Chapter Text
The train ran along the track, finally slowing after most of a long day’s journey. Bren Cameron, paidhi-aiji, was getting more work done on his proposals to the Tashrid than he had in weeks. He shut down his computer and rested his eyes, which were blurry after staring at the screen for hours. Banichi and Jago were gathering items together and checking equipment. Tano and Algini were in the next car down, riding separately to watch the baggage and make sure nothing was tampered with.
"I still think we should have waited until a plane was available," Jago said, clearly unhappy. "The aiji-dowager might even have lent you the use of her private jet, had you asked it, nandi."
"None of the pilots wanted to risk having to fly in the storm that was heading in this direction," Banichi reminded her.
"You could have asked the Lord of Adjiwan to postpone this invitation," Jago said, not giving in. "What is it you say in Mosphei’? A rain check?"
"Rain check, yes. Snow check in this case," Bren said, amused. "But the weather in the mountains has been particularly bad through most of this winter, and doesn’t look to improve. Lord Parigi enjoys the snow and wanted to showcase his high altitude hunting range. And the game season changes next week, as one is sure you know, Jago-ji. If he wants us to hunt patchiikiin it has to be this week."
"And Tabini-aiji was very interested in having the paidhi accept this invitation, as Lord Parigi has experienced a surprising rise in his fortune these last handful of years," Algini said. "With no explanation in the financial records he sends to the tax officials in Shejidan."
Jago said nothing but stood and turned to finish gathering her gear. Bren looked at her, then at Banichi. His face was not quite impassive.
"Nadiin-ji," Bren said. "Is there some risk to this visit that I should know about? Lord Parigi had no hesitations, and we trust that his man’chi is to Tabini, more so than any of the other lords in his province."
Neither of them answered him. Guild business, then.
"I thought you said that the Guild would be unlikely to entertain a Filing against the paidhi-aiji."
"Not against you, Bren-ji," Jago said, and looked at Banichi. Banichi hesitated, which was rare for the man.
"When we left Shejidan there was a motion to consider a filing against Lord Parigi," Banichi said eventually. "He, of course, would not be notified of such unless the filing were accepted. Which it will not be." This last directed pointedly at Jago, who lifted her chin stubbornly.
"The vote will be close," she said. Clearly a disagreement between the two on this particular matter.
"Tabini-aiji approved this excursion, nand’paidhi, upon the advice of his own aishid. Nevertheless, had we been able to take a plane, we could have delayed leaving until the vote was decided," Banichi admitted.
Bren paused in putting on the heavy winter coat he had brought for the trip. He had practically acquired a new wardrobe for this trip, he thought, cold weather gear not being necessary when one lived and worked inside the Bu-javid. Targets of a Filing of Intent were required to be notified before action could be taken against them, but the laws about the length of time on such notification had raced to keep up with the ever advancing technology. Still, if there were danger someone would have gotten a message to him on the train. Through the persons driving the trains if need be. Wouldn’t they?
"Nadiin-ji, one appreciates the confidence of such information that one knows you are not supposed to provide."
"We should be arriving at the station soon," Jago said. "Hopefully we will be at Lord Parigi’s estate before dark."
Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas. By the time it was clear that the storm was more intense than even the most drastic predictions, they were only minutes from the end of the line, and turning around once they got there was no option; the storm was coming behind them. And there was other bad news.
"What is it, nadiin-ji?" Bren asked inclusively as his guard grouped around him in the small, empty train station.
"Lord Parigi sent a message with his driver, Bren-ji," Tano said. "Notifying us that he is not able to meet us at the lodge due to a Filing of Intent that has just been announced." Tano, who had not been in the passenger car with Bren, Banichi, and Jago, still apparently knew of their differing opinions, because he shot those two a somewhat nervous look. They had been out of contact with regular Guild channels for nearly twelve hours. "He invites us to join him at his estate, which he swears to the safety of."
The courier didn’t look particularly happy about this notion either. Lord Parigi might give the orders, but that didn’t mean the Lord of Adjiwan knew anything about the difficulty of operating a large motor vehicle in this type of snow.
