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considerate ones added, "Mind your feet, you lubbers. The gangplank's bloody
slippery in this rain."
"Tell me more," Gaius Philippus said, his cloak wrapped tight around him to
protect his armor from the wet. Marcus wished they were embarking from the
Neorhesian harbor on the city's northern edge rather than the southern harbor
of Kontoskalion. The storm was blowing out of the south, and he had no
protection against it here.
Every so often he heard a thump and a volley of curses as a soldier missed a
step and tumbled into the waist of a ship. Further down the docks, horses
whinnied nervously as their Khatrisher or Namdalener masters coaxed them on
board.
Senpat Sviodo landed clumsily beside Scaurus. The strings of the pandoura
slung across his back jangled as he staggered to keep his balance. "Graceful
as a cat," he declared.
"A drunken, three-legged cat, maybe," Gaius Philippus said. Not a bit put out,
Senpat made a face at him.
The young noble's wife leaped down a moment later. She did not need the arm he
put out to steady her; her landing truly was cat-smooth. Nevrat Sviodo, Marcus
thought, was a remarkable woman for many reasons. To begin with, she was
beautiful in the swarthy, strong-featured Vaspurakaner way. Now her finest
feature, her wavy, luxuriantly black hair, hung limp and sodden under a bright
silk kerchief.
But there was more to Nevrat than her beauty. She wore tunic and baggy
trousers like her husband; a slim saber hung at her belt and it had seen use.
Moreover, she was a fine horsewoman, with courage any man might envy. No
ordinary spirit would have ridden out after Maragha from the safety of the
fortress of Khliat, seeking her husband and the legionaries with no idea
whether or not they lived and finding them.
And as if that was not enough, she and Senpat enjoyed a love that seemed to
have no room in it for ill. There were times Scaurus had to fight down
jealousy.
More women were coming aboard now, and their children as well. Minucius'
companion Erene landed nearly as well as Nevrat had, then caught two of her
girls as they jumped into her arms. Helvis handed down Erene's third daughter,
who was only a few months older than Dosti.
Malric leaped down on his own, laughing as he tumbled and rolled on the ship's
rough planking. Helvis started to follow him; Marcus and Nevrat jumped forward
together to break her fall. "That was an idiot thing to do," Nevrat said
sharply, her brown eyes snapping with anger.
Helvis stared at her. "Who are you to scold me for such trifles?" she replied,
not caring for the rebuke. "You've done more dangerous things than hopping off
a gangplank."
Nevrat frowned, sadness touching her. "Ah, but I would not, had Phos granted
me a child to carry." Her voice was very low; Helvis, suddenly understanding,
hugged her.
"That's my job," Senpat said, and attended to it. Merriment danced in his
eyes. "We have to keep practicing, that's all, until we do it right." Nevrat
poked him in the ribs. He yelped and poked her back.
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Thorisin Gavras, his mistress Komitta Rhangavve at his side, came strolling
down the docks to watch his army embark. The Emperor still worried about
Utprand's Namdaleni, even after deciding to hazard using them. He studied
every boarding mercenary, as if seeking treason in the heft of a duffel or the
patches on a surcoat.
He relaxed somewhat when he reached the legionaries, giving Marcus a
self-mocking smile. "I should have listened, when you warned me of Drax," he
said, shaking his head. "Is all well here?"
"Looks to be," the tribune answered, pleased Gavras had remembered, and
without anger. "Things are helter-skelter right now."
"They always are, when you're setting out." The Emperor smacked his fist into
the palm of his hand. "Phos' light, I wishI were coming with you, instead of
Zigabenos! This waiting business is hard on the nerves, but I don't dare leave
the city until I'm sure the Duchy won't land on my back. It wouldn't do to get
stuck inland and then have to try to scramble back east to face maybe Tomond
the Duke on ground of his choosing."
A couple of years ago, Marcus thought, Thorisin would have charged blindly at
the first foe to show himself. He was more cautious now. The capital was
Videssos' central focus as well as its greatest city. It sat astride travel
routes by land and sea, and from it all the Empire's holdings could be quickly
reached.
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