Keshin-Ghol, the Garden of the North, and served as the principal source of food for the Northern Prefecture. The people they encountered were well fed and cheerful for the most part, although their good humour would evaporate in the face of Sho Tsai’s warnings regarding the Stahlhast.
“But they have never raided here,” one village elder protested after the captain had gathered them together to hear his word. “The Tuhla will sometimes attack the caravans on the eastward road, but never the Stahlhast.”
“All is changed,” Sho Tsai told him. “They do not come to raid. They come to conquer. They will kill any who refuse to bow to their false god. And should they spare your life, they will surely not spare you the theft of your crops. An army must be fed, and they know they’ll find supplies in this province.”
“What would you have us do?” the old man asked, cutting through the alarmed chatter of his fellow elders.
“Harvest all the food you can and cart it to Keshin-Kho, where it will be sorely needed. Burn or spoil the rest. Nothing is to be left that might succour the enemy.” Sho Tsai paused, allowing the resultant babble of protestation to continue for a time before barking out, “I speak with the authority of the Merchant King Lian Sha, and you will abide by my word!”
This had the effect of silencing the protests but, from the shared expressions of doubt and distrust on every face, Vaelin surmised that little in the way of persuasion had been achieved.
“Do you think they’ll do it?” he asked once they had departed the village. “Flee homes they’ve known all their lives and burn everything they leave behind?”
“Most won’t,” the captain admitted. “And I have not the numbers to compel them. It’s in the nature of man to ignore the tiger at his door until he sees it with his own eyes. All I can do is warn and command in the hope at least some might heed me.”
Sho Tsai’s gaze strayed to Sherin, as Vaelin noted it often had during their journey. The captain’s brief display of relieved joy upon finding her alive in the hill country had subsided into something more guarded, not to say troubled. To Vaelin’s eyes she had recovered much of her former vitality, though a shadow remained in her eyes and her smile was a rare thing now. Despite his protestations, she had insisted on using her gift to heal the Scouts who had suffered severe wounds in the skirmish with the Stahlhast. All had recovered well save one man with a severed spine who proved beyond her skills. Even so, she had kept on trying, blood flowing freely from her nose and eyes as she clamped her hands on the gaping wound in the man’s back. Had he and Sho Tsai not pulled her away Vaelin suspected she might have bled herself white in her efforts to save him.
“She is changed, it is true,” he told Sho Tsai, reading his expression. “But not so much as to make her someone else.”
A brief flush of anger passed over Sho Tsai’s face. Clearly he wanted no advice from the former lover of the woman he had long wished to make his wife, but his concern for her apparently overrode any ill-tempered response. “This particular . . . blessing,” he said. “You have seen it before?”
“Only once. A man I knew. He was no warrior but nevertheless did great service in war.”
“Did he fall?”
“No. But his gift exacted a high price. It made him . . .” Vaelin faltered, trying to find words to describe what Weaver had become when he healed the Ally. The term “inhuman” seemed cruel, given the man’s selflessness, but neither was it inaccurate. “Made him unable to live amongst others.”
“He was so dangerous then?”
“Partly, although he was a kindly soul at heart. But it was more the danger posed by others. Such power begets fear, and envy. The desire to control it is strong, even amongst the wisest rulers.”
He saw Sho Tsai’s frown deepen at this, no doubt as he pondered the likely reaction of his own ruler.
“The Merchant King is wise,” Vaelin said, choosing not to add “but also ruthless,” as he was aware the captain knew this far better than he. “Do you think he will punish you?” he asked instead. “We failed to retrieve the Jade Princess after all.”
“He will do what must be done,” Sho Tsai responded, straightening his back. “And I will