The southern folk were more civilized, with cities and books and
strange arts, though the northerners thought it spiritless of them to
knuckle under to their kings as abjectly as they did. Hereabouts the
people were dark of hair and eyes, though still light of skin like
all Twilight Landers, and shorter and stockier than in the north.
These soldiers made a brave showing with polished cuirass and plumed
helmet and oblong shields, and they had a strong cavalry mounted on
tall hests, and trumpeters and standard bearers and engineers. They
outnumbered the Killorners by a good three to one, and stood in close,
suspicious ranks.
Approaching them, Kery thought that his people were, after all,
invaders of Ryvan themselves. If this new army decided to fall on the
tired and disorganized barbarians, whose strongest weapon had just been
taken from them, it could be slaughter. He stiffened himself, thrusting
thought of Rhiach far back into his mind, and strode boldly forward.
As he neared he saw that however well armed and trained the Ryvanians
were they were also weary and dusty, and they had many hurt among them.
Beneath their taut bearing was a hollowness. They had the look of
beaten men.
Bram and the Dagh, tall gray Nessa, were parleying with the Ryvanian
general, who had ridden forward and sat looking coldly down on them.
The Heorran carried his huge ax over one mailed shoulder, but had the
other hand lifted in sign of peace. At Kery's approach, he turned
briefly and nodded.
"Well you came," he said. "This is a matter for the heads of all three
clans, and you are the Broina now. I grieve for Rhiach, and still more
do I grieve for poor Killorn, but we must put a bold face on it lest
they fall on us."
Kery nodded, gravely as fitted an elder. The incongruity of it was like
a blow. Why, he was a boy--there were men of Broina in the train twice
and thrice his age--and he held leadership over them!
But Rhiach was dead, and Kery was the last living of his sons. Hunger
and war and the coughing sickness had taken all the others, and so now
he spoke for his clan.
He turned a blue gaze up toward the Ryvanian general. This was a tall
man, big as a northerner but quiet and graceful in his movements, and
the inbred haughtiness of generations was stiff within him. A torn
purple cloak and a gilt helmet were his only special signs of rank,
otherwise he wore the plain armor of a mounted man, but he wore it like
a king. His face was dark for a Twilight Lander, lean and strong and
deeply lined, with a proud high-bridged nose and a long hard jaw and
close-cropped black hair finely streaked with gray. He alone in that
army seemed utterly undaunted by whatever it was that had broken their
spirits.
"This is Kery son of Rhiach, chief of the third of our clans," Bram
introduced him. He used the widespread Aluardian language of the
southlands, which was also the tongue of Ryvan and which most of the
Killorners had picked up in the course of their wanderings. "And Kery,
he says he is Jonan, commander under Queen Sathi of the army of Ryvan,
and that this is a force sent out from the city which became aware of
the battle we were having and took the opportunity of killing a few
more Dark Landers."
Nessa of Dagh looked keenly at the southerners. "Methinks there's more
to it than that," he said, half to his fellows and half to Jonan.
"You've been in a stiff battle and come off second best, if looks tell
aught. Were I to make a further venture, it would be that while you
fought clear of the army that beat you and are well ahead of pursuit,
it's still on your tail and you have to reach the city fast."
"That will do," snapped Jonan. "We have heard of you plundering bandits
from the north, and have no intention of permitting you on Ryvanian
soil. If you turn back at once, you may go in peace, but otherwise...."
Casting a glance behind him, Bram saw that his men were swiftly
reforming their own lines. They sensed the uneasiness in the air.
If the worst came to the worst, they'd give a fearsome account of
themselves. And it was plain that Jonan knew it.
"We are wanderers, yes," said the chief steadily, "but we are not
highwaymen save when necessity drives us to it. It would better fit
you to let us, who have just broken a fair-sized host of your deadly
enemies, proceed in peace. We do not wish to fight you, but if we must
it will be all the worse for you."
"Ill-armed barbarians, a third of our number, threatening us?" asked
Jonan scornfully.
"Well, now, suppose you can overcome us," said Nessa with a glacial
cheerfulness. "I doubt it, but just suppose so. We will not account for
less than one man apiece of yours, you know, and you can hardly spare
so many with Dark Landers ravaging all your country. Furthermore, a
battle with us could well last so long that those who follow you will
catch up, and there is an end of all of us."
* * * * *
Kery took a breath and added flatly, "You must have felt the piping we
can muster at need. Well for you that we only played it a short while.
If we chose to play you a good long dirge...."
Bram cast him an approving glance, nodded, and said stiffly, "So you
see, General Jonan, we mean to go on our way, and it would best suit
you to bid us a friendly good-bye."
The Ryvanian scowled blackly and sat for a moment in thought. The wind
stirred his hest's mane and tail and the scarlet plume on his helmet.
Finally he asked them in a bitter voice, "What do you want here,
anyway? Why did you come south?"
"It is a long story, and this is no place to talk," said Bram. "Suffice
it that we seek land. Not much land, nor for too many years, but a
place to live in peace till we can return to Killorn."
"Hm." Jonan frowned again. "It is a hard position for me. I cannot
simply let a band famous for robbery go loose. Yet it is true enough
that I would not welcome a long and difficult fight just now. What
shall I do with you?"
"You will just have to let us go," grinned Nessa.
"No! I think you have lied to me on several counts, barbarians. Half of
what you say is bluff, and I could wipe you out if I had to."
"Methinks somewhat more than half of your words are bluff," murmured
Kery.
Jonan gave him an angry look, then suddenly whirled on Bram. "Look
here. Neither of us can well afford a battle, yet neither trusts the
other out of its sight. There is only one answer. We must proceed
together to Ryvan city."