"We can by no means be sure of safe arrival to the estate in this storm," Algini said, sober-faced. "It is a two-hour drive. We should either wait it out here in the station with the train engineers and other employees, or ask the driver to take us up the mountain to the hunting lodge. It should be close enough to reach before the worst of the storm hits. The lodge will be better provisioned and more easily defendable. The staff here have cots where they can sleep, but have no resources to accommodate the security of a visiting lord." The four of them looked to Bren for confirmation.
"By all means, nadiin-ji, if you think it best. If one is still to be staying in Adjiwan for a few days one admits to a preference for a hunting lodge rather than a bench in a train station."
The vehicle was modern, at least, a massive thing with huge wide-set snow treads. Its engine was loud as it sat waiting for them. Tano and Algini frowned as they came outside the train station; the driver had come alone, and so the vehicle had been left running unattended while he came inside to get them. They checked it over thoroughly before allowing Bren to climb inside.
The trip up the mountain was loud and long. The engine roared. The storm roared. Bren, who spent winters even in more temperate Shejidan constantly chilly, who had experienced the biting empty cold of the space station, who had taken ski trips for years on Mt. Adams, found the temperature uncomfortably familiar. His fingers and toes ached while the rest of his body felt overheated by the presence of four large atevi bodies packed in close around him. He passed the time by trying to count the minutes of their trip. It was good practice for him; atevi counted things constantly, unthinkingly. That humans did not, and that some could not, left some atevi doubting the sanity of the lords of technology who had fallen from the sky.
Bren had not yet reached the number he had expected when the vehicle slowed and then stopped. The engine shut off. Bren opened his eyes and leaned to peer through the front window. An enormous tree trunk lay across the path, an unquestionable barrier.
"Wait here, nandi, nadiin," the driver said, and got out of the car. He walked off the road over to the right into a stand of trees, perhaps checking to see if another route was open. The road at this point was narrow with tall rocky cliffs on either side. There was no way to take even this monster of a machine over that tree – the trunk had to be almost two meters in diameter. It was too perfectly placed, and Bren was immediately nervous. He looked around at his guard who were also on the alert. All were checking weapons, tightening straps, and grabbing hand baggage. All wore grim expressions.
The driver didn’t come back. And didn’t come back. Minutes ticked by. Half an hour. Banichi stood up.
"Out," he ordered, and everyone moved, Tano and Algini first, setting up a formidable barrier of their own bodies as Banichi and Jago helped Bren down from the tall steps of the car. The storm was hitting hard now, and Bren pulled up the hood of his coat, trying to shield as much of his face as he could from the wind. He could barely see the road behind them, despite the massive tracks the vehicle left. Banichi lifted the hood of the car, prodded at something, and appeared to adjust several other things. There was a whirring noise and an unhappy exclamation from Banichi. He called Algini over to look as well, Banichi shaking out his hands. Something had shredded the leather of his black gloves as he had examined the engine.
"What are they doing?" Bren asked Jago through chattering teeth.
"We may have been mistaken to rely on the driver, nandi," Jago whispered back, her mouth close to his ear so the wind didn’t whip away her words. "They are trying to ascertain whether the car has been rigged to explode should we restart the engine."
The driver had shut off the engine before disappearing. He hadn’t shut it off when he had picked them up from the train station, Bren had noted.
"Was the driver not truly sent by Lord Parigi, Jago-ji?"
"He had the appropriate papers and seals, Bren-ji, and he is not Guild. But this region is known to rely heavily on irregulars. We do not doubt that Lord Parigi sent him; we have no way to know who else he might work for."
"That tree was placed there to force us to stop the car here."
"Clearly."
Banichi gave a series of Guild hand signs; Algini nodded, and he and Tano set off in the direction the driver had gone. He hoped if they found him, they would give him the opportunity to explain; Bren couldn’t stand the thought of accusing an innocent man even in such a situation. The driver could have been a victim of whatever plot was going on too.
