Drocker clarified his position. "There will be no attack. Waiting, not wasting, let's us develop a pool of veterans for the future."

Drocker's longer speeches left his audience impatient. But no one tried to hurry him. This was war ground, the Brotherhood's home country. Few members of that Brotherhood were more terrible than Grade Drocker.

Drocker confided, "They think I'm hard." He laughed. That brought on a coughing fit so violent that Else summoned the Brotherhood physician, who got Drocker inhaling exudations of herbs crushed in a leather sack. Redfearn Bechter helped Drocker with the bag. When the sorcerer recovered, he told Else, “I'm an altar boy. Wait till they meet Asher Huggin, Parthen Lorica, Alin Hamlet, or Bugo Armiene. They scare me."

"Then I hope I never meet any of them."

Drocker asked, "Does that worry you?"

"Sure. It would worry anyone who isn't one of you."

Drocker raised a questioning eyebrow.

"If you're an everyday sort who has to scratch for your next meal you find people who're that absolute in their convictions really frightening."

Drocker seemed amused.

Outside, snow fell lightly but steadily. The weather had settled into an unchanging pattern. Would it end with Calzir under a mile of ice, the way it was in the far north?

Else shivered. Even a well-built structure like the lookout cottage could not keep the cold out. The chills, the drafts, all the talk about Praman sorcerers coagulated in Else's mind. He left Drocker, found Ghort. "Pinkus, all the yammer has got me thinking. If those people over there send spooks to aggravate us, and we don't get ready …"

"I got ya, Pipe. What do we do to get ready?"

"The stuff every family does when they live where the Night is always at the door. Plug up all the cracks."

"Plug up all the cracks," was, in fact, an old saw from Duarnenia. Variants existed everywhere. Folk wisdom based on common sense. By plugging all the cracks you kept the cold out and you kept the things of the Night out in the cold.

Plug up all the cracks. "Pipe, I've whispered that sweet nothing into every subaltern's ear starting the first night we had to make camp."

"Then I don't need to nag." Plug up all the cracks. Else could not imagine anyone in a strange land not doing that automatically.

TITUS CONSENT BROUGHT A PAIR OF LOCAL DEVES TO ELSE. He whispered, "These people have risked everything for us, Colonel. They can't go back. But they still have family inside."

"I understand." He wanted to shriek. He was trapped. These Deves wanted to betray his people to his enemies. And he had to protect and reward them. "Set up some kind of show trial. Script it so it looks like we're lying about Calzir's Devedians helping us. Condemn them to be hung, then grant clemency at the request of the Deves of Brothe."

"It's uglier than a dead baby, but I can make it work.”

"Have they been noticed yet?"

"No. We're keeping them out of sight. They won't talk to anybody but you."

"Keep on doing that. Bring them in. Why me?"

"They're worried about spies. They've heard that there's at least one highly placed Praman agent over here."

"No doubt true. Human nature being human nature." Else Tage was careful not to remind any Deve that his loyalty might not lie with the enemies of al-Prama.

Life was not going well for the besieged, the spies reported, though al-Khazen was not yet under a complete siege. The slaughter of dray animals had begun. Cavalry mounts remained untouched but there was little feed for them. The granaries were empty. Execution of the officials responsible eased the strain on stores only slightly.

Inhabitants of al-Khazen who did not share the religious enthusiasms of the majority suffered the most. Else listened to the horror stories. He began to glance askance at Consent. "Be patient," Consent urged. "As you're always telling us."

"I do hope to hear something that makes my indulgence worthwhile."

The Calzirans were an elderly couple who had been employed in Mafti al-Araj el-Arak's palace, now occupied by the foreign captains.

"They managed the books," Titus explained.

"So they have a special place in your heart."

"They had a special opportunity to be close to important discussions."

The old folks from al-Khazen were no more patient than Else. They were exhausted. They wanted to lay their old bones down and sleep. Though they were worried about their children and grandchildren.

Else tried not to torment himself wondering why the old Deves preferred the mercies of unknown Chaldareans to those of known Pramans.

Their big news was that the sorcerers of al-Khazen would come out of hiding soon.

Else could not shake a conviction that he had missed something once the interview ended. He snapped, "What did I just miss, Titus? You could've sent me a one-sentence note that would've covered all that."

Consent replied, "I wanted to put a human face on the Devedian tragedy. Obviously, I failed."

Else locked gazes with Gledius Stewpo. The dwarf shrugged. "The young only learn directly. But I do think those old people can help."

"How?"

“They worked in the palace. They know the important buildings."

"I see. You're right. I've grown impatient"

"Easy to do, I'd think, having to stand hip to hip with Grade Drocker."

"You have no idea." He and Consent spent an hour discussing logistical problems. The worst being that other Patriarchal forces thought they could become parasites on the city regiment.

EARLY ENCOUNTERS WITH THINGS OF THE NIGHT WERE SUBtle. The sorcerers in al-Khazen were not eager to declare themselves.

The city regiment handled the probes as men always had, with charms, spells, and by plugging all the cracks.

The Emperor's troops tightened the circle in the hills to the east and south. King Peter was less aggressive. His troops wanted to stay out of the weather.

Else, Grade Drocker, several Principatйs, and the commanders of contingents from several Episcopal States were studying the feasibility of infiltrating al-Khazen via a wastewater outlet discovered by Collegium sorcerers, employing the same sort of minor entities the Pramans used to scout their besiegers. Else asked, "Are we sure they don't know this drainage system exists?"

Bronte Doneto replied, "Not even your Deve captives knew about it. The engineering is Old Empire. Cassina was a major city of the Old Empire."

Pinkus Ghort interrupted. "Sorry, Pipe. Colonel. Principatй. Word just came. The foreign Pramans have started rounding up all the non-Pramans in the city."

Else exchanged glances with Doneto. "Does that mean they've figured out that the Deves are helping us?"

Ghort volunteered, "Deves brought the news."

Else asked, "Have there been executions? Have … ? Sorry, Pinkus. I won't learn anything with my mouth open, will I?"

"You might. You're special. But that's all the news there is. Nobody knows what they'll do with the prisoners. There's been fighting."

Bronte Doneto observed, “Too bad we aren't set to exploit that drainage system. We could hit them while they're distracted."

Would the Calziran Pramans tolerate the abuse of their minorities?

Probably.

Grade Drocker invited himself in. "That's interesting. But is it germane? Let's focus on the problem at hand. Can we get men inside to seize the gates or murder the Praman leadership?"

Else told Ghort, "Make up a team of our Deves and some refugees to track the situation." He told the others, "Something bigger may be going on. Where do we get out of the wastewater system?"

The Deves of al-Khazen had provided excellent maps, some so detailed they included the number of steps up to the door of an important building.