A Hollow Mountain (The Brightest Shadow Book 2), page 72
That observation immediately led him to another. "You wore Portantese clothing on our first visits here, but now you wear raider cloths. Because you're representing a mountain clan now?"
"Good." Natala gave him a very strange smile as she cracked another piece into position. "Yes, I am an intelligent but naive merchant bringing goods from the Sotunn Mountains and beyond. Not an easy enough mark for most to suspect me, but ignorant enough that they might enter into an unequal relationship as a matter of... guidance."
"And you intend to exploit that?"
"Not at first. Even a poor price in Portant will still become a significant profit for the clans. But yes, once I have learned enough of the details that compose their lives, I will exploit them. Superior quality wool will go to different merchants, specific caravans will be lost to raiders, and so on. It should be quite profitable in the end."
"You're trading that wool you brought north?"
"Among other things. Ombo wool is valuable, but the true value is the leverage gained among the clans, which can in turn become partial control of the commodity." Natala paused, no longer looking at the board. She reached into her inner cloth and dropped a sack with a wooden clink. "By the standards of the Portantese, I hold greater value than the entire Bloodskin clan."
"By their standards." Slaten picked up his master piece, but only to demonstrate. "What value do the merchants place on the strength of the Bloodskin men?"
"That is exactly it." Natala smiled once more, a bit like an adult when a child had given the correct answer. "They do put a price on strength here. Ironlords or Steeljudges of any rank can be hired, so to the merchants they are only another asset to be measured in coin. They view the respect and codes of masters to be nothing but an inconvenience, like the customs of unfamiliar lands."
"I don't think you fully believe that."
"No. If war broke out, their coin would be worth far less. A warrior could still simply take what they possess. But I was incorrect as well. Their coin could purchase strength enough to destroy a clan, or they could reduce errants to poverty. Wealth or strength or wisdom are all only currencies with varying value depending on the context."
"Or no value except what we give them."
Another brief smile. "You could say that."
Slaten was silent for a time, considering the board. He knew he would lose, as Natala was carefully pressing back his defensive strategy and claiming pieces when she could, but he didn't care. "I understand what you intend to do in the Maenhu, but what is your strategy in the mountains? If your goods are stolen there, none of the rest will work."
"For that, I require someone else. I will most likely form a permanent alliance with Mohuno and the Steelbones when I return. On their present course, they will eventually be crushed by a stronger clan. But if they can become something more than a raiding clan, they can thrive, and I believe Mohuno is willing to do that. I was wondering what you thought."
"What I thought?" Slaten felt like a fool repeating words in front of Natala, but she only watched him, gaze taking in everything.
"Yes. I would like your opinion."
"I... do not know Mohuno well. He is a capable warrior, unrefined but stronger in sein than I am. Tani believes that he is sincere in wanting to help others, but shortsighted in his vision. Perhaps you could assist him in that. Why do you ask?"
"Sometimes hearing another opinion is a useful mirror to my thoughts." Natala shrugged, and it was the first movement since they had entered the private room that he was certain was false.
"I wish you well. I would like to support you, but given how we intend to travel north..."
"We may walk separate paths, Slaten, but I do not think we will be parting forever. I want to help you as well, and so I have been making inquiries regarding the state of the Wahleenese mine. The mansthein may seek to make it independent, but they still rely on local merchants."
Slaten sat forward, ignoring when she captured another of his pieces. He could have asked her what she meant, but instead only stared at her, waiting for her to finish explaining.
"The mansthein raise their own meat near the mine, but they cannot supply enough feed for their animals. I have discovered which Portantese merchant assists them, and who in turn supplies him. With money in the hands of the correct merchants, some of the wagons passing through the defenses could include more than animal feed."
"Don't tell Melal." Slaten was surprised at his initial reaction and even Natala raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Your method could help us enter the mine without another costly battle, but if we leave too quickly, there will still be a price. One Melal would be more than happy to pay. It would be better to wait as long as we can, until Melal insists upon leaving no matter what, then you can enter with your plan."
"And you think he will believe that coincidence?" Natala's lips twisted slightly. "I knew that was a foolish question the moment I began speaking it, but my mind couldn't catch my voice."
"Not only will he believe it, the coincidence will make him believe that you're part of the Legend." Slaten tried to make his gaze every bit as serious as her own. "You have yet to see how many the Hero can kill. Better if he believes you are on his side."
"An apt warning. Thank you, Slaten. For letting me see what I can become."
"I look forward to it."
They played in silence for a time, but there was little point. He had delayed Natala's victory by a great many turns, but he had captured few of her pieces and now his were hemmed into a single corner of the board. After examining his remaining options, Slaten knocked over his own master in defeat.
"There is no point continuing."
Natala gave him an obviously false pout. "Not going to fight until the end?"
"Not in this. Was that even interesting for you?"
"Oh, it was a relief compared to the games I've played out there. Intentionally losing by just the right amount was only interesting for a brief time. It might be challenging with truly incompetent players, but if I lost to them, others would suspect, so I'm left to do nothing but play out the tedium of it all."