"What if he just had a heart attack and is lying in a snow bank somewhere?" he asked Jago.
"Then Algini and Tano will find him and notify us of that in short order," Jago said.
"Nandi, we need to get you to better cover," Banichi said, coming over to where he and Jago stood in the shadow of the enormous car. "Algini and Tano report tracks which they cannot confirm to be the driver; the wind and snow are erasing all traces too quickly."
Jago took his arm and Banichi led the way toward the fallen tree. They argued whether or not to boost him over it, but Bren ignored them and found he could dig out the snow underneath far more quickly and with only minor loss of dignity. The snow was all fresh and loose, easy to move. He stood up to stretch his legs and saw immediately that both Banichi and Jago had come to sharp attention. They had heard something he had not. How any ateva could hide in the dead white of snow surrounding them, Bren had no idea, but it was never a good idea to underestimate the Assassins’ Guild.
There was a sound. He could not for the life of him say what the sound was because the next thing he knew Jago had fired her gun in the direction that Banichi had just been standing and Banichi had knocked him to the ground. He had one arm wrapped around Bren’s chest to prevent him from sinking completely into the snow and the other hand was straight up in mid-air holding something. It was a small fletched dart, the tip of which was covered in a lurid blue color. Banichi put it carefully down and stripped off the shredded glove on his right hand. There was ever so small a line of blood showing on the palm. Banichi said an extremely vulgar word. He let go of Bren and reached for the pack he carried on his back.
"Rab faidji," Jago hissed, and immediately grabbed the pack from her partner with one hand, shoving Banichi’s injured hand up over his own head with her other. It was a word Bren didn’t know. An archaic sounding word, but it contained one of the root words for "death," which Bren did not like the sound of. Not at all.
Tano and Algini came running back, at the sound of shots or at some signal from the short range communicators, Bren had no idea. Banichi said a few syllables of what sounded like gibberish to Bren, but which he assumed was Guild code for something like "Algini and Tano, take watch in either direction," because the two men did just that, standing close on either side of the three of them who were huddled on the ground. Jago quickly dug in the pack and drew out a small glass vial. She uncapped it and handed it to Banichi; Banichi took it left-handed and swallowed the contents with a grimace. Then he took the dart in his injured hand and put it carefully into the vial, handing it back to Jago to reseal and put away. He produced a small bandage and covered the scrape which was already looking impossibly inflamed and angry, before pulling back on his glove. He was breathing hard.
"Status," Banichi snapped.
"I hit one of them," Jago said, quietly. Then, so loudly that Bren jumped a little at the change in volume, "Nand’paidhi, are you injured?"
"I… no, nadiin-ji. I am uninjured." They certainly weren’t hiding, in the open as they were. Was it an announcement to whoever was out there, making sure they knew they had just attacked the paidhi-aiji and not Lord Parigi?
"Nandi, the lodge is very close," Banichi said. "One advises we make our way there. Since the attackers chose the approach to the cabin, one believes they have not had time to infiltrate Lord Parigi’s premises or they would have done so."
"Accessing his estate would necessarily involve finesse," Jago said, "but the lodge may be used by anyone. Especially in an emergency such as a storm like this, it would be courting breach of Guild law to tamper with the lodge."
"It would be finesse enough to take out the driver and put someone else in his place, had they had access to the lodge, as he would have been staying inside with us were he not missing," Banichi said. The tremor in his voice made Bren look at him with some alarm.
"Are you alright, 'Nichi-ji?"
"I will be fine, Bren-ji. We have perhaps twenty minutes. However, it is likely that I will be of no particular use in your defense for the next day or two." He paused, as if he had lost track of his thoughts.
Bren looked at Jago who was professionally expressionless. "Explain, please."
"The dart contains a toxin that is native to these mountains, Bren-ji," Banichi said. "It is still in occasional use only in this region." He looked at Jago. "Fortunately, someone anticipated that the medical kit for dealing with it should come on this particular trip."
"If we had waited another week or taken a plane, we would not have needed it at all," Jago shot back. "You should have just taken our principal down. Catching the dart was showing off, nadi."
