"Your Lordship," Captain Kaleesh said, eyes fixed on the ground as he remained on his knees before Lord Kadun. "I did not intend to cause you trouble."
"But you did," the Lord said. "Explain yourself."
The captain remained silent for a moment, and when he finally spoke, it was in a soft voice. "Your Lordship, their attack was a clear provocation. To let such a thing go unanswered would have tarnished your honor in the eyes of the world."
"Is that so?" Some amusement sounded in Lord Kadun's voice. "And what would an outsider like you know about that?"
"Your Lordship," Captain Kaleesh said again, his voice firmer now. "I know little of the Imperium and its customs, but I do know battle. To let an insult like this go unpunished would merely invite more of the same. Only strength demands respect, and with your power, none should dare insult you."
At this, the Lord let out a loud laugh. "Hear that, Payam? Even this outsider thinks you're a coward."
"My Lord," the steward said, speaking in a respectful tone that carried just a hint of frustration, "I merely attempted to protect your interests, to avoid a costly conflict. Your lands' finances are—"
"Bah!" Lord Kadun interrupted him. "What good is coin without honor? The outsider has the right of it. Insults must be answered."
"Of course, my Lord," the steward said. "As always, I bow to your wisdom."
"As well you should!" The Lord said sharply. "As for you outsiders, you did well. For that, I will forgive your insubordination — but only once."
Without any further words, he turned around and headed back to the Knights and Rangers, then ordered them to get moving again.
Still, Captain Kaleesh remained on his knees for several more moments, clearly unwilling to risk giving even the slightest offense. But finally, he rose to his feet again, and after a final bow at the Lord's turned back, he led his commanders back to the group of mercenaries at the back of the column.
None of them said a word as they made their way past the soldiers. Whatever thoughts they had, they kept to themselves — at least until they were well out of earshot of any Darians.
When they'd finally rejoined the mercenaries, Arran glanced at the captain. "That was…"
He struggled to find the right words. Even now, the Lord's power filled him with awe. And yet, the man had shown no sign of the wisdom he'd expected in someone so strong.
"The most dangerous fool you'll ever meet," Captain Kaleesh said in a low voice. "Do not mistake his strength for wisdom, or his dullness for weakness. He is every bit as dangerous as he appears, but a simpleton all the same."
Sassun cast a worried look at the soldiers in the distance. "Captain…"
"You're right," the captain said. "We shall speak no more of this. But all of you, remember my words. Every single Lord within the Imperium earned his position through boundless might, and even the least of them can crush us all in an instant."
It was a warning Arran did not need. Just the glimpse he had seen of Lord Kadun was enough to tell him this was someone he was still far from being able to match. And if the other Lords held similar power, then he needed no encouragement to steer clear of them.
Within moments, the long column of soldiers and mercenaries set into motion once more, only now with Lord Kadun and his troops at its head.
Another week of slow travel followed. While Lord Kadun's presence might have inspired the soldiers and mercenaries to move faster, the mules that drew the supply carts were the ones that set the column's pace. And to them, a Lord was no different from a common farmhand.
Eventually, however, the column came to a halt barely a mile away from what looked to be a large city. But Arran's hopes of seeing more of the Imperium were quickly quashed, as only Lord Kadun and his troops departed for the city.
The rest of them remained waiting, until after nearly half an hour, a small group of guards joined them. The guards exchanged some words with the soldiers' leaders, after which the soldiers set off for the city as well.
After that, the much-diminished column set into motion once more.
If the soldiers had shown little interest in conversing with the mercenaries, the guards barely even seemed to notice their presence. Although the mercenaries outnumbered them ten to one, the guards paid the group of Body Refiners no attention whatsoever.
Instead, they merely headed the group, seemingly unconcerned with whatever happened behind them. Had any of the mercenaries wanted to escape, doing so would have been as simple as walking away.
After several days of this, Arran approached Captain Kaleesh, curious to hear what the explanation for the guards' odd behavior was.
