“As I said,” Drake said, closing the cabinet door, “not a bad man.”

“Is their treasure a forbidden subject?” Aram asked.

“Unlike most tales of hidden wealth, that one is true,” Galloran said. “The Amar Kabal keep enormous stores of food and valuables in secret caverns. They are a prudent people. The Seven Vales were chosen as a homeland, for the highly defendable geography. And fallback strongholds await the seedfolk deep in the mountains.”

“Too many of my people obsess about preserving their long lives,” Drake griped. “With the threat of Maldor looming, certain shortsighted leaders have preyed on our cautious natures to our detriment. If we continue to avoid confronting the emperor, we may be the last kingdom to fall, but fall we will, and Maldor will burn our seeds.”

Galloran sat cross-legged on a mat. “If your people will acknowledge that reality, we might obtain the help we need.”

“Good luck,” Drake said. “The fruitless debate influenced my decision to stay away.”

Jason sat between Rachel and Corinne. After days of grueling travel, the abundance of fresh food nearly brought tears to his eyes. He grabbed a thick slice of dark bread and took a bite. Hearty and dense, the bread was saturated with honey.

“This bread is amazing,” Jason said.

“You will find no finer bread or vegetables anywhere,” Galloran said.

Jason was very conscious of Corinne eating beside him. Girls that beautiful dated quarterbacks and rock stars. They weren’t supposed to inhabit the real world. Despite the eagerness of his hunger, he tried to eat with his best manners.

Aram held up a long, knobby vegetable. Having bitten off the end, he scowled with displeasure. “No meat?”

“Most of my people avoid meat,” Drake said. “Some will occasionally serve fish or poultry. I’m fond of a thick steak or a salty ham, but that places me in the minority.”

“The Amar Kabal want their bodies lithe and strong,” Galloran explained. “They also generally eschew addictive substances, including strong drink.”

Aram shook his head, stirring his soup. “I can’t fathom the point of living a hundred lifetimes without beef, venison, and mutton.”

“I hear you,” Ferrin said. “Then again, these cucumbers aren’t bad.”

Jason finished munching some nuts. “I heard you discussed a conclave?”

“The Amar Kabal value experience,” Galloran said. “They are ruled by a gerontocracy. Their governing body, the Conclave, consists of the eldest living member of the Amar Kabal, together with the next two eldest males and the next two eldest females willing to undertake the responsibility.”

“Those five leaders will decide whether the Amar Kabal will help us?” Aram checked.

“They get the final word,” Drake confirmed. “But they’re surrounded by counselors, and any member of the Amar Kabal is free to speak out on any topic. Our leaders listen to the people.”

“We need the Amar Kabal,” Galloran said. “Their women are the truest archers in Lyrian. Their men are the most proven warriors. Their commanders possess centuries of experience. And perhaps most important, if they join us, it will become much easier to recruit other nations.”

“But first they must stop clinging to their neutral status,” Corinne said.

“This is our problem,” Galloran agreed. “The inert tend to remain inert. Passivity has been the standard for so long, it will be hard to rile the seedmen to action. When last I counseled with Pallas, eldest of the Amar Kabal, he helped me arrive at my decision to try to destroy Maldor by discovering the Key Word. The hope of a simple solution was too tempting to resist. Now the situation has changed. Our only realistic option is a coordinated rebellion against the emperor. I must awaken the Amar Kabal to the reality that their neutral status will only survive as long as it works to Maldor’s advantage.”

“It will be an uphill battle,” Drake said. “Plenty among us have tried to raise the alarm.”

“I’m still formulating my strategies,” Galloran said. “But I’m in a unique position to promise outside help and to bring a fresh perspective to the discussion. And I can proclaim the Word a fraud, thereby erasing an excuse for waiting.”

Drake swallowed a hunk of bread. “You realize that if you fail, there are many among our leadership who would gladly curry favor with Felrook by handing you over.”

“I’m aware,” Galloran said.

“In which case, we’ll let Nedwin shower them with orantium,” Ferrin said glibly.

“Nedwin really saved the day,” Jason said.

The redhead looked uncomfortable with the praise. He rubbed his knuckles against his chest. “I got fortunate. I gambled by using the gatecrasher to start the rockslide. It blasted away more of the cliff than I could have expected. I threw the globe far, and it fell a fair distance before detonating, but I still barely hung on as the mountain quaked. I may have wasted some of the subsequent globes I threw. A dust cloud hid the bottom of the gorge.”

“You gave the guards here a new chore,” Drake said. “It will take some time to clear that much rubble. But I’m sure they’ll find a use for the stone. We tend to be resourceful that way.”

Jason sampled a dark-green fruit topped by a tuft of silky white strands. The tiny fruit tasted sweeter than pure sugar, making him cough in surprise. “What is this?”

Several around the table chuckled. Ferrin grinned. “Qualines are only meant for use as a sweetener.”

Jason licked at a bit of the fruit lodged between his teeth. The pulpy fragment continued to secrete sweetness until it came loose, and he swallowed it.

“You used to come here often?” Aram asked Galloran.

“I have visited this realm three times before,” Galloran said. “Once I remained for a couple of months. My other stays were shorter.”

“Are the Seven Vales big?” Rachel wondered.

“Bigger than an outsider would suppose,” Drake said. “The seven main valleys include Broadvale, Crookvale, Longvale, Midvale, Roundvale, Deepvale, and Farvale. There are a score of smaller offshoots from the main valleys, along with several other disconnected vales, higher in the mountains.”

Galloran dabbed at his lips with a napkin. “Tomorrow we will travel to Longvale, where the Conclave convenes. The journey will consume most of the day.”

“And no meat in sight,” Aram grumbled. “What’s wrong with these people? Those seeds have corrupted their good sense.”