The Warlord Chapter 7

WARLORD Chapter 7

Hyacinth had to be the first destination. Peony was there. Until she was safe with us (okay, relatively safe), I was going to worry.

I ran to to 'my' chamber. Time was now of the essence. Peony knew that, so she didn't waste even a moment on formal greetings or unnecessary questions.

- "You've begun?" she said.

- "Yes."

She immediately sent Nosey and Pudge to find the garrison commander, a half-Hadyk named Faldor. He was a tiny little fellow, not quite 4'10". Because of his diminutive size, Rona had never given him a chance at a real command. Of course he wasn't going to be a warrior, but he was intelligent enough. It was a waste of potential talent. Even now, he was only a substitute garrison commander because all of the family members were at Caladium.

He was astonished when I asked him to hand over command of the garrison to Luth.

- "Luth?"

- "Yes. I need you to come with me. Haste is essential."

We also collected Kien and Rima, the blind half-Hadyk. Boloda filled them in, privately, as quickly as possible. The end result was that both immediately chose to join my growing little family. I adopted them without a moment's hesitation. If Boloda and Peony vouched for them, that was good enough for me. It also gave my plan one more small advantage.

Luth stayed in Hyacinth, but immediately went to work. Armene had to wait, alone, in the Portal Room. I had briefed her extensively on what to do. The rest of us, including Peony, Faldor, Kien and Rima, went through the Portal to Flax.

- "Hurry." I told Wantrao.

He dashed off. In the meantime, I sent for the substitute garrison commander, another undervalued half Hadyk named Vanea. She was surprised when I asked her to hand over command of the garrison to Kien. But I was the Warlord, so she complied.

Boloda briefed Kien, while I went to find Wantrao. We met outside the Dining Room, where he was helping a heavy-set woman walk toward us.

- "Mother." he said. "This is Daniel. The Warlord."

Kamla Hadyk had once been a fine-looking woman. She was reputed to have been prettier than her sisters, Rona and Keratsa. But she lacked Rona's political acumen, her ruthlessness, and her drive. Kamla was proud, and too unintelligent to realize how stupid she really was. Her repeated attempts to interfere in family strategy led Rona to essentially exile her to Flax.

Her marriage to Murari (once a Shorr) produced Malusha, but her husband's philandering was too constant to ignore. She got her revenge by taking a peon to her bed - and produced Wantrao.

She was ostracized by the entire family. Her lonely life became even more desolate. She had already lost her spouse; now she lost her daughter as well. Her maternal instincts dried up completely.

But it was no part of my plan to let her stay here. Though it was possible, or even likely that she wouldn't cause trouble, I wasn't willing to leave it to chance. She came with us, through the Portal, to Ivy. Kien stayed in Flax, for the moment, with a task to accomplish. Wantrao began his lonely vigil in the Portal room.

- "Ivy." I said.

Yet another substitute garrison commander was summoned, and ordered to hand over command to Inzhay. This one was named Evtey.

- "But... I received no warning of this." said Evtey.

- "Obviously. That's why I came in person. Inzhay is the garrison commander until I decide otherwise."

- "If you say so, Warlord."

I had Faldor, Vanea and Evtey locked up - and Kamla with them.

- "It's only temporary." I told them.

Then I returned to the Portal Room. Inzhay was already on his way to carry out my orders. Boloda would be the one to remain in the Portal Room.

"You know what to do?" I asked, unnecessarily.

- "That's six." she said. "The day I need to be told something seven times is the day I'll fall on my sword. On your way, Warlord."

With Peony, Kisel, and Rima, I went through the Portal

- "Jacaranda."

The Portal Room was empty. I went to stand next to the Touchstone. I needed to take several deep breaths. I was so nervous that I thought I was about to hyperventilate.

I put my hand on the Touchstone.

Nothing happened.

- "I am Daniel Graham." I said, with my hand still on the stone.

Nothing happened. But Peony only nodded, and encouraged me to continue.

- "I claim this Touchstone for the Grahams." I said.

Suddenly, there was a gong sound, similar to the noise that signalled the beginning and end of a Turn. A voice came out of the Touchstone.

- "Do you wish to declare war, Daniel Graham?"

- "I do. I declare war on the Hadyks. On Rona Hadyk."

Now there was a loud, booming gong. It shook the room. Peony actually covered her ears. The voice spoke again.

- "The Grahams have declared war on the Hadyks."

Once more I put my hand on the stone. "I claim Jacaranda for the Grahams."

The control panel on the Touchstone changed colour. The symbols had been blue. Now they turned green. Dark green.

I whirled around. The heavy curtain in front of the alcove was now green as well. The tapestry above the door, which had once been purple, and then blue, was green as well. The flames which wreathed the Portal itself were now tinged with green.

- "Green?"

- "Your tunic." said Peony, pointing at my T-shirt. "And your eyes." she added.

I'd just taken Jacaranda from the Hadyks. They would have heard the booming gong in Caladium. They had to have heard the announcement that I was at war with them. But what could they know of my whereabouts? Or who was with me? As far as they knew, I was still outside Caladium, with the army. With their army.

- "Wish me luck." I said, to Peony. I quickly stepped over to the Portal.

- "Hyacinth." I said.

I passed easily through the shimmering gateway, into a very familiar Portal room.

- "It worked!" shouted Armene.

***

It had worked. In one stroke, we'd declared war on the Hadyks and taken four of their cities. My only regret was that I hadn't had a few more loyal confederates. As it was, I'd taken a risk inviting Inzhay and Virdyan to join us.

I needed two trustworthy allies to capture a city. At Hyacinth, Luth had taken command of the garrison, and marched them out of the castle, so that no one could interfere with our plan.

- "I heard the gong." said Armene. "Then the declaration of war - that sent a chill up my spine, I'll tell you. And then I claimed the Touchstone. It worked - just as you said. Everything turned green. Why green, though?"

- "For my shirt."

At Flax, Kien had marched out with the garrison, leaving Wantrao alone in the Portal room. At Ivy, Inzhay moved the troops, while Boloda guarded and then claimed the Touchstone. Armene, Wantrao and Boloda were among the best fighters I knew of. If, by some freakish, epic piece of bad luck, one or more members of the Hadyk family had come through the Portal while I was still laying the groundwork, they had a chance of driving them back - unless, of course, Malusha was among them, or they arrived in large numbers.

Flax was ours, as well. Wantrao grinned at me as I stepped through. He actually took my hand in his, and clapped me on the back with his other hand. Of course, there was no one else present to see this display of emotion - he'd be able to deny it had ever happened.

