Still in shock, he headed south, promptly became lost, and when he found his way again he arrived at the next settlement to the south in time, once more, to witness the bloody signals of a vast change. He saw females and children put to the blade and the fear sent him running to the south, bypassing all settlements, for he was convinced that the entire land swarmed with the bloodthirsty pongs. He lost his way again, discovered his approximate position when he was to the south of the coastal city, Tshou, and, walking on the last reserves of his strength and fear, reached the capital city and collapsed. It was days before he came to his senses again and began to try to get someone in authority to listen to him. When, at last, he was admitted to the presence of the High Mistress, he saw her dressed in a flimsy, clinging, ankle-length garment of the richest material, seated upon the throne of Arutan, a handsome, tall, well-built captain of the guards standing at her right side. Given permission to speak, his story began to be blurted out in sometimes almost incoherent half-sentences, so that the captain became impatient and told the guards to remove this idiot.
"Hold," the High Mistress said. "We will hear what he has to say." He told, tearfully, of finding the body of his female and his two children in the ruins of the settlement and then became involved in a confusing account of his arduous journey all the way from the northern settlement to Arutan.
Elnice listened patiently. She asked questions.
"Are you expecting us to believe," the captain asked, "that pongs killed swordsmen of the master race?"
"Hata," Elnice said harshly, "hold your tongue." When she had heard all, how this male had witnessed the total destruction of two major settlements, she dismissed him with instructions to put him in the care of the healers and keep him near for further questioning.
"He's mad," Hata said. "It is not unusual for the loneliness of frontier life to destroy reason."
"I have a report from Kooh that states that there has been no return, in the form of flesh and hides, from the northern settlements," Elnice said.
"I heard the report," Hata said. "It takes time to clear the virgin forests, to establish routes."
Elnice was silent for a time. "Have you also heard the reports of decreasing production from the pongs?"
"I ordered that their food allotments be reduced until the work begins to produce the usual results," Hata said.
"Have you heard, as well, the whispers of a new Master who will free all pongs?"
Hata laughed. "The teaching of the sect of Tseeb. Yes, I have heard. I, myself, spoke with a priest of Tseeb. He was a fatuous fool, wanting to spread his message in the pens of this city, and I gave him permission. To have hope of something in the not too definable future keeps the pongs working. To believe in a du of mercy, who will give them freedom and eternal life in the afterworld, allows them to endure their otherwise intolerable condition."
"I wonder," Elnice said. "Send a spy into the pens. Have him name two or three who seem most excited by these messages of hope. Have them peeled slowly, giving them plenty of time to talk. Meanwhile, activate all guard reserves, and conscript enough males to form a full conqforce."
"A conqforce?" Hata gasped. "High Mistress, there has been no army of that size in existence since the days of the conquest."
"If the male who came from the north is mad," Elnice said, "we will use the conqforce to sweep through the western mountains, to eradicate for all time any vestige of runaway pongs."
"It will be a severe drain on your treasury," Hata said. Elnice laughed. "You still have hopes, I see, that I will relent and make you my consort. Never fear, Hata, should I decide on that course, there will be enough left in the treasury to assure that you will live well." Elnice could not say, nor, being High Mistress, did she have to, what prompted her to march out of Arutan at the head of the largest force that had been gathered since the days immediately following the Devourer migration from the humid, hot lands of the far south. Perhaps it was nothing more than a desire to see some of the land that she ruled. Perhaps, deep down, not realized even by herself, there was uneasiness at the continued silence from the new northern settlements.
"We have invested good treasure in those settlements," she told Hata. "I think it is time we found out why we are not yet getting a return." She marched by easy stages to the north, spending a pleasant few days in the coastal city, giving her subjects there a chance to see her, her splendid body hinting of its beauty through her thin garments, giving the residents of that city a reason for pride with drills and reviews of the well trained conqforce. The change of season forced her to leave Tshou's pleasant beaches, for if she was going to travel past Kooh, to the first of the settlements, and return before the snows, she could not afford to waste any more time.
Actually, Hata found that being in command of a full conqforce was an exciting experience. He had no illusions, he felt, about a threat in the far north. Pongs were inferior, and incapable of fighting. But it was glorious to give commands to so large a force, and he took full advantage of the opportunity to exercise his military skills. He set problems for the traveling force, and sent out scouts just as if there was an enemy army lying in ambush in the vast northern forests. Thus it was that two of his scouts almost blundered head-on into Duwan's main force moving toward Kooh.
"Have you been at the cup?" Hata demanded, when the breathless scouts came to his tent and reported a large force of armed pongs moving toward the city. He felt first a chill of apprehension, then elation. No Devourer officer had faced combat in generations. All his life he had been a soldier, and aside from peeling a few pongs he had never had a chance to exercise his skills. He summoned the High Mistress and had the scouts repeat the story. Then he sent others and, during the night, reports came back that astounded him. Pour separate groups of armed pongs were closing on Kooh, the largest moving toward the main gate, the southern gate.
"We will attack at dawn," Elnice said. "Spread your forces, captain, to destroy all four of the forces that dare to threaten my city."
"Your forgiveness, High Mistress," Hata said. "One of the most fundamental rules of warfare is never to split your forces in the face of an enemy of unknown strength."
Elnice frowned. "Then what do you suggest?"
"We will first wipe out the larger force of enemy, the force that is getting into position in front of the south gate. Then we will move to destroy the others forces one by one."
"And if the other forces flee at the first appearance of our troops you will have to hunt them down one by one in the forests. Dus, Hata, these are pongs. Do you fear them?"
Hata drew himself up. "I bow to your wishes." He gave orders to split his forces, to have four separate groups move into position. He doubted that they could move fast enough to reach the eastern and northern gates before first light, but he had to admit that Elnice's reasoning was good. There could be no serious threat from pongs, and he didn't relish having to spend the winter chasing them one by one through the snows. When Duwan saw the advancing lines of enemy guardsmen, his heart leaped. He had not felt right about this attack, and now he had learned a lesson. He had learned to trust his intuition.