"I believe I am a better Shiil player. That might be more interesting for you."
"I would enjoy another game." Natala smiled at him and he wanted desperately to believe that those brief expressions were authentic. His skepticism turned against his own recoil and he set it all aside, simply allowing himself to smile back. Regardless, he had enjoyed their conversation.
Slaten didn't want to leave, but they didn't start setting up the pieces again. Natala's eyes gave no trace of her thoughts, but when she spoke again, she sounded surprisingly thoughtful.
"I've found that merchants are not like warriors. Those who fight are always aware of their strength and those who are stronger than them. But merchants... each believes that they are far more clever than their fellows." Natala tightened a fist around her own lancer piece. "All of them seem dull to me, but I would be a fool to believe I am not the same. This world no doubt has others who are truly applying significant potential."
"To making a profit?"
"Perhaps some. But I worry about those who seek something higher."
Chapter 53
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"For a time, I believed that I was mad. After many broken years, I came to understand that I was born to walk paths that do not exist. The Hero will appear in the fullness of [translation uncertain] and sages will guide Him, but He has not yet been born. All my wisdom is beautiful and meaningless, perhaps more beautiful for being meaningless."
- excerpt from First of the Sages
-
Though her band had received leave to recover after the battles in the Sotunn Mountains, Celivia had rejected hers. Instead she had focused almost entirely on understanding the present political balance and how exactly Zeitai Kreue could run his pits within the borders of Portant. The rest of her time was spent training, which was far more productive than her attempts at politics.
Her hope had been that there could be some way to disrupt the balance between the three human nations so that Portant would cast Kreue out. She doubted she had the power to influence so much, but it seemed plausible that the Hero could.
Unfortunately, everything had already been thoroughly disrupted. The circles of power in Castle Wahles were shattered, there was talk of alliances with human Wahleen, fighting often broke out on the border with Portant, and Espal seemed poised to move at any moment. By the time she and her band were transferred out to the pits under Jeraeli, Celivia only understood how difficult it would be to impact the broader political balance.
Now that she was present, she hoped that she could make a difference directly. Celivia had yet to meet with Jeraeli, which frustrated her more than a little. The other woman might be serving under the Zeitai, but she could have stood up to him. She could have done something.
Most of the other mansthein seemed to consider the pits a mixed assignment. They were deep in human territory and there was always the chance that the errants would close on them, errants coming together like iron jaws. Until then, it involved less fighting than many positions. Most soldiers didn't know the details, but they also had the sense that the mine was important because the Zeitai visited. And unfortunately, many of them viewed the captive women in the pits as a benefit.
She had forbidden her band from going below and she thought that most of them respected her enough to obey. Some even had the bare minimum decency to dislike the pits, though with varying degrees of self-congratulation. Splinters never outright disobeyed in front of her, but he made certain that she knew when he disappeared.
Celivia finished eating her meal, which still had a strange taste to it. The supply lines out to the mine were almost as bad as in the mountains, so she'd taken up her old habit. She thought that Jeraeli had access to better food, but didn't want to beg her for resources. Even if Ghalia was wrong about other things, she was correct that becoming indebted to Jeraeli wouldn't help her.
Before she left, she checked for every member of her band, as had become her habit. She could see Big Ragh pushing a large wagon of rocks up one of the slopes, though she wasn't certain if he was helping the workers or simply training. He embraced physical work, but he needed to focus more on his sein if he wanted to truly develop.
Otherwise, the only two she saw were Ghasfik and Puga, who had been resting as well. Celivia cleaned her teeth with her knife and then walked over to speak to her second. "Any word from Fijn?"
"Not yet, Kaen." Ghasfik gave no more information, so she could only hope that Fijn would return from his assignment soon. "If you're just asking about the band, Brifik's condition is unchanged and Huthur is currently making repairs in one of the tunnels."
"Yes, that was my question." Celivia smiled at her predictability, though thinking of Brifik was never a warm thought. "Krafan and Splinters?"
"I believe Krafan was sent to run messages, and I don't know where Splinters is." Or more likely, Ghasfik did know, but was polite enough not to say. His regular absences troubled her for more reasons than the fact of what he was doing.
"I'm here, Kaen." Puga waved unnecessarily from two paces away. "Do you have anything for me to do? These guard positions are boring as shit."
"I suggest you take them as an opportunity to train without disruption."
"Maybe I'll do that." Puga nodded agreeably, but she suspected that he wouldn't. "But I wanted to ask... is it true that you're going against the Zeitai? I know you don't want us using the pits, but would you really try to end them?"
Only years of discipline allowed Celivia to prevent her eyes from focusing on him. She managed to reply in a neutral tone. "The Zeitai wants something related to the Legend that he thinks can be mined here. Everything else is secondary. But yes, I would prefer it if the practice was ended."
"I'm not arguing, Kaen! I just wanted to know if I was getting myself into something nasty."
"We're part of the mansthein army, Nin." That was not an answer to his question at all, but it was enough to make Puga agree. Since speaking further with them would only frustrate her and she'd accounted for every member of her band, Celivia departed.