- "Green?" he said. "Why green?"

- "For my eyes, according to Peony."

- "Huh. Better than baby-cack brown, for your hair."

- "Thanks."

Ivy was ours as well. Boloda was safely in control of the Touchstone, so I was able to pass through the Portal.

We had four cities! It was a monumental coup.

But it was even bigger than that: at this very moment, Jashi and Sudha would be taking command of the thousands of troops who were linked to these four Touchstones.

The Hadyk family were, as far as I knew, still inside Caladium castle, probably trying to understand what had just happened. When they got around to using the Portal, they would find that they were unable to travel to Flax, Hyacinth, Ivy or Jacaranda. Those cities were now enemy territory for them.

And their troops belonged to us.

Back in Hyacinth, the soldiers of the garrison now had green trim on their armour and equipment, and quite a few (including Nosey) sported green hair. I had the beginnings of a Punk Rock army.

I was elated, but also exhausted. Back home, before all of this started, I don't think I would have been capable of this kind of effort. It wasn't that I was in better physical shape; I'd only spent a grand total of about twenty days in the Decapolis. But it was the mental effort that would have been most daunting. Mind over matter sounds easy enough, until you're in pain - constant pain, that makes concentration difficult and saps the will.

Why are we doing this? The body asks the question. Why don't we slow down, or better yet, stop for a rest? Maybe a nice nap. Anything would be better than this pain.

The difference, I suppose, is having a cause worth suffering hardship and pain for. Taking risks and facing danger for. My companions were relying on me. So was Peony. Peony, who'd now hugged me twice. Who knew the colour of my eyes.

Late that evening, we heard the loud gong. Turn Four was over.

***

My apartment felt colourless. Lifeless. It was probably a good idea, though, to see if my 'real' life was still stable. I checked my computer, expecting to find that work had piled up during my absence. Oddly enough, it hadn't.

There were only two files to deal with. It took only fifteen minutes to dispose of the first; the second took a little over an hour.

Now I was free to reflect on what I'd done, and what was to come. I pulled out my map.

Even the next day, I didn't regret the outcome of the coup. It had gone pretty much exactly as planned, even if the situation on the map wasn't ideal.

Our four cities hugged the eastern edge of the page, all the way from top (Ivy) to bottom (Flax). It would be difficult to defend. Ivy could be attacked from Goldenrod and Eglantine; Flax could be reached from Dahlia. In fact, three of the four Graham production centres were threatened from Goldenrod.

Conversely, though, Goldenrod was vulnerable to all three of those cities. And the Hadyks were going to have their hands full. They held Caladium, which could be easily reached by the Balabans and the Morcars. Worse yet, they were heavily outnumbered by the enemy coalition, and now by us.

I had, briefly, considered taking Dahlia instead of Ivy. That would have left us a better concentration of cities, closer together, able to offer each other support. But that was where Deondra's son and daughter and the other Hadyk children were. I had no wish to begin my coup by taking children hostage. Most important of all, though, was the fact that Jashi's flanking force was attuned to the Touchstone at Ivy.

And, as it stood now, Dahlia was a useful buffer between the Grahams and the Balabans. It might be possible to arrange a truce of some kind with the Morcars and the Balabans; after all, their quarrel was with Rona Hadyk - not me.

Perhaps not too soon, though. The Grahams wouldn't really be safe until we had at least five production centres, and some kind of advantage or at least parity in numbers.

That led me to think of the coming Turn, and of the many decisions that fell to be made. One was the question of Kamla Hadyk. What would Wantrao want for his mother? What did she herself want?

I'd also imprisoned Faldor, Vanea, and Evtey - three half-Hadyks who'd done me no harm, but that I was not prepared to trust in a crisis. Not yet, anyway. They'd be released, of course. Might it be possible to win them over?

The Graham family was still quite small. We didn't have half-Grahams to call on, either. We were going to need more officers. Where could I find them?

Would illegitimate children from the other families be interested in joining us? There had to be a few who were in the same boat as Wantrao, or Kisel, or Boloda: unwanted or unappreciated. How to reach out to them? On that note, I had to remember to ask Inzhay to contact Virdyan, now that we had cities, and an army.

I'd promised to find jobs for Kien and Rima. I could certainly make Kien a garrison commander, or have him lead reinforcements after the next builds. But what kind of work could I give to a blind woman, in a society like theirs? I did a couple of internet searches, looking for ideas. And then, naturally, I thought of something completely different.

I also devoted some time to considering the question of governance. I didn't want to be an autocrat like Rona Hadyk, ruling arbitrarily. But I'd suffered through enough staff and committee meetings to be leery of anything too democratic, either.

Then there was the issue of the peons. I'd struck a blow for the half-Hadyks; they were already 'people', as far as I was concerned, but now they believed it too. What could be done for the peons?

Was there a way to end the cycle of wars? If the Grahams could reach a point like the Hadyks had (ever so briefly), controlling seven of the ten cities, would that be enough? The other families would be in no position to challenge us, unless we turned on each other.

And how could I prevent that, without becoming a worse tyrant than Rona?

***

I'd laid out fresh clothes for myself before going to bed: clean track pants and socks, and the only other green t-shirt I owned. Unfortunately, it said 'Kiss me, I'm Irish'; I would have to cover that up somehow.

I woke in my familiar chamber in Hyacinth, but something was odd. Out of place. It took me a moment to realize that Peony was sleeping on the foot of my bed.

I'll admit that I watched her sleep for a little while.

My attempt to slide out of bed without disturbing her failed. She stirred, and her eyelids fluttered. Then she opened her eyes, and saw me.

- "Oh!" she said.

- "Good morning, Peony. Have you been there long?"

- "No, I... I'm sorry, Dan. I wanted to make sure that I was the first to speak you this morning. It's very important."

- "Alright. What is it?"

She lowered her head. "You have to send me away."

- "What? Why would I do that?"

- "Because I'm a danger to you."

I shook my head. "That doesn't make sense."

- "It's true, though. Dan, I... I still belong to the Hadyks. They ordered me to help you, but they could just as easily order me to betray you."

- "How?"

- "I don't know. They could... command me to spy on you. Force me to reveal your secrets."

- "Wouldn't they have to be physically present to do that?"

- "Well..."

- "And I don't really have any secrets." I said. "If you like, we won't tell you our secret plans. If we make secret plans."

- "You're not taking me seriously."

- "I am. But I'm not letting you go, Peony. You belong with us. You're part of this family, too."

- "Peons don't have families." she said.

- "You do."

She didn't have an answer to that.

