The Great Khan's expression turned peculiar, and a flicker of hesitation crossed her mind.
To be fair, without the Serpent's help, there would have been almost no chance of success for this great expedition, which had taken her across two million light-years. Even so, she still couldn't bring herself to trust this cryptic, shadowy organization. Then again, no political entity trying to become a normal state could afford not to be wary of a secret society steeped in mysticism.
With the Serpent's help, the marauders now had the foundations to rebuild an empire. But Great Khan Tomitelli knew that the Serpent organization had also gained plenty from this great expedition. The two sides were simply bound together by mutual interest, each getting what they wanted.
If she took an even more cynical view, then although her people now had a prosperous homeland, they had also gone from "wandering bandits" to "settled bandits"—ahem, from free nomads to farmers. In other words, she had handed the Serpent a huge handle to use against them.
Yes, their new homeland and the people living there were now leverage in the Serpent's hands.
The Great Khan let out a silent sigh. Her sense of accomplishment had dimmed considerably, and she found herself looking again toward the farms out on the distant sea. Her gaze swept over the districts and factories under construction, then settled on the shallow beach below the mountain.
With her eyesight, she could easily make out the smiles on the children playing in the shallows.
She watched a chubby young troll pick up a conch shell as big as a washbasin and stare at it. Just as he was about to take a bite to see how it tasted, the shell squirted water right in his face. His friends burst out laughing.