Chapter 402 The Dangers Ahead (2/2)
”It's not as simple as you think,” she said ”Mother maintains friendly relations with all the different factions, trading with each while favoring none above the others It's a precarious balance, but one that isyourself with any faction'sthat balance,” Arran said, finally understanding her problem
”Exactly,” Nisra said ”There are Lords who belong to none of the factions, but most are too weak to be useful”
A frown crossed Arran's eyes ”I would think that even the weakest Lord is stronger than the entire Wolfsblood Ar,” Nisra replied ”But Lords rarely travel into the Desolation theers, and I have no use for so a hundred poorly equipped soldiers Your strength — both your own and that of your army — may be limited, but all of it is here, where I need it”
”You don't have soldiers of your own?” Arran gave her a questioning look
She gave hilance in response ”Of course I have soldiers I have a thousand ht now, and another two thousand will arrive within the next week”
”Shouldn't that be enough?” Arran asked ”I've heard that the Blightspawn rarely travel in groups of ave a dismissive shake of her head ”That's only true near the border of the Desolation The deeper you travel into the Desolation, the larger the groups grow Travel far enough, and you will find entire arhtspawn you kill, the greater the rewards,” Arran said ”I understand You need strong allies to achieve what you want in the Desolation, but you can't risk allying yourself with anyone from the major factions”
”That about suh about this You can discuss my offer with your captain, and I will talk to hiive the lamb pastries a try I made them with…”
As Nisra turned her attention back to the meal, Arran couldn't help but look at her in wonder
She had been the very i noble only moments earlier, but in an instant, she had transforirl who'd welcoht in front of hiht soressed, she spoke no more of politics Instead, her attention holly focused on the meal they shared, and several times, she pointed out special dishes that she insisted Arran try
Yet although her company was as enjoyable as the food she'd made, Arran still recalled her earlier demeanor He didn't knohether what he saas a facade or merely another part of her character, but either way, the sheer e left hiood hour later, as Arran ave him a satisfied smile ”I would ask if you enjoyed it, but from the look of your plate, I'd say that question has been answered already”
”I've haven't eaten this well in a long time,” Arran replied truthfully Perhaps the food couldn't quite match what his cooks in the Ninth Valley had served hih not to matter
”Then my efforts haven't been in vain,” she said, a twinkle in her eyes ”But perhaps I can persuade you to stay a little while longer There's oneI'm curious about”
Arran hesitated, then responded, ”I should return to the others The captain wants to leave tomorrow, and a lot of work still remains to be done”
Of course, none of that ould involve Arran, but it was the best excuse he had And although Nisra had shown not even the slightest sign of bad intent, there was so in the way she looked at hi a new toy
”It will barely take an hour,” she said, ”and I'll be sure to make it worth your while” She produced a coin purse and handed it to Arran, who found that it was surprisingly heavy ”This should be enough to get your arh its first feeeks in Sacrifice”
”What do you want?” Arran asked uncertainly
”To see you fight, of course” Nisra s else in ht Who do you wanthis abilities, the coin purse fully heavy, and he doubted Kaleesh had won enough betting to supply the ar
”Me,” she replied ”I could hardly entrust so important a task to someone else If ill be allies, then I need to see for myself how much truth there is to the ruave her a surprised glance He knew that the daughter of a powerful Lady would be a well-trained Ranger, but a Ranger would hardly be enough to test his skill Not to mention that she didn't even wear a sword
Yet after a ed Whatever her skill, it ht of the coin purse ”If you wish”
A few minutes later, Arran found hirass, empty but for half a dozen starainst a wall
Nisra picked up one of the swords — see her weapon at randoin?”