"Besides," I said, "aren't you connected to the Touchstone? If one of the other families had captured Hyacinth, wouldn't you belong to them?"

For some strange reason, she hadn't considered that possibility.

- "So... I belong to you."

- "No." I said. "You don't 'belong' to anyone, Peony. Except yourself."

I went to breakfast in the dining room. Then I took Wantrao with me, and went through the Portal to Ivy.

- "It's your choice." I told him. "I mean, she has a choice, too. But I'll respect your decision."

He went off to meet with his mother.

I went in person to release Faldor, Vanea and Evtey. I apologized, and led them to the dining room. While they ate, I explained what I'd done, and why I'd done it.

- "What makes you so sure that the Hadyks were going to betray you? And why would the Hadyks even want to do such a thing?" asked Evtey.

- "Lady Rona came to the conclusion that the war was basically won. She didn't need me any more, and she didn't want to honour her promise to me."

- "What promise?"

- "That I was to marry Lady Stephanie."

Evtey started to laugh, but swiftly caught herself when she saw my face. "Oh - you're serious. I thought that was a joke."

- "You've started your own family?" said Faldor, diplomatically changing the subject. "I didn't know that was even possible."

- "It is." I named all of the members of the family.

- "Those are the only ones who would join you?" said Evtey, with a hint of scorn in her voice. I was beginning to dislike her.

- "They were the only ones I asked." I decided not to mention Virdyan, for fear that Evtey would rat him out. "I didn't contact any of you because I didn't know you well enough. But if you're interested, we'd be happy to have you join us."

- "As full family members?" said Faldor. "Not halfs?"

- "There aren't going to be any half-Grahams. Any child of ours, regardless of their parentage, will be a Graham just as much as the rest of us."

- "You're serious?" asked Vanea.

- "Very much so."

I left them to finish their breakfast, and went to check on Wantrao. I hadn't planned on eavesdropping, and fortunately didn't have to. They had come to a decision.

- "She wants to go back to the Hadyks." he said. "They treat her with contempt, but they're her family. We're all complete strangers to her. Even me. She doesn't really know me at all."

- "I'm sorry, Wantrao."

- "Don't be. At least I have a family now."

- "Yes, you do."

- "Thank you for giving her a choice, though. I appreciate it."

I left the castle, going out to the courtyard, where I met with the senior unit commanders. There were fifteen of them, so I didn't get to do much more than learn their names (temporarily, of course - I was probably going to forget most of them) and shake their hands. It might have been just my imagination, but I thought that they seemed to be genuinely pleased to be part of the Graham army.

When I went back to the dining room, I could hear Evtey's voice down the hall.

- "Outcasts! Rejects! That's all he could convince to join him!" she said.

- "I would hardly call Sudha and Armene rejects." said Faldor.

- "Or Inzhay." added Vanea. "And Jashi may be connected to you-know-who, but she's never said an unkind word to any of us."

- "Don't be stupid." said Evtey. "Who ever heard of a Graham?"

- "It's an ancient clan." I said, as I walked into the room. "Our motto is 'Ne Oublie', which means 'Do not forget'. That applies to friends as well as enemies."

Evtey looked mildly embarrassed.

"I take it that you aren't interested in my offer." I said. "In that case, I wonder if you would honour a simple request. Would you be willing to escort Lady Kamla back to Hadyk territory? I will provide horses and food, plus a small escort."

- "You'd let us go?"

- "Yes."

- "Lord Daniel?" said Faldor. "I think I'd like to join your family - if the offer still stands."

- "We'd be happy to have you."

Vanea was still on the fence. "I know it's asking a great deal, but could I have a little more time... to consider it?"

- "All the time you need." I said. "As long as you don't mind being under guard until you decide one way or the other." I wasn't going to have her wandering around unsupervised, able to take over a Touchstone.

- "Thank you, Lord."

- "Just Daniel."

***

The family strategy meeting, held in the Map Room at Hyacinth, was actually fun. It might have been because we hadn't been together as a group long enough to develop any serious rivalries or deep animosity. It didn't hurt, either, that there were no major disagreements over our plans for Turn Five.

Jashi and Sudha were still over a day away, marching back from Caladium with what I hoped would be our field army. But Wantrao and Armene were present, along with Inzhay. Boloda and Kisel, Luth, Kien, and even blind Rima joined us. I introduced Faldor, whom they all knew (though not all that well). They welcomed him warmly. We needed all the help we could get.

I would have liked to choose family members as garrison commanders, but there weren't enough of us yet. There were also two people who weren't going to be on a battlefield. That meant finding different tasks for them.

Kien had only one hand, and had never been much of a tactician. I asked if he would be willing to command the garrison at Ivy. It was the most exposed of our cities, and the most likely to be attacked, most probably by the Morcars. I also asked for his help in identifying peon unit leaders who might be suitable as garrison commanders.

Rima was blind. That ruled out a battlefield command. But I had come up with a role for her, if it was to her liking.

- "How do you feel about training?" I asked.

- "That's Boloda's area." she said. "Besides, I can't see. You know that."

- "I don't mean training fighters. What about tactical studies? General knowledge. History."

Rima thought about it for a moment. "But who would I teach?"

- "Anyone willing to learn. And then our children."

- "We don't have - ah... you are thinking of the future."

- "I can assign you a scribe, to write down anything you can think of. What should Graham children be taught? How should they be taught?"

Rima chuckled. "When you said that you would find a task for me, I never imagined that it would be this big!"

- "You'll have all the help you need, once we have peace." I said. "But I still reserve the right to call on you, to consult with, when I need your advice."

- "Of course, Daniel."

Boloda was practically beaming at me. Faldor looked bemused.

- "You're already thinking of peace?" he said.

- "It's something we all have to think about. We need to discuss it, too. What are our goals? Are we committed to eliminating the other families, as Rona Hadyk was, or could we settle for less than that?"

- "Damn." said Armene. "I wasn't even thinking beyond Turn Five."

- "Then tell us what you were thinking." I suggested.

Armene wasn't shy, nor did she lack confidence. "We have to bolster the garrisons in Ivy and Flax, just in case. Then we take Goldenrod."

- "I agree." said Wantrao. Armene winked at him, as a thank you for the support.

- "That simple?" said Faldor. I was happy to see that he wasn't going to simply sit in the background and observe. The newest member of the family had a voice.

- "Simple is often best." said Luth. "In this case, I think Armene is right."

We talked about builds for a while, but those didn't have to be decided right away. It was Rima who pointed out that we hadn't considered diplomacy.

