"Captain," Araris interrupted.

Tavi glanced back at the singulare, who nodded down the line. Tavi turned to see Kitai thundering up the column toward him, with Enna and a dozen Marat trailing her. As they slowed, Max released the windcrafting that surrounded them, saluted Tavi, and turned his horse to head back down the column.

The Marat came to a halt in a blowing, disorderly clump all around them as Kitai drew her horse up beside Tavi's, her lovely face expressionless. The Marat called to one another, trading what were apparently gibes and boasts in their own tongue. Several of the younger riders, as restless and energetic as their mounts, continued dancing in circles around the larger group, their horses shaking their heads and rearing from time to time.

Tavi turned intent eyes to Kitai right away. It might have looked sloppy and exuberant, but the Marat had long since worked out their own method to veil conversations from any windcrafters who might be attempting to listen from afar.

Kitai's leg bumped against Tavi's as their horses walked, and he could sense the tension in her. They stretched out their hands to one another at the same time and briefly entwined their fingers. "Chala," Kitai said. "I worried for you during the battle."

"You worried for meT Tavi asked. He couldn't help but smile a little. "You were the one leading an attack on an enemy position."

Kitai sniffed. "That was nothing. I didn't get close enough to lift a blade." She cast a general glower around them at the Marat of the Horse Clan. "They got there first."

"Still. It was well-done."

She arched a pale eyebrow at him. "Yes. Of course it was." Her haughty expression faltered, though, and she glanced around them, making sure that no one was close enough to overhear them through the cacophony of the Horse Clan. "There is something you must see."

Tavi nodded at once, flashed a hand signal to the First Spear, and turned his horse out of the slow column of marching men. Kitai's horse wheeled perfectly in time with his, and he supposed that an outsider looking on would have thought that he was leading her and not the other way around. The Marat escort joined them as they cantered to the east and away from the column.

They rode for most of two miles, by Tavi's estimate, the sharp rise of the bluff on their right, until they reached a small copse that had grown up where a burbling spring spilled water down from the higher ground. Two Marat horses were grazing on fresh spring grass outside the trees.

The little company rode up to the copse and dismounted. Tavi passed Acteon's reins over to Enna, and followed Kitai into the trees.

"We took a prisoner, chala" she said without preamble, her pace never slowing. "An Aleran. A messenger."

Tavi hissed in sudden excitement. "Yes? What did he say?"

"That he would speak only to you."

They brushed through a few yards of undersized evergreens that hid whatever was beyond them from view. When they emerged, Tavi found himself in a small clearing, where a pair of Marat warriors stood with bows in hand and arrows on strings, calmly regarding a man seated on the ground between them.

Tavi blinked and lifted his eyebrows, recognizing the man-the rebel scout he'd subdued back at his aborted ambush of the Canim column. The man was wearing the same clothes, minus all his gear, which had been placed in a neat pile several feet away from him.

The scout glanced up at him and blinked twice before his own eyes widened in recognition. "You," he said. "Bloody crows."

Tavi felt one corner of his mouth lift in a smile. "Good afternoon," he said. "We've got to stop meeting like this."

The scout looked uncertain for a moment, then barked out a short laugh. "Aye, m'lord."

"I'm no lord," Tavi replied. "Rufus Scipio, Captain of the First Aleran."

The man bowed his head slightly. "Captain. My name is Durias. I'm a centurion of the First Freehold Legion auxiliaries."

"Freehold, centurion?" Tavi asked.

"The capital city of Free Alera, Captain." He lifted his chin with a slight but undeniable glitter of defiance in his eyes. "Our capital. The freemen's capital."

Tavi nodded. "I see. I'm told you bear a message."

The man nodded and slipped a hand inside his tunic.

Both Marat drew their bows, and the deadly steel tips gleamed as they oriented on Durias. In the same instant, Kitai's sword hissed from its sheath.

Durias froze, his eyes very wide. He licked his lips, glancing back and forth between the weapons and Tavi.

"Slowly, centurion," Tavi said, keeping his voice calm. "You'll have to excuse my friends. We've had problems with more than one assassin, and they tend to err on the side of caution."

Durias swallowed and-very slowly-withdrew a small bundle of cloth from beneath his tunic. He bowed his head and offered it out to Tavi on both of his upturned palms. "Nasaug bade me give you this," he said quietly.

Kitai stalked forward and took the cloth, then returned with it to Tavi's side. Tavi frowned down at the cloth. It looked vaguely familiar. Then he realized what he was holding. A plain, worn tunic-specifically, Ehren's tunic, the one he'd been wearing when Tavi had last seen him.

Tavi's fingers trembled a little in their hurry to unfold the cloth, revealing the tunic's contents. Two ludus pieces resided within. One was a white le-gionare, the missing piece from his own set. The second was a Knight of black stone, from a much larger, less finely carved set.

Tavi chewed on his lower lip and nodded absently to the Marat guards. They eased back on their bowstrings, relaxing once more, their expressions never changing.

"I recognize it," Tavi said quietly. "Did he send anything else with you?"

Durias nodded. "Nasaug said to tell you that in most games, this would be a poor trade, but that it is one he is willing to offer, provided you-and only you-come to speak to him."

Tavi frowned at the messenger. "Where? When?"

"Immediately, Captain," Durias said. "He is nearby. I am to lead you to him."

"And if I refuse?"

Durias smiled a little and spread his hands. "Then Nasaug will have exchanged a legionareiox a Knight, and profited thereby."

Tavi considered the pieces on Ehren's tunic for a moment. "Nasaug plays ludus well," he said. "Surely he would think me a fool to sacrifice a First Lord for the sake of a Knight."

"He offers you safe conduct, Captain."

Tavi folded the tunic back over the pieces. "And what does he offer as a guarantee?"

Durias regarded Tavi steadily. "His word."

Tavi drew in a deep breath. This could very well be a trap. The Canim were cunning and ruthless when it came to warfare. It was, in fact, a point of pride to them. In war, there was no such thing as cheating, no rules, no mercy. Tavi had no doubt that Nasaug would not hesitate to deny his enemy a valuable resource like Ehren-unless there was a greater gain to be had in keeping him alive.

Simultaneously, though, the Canim of the warrior caste seemed to adhere to a rigid standard of honor. They respected strength, courage, and skill, and Tavi had somehow managed to demonstrate all three during the first desperate days of battle at the Elinarch.

Tavi clenched a fist in frustration. This wasn't merely an offer to parley. It was a test of his commitment to the concept. Nasaug would not make a second offer. To say nothing of the fact that Ehren's life hung in the balance.

Tavi could not afford to let this opportunity pass by, and Nasaug knew it.

Which made it a perfect trap.

Which, in turn, made it a perfect test.

Which made it an opportunity he could not afford to…

Tavi shook his head before the circular logic made him dizzy.

He had to try.

"Chala," Kitai whispered, brushing her fingers against his arm. "Are you sure?"