I could not find Mogaba. I could not find either of our prodigal wizards. No surprise. I did not invest much effort in the hunt. I did put some into trying to locale Croaker's kid.
Wherever she was she would be alone. There might be an opportunity in that.
While I searched I also kept an eye out for some evidence of what had become of the real Sleepy.
I had no luck with those quests, either. But I did stumble on evidence that my blindness might not be entirely accidental.
I was drifting over a slope I knew to be in the mountains not many miles from Catcher's former cave. I was sure Catcher would not have gone far when she moved, despite having Howler's carpet at her disposal. I wandered into an area of small, deep and dark canyons. I flitted up and down those, letting their walls guide me, figuring the kid, or anyone else, would be detectable by the heat or light of a fire. I doubted she could do without.
I found no fire. I did find my horse. I think. I whipped past the beast, catching only a glimpse, an impression that it was confined inescapably, another that it sensed my passage and tried to respond. But when I stopped and turned back I could find nothing. In fact, it seemed that in just a moment that entire corner of the world became a sensory desert.
I had run with Kina once already this trip. I might not be alone now, especially if I was anywhere near the Daughter of Night.
I knew the general area. I would tell Croaker. He could send soldiers out if he wanted.
Catcher would not be getting in our way.
My last action was to check on Uncle Doj where the Nyueng Bao bodyguards were keeping vigil. He was unconscious but alive. I gathered that they were keeping him drugged for his own good, giving him time to heal. Whatever his mission, he did not need to complete it immediately.
I went home to my comfortable flesh and uncomfortable bed.
The guys let me sleep in like it was a holiday. The sun was already up when I crawled out of my bunker, past the vacant eyed Sleepy doppelganger sprawled beside the doorway.
99
Croaker arrived soon after I finished my breakfast mush. He had not slept in. "You went in yesterday? How was it?"
"Just a few yards. Thai Dei, too. He insisted. We had ropes tied to our butts. Sit down here and check out the view across the way." I had my back to Sleepy. I did not want my lips read. I made gestures like I was talking about something else while I whispered my news.
Croaker chuckled. "Now isn't that interesting. We'll just play along for now. I won't even tell Lady. Though I got to tell you, everybody but you already suspected."
"Shit. That's why you were such a bunch of assholes. You didn't trust me not to give it away. What's the plan for today?"
"Try the road all the way to the top. I'll go with you. Save the talk till we get on the other side."
"Good idea." I let everything wait till later. "You eaten?"
He glanced at my battered tin bowl. "You live like kings over here, don't you?"
"Absolutely. Only the best for the cream of the legion."
"I'll pass. This time." He looked up the mountain and sighed. "One-Eye had the right idea. I'm too old for this shit."
"It's not that bad." It was not. When I call the slope a mountain I mean it metaphorically. The road could be made usable by wagons with very little work and the rim of the plateau could not have been more than a thousand feet higher than the Shadowgate. And probably not that far.
"Let me know when you're ready." The Old Man massaged his right knee. He noticed me noticing. "Little rheumatiz. But it only hurts when I walk on it."
Buy a horse, I thought but did not say. "How old are you really?"
"You're as young as you think you are," he replied, his expression branding that one a load of old manure. "Lady keeps me young."
I wondered if there might not be a touch of truth in that one. She did a great job of keeping herself slim, sleek and fresh.
"Grab the standard and let's go."
"You want to take a couple guys along? Just in case?"
"Your guy will follow us. Want him or not. Grab a couple others. Rudy and Bucket will do."
"You going to ride?" He had ridden over on his big stallion. "I always figured you'd go whole hog when you went up there. The full Widowmaker rig and whatnot."
"Next time. Let's go." He was nervous.
I hollered for Rudy and Bucket. They showed up quickly, like maybe they had been lurking nearby, expecting a summons. Their Nyueng Bao shadows drifted along behind them. The whole bunch were ready to travel.
I said, "Looks like it'll be me holding up the parade." I was pleased the guys had shown some initiative.
I crawled back into my bunker, noting as I went that Thai Dei too was ready to climb the mountain.
I needed only a moment to collect some jerky, roasted oats and a canteen. On my way out I told Sleepy, "Don't go away, pal. I'll be back in time for supper." Gods and devils of the earth willing.
I grabbed the standard. We crossed over the boundary a man at a time. The vibration seemed less dramatic this time. Thai Dei too seemed less touched. But the others turned pale and became very jumpy. The chill was no less strong. I shivered.
In a moment the road was clear before me, the polished jet thread wandering up the slope. "You see the way?" I lowered the head of the standard till the iron head touched that thread. I do not know why I did that.
A vibration went through me that was a dozen times stronger than that coming through the Shadowgate. I gasped. I shuddered. Maybe I sputtered and foamed at the mouth.
"What's wrong with you?" Croaker demanded.
I pushed the standard into his hand. "You just do what I did." I stepped away. Looking up the slope I realized I was seeing it in a different way. I saw the same old dirty, barren slope with its glistening black thread but also saw a ghost of what it must have been like in an age long gone, when the road was new and the slope, while nearly as barren, had not had such a godsforsaken look.
Human ghosts moved there, too, though they were even more insubstantial than the road and slope and unfallen fortifications around us.
Croaker reacted exactly the way I had. But he must have had a clue or two more. As soon as he regained control he passed the standard to Bucket and told him to repeat the process.
The standard passed from Bucket to Rudy and from Rudy to Thai Dei. Thai Dei thought about it for more than a minute before he went ahead. He did so only when the Old Man told him, "You don't follow through, you don't go up the hill." Thai Dei did not want to do that either but had no choice. He was trapped by his own character as well as, I suspected, the task Uncle Doj had laid upon him.
Once Thai Dei made his move the other Nyueng Bao followed. Croaker told them, "It doesn't mean you're committed to the Company, boys."
A moment later I observed, "Now that we've got that out of the way what say we climb the mountain?" Good Standardbearer me, I took up the Lance and started trudging.
It felt good to be headed home.
What?
I looked at the others. Nobody appeared to be having trouble keeping touch with reality. Maybe it was another aspect of the dreaming and falling into nightmares.
Thai Dei hung close to my back. He was not comfortable at all this morning. He had his sword out and ready.
The black ribbon widened as it climbed the slope. It also seemed to take on depth. Its surface, though flat, assumed an appearance of concavity. If you touched it, it felt hard and cold yet seemed almost soft underfoot.
The slope steepened a bit. I huffed and puffed. Then the going became easier, the road less timeworn. The horizon line stopped retreating as fast as I chased it.
"Stop!" Croaker yelled.