The rope continued to pay out, then jerked up and down again. The first jerks had been the signal Pashan had reached the top of the cliffs and to tie the rope. The second signal indicated either he had tied off the rope, or he was now digging in to hold it. The second man up the rope would be the smallest remaining. He would join with Pashan and hold the end. Each man after would add his strength as the larger men climbed.
The second man had his weapons tied in a bundle slung over his back and started up hand over hand, using his feet to boost him along the surface of the rocks. Erik was amazed at how fast he climbed.
Then the third man went up.
The night’s silence was cut by the distant sounds from the enemy’s camp, but not alarms or the sounds of fighting. Slowly the squad of fifty Hadati hillmen reached the summit, and at last Erik and Akee were alone on the beach.
“I’ll go after you,” said Erik.
Akee nodded and was up the rope without a word.
Erik waited, then gripped the rope. He was never a good climber, so he wanted to be last in case he slipped. If he was going to fall to his death, he wasn’t about to knock Akee off the rope behind him.
Erik found his feet to be of little aid to him as he struggled up the rope. He was a powerful man, with a huge upper body, yet he was also a heavy man. His arms were burning and his back cramping with pain as he reached a point near the summit. Suddenly the rope began to move and for an instant Erik felt a stab of panic before he realized he was being pulled up.
Akee reached over the edge of the cliff, took Erik by the wrist, and with a yank hauled him up to safety. With a whisper, he said, “Someone comes.”
Erik nodded, pulling his belt knife out and looking around. They were in a sparse stand of trees, pines and aspens, and as far as he could tell, he and Akee were alone. The other Hadati had somehow managed to vanish into the woods.
Akee quickly moved to cut off the rope tied to a tree nearby and cast the remnants off the cliff. Then he pulled Erik away and they slipped off into the woods.
From a short distance he heard men walking, and one spoke in the language of Novindus. “I don’t hear nothing.”
“I tell you, I thought I heard something, like someone moving around.”
“There’s no one here,” came the first voice.
Erik hugged the side of a small oak, glancing through the lower branches of a pair of star pines as two figures emerged from the other side of the clearing. One carried a torch. “This is a fool’s errand.”
“Then you’re just the man for the job,” said the other.
“Very funny.” They reached the clearing before the cliffs and the first man said, “That’s a long way down, so don’t get too close.”
“Don’t need to tell me, lad. I have no love for heights.”
“Then how did you get up the wall at Krondor?”
“Didn’t,” said the second man. “I waited for them to blow up the walls and walked in.”
“You were lucky,” said the first man. “See, no one here. What did you think? Someone was sending monkeys climbing them cliffs, or some sort of magic thing?”
“I’ve seen enough weird magic things to last me my lifetime, that’s a fact,” said the second man as they turned to retrace their steps to the camp. “What about that demon thing and the Queen, and them snake priests? If I never see magic again in this life, it’s fine by me.”
“Did I tell you the time I met that dancer in Hamsa? Now that was magic.”
“Only six or seven times, so spare me . . .”
The voices faded off into the night. From behind Erik heard a voice say, “They think the woods empty.”
“Good,” said Erik to Akee. “Then we can wait until just before first light to make our move.”
Erik said, “Spread the word. Have the men stay where they are, out of sight. We gather an hour before dawn.”
Akee vanished into the gloom without a word.
Seventeen - Assaults
Jimmy pointed.
Captain Songti said, “I see them.”
They were scouting out the well at Okatio oasis, and lounging in the shade of the desert willows was a patrol of Keshian soldiers.
“Those are Imperial Borderers,” whispered Jimmy. “See those long lances?”
Leaning against the rocks near where the horses were staked out, rested twenty long slender spears with banners attached. Songti said, “Looks like we want to get in close, fast.”
“Yes,” said Jimmy. “No archers.”
“Is that your man?” asked Songti, pointing at a figure on the far side of the campfire.
“That’s him,” said Jimmy. Malar was sitting next to a Keshian officer, who was examining the bundle of dispatches Jimmy had been carrying to Duko. “We’ve got to kill them all before they leave in the morning.”
Songti said, “They’re pretty lax at camp.”
“They’re arrogant bastards, but they’ve earned it. They’re among the best light cavalry the world has seen. Those fellows with the long hair they pile up under their helmets when they ride”—he pointed to six men who were slightly apart, relaxing around a large pot of food, speaking quietly—”are Ashunta horsemen, from deep within the Empire. Man for man they are the best riders in the world.”
“Some of my lads might take exception to that,” said Songti.