Magician (43 page)

Kulgan looked flabbergasted. “Of
course! It’s all so simple. They found a way to pass between
their world and ours, sent through scouts, and found a land rich in
metals they lack. So they sent in an invading army. It also explains
why they marshal in a high valley of the mountains, rather than in
the lower forests. It gives them free access to . . . the dwarven
mines!” He jumped up. “I’d better inform the dukes
at once. We must send word to the dwarves to be alert for incursions
into the mines.”

Pug sat thoughtfully as Kulgan vanished
through the tent entrance. After a moment he said, “Meecham,
why didn’t they try trading?”

Meecham shook his head “The
Tsurani? From what I’ve seen, boy, it’s a good bet
trading never entered their minds. They are one very warlike bunch.
Those bastards fight like six hundred kinds of demons. If they had
cavalry, they would have chased this whole lot back to LaMut, then
probably burned the city down around them. But if we can wear them
down, like a bulldog does, just keep hanging on until they tire, we
might settle this after a time. Look what happened to Kesh. Lost half
of Bosania to the Kingdom in the north ‘cause the Confederacy
just plain wore the Empire out with one rebellion after another in
the south.”

After a time, Pug gave up on Kulgan’s
returning soon, ate supper alone, and made ready for bed. Meecham
quit trying to keep the magician’s meal away from the drake,
and also turned in.

In the dark, Pug lay staring up at the
tent roof, listening to the sound of the rain and the drake’s
joyous chewing. Soon he drifted off into sleep, where he dreamed of a
dark tunnel and a flickering light vanishing down it.

The trees were thick and the air hung
heavy with mist as the column moved slowly through the forest.
Outriders came and went every few minutes, checking for signs that
the Tsurani were preparing an ambush. The sun was lost high in the
trees overhead, and the entire scene had a greyish-green quality to
it, making it difficult to see more than a few yards ahead.

At the head of the column rode a young
captain of the LaMutian army, Vandros, son of the old Earl of LaMut.
He was also one of the more level-headed and capable young officers
in Brucal’s army.

They rode in pairs, with Pug sitting
next to a soldier, behind Kulgan and Meecham. The order to halt came
down the line, and Pug reined in his horse and dismounted. Over a
light gambeson, he wore a well-oiled suit of chain mail. Over that
was a tabard of the LaMutian forces, with the grey wolf’s head
on a circle of blue in the center. Heavy woolen trousers were tucked
into his high boots. He had a shield on his left arm, and his sword
hung from his belt; he felt truly a soldier. The only discordant note
was his helm, which was a little too large and gave him a slightly
comic appearance.

Captain Vandros came back to where
Kulgan stood waiting, and dismounted. “The scouts have spotted
a camp about half a mile ahead. They think they were not seen by the
guards.”

The captain pulled out a map. “We
are about here I will lead my men and attack the enemy position.
Cavalry from Zun will support us on either side Lieutenant Garth will
command the column you will ride with. You will pass the enemy camp
and continue on toward the mountains. We will try to follow if we
can, but if we haven’t rejoined you by sundown, you must
continue alone.

“Keep moving, if only at a slow
walk. Push the horses, but try to keep them alive. On horseback you
can always outrun these aliens, but on foot I wouldn’t give you
much chance of getting back. They run like fiends.

“Once in the mountains, move
through the pass Ride into the valley one hour after sunrise. The
North Pass will be attacked at dawn, so if you get safely into the
valley you should, I hope, find little between you and the North
Pass. Once in the valley, don’t stop for anything. If a man
falls, he is to be left. The mission is to get information back to
the commanders. Now try to rest. It may be your last chance for some
time. We attack in an hour.”

He walked his horse back to the head of
the line. Kulgan, Meecham, and Pug sat without speaking. The magician
wore no armor because he claimed it would interfere with his magic.
Pug was more inclined to believe it would interfere with his
considerable girth. Meecham had a sword at his side, like the others,
but held a horse bow. He preferred archery to close fighting, though
Pug knew, from long hours of instruction at his hands, that he was no
stranger to the blade.

