Good spell, Ulath said laconically. Shall we get started?
They helped Berit into his saddle and rode out in the luminous twilight. The full moon rose an hour or so later, and it gave them sufficient light to risk a canter.
Theres a road just over that hill up ahead, Kurik told Sparhawk. We saw it when we were looking around. It goes more or less in the right direction, and we could make better time if we follow it instead of stumbling over broken ground in the dark.
I expect youre right, Sparhawk agreed, and we want to get out of this area as quickly as possible.
When they reached the road, they pushed on to the east at a gallop. It was well past midnight when clouds moved in from the west, obscuring the night sky. Sparhawk muttered an oath and slowed their pace.
Just before dawn they came to a river, and the road turned north. They followed it, searching for a bridge or a ford. The dawn was gloomy under the heavy cloud cover. They rode upriver a few more miles, and then the road bent east again and ran down into the river to emerge on the far side.
Beside the ford stood a small hut. The man who owned the hut was a sharp-eyed fellow in a green tunic who demanded a toll to cross. Rather than argue with him, Sparhawk paid what he asked. Tell me, neighbour, he said when the transaction was completed, how far is the Pelosian border?
About five leagues, the sharp-eyed fellow replied. If you move swiftly, you should reach it by afternoon.
Thanks, neighbour. Youve been most helpful.
They splashed on across the ford. When they reached the other side, Talen rode up beside Sparhawk. Heres your money back, the young thief said, handing over several coins.
Sparhawk gave him a startled look.
I dont object to paying a toll to cross a bridge, Talen sniffed. After all, somebody had to go to the expense of building it. That fellow was just taking advantage of a natural shallow place in the river, though. It didnt cost him anything, so why should he make a profit from it?
You cut his purse, then?
Naturally.
And there was more in it than just my coins?
A bit. Lets call it my fee for recovering your money. After all, I deserve a profit too, dont I?
Youre incorrigible.
I needed the practice.
From the other side of the river there came a how of anguish.
Id say he just discovered his loss, Sparhawk observed.
It does sound that way, doesnt it?
The soil on the far side of the river was not a great deal better than the scrubby wasteland through which they had just passed. Occasionally they saw poor farmsteads where shabby-looking peasants in muddy brown smocks laboured long and hard to wrest scanty crops from the unyielding earth. Kurik sniffed disdainfully. Amateurs, he grunted. Kurik took farming very seriously.
About mid-morning the narrow track they were following joined a well-travelled road that ran due east. A suggestion, Sparhawk, Tynian said, shifting his blue-blazoned shield.
Suggest away.
It might be better if we took this road to the border rather than cutting across country again. Pelosians tend to be sensitive about people who avoid the manned border-crossings. Theyre obsessively concerned about smugglers. I dont think wed accomplish very much in a skirmish with one of their patrols.
All right, Sparhawk agreed. Lets stay out of trouble if we can.
Not very long after a dreary, sunless noon, they reached the border and passed without incident into the southern end of Pelosia. The farmsteads here were even more run-down than they had been in north-eastern Elenia. The houses and outbuildings were universally roofed with sod, and agile goats grazed on the roofs. Kurik looked about disapprovingly, but said nothing.
As evening settled over the landscape, they crested a hill and saw the twinkling lights of a village in the valley below. An inn perhaps? Kalten suggested. I think Sephrenias spell is starting to wear off. My horse is staggering, and Im in not much better shape.
You wont sleep alone in a Pelosian inn, Tynian warned. Their beds are usually occupied by all sorts of unpleasant little creatures.
Fleas? Kalten asked.
And lice, and bed-bugs the size of mice.
I suppose well have to risk it, Sparhawk decided. The horses wont be able to go much farther, and I dont think the Seeker would attack us inside a building. It seems to prefer open country. He led the way down the hill to the village.
The streets of the town were unpaved, and they were ankle-deep in mud. They reached the towns only inn, and Sparhawk carried Sephrenia to the porch while Kurik followed with Flute. The steps leading up to the door were caked with mud, and the boot-scraper beside the door showed little signs of use. Pelosians, it appeared, were indifferent to mud. The interior of the inn was dim and smoky, and it smelled strongly of stale sweat and spoiled food. The floor had at one time been covered with rushes, but except in the corners, the rushes were buried in dried mud.