He couldn't help but frown at the casual display of wealth For ers in the Imperium, starmetal swords were their most treasured possessions, worn at all times and meticulously maintained Yet Nisra treated the weapons like she would rusty iron garden tools
Still, he refrained froave her a small nod ”Your attack”
The words had barely left hishalf a dozen blows in quick succession And to his shock, Arran found that he struggled to parry them
He was forced to retreat several paces, his eyes widening in surprise at Nisra's ability with the sword Even if she hadn't reached Enlightenh she was not far from it, either — the sheer skill she possessed left him astounded
It was a level of h years of endless practice, and Arran understood that her training must have started as soon as she could hold a blade And since then, she
As Nisra continued her attacks and Arran retreated another two paces, he realized that even endless hours of practice could not fully explain her abilities In just the two dozen strikes she'd shown so far, he'd already seen several techniques he'd never witnessed before
Yet for all her skill, she lacked Arran's experience
She attacked again, and this tier held back With a simple but forceful parry, he knocked her sword aside, his blade co to a halt an inch froain her balance
”You're good,” he said as he stepped back ”Better than I expected”
”Thank you,” Nisra replied, so on her cheeks ”Mother spared no expense in finding me the best teachers”
”It see how she had le teacher — or even a handful — she ht by dozens of different instructors, learning what she could from each of them
”There have been a few,” she admitted with a smile ”Ready for the next round?”
They ended up sparring for well over an hour, and although Nisra didn't coain after his initial surprise at her ability, he still found hi up several new ideas from the techniques she used
Their styles could al together numerous meticulously studied techniques, Arran's style was built around on sie And although he was easily the better fighter, facing an opponent so different froined
When she finally stepped back in exhaustion, face red and covered in sweat from the exertion, he was alinning to think the ru heavily as she wiped the sweat frohed ”It's aled ”My father was a siroith dozens of swords Still, you did well Another few years, and you hed loudly, then shook her head ”I doubt that You didn't even use your step into Enlightenment”
What she said was true, of course While Arran had not held back, he had deliberately avoided using his h Otherwise, the match would have been so one-sided as to be pointless
”Maybe you can force me to use it next time,” he said ”But now, I really should return to the others”
This tih his co for their journey, he'd been gone for over three hours already, and evening had long since fallen Any longer, and he feared Kaleesh ht send out a search party
”Then I hope we ood half hour after they said their goodbyes, Arran returned to the ar it abuzz with activity
On the practice fields now stood what looked to be at least a hundred carts, and several ti them up with various supplies
Even before Arran set foot on the practice fields, however, he was approached by a soldier ”Master Arran!” the man called out in a voice that carried a hint of exhaustion ”The captain is looking for you!”
”Then I suggest you take me to him,” Arran replied
They found Kaleesh soroup of soldiers ere lifting supplies into one of the carts ”Careful with those barrels!” he cried out, gesturing wildly at thestill on schedule?”
Kaleesh turned around with a start, but he sighed in relief when he saw Arran ”There you are I was starting to worry we'd have to rescue you” With a brief look at the soldiers, he yelled, ”The other cart, you donkeys! The other cart!” Then, turning his attention back to Arran, he continued, ”So what happened?”
Arran quickly su's events, interrupted by the occasional shout fro nearby When he finally finished, the captain scratched his head, a thoughtful look in his eyes
”I won't deny that having Nisra on our side could help a great deal” He paused to cast a wary glance at the soldiers, but when he found nothing to draw his ire, he turned back to Arran ”Just buying these supplies burned through htspawn amulets in Sacrifice, I'd rather not do that”
”What about the factions?” Arran asked As iht be, he was ht try to kill them ”Is it as bad as she claih it's true that we have eneested Even without her protection, others will hesitate to ainst us I'll explain it e ht now, I need to make sure these lackwits don't destroy half our supplies before we even set foot outside Knight's Watch”
Almost as if to emphasize Kaleesh's words, one of the soldiers dropped a barrel at that exact moment It shattered with a loud crack, and the unmistakable smell of ale filled the air alan another tirade, Arran took the opportunity to beat a hasty retreat, leaving the unlucky soldier to suffer the captain's wrath
Whatever work still re, he quickly decided that he wanted no part of it With the last stretch of their journey into the Desolation only hours away, he had better ways to use his ti at soldiers
After a ht, he headed toward Kaleesh's ated the effects of the oath he'd sworn, and now, it was tiers thatthat the seal within his body hinted at an even greater threat