The gate to the Eyrie was reached by a long, uphill, switchback road, banked and walled on both sides. The guards on the walls could face into the road and out to any enemy that might threaten it. Either side of the gate two fat towers provided an escape route for those stuck on the long walls should they fall. Each and every soldier on the walls, and they were a mile or more long so there were many, had a bow and I knew from my readings that they had stored a couple of thousand arrows for every bow. Doubtless there were some crossbows as well, though good spring steel is something we make in the city and sell at a price.
We looked like them. Pale hair and pale eyes. We wore their clothes. But just because they are barbarians doesn't make them fools. The gates were opened but we were stopped, along with a steady stream of Alendi making for the Eyrie, men women and children and all they could carry or drag with them.
“What clan?” A guard called to us at the gate.
“Liani,” Sapphire told him so fast he sounded defensive. I guessed he made answer before I could.
“All two of you, eh?” The guard laughed.
I scowled. “Two of us are worth twenty of you, scumbag,” I told him with some authority.
He laughed. “Get on, you're holding everyone else up,” he waved us through and we went.
Inside the gate a vast pasture spread for what seemed like forever. The far wall was invisible. The pasture was filled with cattle, thousands of them. Fences were still being made, hundreds of miles of fences, to make enclosures of varying size depending on the size of the tribe, the size of the herd. Makeshift villages of tents were packed tight everywhere else, they seemed small but there were thousands of people on the move. A city of tent villages spreading out as far as we could see. There were enclosures of horses but far fewer of them. Only the chieftains and their families could traditionally enjoy the luxury of riding. We rode and were conspicuous because of it. We had hardly gone a few dozen yards before we were offered a price for them, drays though they were. We declined and rode on, heading for the center of things, the great stone stronghold that sat in the middle of what I suddenly thought of as a spider's web. It wasn't a comforting thought.
I reached for the bottle and Sapphire frowned as I upended it. “What will you do when you run out?”
“Drink beer.”
“You will have to face them someday.”
I shook my head. “When I have an army around me they can come.”
He made no response and we rode on down a narrow avenue between fenced enclosures. There were fires everywhere, in every camp, and the cattle were restless, noisy. They pushed against the fences here and there but the enclosures looked stout enough to prevent stampede. The wood of them was old and had seen use before. I guessed they were stored in the stronghold and only assembled in times such as these.
“I'd like to get some news,” I said.
He made a random gesture to the sprawling camps. There were thousands of people to ask. Go ahead, he didn't say, go talk to anyone you like, they'll all have news.
“He'll be in the stronghold,” I said.
Sapphire nodded.
“This is madness.”
He turned to look at me. “You only just thought that?”