5.Death of Chaos
XXXI
I SAT ON the edge of the boulder and looked out toward the east, where the sun barely had cleared the trees. The ground dropped away from the goat trail that continued to masquerade as a road. Each series of hills lay slightly lower than the previous one, dropping away to the north where a brown smudge rose amid the lower hills.
“That's Arastia.” I pointed, then tried to shift my weight with my hands, but the crumbling edge of the stone gave way under my left hand, and I sat back down-hard-on the same rock edge that had been cutting through my trousers. “Oofff.” I wanted to rub the sore spot, but didn't.
“It should be,” confirmed Yelena.
“It is.”
I concentrated, but could sense nothing nearby, except a few goats. The trail wound north-northeast generally. If I recalled the route accurately, it would intersect the road from Arastia to the brimstone spring within five or six kays, although distances are deceiving from heights, and I didn't remember the distances that well from my single trip. Then it had been dark when I had taken the road before us, and I had had my mind elsewhere, to say the least.
“I'd say it will be another six kays as the vulcrow flies-”
“You haven't seen any, have you?”
“No.” I didn't mention that continuing sense of unease, as if I were occasionally being watched. How would that have sounded? But I tried to be alert to any sense of chaos.
“Good,” mumbled Weldein.
“Sooner this is over the better...”
“... what is the miraculous wizard doing now... and he is miraculous...”
I eased off the boulder, wishing Shervan's voice were not so penetrating and his admiration of me were far less vocal. I brushed the sand and rock from my trousers and massaged what was probably going to be a bruise.
Gairloch whuffed as I checked the saddle and patted him on his shoulder. The trees bordering the overlook weren't the dense forest south of Arastia, but a mixture of scrub, stunted oaks, a few taller but twisted cedars-just enough to give the illusion of cover. I looked back up the road where the more than five squads waited.
“We'd better get moving.” I climbed back onto Gairloch, trying not to wince as my backside contacted the saddle.
“You're the wizard.” Yelena didn't smile, and I knew she was worried. So was I. Who wouldn't be, with five squads of Kyphran troops inside the borders of Hydlen with a powerful white wizard somewhere ahead? Even if we were circling back toward Kyphros?
Once again, distances were deceiving, and the road was slower than I had hoped. It was past mid-morning before we looked down on the beaten clay road winding through the low valley that gradually narrowed as it neared the western border of Hydlen-and the brimstone spring where we were headed.
“I think this is the right place.” My nose twitched at the faint odor of brimstone. Below, on the other side of the road, ran a narrow stream. A faint trace of steam rose from its waters, more noticeably in the places shadowed by the hills.
“The official border is, what, say ten kays up the road?” I turned to the tight-lipped force leader. I'd never bothered with borders on my scouting trip. I supposed it still didn't make any difference.
“If the hills, there, are the ones I think they are, that marks the border. Less than ten kays.”
“We've got about fifteen kays to go.”
Yelena nodded.
Ahead, the valley narrowed into a gap formed by the Yellow River. After winding uphill for three kays, the gap again widened into a small circular valley. At the western end of the valley-closest to Kyphrien-were the brimstone springs. The eastern end had a rise that was half grass, half cedar trees, and the Yellow River wound through the northern side of the valley. The idea was to cross the scrub forest to the south, leaving the road before we reached the valley, and then use the rise for cover for the force-when we got there. That assumed we did get there, and I was worried about that.
Again, I got the sense of being watched, and I scanned the area around us, looking for vulcrows, scouts, anything. Then I sent out my own modest perceptions, which were now reaching out almost a kay. I could sense nothing, at least nothing of excessive order or chaos, just animals, and trees.
I took a deep breath as I retreated into myself. I had to grasp Gairloch's mane to steady myself as I waited for my eyes to readjust. When I could make out the grayish leaves of the trees beside the road, I let go and patted him on the shoulder
“Are you all right, Order-master?” Yelena eased her mount closer to mine.
“Yes. I was just... searching.”
“Did you find anything?”
I shook my head.
Yelena gestured, and we headed downhill toward the main road, which ran on the flat beside the Yellow River. The southern side, just beyond the road, was wooded, mostly with softwoods, very little oak or good material for a woodworker. That was a problem-good furniture wood also made good firewood, and most farmers or peasants didn't much care about saving the good wood for crafters. They cared about such things as heat, warmth, and food-or the coins that would buy them.
I kept looking and sending out my perceptions, but it took a while to find the guards near the actual crossroads, since they were almost a kay farther up the road. I guess that made a sort of sense. In the narrower section near the hilltop, they wouldn't face attacks from two sides, as they could at the crossroads. Also, the crossroads section was relatively open, with no trees for several hundred cubits. So there was nowhere to rest or sit, and no shade.