- "Diplomacy?" said Wantrao - perhaps the least diplomatic person I knew.

- "If the enemy of my enemy is my friend, then we may hear from the Balabans or the Morcars. They might be happy to make peace with us, and regain Caladium and Dahlia while we take Goldenrod."

- "Eliminating the Hadyks?" said Faldor.

- "Is that something we would want?" asked Luth.

Many of my family turned to me. "I won't make any decision on something like that unless I have your approval. But we have time to think about that, too."

That evening, I received word that a party of scouts had just arrived. Since the scouts had all been at Caladium before the coup, they'd ridden a long way. I went down to the courtyard to meet them.

- "Chalky!" It was my chief scout, in person.

- "Warlord." he said, with a cheeky grin. I took him completely by surprise when I hugged him.

- "Did you hear about your promotion?" I asked him.

- "My what?"

- "You're a Major, now. Senior to all the scouts." It was also a signal to the scouts themselves, that their work was valued.

- "Thank you." he said. "But I have news, from Colonel Jashi and Colonel Sudha. They got clear with most of the army. They're on the way."

- "How many?"

Chalky grinned. "Fourteen thousand. Plus 1,700 in the flanking forces, and both units of scouts."

Nearly sixteen thousand troops. We had the most powerful army in the Decapolis.

That night, Faldor asked to see me. He brought Vanea with him.

- "I've had time to think, Lord Daniel." she said. "Is... is your offer still open?"

***

A rider in blue arrived, bearing a message.

- "The Hadyks have asked for a meeting." said Armene.

- "Have they? And how would that work?"

Luth knew the answer. "You grant them safe passage through the Portal. They come unarmed. No one else can come through."

- "Alright." I said. "Shall we accept?"

- "Really?" said Wantrao.

- "You want to give them the finger, and then send them home?" asked Armene.

- "No. But we can find out what they're thinking."

- "That would be wise." said Luth.

- "I want to be there." said Wantrao.

- "I think you should be." I said.

- "Oh, so you are giving them the finger!" laughed Armene.

In the end, I had my bodyguards, Boloda and Kisel, Wantrao and Armene, and Luth. I'd invited Inzhay, as well, but he declined.

Two Hadyks came through the Portal. I'd expected the first, but not the second.

- "Hello, Stephanie." I said. "Hello, Malusha."

- "Lord Daniel." said the Matriarch's daughter. She then went on to greet each of my family members by name - including Wantrao. Malusha didn't say a word, but stood there looking supremely uncomfortable.

With the greetings done, Stephanie looked me in the eye.

"Why have you betrayed us, Daniel?" she said.

Armene nearly choked.

- "You know why." I said.

- "I do not."

- "Really? Every adult member of the Hadyk family, except for Kamla, gathered, and all of you armed?"

- "We gathered most of the family after every turn." she said smoothly. "To congratulate you for the capture of Caladium, and then to plan our moves and builds for the next Turn."

- "Armed?"

- "There are always weapons, Daniel. You yourself carried a sword. Your bodyguards are armed."

- "Why did peons have to carry extra weapons into the Map Room?"

- "You're mistaken. There were no 'extra weapons'."

- "Peons don't lie, Stephanie. People lie, and invent things, but peons don't. Tell me one thing: was Moran there?"

- "Yes." she admitted.

- "Despite my express request that he not be anywhere near me."

Stephanie sighed. "Mother hoped that we could work out some kind of reconciliation."

Wantrao barked a laugh.

- "Your brother challenged me to a duel." I said. "He wanted to kill me, and you and your mother let it happen. You yourself admitted that if the roles had been reversed, he would not have been merciful. What was the plan this time? Was I to be imprisoned, or murdered?"

- "Murdered." said Armene.

- "Neither." said Stephanie. "Daniel, have you forgotten? We we were meant to be married."

- "A promise that neither you nor your mother ever intended to keep."

- "You're mistaken." she said. "And I can prove it. Make peace with us. We can celebrate the wedding before the next Turn begins."

- "So I just hand back the cities I've taken, and all is forgiven?"

- "There's no need for that. You keep the production centres. But we act as allies, and fight together against our enemies."

- "And an amnesty for all of the former half-Hadyk who've joined me?"

Behind me, Armene let out a savage growl. I held up a hand, hoping that she'd let me finish.

- "There's no need for that, either." said Stephanie. "They can remain members of your family, until such time as we decide to reunite the families."

- "Interesting." I said.

Armene was spitting mad - so angry that she couldn't get two words out.

- "Armene!" snapped Luth. "Behave yourself! Or leave the room!"

I don't know how Armene would have taken it if I'd been the one to rebuke her. But this was Luth - older, one-armed Luth. Armene growled again, and then subsided. She limited herself to grinding her teeth and glaring daggers at Stephanie.

The Hadyk heir was apparently undisturbed.

- "We will lose the war, if you abandon us." she said, quite calmly.

- "I won't lose sleep over that." I said.

Stephanie nodded once. "I see." Then she nodded in the direction of the others. "I hope that you will change your mind." she said. With that, she turned and went through the Portal. I was interested to hear her say 'Dahlia'.

Malusha hadn't left.

- "We'll lose the war." she said. "But so will you."

- "Oh?"

- "Rona is so angry at this point, she'll turn her forces against you if there's no hope of reunion. Suicide attacks. She'd let the Balabans and the Morcars take her remaining cities before she let you win."

- "Why did they do it, Malusha? Why did they plan to kill me?"

Malusha threw up her hands. "They got stupid, Daniel. Scared, and stupid. The war seemed won, and they were more afraid of you than of the enemy. And her idiot son was always warning that you would betray us, that you meant to seize power. At some point, Rona thought that you would insist she get rid of Moran. Marry him off, or even kill him. She couldn't bring herself to do that."

- "Why didn't Stephanie just tell the truth? She didn't even blink as she told all of those lies."

Malusha sighed. "She's been groomed, her whole life, to be like her mother. You may not believe it, but she wasn't like this until the past year. And the beginning of this war really accelerated the process. I think she could turn it around if she was away from Rona's influence."

- "But that's not going to happen."

- "Probably not. Ah... for what it's worth, I spoke against the whole stupid idea. So did Deondra. She was practically in tears."

- "For what it's worth, Rona would have done better to send Deondra and you."

- "Deondra can't lie worth shit."

- "That's what I mean. She's easily my favourite Hadyk."

- "Not me?"

- "No, Malusha. I admire your skill and your courage, and you've always been fair to me. But you persist in pretending that you don't have a half-brother."

Malusha looked past me, at Wantrao. She sighed again. Then she spoke to him directly, for the very first time.

