Despite his appearance, Ember pounded her chest in a salute. "Ember Doomforge, Ash Legion."
The older charr returned her salute, though stiffly. "Fellblow the Savage, Iron Legion, before I mustered out. I notched my sword on enough of these mice over the years. Why are these ones still alive?"
Ember shrugged. "I don't question my superiors. I merely carry out their orders. These vermin go to Black Citadel. Imperator business. I think they're spies."
"Huh," said Fellblow. "You need them both alive?" Dougal's heart dropped into his boots.
"For the moment," said Ember, and forced a laugh. The Iron Legion charr laughed as well, and moved on. Dougal suddenly realized that he had been holding his breath.
Ember pointed to the west. She said quietly, "This road will eventually take us to the Black Citadel. Instead we'll cut north when no one else is on the road. The Loreclaws are north of us, and beyond them the Ascalon Basin. Beyond that is the city."
Gullik and Kranxx nodded. Dougal looked at Riona, and her eyes were alive with a terrible fury.
A half-mile west of the crossroads, the land turned rockier, and now there were fewer ranches and almost no road traffic. Ember led them off the road and up into the hills.
The land was much as it must have been before the charr invaded, perhaps as it was before the humans arrived. Great boulders and faces of gray granite framed the valleys, worn by water and the insidious roots of slender young trees. The wind kicked up from the north, bearing with it a cool breeze.
"It should be easier for a while," said Ember, "at least until we reach the basin itself."
"Then you should let us out of these," said Riona, pulling at the neck shackle. It was leaving a red welt on her flesh.
"Not yet." Ember looked at the humans. "I only said 'easier.' These lands are not without peril. There are bandits in these hills, some human, some charr, some other races. And there are patrols here. There is less of a chance that some group will come upon us, but that chance exists."
"What she is saying," put in Kranxx, "is that the legions rule this land like the human queen does hers. They rule the cities and control the roads, but in the wild lands between the villages and the camps, a traveler is on his own."
Ember ignored the asura and looked at Dougal. "If there is a problem, free her first." She pointed at Riona. Dougal nodded.
They walked through most of the day without major incident. Once they came upon a small family of devourers, huge scorpions with two poisonous tails, feasting on the corpse of a deer. The devourers hissed and arched their double tails in warning, and Ember gave them a clear berth.
They finished off the last of the food that Ember had purchased, and pressed on, looking for a suitable place for the evening. That was when they heard shouts ahead, the clash of metal, gunfire, and explosions.
Ember and Gullik looked at each other, then carefully made their way up the rocky hillside, the norn dragging Riona and Dougal with him. Kranxx kept an eye on their rear flank.
The charr and the norn crawled the last few feet to the crest of the hill, and the humans followed. Topping the rise, Dougal was surprised by what he saw.
Charr fighting charr.
There was a bowl-shaped valley beneath them, dominated by a great campfire and lined with about a half-dozen tents. The valley had a prominent entrance, and through that cleft a patrol of Blood Legion warriors were pressing their way into a group of charr in red-golden armor. The Blood Legion warriors were led by a great black-furred charr, armed with a fiery sword, who shouted orders as the turmoil milled around them. The red-golden defenders were being pushed back, but some of them were armed with rifles that shot fire, playing them over the attackers like water from a hose. Near the campfire a charr in ornate robes was shouting what Dougal could only think of as an incantation.
"Flame Legion," snarled Ember, her eyes alight and her lips pulled back from her teeth. To Gullik she said, "You stay here. I'll be right back."
Riona barked, "No!" but Ember had already risen and was half leaping, half tumbling down the far side of the hill.
Dougal cursed as well. He could think of no advantage in going into battle with the charr. In her dark armor Ember might be identified as a friend of the Blood Legion, but any human in their midst was a target.
Ember was down among the tents now, bearing down on the shaman by the fire, her heavy blade drawn. Already the charr shaman's voice was reaching a crescendo, and something large was stirring from among the timbers of the flame. As Dougal watched, a wicker-shod arm wrapped in flame issued from the heart of the great campfire.
Gullik cursed, and Dougal saw that the norn was trying to physically restrain himself from charging into the battle. He looked at the emerging creature, then back at the humans, then to the camp again like a dog desperate for a treat.
"An effigy," he said at last. "The Flame Legion has summoned a flame effigy. I've heard of them, but I've never seen one. Never fought one."
"Go," snapped Kranxx. "I'll keep watch up here. Just don't get killed."
Without further encouragement, Gullik dropped his end of the chain, pulled his battle-axe, and, with a cry that resounded through the bowl of the valley, threw himself down the steep inner hillside. Dougal thought that, at the norn's shout, every charr's head in the battle turned toward them, before resuming their internecine struggle.
There was gunfire, and shots passed over their heads from Blood legionnaires unsure if they were possible allies or reinforcements for the Flame Legion. Dougal, Riona, and Kranxx flattened themselves on the hilltop.
"Spring the lock," said Riona, pointing to her neck.
Dougal looked down at the battlefield. Ember had reached the Flame Legion shaman and in a single blow cut him down. He crumpled like a set of empty ropes, but his enchantment had succeeded. Another heavy arm reached out of the flame, and now rising from the heart of the campfire was a giant's head wrapped in fire-a mockery of a charr warrior's head. Gullik was making for it, fearful someone would reach it first and deny him his fair slaughter of the creature.
"Ember said if something happens, free me," said Riona sharply. "This qualifies. Do it."
Dougal pulled the pouch with his lock picks from his pocket, and as he did he noticed there was someone behind him.
The Flame Legion soldier had appeared at the base of their hill, away from the battle. He wore a cumbersome backpack and held a strange rifle attached to the backpack by a flexible pipe. Whether the charr was a deserter or a picket or a patrol, he spotted them now.
"Hurry," said Kranxx, "I'll keep him busy." The asura raced down the hill, brandishing his useless lightning wand.
The Flame charr lifted his rifle and a jet of fire spat from its barrel, a stream of liquid flame that lanced toward the asura. The asura yelped and threw himself out of the way, dancing into a thicket of brush.
Dougal bent his head and concentrated on foiling the lock. It was a simple matter, the lock known to him and sprung before, and it pulled away from Riona easily.
The Flame charr had followed Kranxx and now played his flame rifle through the thicket, igniting the brush. As a result, he did not see Riona bearing down on him until the last moment.
She slammed into him hard, and the pair tumbled together down the hillside. She pulled away from him as the tube connecting the rifle and the backpack broke and fire in a thick trail streamed behind the legionnaire. The air took on a smoky tang from the burning brush, and Dougal's eyes watered. At the bottom of the hill, the charr struggled loose from his backpack, which apparently carried the rifle's fuel, his fur smoking. Before him, slightly uphill, Riona faced him. She was armed with a rock she had picked up.