Erik waited with anticipation as the waterskin was passed his way, and drank deeply. They had passed a pool on the way down, so there was no reason to stint right now.
As he handed the skin back he looked out at the distant plain and something caught his eyes. “What’s that rippling movement in the distance?” he asked no one in particular.
Praji heard him and came down to where he stood. Squinting, he said, “My eyes aren’t what they used to be.” Turning to face up the slope, he called out, “Captain! You should take a look out there!” He pointed at the horizon.
Calis stared for long minutes, then said, “Gods above! It’s the Saaur.”
“But that’s impossible,” said de Loungville. “For that many to be marching, this far south . . .”
“There had to be a second army,” finished Praji.
“No wonder those bastards were so determined to keep us away from that entrance to the mountains,” said Vaja.
Calis said, “They must have been using the lower portions of the cavern as a staging area. So that’s why our short friends in the grass are so out of sorts—they just got through having an army ride through their homes.”
De Loungville said, “They mean to hit Lanada from the rear!”
After another minute, in which most of the men commented or swore, Calis said, “No, they move southeast. They’re heading for Maharta.”
Praji said, “If the Raj has sent his war elephants to fight with the Priest-King’s army at Lanada, Maharta will be defended by the palace guards and mercenaries.”
De Loungville swore. “The bastards weren’t keen on having us serving them! They were just anxious to keep us from joining the other side.” He almost spit.
Calis said, “How long before they reach the city?”
Praji said, “I only have a rough idea where the hell we are.” He thought and said, “Maybe a week, ten days at the outside. If they don’t waste their horses, two weeks.”
“Can we get there before them?”
“No,” came the flat answer. “If we had wings, certainly, or if we hacked our way through those Gilani and had fresh horses waiting for us on the other side, maybe, but if we keep going south, there’s no way we can reach the city within a week of those lizard men.”
“Can the city hold out for a week?”
“Maybe,” answered Praji frankly. “It depends on how much chaos is going on due to the host that’s got to be fleeing southward. With so many people trying to get in, they may already be under siege.”
Erik said, “Can we get around them?”
Vaja said, “If we can get to Chatisthan, we might be able to find a ship that could take us up to the City of the Serpent River.”
Calis said, “Too many maybes. We’re going to strike for the coast, then we’ll try for the City of the Serpent River.” He called out to Hatonis, “Do you want to try for Chatisthan, or head overland to home?”
Hatonis shrugged, and grinned, looking youthful despite his grey hair. “One fight is pretty much the same as another, and if we don’t fight the snakes at Maharta we’re certainly going to have to fight them at our own door.”
Calis nodded. “Let’s go.”
Erik saw the others get into line, and he slapped Roo on the shoulder as his boyhood friend walked past. Roo gave him a crooked smile that showed there was nothing to smile about, and Erik nodded in agreement. Erik waited until the last man had passed, then picked up the rear guard position. Suddenly he realized he had taken Foster’s place in line without being told. He looked ahead to see if de Loungville was signaling or if another was coming to take his place, but when no word came down to give up the corporal’s place, he continued along, returning his mind to the business at hand: staying alive.
Providence smiled upon them, as they found a southern trail. It looked to be a miners’ trail, for it was wider than any goat herder would have needed, and at several places along the way areas of bare rock proclaimed those workers who had hacked their way through the soil and stone to make it easy to get carts up and down the road.
For Calis’s company it was as if at last they were running into some good luck. The men moved along swiftly, at a trot for a time, then a walk, the pace designed to cover the maximum distance by the end of each day.
The wounded were able to keep up, though the man with the injured leg was almost unconscious with pain and loss of blood by the end of the day. Nakor dressed his wound and told Calis that with him and Sho Pi working on it all night, the man would be slightly better each day.
They found water and were clearly able to increase their speed, as they moved quickly to a rising crest. A rumbling warned them as they climbed the rise; then as they topped the crest, in the distance they saw the falls.