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I don t think that... He shrugged.
Sulerya s brows knit in puzzlement. Then she nodded slowly. You re going
beyond, aren t you?
Looking beyond, I d say. I ve been given orders to de-velop a plan, but not
to implement it without the orders of the Marshal.
You re standing on the edge of the long translation, Submarshal.
Dainyl was well aware of mat.
By the way, you did that well, for a first time.
I just followed your directions.
You realize one other thing, don t you?
Dainyl had no idea what she meant.
You know as much as most new recorders. She laughed ironically. My father
might coopt you to be-come recorder in Lyterna, should anything happen to
Myenfel.
In spite of himself, Dainyl winced. The thought of spending his life behind
and under all that stone was ap-palling.
Sulerya laughed. I was afraid you had no fears at all.
Dainyl didn t want to think about it. Why were you so willing to teach me?
Because you have enough Talent to destroy a Table if you went at it wrong,
and you re stubborn enough to do whatever you have to. This way ... there
might be a Table left when you re done dealing with Rhelyn.
That s if we have to, and if I m successful.
If you have to, if you re not successful, it won t mat-ter, she replied
quietly.
There was definitely more than one meaning to those words.
I need to get back to Elcien. He stretched.
You probably do.
Dainyl stepped onto the Table.
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The purple-black mist below was all around him, but he focused on the
brilliant white of Elcien. He sensed a long green flash, and felt as though he
were being ob-served, somehow, even though the translation felt
near-instantaneous. The chill silver-white veil vanished, and...
... he stood once more in Elcien.
That was quick, observed Chastyl. I didn t even sense you.
I d guess some translations take less time. Dainyl shrugged and stepped off
the Table.
They do vary, replied the recorder.
Dainyl would have liked to have investigated the Table in light of his
newfound knowledge, but was not about to with Chastyl standing there.
Instead, he nodded politely and departed. Thankfully,
Zelyertwas not in the lower chambers of the Hall of Jus-tice, or, if he
happened to be, he did not seek out Dainyl. For that, Dainyl was grateful. He
had no intention of re-vealing what he had learned from Sulerya. But then,
ex-cept in a general sense, he had yet to determine how he could best apply
that knowledge, because, if he merely translated into Hyalt and froze the
Table, he would be trapped there amid scores, if not hundreds, of alectors not
exactly friendly to him.
Outside, the haze had lifted, and the late midmorning sun beat down on Dainyl.
He needed to get back to head-quarters and try to figure out some way to
neutralize Rhe-lyn. From what he d seen, he didn t have that much time.
53
Late on Tridi afternoon, under a sky that had gotten progressively more hazy
over the course of the day, Mykel rode into Hyalt, south past the square and
then to Troral s factorage, where he reined up, dis-mounted, and tied the roan
to one of the posts in front of the narrow porch.
The factor stepped out of the doorway just as Mykel took the first step onto
the porch, wiping his hands on a clean canvas apron.
What did you find, Majer?
There were signs of brigands, Mykel replied, but someone or something must
have scared them off. They left without taking anything, but some of the
livestock wandered off. Gerolt wasn t happy about that, but it didn t appear
that whoever attacked them went after the goats and sheep. There were also
traces of some of the strange creatures.
Aye. Gerolt said he feared such. Troral paused, then
looked directly at the majer. Can you do aught about them?
We did. We destroyed them, but that won t bring back Gerolt s sister. We
stopped on the way back and told him we d killed them. I can t say that there
won t be more, be-cause I don t know where they re coming from.
That s something none know. The factor shrugged, tiredly. Folks have
decided you re here for the better. There are coins, and you keep your men
under control.
Mykel understood what Troral wasn t saying that all of that could change. We
do what we can. How long Third Battalion will be here isn t up to me. The two
Hyalt companies and the compound will stay, and that will mean a few more
coins for everyone, what with food and forage. He grinned. And they will
need blan-kets.
It will help. The factor s voice was almost glum.
Mykel wondered if the man ever sounded cheerful. But then, would anyone,
living in Hyalt? Were there any of the creatures prowling around before last
summer?
The factor shook his head. None that anyone talked about. I couldn t say that
there might not have been one or two. Every so often someone did disappear,
but who could tell whether it was brigands or if they just walked off or took
a coach and didn t tell anyone? They weren t the kind to be missed, if you
understand what I mean.
Mykel did.
How long before the compound is finished, do you think, Majer?
Mykel almost smiled. Troral was really asking how long the town would be
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getting the coins that flowed in with the building. I d judge another three
or four weeks to finish the walls. Longer than that for the stables. The
crafters are just starting on the inside of the barracks, and nothing s been
done on the headquarters building itself. The order of building had been
Mykel s choice. So ... it could be harvest, or later. He shrugged. I don t
want
to rush things so the work s not done right, but I don t want it to drag on,
either.
Till harvest or later... Troral nodded solemnly. Not too bad. He looked at
Mykel with an expression just short of a smile. You sure that you don t need
more than blankets, Majer?
I didn t say we did or we didn t. Mykel grinned in re-sponse. I have to see
what we can afford on the draw I ve been assigned. Building comes first.
I can see that. Poeldyn says you re a careful man.
As careful as I can be. Being careful did tilt the odds, but sometimes it
wasn t enough, as Mykel well knew.
All any of us can do. Troral glanced westward along the short street that
led to the high road, then back at Mykel.
There s truth to that. Have you heard anything else? Any other reports of
brigands, insurgents or strange creatures?
You re asking me? Thought mat was your job.
The more eyes that are looking, the better we can do mat job, Mykel pointed
out.
Suppose that s so. Troral shook his head. No one s told me anything except
Gerolt.
If you do hear anything, I d appreciate it if you d let us know.
Guess I can do that.
Mykel smiled politely. Thank you. I need to be get-ting back to the garrison.
I just wanted to let you know what we found.
Troral nodded.
After a moment of silence, Mykel stepped down from the porch, untied the roan
and remounted. He turned the gelding back norm, toward the old garrison.
He still had to write his report about the day s events, and that meant two
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