"If I had only moved nand’Bren out of the way without catching the dart, it would have hit you, nadi, and you were already positioned to return fire." At least Banichi was still enough himself to be arguing with her.
"Bren-ji, there is no chance of your making it to the train station on foot and we cannot trust this vehicle . Go with Tano and Algini to the lodge. We will follow, more slowly," Jago said.
"Yes," Bren said. Banichi was not going to die, he told himself, and knowing Banichi he would allow himself to be looked after only if and when the paidhi was safe.
They all burrowed through the hole in the snow that Tano had dug under the fallen tree trunk, Banichi being too weak already to pull himself over it, and Bren being too short. He found himself facing a formidable hike up a snowy slope. The adrenaline surge got him through the deep snow and to the cabin faster than he had feared, but he was still exhausted by the time they reached the doors. He would never have found it on his own. With the storm blowing around them he wasn’t sure how far even his sharp-eyed bodyguard could see.
He had worried that Tano or Algini would insist on carrying him; he wanted them to have their hands free, and apparently they agreed with that. They did insist that Bren stay outside, next to the thick stone wall with Algini blocking his view of everything, (though also thankfully blocking the bitter wind,) while Tano checked the interior of the building for signs of intrusion or hidden dangers. He evidently found none, because after a very long, cold quarter of an hour Tano gave the all clear and they went inside. He had just spotted Banichi and Jago coming up the fading trail they had left in the snow, and wanted to wait for them, but being indoors and out of the weather was important. Cold weather gear or not, he was chilled to the bone.
It was a small hunting lodge, but it was a lord’s hunting lodge, which meant it was about on par with most hotels on Mospheira, minus modern conveniences. There was a sitting room, a kitchen smaller than the one in his recently aquired Bu-javid apartment, a small office, a master bedroom and one guest room each with their own bath. The servant’s quarters that branched off the kitchen looked barely livable for more than three people. The idea of a hot bath was tantalizing; in this remote place, however, water was drawn from a well and the pump, he heard from Tano, had frozen solid.
"Algini-ji, once our position is secure here, check the vehicle," Banichi ordered as soon as they were all inside. His words were slurred and it sounded like he was having trouble breathing. Jago helped her partner down into one of the sitting room chairs. "Let us see if we can drive out of here when the storm clears, and if the luggage is undamaged."
"Yes," said Jago, simply, and Algini nodded once before they headed out the front door again.
Tano knelt in front of Banichi and pulled off the glove from the injured hand. He rolled up the sleeve of his uniform, checking his pulse. The crawl under the fallen tree had covered all of them in snow and, now melted, had left them all soaked and chilled. Banichi had his eyes closed and just the fact that he was not even trying to stand up was, for Banichi, not a good sign.
"Tano-ji, can I do anything to help?" Bren asked.
"There is wood and a tinderbox in the corner by the fireplace, Bren-ji," Tano said, not taking his eyes from where he was checking Banichi’s vital signs. "Warmth would be helpful for all of us at this point."
Bren walked over to the fireplace and found, yes, a good supply of wood in the box. The lodge had clearly been used regularly but not necessarily recently, either by Lord Parigi, or someone else, so Bren remembered to check the flue, and stacked wood behind the fender. The tinderbox proved no different than those he had used on camping trips in his youth and with a little attention he soon had a fire going. He went to look at the two bedrooms, and after some discussion with Tano, lit a fire in both the bedrooms as well. Tano helped Banichi into the master bedroom, it having more room for multiple people to maneuver, stripped the man of his wet gear and got him into the bed. The fact that Banichi didn’t even try to argue had Bren more worried than anything else.
In less than an hour Algini and Jago came in with their baggage and with Algini dragging more wood. Bren wondered how long exactly they were planning to be stuck here.
"Is that everything, nadiin-ji? One assumes we are staying if you are bringing in all the luggage. And that we are moderately safe."
"We will likely be here at least two nights, Bren-ji," Algini said. "Tano advises against exposing Banichi to the cold for that long unless there is no other option. Safety is a separate matter. There was no sign of the driver."
