Ikanuy paused in shifting the abacus, glancing at me. I hadn’t explained to either of them yet my reasoning for the four islands we’d be visiting. I’d been too entrenched in packing, in reading, in trying to figure out what the sword was and what it did. I owed them an explanation; I shouldn’t keep everything to myself. “Yes. It’s one of the largest islands in the Empire, and now that we’ve lost Deerhead, it has the largest witstone mine. If I gain their support, the Empire will be well supplied with witstone for years to come and trade will flourish. Then to Nephilanu.”

Jovis grimaced. “A small island.”

I wasn’t sure why he’d find Nephilanu distasteful in that way – he was from a small island. “Yes, and of little importance during a dry season. But it produces the most caro nuts, and we need those to survive any outbreaks of bog cough. We’ve just entered a wet season. I’ve had reports that bog cough has already begun cropping up. If we keep the supply of those flowing in, we can minimize the spread of the illness.

“And then we go to Hualin Or.” My stomach fluttered at the thought. The home island of Nisong, the woman I’d thought was my mother. Instead, my father had built me from body parts he’d harvested from his citizens, finding people who had a nose like hers, or a chin, and then growing the rest of me in the waters of that cave. “Hualin Or has a storied history, one nearly as long as Imperial’s, and is a center for cultural and artistic growth. Gaining their support would do much to legitimize us in the eyes of the Empire’s citizens.”

“And then Gaelung,” Jovis said. He tapped his fingertips against his staff. He sniffed, as though he could smell the constructs on the winds. “North-east.”

“Yes. Gaelung. It is an agricultural paradise, and its lands are large and varied enough to produce much of the Empire’s crops. We can lose Gaelung, but then we lose some of the foods we love so much. The spices needed for the fish soup that visitors to Deerhead Island held in such high esteem? All of them are grown on Gaelung. We can live off rice, pork and cabbage, but the souls of all Empireans would be less rich for it. We need Gaelung. In the meantime, Yeshan will recruit and train soldiers. By the time my visits conclude, we’ll have a better idea of where we need to allocate our troops and how great the threat is.”

Ikanuy ran a few more quick sums. “I suspect you’ll need more than what few phalanxes we’ll have trained by the time your visits conclude.”

“I’ve already been writing letters to the governors, asking for their help. If they commit some of their guards, we can increase our forces quickly.”