«What others?» said Blade.
Gribbon glared at him. «Don't ask for too much, Man from the Future. Just get yourself ready to move out. I wasn't joking about that.»
«And Khraishamo wasn't joking about not being able to ride,» said Blade sharply. «Are you taking any wagons?»
«Yes.»
«Then Khraishamo can ride in one of them. After what Sigluf said, you can't expect him to use a litter.»
«Blade-«
«Gribbon-Khraishamo rides in a wagon, or I go to Sigluf and tell him we'll fight here, tomorrow morning. Take your choice.»
Gribbon didn't draw his sword, but he looked as if he wasn't sure whether to commit murder or suicide. Then he growled, «All right. Get in the wagon,» and stamped off, muttering to himself.
«You heard him,» said Blade. «I'll get you weapons by daylight, but guard your back until then.»
«You too, Blade.» They gripped shoulders, then Khraishamo and Rhodina moved off toward the barn as Blade turned toward the stables.
Chapter 21
They were on the move within an hour. Khraishamo and Rhodina sat on the sacks in a cartload of grain, while Blade rode beside them on a borrowed horse. Blade had a sword, a Maghri club, and two spears. He gave one spear to Khraishamo. Gribbon flatly refused to give any of the three a bow and arrows, and Blade didn't think it wise to press the matter.
«He'll do what he calls justice to us,» said Blade. «I'm not sure what that will be, so I won't ask for more than we need.»
What Gribbon called justice to his three unwelcome guests became clear in the next few days. He gave them enough food and drink, but let them make their own sleeping arrangements, spoke to them as seldom as possible, and didn't lift a finger to protect them from the Maghri. His attitude was unmistakable: «You bastards made trouble for us. I don't dare make trouble for you, but I won't go out of my way to prevent it either.»
Blade refused to worry. They knew exactly where they stood with the rebel leader, and they were in no danger from the Maghri. The warriors made that very clear to Blade, even before dawn on the first day of the march.
Blade's courage in challenging Sigluf made a good impression. Nor did most of the warriors mind that Blade was blood-brother to one of the Sarumi.
«The Sarumi-we hear they fight well,» said one warrior. «So it is no shame, being brother to one.»
The warriors also had their own opinion of Sigluf. «He fights well, and leads well. I would follow him anywhere in a battle,» said another warrior. «In camp, he goes on fighting, with his mouth and-«He pointed at his groin, and all the others laughed. «He takes too many women. If you beat him, and want some of his…?»
Blade shook his head. «Thank you, but I don't need his women.»
«You share Rhodina with Khraishamo?» Among the Maghri two or three brothers or sworn comrades frequently shared the same wife.
«No. I am from-far away. I will be returning to my home when this war is over. I could not be a good man for a woman of the Maghri.» They all admitted that under the circumstances he'd made a wise choice.
Meanwhile, the army of the Mythoran rebels was growing. Blade gave up asking Gribbon for information about the army and its plans, and instead watched it grow while he listened to the men talk. In five days he had a roughly accurate idea of what was going on around him.
To start with, it was a mistake to speak of «the free Mythorans» or «the rebels,» as if they were a single group united against Goharan rule. There was one group of rebels among the merchants and craftsmen of Mythor, and another among the farmers inland. The merchants had more money, and it was they who'd made contact with the Friends of Mythor in the north. The farmers didn't have much money, but they had more men and more weapons even without the Maghri.
They also suspected the city people of being unreliable, or at least infested with Kloret's spies. They were probably right. Kloret would hardly insist on keeping Imperial agents out of Mythor, unless he wanted a free hand for his own people to infiltrate the rebels there. Did he merely want to watch them, or did he perhaps dream of controlling them? That dream, at least, wasn't going to come true, now that the rebels of the back country had taken matters into their own hands.
With the help of the Maghri, the farmers would become the backbone of the rebellion. The Maghri were supposed to be sending nine thousand mounted warriors, and the farmers were supposed to raise more than seven thousand. In all of Mythor's lands the Goharans had only eight thousand fighting men. To resist the Maghri they relied on the aid of the farmers, but the farmers and the Maghri were now allies riding side by side against Gohar's power. Those rebels who would talk to Blade at all were supremely confident of victory.
Blade wasn't nearly as optimistic. The Maghri were brave, tough, and experienced, but followed more than two dozen different chiefs. The farmers were also brave, but not nearly as experienced. They followed one leader, Gribbon, but what he didn't know about warfare would fill a large book. The fight was going to be a bloody one, no matter how it came out.
Blade was even less optimistic when he learned how the Maghri were going to be paid for their support. They were going to be allowed to loot the property of all Goharans and any Mythorans who didn't support the rebellion. To Blade, this sounded like a perfect prescription for a complete shambles. What would keep the Maghri from stealing everything that wasn't nailed down or on fire, and never mind who owned it? What would keep people stripped of all their property from turning against the rebels? And after that, what would prevent chaos in Mythor?
Blade didn't know, and apparently no one else seemed to be thinking of the danger. After getting a few blank or suspicious stares, Blade reluctantly decided to keep his mouth shut. If he could do anything at all, it would only be after the fighting was over.
When that would be, he didn't know. The rebel army was supposed to gather swiftly and secretly, then strike with surprise on its side. Now the storm had turned a good part of the countryside into a sea of mud. Nobody was going anywhere swiftly.
In theory, it would have been wise to postpone the uprising for a few weeks. But autumn was coming on, and they couldn't afford to lose that much time from the campaigning season. Also, the Maghri were already over the border when the great storm struck. Surprise might already be lost. So there was no way for the rebels but forward. Even Blade admitted this.
The storm also did some good. Neither side could move quickly. Also, rumors had it that many Goharan soldiers were now scattered across the countryside, helping victims of the storm. The general commanding in Mythor could barely put five thousand of his men in the field at the best of times. Now he might be able to send out even fewer. The rebels might ride most of the way to Mythor before they had to fight a battle.
Blade's first five days with the army were long and slow. The growing mass of horsemen crawled across the countryside, through mud which sometimes reached the knees of the horses. More than once the carts of the supply train bogged down completely, and everybody dismounted to help the teamsters dig out.
By the end of the fifth day, none of the teamsters would hear a word against Khraishamo or Rhodina. The pirate used his massive strength freely, wielding a spade or sometimes heaving a cart free by sheer musclepower. Rhodina was always ready to lay a fire and heat soup and spiced ale when the carts were ready to move again.