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"My brother, illustrious King Oland of Omia," Amus intoned, "outraged by the
vile and insolent behavior of the wretched Pashir of
Neva, has undertaken military operations to regain ancient Omian lands, seized
from us long ago by Neva's greedy and grasping ruler."
"I see," Gasam said. "Were these lands taken by Pashir?"
"Why, no," said Amus, nonplussed at this interruption. "It was a predecessor."
"Ah. And how long ago was this?"
The Omian flicked his fingers dismissively. "It matters not. The land north of
the River of Lizards is the rightful domain of the king of Omia. The bones of
our ancestors are buried in that land. The mere passage of time does not
negate a sacred claim."
"You may tell King Oland," said Gasam, "that I find his cause just and I will
not in any way interfere with his occupation of these lands, so long as he
does not interfere in my own campaign."
"Such a thing is far from His Majesty's intentions," Amus proclaimed. "These
coastal regions are of no interest to us. We Omians are not seafaring people.
We are raisers of livestock like you Shasinn. We graze our herds of kagga and
quil upon the hills of our native land, we hunt the wild game from the backs
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of our cabos. These are the proper activities of a race of noble warriors. The
Nevans are scratchers of the earth, they are traders who buy and sell. These
are ignoble things, fit only for ill-bred folk."
"Admirable," King Gasam said. "Peoples such as yours and mine should be
friends."
"Perhaps more than friends," Amus said, sensing a favorable opportunity.
"Perhaps we
should be allies, so that we might remain brothers for all time."
"Now that is an intriguing idea," Gasam said, then, feigning chagrin, "but
what a poor host I am. You have ridden all this way and must be hungry. We
shall have a great banquet this evening, but for now you must take something
to sustain you." He clapped his hands and slaves filed in, bearing food and
drink. These they distributed among the visitors, who accepted them
gratefully. To the king was brought a single, large bowl of beautifully
grained flamewood. It held a thick, almost glutinous pink liquid streaked with
lurid red. Holding this in both hands, the king raised it and drank, his
throat working with each swallow. He passed it to the Shasinn warrior on his
right, and that man drank and passed it on. They all drank lustily, with loud
smackings of the lips. The queen watched the visitors with amusement.
All of them turned somewhat green and seemed to lose interest in their
refreshments. Shazad knew that the bowl contained a mixture of the milk and
blood of a kagga. This was a staple of the Shasinn diet, and was practically
the only food of the young warriors. She also knew that Gasam rarely consumed
the awful stuff any more, having acquired a taste for civilized viands. He was
doing this to make the Omians uncomfortable. In this he was succeeding
admirably. He had deliberately spread the rumor that the Shasinn drank the
blood of their enemies.
"Now," Gasam said when the plates were cleared away, "what manner of alliance
has illustrious King Oland in mind?"
Amus cleared his throat. "Ah, well, Your Majesty, my brother the king has
planned a campaign that will involve crossing the River of Lizards and ..."
"Just a moment," Gasam said. "Did you not say that your king claimed land only
as far south as the River of Lizards?"
"And so he does," Amus said hastily, "but it is plain that the wretched
Pashir, treacherous as ever, plots an invasion, to resteal our rightful lands.
In order to forestall any such treachery, we shall march south and smash
Pashir's army. . . ."
"You mean what is left of his army, do you not?" Gasam said. "I have already
destroyed the bulk of it."
"To the everlasting glory of your name," said Amus through gritted teeth. "If
in the progress of this campaign we should capture Kasin, his capital, it
would be only what he deserves."
"Kasin is the greatest seaport north of Chiwa," Gasam said. "It would be of
little use to noble warrior-herdsmen like King Oland and his subjects."
Amus shrugged. "That is where his capital is. Now, if your ever-victorious
army were to join with ours, you might find excellent use for the port of
Kasin, with its vast shipyards and skilled workers in the maritime trades. For
a seagoing king, the place must hold great attractions."
"So it does," Gasam said, "and I mean to have it. And I need no allies for
that."
"It goes without saying," Amus said, "that either of our nations could
accomplish the de-
struction of Pashir and the conquest of Neva without assistance. .. ."
"We speak now of the conquest of Neva, rather than the simple recovery of
ancestral lands."
"My king has no territorial ambitions beyond the recovery of lands sanctified
by the bones of our ancestors," Amus said. "However, sadly, it is certain that
such a conquest will be forced upon us. Pashir, in his cowardly fashion, will
ally with Chiwa against both of us. After all, there were Chiwan ships in the
fleet Pashir brought hither, and which you so gloriously destroyed in the
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harbor. That was a battle the bards will sing about forever, but King Diwaz
the Ninth must thirst for revenge. To lose a pair of his castle-ships,
commanded by a pair of his pestilentially numerous sons, is such shame as he
has not endured in his entire, lengthy reign. Should Pashir march north with
his army reinforced by the hordes of Chiwa, even such powerful monarchs as my
brother and your glorious self might well think upon the advantages of mutual
assistance."
"And so we shall," Gasam said. "When you return to King Gland's army, some of
my men shall accompany you, to act as my representatives and as liaisons
between us." He addressed two hard-faced senior warriors who sat to his right.
"Luo, Pendu, you two shall choose some men and go with these honored envoys
when they return." Then, to Amus, "These are two of my most trusted and valued
officers. We were junior warriors together in the Night-Cat Fraternity. They
will assist in coordinating action between your brother's army and mine."
"As our king commands," the two warriors chorused, but not bothering to hide
their pained expressions.
Amus excused himself and his delegation to prepare for the evening's banquet.
When they were gone, the Shasinn released the laughter they had suppressed
through the whole council.
"My king!" protested the warrior named Luo. "Must Pendu and I truly go with
these cowardly stripers?" He gestured with distaste. "Death for my king is one
thing, but to associate with such creatures. . . ."
Gasam grinned. "It is the fate of my warriors to suffer in my service. Urlik,
you saw their army. What did you think?" The man addressed was an Asasa chief.
The Asasa were an Island people who resembled the Shasinn except for their
dark hair and eyes.
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