The hour passed slowly, and Pug felt
mounting excitement, for he was still possessed by boyish notions of
glory. He had forgotten the terror of the fighting with the Dark
Brothers before they reached the Grey Towers.

Word was passed and they remounted.
They rode slowly at first, until the Tsurani were in sight. As the
trees thinned, they picked up speed, and when they reached the
clearing, they galloped the horses. Large breastworks of earth had
been thrown up as a defense against the charge of horsemen. Pug could
see the brightly colored helmets of the Tsurani rushing to defend
their camp. As the riders charged, the sounds of fighting could be
heard echoing through the trees as the Zunese troops engaged other
Tsurani camps.

The ground shook under the horses as
they rode straight at the camp, sounding like a rolling wave of
thunder. The Tsurani soldiers stayed behind the earthworks, shooting
arrows, most of which fell short. As the first element of the column
hit the earthworks, the second element turned to the left, riding off
at an angle past the camp. A few Tsurani soldiers were outside the
breastworks here, and were ridden down like wheat before a scythe.
Two came close to hitting the riders with the great two-handed swords
they wielded, but their blows went wide. Meecham, guiding his horse
with his legs, dropped both with two quick arrows.

Pug heard a horse scream among the
sounds of the fighting behind, then suddenly found himself crashing
through the brush as they entered the forest. They rode as hard as
possible, cutting through the trees, ducking under low branches, the
scene a passing kaleidoscope of greens and browns.

The column rode for nearly a half hour,
then slackened pace as the horses began to tire. Kulgan called to
Lieutenant Garth, and they halted to check their position against the
map. If they moved slowly for the balance of the day and night, they
would reach the mouth of the pass near daybreak.

Meecham peered over the heads of the
lieutenant and Kulgan as they knelt on the ground. “I know this
place. I hunted it as a boy, when I lived near Hush.”

Pug was startled. This was the first
time Meecham had ever mentioned anything about his past Pug had
supposed that Meecham was from Crydee, and was surprised to find he
had been a youth in the Free Cities. But then he found it difficult
to imagine Meecham as a boy.

The franklin continued. “There is
a way over the crest of the mountains, a path that leads between two
smaller peaks. It is little more than a goat trail, but if we led the
horses all night, we could be in the valley by sunrise. This way is
difficult to find on this side if you don’t know where to seek
it. From the valley side, it is nearly impossible. I would bet the
Tsurani know nothing about it.”

The lieutenant regarded Kulgan with a
question in his eyes. The magician looked at Meecham, then said, “It
might be worth a try. We can mark our trail for Vandros. If we move
slowly, he might catch up before we reach the valley.”

“All right,” said the
lieutenant, “our biggest advantage is mobility, so let’s
keep moving. Meecham, where will we come out?”

The large man leaned over the
lieutenant’s shoulder to point at a spot on the map near the
south end of the valley. “Here If we come out straight west for
a half mile or so, then swing north, we can cut down the heart of the
valley.” He motioned with his finger as he spoke. “This
valley’s mostly woods at the north and south end, with a big
meadow in the middle. That’s where they’d be if they have
a big camp. It’s mostly open there, so if the aliens haven’t
come up with anything surprising, we should be able to ride right by
them afore they can organize to stop us. The dicey part will be
getting through the northern woods if they’ve garrisoned
soldiers there. But if we get through them, we’ll be free to
the North Pass.”

“All agreed?” asked the
lieutenant. When no one said anything, he gave orders for the men to
walk their horses, and Meecham took the lead as guide.

They reached the entrance to the pass,
or what Pug thought Meecham had correctly called a goat trail, an
hour before sundown. The lieutenant posted guards and ordered the
horses unsaddled Pug rubbed down his horse with handfuls of long
grass, then staked it out. The thirty soldiers were busy tending to
their horses and armor. Pug could feel the tension in the air. The
run around the Tsurani camp had set the soldiers on edge, and they
were anxious for a fight.