Normally she would train alone or investigate the mine in further detail, but that day Celivia was too lost in her thoughts to focus. It was only after she had wandered partway around the side of the mine that she realized that she was walking toward the building that contained Jeraeli's office. Celivia decided to continue walking. Even if she and Jeraeli weren't fully allied in everything, the other woman was a friend. Perhaps speaking to her directly could leap past the bureaucracy.
As she stared over the mine and thin men struggling within, Celivia wondered about what she would do if all limitations were stripped away. She knew what Reina's solution would be, and it would involve a large number of decapitations. Ghalia's solution was no longer clear to her, and her own felt equally muddled.
Kreue might be the source of the problem, but he was supported by all the officers under him. She strongly suspected that the same officials who would wage a war for the sake of trade might also encourage the idea of the pits, as disposable slaves could be very profitable for their owners. But even beyond them, there were so many other mansthein who knew and did nothing. Some like Big Ragh, who meant well but hadn't thought about it very hard. Others like Krafan, who supported her personally but not in any of the ways that mattered.
She failed to resolve that conundrum in her walk across the mine.
Though the local headquarters were not well-guarded, Celivia was surprised to find a thick carpet when she stepped inside. There were several statues along the walls as well, which Celivia vaguely thought might be the style in Ith Silvaros. It was possible that those had been there from the beginning, but she suspected not.
No one stopped her when she walked to the second floor, but when she entered the largest office, Jeraeli wasn't present. Celivia turned back, only to find herself facing the woman's partner. The Feras mansthein gave a leonine yawn, showing off a mouth of sharp teeth, and regarded her sleepily.
"You're one of Jeraeli's friends... do you need something?"
Celivia gestured toward the office in the sort of useless gesture born only of awkward interactions. "She isn't there."
"You'll find her on the balcony. Last door on the right."
After thanking him, Celivia hurried down the hallway to the door he'd indicated. She hadn't noticed a balcony on her approach. When she opened the door, she saw that the balcony was on the far side, looking over the hills of Portant without a view of the mine. Though not a useful vantage point, she had to admit that usefulness was generally not the reason for such things.
"Celi, welcome!" Jeraeli had been standing at the railing but now turned, her robes spinning around her. Though it seemed as if she'd spent a great deal of time on those robes, she also looked much more comfortable in her Catai body. Even Jeraeli trained more frequently than some members of her band. "Would you like something to eat? I've just had some wondrous meats delivered - they have creatures with great antlers in the north of Portant and I've longed to try them."
"I wish I'd known before I ate."
"Oh, yes, the normal rations are awful, aren't they?" Jeraeli frowned as she took Celivia's hand and led her to the railing. "You've come to talk, then. This won't be an enjoyable conversation, will it?"
"I would like that, but..." Celivia's gaze slid around the side of the building as if she could still feel the pits yawning beneath them. "You know what I'm going to ask. How can you stay here when there are hundreds of women being used as livestock? The men aren't being paid or fed enough either."
"Please understand my position, Celi. I'm here solely because of the Zeitai's good graces. My duty is to execute his orders for this place."
"I do understand that. I'm standing by and doing nothing too, I just..." Celivia wanted to say that it was a knife in her gut while Jeraeli sat back and enjoyed herself, but cut off the hatred. Her emotions didn't matter, only results. "The Zeitai cares more about finding whatever he wants than the breeding pits. You could free them with the excuse that they're needed as workers."
Jeraeli turned away and placed both hands on the railing. "Not yet, Celi. But if I do find this artifact, I might be promoted to Archcaptain. Then I'd be able to do something."
"I tell myself that too, but we aren't speaking of tragedies half the world away in Fein Karnak. This is happening literally beneath us."
"You don't understand how angry the Zeitai is right now. Not only did the campaign in the mountains fail, at the same time an essential Portantese Steelmaster died under mysterious circumstances. The very existence of this pit is being threatened and he knows it. If I disobey, he could very well take my life, and then there would be no hope for those poor women."
"Could we use that? Portant might be appeased if we reduced the number of mansthein here. They'd likely be unhappy to know an army is being bred within their borders."
"Celi." Though Jeraeli used the shortened name, her voice held no companionship. When she turned, her eyes glistened with a sorrow her tone hadn't suggested. "I want the same thing you do, Celi, but what can I actually do without compromising myself? We could improve the conditions for the women, perhaps..."
"But you can't improve the only condition that matters. A plush cage is still a cage." Looking at the other woman was suddenly too much, so Celivia closed her eyes and focused on the wind around her. "Change is possible, especially here. Even in Fein Karnak, Zeitai Teirsan was able to help many leave the p-"
"Yes, I investigated that program after I heard you had been part of it. You talk like the Zeitai opened the pits and let everyone free, but it isn't anything like that. Less than a tenth leave via his program, only those with the most potential. If a Zeitai can only save a few, what do you expect us to be able to do?"
Though Celivia also wanted to ask Teirsan why he hadn't done more, she pushed that old question back down. "It didn't end there. We were allowed to take others with us, and some of the smaller pits were bought out and liberated. It was something."
