Honoured Enemy

SIX. PURSUIT

Fog cloaked the pass.

Bovai dismounted, handing the reins of his horse to a human.

Like most of his race he had little affection for horses and let the human renegades who brought them north care for them.

The moredhel scouts who had just rushed the stockade parted at his approach. Their uneasy manner and slight shifting of weight from one foot to the other – signs impossible for the human renegades who rode with Bovai to notice – signalled to the moredhel leader that something was dreadfully wrong even before he reached the gates of the fortification. He stopped inside the open gates.

His dark gaze swept the compound, taking in every detail: the bodies of his warriors lying where they had fallen, the stains of blood in the slush, the wisp of smoke still coiling from the chimney of the barracks hall and the fact that the place was empty. The enemy had fled.

The Lesser Chieftain of Clan Raven raised his head and sniffed the air. Nothing: just the scent of the raw wind, smoke, dead bodies, but nothing living, other than his own followers.

He walked to the open gate through which he had just ridden and knelt to examine the neck wounds of two headless corpses sprawled on the ground.

Clean blows, single strikes, the spray of frozen blood indicating that the killer had decapitated one, swirled around, blood flecking off his blade and then taken the second with a back-handed blow.

Masterful.

The fact that one of the dead was a nephew bothered him not at all. If the youth was so foolish as to be taken in such a manner then he was better off dead; besides, his father was a fool.

He absently nudged the body with the toe of his boot, it was unyielding, beginning to freeze into the icy slush, dead most likely since the evening before.

The troop of wood goblins coming up the road behind him approached the open gate. They slowed to a stop, grounding their spear staffs and battle clubs, heads lowered, eyes averted in fear.

Their primitive minds knew that the moredhel did not take kindly to others seeing the bodies of their fallen.

He ignored them. In the shadowy mist he saw one of his riders coming back from his scouting ride to the far side of the pass, horse breathing heavily, plumes of steamy mist blowing from its nostrils. It was Tancred, his Master of the Hunt and he did not look pleased.

Dismounting, he approached, eyes as cold as the morning frost.

'They have joined together.' Tancred pointed out the bodies of both Kingdom soldiers and Tsurani warriors.

Bovai nodded. 'That is obvious,' he replied, speaking slowly, his voice barely a whisper, as was his fashion. He inclined his head slightly toward the carnage: thirty-two brothers dead, and only eleven bodies of the humans and the alien Tsurani left behind.

Golun, his second-in-command and leader of the scouts, was silent, arms folded, eyes darting back and forth, watching the exchange between the two. Bovai gave him a quick look, a warning. Golun nodded almost imperceptibly and turned away to continue his examination of the tracks in the slush.

'That they joined and attacked this post is most interesting,' Bovai continued. There was a flicker of a smile on his face. 'Their dread of us overcomes their own petty hatred of one another at the moment.'

'Hartraft is the human leader,' Tancred announced.

He could see several of his followers, standing at a respectful distance, look towards him now with interest. Golun, down on his knees running a fingertip along the edge of a footprint in the ice barely looked up, his intent stare indicating agreement.

'Are you certain?' Bovai asked, attention focused on Tancred.

'I thought I recognized him back at the fort, on the trail when we pursued them.'

'Thought, or know for certain?'

'I am certain, my chieftain. I know his track, his ways on the trail. I followed for nearly five miles.' Tancred nodded back to the crest of the mountain, the road disappearing into the swirling mists.

'They moved on opposite sides of the path, the Tsurani to one side, the Kingdom men to the other. Traps were laid, cunning was shown.'

'Where is Kavala?' Bovai asked, his tone casual. 'He went with you?'

Tancred hesitated.

'Go on.'

'You'll see his body when we renew the pursuit. It was an eledhel arrow that slew him.'

Bovai could sense the injured pride. So even his Master of the Hunt had been surprised and bested. Was there fear in his heart now as well?

