Chapter 8
The Embassy to Karila
They made a strange company—twenty mounted warriors, led by Otchigen and Karakul, a young diplomat and his wife with ancestral ties to Karila, seated in a merchant’s cart laden with wares, the merchant himself guiding the two packhorses, and Segynduk on a spirited pony so small it could have been specially made for children. His legs hung almost to the ground, comically. But one look was enough to show how much the old Karilan valued the little beast. The merchant, Otchigen was pleased to note, surprised every stereotype of the second reach by being both skinny and morose. A motley company, but certainly not a boring one.
Otchigen found the days passing quickly, even pleasantly, in his conversations with Karakul and the young couple, both of whom were wel
