«It seemed willed by the gods,» said Sikkurad. «Indeed, there are some who believe that the killer plants are the gods. Once these people even made human sacrifices to them. It will be interesting what they say when our army marches through 'the home of the gods' in the forest.»
The Keeper went on to explain that more than any other person in Jaghd, it was Queen Tressana who'd started the Jaghdi on what might be the road to the conquest of Elstan. She'd married Prince Manro when she was only fourteen, five years before he came to the throne of Jaghd. Two years after being crowned, he became seriously ill. After a while his body recovered, but his mind never did.
«Did Tressana have anything to do with the illness?»
Sikkurad started, even though they were as secure as possible from prying ears. Then he shrugged. «That is a question not often asked these past ten years.»
«I know. But it is one I need answered. A woman who will have her husband poisoned to destroy his mind-«
«I understand. Tressana has shown that she could do such a thing now. Whether she could have done it then-and whether she had the opportunity to do it even if she had the will-no one knows.»
Blade would have liked to know more, but he was glad to learn that Sikkurad wasn't the sort of man to peddle gossip or boast of knowledge he didn't have.
So Tressana was a childless widow at twenty-one. Within a year she was ruling as Queen of Jaghd in her own right, the first woman ever to do this. Ruling queens weren't exactly unlawful in Jaghd, but no one had ever expected to see one. The women of Jaghd were supposed to bear the children, manage the houses, and no more.
«It's different in Elstan?»
«Yes.»
Among the Elstani, women could do everything except fight in war, and since the Elstani seldom fought wars this hardly mattered. There were even women Masters in Elstan. Why the two peoples were so different, Sikkurad couldn't explain. It had been this way as long as the Jaghdi and Elstani were two peoples.
«And it will probably always be this way, no matter how many young women Tressana puts in armor and sends riding off on rolghas!» growled Sikkurad. For a moment the Keeper was only a sad father whose hopes of a brilliant career for his daughter had been dashed.
In fact, forming the Women's Guard was about the only really surprising thing Tressana had done. She'd taken her share of lovers, of course, and she'd occasionally been cruel, but these were traditional privileges of the rulers of Jaghd. After a while most people got used to the idea of a woman ruling them, even if they didn't like it. It helped that Tressana gave wise judgments when she knew the facts, appointed honest officials when she could find them, lowered taxes when she could afford it, and generally worked hard and well at the job of ruling Jaghd.
Five years of this was enough to seat her firmly on the throne of Jaghd. Then she gathered the Keepers in secret, and told them she wanted a way of taking an army through the forest of Binaark. She didn't care what it was or how they found it or what it cost. She wanted it.
«It is time to undo the work of the Burning,» she said. «And for more than that. It is time for Jaghd and Elstan to be one people.»
It was three years before Tressana got what she wanted, even though the Keepers worked harder than ever before. Some worked in the hope of great rewards; others worked in fear of horrible punishments. But eventually they discovered that the secretions of a gland in the bone-eating green beetles gave off a distinctive scent, which suppressed the attack reflex of the killer plants. Would a man giving off the same scent also be safe from attack? Probably. But that meant finding some way of synthesizing the secretion, or at least its scent. There wouldn't be enough beetles in the whole forest to protect more than a handful of men.
Sikkurad was proud of the work he'd done in searching for a synthetic scent. He talked about it so long that Blade began to worry about their being interrupted by visitors or guards. Then suddenly he realized what Sikkurad was really describing, and stopped worrying about anything else. Sikkurad was describing the rediscovery of the scientific method. He wasn't using words like «experiment» or «result» but he was certainly describing them clearly enough. Blade wondered if Queen Tressana would ever realize what a gift she'd made to her people and her world, or how she'd pushed civilization in this Dimension an enormous step forward. Now it hardly mattered whether her planned invasion of Elstan succeeded or not.
Or did it? Sikkurad was going on, describing how hundreds of gallons of the synthetic scent were now being made at a time. A wad of cloth soaked with the scent and worn around the neck would protect a man for nearly a week. Two or three would protect a rolgha or a draft animal. There was already enough synthetic scent to protect thousands of men, with more being made every day. As soon as the harvest was in, the Jaghdi would be able to march through the forest and surprise the Elstani.
«We think the scent is still a secret. So even though the Elstani may know that we prepare for war, they don't know how. They will be ready for us to come up the Adrim, or over the mountains. They will leave the forest unprotected, as it has always been. That may mean the end of them.»
«The end of them?»
«Yes, perhaps. We do not know what Tressana plans to do with the Elstani when she has defeated them. Does she intend to make them one with the Jaghd people, as she has said, or does she intend to make them slaves? We want you to learn this.»
«Who is 'we'? And it's too late not to tell me,» Blade added sharply.
«The Keepers. Or at least seven of the twelve.»
«I thought so.» There was no reason to refuse the request, but he still wanted to know more. «Why should Tressana tell me anything about her plans which isn't common knowledge?»
«She has summoned you to the palace, Blade. That means she is impatient to have you in her bed. Women say things in bed they do not say elsewhere.»
«Not all women.»
«Most women. And I suspect that very few could resist you.»
Blade ignored the flattery. «A queen might. Tressana isn't the sort to babble just because she's been served well.»
Sikkurad laughed. «Probably not. But I think you have been summoned for more than keeping her happy in bed. Curim is not going to be captain of the Men's Guard much longer. He is brave and a good fighter, but his foul temper has made him enemies even among his own men. You might find yourself the new captain of the Men's Guard.»
«And then?»
There was no mistaking the desperate sincerity in Sikkurad's voice. «Learn what she plans for the Elstani, Blade. Learn whether she will accept them as free men, or wants them all made slaves. We do not know. We must learn, before the army marches into the forest.»
Suddenly Blade began to understand what was making Sikkurad desperate. «If she wants to make slaves of the Elstani, that means killing their leaders. And their leaders are the Masters.»
Sikkurad almost giggled with relief. «Then you understand? You are with us? You are not deceiving me? If you are…» He apparently couldn't think of any punishment awful enough for Blade if he was lying.
Blade shook his head. «I am on the side of the Keepers. If Tressana wants to slaughter the Masters of Elstan, she ought to be stopped. Too much knowledge which both peoples can use would die with them.»
Particularly now that the Keepers have just rediscovered the scientific method. With the two peoples and everything they know united….
It would save this Dimension generations, possibly centuries, on the way back to being a modern civilization. Blade knew he'd do anything he could to help things along. He also suspected that he'd be risking a knife in the back from people who didn't understand what he was trying to do.