That was worrisome. To his bodyguard as well, by the look of them.
Bren wondered if there were anything else useful he could do. It was quickly getting dark, as it did on these early winter afternoons. There was no electricity in this remote building; he could at least go look for candles. Jago gave him a small flashlight, and he found that there was a wooden staircase in the kitchen that led down to a tiny cellar. Where there was indeed a stack of seasoned wood, as well as root vegetables and other non-perishable food supplies and a wine collection that – one supposed – probably belonged to Lord Parigi.
He found a supply of candles in the kitchen as well, along with candlesticks and glasses to cover the flame should one wish to carry a light around. He tried the pump in the kitchen but no, it was indeed frozen solid. Well, they had fire and they had snow, and there were certainly pots in this kitchen to melt snow in. Bren dragged out the largest pot he could reasonably lift; atevi-scale cast iron was no laughing matter. He lit another fire in the old fashioned iron stove, and while it was heating up set about unbarring the exterior kitchen door. That was where Jago found him.
"Bren-ji," She said reprovingly at his attempts to open what had been a secure door.
"One intended only to get some snow to melt, Jago-ji. Hot water will be needed at some point, one assumes, and we have only that option that one can see."
She took the pot from him, filled it with fresh white snow in the last rays of the sunset, then filled a second larger pot (one Bren had not been able to lift, he was mildly annoyed to notice.) She also packed an old copper tea kettle full of snow, then barred the door. The kettle went onto the stove.
"Let Tano know when the water is hot, Bren-ji," Jago said, "He may need to give Banichi more medicine and it will likely have to be brewed."
"How is he?" Bren asked, worried.
Jago hesitated.
"He is not responding as we would expect. The poison may have been compounded with some other substance that we do not know."
They had saved the dart, Bren recalled. For that reason? Or was it some legal evidence in what was clearly either an unfiled assassination attempt against himself or a poorly informed attempt at the wrong target in the Filing under Lord Parigi.
"One hears," Bren said. And went to find tea in the pantry. There was always tea.
Tano did indeed mix a concoction for their patient with some items from their gear and some ingredients from the kitchen pantry. Banichi regained consciousness just long enough to drink it and to complain about the taste before going back to sleep. Bren checked his pulse; ridiculous, since both Jago and Tano had just done that, and Bren had no idea what was normal for someone in Banichi’s condition in the first place.
"He will likely sleep for some time, Bren-ji," Tano told him. "It is for the best; the recovery process for this particular poison is extremely painful."
"You’ve been through this yourself?" Bren asked, irrationally feeling better if that were the case.
"Yes," Tano said. "So has Banichi, one believes. Guild that go into active service are frequently introduced to a number of such substances in training. So that we will know the symptoms and timeline for action should we be exposed to them in the field. And according to at least one of my instructors, so that we know exactly what we are putting our opponents through." It was a great deal of information, none of which he was likely supposed to have, but Tano was more open about such things. Bren was never sure whether it was his personality or just that, being the youngest member of Bren’s guard, he hadn’t had as much experience of the of breaking such rules coming back to bite him yet.
"This cold is not good, however," Tano said, with a slight worried look on his face. "The toxin paralyzes and thus also interferes with one’s ability to regulate body temperature. That is why it is such an effective weapon in this particular climate." The fireplace in the master bedroom looked as though it should put out adequate heat given enough time, but the cold stone walls were taking forever to warm up, and they had already piled as many blankets and furs on the bed as they could find. Bren swore he felt a draft and wondered if there was a crack in the wall somewhere. Banichi was shivering ever so slightly.
"Body heat," Jago said with a frown, and began to strip off her uniform. Bren remembered the survival training his mother had made him take for those years of mountain vacations. He followed Jago’s example, figuring that even the slightly cooler temperature of a human body was still warmer than this cold room. Tano nodded approval.
"Algini is going back out to check for our missing driver and look for signs of persons responsible," Tano said. "If they know they have made a mistake they may surrender themselves and report to Guild headquarters before they take further action. If they have not made a mistake, it seems unlikely they will not try again. I will stand guard."
