series of intricate symbols in the ashes as he spoke. “Six months, maybe more. A man loses sense of time when he labours beyond sight of the sun.”
“The pirates? Do you know which port they called home?”
“They spoke a language not known to us, but had the eyes and faces of those from the lands of the Merchant Kings. Many bore fresh scars, and their ships had plainly seen recent battle. They had the look of desperate men, so desperate they didn’t hesitate to kill any who cast a defiant glance their way. After weeks at sea they brought those of us still alive to this land of damp and cold, where they sold us to these dogs so that we might dig into this mountain for the metal they craved.”
“Why were your people sailing the Arathean?”
Alum’s spear paused in the ash as an even deeper sadness crept over his face. “This,” he said, jabbing the spear at the symbol he had drawn, “is the sign of Malua, Lord of Sand and Sky. These”—the spear shifted to the smaller symbols on either side—“are his children, Jula, Lady of the Rains, and Kula, Lord of the Winds.”
“Your gods,” Vaelin said.
“A word we do not use. In our tongue they are ‘Protectors.’ Since the time of the first feet upon the sand, we have held true to Malua and his children. The Emperors always respected this. As long as we pledged loyalty with the dawn of each new season and sent our warriors to join their host when they called, we were left in peace. The Empress”—Alum’s jaws bunched and his lips twitched in restrained anger—“feels differently.”
“Empress Emeren wanted you to worship the Alpiran gods?”
Alum nodded. “She tried to sunder us from the loving arms of the Protectors. She sent envoys that spoke of unity, of how all subjects of the empire must now come together because the Queen of Fire, having seized all the lands of the Volarians, now looked upon ours with envious eyes. More than that the Empress sent people to settle lands that had always been ours, lands the Emperors had long shielded from outsiders. They scraped furrows in the sacred earth to grow crops, hunted all the animals they could find, leaving none for the next season, claimed the wells as their own. When we drove them off she sent soldiers. We are fierce but they were many. Long we fought but the blood of our clan seeped away with every battle.”
Alum paused to look around, pointing as his gaze alighted on Captain Nohlen. “That man has skin like mine,” he said. “The old ones told stories of another tribe that had once fought against the Emperor and fled across the sea to find refuge in the north lands. We sought to follow their example.”
“The exiles came here four generations ago, it is true,” Vaelin said. “They were made welcome, as are you.” He gestured at the symbols in the ashes. “And your Protectors. As for your children, the Merchants’ Guild in North Tower keeps a ledger of all pirate sightings. Perhaps some clue to their home port can be found there. You’re welcome to accompany me on my return.”
“I will. As for my people?”
“They are now free subjects of the Greater Unified Realm and may do as they wish within the confines of the law. However”—Vaelin raised his hands, gesturing at their surroundings—“Captain Nohlen tells me the seams are rich here. If you wish, it’s within my power to grant licence for you to remain. All gold mined within the Reaches belongs to the queen, but you will receive one-quarter of the price gained for every shipment sold.”
“We are hunters, not miners.”
Vaelin glanced at a huddle of Moreska nearby. Unlike Alum, most were stick thin and hollow cheeked from lack of food, many with glistening wounds from recent whippings. “Your people need a home,” Vaelin said. “At least for now. As for hunting, the surrounding forest is yours as far as the broad river to the north. Beyond that the land belongs to the Bear People. They’re a generous folk, but jealous in guarding their hunting grounds.”
Alum looked away, his furrowed brow bespeaking both puzzlement and contemplation. “I am not Clan Chief of the Moreska. He died fighting the pirates. But we were brothers in war if not blood. Together we answered Emperor Aluran’s call when your people came to steal the ports on the Erinean coast. Together we marched with the host and together we