Are you sure you dont want to reconsider this? Tynian asked Kalten as they entered.
My stomachs fairly strong, Kalten replied, and I caught a whiff of beer when we came in.
The supper the innkeeper provided was at least edible, although a bit over-garnished with boiled cabbage, and the beds, mere straw pallets, were not nearly as bug-infested as Tynian had predicted.
They rose early the next morning and rode out of the muddy village in a murky dawn.
Doesnt the sun ever shine in this part of the world? Talen asked sourly.
Its spring, Kurik told him. Its always cloudy and rainy in the spring. Its good for the crops.
Im not a radish, Kurik, the boy replied. I dont need to be watered.
Talk to God about it, Kurik shrugged. I dont make the weather.
God and I arent on the best of terms, Talen said glibly. Hes busy, and so am I. We try not to interfere with each other.
The boy is pert, Bevier observed disapprovingly. Young man, he said, it is not proper to speak so of the Lord of the universe.
You are an honoured Knight of the Church, Sir Bevier, Talen pointed out. I am but a thief of the streets. Different rules apply to us. Gods great flower-garden needs a few weeds to offset the splendour of the roses. Im a weed. Im sure God forgives me for that, since Im a part of his grand design.
Bevier looked at him helplessly, and then began to laugh.
They rode warily across south-eastern Pelosia for the next several days, taking turns scouting on ahead and riding to hilltops to survey the surrounding countryside. The sky remained dreary as they pushed on to the east. They saw peasants serfs actually labouring in the fields with the crudest of implements. There were birds nesting in the hedges, and occasionally they saw deer grazing among herds of scrubby cattle.
While there were people about, Sparhawk and his friends saw no more church soldiers or Zemochs. They remained cautious, however, avoiding people when possible and continuing their scouting, since they all knew the black-robed Seeker could enlist even normally timid serfs to do its bidding.
As they came closer to the border of Lamorkand, they received increasingly disturbing reports concerning turmoil in that kingdom. Lamorks were not the most stable people in the world. The King of Lamorkand ruled only at the sufferance of the largely independent barons, who retreated in times of trouble to positions behind the walls of massive castles. Blood-feuds dating back a hundred years or more were common, and rogue barons looted and pillaged at will. For the most part, Lamorkand existed in a state of perpetual civil war.
While there were people about, Sparhawk and his friends saw no more church soldiers or Zemochs. They remained cautious, however, avoiding people when possible and continuing their scouting, since they all knew the black-robed Seeker could enlist even normally timid serfs to do its bidding.
As they came closer to the border of Lamorkand, they received increasingly disturbing reports concerning turmoil in that kingdom. Lamorks were not the most stable people in the world. The King of Lamorkand ruled only at the sufferance of the largely independent barons, who retreated in times of trouble to positions behind the walls of massive castles. Blood-feuds dating back a hundred years or more were common, and rogue barons looted and pillaged at will. For the most part, Lamorkand existed in a state of perpetual civil war.
They made camp one night perhaps three leagues from the border of that most troubled of western kingdoms, and Sparhawk stood up directly after a supper of the last of Kaltens hindquarter of beef. All right, he said, what are we walking into? Whats stirring things up in Lamorkand? Any ideas?
I spent the last eight or nine years in Lamorkand, Kalten said seriously. Theyre strange people. A Lamork will sacrifice anything he owns for the sake of revenge and the women are even worse than the men. A good Lamork girl will spend her whole life and all her fathers wealth for the chance to sink a spear into somebody who refused her invitation to the dance at some midwinter party. I spent all those years there, and in all that time, I never heard anyone laugh or saw anyone smile. Its the bleakest place on earth. The sun is forbidden to shine in Lamorkand.
Is this universal warfare weve been hearing about from the Pelosians a common thing? Sparhawk asked.
Pelosians are not the best judges of Lamork peculiarities, Tynian replied thoughtfully. Its only the influence of the Church and the presence of the Church Knights thats kept Pelosia and Lamorkand from blithely embarking on a war of mutual extinction. They despise each other with a passion thats almost holy in its mindless ferocity.
Sephrenia sighed. Elenes, she said.
We have our faults, little mother, Sparhawk conceded. Were going to run into trouble when we cross the border then, arent we?