He gazed intently at Tancred, probing his thoughts. A hunt leader could not show fear, or let it linger in his stomach, for others would sense it soon enough, taste that fear and become possessed by it. They would hesitate when an order was given, and uncertainty would claim their life as readily as the blade of the enemy.

Golun was behind him, eyes fixed on Tancred, waiting for a response.

'You want revenge, don't you? Your pride is injured because they surprised you and that one was killed.' He avoided using the name of the fallen moredhel.

Tancred nodded.

'Two tracks turned off from the trail and I dismounted to examine them. One was eledhel, the other heavy, I think the track of the dark-skinned companion of Hartraft, a Natalese Ranger. I should have sensed them; how I did not is difficult to understand.'

'And then your companion was killed.'

'If the one aiming at me had shot but a second earlier I would not be here. I swung my mount around. Using it as a shield I was able to escape.'

'So they did surprise you?'

Tancred reluctantly grunted an assertion. 'The mist was heavy and the wind blowing through the trees made it impossible to hear other sounds.'

'I see. And what else did you observe?'

Tancred looked straight ahead, not daring to look into Bovai's eyes. 'I counted the tracks of sixty Kingdom soldiers, perhaps seventy of the aliens. Three, perhaps four wounded being carried, or helped.'

'Curious. Perhaps a soft hearted priest intervened.' Bovai laughed softly.

More of his band came in through the gate: moredhel, these, on foot, bows at the ready. The sight of the carnage within the stockade wall stunned them and several broke ranks to go to the body of a fallen, one drawing a blade, baring his arm to make the ritual cuts of mourning for the death of a father, sprinkling the blood on the eviscerated corpse.

A commander of twenty shouted an order for the bodies to be moved and a prayer-chanter began to sing, his eerie voice high-pitched as he sang to the spirits of the fallen, bidding them to go to the eternal land in the sky.

'You realize,' Bovai whispered, drawing closer to Tancred, 'that this should have been anticipated. Yet you assured me that those we left behind were sufficient in number to hold ten times their number. I left thirty-two of our brothers here to guard this pass while we raided and now they are dead. Kin of many who follow me are dead. This sours all that we have accomplished this last fortnight. The rejoicing over our kills is ended, and our victories will not be sung; instead, this is what will be remembered.'

'It is unheard of that forces of the Kingdom should ally with Tsurani,' Tancred replied hurriedly. He gazed warily at Bovai. 'You said that we would be able to play against their mutual hatred,' he retorted at last, 'to use it to our advantage.' His tone was accusatory.

Bovai could see his followers looking away, nervous. Tancred was speaking within his rights as a brother. He could not challenge him on that and besides, what he said was truth, which at this moment was dangerous. A seed of doubt was being planted and Bovai had to crush it before it grew.

'Things change. That is part of the reason we came here: to observe, to learn -' he paused '- and to kill them. You should have thought of it as well,' Bovai continued, dropping his voice to a faint whisper. 'You are the Master of the Hunt. What has happened here is a fiasco. What of those back there, what will they now say of seeing so many of our brothers dead? Soon, our Master will call the councils into meeting – less than a year from now if all goes as planned – and if we are to forge a grand alliance, we must not be weak, or we bring discredit to him.'

He paused as he considered the grand plan being forged up at the ancient city of Sar-Sargoth. While the moredhel chieftain knew two or three years more would pass before the plan took form, he felt a sense of urgency. Any mistake laid at his feet could prove disastrous.

He looked at Tancred.

'Clans that have not seen one another in centuries gather soon on the Plane of Sar-Sargoth – word has reached us Liallan and her Snow Leopards will attend, and that she and her husband Delekhan would bear the sight of one another without a fight between them is significant.'

