The Infinity Gate: Darkglass Mountain: Book Three - By Sara Douglass Page 0,66

all this sitting. I’d like to see what you and your commands can do, and I’d like the chance to show you what the Outlanders can do.”

“Not the Strike Force?” Ezekiel said.

“The Strike Force can sit this one out,” Georgdi said. “They’ve had their chance.”

“And you think to . . . ” Insharah said.

“Look,” Georgdi said, finally unlacing his fingers and sitting up straight, “we cannot free ourselves from the Lealfast siege, but I see no reason why we cannot make things uncomfortable for them. I think some niggling, embarrassing action could unsettle them enough to make them do something stupid. They do have an awful lot of Icarii blood in them, after all.”

“Never say that in front of Axis, or StarDrifter or StarHeaven,” Insharah said.

“Am I saying it in front of Axis, or StarDrifter or StarHeaven?” Georgdi said. “No? Then don’t worry about it. Any of those three would want to plan some grand — and no doubt foolish — action which would see too many of our friends dead. I don’t want to do that. I’d rather see none of our friends dead. Just a little bit of action is all I ask for.”

Georgdi smiled as he reached into the leather pocket of his jerkin and pulled out a small square block of brown fibrous material.

“Do any of you know what this is?” he said.

His smile broadened at the looks of puzzlement on the faces of the other three.

“It is a block of pressed seed pods from the falamax plant,” Georgdi said. “Falamax grows fairly widely on the Outlands’ plains and our people often carry a small block like this on their persons. Many of my warriors here do. The falamax plant is a fairly innocuous shrubby perennial that is remarkable for one thing only — the value of the spores contained within its seed pod. Mostly we use it for cooking purposes.” Georgdi turned the block over in his fingers. “A tiny bit of this crumbled into our food gives flavour along with a mild intoxicating and warming effect.”

Georgdi paused. “But if this is crumbled and blown into the wind, and if someone inhales it, well then . . . then the falamax spores become a powerful hallucinogen.”

“Ah .” Ezekiel said, and he grinned.

Chapter 13

Elcho Falling

StarDrifter stood with Georgdi, Insharah and Egalion on the balcony where earlier in the day Georgdi had conversed with Josia. It was almost full night and across the lake the Lealfast were settled in front of fires, drinking what was left of the Isembaardian wine. There were a hundred or so in the air, barely visible, but the majority were in the former Isembaardian military camp.

“I don’t understand,” StarDrifter said, “why you don’t use this trick to mount a full-scale military assault on the Lealfast?”

“Because I am not completely sure how this will affect the Lealfast,” Georgdi said, “or how long any effect will last, or even if I have enough of the falamax pods to affect all of the Lealfast. I am not going to commit every man in this citadel to action, without knowing if I may lose every last one of them.”

He pointed down to the causeway. “The only viable way we can exit and re-enter is via that causeway.” Georgdi had heard of another possibility from Elcho Falling’s servant, but it was even more unfeasible than the causeway. “It is narrow. To start with, I can’t get many men out without everything becoming congested or taking six weeks to accomplish, nor can we retreat without the same problem. I take sixty men with me and sixty only. I just want to make a point, StarDrifter, but it is going to be a damned good point.”

“And you’re going to have some fun,” Insharah said. He was a little out of sorts because he was to be left behind, but Georgdi hadn’t wanted to risk every commander they had in the citadel. Georgdi and Ezekiel would be going with the sixty men — comprising twenty Isembaardians, twenty Outlanders and twenty Emerald Guard — but Insharah and Egalion would remain within Elcho Falling.

“And I am going to have some fun,” Georgdi said. “StarDrifter? Can you do this?”

StarDrifter glanced at Georgdi disbelievingly. “Of course I can do this. But won’t the spores affect you as well, when you go into the Lealfast camp?”

Georgdi shook his head. “We’ll give it two hours . . . the spores do not last long in the open air and will disintegrate. By the time we sally