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mission when he was awake.
Just guessing, Svavar suspected that Grim's devotion to sleep was
necessitated by his connection to the Great Sky Fortress. It was difficult for
the Old Ones to maintain contact from far away.
* * *
IN TIME SVAVAR HOOKED UP WITH A MERCENARY BAND CAP-tained by a thug named
Ockska Rashaki, a renegade Calziran with illusions that allying himself with
Vondera Koterba would let him repay a catalog of personal grievances beyond
die Vaillarentiglia Mountains. Rakshaki's band numbered fewer than sixty men,
thieves and murderers all. They were the sort who gave all soldiers, and
mercenaries in particular, a terrible name.
Svavar felt right at home, except for the language problem. Shagot did, too,
when he woke up long enough to see what was going on. Between them the
brothers kicked a half-dozen asses and Shagot killed a huge, stupid beast
named Renwal who terrorized the rest of the band on Rashaki's behalf.
Rashaki was not pleased by die loss of his enforcer, but he was a realist.
He invested no emotion in his followers.
Ockska Rashaki loved no one but Ockska Rashaki. Ockska Rashaki was
interested only in what Ockska Rashaki hoped to accomplish.
Svavar and Shagot settled down to await the arrival of the man they were
supposed to kill. He would come, Shagot insisted. And Shagot would know when
he did.
It was not to be an onerous wait. Ockska Rashaki did not demand much of his
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followers. And Vondera Koterba did not demand much of Rashaki's band. They had
a smugglers' pass to watch. Koterba made sure they were fed so that they did
not start raiding the Alameddine countryside.
Shagot was content to eat, sleep most of the time, and take the occasional
shit. He, like his masters, was content to wait
Svavar endured. He had suffered the world long enough to know that every
misery eventually ends.
These days, almost every day, Svavar saw Arlensul, unnoticed by anyone else,
lurking around this camp of men with dead souls. He and she were joined in an
unspoken conspiracy.
29. Connectens at Sea. and Ashore
f
t was a cloudless day near summer's end. Gulls swooped and cursed. Harbor
water stank. Brother Candle watched Connecten fighters board a dozen big
Plataduran ships, the most that could be accommodated at Sheavenalle's docks.
Navayan and Plataduran vessels stood out in the harbor, among coasters and
fishermen evicted so the expeditionary fleet could load. Some of those had
arrived already engorged with Navayan engineers, sappers, artillerists, and
siege specialists.
Brother Candle wondered if King Peter considered this a re-! hearsal for
Sublime's beloved Crusade to the Holy Lands
Maybe. There was something going on. Peter had been do-^ ing well" in
Direcia, often allying himself with a lessor Praman prince to overcome a
strong one. Why suddenly shift attention and key resources to fighting
overseas? Peter was honorable, and dedicated to his God, but there had to be
more to this than honor and love of his Queen's brother.
The Connectens boarded reluctantly. The Unbeliever sailors wore strange
garb. They gabbled in a dialect that was a cousin of Connecten but so weird it
went over the heads Of soldiers taking ship only to avoid having to walk six
hundred miles.
No one knew yet where they would debark. Sublirpe and Johannes Blackboots
had not finalized their plans. (j)r, if they had, word had not been relayed to
the troops.
Count Raymone paused beside Brother Candle. 'Time to work up your nerve and
go aboard, Master. They're already singling up the lines."
Brother Candle sighed. His few possessions were aboard. He was not eager to
follow. His reluctance was shared by his companions, each a respected cleric
volunteer. Every religion in the Connec was represented in the expeditionary
force, including Connecten Praman slingers from Terliaga. Their pres ence
baffled Brother Candle more than did mat pf several dozen supposedly pacifist
Seekers After Light.
The Plataduran Pramans made everyone uneasy. The Chal-dareans could not
understand why they were allied with Peter against their religious brethren.
Though Chaldarean fought Chaldarean every day, across the Chaldarean world.
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