“Oh? Only that,” laughed Leshie. “Isn’t he just the sweetest.”

“Sir Clive Fanning and his men defied Cedrik Kastor,” Saska went on, ignoring the jest. “If any of them are alive, we will take them home. Alive, and with their tongues still in their mouths.”

“And if the Surgeon has other ideas?” asked the Wall.

“Then you will beat them out of him, Rolly. He acted under his own authority before, but that is no longer the case. He is here under my command now, and I won’t have him killing good honest men on account of who my grandfather was.”

“Unless they’re villains,” Leshie offered, shrugging. “If they’re villains, then they die. Right, Sask?”

It was murky ground, to be sure. Proving villainy and ill intent was never easy in a case such as this. Sir Ralston Whaleheart had a look on his face. “What?” Saska said.

The Wall said nothing.

“What is it?”

Still nothing.

“For Tukor’s sake, Rolly, just answer me. The stone-faced treatment doesn’t work with me anymore.”

“It was your grandmother,” the giant said, at last. “The Surgeon never acted by his own authority. He did so by that of the Grand Duchess.”

Saska stared up at him, half taken aback. “Is…is that true?”

“I am not known to lie. Your grandmother did it to protect you, and spare you. You need not be troubling yourself with these petty matters. They are for us, your captains, to contend with, not you.”

“I will be the judge of that. When people are dying in my name I deserve to know.” Saska turned on her heels, marching through the cypress trees, stepping right up to the Surgeon. “You lied to me,” she said.

The sellsword looked up from his sharpening, scalpel in one hand, whetstone in another, cloth set upon his lap with more knives and blades. He took a moment to lay down both the whetstone and the blade, then put his hands together and gave her his full attention. “How so, Serenity?”

“The authority of necessity, you said, about these killings. You never told me my grandmother had put you up to it.”

“No. I thought that if I did, you would only have gone to her and complained. There did not seem any sense in that. With your imminent departure from the city, and your grandmother’s ailing health, I sought to protect you from such bitter recriminations. You both deserved to enjoy your last moments together without this hanging over you.”

Isn’t he just the sweetest, Saska thought. And perhaps there was some truth in that. “I should have been told.”

“You have been. Now.”

“By Sir Ralston. You should have come to me with this yourself, as soon as we left the city.”

“You may be right. But I saw profit in sparing you this detail. I feared it would sully your opinion of your grandmother, tar the sweet memories you made together. Why bother, when I am here to take the burden of blame? I am more than happy to carry it.”

“I can tell. You’re proud of what you did.”

“I am proud to serve this great cause. In whatever way I can.”

She met his eyes, thought about it a moment, then nodded, realising there was nothing much to this at all. She had understood when the Surgeon first told her about the killings - much as she didn’t like the taste of it - and that her grandmother had played her part did not surprise her either. She would do anything to protect me, and shield me. Anything to win this war. “Just tell me the truth from now on.” That was, perhaps, the crux of it. “I do not like being kept in the dark.”

The Surgeon gave her one of those empty smiles and bowed his head. “Yes, of course. Full candour, from now on.”

She stepped away, across the sun-dappled ground, the heat already stifling. The shade could only offer so much relief when the air itself was burning. Beyond the trees, she could see Kaa Sokari leading Del out toward some rocks, using them for target practice, perhaps. There were shaded areas where they might train, but no, Sokari always sought to test Del where he could.

She spotted Sunrider Tantario stepping out of the tavern, two of his men at his sides. Saska moved back out into the blazing sun, cutting them off as they crossed to the shade. “Did you learn anything, Sunrider?”

They had gone inside to speak to the tavern guests, a protocol that they had followed for the duration of their journey. There were many such places along the Capital Road and it served to arm themselves with the latest tidings whenever they had a chance. To the same end, scouts were regularly sent ahead up the road to gather intelligence and report back. Tantario was not a man who liked surprises, Saska learned. After the skirmish with Sir Gavin Trent and his men he was not taking any chances.

“There is word of a menace on the Matian Way, Serenity,” Tantario told her. “It may be wise for us to continue along the Capital Road, after all.”

That would add long days to their journey, Saska knew. The Matian Way was a shortcut that crossed through the hills, rather than keeping to the coastal road. It would save them having to travel around the Howling Headland, a great jut of land that extended out of the coast, south of the Port of Matia. “What sort of menace?” she asked.

“A sand drake, we believe, by the descriptions we were given. It is possible it has moved on by now, but I do not think it wise to take the risk. The heat along the Matian Way will also be quite oppressive. It will remain cooler on the coast, and more so as we move further north. By the time we get to Cloaklake the worst of it will be behind us.”

Saska wasn’t going to argue with the man. A sand drake she could accept. But a thickening of this stifling heat? No. “We’ll stay on the coast, then. Did you learn anything else, Sunrider?”

He nodded. “One man spoke of your prince’s fleet. It left its anchorage not far from here. There were some thirty of them, we are told.”

“Thirty vessels?”

“Yes. They raised their sails only days ago, and took at once to deeper waters.” He paused. “It is likely they were caught in the storm, my lady.”

Then it’s likely that Robbert is dead. She had feared that as soon as they saw the tempest, and that had been much further west. Apparently, it was even worse here. A storm like few others, through which even Seaborn would struggle to sail. “Prince Robbert’s fate is his own, and not in our power to change,” Saska said. ‘The seas will judge him’, Lord Hasham had told her. Their judgements are harsh, it seems. “Anything else?”

“Nothing to trouble you with, Serenity. Civil matters that Lord Hasham will want to hear of.”

“What sort of civil matters?” Saska was heir to this duchy, technically. She ought to hear of its health.

“The sort that arise during wartime. The sort we have heard of already, in Kolash and elsewhere. Famine. Disease. Criminality on a terrible scale. Men fighting other men over stocks of food and resources. Rebellions against the local authorities in towns across the land. I am logging these events to report back to Lord Hasham upon my return.” He paused. “And…”

“Go ahead,” Saska said.

“There is a large town…Banassy, not far to the east of here. It is a local trading hub and port of authority, with a stronghold built into its heart containing a garrison of soldiers. Their duty is to keep order across the Howling Headland, but there are reports that the town has been taken over by a madman. One claiming he can commune with monsters.”

Saska raised an eyebrow. “Monsters? To what end?”

“What end does a madman require? I would think he is driven by a dark spirit of some kind, a monster in itself. There is talk of human sacrifice, brutal executions, children being eaten by beasts in ritual sport before the very eyes of their parents. Crimes of great evil, against the natural order.” He looked to the tavern, eyes creased. “There are two men in there who stood witness to this, before they managed to escape through a cistern, beneath the city walls. Their reports are…harrowing, my lady.”

Saska’s jaw tightened. “Are you suggesting we travel to this town, Sunrider Tantario? Liberate it from the clutches of this madman?”

“No, my lady, I would not ask that of you…”

“But you are. By telling me, you are.”

He shook his head in denial. “My directive is to escort you to Eagle’s Perch, and see you safely to sea. This madman will stay until I return. As with the sand drake, the risks are too great.”

He was probably right about that, though by the gods she wished that was not so. Me and my precious blood. If it wasn’t for Saska’s grander mission, she would be only too happy to help. These were her people, after all. This was her duchy to protect. “I will speak with Sir Ralston and the sellswords,” she said. “How far to the east is this town?”

“A three-day ride, or thereabouts.”

“And it’s on the Capital Road?”