“The guards aren't at the crossroads,” I said.
Freyda, riding almost abreast, raised her eyebrows.
“I noticed,” was Yelena's comment. “Do you think they pulled back?”
“They're up the road. We can get almost to the crossroads without being seen, maybe farther. The road curves.”
“Do you think so?”
I nodded.
“You're the wizard.”
I laughed. “You're the force leader.”
“Just remember that.”
We rode downhill slowly, and I kept checking for the sentries. We finally reined up nearly half a kay beyond the crossroads.
“There's a patrol uphill just around the curve. Three of them, I think. This is as far as we can go without being seen.”
Yelena looked at me, as if asking for suggestions. I looked at Weldein. He was the closest of the troopers I knew.
“Weldein, how about trusting your friendly order-master?”
He did gulp when I explained. “I'm going to lead an invisible horse and rider-that's you-right up to these outlier patrols. Then, I am going to attempt to unhorse and otherwise disable them. Your and my job is to keep them from fleeing up the road to warn the wizard's forces. While we're trying to slow them down, Leader Yelena and some of the fleetest riders will come to our aid.”
“That's a stupid plan,” offered Freyda. “What if they chop you up?”
“Very stupid,” I admitted. “Do you have a better one? Do you want to take Weldein's place?”
She ignored the question.
So I went on. “Those three riders aren't terribly alert. One of them is sitting on a log or something. The other two are mounted. It's a bit far for arrows, and not many here are archers.”
“It's still stupid.”
“Does anyone have a better idea?” I asked again. “If we try to go through the woods and underbrush, they'll certainly hear us before we ever get close.”
Despite my explanations, I didn't have any real answer to Freyda's question. If they were good with blades, I was in trouble, but if I didn't do something Krystal would be in trouble. So I waited. No one offered a better plan. That might have been because I was the one out in the open.
“How will this work?” asked Yelena.
“I put a shield around Weldein and his mount, and lead him up the road, pretending that I'm leading an invisible horse to Kyphros to sell. I hope they'll think I'm mad, and let us get close enough to stop them from warning the wizard, or slow them down enough so our faster riders can catch them.”
“I don't know,” said Yelena slowly.
“If they're here as scouts, they must have fast horses,” I pointed out. “What would you do if five squads of strange horsemen appeared?”
“Run like the demons of light were chasing me,” offered Jylla.
Yelena glared at her.
I turned to Weldein. “All right. You won't be able to see. That's all right. I can't see either behind a shield. That's why I'll lead your horse.” I concentrated.
“He's gone...”
I could hear the indrawn breaths.
“... son of a bitch is a wizard...”
“... not so loud, idiot... want him to do it to you?”
“Weldein, don't do anything until you can see, but have your blade out of the scabbard and ready to use.”
“How can I do anything?” he muttered. “I can't see shit.”
“You will.” I swallowed and fumbled around until I grasped the leathers of his reins. “Let's go.”
As we stepped out, Yelena slowly began to bring the Finest as close to the guards as she could without getting into their sight.
“Easy, Weldein.”
“I'm here. Where that is, is something else.”
His mount whickered, but that didn't matter, because the guards wouldn't notice the sound didn't come from Gairloch until we got too close.
I rode past the last stand of trees separating me from the patrol. The two mounted riders watched as I whistled my way toward them. I think I was off-key.
“What are you doing, fellow?” asked the one who rode toward me. He was a skinny little trooper with a wispy beard and little eyes, and that probably meant he was as good and nasty as the demons of light. “How did you get past the guards at Arastia?”
“I'm leading my invisible horse. I won him at the market in Sunta. I'm going to take him to sell in Kyphros.” It sounded logical to me.
“Invisible horse? Well, you need to take your invisible horse and turn around and head right back to Sunta.” He put his hand on the hilt of his blade.
“But I can't go to Kyphros that way,” I protested, letting go of the all-too-real invisible bridle, and edging forward. I needed to get closer to the other mounted trooper.
“You can't go this way.” He insisted.
“It is the road to Kyphros, isn't it? I am on the right road?” I put a whining tone in my voice as I edged Gairloch to the side of the road and forced the trooper to follow me.
He drew his sabre. “You just turn around right now.”
“But I can't sell my invisible horse unless I go to Kyphros.”
The other two troopers were smirking.
“You won't sell that horse anywhere!” He spurred toward me, lifting the sabre, and I urged Gairloch toward the other two, who had burst into laughter at the spectacle of the poor mad fool fleeing the trooper.
Then, I pulled out the staff, and, somehow, held on to it as I brought it across the chest of the other mounted trooper. She went down like a flour sack, even as I released the shields around Weldein.