For a brief instant, Bovai remembered the almost-painful marriage ceremony when blood enemies wed to seal a truce neither side wished for. Delekhan and Liallan would happily cut the hearts out of one another, yet they were husband and wife. Then for an even briefer instant, Bovai admitted he'd prefer it to be Liallan who won that contest, as that would remove a rival Lesser Chieftain from Clan Counsel, and put himself that much closer to Murad, Grand Chieftain of the Clan. Murad himself was unassailable, now that he was Chosen of the Master, but should he fall…

Bovai forced his thoughts back to the present as he confronted Tancred. 'I hear that even Gorath will bring his Ardanien down from the icy mountains in the far north to see if these rumours about the Master's return are true.'

The Master had first revealed himself to a shaman during a ritual of vision one night when the man was alone upon a mountain top, appearing out of the gloom and stepping into the fire. He had borne the sacred mark and knew the secret ceremonies, and had fasted and chanted with the shaman for three days and nights. The shaman had reported the Master had said, 'I will return, soon,' then had vanished in smoke and flame. Word had spread like a prairie fire that the shaman had had a prophetic vision, hailing the return of the moredhel's greatest hero.

A month later the Master came to Murad, and in a dark and bloody ceremony had bound him to his service. As a pledge, Murad had cut out his own tongue, so that he would never forswear his oath to the Master. The Master had appeared before the Clan Raven Council of Chieftains with Murad at his side, and took the paramount seat, with Murad at his right hand, and a strange, robed creature with scaled hands and burning eyes at his left.

Now word was spreading that there was to be a huge gathering of clans the next Midsummer's Day, and the matter of a grand alliance to drive the humans out of the Kingdom was to be discussed under the holiest of truces.

Bovai kept his voice low. 'No, this shall be a gathering not seen in many lifetimes and if we fail here, Murad will not permit either of us to sit at the first circle of chieftains around the council fires; when the war against the humans comes, we shall be relegated to guarding baggage trains and herding goblins.'

He nodded back through the open gate to the column of wood goblins. They were obviously afraid, uneasy. What had been promised as an easy raid with plentiful booty had been marred. They were simple creatures, and their thoughts were filled with barely-suppressed terror. If they had been back in their homelands the column would be melting away, deserters running off to hide and spread word of this humiliation.

Bovai added, 'Assuming he lets us live. If we do not stop this fear growing within us, no honours will come to our families, no glory for our band, no sharing of spoils. We shall be forced to remain content to glean what we can from the debris left behind by those in the van, those selected to stand with the Master and Murad.'

'We can change all this in a day,' Tancred replied hurriedly. 'Hartraft and the aliens are trapped north of the mountain passes. They must press up the trail to the bridge at Vacosa, it is the only way across the Broad River this time of year. Our garrison there is well fortified and will block them.'

'Ah, so now you know their strategy?'

Tancred gulped nervously. 'It is their only hope. Seize the bridge, destroy it, then swing eastward and outrun us. The garrison, however, will hold and we shall come upon them from the rear.'

'Thank you for that advice,' Bovai whispered.

He turned away from Tancred and walked into the barracks hall. The air within was thick with the stench of their bodies, their musky sweat, the strange scent of the spices the aliens were so fond of in their food. Half a dozen bodies were in the corner: five moredhel, and a Tsurani, his throat cut. The way his corpse was arranged indicated that he had been killed by his own comrades rather than being left alive. Bovai took a small measure of enjoyment from that.

It amused some moredhel to torture humans to death, but he had little patience for it; he preferred a quick, artful kill in battle. Besides, they were in a hurry and he would have cut the warrior's throat in almost exactly the same fashion.

He walked over to the fireplace, taking off his gauntlets, extending his hands to warm them. It was an interesting dilemma and with all such dilemmas an opportunity might emerge. How best to turn this setback into an advantage, he wondered silently. Fear had driven two enemies into each other's arms and he smiled at that thought. They fear me more than they do each other and that is good.