Not entirely, Tynian said, rubbing his chin. Are you open to another suggestion, maybe?
Im always open to suggestions.
Why dont we put on our formal armour? Not even the most wild-eyed Lamork baron will willingly cross the Church, and the Church Knights could grind western Lamorkand into powder if they felt like it.
What if somebody calls our bluff? Kalten asked. There are only five of us, after all.
I dont think theyd have any reason to, Tynian said. The neutrality of the Church Knights in these local disputes is legendary. Formal armour might be just the thing to avoid misunderstandings. Our purpose is to get to Lake Randera, not to engage in random disputes with hotheads.
It might work, Sparhawk, Ulath said. Its worth a try anyway.
All right, lets do it then, Sparhawk decided.
When they arose the following morning, the five knights unpacked their formal armour and began to put it on with the help of Kurik and Berit. Sparhawk and Kalten wore Pandion black with silver surcoats and formal black capes. Beviers armour was burnished to a silvery sheen, and his surcoat and cape were pristine white. Tynians armour was simply massive steel, but his surcoat and cape were a brilliant sky blue. Ulath put aside the utilitarian mail-shirt he had worn on the trail and replaced it with chain-mail trousers and a mail-coat that reached to mid-thigh. He stowed away his simple conical helmet and green travellers cloak and put on instead a green surcoat and a very grand-looking helmet surmounted by a pair of the curled and twisted horns he had identified as having come from an Ogre.
Well? Sparhawk said to Sephrenia when they had finished putting on their finery, how do we look?
Very impressive, she complimented them.
Talen, however, eyed them critically. They look sort of like an iron-works that sprouted legs, dont they? he observed to Berit.
Be polite, Berit said, concealing a smile behind one hand.
Thats depressing, Kalten sighed to Sparhawk. Do you think we really look that ridiculous to the common people?
Probably.
Kurik and Berit cut lances from a nearby yew-grove and affixed steel points to them.
Pennons? Kurik asked.
What do you think? Sparhawk asked Tynian.
It couldnt hurt. Lets try to look as impressive as we can, I suppose.
They mounted with some difficulty, adjusted their shields and moved their pennon-flagged lances into positions where they were prominently displayed and rode out. Faran immediately began to prance. Oh, stop that, Sparhawk told him disgustedly.
They crossed into Lamorkand not much past noon. The border guards looked suspicious, but automatically gave way to the Knights of the Church dressed in their formal armour and wearing expressions of inexorable resolve.
The Lamork city of Kadach stood on the far side of a river. There was a bridge, but Sparhawk decided against going through that bleak, ugly place. Instead, he checked his map and turned north. The river branches upstream, he told the others. Well be able to ford it up there. Were going more or less in that direction anyway, and towns are filled with people who just might want to talk to alien strangers asking questions about us.
They rode on north to the series of small streams that fed into the main channel. It was when they were crossing one of these shallow streams that afternoon that they saw a large body of Lamork warriors on the far bank.
Spread out, Sparhawk commanded tersely. Sephrenia, take Talen and Flute to the rear.
You think they might belong to the Seeker? Kalten asked, moving his hand up the shaft of his lance.
Well find out in a minute. Dont do anything rash, but be ready for trouble.
The leader of the group of warriors was a burly fellow wearing a chain-coat, a steel helmet with a protruding, pig-faced visor and stout leather boots. He advanced into the stream alone and raised his visor to show that he had no hostile intentions.
I think hes all right, Sparhawk, Bevier said quietly. He doesnt have that blank look on his face that the men we killed back in Elenia had.
Well met, Sir Knights, the Lamork said.
Sparhawk nudged Faran forward a bit through the swirling current. Well met indeed, My Lord, he replied.
This is a fortunate encounter, the Lamork continued. It seemed me that we might have ridden even so far as Elenia ere we had encountered Church Knights.
And what is your business with the Knights of the Church, My Lord? Sparhawk asked politely.
We require a service of you, Sir Knight a service that bears directly on the well-being of the Church.
We live but to serve her, Sparhawk said, struggling to conceal his irritation. Speak further concerning this necessary service.
As all the world knows, the Patriarch of the city of Kadach is the paramount choice for the Archprelates throne in Chyrellos, the helmeted Lamork stated.
I hadnt heard that, Kalten said quietly from behind.