162 Plans to be Foiled (1/2)
”What do you mean, 'you do not want to leave'!?” Out of her mind, Tamaya shouted, her finger pointed at her elder brother.
”What can I say, this place is quite comfortable, so I decided to stay for a while.” Fadelio decided to tease his little sister a bit.
Out of the window, he overlooked the low houses huddled in the shadows of high mountains.
”But... you have to get back to Saniya! You need to leave this place! What happens if that idiot king loses his patience and just attacks?”
”He won't.” Fadelio poured himself a cup of tea, and one for his sister as well. ”Not any time soon. For now, he still believes in his victory. Still thinks he can starve us out. But that's not the case, is it?”
As Tama shook her head, she seemed to calm a bit. At last she sat down and took hold of her tea, while she explained the south's preparations.
”Official Brym has amassed a significant stockpile of food on the east coast, ready for the time when Captain Atau returns. Meanwhile, King Corco should be able to establish his own routes in the west. Without any accidents, we will soon be able to circumvent the blockade and support the entire south.”
”So there's no hurry for us to do something hasty and ruin everything, is there?” Fadelio tasted his tea leaned back. A bit bitter, just the way he liked it. Since his little sister had begun to pout, Fadelio decided to explain his thoughts better. She had risked her life coming here, so he should treat her like the adult he was. ”Can you tell me, what was your plan for our escape?”
As soon as she could show off her cleverness, Tama's face lit up. Maybe she wasn't that much of an adult after all.
”Listen, brother! Our plan is really great, you will change your mind as soon as you hear it! First off, we brought a lot of people along, all pilgrims”
”Fake pilgrims,” Fadelio corrected with a frown. Although he wasn't the most religious man, their current position aligned with the traditional forces of Medala. Any abuse of the religious customs would be harmful to their cause.
”Well, we do intend to visit the caverns either way, so you cannot consider us fake, can you?” A sly grin proved how proud she was of her trick. ”Only the easterners are fake.”
”You've brought Arcavians?” At last, Fadelio's curiosity was piqued. What exactly had this girl planned?
”See, I said the plan was good! To get them through that border guard of bandits, we only had to darken their skin a little and hide them under the robes. Easy enough.” She looked all proud, her hands on her hips. When Fadelio thought about it, it made sense too. Since the nobles only ever whitened their skin, no one in Medala would even consider the opposite. After all, who would be willing to lower his status?
”And then what?” the brother asked.
”Well, guess what kind of easterner we brought?”
”I'm sureyou will tell me, my good sister.”
”No way, you gotta guess.” As Tama shook her head, her hair whipped around her ears. After a bit of thought, Fadelio began to form an idea.
”...the shipwrights?” he guessed.
Suddenly, Tama's giddy mood disappeared and her pout returned.
”That's no fun! How did you even guess that?”
”Well, in the end there are not that many types of Arcavians in Saniya. So I thought: what use would clock makers, soap makers, glass blowers or merchants be in this situation? That didn't leave me with many other choices. I guess you wanted to build something?”
”That's right, bro!” Tama almost jumped over the table, her vigor returned. ”See, one of them had this really smart idea: We could build a really low-lying boat and cover it with reeds and such. Then we just need to reach an unobserved part of the river and let you drift downstream until you leave Lord Nasica's territory. Closer to the Narrow Sea, we have already placed ghosts who can fish you out and help you cross the Narrows unnoticed. If you're still worried about security, don't. I am convinced we can-”
”How many?” Fadelio asked with a frown. This was the kind of plan he had expected, which was why he had decided to stay put.
”What do you mean, how many?” Tama asked as her eyes grew and grew.
”How many people can you save with that kind of boat?”
”...” As she understood the problem, Tama bit her lip to close her mouth.
”Me and how many? Ten, maybe?” the brother asked in a sharp voice.
”We can just build the boat bigger,” the sister replied in a quiet voice, unconvinced.
”Are you aware that I recruited well over a thousand craftsmen in Arguna? We need to transport thousands of people. How long would it take those handful of shipwrights to build something that big, with no proper materials to boot? A year maybe?”
”That's...”
”What will happen with those commoners? They're the entire reason I risked the move south in the first place.”
”But they're just commoners,” Tama crossed her arms. ”Are they that important?”
”They're important to Sayniya. You don't have to believe that, and you don't have to believe me, but I hope you can believe Laqhis. He'd say the same thing. If I leave here by myself, the commoners will think that we treat them as dispensable, just like every other noble has done before. But if I stay, we can prove to them and everyone willing to join Saniya in the future that we stand up and defend ours when we swim against the stream.”
This time, Tama didn't answer right away, but she still scowled, still seemed unconvinced. After a while she seemed to have organized her thoughts.
”You can just keep them here for now, right? With or without you around them, their position wouldn't get any worse, right? First we have to get you safe. I mean, evenif the commoners are important to King Corco, Pacha does not know that, correct? In that case, the chance of a storm on Lord Nasica's lands is reduced if you leave. Which means the commoners would be free as soon as the war is over, without any threat to themselves.”
Maybe she just tried to find an excuse to save her big brother, but this was bigger than her, or Fadelio. Even more, Tama still hadn't understood his strategy.
”Sure, but who's to say that we want to prevent an invasion?” Fadelio hid his grin behind his tea cup. ”Consider this: If Pacha actually attacks one of his own lords based on something minor like sheltering free commoners who might as well be pilgrims, how will the peacock look in front of his subordinates? Pacha is a traditional king. His legitimacy comes from his reputation and from the power of his backers. Take away his reputation and he loses half his strength. We'd be lucky if Pacha actually dares to attack Nasica. It would be akin to self-destruction.”
”But that's too dangerous! You don't need to risk your life, right? We can just get you to safety in secret and tell no one, pretend you're still here.”
”...well, that's where my last consideration comes in. You've been with Laqhis for a good while now, haven't you? What do you think of him?”
The tiniest bit of red stole itself onto Tama's loosened cheeks, but she soon firmed up her expression.
”He is a great man, kind,smart and strong... though sometimes, I wished he was a bit more... decisive.”