- "I know that you've had a shitty time. And I know it wasn't your fault. You didn't choose to be born. But I didn't have it easy, either." Malusha turned back to me. "You know, it wasn't until you got here that they even started treating me like a real member of the family."

I didn't answer that. I suspected that Malusha could have had a little half-brother and a little half-sister who loved her unconditionally, if only she had reached out to them. She would still have been ostracized by Rona and the others, but they could have borne it together.

"Well, I hope I don't run into you on a battlefield." she said. With that, she turned and went through the Portal.

***

Jashi and Sudha returned that evening. They'd left the army half a day's march to the northwest, equidistant between Goldenrod and Dahlia. That was Sudha's idea, and it was brilliant. The Hadyks might suspect that we would attack Goldenrod, but Dahlia was equally vulnerable. And placed as it was, our field army could reach either city before it could be reinforced.

We held another strategy session, and debated the builds a little more. We also discussed the 'diplomatic' interlude with Stephanie and Malusha. A troubling thought occurred to me.

- "Why haven't the Balabans or the Morcars contacted us?"

- "Maybe they suspect that we'll reunite with the Hadyks." said Jashi. "Or that it's all been some sort of decoy. A trap."

- "We didn't need to set a trap. We had seven cities to their three, and a significant advantage in numbers. No - what worries me is that they might be talking to Rona."

- "Or she to them." said Boloda.

- "Exactly." It was the worst possible scenario.

The Balabans, once they built, could have over 12,000 troops, and the Morcars over 8,000. We could reach - and take - Goldenrod, but Rona could collect almost 7,000, with what she had left and two builds.

Once we'd built, we could have a field army of 25,000, but then we might take casualties storming Goldenrod. And after that, we would be evenly matched against a three-way alliance, five cities against five.

I liked the quality of my family members as officers and leaders, but there was no question that we were short-handed. The Hadyks were missing a number of their half-Hadyks, but there were plenty of Balabans and Morcars, and they might even have Shorrs serving with them.

- "Is there any way to find out if they've been in communication?" I asked.

- "No." said Luth. "Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. If they make peace with each other, it will be announced."

But when? I'd declared war on the Hadyks in the middle of a turn. Could the Balabans and Morcars forge an alliance with the Hadyks after Turn Five had begun? They could wait for builds to be finished, and for armies to march. This was something else to worry about.

That night, I was having a quiet conversation with Peony and Boloda when Wantrao knocked on the door of my chamber.

- "You need to see this." he said.

The five of us (Kisel included) walked down the hall to the Portal Room.

"I was looking at the Touchstone." he said. "Familiarizing myself with it. As you can imagine, Rona never had any reason to let me near one."

- "Is something wrong?" I asked.

- "I don't know." he said, as we reached the room. "See for yourself."

I looked at the Touchstone. The surface was smooth, and the icons for the various types of units were all there, outlined in green. Except that, down in the bottom right-hand corner, there was an icon I hadn't seen before. It looked like a bouquet of flowers. Next to it was one word.

Boon.

***

The Hadyks were granted a boon; they chose me. The Morcars chose another strategist, while the Balabans opted for siege towers. The Shorrs hadn't used their boon, and they no longer held a city. Now the Grahams had one.

I could ask for something to help us win the war. Or I could ask for something to make their world a little better. Or a lot better.

I spoke to Boloda, and asked for Kisel's wordless opinion. But there was one person, obviously, that I needed to discuss this with.

Peony and I sat in my chamber - her at my desk, me on the edge of my bed, as was our wont.

- "May I ask you something?"

- "Always." she said.

I took the plunge. Sort of.

- "Peony, if I asked you to marry me, what would you answer? Honestly."

She didn't break eye contact. "You can't marry me, Lord."

- "I'm not a Lord, Peony. It's just me - Daniel."

- "You needn't ask... Daniel. You only have to command me."

- "But if I couldn't command you... if you had freedom of choice. What would you say then?"

- "I don't -"

- "What if you did, Peony? What if I could use the boon, and make peons people?"

She was silent for a few moments. I don't know if she was stunned, or if she just needed time for it to sink in. But I believe that she wasn't just focused on herself; she was thinking of all the other peons, the servants and the soldiers who weren't allowed to have a will of their own.

Peony's lips moved, but she didn't speak. She continued to look me in the eyes, but I couldn't read her expression.

"I'm going to talk to the family." I said. "I'm going to suggest that we do this - unless you can think of several very good reasons why we shouldn't."

I slowly stood up, and made my way to the door.

- "Dan?" she said. "Would you really... ask me...?"

- "Yes, Peony. I would."

***

By the time I gathered the family together, they all knew that we had a boon to claim. It was no secret. But I hadn't said a word about the peons. Instead, I asked them to suggest how we should use our one wish.

- "More troops." said Wantrao.

- "Would the Gods even allow that?" asked Faldor.

- "What about some new type of siege engine." said Vanea. "Like the Balabans had. Only better."

- "Well," said Boloda, "at least we don't have to ask for a strategist."

- "Not when we have Luth." I said.

- "We could use more officers." she said. "A lot more officers."

- "We can promote peon troopers." said Sudha. "Look at the work Chalky has done with the scouts."

I let them carry on for a while. There were a few jokes. Almost half of them, though, came around to agreeing with Wantrao: more troops. Even most of those who disagreed were in favour of some other kind of advantage in war.

Luth was the first to mention another possibility.

- "I don't know." she said. "It seems to be tempting fate task for help in war. We already have a Warlord, and some of the best fighters and tacticians in the Decapolis. Our army is equal to all of the other families combined, and we're going to capture Goldenrod at the beginning of the Turn, giving us five production centres. I just wonder if we're not missing something..."

- "Like what?" said Armene.

- "I'm not sure." said Luth. "A chance to do something extraordinary?"

I couldn't let that opportunity pass. I cleared my throat.

- "We could free the peons."

- "Free them? How?"

- "We could ask for them to be made people."

I loved the family's response. Nobody hooted, or rejected my idea out of hand. They all thought about it. It was a revolutionary idea, but they were already revolutionaries themselves. And as former half-Hadyks... would this not make them fully people as well?

- "That would be extraordinary." said Luth.

- "I haven't thought it through completely. I don't know all of the pros and cons. But I wanted to bring it up with you, to get your opinion. So far, I've only asked Peony what she thought - and she wasn't able to give me an answer."

- "I'm not surprised." said Boloda. "I'm not sure what to think either."

