Dreams of Steel

Chapter Sixty-Seven

The archers halted in sight of the Taglian main camp. "We're safe now," Croaker told the prince. "Let's make a proper entrance."

Cavalry had found them two days earlier, forty miles north. Horsemen had visited regularly since yesterday. The archers had kept their mouths shut admirably. Willow Swan had led one patrol. He had not recognized anyone.

Croaker had had the captain borrow horses. The archers' transport consisted only of mules enough to carry what the soldiers themselves could not. Two mounts had arrived an hour ago, saddled.

The prince dressed up as a prince. Croaker donned what he called his work clothes, a warlord's outfit given him back when he had been every Taglian's hero. He had not taken it along when he had gone south the first time.

He dug out the Company standard and reassembled it. "I'm ready. Prince?"

"Whenever." The march south had been hard on the Prahbrindrah Drah but he had endured the hardships without complaint. The soldiers were pleased.

They mounted up and led the archers toward the camp. The first crows arrived during that passage. Croaker laughed at them. " ‘Stone the crows!' People in Beryl used to say that when the Company was there. I never did figure out what it meant but it sounds like a damned good way to do business."

The prince chuckled and agreed, then faced the greetings of soldiers from the camp who could not decide which of their visitors was more unlikely.

Croaker spied familiar faces: Blade, Swan, Mather... Hell! That looked like Murgen. It was Murgen! But nowhere did he spy the face he wanted to see.

Murgen approached in little spurts, each halving the distance between himself and his Captain. Croaker dismounted, said, "It's me. I'm real."

"I saw you die."

"You saw me hit. I was still breathing when you took off."

"Oh. Yeah. But the shape you were in..."

"It's a long story. We'll sit around and talk about it all night. Get drunk if there's anything drinkable." He glanced at Swan. Where Swan lighted, beer usually appeared. "Here. You left this behind when you went off to play Widowmaker." He shoved the standard at Murgen.

The younger man took it like he expected it to bite. But once he had hold of it he ran his hands up and down the shaft of the lance. "It really is! I thought it was lost for sure. Then it's really you?"

"Alive and in a mood to do some serious ass-kicking. But I've got something else on my mind right now. Where's Lady?"

Blade made a perfunctory acknowledgment of the prince's presence, said, "Lady went north with Narayan and Ram. Eight, nine days ago. Said she had business that couldn't wait."

Croaker cursed.

Swan said, "Nine days ago. That really him? Not somebody fixed up to fool us?"

Mather said, "It's him. The Prahbrindrah Drah wouldn't lend himself to any deceit."

"Ain't that my luck. Ain't that the story of my life? Just when my future is so bright I have to wear blinders."

Croaker noted a broad, stubby man behind Blade. He did not know the man but recognized personal power. This was someone important. And someone not thrilled to see the Liberator alive. He would bear watching.

"Murgen. Stop making love to that thing. Fill me in on what's been happening. I've been out of touch for weeks." Or months, if filtered truths were considered. "Can somebody take this animal? So we can all go find some shade?"

There was more confusion in the camp than might have been if Longshadow had materialized there. The return of a dead man always complicates things.

Without appearing to take particular note Croaker noticed that the short, wide man stayed close, pretending insignificance beside Blade, Swan, and Mather. He never spoke.

Murgen talked about his experiences since the disastrous battle. Blade told his tale. Swan tossed in a few dozen anecdotes of his own.

"Shadowspinner himself, eh?" Croaker asked.

Swan said, "That's the old boy's head on the pole over yonder."

"The field gets narrower."

Murgen said, "Let's hear your story while it's still news."

"You going to put it in the Annals? You been keeping them up?"

Embarrassed, the younger man nodded. "Only I had to leave them in the city when I came out."

"I understand. I look forward to reading the Book of Murgen. If it's any good you've got the job for life."

Swan said, "Lady Was doing one of them things herself."

Everyone looked at him.

He wilted some. "Well, what she really did was talk about writing one. When she got the time. I don't think she ever really put anything down. She just said how she had to keep some things straight in her head so she could get them down right. The obligation of history, she called it."

"Let me think a minute," Croaker said. He picked up a stone, threw it at a crow. The bird squawked and fluttered a few feet but did not take the hint. It was Catcher's, all right. She was back in circulation, free. Or in alliance with her captors.

After a while Croaker observed, "We have a lot of catching up to do. But I suspect the critical business is to end this problem with Mogaba. How many men does he have left in there?"

"Maybe a thousand, fifteen hundred," Murgen guessed.

"One-Eye and Goblin stayed when he's become their enemy?"

"They can protect themselves," Murgen said. "They don't want to come out here. They think there's something waiting to get them. They want to sit tight till Lady gets her powers back."

"Powers back? Is she? Nobody mentioned that." But he had suspected it for a long time.

"She is," Blade said. "Not as fast as she'd like."

"Nothing happens as fast as she'd like. What are they afraid of, Murgen?"

"Shifter's apprentice. Remember her? She was there when we got rid of Shifter and Stormshadow. She took off on us. They say she's locked into the forvalaka shape but still has her own mind. And she's out to get them for killing Shifter. Especially One-Eye." One-Eye had killed the wizard Shapeshifter because Shifter had killed his brother Tom-Tom long ago. "The wheel of vengeance turning." Croaker sighed. "She's maybe out to get everybody who was involved."

"That angle hasn't come up before."

"I think they're imagining it."

"You never know with those clowns." Croaker leaned back, closed his eyes. "Tell me more about Mogaba."

Murgen had a lot to say.

Croaker observed, "I always suspected there was more to him than he showed. But human sacrifices ? That's a little much."

"They didn't just sacrifice them. They ate them."

"What?"

"Well, their hearts and livers. Some of them. There was only four or five guys really into that with Mogaba."

Croaker glanced at the wide man. The fellow was indignant to the point of explosion. Croaker said, "I guess that explains why Gea-Xle was such a peaceful town. If the city guard eats criminals and rebels..." He chuckled. But cannibalism was not humorous. "You, sir. We haven't been introduced. You seem to have strong feelings about Mogaba."

Murgen said, "That's Sindhu. One of Lady's special friends."

"Oh?" What did that mean?

Sindhu said, "They have abandoned themselves to Shadow. The true Deceiver seldom spills blood. He opens the golden path without tempting the goddess's thirst. Only the blood of an accursed enemy should be spilled. Only an accursed enemy should be tortured."

Croaker glanced around. "Anybody know what the hell he's talking about?"

Swan said, "Your girlfriend is running with some strange characters." He chose a northern dialect. "Maybe Cordy can explain. He's spent more time trying to figure it out."

Croaker nodded. "I suppose we ought to put an end to this. Murgen. You game to go back again? Take a message to Mogaba?"

"I don't want to sound like a slacker, Captain, but not unless it's an order. He wants to kill me. Crazy as he's gotten, he might try it with you standing right there watching."

"I'll get somebody else."

"I'll do it," Swan said.

Mather jumped him. "It's not your no nevermind, Willow."

"Yes, it is. I got to find out something about myself, Cordy. I wasn't no help when we went after Shadowspinner. I froze up. I want to see if something's wrong with me. Mogaba is the guy to show me. He's about as spooky as a Shadowmaster."

"Damned poor thinking, Willow."

"I never did have any sense. I'll go, Captain. When you want to do it?"

Croaker glanced around. "Anything going on, Blade? Any reason we shouldn't walk over and take a look, send Swan?"

"No."