"Yes," Bren said, not arguing, simply acknowledging.
Banichi seemed to stop shivering at least, once the three of them were all together under the pile of furs. Jago was, of course, on the side of the bed nearest the door, with Bren up against the wall with Banichi between them. Tano had brought in a candle and the light from the fire was comforting. It was early but he was exhausted in the aftermath of adrenaline and panic that had taken them here. How they always wound up in these situations, one hardly knew.
"One will have to let Lord Parigi know that the stay in his district did not live up one’s expectations," he said quietly.
Jago laughed softly. "His hospitality does seem to be somewhat lacking. Sleep, if you wish, Bren-ji," she said. "I will stay awake in case there is trouble, at least until Algini returns."
"Better than a rooftop in the peninsula," Bren offered; a joke between them now.
"Better than a tent on a cliff in the middle of a lightning storm," Jago said.
"That’s debatable," Bren told her, remembering their first night alone together. "I’m glad Jase isn’t with us. And the servants." They had brought only security for this excursion because, being hosted by a lord of the Association, it was expected their host would provide such servants as were needful, and because the lodge was a small place, all things considered.
"It does make things minimally easier to only have one paidhi to keep safe," Jago agreed.
"Don’t be too hard on him when he wakes up, Jago-ji."
"The aiji’s guard approved the trip, Bren-ji," she said with a sigh. "By all rights it should have been safe; had even one item fallen out differently we would not be here. Baji-naji."
Tano came in at some point and pronounced Banichi’s temperature to be improved. Jago got up and dressed to stand guard while Tano sat down and rested, after checking Banichi’s vitals again.
Bren found himself, with less worry about Banichi looking around the rather uninteresting walls of the bedroom.
"Tano-ji, you are the most familiar with plants and wildlife," he said, pointing to a painting on the far wall, "do you know what flower that is?" It was an oil painting of a grouping of smallish flowers, six long, fairly narrow petals spread wide to show a gradation of color from lavender to deep purple, with a vivid yellow and red center. They were low to the ground with long thin green leaves surrounding them. It looked almost familiar, but then Bren had staff to interpret the kabiu and deeper meanings of flower arrangements for him now, and the information was not in his mind.
Tano looked at the painting and tilted his head. "I would think that it is meant to be a coriti flower, nandi," he said. "Except that the colors are all wrong. But one understands that Lord Parigi has painted most of the art in the lodge himself, oil painting being a hobby of his. Perhaps he is merely not so good an artist as he wishes."
"Perhaps so," Bren agreed with a little laugh, though something about the painting still bothered him.
Bren settled in to wait, and knew later that some time had passed only because he found himself fitfully dozing when he finally felt Banichi stir. Tano stood up immediately from his chair by the fire and came over. Banichi opened his eyes and looked around for a moment without saying anything, assessing his situation.
"Nadiin." His voice was strained, and he paused to try and clear his throat. "Nadiin-ji. As relieved as one is to immediately know that the paidhi-aiji is safe, why is one in bed with Nand’Bren."
"Tano said you were in danger of freezing to death," Bren said through a yawn. "It was very kind of you to prove him wrong."
"Where are we?" Banichi asked.
"Lord Parigi’s hunting lodge halfway up the mountain," Tano said. "With the person or persons who attacked us not located, the driver still missing, and a storm making retreat to the train station unwise for at least another day."
Banichi tried to get up, apparently found his legs unsteady under him, and sat back down. Tano had already called Jago to come in. Tano helped Banichi out of the bed and to the nearby accommodation, while Bren and Jago sorted through the luggage until they found Bren’s robe and one in Banichi’s size. The two men came back after a short time, Banichi clearly in pain, and Tano helped him into a robe and back onto the bed. Tano left to get another dose of whatever they had given Banichi before. Jago gave her partner a briefing of the last day or so—Bren had no idea how many hours it had been now, but he thought the sun might rise soon. He would be glad when it finally did.