“She’s right,” the general said. “If the enemy goes there, the vultures will feast—Trimack will see to that. If they did go northeast up into D’Hara, it would be to flank us. Best to have Reibisch guarding the gate.”
Richard had another reason to want General Reibisch’s army to stay south.
“Lord Rahl,” the messenger asked, “may I ask a question?”
“Of course. What is it?”
Grissom fussed with the hilt of his short sword. “What’s going on in the city? I mean, I saw men hauling carts with dead people, and I saw others going through the streets calling for people to bring out their dead.”
Richard took a deep breath. “That’s the other reason we want General Reibisch to stay down south. The plague is loose in the Midlands. Last night, seven hundred fifty people died.”
“The spirits preserve us.” Grissom wiped his palms on his hips. “I was afraid it might be something like that.”
“I want you to take my reply back to General Reibisch. Having been here, I don’t want you to carry the plague to him, too. When you get back, you are to pass my message along verbally.
“Don’t approach any of his men, or any people for that matter, any closer than you must in order to be heard. When you get to their sentries, tell them to pass the message on to the general. Tell him that I find his reasoning to be sound. All of the command here agrees with him. Tell him to carry on with his plans and to keep us informed.
“Now that you’ve been here, you can’t return to those men. You’ll have to come back here, when you’ve delivered the message. I want you to take a good-sized patrol with you to make sure you get our instructions through, then all of you come back here.”
Grissom saluted with a fist to his heart. “It shall be as you command, Lord Rahl.”
“I wish I could let you return to your men, soldier, but we’re trying to keep the plague from getting to the army. We have the soldiers here spread out around the city so they don’t come down sick. You can tell them that, too.”
General Kerson scratched his face. “Ah, Lord Rahl, I have to talk to you about that. I just found out myself.”
Richard frowned at the general’s sudden wincing expression. “What is it?”
“Ah, well, the plague has gotten to our men.”
Richard felt his heart in his throat. “Which group?”
The general wiped a hand across his mouth. “All of them, Lord Rahl. Seems that the prostitutes have been visiting the camps. The women thought it would be safer than plying their trade in the city, what with those murders. I don’t know anything about how sickness spreads, but Drefan told me that that might have been the way it happened.”
Richard squeezed his temples between his thumb and second finger. He wanted to give up. He wanted to simply sit down on the floor and give up.
“I should never have had Tristan Bashkar put to death. I should have let him kill all those women. In the end, it would have saved countless lives. If I’d have known this, I’d have killed them all myself.”
He felt Kahlan’s hand touch his back in sympathy.
“Dear spirits,” he whispered. He could think of nothing else to say. “Dear spirits, what are we doing to ourselves? Those women have just unwittingly struck a blow for Jagang.”
“Do you want them executed, Lord Rahl?” General Kerson asked.
“No,” Richard said in a quiet voice. “The deed is done. It would serve no purpose, now. They didn’t do it intentionally to cause harm. They were just trying to keep themselves safe.”
Richard recalled the words of one of the temple team before he was put to death. I can no longer countenance what we do with our gift. We are not the Creator, nor are we the Keeper. Even a vexatious prostitute has the right to live her life.
“Grissom, get a patrol together, and as soon as you’ve had some food and rest, get my message back to General Reibisch.”
Grissom saluted again. “Yes, Lord Rahl. I’ll get some food and supplies and be on my way within the hour.”
Richard nodded. The messenger took his leave.
“Lord Rahl,” the general said, “if there’s nothing else, I’d better see to my duties.”
“Yes, general, there is one more thing. Cut the sick soldiers out of the camps. Put them in a separate camp. Let’s see if we can limit the extent of the outbreak. Who knows, maybe we can even contain it.
“And I don’t want any prostitutes in the camps. None. Maybe we can keep the distemper lighter, that way. Have all the women warned to stay away under penalty of death. Post archers with the sentries. If they continue to approach after being challenged, have the archers cut them down.”
The general heaved a sigh. “I understand, Lord Rahl. I’ll also separate out the men who have been with those women and have them tend to the sick soldiers.”
“Good idea.”
Richard put his arm around Kahlan’s waist as he watched the general and his guard hurry to their tasks. “Why didn’t I think of that before? I might have kept the plague from the soldiers if only I’d thought of it.”
Kahlan didn’t have an answer.
“Lord Rahl,” Cara said, “I’m going up to the sliph to relieve Berdine.”
“I’ll go with you. I want to see if Berdine has learned anything from the journal. Besides, I need to get out of here for a while. You want to go, too?” he asked Kahlan.
Her arm tightened around him. “I’d like that.”
Berdine was bent over the journal, reading. The sliph looked Richard’s way before Berdine did.
“Do you wish to travel, Master? You will be pleased.”
“No,” Richard said when the echo of the eerie voice had died out. “Thank you, sliph, but not now.”
Berdine leaned back and yawned as she stretched her arms. “Glad to see you, Cara. I can’t stay awake any longer.”
“You look like you
could use some sleep.”
Richard gestured to the open journal on the table before her. “Anything new?”
Berdine glanced to the sliph as she stood. She picked up the journal and turned it around, offering it to him. She leaned closer and lowered her voice.
“You remember telling me about what that man said before he was put to death. What he said about even a vexatious… woman having a right to her life?”
Richard knew what Berdine was talking about. “Yes. You mean Wizard Ricker.”
“That’s the one. Well, Kolo mentioned it briefly.” She tapped a place in the journal. “Read here.”
Richard studied the sentence a moment until he had it translated in his head. “‘Ricker’s vexatious prostitute is watching me as I sit here pondering what damage the team has done. I heard today that we have lost Lothain. Ricker has had his revenge.’”
“Do you know who Lothain is?” Berdine asked.
“He was the head prosecutor at the Temple of the Winds trial. He was the one who went to undo the damage done by the team.”
Richard looked up. The sliph was watching him. He stepped closer. It had never occurred to him before. Why hadn’t he thought of it before?
“Sliph.”
“Yes, Master? You wish to travel? Come. You will be pleased.”
Richard stepped closer. “No, I don’t wish to travel, but I would like to talk to you. Do you remember the time, long ago, when there was a great war going on?”
“Long? I am long enough to travel. Tell me where you wish to go. You will be pleased.”
“No, I don’t mean traveling. Do you remember any names?”
“Names?”
“Names. Do you remember the name Ricker?”
The silver face watched without expression. “I never betray my clients.”
“Sliph, you were a person, once, weren’t you? A person like me?”
The sliph smiled. “No.”
Richard laid a hand on Kahlan’s shoulder. “A person like this?”
The silver smile widened. “Yes. I was a whore, like her.”
Kahlan cleared her throat. “I think Richard meant to ask if you were a woman, sliph.”
“Yes, I was a woman, too.”