"We won!" she cried exultantly.
Halting, she looked down at Skorm's shattered sword and frowned. "That looks familiar," she said. "That's the Protector's Sword of Office!"
Graym bent and pulled the skull off Skorm's face. He was conscious again and looked pinched and scared, but fairly ordinary beyond that.
"Protector!" Rhael gasped.
Darll kicked the Protector's sword hilt away from him and stood watching over him.
Rhael was staring admiringly at an embarrassed Graym. "I heard the noise. I saw the whole thing. You charged an army by yourselves!"
Darll opened his mouth to explain, but Jarek trod on his foot. "We toppled our barrels on them. Then Graym was the first one down. Not even Darll could outrun him."
Rhael sighed. "What a wonderful idea. But your trade goods — your ale — you sacrificed them for us?"
"One barrel made it," Jarek told her. "It rolled off to one side and didn't hit anybody." He shook his head. "But I bet all those other soldiers are drinking it now."
"There are no other soldiers, rock-brain!" Darll growled. "This Protector and his friends built them out of corpses, tugged on ropes to make them move, pretended to train them. They wanted to scare everyone out of town, then loot it, and it nearly worked."
Jarek scratched his head. "Why didn't the town set up a bunch of fake soldiers to fight back?" he asked.
Darll looked at Graym, at Jarek, and at the Wolf brothers, who, seeing the fight was over, had returned. Darll grinned.
"They did set up fake soldiers. Sort of."
Graym cleared his throat. "Well, we'd best get on the road." He handed the Axe of Just Kidding back to Rhael. "Business calls, Miss. Glad we could help, and all."
She brushed his cheek with her finger. "You knew," she said wonderingly. "Even before you attacked, you knew Skorm was a fraud."
Graym looked uncomfortable. "Well, I had an idea. Couldn't be sure, of course."
Darll rolled his eyes.
Graym, feeling awkward, said simply, "Nice meeting you, Miss." He turned and walked through the graves and the shattered mock soldiers.
They collected the cart and the single surviving barrel. Graym tried, briefly, to find the barrel taps and the rest of their belongings, then said, "Give it up." They dragged the cart through the scattered armor, framework, and bones of the open graves.
The cart rolled freely. Jarek looked at the single barrel in it and said happily, "The price of ale must be way up now."
"Best thing that could happen, really," Graym said, but he sounded troubled. He and the Wolf brothers drew the cart alone. Darll and Jarek walked alongside as they moved up the last hill before Krinneor. Darll was trying to learn the second verse of "The Bald Maid and the Barber."
Fenris, beside Graym, said, "I hate to turn him in."
Graym nodded. "He's not a bad lot. Wanted to kill us or jail us, but face it. Who wouldn't?"
Fanris, on his other side, said, "Can't we just let him go?"
Graym stared at the road. "He's expected. We were paid half in advance. We can't just two-step into Krinneor — "
"Do we need to go there so bad?" Fenris asked softly.
Graym looked back at the cart, bouncing easily with one barrel of ale and no supplies. "It's all we've got left."
They walked in silence, watching Darll try to teach Jarek to juggle. The mercenary, even while mocking Jarek's efforts, had a hand affectionately on the man's shoulder.
The road cut through a pass and angled to the left.
Jarek sniffed the air. "I smell something funny."
"That's the sea, boy," said Graym.
But Darll looked troubled. "I didn't know there was an arm of the sea here."
"A port city," Graym explained. "Not just rich, but a trade center. We're nearly here. Beyond this curve, we'll see the road on the shore, probably a lovely seaside view, all the way to Krinneor — "
They rounded the comer.
The hill plunged down to a sandy beach strewn with rocks. The road ended, half-covered with sand, sloping down into the water and disappearing. Ahead was water, all the way to the horizon,a new sea, still gray with the silt and mud of the land collapsing and the waters rushing in.
A half mile out from shore, a group of battered golden spires stuck upright, barely a man's height above the waves. Gulls were nesting on them.
The men rolled the cart to the beach and stood.
"The golden towers," Fenris said.
"The marble doors," Fanris said.
"And excellent drains," said Darll.
Graym, staring at the spires in shock, murmured, "I hear that's very important for a city."
The others laughed for quite a while. Graym sat on a rock by the shore, staring.
Jarek moved down the beach, picking up stones to skip. The Wolf brothers, once they were over their fear of gulls, took off their boots and went wading. Darll walked up to Graym. "Where to from here?"
"Nowhere." Graym stared, unseeing, over the open water. "No horses, no food, no money. No Krinneor." He blinked his eyes rapidly. "All gone."
Darll was shocked. "There's a world out there. You can start over."
Behind them, a voice said, "You can stay here."
Rhael came forward, holding some sort of medallion and twisting it in her fingers. Her determination was gone; she looked unsure of herself.
Graym stared at her a moment. "You knew the truth about Krinneor, didn't you?"
"We all knew. No one wanted to tell you before you helped us."
"I don't suppose you did, Miss," Graym said heavily. "And after?"
"Afterward, Elder Werlow was afraid of you. You're fierce warriors."
Darll had the grace not to laugh.
"So you let us go. Good joke." Graym sighed.
She twisted the medallion chain almost into a knot. "I argued with them and said I'd follow you and apologize, and — and give you this."
She held up the medallion, realized how twisted it was. "Sorry." She untwisted the chain nimbly, then dropped it over Graym's neck. "There."
The medallion was a small shield with a single piece of black opal in the shape of an axe. Graym looked down at it. "It was brave, your coming here when you were embarrassed. Thank you, Miss. I'll keep this."
"Until he gets hungry," Darll said bluntly, "then he'll sell it. He'll have to."
Rhael ignored the mercenary. "Why not stay in Graveside?" she asked. She touched the medallion. "To fill the office that goes with this."
"Office?" Graym said blankly, opening his eyes.
"Of Protector," Rhael said. On impulse, she kissed his cheek. "Please take it. Your men, too. You'll have food and lodging, and we know we can trust you."
Graym stared bemusedly at her. "Me, a law officer?" He turned to Darll. "Would I be any good, sir?"
"Unless you rob them, you can't do worse than the last one they had." He looked at the dangling chain. "I suppose you'll put me in jail there?"
Graym sighed. "Can't do it, now that I'm their Protector. Wouldn't be right, would it, sir? I mean, you're their war hero and all."
He frowned, concentrating, then smiled and slapped Darll on the back. "You can go, sir. It's all right. You're pardoned."
Darll's jaw fell and he goggled at Graym. "You're pardoning me?"
"First offense, like you said, sir. You've matured since then. Probably be an upstanding citizen of Graveside." He puckered his brow, thinking, and suddenly brightened. "You could stay and be my military advisor."
"You lead? Me advise?" It was too much. Darll shook his head and walked away, swearing, laughing, and muttering.
"What's he upset about?" Jarek asked. "He fought all right."
"You all fought wonderfully," Rhael said firmly. "You're our heroes." She kissed Graym again, then walked swiftly back through the pass toward Graveside.
"Heroes?" the Wolf brothers said at once, and laughed.
Graym said gruffly, "There've been worse."