The Eternal Champion

'But how do you tell?'

I could not answer him, of course.

'Well, I think there's a great deal of superstition mixed up in your tale, Roldero,' I said. 'I would not have expected it of you, old friend.'

'Believe me or not,' Roldero muttered. 'But you would do better to believe me until I am proved a liar, eh?'

'Possibly you're right.'

'I sometimes wonder at you, Erekose,' he said. 'Here you are owing your own existence to an incantation, and you are the most sceptical man I know!'

I smiled at this. 'Yes, Roldero. I should believe more. I should believe more.'

'Come,' said Roldero, moving towards the prone king who lay on his face in a pool of wine. 'Let's get our lord to bed before he drowns.'

Together we picked up the king and called for soldiers to help us as we hauled Rigenos up the stairs and dumped him on his bed.

Roldero put a hand on my shoulder. 'And stop brooding, friend. It will do no good. Think you that I enjoy the slaughter of children? The rape of young girls?' He rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand as if to rid it of a foul taste. 'But if it is not done now, Erekose', it will be done at some time to our children and our young girls. I know the Eldren are beautiful. But so are many snakes. So are some kinds of wolf that prey on sheep. It is braver to do what has to be done than it is to pretend to yourself that you are not doing it. You follow me?'

We stood there in the king's bedchamber staring at each other.

'You are very kind, Roldero,' I said.

'It's well meant advice,' he told me.

'I know it is.'

'It was not your decision to slaughter the children,' he said.

'But it was my decision to say nothing of it to King Rigenos,' I replied.

At the mention of his name, the king stirred and began to mumble in his stupor.

'Come,' grinned Roldero. 'Let's get out of here before he remembers the words of that dirty song he promised to sing us.'

We parted in the corridor outside the chamber. Count Roldero looked at me with some concern. 'These actions must be made,' he said. 'It has befallen us to be the instruments of a decision made some centuries ago. Do not bother yourself with matters of conscience. The future may see us as bloody-handed butchers. But we know we are not. We are men. We are warriors. And we are at war with those who would destroy us.'

I said nothing, but put my hand on his shoulder then turned and walked back to my lonely apartments.

In my mental discomfort, I had all but forgotten the girl until I saw the guard at my door.

'Is the prisoner secure?' I asked him.

'There is no way out,' the guard said. 'No way, at least, Lord Erekose, that a human could take. But if she were to summon her halfling allies…'

'We'll concern ourselves with those when they materialise,' I told him. He unlocked the door for me and I entered.

There was only one lamp burning and I could barely see. I took a taper from a table and with it lit another lamp.

The Eldren girl lay on the bed. Her eyes were closed, but her cheeks were stained with tears.

So they cry like us, too, I thought.

I tried not to disturb her, but she opened her eyes and I thought I saw fear in them, though it was difficult to tell, for the eyes really were strange-without orbs and flecked with gold and blue. Seeing those eyes, I remembered what Roldero had told me and I began to believe him.

'How are you?' I asked, somewhat inanely.

Her lips parted, but she did not speak.

'I do not intend to harm you,' I said weakly. 'I would have spared the children if I could. I would have spared the warriors in the battle. But I have only the power to lead men to kill each other. I have no power to save their lives.'

She frowned.

'I am Erekose,' I said.

'Erekose'?' The word was music when she spoke it. She pronounced it more familiarly than I did myself.

'You know who I am?'

'I know who you were.'

'I am reborn,' I said. 'Do not ask me how.'

'You do not seem happy to be reborn, Erekose.'

I shrugged.

'Erekose,' she said again. And then she voiced a low, bitter laugh.

'Why do you laugh?'

But she would not speak again. I tried to converse with her further. She closed her eyes. I left the room and went to the bed next door.

The wine had worked at last-or something had-for I slept reasonably well.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN THE RETURNING

Next morning I arose, washed myself, dressed and knocked on Ermizhad's door.

There was no reply.

Thinking that she had, perhaps, escaped and that Katorn would be instantly suspicious that I had helped her, I flung open the door and entered.

She had not escaped. She still lay on the bed, but now her eyes were open again as she stared at the ceiling. Those eyes were as mysterious to me as the star-flecked depths of the universe.

'Did you sleep well?' I asked.

She did not reply.

'Are you unwell?' was my next rather stupid, question. But she had plainly decided to communicate with me no further. I made one last attempt and the left, going down to the great hall of the slain Warden. Here Roldero was waiting for me and there were a few other marshals, looking the worse for wear, but King Rigenos and Katorn were not present.

Roldero's eyes twinkled. 'There are no drums beating in your skull by the look of you.'

He was right. I had not considered it, but I had no after effects from the huge quantities of wine drunk the night before.

'I feel very well,' I said.

'Ah, now I believe you are an immortal!' he laughed. 'I have not escaped so lightly. Neither, it seems, have King Rigenos and Lord Katorn, or some of the others who were enjoying themselves so much last night.' He drew closer and said quietly: 'And I hope you are in better spirits today, my friend.'

'I suppose I am,' I said. I felt drained of emotion, in fact.

'Good. And what of that Eldren creature? Still safe?'

'Still safe.'

'She did not try to seduce you?'

'On the contrary-she will not speak to me at all!'

'Just as well.' Roldero looked around impatiently. 'I hope they get up soon. There's much to discuss. Do we carry on inland or what?'

'I thought we agreed that the best plan was to leave a good force here, strong enough to defend the city, and get back to the Two Continents to re-equip and to check any attempt to invade us while our fleet's at Paphanaal.'

Roldero nodded. 'It's the most sensible plan. But I do not like it very much. While it has logic it does not suit my impatience to get at the enemy as soon as possible.'

I agreed with him. 'I would like to have done with this as soon as I could,' I told him.

But we had little clear idea where the rest of the Eldren forces were marshalled. There were four other major cities on the continent of Mernadin. The chief of these was Loos Ptokai which lay near to the Plains of Melting Ice. This was Arjavh's headquarters and, from what the Eldren on the flagship had said, he was either there now or marching to recapture Paphanaal. It seemed to us that he would attempt this, because Paphanaal was the most important position on the coast. With it in our hands we had a good harbour in which to bring our ships and land our men.

And if Arjavh did march against us, then all we had to do was save our energy and wait. We thought that we could leave our main force in Paphanaal, return to our own base at Noonos, bringing back the divisions of warriors who, because of insufficient ships, had been unable to come with us on the preliminary expedition.

But Roldero had something else on his mind. 'We must not forget the sorcerous fortress of the Outer Islands,' he told me. 'They lie at World's Edge. The Outer Islands should be taken as soon as possible.'