable that the outpost's supply chain had partially failed, she could just as easily believe that Fuleen made such claims in order to skim off the top. Quartermasters might be tightly regulated in some legions, but in places like this, they could be highly lucrative positions.
"I will be traveling to Castle Wahles soon," Celivia said as she tucked away the chit. "I'm sure they will be able to smooth over any irregularities there."
"Going all the way north, huh?" Fuleen didn't even blink at the implicit threat, just looked back to her tablet. "Ah, I see it now. I'll need you to stay close and ready. The Voidwalkers come in on top of the fortress, and this is not a popular destination for them, so they don't like to wait. Since you're going to the Zeitai's court, they'll have to, but they won't be happy about it and I'm the one who will have to deal with their shit. Understand me?"
"Am I to understand that they don't come in at regularly scheduled times?"
"It just depends. Now let me sort out what pay you're getting and you can get out of my office until then."
Fuleen took them to one of the supply rooms and ordered the release of funds. To her surprise, Celivia found herself the sudden owner of a small crate of money. It appeared to be entirely silver alloy from Orphos, so she could quickly estimate the value of the crate. Not nearly enough to pay everyone... but she realized that if she omitted her own pay, the numbers came much closer.
"Ghasfik, I'll trust you to distribute this to the men. Divide it evenly among you." As she latched the lid back on the crate, she made eye contact. "You don't need to tell them that I'm not taking my pay, but if anyone complains about not getting enough..."
"I understand, Kaen." Ghasfik nodded and then grunted as he hefted the crate. As they walked out, she found herself wondering just how precisely he would convey her intent. He had been a good second so far, but she couldn't say that she truly knew him. For a moment she considered asking later to find out if he took a larger portion for himself, but decided that she had bigger problems.
Over the next several days, she and her band remained near the fort and waited. Celivia tried to engage Fuleen and some of the others in conversation to learn more about the state of Wahleen, with limited success. The main thing she learned was that mansthein had been living in the nation for much longer than she had thought - multiple generations. There seemed to be some tension between the native population and the new forces under Zeitai Kreue, though that was difficult to parse since no one fully trusted her.
Meanwhile, her band did their best to drink their way through their pay. Most of them visited the local whorehouses and Celivia made certain to respond in no way whatsoever. She did observe one herself and saw that they seemed to treat their workers well enough. A small part of herself considered staying with her band, even considered the effect on her reputation, but the women she saw there looked too tired.
Most of the band stayed close when not drinking or whoring. She noted that Huthur disappeared without explanation on some nights and she guessed that a town the size of Sotfaal likely had arrangements for what he wanted. Though she wanted to ask him out of curiosity, she decided that he would likely not appreciate the attention.
After several days, the men began to occasionally play games or drink with other soldiers. In addition to the garrison itself, it seemed that many soldiers were temporarily stationed until they were assigned, or on leave in between assignments in the mountains. As per usual, discipline did not seem to be anyone's priority.
Not wanting the band to decay without her, Celivia worked with Ghasfik to devise a schedule of drilling and sein training. She wasn't sure if it would be followed, but hoped that it would be better than nothing. Once her trip to the far north was complete, she would likely return to face a truly challenging assignment.
One day she sat just inside the fortress, meditating, when a messenger ran up to her. He panted out something about the Voidwalker, so Celivia hurried to find the narrow stair. It bent around the corner of the fortress to reach a side that had no exterior windows. The stair seemed to exist solely to reach an isolated part of the roof, but there she found an inscribed circle and a weary-looking Voidwalker.
"You're Seinan Celivia?" He didn't wait for her to answer. "Of course you must be. Why the hell would a Seinan woman be here if not for a command assignment?"
"You're the one who will take me to Castle Wahles?" She spoke sharply, not wanting to be drawn into his concerns. He noted it and straightened with a crisp salute.
"That's correct, Kaen. Forgive me, this is my last trip of the day. If you would step near me..."
She did so, closer than she would have normally in case his control weakened. In a flash the world twisted, folding in on her as they leapt across space. The void surrounded them for only a blink before they stood in a room with simple stone walls, empty to absorb the winds that swept out from them.
Her Voidwalker escort immediately headed for the small door, only seeming to remember her as he touched the handle. "I took you into our quarters because it's easier on me, but it's also closer to your destination. You won't go to the castle itself today, but present yourself at the outer gates and they'll tell you what you need to know."
"Thank you, Naen." She gave him a polite nod, since it always paid to be on good terms with the local Voidwalkers, and made her way out.
The transport rooms stood beside the Voidwalker quarters, which was the standard formation. Celivia saw little of note from her glimpses within as she passed... until she spotted a silvery-blue head. She was nearly certain that it was Unila, a woman she had known a very long time ago in Zeitai Teirsan's training program. Though the woman was not part of her closest circle, Celivia would have been interested to speak with her.
She never looked up, however, and Celivia knew that it would be better to focus for now. It sounded as though she might spend ac the settlement around Castle Wahles, so she would have other opportunities. Best to start with a good impression and learn what she could of her assignment.
When she stepped out of the building, the familiar surroundings of military quarters fell away. She realized that she had been expecting Castle Wahles to be similar to the great buildings of Ith Silvaros, or perhaps the squat fortresses of Fein Karnak. Instead, she found something entirely new.
Everything had been paved over with rough cobblestone, leaving no glimpse of the natural world except the occasional small garden. Nearly every building in sight was built from large, heavy stones and rose at least two stories. Though not as high as the mountains she'd just crossed, she felt a sense of vertigo to be immediately surrounded by stone walls with only a smaller glimpse of sky overhead.