- "Well, I'd like to have given everyone plenty of time to think about it. Unfortunately, that's one thing we don't have. I don't want to postpone this decision too long - like the Shorrs did. Can we sleep on it tonight, and discuss it tomorrow?"

That night, Peony didn't sleep at the foot of my bed. She crawled in beside me, fully clothed, and clung to me tightly.

"Peony." I said. "We haven't decided yet."

- "I know." she whispered. "Just hold me. And go to sleep."

***

Between us, the Graham family came up with an impressive list of the advantages and drawbacks of making peons people.

- "They could say no." said Sudha. "No more near-rape by family members." She hastily looked around the room. "Not that I think any of you would do such a thing."

- "They could marry. Have children of their own." said Jashi.

- "They would age, and die." said Kien. "Would they suffer sickness, as well?"

- "You haven't thought of the effect on a campaign." said Armene. "They would need to eat and drink. How would we transport so much food and water? They would also grow tired, and need to sleep. No more forced marches through the night."

- "We can do it, when we must." said Boloda. "They could, too."

- "But people would be more motivated." said Sudha. "They'd show more initiative. We could promote many of them to officer's rank."

- "Agreed." said Luth. "They wouldn't simply stand around, or follow their last order just because their officer died, or ran away."

- "There would be shit everywhere." said Wantrao. "What? It's true. If they eat and drink, they'll empty their bladders and have bowel movements."

I had two more points to make. One was thanks to Peony, because I remembered what she'd said when I asked some of my earlier questions.

- "When the war ends, they wouldn't simply vanish." Several of the family members nodded. They'd experienced it. What was it like, to have comrades, soldiers who'd served under you, disappear as if they'd never been there?

"And one more: people can use the Portals."

I saw Luth's eyes go wide. That was a strategic option that none of the other families would have. The possibilities were worth considering.

- "There is one thing you haven't said. Perhaps it hasn't occurred to you." said Inzhay. "What if the Gods are offended? If they wanted peons to be people, would they not have made them that way from the start? What if the Gods simply cancel your boon?"

- "The Gods are not infallible." said Sudha. "If they were, there wouldn't be war. Most of us wouldn't be here, because our mothers could have said no when our fathers commanded them to have sex."

This was devolving into a semi-theological discussion - something that probably wasn't going to help.

That was when Peony intervened. I hadn't invited her, because I wanted the family to feel free to speak their minds, even if they were against the idea. But she'd invited herself.

- "Inzhay may be correct." she said. "There may be unforeseen effects, if you do this. No one can see the future in all its aspects." She looked at everyone at the table. "And you may change yourselves. Certainly your attitudes will undergo a transformation. Will you be able to order an assault on a city, knowing that people will die, and not just peons? Will you continue to consider yourselves superior?"

She struck a chord there: the former half-Hadyks definitely thought of themselves as victims of discrimination - but they also believed themselves to be infinitely above the peons.

- "I don't know, Peony." said Boloda. "But what if this is really just a simple question: isn't it the right thing to do?"

Peony didn't have an answer. Nor did anyone else.

I had to speak her in private about it. Except that, at first, neither of us knew quite what to say.

- "What would be the best thing about it?" she said, finally. "Why do you want to do this?"

That was easy enough. "No more peons. Everyone would have an equal opportunity to be happy."

- "And the worst?"

That was easy, too. I'd thought about it often enough. "You would get old. Eventually, you would die."

She smiled. "That's not so bad, Dan. It would be better than living like this. Never changing. Twenty-something for eighty-three years."

- "Well... what would be the worst thing about being a person, as far as you're concerned?"

- "I'm not sure." she admitted. "It might just be my fear that something awful would come of it. You would be overturning the natural order of things."

- "It's not natural." I said, without thinking. Shit. How could I tell her that she lived inside a game? The Decapolis wasn't real; it certainly wasn't natural.

Even in my own world, the idea of what was 'natural' was up for debate. Many people believe that the Law of the Jungle held sway; but weren't ants and bees examples of highly successful cooperative societies? Okay, bad examples, maybe, because they weren't free. But was the weakest member of a wolf pack free?

Some pointed to nature to support their argument that men were superior. In a troop of baboons, young males guard the perimeter - because they're expendable. In a herd of Cape Buffalo (one of the most dangerous animals in southern Africa), it's the senior females who lead.

Some men like to talk about 'Alpha' males. Watch a wildlife documentary. That grizzled old male, marked with scars, gets to mate with all of the females for a few years, while repeatedly having to fight off younger challengers. Then he finally loses, and is killed or driven off. That's a system that you would voluntary choose?

There is monogamy in nature, and there's promiscuity. There's homosexuality. Parasites and mutually-benefited symbiotes. You can find just about anything in nature.

But when it comes to human society, I don't know if you can do much better than the early ideals of the French Revolution: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. One of their early acts was to end slavery (even if they changed their minds soon afterwards, because there was too much money involved). Women were citizens. Nobody was supposed to get privileges they hadn't earned.

I know: it didn't work out. But was that because people are too fallible, or because so many others banded together to prevent it? And did scale have anything to do with it? We were talking about ten cities here. No money, no wealth to be conned or extorted from others. Just ten Touchstones.

Making peons people would be a revolutionary change. It would create instant liberty and equality. Both were potentially problematic. Fraternity might take some work. Maybe it wouldn't work. But did that mean it wasn't worth trying?

- "What would be the best thing about it, Peony? From your perspective."

She sighed. "Two things, Dan. First, the peons would get to experience life. To feel fatigue, or hunger. To love, and to choose their own mate. To decide for themselves if they want children. All of it. There would be uncertainty; I know that."

- "That's true. Freedom isn't free. It takes work, and it imparts responsibilities." Again, I thought of the Declaration of the Rights of man and the Citizen: Freedom is the right to do anything which does not harm another. "What's the second?"

- "Not having to watch tens of thousands of peons disappear when the war is finally over."

It was my turn to sigh. "Agreed."

We discussed it, as a family, for another hour. I was definitely tempted to consult with Nosey and Pudge, and with Chalky, but doing that was pretty much making an irrevocable commitment. Once the secret was out, we couldn't very well not deliver...

It would be nice to tell you that all of the Grahams were on board. They weren't. Some had significant reservations; a few were definitely opposed.

- "You have to begin to think differently." I said. "Yes, food distribution will be labour-intensive, and it will create some headaches. But we won't have to do everything by ourselves. If peons were people, we would have hundreds, if not thousands of potential officers. People who could administer the food supply, organize transportation, do things on their own."

