Reap the East Wind Read Online Free PDF Page B

disquieting. He wondered if Lord Kuo had felt it too.
    The exploratory parties had advanced seventy miles into the desert. They were past the last known positions of the lost parties. Of those the only evidence so far found was a single cracked piece of lacquer off the elbow joint of a soldier’s armor.
    “That’s suggestive,” Shih-ka’i said. “They wouldn’t travel in armor. Too hot out there. Search the area more carefully.”
    The search turned up nothing. This party had vanished six months ago. Nature had obliterated all trace of their passing.
    Two days later one party reported having reached the crest of a mountain. The range dropped away beyond. Shih-ka’i donned his battle gear and transferred there himself.
    The slope fell away in a long grey slide. In the distance the grey became rust. For as far as he could see nothing stirred. Nothing lived. The sheer magnitude of the desolation overpowered him.
    Another party crested the range a few miles to the south. Its Tervola sent a signal. Shih-ka’i responded. He told the commander of the party he was with, “Remain here. Watch them as they descend.” He returned to the legion’s headquarters.
    The fortress was in turmoil. Tasi-feng explained, “Yan-chu is under attack. He requested reinforcements. I sent him a century.”
    “Take prisoners. Return them immediately. Bring another century to the ready.”
    Fifteen minutes later two prisoners came through the transfer portal. They were short men in strange armor. They were dead.
    “I want them alive,” Shih-ka’i said.
    Tasi-feng conferred with the Tervola on the scene. “Lord Ssu-ma, Yan-chu says they were alive when they transferred. They had to be driven into the portal.”
    “Tell him to send more.”
    Two more pairs came through. They were as dead as the first. Of the last pair one was a tall, dark man whose armor did not resemble that of the others.
    “Have them examined,” Shih-ka’i said. He strode back to the map room. Another party had reported itself under attack. He wanted to confirm his memory of their positions. “Uhm,” he murmured. “Come, whoever you are. Hit me one more time.”
    He got his wish within the hour. Two minutes later he had strings attached to the points where each attack was taking place, stretching toward the top of the map. Soldiers were shading areas where the three would cross. The launching of additional attacks allowed Shih-ka’i to begin reducing the size of the shaded area.
    “Keep it up,” he murmured. “I’ll have you pinpointed.” He glanced at the log of the times the attacks had been reported. Might the attackers have departed the same point at the same time? Their dispersion and lack of coordination suggested that might be the case. “Lord Lun-yu. Let Yang-chu’s position be a point on a circle. Let the other attacked positions be points outside that circle. See if you can describe the circle using the lag in the times of attack.”
    Lord Lun-yu looked puzzled for a moment, caught on, went to work. He received data from two more assaults. He developed a crude, skewed arc. “It doesn’t look right, Lord.”
    “Guess me a maximum and minimum radius. The terrain they crossed should account for the irregularities.” He peered at the map. Neither of his methods was working well. The first, in fact, now looked a little foolish. He had, in effect, collected a lot of lone legs of triangles. He did not know any lengths or angles.
    The scope of search did seem to be narrowing. He accepted a casualty report from a messenger. “Hmm?”
    “Lord?” Tasi-feng inquired.
    “These people are reasonably good fighters.” Another runner reported that the force attacking Yang-chu had withdrawn. Soon similar reports arrived from the bther attacked parties. Shih-ka’i observed, “Their communications are fair.”
    Tasi-feng asked, “Shall we pursue, Lord?”
    Shih-ka’i glanced at the map. “Slowly.” He indicated two parties which had not been attacked.