The Desert Spear

bowed, meeting Jardir’s eyes as he replied in his guttural tongue. “I was honored to stand among men of such courage,” Abban translated.
    “Do other men of the North fight as we do?” Jardir asked.
    The greenlander shook his head. “My people fight only when they must, to save their own lives or sometimes that of another,” Abban said. The greenlander scowled and added something, spitting on the floor. “Sometimes not even then,” Abban said.
    “They are a race of cowards, as the Evejah says,” Ashan said. Abban opened his mouth, and the
dama
threw a goblet at him, soaking his fine silks in dark nectar. “Do not translate that, fool!” The greenlander clenched a fist, but kept his eyes on Jardir.
    “What makes you different?” Jardir asked. Abban translated, but the greenlander only shrugged and did not reply. “You cut the arm from the rock demon?”
    The greenlander nodded. “When I was a boy,” Abban translated, “I ran away from my home. I made a circle of wards when the sun set, and I was surrounded by corelings…”
    Jardir held up a hand. “Corelings?”
    Abban bowed. “It is the greenland word for
alagai,
First Warrior,” he said. “It means ‘those who dwell in the center.’ They believe Nie’s abyss lies at the core of Ala, as we do.”
    Jardir nodded, signaling the man to continue.
    “The rock demon came for me that night,” Abban translated, “and in my foolishness, I made mock of it, jeering and cavorting about. But I slipped and scuffed a ward. The coreling struck, clawing my back, but I managed to repair the ward before it could cross the circle fully. When the circle reactivated, its arm was severed.”
    Ashan snorted. “Impossible. The
chin
is obviously lying, Sharum Ka. No one could survive a blow from such a beast.”
    The greenlander looked to Abban, but when the
khaffit
did not translate, he turned to Jardir. He said something, and pointed to Ashan.
    “What did the Holy Man say?” Abban supplied.
    Jardir glanced at Ashan, then back to the greenlander. “He said you are a liar.”
    The greenlander nodded, as if he had expected as much. He laid down his spear and lifted his shirt, turning his back to them.
    “Nie’s black heart,” Abban said, turning pale at the sight of the thick scars running across the man’s back. They were faded with years, but there was no doubt they were made by claws far larger than any sand demon’s.
    The greenlander turned back, staring hard at Ashan. “Do you still think me a liar?” Abban translated.
    “Apologize,” Jardir murmured.
    Ashan bowed deeply. “My apologies, Par’chin.” The greenlander nodded as Abban translated.
    “The demon has stalked you ever since?” Jardir asked.
    The greenlander nodded. “Almost seven years now,” Abban translated, “but one day, I will show it the sun.”
    Jardir nodded. “Why did you not tell us such a great enemy pursued you? You put my city at risk.”
    The greenlander replied, and Abban’s eyes widened. He said something in response, but the greenlander shook his head and spoke again.
    “You are not here to hold your own conversations,
khaffit
!” Jardir shouted, rising from his seat. The
dal’Sharum
at the door lowered their spears and advanced.
    “Apologies, First Warrior!” Abban cried, pressing his forehead back to the floor. “I sought only to clarify his meaning!”
    “I will decide what needs clarifying,” Jardir said. “The next time you speak out of turn, I will cut off your thumbs. Now translate everything that was spoken.”
    Abban nodded eagerly. “The greenlander said, ‘It was only a rock demon. They are common in the North, and I did not think it worth mentioning that one bore me personal enmity,’ to which I replied, ‘Surely you exaggerate, my friend! There cannot be two
alagai
so great,’ and he said, ‘No, in the mountains of the North, there are many such.’ ”
    Jardir nodded. “What are the weaknesses of the rock demons?”
    “So far as I know,” the greenlander said through Abban, “they have none. And I have looked hard.”
    “We will find one, Par’chin,” Jardir said. “Together.”

    “This level of communication is unacceptable,” Jardir said when the greenlander had been escorted out.
    “The Par’chin is a quick study,” Abban said, “and has committed himself to learning our tongue. He will speak it soon, I promise.”
    “Not good enough,” Jardir said. “There will be other greenlanders, and I would speak to