It was, if I remembered correctly, one of the main reasons for the early successes of the French Revolution. The rest of Europe was dominated by aristocrats, who treated serfs and peasants as less than human, and ruthlessly hoarded power and privileges for themselves. The French, by contrast, had harnessed the potential of the middle class. I would have to look some of this up next time I was back in my apartment.

If that happened...

We talked for several more hours. I had everyone take a break.

- "Don't just keep talking to family members who agree with you. Go off on your own. Look at the city. Look at some peons. Talk to them. Imagine what they might be - or what we should truly be leery of. Come back in an hour."

I don't know exactly what the others did. I went to the window overlooking the courtyard. I could see much of the city, and the flat plain beyond the walls.

If we made the peons people, what would they do? They didn't have to grow food, or raise herds of livestock. We didn't need roads or bridges. There were going to be challenges - possibly enormous challenges - that I couldn't even begin to imagine.

But there was Peony. Nosey and Pudge and Chalky. I'd offered half-Hadyks a family of their own, and I didn't regret that. We were disagreeing and arguing, but wasn't that better than what had gone on before?

Peony had the eminently good sense to leave me this time for myself. Even if my mind just wandered off in random directions, I needed to do this.

Then I remembered my first day in the Decapolis. Of course I recalled meeting Rona, Stephanie and Deondra. But I also remembered going into the courtyard, and sweating profusely as I nervously tried to mount a horse for the first time.

I'd also met Deondra's children. There weren't many young Hadyks, and Deondra's son and daughter were past the toddler stage. There had been a couple of even younger half-Hadyk children. But that was it.

That was what was missing. The majority of the children were illegitimate, the offspring of female peons who were unfortunate enough to have attracted the attention of sexual predators like Murari, Malusha's father, or Uncle Detsen, or Moran Hadyk.

So there were a handful of legitimate children, like Palden and Laqyal, prized even more because of their rarity. The odds were stacked against them; they would likely grow up to be arrogant and entitled, like Stephanie and that little prick Moran. Then there were the half-Hadyks, neglected or even scorned, through no fault of their own. Punished for the offence of having been born.

It was wrong. All wrong. And it had to change.

I re-convened the family.

- "Everyone can have one more opportunity to speak. If it's something new, that wasn't raised before, feel free to explain. But there are thirteen of us; if everyone speaks for half an hour..." They got the point.

Jashi and Sudha were for; both kept it brief. Sudha, though, was close to a breakthrough in terms of insight.

- "If we here have gone from Half-Hadyks to full Grahams, it only seems fair that peons should see their lot improve as well. At least to half-Grahams."

Armene had significant reservations, mostly centred around problems of logistics and supply, fatigue and wounds. That last concern was a new one.

- "I thought of Wantrao after Jacaranda. What if we have hundreds of seriously wounded people after a major battle? Peons die, or they recover; that's all there is to it. But people?"

- "That's a valid point." I said. "An excellent point. We would need doctors, surgeons, nurses..."

- "That's not going to happen overnight." said Kien.

- "No."

Wantrao was against. More frustrating than that, though, was that he wouldn't explain why.

Inzhay had straddled the fence through all of our debates. He didn't change now.

Boloda and Kisel were for. She explained why.

- "Making half-Hadyks into full people wasn't just long overdue; it was the right thing to do. Peony deserves to be people, too. The rest of us wouldn't be sitting here if it wasn't for her."

Luth was for. Kien was against.

- "Too much change, too soon." he said.

- "Even if much of that change has benefited you?" asked Boloda.

- "Even so."

Rima was undecided. "I'm sorry. I... I just need more time to consider it. I understand that we don't have that time, though."

Faldor was in favour. Vanea wasn't.

- "I don't know why, exactly. Part of me feels so fortunate to have been invited into the family. But now it seems that you want to invite absolutely everyone, and it... cheapens the gift, somehow? I'm probably expressing it all wrong."

- "I understand." said Luth.

I reserved the right to speak last for myself.

- "I have two things to say, that haven't been said before. The first is one word: children."

I spoke of Deondra's children, and of the little half-Hadyks I'd seen running around. Both models of childhood were wrong: the privileged elite, and the despised children of scandal.

"I don't want any of our children to grow up like Moran Hadyk." I said. I saw Wantrao's nostrils flare, and Sudha's lip curl. "But I don't want any of them to suffer what you have, either. I don't know everyone's story, but I know enough about what Wantrao has endured. Jashi and Sudha, too. That should never be repeated, if we can help it."

"Sudha, you said that you didn't think any of us here would rape a peon, or force them to have sex. You may be right. But can you say the same for our children? Or the generation after that? Brought up as a privileged elite, only too aware of their superiority over mere peons?"

I took three deep breaths. "I have an even more personal reason. I intend to ask Peony to marry me." There was a stir around the room, and more than a few smiles.

- "Finally!" said Boloda, quite loudly.

- "I will ask her regardless of whether she's a person or a peon. You see, I've always seen her as a person - just as much as anyone else I've met here. I would like to have children with Peony, too. But I don't want our children to be considered half-Grahams."

I have no idea if my words changed anyone's mind. It's possible that they didn't. We voted. The results were eight for, and two against, with three abstentions.

One person did change their vote. It was Vanea.

After our council, she waited until the room was almost empty, and then placed her hand on my shoulder again, in a repeat of our simple ceremony for joining the family.

- "I think I might want children, too." she said. "Thank you, Daniel."

***

It was time for the builds. I went to Flax, first, where I created infantry and archers to reinforce the garrison, and then light cavalry and horse archers who would join Sudha's screening force, which would be in position to interfere with a Hadyk march on Flax. That was doubly advantageous, because any troops from Flax designed to reinforce our field army would have had the longest distance to cover.

Next was Ivy. This garrison needed to be bolstered as well, in case of attack by the Morcars from Eglantine, so I built more infantry and archers, and then light cavalry and horse archers to join Jashi's flanking force.

I went through the Portal again, to Jacaranda, where I built a standard field army: one heavy cavalry, two light cavalry, two heavy infantry, four light infantry and two archer units. Eleven hundred troops, for 98 out of 100 points.

Finally, I returned to Hyacinth, to create a second standard build. Then it was time. The whole family gathered in the Portal Room, to see me use the boon.

I pressed the symbol.

Nothing happened.

I pressed it a second time, and a voice was clearly heard in the room. "You have a boon. What is your request?"

I was nervous enough that I had to swallow before I answered. "I want our peons to be people."

There was a distinct pause before we heard the voice again. "Your boon is granted."

I immediately turned to Peony, who was in the room with us. She was smiling nervously.

