“It has been many years since Gudon rode the White Wolf territory,” Lynan said to Korigan. “Are you sure he knows the field you’ve told me about?”
“I am certain. We call it the Ox Tongue; in area it is almost as large as the High Sooq, and is almost always sprouting new grass this time of year.”
Lynan turned to Jenrosa. “Are you ready?” he asked.
Jenrosa took a deep breath. “No. But we can’t wait.” She glanced at Lasthear, who pulled another feather and boar heart from her saddle pouch, held one of Jenrosa’s hands, and started the incantation. Within moments, a ball of blue fire appeared.
“Can you see it?” Lasthear asked Lynan excitedly.
Lynan could not speak. Inside the fire he could see the Strangers’ Sooq, and even as he watched, the focus changed and there was Gudon, his face looking up into the sky.
“Incredible,” he said. Korigan echoed the sentiment.
Jenrosa laughed in surprised delight. “He knew I’d be in touch again,” she told Lynan. “He’s asking if you are here.”
She frowned in concentration. “He is glad you are both well. What do you wish him to do?”
Lynan told her. She relayed his instructions, then suddenly swayed in the saddle. The flames disappeared. Both Lynan and Lasthear reached out to steady her, but this time Lasthear seemed more tired than Jenrosa. “I gave her as much help as I could. It was exhausting.”
“Thank you,” Jenrosa told her. “You did help. There is almost no pain at all in my head. But I grew tired more quickly.”
“We do it too soon after the first time,” Lasthear explained. “Even for one with your raw talent, there is a cost.”
Lynan looked closely at Jenrosa. She smiled weakly and said: “It is done. Gudon will do as you ask.”
“If Terin does his part, all is ready,” Lynan said.
“Terin will do as you have asked,” Korigan assured him. “Now it is up to us.”
Igelko had led Terin and his troop of four riders straight as an arrow. From their vantage point atop a crest they could see a scouting party for Rendle’s mercenary force, although in this case they were Haxus regulars.
“I count seven,” Igelko said. “There are another three somewhere.”
“One on each flank, one bringing up the rear. Good.”
They scrabbled down the crest to where their horses waited. They mounted quickly and rode back to the mouth of the shallow valley Rendle’s scouting party was exploring. They reined in a short while later, letting their horses lazily crop at the spring grass.
“How long?” one rider asked.
“Any time now,” Terin answered. He was younger than most of his warriors, but they were proud to have him as their chief. He was a great hunter and horseman, and his decisions concerning the clan, including tying its fortunes to Queen Korigan’s ambitions, had brought the clan increasing honor. And in the last few days he had shown his skill as a warrior by leading his warriors against the rearguard Rendle left behind to protect the passes his force had come through.
“Don’t look, but the first is now in sight,” Igelko hissed. Terin risked glancing from the corner of his eye. His troop was in plain sight, and yet the Haxus rider still did not see them. Carrying out Lynan’s latest instructions—brought to him by rider only the day before—would be harder than he thought.
“These enemies are as blind as karak in the dark,” another rider said. “They would be easy prey,”
“We will have our turn,” Terin said under his breath. “But not here, and not now. You know what we have to do.”
More of the regulars appeared, and then at last one of them gave the alarm.
Terin and his riders pretended to be startled. They spurred their horses to a gallop and rode away from the regulars.
This is a fine game, Terin thought, and laughed in the wind.
The sergeant leading the scouting party was the first to see the Chetts. He shouted a command and his party gathered around him.
“What do we do?” one of his men asked.
“Go back and warn the general...” he started to say, but then noticed the Chetts were galloping away from him. “No! There are only five of them! We must catch them! Rendle will reward us for taking a prisoner!”
With that, he dug his heels into his horse and started off in pursuit of the fleeing enemy, his men close behind. It did not take him long to realize they were catching up with the Chetts, and could only think it was because they must already have ridden hard and their horses were nearly blown.
“Not long now!” he shouted, and his men cheered in anticipation of a fight heavily in their favor, and the prizes Rendle would shower on them for being the first to bring back a Chett captive.
They rode along the whole length of the valley, then over a shallow rise, then down into another valley. Although they drew closer and closer to the Chetts, it was taking longer than the sergeant thought it would to reach them. Up ahead was another rise, and he was sure it would be the last effort for the Chett mares. Then he saw the cloud of dust over the rise. For a moment its significance did not register. When it did, he reined in hard, the bit digging hard into his horse’s mouth.
“What’s wrong?” one of his men cried. “We almost have them!”
The sergeant pointed to the dust cloud. “Use your eyes, you dolt! The whole clan and its herd must be over that rise. We’d be massacred.”
“God’s death! They’ll alert their outriders!”
They turned their horses around and quickly spurred into another gallop. The sergeant was now frantically worried that if they were pursued their own mounts would tire.
After they reached the point where he had first seen the Chetts, he risked looking over his shoulder, and when he saw there was no one after them, he slowed down to a quick walk. They were only a league or two from the main force now, and so were almost certainly safe. Still, he had to resist the urge to gallop the rest of the way, and he never stopped looking over his shoulder to check that a horde of murderous Chetts were not rushing down on them.
“They’ve gone back,” Igelko told Terin, then leaned over his saddle to catch his breath.
“How far to their main force?”
“Four leagues, maybe less. Rendle will have a thousand soldiers here by midday.”
Term grinned. “Right. Get a fresh horse. You’ll have no time for rest, I’m afraid.”
Igelko nodded wearily. Terin then gave orders for the riders who had been pulling the long rakes made up of sinew and karak bones to dismantle them. They had put enough dust in the air for it to last at least until the afternoon. “The enemy has taken the bait. We ride south for another ten leagues and repeat the performance.”
“How long do you think they will follow us?” Igelko asked. “Even Rendle must get tired of chasing dust all day.”
“They’ll keep it up for a few days, and that’s all we need.”
Igelko found the energy to grin back at his chief. “Then we don’t run anymore.”
Terin slapped him on the chest. “Then we fight, my friend. Then we fight.”
Gudon scoured the markets in the Strangers’ Sooq for the clothes he wanted. He found a pair of barge pants and an old wagon driver’s shirt that would make do. He traded his own clothes to purchase them, and the merchant was so surprised he threw in a handful of coins as well.
“You are very generous,” Gudon told him.
“I am cheating you, stranger,” the merchant said, shaking his head, then held out another few coins. “Here, have these as well. My conscience needs the salve.”
Gudon accepted them gratefully, although he did not need them; but there was no need to make the merchant feel bad.
The two shook hands, and Gudon quickly changed into the barge pants and old shirt. He inspected himself in the reflection of an old mirror the merchant held up for him.