Meecham showed Pug how to muffle his
sword and shield with rags torn from the soldiers’ blankets.
“We’re not going to be using these bed rolls this night,
and nothing will ring through the hills like the sound of metal
striking metal, boy. Except maybe the clopping of hooves on the
rock.” Pug watched as he muffled the horses’ hooves with
leather stockings designed for just this purpose and carried in the
saddlebags. Pug rested as the sun began to set. Through the short
spring twilight, he waited until he heard the order to resaddle. The
soldiers were beginning to pull their horses into a line when he
finished.

Meecham and the lieutenant were walking
down the line repeating instructions to the men. They would move in
single file, Meecham taking the lead, the lieutenant second, down the
line to the last soldier. They tied a series of ropes through the
left stirrup of each horse, and each man gripped it tightly as he led
his own horse. After everyone was in position, Meecham started off.

The path rose steeply, and the horses
had to scramble in places. In the darkness they moved slowly, taking
great care not to stray from the path. Occasionally Meecham stopped
the line, to check ahead. After several such stops, the trail crested
through a deep, narrow pass and started downward. An hour later it
widened, and they stopped to rest. Two soldiers were sent ahead with
Meecham to scout the way, while the rest of the tired line dropped to
the ground to ease cramped legs. Pug realized the fatigue was as much
the result of the tension created by the silent passage as of the
climbing, but it didn’t make his legs feel any better.

After what seemed to be much too short
a rest they were moving again. Pug stumbled along, fatigue numbing
his mind to the point where the world became an endless series of
picking up one foot and placing it before the other. Several times
the horse before him was literally towing him as he grasped the rope
tied to its stirrup.

Suddenly Pug was aware that the line
had stopped and that they were standing in a gap between two small
hills, looking down at the valley floor. From here it would take only
a few minutes to ride down the slope.

Kulgan walked back to where the boy
stood next to his animal. The stout wizard seemed little troubled by
the climb, and Pug wondered at the muscle that must he hidden beneath
the layers of fat. “How are you feeling, Pug?”

“I’ll live, I expect, but I
think next time I’ll ride, if it’s all the same to you.”
They were keeping their voices low, but the magician gave out with a
soft chuckle anyway.

“I understand completely. We’ll
be staying here until first light. That will be slightly less than
two hours. I suggest you get some sleep, for we have a great deal of
hard riding ahead.”

Pug nodded and lay down without a word.
He used his shield for a pillow and, before the magician had taken a
step away, was fast asleep. He never stirred as Meecham came and
removed the leather muffles from his horse.

A gentle shaking brought Pug awake. He
felt as if he had just closed his eyes a moment before. Meecham was
squatting before him, holding something out “Here, boy. Eat
this.”

Pug took the offered food. It was soft
bread, with a nutty flavor. After two bites he began to feel better.

Meecham said, “Eat quickly, we’re
off in a few minutes.” He moved forward to where the lieutenant
and the magician stood by their horses. Pug finished the bread and
remounted. The soreness had left his legs, and by the time he was
astride his mount, he felt anxious to be off.

The lieutenant turned his horse and
faced the men. “We will ride west—then, on my command,
north. Fight only if attacked. Our mission is to return with
information about the Tsurani. If any man falls, we cannot stop. If
you are separated from the others, get back as best you can. Remember
as much of what you see as possible, for you may be the only one to
carry the news to the dukes. May the gods protect us all.”

Several of the soldiers uttered quick
prayers to various deities, chiefly Tith, the war god, then they were
off. The column came down the hillside and reached the flat of the
valley. The sun was cresting the hills behind, and a rosy glow bathed
the landscape. At the foot of the hills they crossed a small creek
and entered a plain of tall grass. Far ahead was a stand of trees,
and another could be seen off to the north. At the north end of the
valley the haze of campfire smoke hung in the air. The enemy was
there all right, thought Pug, and from the volume of smoke there must
be a large concentration of them. He hoped Meecham was right and they
were all garrisoned out in the open, where the Kingdom soldiers stood
a fair chance of outrunning them.

After a while the lieutenant passed the
word, and the column turned north. They trotted along, saving the
horses for when they would be sure to need the speed.