"Why aren't they guarding us?" he asked, eyes turned toward the guards at the front of the group.
"They have no reason to," the captain replied. "Until we receive our citizenship, any priest within the Imperium will instantly recognize us as outsiders. Even if we fled, we'd be discovered the moment we set foot in any town."
Arran frowned deeply. "The priests can see whether someone's a citizen? How?"
"The priests' secrets are their own," Captain Kaleesh replied with a shrug. "All I know is that they have the ability. So if you mean to leave us, you'd best wait until they've made you a citizen."
While the captain might not know the answer, Arran was all but certain it had to involve magic. And although he didn't know how such a thing could be achieved, if the priests somehow used magic, it was an important discovery.
The thought had already occurred to him, but now, he had reason to believe it might actually be true. And if it was, then he would have to reconsider his view of the Imperium.
But there was still far too much he did not know, and that would not change until he got the chance to explore the Imperium. And to do that, he would first have to become a citizen.
Their journey lasted longer than Arran would have liked. Led by the guards, they spent well over a week sluggishly moving along the Imperium's many roads, with little indication of how much further they would have to go.
Yet when Arran saw the shapes of mountains appear in the distance, he knew they were at last nearing their destination.
This was confirmed the next day, when they passed through a town in the mountains' foothills. Large and dirty, it had numerous inns, taverns, and shabby stores — a mining town, Arran knew, much like the ones he'd passed in the mountains near Amydon.
The column of mercenaries drew a large crowd of curious onlookers, and Arran knew with just a glance that most of them were borderlanders. While a handful of the people were Body Refiners, the vast majority were commoners, little different from the people with whom he'd crossed the border.
The guards passed through the town without pausing, and barely an hour later, they arrived at a vast camp. Filled with numerous low stone buildings that Arran took for barracks, it was a thoroughly unpleasant place, clearly built for function rather than beauty.
Here, too, all but a few of the people were borderlanders, and they looked at the newcomers with eyes that showed curiosity and suspicion in equal measure.
As the group came to a halt, a tall man dressed in a set of rumpled silk robes came hurrying toward them.
"Are these the new…" he began, but he stopped mid-sentence, his eyes going wide with surprise. "Are all of them Body Refiners?!"
One of the guards gave a small nod in response and handed the man a sealed letter. "Lord Kadun's steward said to give you this."
The tall man cast another puzzled look at the group of mercenaries, then hurriedly opened the letter. And as he read it, a look of shock gradually formed on his face.
When he finally looked up from the letter, he had an expression of barely veiled horror. "This can't be right," he said.
The guard shrugged. "Not our problem. If there's an issue, you'll have to take it up with the steward. Either way, we're leaving."
The group of guards wasted no time in departing, ignoring the tall man's pleas as they headed back out of the camp. And when they were gone, the man faced the mercenaries with a panicked expression.
Several moments passed before Captain Kaleesh finally broke the silence.
"Is there a problem?"
The tall man nodded emphatically. "I'm afraid a mistake has been made," he said, his eyes flitting across the hundreds of mercenaries before him. "This mine — I don't have enough guards to keep order. Not with such a large group of—"
"We don't need your guards," the captain interrupted him. "My men answer to me, and they will not cause disorder. Not unless I order them to do so, at least."
"Then you're their leader?" Some relief showed in the tall man's eyes, but he continued, "I'm afraid they sent you to the wrong mine."
"How so?" the captain asked.
"This mine," the man began, "it's only a simple iron mine. We have no need for Body Refiners. There's nothing of value here — not unless you enter the lower levels." He shook his head. "But no one has gone down there in centuries. It isn't safe."
His eyebrow raised, Captain Kaleesh stepped forward to face the man. "What's in the lower levels? And why isn't it safe?"
Again, the tall man shook his head. "There is no need for you to know that," he said. "What's down there is no business of yours."
"You will tell me," the captain said, "and you will do so now. If not, there may be some disorder after all."