"That's a risk I'm willing to take," barked Cordell. "This interview is concluded."
Caxal bowed, shaking with emotion. He held his eyes downcast as he backed toward the door.
"Wait!" Cordell stopped him. "There is another thing. I wish to learn more of this place you talked of, this 'Nexal.' Bring me some of your people who have visited there or lived there. I'm sure you know of such people."
"As you wish." Caxal nodded again and hurriedly slipped out the door.
"Do the men have comfortable quarters?" Cordell asked, turning to Daggrande.
"Indeed, General. Splendid. Food is plentiful. The Payit have no ales nor spirits," admitted the dwarf wistfully. "This 'octat they drink has a most pungent aroma and curious taste. But the men have made the most of it."
"We will remain here for two days. We'll let the men enjoy themselves a bit, find some women, that sort of thing. Go easy on them if they get a little out of control. One other thing, though, Captain. Any legionnaire caught hoarding gold is to be thrown in irons and displayed in the plaza as a lesson to his fellows. See that the word is passed.
"Then, Captain, I have a task that will require your special abilities." Daggrande looked at his general quizzically, and Cordell smiled slightly as he explained. "I wish to build a fort beside the anchorage where the fleet stands. You will be in charge of the construction, rotating half of the legion on work detail while the others stand to arms."
Daggrande nodded in quick comprehension. "Good choice, sir. That rocky hill just back from the shore?"
"Exactly. But we'll need a jetty, too. Later, perhaps, a breakwater, but for now, we'll start with a breastwork and a place to dock a carrack. Now, enjoy some time before I put you to work."
The dwarf nodded and clumped away. Captain Alvarro stepped in as his comrade departed.
"Ah, Captain," began the commander. "I will tell you why I have summoned you. We have been accepted rather prettily here, but I believe one more gesture is necessary to ensure the lasting obedience of the Payit."
"Yes, General? What do you suggest?"
"I want you to observe these warriors we have in captivity. Find four or five that show some spirit, that seem like leaders. Bring them to me, in the plaza before this house, this evening hence." The captain-general smiled grimly at his lieutenant, his eyes glittering like black sapphires.
"We will make sure that the warriors of Ulatos remember that they have been conquered by the Golden Legion."
From the chronicle of Coton:
As darkness gathers around the shores of Nexal.
Zaltec holds all of Maztica in thrall. Qotal tantalizes us with the promise of his return, with the sign of the couatl, with the visions to the Eagle Knight, but he gives no sign of arrival. And now an Ancient One is abroad in the land.
He follows his pack of hounds — black, fiery beasts from the netherworld, the world of Zaltec and the Darkfyre — and he seeks to kill the future before it can begin. For thus can Zaltec's triumph be assured.
But now the Ancient One moves with fear as well, for the pieces of the future are falling into place. He must slay her, and he must keep his nature a secret. Even the Ancient Ones, it seems, fear the might of the strangers.
The girl is still a child of pluma and, too, she is the beneficiary of unpredicted aid. The white man accompanies her not as conqueror but as companion. Together they challenge the darkness, but that darkness is vast, and they are very small indeed.
HELMSPORT
"What happened to you?" gasped Erix, leaning back to stare at the towering figure of Halloran.
"The potion… one of the small bottles! It must have been a potion of growth!" Erix clapped her hands over her ears, and Hal looked around self-consciously, imagining the echoes of his deep voice rumbling through the narrow, stonewalled gorge. He squatted in the grotto, noting that the light spell had vanished sometime during the fight.
"And that… thing that attacked you… I couldn't see it! What was that?" Erix stepped closer to Halloran, hesitantly reaching upward and touching his knee as if to ascertain that he really stood before her. Even squatting, he still loomed over her, but at least their faces were closer. He made an effort to speak quietly.
"I don't know. I've heard about such things… invisible stalkers and servants that wizards can summon. I think it was one of those… that it somehow tracked us here."
Erix frowned in concentration. "Listen… the howling. It's gone!"
They both remained still for a few moments, listening. Hal noticed that the sky was growing light from the approaching dawn. "I don't think this invisible fellow had anything to do with the howling," he ventured. "It's quiet now, sure, but that doesn't mean whatever it is has given up the trail."
"Do you think others know where we are? If the stalker can find us, maybe its master can, too!"
"Or mistress…" said Hal, thinking of the wizard Darien. He knew she would never forgive him for the theft of her spellbook, and he suspected she would be relentless in her pursuit of vengeance. By the same token, that loss might limit her powers enough to make pursuit difficult.
"You've got a good point," he said. "I think we'd better get out of here right away." Rosy light now colored half the sky, but the jungle remained still. The low rumble of surf, on the beach beyond the grotto, was the only sound.
Suddenly Halloran doubled over, his giant form toppling like a felled tree. He dropped to his hands and knees, retching uncontrollably. For a second, he suffered a terrifying sensation of falling as the world spun madly around him. His body twisted, racked by convulsions, and he sensed the grass slipping from his hands as he moved involuntarily.
Finally a sense of normalcy returned. He remained kneeling, supported by his hands, and slowly caught his breath. He no longer felt nauseous. Most importantly, his size was once again that of a human, not a giant.
Erix helped him to his feet. "Are you hurt?" she asked. "You looked like you were in terrible pain."
He nodded, suppressing a groan. "I was, for a minute there. I'm glad that's over."
Erix shook her head slowly. "I don't like it, this magic that changes you so. I think we should pour the other potions out!"
"That one surely proved useful! Who knows how helpful the invisibility potion might be, or that other one? I should find out what it is."
He reached into the saddlebag and pulled out the other small bottle. Like the invisibility and growth potions, it was marked by an indistinguishable label. He popped the cork out and raised it.
"Wait," said Erix, her voice quiet but urgent. "It's so soon since the effects of the other. At least wait awhile before trying it."
He was about to ignore her caution, but something in the strain of her voice told him she was really concerned. "All right," he said and put the bottle away.
"These are the warriors who have been causing the difficulties?" demanded Cordell.
Four men had been dragged to him in chains. Now they waited on their knees before the captain-general in the plaza of Ulatos. They were filthy, wearing only torn breech-clouts. It was hard to believe that they had once been Eagle and Jaguar Knights.
"These are the ones," grunted Alvarro, cuffing one man who dared to raise his head at Cordell's voice.
The horseman knew what his commander had in mind, and the whole charade was a game he found quite entertaining. The men were not troublemakers. Their only offense had been to glare at him instead of casting their eyes down like the other prisoners. The Payit warriors generally became morose and apathetic under captivity. It was as much spirit as any of the captives had shown, but that was all the excuse Alvarro needed.
"Valez, are you ready?" Cordell asked.
"Yes, my general!" Valez, the legion's master smith, nodded. He knelt before a hot pile of coals and quickly pulled forth a long iron. Its tip was the image of the staring eye of Helm, and now it glowed cherry red.