"Bharat, don't play the innocent," Atreus said, shaking his head. "It would be a mistake to assume that because I am ugly, I am also stupid. You're in on his plan."
"Plan?" Bharat tried to look indignant. "What plan?"
"You aren't taking me to the Sisters of Serenity at all." Atreus did not try to keep the bitterness out of his voice, and Yago rose, curling his big hands into fists. "You brought me up here to rob me."
"Not true!" Bharat protested. "We are only two days from where your map starts."
Without quite realizing what he was doing, Atreus stepped around the fire and snatched Bharat up by the collar. "Don't take me for a fool!"
Rishi was up instantly, pushing himself between his friend and Atreus. "Oh, Bharat would never do that," he insisted. "Never in a thousand lifetimes!"
Atreus released the Mar and stepped back, surprised by the depth of his rage. He had to clench his fists to keep his hands from trembling, and his face and ears were so full of hot anger that he no longer felt the cold bite of the wind.
"I'm sorry if I frightened you," Atreus said, "but I warned you. Nothing makes me angrier than being treated as though I'm stupid."
Bharat glared at him from the opposite side of the fire. "We do not need you!" he spat. "It is you who need us! How would you find your Langdarma without us? What would happen if we told the Queen's Men about you?"
"You don't want to find out," growled Yago.
Atreus met the Mar's angry stare, and neither of them said anything.
It was Rishi who finally spoke. "Perhaps this is my fault to some small degree. Perhaps I have, most inadvertently and only through the best of intentions, misled the good sir in a manner most trivial and unimportant."
Atreus scowled. "How would that be?"
"In a tiny way that will have no impact whatsoever on the ultimate outcome of our endeavor, as is evidenced by the heavy presence in this part of the Yehimals of the Queen's Men, who are most assuredly here only because the Sisters of Serenity must be somewhere nearby."
"Rishi, are you telling me you don't know where the Sisters are?"
"Not at all! I have a very good idea where they might be," Rishi said, then took a step backward. "It is only that I have never actually… seen them myself. But I have traveled to one of the valleys on your map, by means of a secret caravan route used by certain, uh… traders from Konigheim. If we can find this trail, I am confident we will eventually find the Sisters of Serenity. As I have said, the Queen's Men would not be gathering in this area if our destination was not near."
Atreus groaned and fell silent, pondering his slim chances of reaching the peaks without the help of his two companions. Given his ignorance of the Yehimals and the unlikelihood of "Ysdar's devil" receiving help from the superstitious mountain people, he realized that Bharat had been right. He needed the Mar more than they wanted his gold.
Atreus turned to Bharat "You can take me to the valley at the edge of this map?"
"Did I not say so?" Bharat's voice was still filled with disdain. "The closest is only two days away."
"Then you will have your payment in two days."
Atreus went to the cart and pulled his treasure basket out, placing it on the ground beside the fire. He lifted the lid, then reached inside and touched the wooden coffer, placing his palm over the magic ward that sealed the chest. He did not bother to hide this from the two Mar, as only his touch would release the enchanted lock.
Atreus opened the coffer, revealing the mass of golden coins inside. He grabbed a handful and passed them to Bharat. "This gold means nothing to me, and it will only prove a burden in trying to reach Langdarma. After I am certain that you have led me to the edge of my map, you can take your third and leave."
"My third?" Bharat gasped.
"That does not seem fair?"
"Very fair!" Bharat gasped again. Despite his words, his gaze remained locked on the chest. "It is far in excess of what I expected, but a third?" He glanced in Rishi's direction. "Why not half? After all, it is my cart we are using… and my yaks."
"Rishi will accompany me to Langdarma." Atreus withdrew a second handful of coins and passed them to Rishi. "Save for the small portion I save for the passage home, the rest of the coins will be his."
"The good sir is too generous," said Rishi. Like Bharat, he could not take his eyes off the coffer's contents. "I hope you will make your passage home a comfortable one."
"I'm glad you're both pleased." Atreus closed the coffer, then listened to the telltale hiss of the magic lock reactivating itself. "But if you don't like my terms, you are free to leave with what I've given you already."
"Leave?" gasped Rishi. "Oh no, I am most happy to go with you as far as you wish."
"And you will take one of my yaks with you," offered Bharat, "to carry your load and provide milk and warmth in the high places where there is none."
"Good. Let us hope we'll all be happy men in two days." Atreus said as he closed the lid of the cargo basket. "Until then, we can put this unpleasantness behind us and sleep well."
It did not escape Atreus's notice that as he spoke, the eyes of the two Mar remained fixed on the basket. He shook his head, then took the pot and went off to milk the yaks. It was someone else's turn to worry about his gold.
CHAPTER 5
Atreus's first sound sleep in many days ended with a clap of thunder, then a flash so bright he saw it inside his eyelids. He threw aside the carpets he had been using as blankets and sat up, looking out the back of the wagon toward the fire pit. It was that gray time just before dawn when first light started to kindle a pearly sheen in the previous night's snow. Yago was nowhere to be seen, having risen early to hunt for something furry or feathered to supplement his inadequate diet. In the ogre's empty bed kneeled a pudgy silhouette, hunched over the open treasure basket and pressing palms to eyes. The figure took its hands away, then swiveled its head around aimlessly.
"Blind!" The voice was Bharat's. "The devil has blinded me!"
Rishi scrambled out from beneath the wagon and ran over to the treasure basket, barefooted and uncloaked despite the deep snow. When he saw the lid lying open, he pushed Bharat into the smoldering fire pit and began shrieking in angry Maran.
"In Realmspeak, Rishi," ordered Atreus. He dug out a boot and began to pull it on. "How many times must I remind you?"
Rishi switched instantly to Realmspeak shrieking, "Thief!" He kicked Bharat in the ribs.
Bharat rolled into the snow and curled into a ball. "Have mercy, my friend. You are kicking a blind man!"
"You were stealing my gold," Rishi accused, and kicked him again, this time in the back.
"That's enough, Rishi," Atreus ordered. "He's no good to us injured."
Rishi kicked Bharat one more time, then turned toward Atreus. "What good is he to us now?" he asked. "Who can trust a thief?"
Bharat remained curled into a ball "It is not what you think," he Pleaded "I was only looking…"
"Only looking?" Rishi reached behind the treasure chest, plucked the rucksack out of the snow, and asked, "What is this for?"
He hurled the bag at Bharat, who flinched, then raised his chin defiantly.
"Our split was supposed to be even…" Bharat said, "and now you are ready to take two thirds!"
"Of course! Now I must go with this fool into the High Yehimals," Rishi said, then paused, seeming to realize what he had said, and spun toward Atreus. "Pay him no heed. Bharat has always been a thief and a-"
"Yes," Atreus interrupted, "one is known by the company he keeps." He pointed at Rishi's bare feet and added, "You'd better get dressed. You won't be any good to me with frostbitten feet."
Rishi glanced down at his toes, then ducked beneath the wagon and began to dig for his clothes.