- "How do you feel?" I asked her.

- "I think... I think I may be hungry."

Boloda laughed and hugged her.

- "Daniel..." said Wantrao, who was standing behind me. "You need to see this." He was looking down at the Touchstone screen. "Is it supposed to do this?"

I looked. The symbol for the boon had disappeared. But so had the symbols for all the types of military units. The screen was completely blank.

- "Uh oh." I said.

***

- "How could you have known?" said Boloda.

- "I could have thought it through. Obviously, I can't create people out of the Touchstone. Only people can make more people. In about nineteen or twenty years, we'll have reinforcements for our army. That is, if we still exist. If I haven't just lost us the war at one stroke."

Peony put her hand on my shoulder. She could only reach it because I was sitting down, my shoulders hunched over.

- "No one blames you, Daniel."

- "They should. They will. I certainly do."

- "We just have to win the war with what we have." said Boloda.

- "Easier said than done."

I've had some low moments in my life. 'Relatively' low might be a more accurate description. I didn't have to deal with any true tragedies that affected me directly. Other people had much harder lives, with immensely more pain and suffering.

But that's not much consolation when you're hurting. Being told that somebody else has it so much worse doesn't help all that much if your partner just dumped you, or you lost your job, or a close friend died, be it in an accident, or because they took their own life.

Now, though, I had possibly just condemned over twenty-five thousand people to defeat and probably death. Newly-minted people, at that. Our army was going to shrink with every skirmish, every battle, while our enemies could build new peon troops after every turn.

Once they'd won the war, the enemy Matriarchs were unlikely to be merciful. People who were once peons would be anathema to them. I could imagine them hunting down and killing every last one of us. And that would all be because of me.

- "Only two people in this family voted 'no'." said my bodyguard. "They're the only ones who could say 'I told you so', and even then they'd be wrong. Because nobody saw this coming."

Peony applied the sovereign remedy. Work.

- "You can't just sit there and feel sorry for yourself. You have people to feed. An army to feed."

She was right. Given the need to provide food for all of our population, servants and troopers alike, we had to get busy. I would also have to assign family members to command each of our cities, so that they could use the Touchstone to create more food.

I took Kien, Inzhay, Faldor and Vanea with me to the Portal Room in Hyacinth. Kien was older, and not a battlefield commander, while Inzhay was a better administrator than fighter. I knew that Faldor and Vanea would have preferred to be with the army, but they had the least seniority in the family. Besides, none of the others could be spared. Boloda and Kisel were my bodyguards, while Jashi and Sudha, Wantrao and Armene were more essential to the army. Luth was my strategic advisor. Rima was blind, and Kisel was mute. By process of elimination, it had to be them.

Luth and Peony had helped me calculate how much food the army and the various garrisons would need. We could issue them a couple of days' worth of bread and cheese, then smoked meats and dried fruit that wouldn't spoil so quickly, and finally biscuits that would easily last a week or two. We created a ration pack for each soldier, containing a week's food, plus a canteen full of water. Refilling them would be a problem for later.

We had five thousand of these packs appear in the castle courtyard, and then had members of the garrison carry two each, and take them out to the army. The cavalry units could take more. They would return with half of the army, who would pick up more supplies.

Kien would remain in command at Hyacinth. Inzhay went to Jacaranda, Faldor to Flax, and Vanea to Ivy. The last two were well aware that their positions might well come under attack. They actually seemed happy about that.

I went out into the courtyard to see how it looked. Boloda and Kisel followed me everywhere. So did Nosey and Pudge, who now decided that guarding my chamber wasn't enough; they appointed themselves full members of my bodyguard.

First, though, Nosey decided that she had to kiss me - on the cheek. Pudge shook my hand so hard and so long that I worried he was going to keep it.

The castle servants and guards all wanted to shake my hand, and to thank me personally. I felt like a complete fraud, given what I'd done to them. Yes, I wanted to say, you're alive now. But I've condemned you to an early death.

Their reactions should have prepared me. The moment I stepped outside, a great cheer erupted. There were easily a thousand people there, loading up supply packs. Work stopped, as they shouted my name, and clapped their hands.

Then they started to move forwards. Quickly. Just as I realized that it could become dangerous, Boloda hustled me back to the castle entrance. She and Kisel, Nosey and Pudge formed a human wall in front of me.

- "Say something!" she hissed.

I raised my hands, and began to speak.

They couldn't hear me, but they could see just fine. They stopped cheering - and advancing - so that they could listen.

- "My friends! My people!" They cheered at that. That gave me a moment to think of what to say. "I understand that you want to thank me. And I would like nothing better than to shake all of your hands - every one of you!" They cheered again.

It wasn't a great speech, but I was finding my rhythm. "Unfortunately, my hand would be too sore to continue after the first thousand." That got a laugh. Honestly, I think that I could have said Supercalifragilisticexpialadocious and they might have cheered.

"But I've also made it more difficult for us to win this war. No more peons means that I can't build new forces every turn. We're going to have to win with what we have now. It means hard work and danger for all of us. I've put us in a difficult situation - and the burden will fall mostly on you."

They cheered me. They actually cheered that.

I understood a little better that afternoon, when a delegation representing the one thousand servants in Hyacinth asked to see me. I met them in the dining room. I shook hands with their spokesman, who introduced himself as Butt.

- "That's... an unusual name." I said. "How did you get it?"

- "It's short for Butt-ugly, Lord."

- "Oh. Umm... Butt, I'm not a Lord. General, maybe. Otherwise, just Daniel."

The servants had come to thank me, but they also had a request.

- "We want weapons, Daniel. We're not trained fighters, but we can support the garrison in a pinch."

Inzhay and Peony had been right: there were going to be 'unforeseen effects' to making peons people. Apparently they weren't all going to be negative.

We were interrupted by a loud gong, and then a voice that everyone could hear.

- "The Morcars have declared war on the Grahams."

Well, that was hardly a surprise. The only surprising thing about it, I suppose, was that they'd waited this long.

The gong sounded again. Here it comes: the Balabans.

- "The Shorrs have declared war on the Hadyks."

Wait. What?

The gong sounded a third time.

- "The Shorrs have declared war on the Grahams."

- "How is that even possible?" I said aloud.

Luth answered me. "The Balabans or the Hadyks must have given them one of their cities. Since the Shorrs declared war on the Hadyks, I imagine it was the Balabans who did it."

- "They only had two cities. Why give one away?"

Even as I asked the question, I knew the answer. A boon. Lady Shorr had never used her boon. But now she would. And I had a feeling that I knew what she would ask for.

*****