"Eh? Are you crazy, man? Why, as soon as we were in sight of your town,
you could summon all its garrison out against us."
"You must simply trust me not to do that. If you have heard anything
about Queen Sathi, you will know that she would never permit it. Nor
can we spare too many forces. Frankly, the city is going to be under
siege very soon."
"Is it that bad?" asked Bram.
"Worse," said Jonan gloomily.
Nessa nodded his shrewd gray head. "I've heard some tales of Sathi," he
agreed. "They do say she's honorable."
"And I have heard that you people have served as mercenaries before
now," said Jonan quickly, "and we need warriors so cruelly that I am
sure some arrangement can be made here. It could even include the land
you want, if we are victorious, for the Ganasthi have wasted whole
territories. So this is my proposal--march with us to Ryvan, in peace,
and there discuss terms with her majesty for taking service under her
flag." His harsh dark features grew suddenly cold. "Or, if you refuse,
bearing in mind that Ryvan has very little to lose after all, I will
fall on you this instant."
Bram scratched his red beard, and looked over the southern ranks and
especially the engines. Flame-throwing ballistae could make ruin of the
laager. Jonan galled him, and yet--well--however they might bluff about
it, the fact remained that they had very little choice.
And anyway, the suggestion about payment in land sounded good. And if
these--Ganasthi--had really overrun the Ryvanian empire, then there was
little chance in any case of the Killorners getting much further south.
"Well," said Bram mildly, "we can at least talk about it--at the city."
* * * * *
Now the wagons, which the barbarians would not abandon in spite of
Jonan's threats, were swiftly hitched again and the long train started
its creaking way over the hills. Erelong they came on one of the paved
imperial roads, a broad empty way that ran straight as a spearshaft
southwestward to Ryvan city. Then they made rapid progress.
In truth, thought Kery, they went through a wasted land. Broad
fields were blackened with fire, corpses sprawled in the embers of
farmsteads, villages were deserted and gutted--everywhere folk had fled
before the hordes of Ryvan. Twice they saw red glows on the southern
horizon and white-lipped soldiers told Kery that those were burning
cities.
As they marched west the sky lightened before them until at last a
clear white glow betokened that the sun was just below the curve of the
world. It was a fair land of rolling plains and low hills, fields and
groves and villages, but empty--empty. Now and again a few homeless
peasants stared with frightened eyes at their passage, or trailed along
in their wake, but otherwise there was only the wind and the rain and
the hollow thudding of their feet.
Slowly Kery got the tale of Ryvan. The city had spread itself far
in earlier days, conquering many others, but its rule was just. The
conquered became citizens themselves and the strong armies protected
all. The young queen Sathi was nearly worshipped by her folk. But then
the Ganasthi came.
"About a year ago it was," said one man. "They came out of the darkness
in the east, a horde of them, twice as many as we could muster. We've
always had some trouble with Dark Landers on our eastern border, you
know, miserable barbarians making forays which we beat off without too
much trouble. And most of them told of pressure from some powerful
nation, Ganasth, driving them from their own homes and forcing them to
fall on us. But we never thought too much of it. Not before it was too
late.
"We don't know much about Ganasth. It seems to be a fairly civilized
state, somewhere out there in the cold and the dark. How they ever
became civilized with nothing but howling savages around them I'll
never imagine. But they've built up a power like Ryvan's, only bigger.
It seems to include conscripts from many Dark Land tribes who're only
too glad to leave their miserable frozen wastes and move into our
territory. Their armies are as well trained and equipped as our own,
and they fight like demons. Those war-gongs, and those dead faces...."
He shuddered.
"The prisoners we've taken say they aim to take over all the Twilight
Lands. They're starting with Ryvan--it's the strongest state, and once
they've knocked us over the rest will be easy. We've appealed for help
to other nations but they're all too afraid, too busy raising their
own silly defenses, to do anything. So for the past year the war's
been raging up and down our empire." He waved a hand, wearily, at the
blasted landscape. "You see what that's meant. Famine and plague are
starting to hit us now--"
"And you could never stand before them?" asked Kery.
"Oh, yes, we had our victories and they had theirs. But when we won
a battle they'd just retreat and sack some other area. They've been
living off the country--our country--the devils!" The soldier's face
twisted. "My own little sister was in Aquilaea when they took that.
When I think of those white-haired fiends--
"Well about a month ago, the great battle was fought. Jonan led the
massed forces of Ryvan out and caught the main body of Ganasthi at
Seven Rivers, in the Donam Hills. I was there. The fight lasted, oh,
four sleeps maybe, and nobody gave quarter or asked it. We outnumbered
them a little, but they finally won. They slaughtered us like driven
cattle. Jonan was lucky to pull half his forces out of there. The rest
left their bones at Seven Rivers. Since then we've been a broken nation.
"We're pulling all we have left back toward Ryvan in the hope of
holding it till a miracle happens. Do you have any miracles for sale,
Northman?" The soldier laughed bitterly.
"What about this army here?" asked Kery.
"We still make sorties, you know. This one went out from Ryvan city
a few sleeps past to the relief of Tusca, which our scouts said the
Ganasthi were besieging with only a small force. But an enemy army
intercepted us on the way. We cut our way out and shook them, but
they're on our tail in all likelihood. When we chanced to hear the
noise of your fight with the invaders we took the opportunity ...
Almighty Dyuus, it was good to hack them down and see them run!"
The soldier shrugged. "But what good did it do, really? What chance
have we got? That was a good magic you had at the fight. I thought my
heart was going to stop when that demon-music started. But can you pipe
your way out of hell, barbarian? Can you?"