"I... um... thought war councils were supposed to be off limits for combat." I said carefully.
"I also didn't get where I am today by playing fair," Big Julie shrugged.
"You know," Aahz drawled, "for a guy who doesn't want to fight, you run a pretty nasty war."
"What can I say?" the supreme commander asked, spreading his hands in helpless appeal. "It's a job. Believe me, if there was any other way, I'd take it. But as it is..."
His voice trailed off, and he began to raise his arm. I realized with horror that when his hand came down, so would the curtain.
"How much time do we have to find another way?" I asked desperately.
"You don't," Big Julie sighed.
"AND WE DON'T NEED ANY!" Aahz roared with sudden glee.
All eyes turned toward him, including my own. He was grinning broadly while listening to something the Gremlin was whispering in his ear.
"What's that supposed to mean?" the supreme commander demanded. "And where did this little blue fella come from? Eh?"
He glared at the encircling troops, who looked at each other in embarrassed confusion.
"This is a Gremlin," Aahz informed him, slipping a comradely arm around the shoulders of his confidant, "And I think he's got the answer to our problems. All our problems. You know what I mean?"
"What does he mean?" Julie scowled at me. "Do you understand what he's sayin'?"
"Tell him, Aahz," I ordered confidently, wondering all the while what possible solution my mentor could have found to this mess.
"Big Julie," Aahz smiled, "what could those loan sharks of yours do if you and your army simply disappeared?"
And so, incredibly, it was ended.
Not with fireworks or an explosion or a battle. But like a lot of things in my life, in as crazy and off-hand a way as it had started.
And when it had ended, I almost wished it hadn't. Because then I had to say good-bye to the team. Saying good-bye to the team was harder than I would have imagined. Somehow, in all my planning, I had never stopped to consider the possibility of emerging victorious from the war.
Despite my original worries about the team, I found I had grown quite close to each of them. I would have liked to keep them around a little longer, but that would have been impossible. Our next stop was the capital, and they would be a little too much to explain away.
Besides, as Aahz pointed out, it was bad for morale to let the troops find out how much their commander was being paid, particularly when it was extremely disproportionate to their own wages.
Following his advice, I paid each of them personally. When I was done, however, I found myself strangely at a loss for words. Once again, the team came to my aid.
"Well, boss," Brockhurst sighed. "I guess this is it. Thanks for everything."
"It's been a real pleasure working for you," Gus echoed. "The money's nice, but the way I figure it, Berfert and I owe you a little extra for getting us out of that slop chute. Anytime you need a favor, look us up."
"Youngster," Ajax said, clearing his throat, "I move around a lot, so I'm not that easy to track. If you ever find yourself in a spot where you think I can lend a hand, jes' send a message to the Bazaar and I'll be along shortly."
"I didn't think you visited the Bazaar that often," I asked, surprised.
"Normally I don't," the bowman admitted. "But I will now ... jest in case."
Tanda was tossing her coin in the air and catching it with practiced ease.
"I shouldn't take this," she sighed. "But a girl's gotta eat."
"You earned it," I insisted.
"Yea, well, I guess we'll be going," she said, beckoning to the others. "Take care of yourself, handsome."
"You will be coming back?" I asked hurriedly.
She made a face.
"I don't think so," she said wryly, "If Grimble saw us together..."
"I meant, ever," I clarified.
She brightened immediately.
"Sure," she winked. "You won't get rid of me that easily. Say good-bye to Aahz for me."
"Say good-bye to him yourself," Aahz growled, stepping out of the shadows.
"There you are!" Tanda grinned. "Where's the Gremlin? I thought you two were talking."
"We were," Aahz confirmed, looking around him. "I don't understand. He was here a minute ago."
"It's as if he didn't exist, isn't it, Aahz?" I suggested innocently.
"Now look, kid!" my mentor began angrily.
A chorus of laughter erupted from the team. He spun in that direction to deliver a scathing reply, but there was a blip of light and they were gone.
We stood silently together for several moments staring at the vacant space. Then Aahz slipped an arm around my shoulder.
"They were a good team, kid," he sighed. "Now pull yourself together. Triumphant generals don't have slow leaks in the vicinity of their eyes. It's bad for the image."
Chapter Twenty-Five:
"Is everybody happy?"
-MACHIAVELU
AAHZ and I entered the capital at the head of a jubilant mob of Possiltum citizens.
We were practically herded to the front of the palace by the crowd pressing us forward. The cheering was incredible. Flowers and other less identifiable objects were thrown at us or strewn in our path, making the footing uncertain enough that more than once I was afraid of falling and being trampled. The people, at least, seemed thoroughly delighted to see us. All in all, though, our triumphal procession was almost as potentially injurious to our life and limb as the war had been.
I was loving it.
I had never had a large crowd make a fuss over me before. It was nice.
"Heads up, kid," Aahz murmured, nudging me in the ribs. "Here comes the reception committee."
Sure enough, there was another procession emerging from the main gates of the palace. It was smaller than ours, but made up for what it lacked in numbers with the prestige of its members.
The king was front and center, flanked closely by Grimble and Badaxe. The chancellor was beaming with undisguised delight. The general, on the other hand, looked positively grim.
Sweeping the crowd with his eyes, Badaxe spotted several of his soldiers in our entourage. His dark expression grew even darker, boding ill for those men. I guessed he was curious as to why they had failed to carry out his orders to stop our return.
Whatever he had in mind, it would have to wait. The king was raising his arms, and the assemblage obediently fell silent to hear what he had to say.
"Lord Magician," he began, "know that the cheers of the grateful citizens of Possiltum only echo my feelings for this service you have done us."
A fresh wave of applause answered him.
"News of your victory has spread before you," he continued. "And already our historians are recording the details of your triumph ... as much as is known, that is."
An appreciative ripple of laughter surged through the crowd.
"While we do not pretend to comprehend the workings of your powers," the king announced, "the results speak for themselves. A mighty army of invincible warriors vanished into thin air, weapons and all. Only their armor and siege machines littering the empty battlefield mark their passing. The war is won! The threat to Possiltum is ended forever!"
At this, the crowd exploded. The air again filled with flowers and shouting shook the very walls of the palace.
The king tried to shout something more, but it was lost in the jubilant noise. Finally he shrugged and reentered the palace, pausing only for a final wave at the crowd.
I thought it was a rather cheap ploy, allowing him to cash in on our applause as if it were intended for him, but I let it go. Right now we had bigger fish to fry.