Anji nodded at the Hieros. “It must be assayed in absolute secrecy. Although I don’t like to think of Keshad attempting this alone. I can’t send any of my soldiers with him, either to aid him or to prevent him from running away and cheating us all, or selling what he knows into the hands of our enemies.”

“I’ll go,” said Eliar. “Even with him.”

“Impossible,” said his father.

“Imprudent,” said Anji. “Your way of dressing betrays you. Nor would I ask you to dress in another way to disguise your heritage.”

Opportunity is an open gate. Kesh saw it clear. “Why should he not come along? I am also a foreigner. I might dress the part, but no one will ever mistake me for a Sirniakan. If he draws attention by his looks and clothing, more may overlook me. As it says in the Tale of Plenty, ‘While everyone watched the barking dog, the carter crept into the storehouse and retrieved the stolen rice.’ ”

“Are you comparing me to a dog?” demanded Eliar.

Keshad smiled spitefully. “It is the custom in the Hundred to ornament our words with our sacred tales. The barking dog is a bold and clever hero.”

Eliar stepped forward, fist raised, jaw clenched.

“Enough!” Joss stepped between the two young men. “I have no patience for young men preening and bumping in this tiresome manner. If you cannot work together, I will not be persuaded of Eliar’s fitness for the expedition. In any case, according to your own laws, Eliar, you must obtain the permission of your elders.”

Scenting victory, Keshad bit back a triumphant smile as he lowered his gaze modestly. The floor of the pavilion boasted a mosaic of tiny tiles cemented together in a stylized pattern of light and dark, fortune falling and rising.

“Let me do this,” said Eliar passionately to his father, “and I will agree to all the demands you’ve made.”

“Even both marriages, your own and your sister’s?” said his father.

Surprised, Kesh looked up.

Eliar flushed, his expression twisted midway between grief and shame. “Even both marriages. May she forgive me.”

The two older Silver men glanced at each other, caught by surprise. “You’re sure, Eliar? You have stood fiercely in opposition to her marriage.”

“I’ll take an oath on it,” he said bitterly, “and hate myself after.”

“Do not make a mock of it, boy,” said his father. “The negotiations with the house in Nessumara are badly damaged, close to falling through, because of your objections and the recent impropriety.” There was a dull anger in Isar’s eyes that Kesh found frightening, although he thought it was not precisely directed at him, the stranger who had glimpsed the face of a daughter of the Ri Amarah, who must walk veiled in front of any man not her kin.

“Is it decided, that they’ll go south as spies?” asked Joss. “I am not sure I approve.”

“I think it’s an interesting plan,” said Anji. “Although I hold out little hope they’ll discover much of interest. If the Red Hounds scent their intentions, they won’t survive. You must understand the risks, Isar.”