Steeling his stomach, Koja took the ladle with both hands and gulped a swallow of the bitter drink. Suppressing a gag, he gave the silver ladle back to the servant.
The khahan turned to the east and poured a little kumiss on the carpet. Then he turned to the south and the west, doing the same at each spot. Only the north, an evil direction, was avoided. Meanwhile the servant took the horsetail banner from its stand and lowered it in front of Yamun.
"Teylas lead us on the hunt. Teylas lead us in battle. Teylas make our wives fertile," Yamun chanted in a toneless voice as he sprinkled the last of the kumiss over the banner. The servants took the cup and banner and set them back in their places. Yamun, the formalities over, sat back on his throne. "Sit, Chanar, and report," the khahan said casually.
Slowly and with noticeable reluctance, Chanar sat beside Koja, eyeing the priest venomously.
Just as the general was about to speak, a procession arrived from Bayalun's tent. The second empress led the small group, of only a few servants. Stepping onto the carpets, she bowed to the khahan. "I thank my husband for permitting me to attend." Her silver-brown hair shone richly in the morning sun.
Yamun nodded respectfully to his stepmother. "Your wisdom is always welcome to us." Mother Bayalun quickly took a seat opposite the men.
"Now, make your report, General Chanar," bade Yamun. Chanar took in his breath slowly, composing his thoughts. After a slight pause he began.
"Following your orders, I went first to Tomke's ordu. He camped all winter on Yellow Grass Steppe, but with the spring now, his pastures are almost gone—"
"He's not to move until I tell him," Yamun interrupted, addressing his comment to Koja. The priest dutifully noted it down, writing with quick strokes.
"As I said," Chanar continued, "the grass there is almost gone. He hopes to move east toward the Tsu-Tsu people, but he waits for your orders."
"How are his men?"
"Tomke let many of them go home during the winter, to reduce his grazing. He has three tumen left—Sartak's, Nogai's, and Kadan's—in addition to his own." Koja counted them off on his fingers. "They are not full. His wizards count perhaps thirty minghans."
"Minghan?" Koja softly interrupted. "What is this? Please excuse me, but I need to know for the letters."
Chanar answered him contemptuously. "A minghan is one hundred arban. An arban is ten men."
"Ah," Koja said, working out the figures on a small abacus, "Tomke has thirty thousand men."
Yamun scowled. "He's let too many men go. Order him to call them back immediately."
Koja quickly wrote the command on a fresh sheet of paper and handed it to a waiting quiverbearer. The man presented the paper on a tray, along with a stone coated with red ink. The khahan took his seal, a small silver block with a top in the shape of a bird, from under his shirt. The underside was carved in the contorted Tuigan script. Yamun dipped the seal into the ink and pressed it on the sheet. The sealbearer backed away, blowing the ink dry as he went.
"Continue," ordered the khahan.
"He has not sent many scouts," Chanar noted. "The Tsu-Tsu seem peaceful. He thinks they will come over to us without fighting. The lands behind him, to the west, have been conquered. He has recruited some soldiers from them, but they are poor warriors. He says they are too weak to rebel, and I agree with him. They are dogs."
"Dogs bite," observed Yamun. "What do you say, historian?"
Koja was startled by the question, too surprised to be diplomatic. "If they have been treated well, they will not rebel. But if Tomke has ruled them harshly, they will fight more fiercely than ever before. My own people, the Khazari, have fought so in ancient times against wicked emperors of Shou Lung."
"So, the Khazari are not just mice," commented Chanar with a faint sneer.
Koja colored at the slight and bristled to make a reply.
"Enough," Yamun firmly interrupted. "Good advice. Chanar, how was my son treating them?"
"I didn't ask," Chanar replied sullenly. He shot an evil glare at Koja.
"Someone should find out. Send Hulagu Khan. Draw up the orders to see that it's done."
Koja nodded and made a brief note.
"Was there anything else at Tomke's camp?" Yamun asked, returning to Chanar.
"He's met with the chief of the ogres from the northern mountains. They want to fight alongside us. He wants to know if he should send the chief to your ordu."
"What are they like?" Yamun tugged at his mustache, considering the offer.
"They're strong. Their chief stands twice the height of a man and likes to fight. I say we use them."
"What do you know of ogres, historian?" Yamun asked, curious to see if the priest had any insight on these beasts.
Koja thought back to the scrolls in his temple that showed ogres as hideous, blue-faced monsters locked in combat with Furo. "They are treacherous and violent beasts. I would not trust them."
"Hmmm." Yamun sat wrapping the long end of his mustache around his finger, considering the choices. "The Tuigan do not fight alongside beasts. Tell Tomke to have nothing more to do with them."
Koja scribbled out the order and passed it along to the sealbearer.
"Unless you've got more to say about Tomke, tell me how Jad's camp was," Yamun commanded after he'd struck his seal on the last order.
"Jad sets his camp at Orkhon Oasis, five hundred miles southeast of Tomke. His pasture and water are good, and he has held his men in hand."
Koja suddenly paid more careful attention. He didn't know where the Orkhon Oasis was, but southeast was the direction of Khazari.
"How many?" Yamun queried.
"Five tumen—Hamabek, Jochi—"
"Enough, I do not need their names. What does he have to report?" Yamun scratched at his brow.
Chanar paused to pick at his teeth and spit into the mud at the edge of the carpet. "His scouts said they traveled south into the mountains. The peaks were so high that snow never melted from the tops. There they found a mountain that breathed fire and spit stones at them. There was a race of little bearded men there who lived underground and prayed to the mountain. These little men were wonderful craftsmen of iron. The scouts claimed when they tried to cross it, the mountain killed many of them with magical burning stones. I think they lied and they were afraid to go on."
"Mother Bayalun, have your wizards ever told you of a mountain like this?" Yamun queried.
The second empress looked as if she were asleep. At Yamun's words, she slowly raised her head. "They have never spoken of such a place, my husband."
Koja didn't remember any fire-breathing mountains to the southeast, but Khazari was on the edge of a great range of peaks. Such a strange thing was certainly possible.
"You should send a truth-seeker to question the scouts," Chanar continued. "Jad is too lenient with them."
"How many scouts went out and how many came back?" Yamun took off his cap and set it on the ground.
"I did not ask," Chanar replied, as if it was beneath him.
"Then how do you know they lied?" countered Yamun.