'since when is the adjunct interested in decorum?' quick ben retorted. 'no, we need to discuss strategies. everything has changed-'

keneb straightened at that. 'what has, high mage? since the reading? can you be specific?'

the wizard grinned. 'i can, but maybe she doesn't want me to.'

'then the rest of us should just leave you and her to it,' said blistig, his blunt features twisting with disgust. 'unless your egos demand an audience, in which case, why, we wouldn't want those bruised, would we?'

'got a dog house in there, blistig? you could always take a nap.'

lostara made sure to glance away, amused. she had none of their concerns on her mind. in fact, she didn't care where this pointless army ended up. maybe the adjunct would simply dissolve the miserable thing, cashier them all out. letheras was a nice enough city, although a little too humid for her tastes-it was probably drier inland, away from this sluggish river.

she knew that such an outcome was unlikely, of course. impossible, in fact. maybe tavore paran didn't possess the nobility's addiction to material possessions. the bonehunters were the exception. this was her army. and she didn't want it sitting pretty on a shelf like some prized bauble. no, she wanted to use it. maybe even use it up .

which was where everyone else came in. blistig and keneb, quick ben and sinn. ruthan gudd-not that he ever bothered attending briefings-and arbin and lostara herself. add to that eight and a half thousand soldiers in tavore's own command, along with the burned tears and the perish, and that, lostara supposed, more than satisfied whatever noble acquisitiveness the adjunct might harbour.

it was no wonder these men here were nervous. something was driving the adjunct, her very own fierce, cruel obsession. quick ben might have some idea about it, but she suspected the man was mostly bluff and bluster. the one soldier who might well know wasn't even here. thank the gods above and below for that one mercy.

'we're marching into the wastelands,' said keneb. 'we know that much, i suppose. just not the reasons why.'

lostara yil cleared her throat. 'that is a rumour, fist.'

his brows lifted. 'i understood it to be more certain than that.'

'well,' said quick ben, 'it's imprecise, as most rumours turn out to be. more specifically, it's incomplete. which is why most of the speculation thus far has been useless.'

'go on,' said keneb.

the wizard drummed the tabletop once more, and then said, 'we're not marching into the wastelands, my friends. we're marching through them.' he smiled but it wasn't a real smile. 'see how that added detail makes all the difference? because now the rumours can chew hard on possibilities. the notion of goals, right? her goals. what she needs us to do to meet them.' he paused and then added, 'what we need to do to convince ourselves and our soldiers that meeting them is even worth it.'

well, that was said plainly enough. here, chew hard on this mouthful of glass.

'unwitnessed,' keneb muttered.

quick ben fluttered a hand dismissively. 'i don't think we have a problem with that. she's already said what she needed to say on that subject. it's settled. her next challenge will come when she finally spills out precisely what she's planning.'

'but you think you've already figured that out.'

lostara wasn't fooled by the high mage's coy smile. the idiot hasn't a clue. he's just like the rest of us.

adjunct tavore made her entrance then, dragging sinn by one skinny arm-and the expression on the girl's face was a dark storm of indignation and fury. the older woman pulled out the chair opposite keneb and sat sinn down in it, then walked to position herself at one end, where she remained standing. when she spoke, her tone was uncharacteristically harsh, as if rage seethed just beneath the surface. 'the gods can have their war. we will not be used, not by them, not by anyone. i do not care how history judges us-i hope that's well understood.'

lostara found herself captivated; she could not take her eyes off the adjunct, seeing at last a side of her that had remained hidden for so long-that indeed might never before have revealed itself. it was clear that the others were equally shocked, as not one spoke to fill the silence when tavore paused-showing them all the cold iron of her eyes.

'fiddler's reading made it plain,' she resumed. 'that reading was an insult . to all of us.' she began drawing off her leather gloves with a kind of ferocious precision. 'no one owns our minds. not empress laseen, not the gods themselves. in a short time we will speak with king tehol of lether. we will formalize our intention to depart this kingdom, marching east.' she slapped the first glove down. 'we will request the necessary permissions to ensure our peaceful passage through the petty kingdoms beyond the letherii border. if this cannot be achieved, then we will cut our way through.' down thumped the second glove.