The first trooper didn't even see Weldein, so intent was he on spitting me. His blade flashed. I did parry it, even though he took a chunk right out of the hard wood, and shivered my arms. Gairloch backed around, without much guidance from me.
Another wild swing followed, and this time I slid his blade rather than taking the impact. My fingers still tingled from the first one, but I got the staff back in position to counter another hacking blow.
“Get you... get you yet...” he grunted as he took an even more forceful cut.
The last wild blow left him off balance, and I countered with a perfect blow across the face as he was bringing his blade back up. The blow sounded half dull, half gonglike from where the iron ring on the staff hit his plate skullcap.
He slumped in his saddle, his sabre clattering to the ground, and a wave of whiteness struck me, almost as hard as his blows. I knew he was dead.
His horse stood motionless, and I tried to project some reassurance to the beast. Dead? Had I struck that hard?
Weldein galloped up in time to keep the third trooper from mounting. The unmounted man looked from me to Weldein and his sabre and back to me, but didn't say anything.
The woman trooper struggled to her knees, clutching one arm. I could feel the pain.
“Are you all right?” I asked stupidly.
“Bastard! Go ahead and kill me... go ahead... Frigging invisible horse...”
I half expected tears, but she remained hard-eyed, standing in the dirt of the road. Her mount had stopped on the shoulder of the road nearest the river.
The two remaining troopers watched, almost blank-eyed, as the rest of the Kyphran troopers rode up.
“... shit to pay, Murros...” mumbled the woman to the sole uninjured Hydlenese.
“... white wizard'll take them...”
“... maybe... maybe... you want to tell him what happened?”
Yelena surveyed the carnage, shaking her head. “Did you really need any help?”
If I'd been able to shield more people, I might not have needed to kill anyone. But I couldn't. I slowly replaced the staff in the lanceholder, and wiped my forehead, not realizing until then that I'd been sweating.
“Bind them,” commanded the force leader.
“Wait a moment,” I found myself saying as two troopers dismounted and stepped toward the injured woman. I climbed off Gairloch and handed the reins to Jylla. She took them gingerly.
“Frig you...” the injured Hydlenese trooper muttered as I walked forward.
I could sense the dislocated bone even before I got too close.
“If you don't mind, trooper,” I said, “I'd like to set that break so it heals right.”
“Why? You caused it, you dumb bastard.”
“Call it fortunes of battle.” I nodded to the two troopers. “Hold her. It's likely to hurt for a moment.”
She spat at me, but she didn't scream, although I could feel how much it hurt. She slumped, not quite unconscious by the time I applied a touch of order binding, and strapped her arm in place. I hoped riding wouldn't reinjure it, but that was the best I could do. Then I wiped my face.
I checked the break again after they boosted her into her saddle, but my rough setting and the order patch had held. She still glared at me, and I couldn't blame her.
Two other troopers had cut a shallow trench in the ground by the stream while I had worked on the woman's arm, and a squad was piling rocks over the body to create a rough cairn.
I swallowed, unable to see for a moment. None of it really made sense, but more people would die if the wizard had been warned, wouldn't they?
“Mount up,” ordered Yelena after a while.
I rode in silence at the head of the column; Yelena rode beside me. A good three lengths separated us from the others. The road continued to climb, but so gently that the only way I could tell was to look back.
The road ran beside the curves of the Yellow River, the winter-gray trees, interspersed with a scattering of evergreens, to the left of the packed clay that bore traces of more heavy carts headed back into Hydlen. Rocketcarts?
“You are terrible, you know,” offered Yelena after we had covered another two kays-without seeing any other sentries.
“Yes. I'm terrible at fighting.” And a few other things. Could I have talked more, and stalled the Hydlenese troopers until they were surrounded? I wished I'd been a stronger mage and could have cloaked a whole squad. Then no one would have been hurt.
“You're rather good at it once someone attacks. That's unfortunate for you.” Yelena paused. “And for them.”
Armsmaster Gilberto had been right. My body had known when to attack, but I felt almost betrayed by it. And yet what choice had I had? When people started fighting, people died. Ferrel had only gone out to investigate, and she was dead. I still didn't understand why, and I didn't think anyone else did either, except maybe the white wizard.
“I said you were terrible,” continued Yelena. “I meant it. It is terrifying to see a gentle man destroy people. It is terrifying to see an honest man use deception.”
Terrifying? I wouldn't have used the term. Miserable, unhappy, unfortunate, and stupid, yes. Terrifying, no.
We rode on, and I still felt as though someone were watching, but there were no vulcrows, no sentries, nothing but the sound of gray leaves in the light breeze, rushing water, hoofs upon a damp clay road, and low voices muttering about the fortunes of battle.