This had started as nothing more than a raid, a training for things yet to come, to give his brothers a taste of blood and to bring home booty. Since the coming of the alien Tsurani all had changed along the frontier, the constant pressure of the humans, the dwarves and eledhel had dissipated, their attention focused instead on containing the invaders. If ever there was a moment to regain all that was lost, it was now. That was what his master had sent him to ascertain, and he knew that this was the moment to strike.

As he looked around the barracks he felt a twinge of doubt. Could Tsurani and Kingdom forces perhaps seek a permanent truce and turn against them? Doubtful, but then who would have believed only a day ago that thirty-two brothers of Clan Raven would fall in an ambush, that a Tsurani warrior could decapitate two of his finest, then unite with Kingdom troops and go marching off to the north?

Only a genius might have foreseen such a turn; Bovai had a high opinion of his own skills and ability, but stopped short of considering himself a genius.

What will the humans' next move be? Now they were over the border marches and into lands which we have reclaimed. Whatever our mission was in this land, it is now changed, Bovai thought.

Taking the fire poker he tapped absently at the shimmering coals so that sparks swirled up. In the rising embers and dancing flames he sought some vision, an inspiration that would seize him and tell him what to do next. After a moment, he stopped disturbing the fire with the poker. The vision in flames was a shaman's gift, and he was no mutterer of holy words.

To seize victory from chaos, that was his challenge. All such challenges, no matter how grim, could be turned to advantage if met head on and conquered. Tsurani and Kingdom troops together. It had a certain amusing quality to it, and if it hadn't been over their border it would almost have been entertaining to follow, to watch and observe, waiting for the moment of the falling out.

He knew enough of Hartraft to understand that this alliance would be short-lived. Even beyond the border marches stories were told of the fall of the Hartraft Keep, of Dennis Hartraft's madness and his oath of revenge against the Tsurani. The vengeance visited upon the Tsurani by Hartraft's Marauders would do credit to a Lesser Chieftain of Clan Raven. Hartraft held Bovai's grudging admiration; he was a worthy foe just as his grandsire had been: Hartraft One-Eye, a fierce enemy. They had met in battle almost fifty years before, leaving Bovai with a scar on his left arm from a blow which had nearly severed the limb. The, 'One-Eye' was the gift given in return. The spawn of One-Eye had the same fiery blood and thus killing him would be a great honour, and a worthy vengeance for all the havoc wrought against his people.

He could hear orders being shouted outside the door by Golun. A small detachment would have to be left behind to carry the dead to one of the mines where their remains could be concealed.

If Hartraft was north of the mountains he must die. Honour demanded it and the Master would expect nothing less. It would be a good hunt. Killing him would still forever the fear his name engendered not only amongst the wood goblins, but even amongst the moredhel.

Golun entered. 'We are ready, master.'

Bovai nodded, but his retainer did not depart. He turned and looked at his loyal companion. 'What is it?'

Golun leaned over and said confidentially, 'Tancred would not tell you, but he is certain the Ranger with Hartraft is Gregory of Natal.'

Bovai stiffened, a difference in posture only one of his own race would notice. 'Gregory!' he whispered. If Gregory of Natal was with Hartraft, then Tinuva would be close by. He almost grimaced with suppressed rage.

Of any mortal on this world, Tinuva was foremost on Bovai's list of those who must die at his hands. His very existence was an affront to Bovai, a stain on the honour of his family and clan.

Perhaps now would come the opportunity to confront him finally and to settle the blood feud which had burned in his soul across the centuries.

If it was Tinuva that Tancred had met on the trail ahead, then he knew why Tancred would not say the name. No member of Clan Raven would dare speak that name to Bovai, save Golun.

Bovai knew who had slain Kavala. The feud between Tinuva and Kavala was a long one, stretching over a century and had clearly been settled this morning. But my feud is longer, deeper, Bovai thought, and I shall be the one to settle it.

Three times over the years he had encountered Tinuva when Clan Raven had raided down across the moss-covered marshes of Yabon and had struck westward along the border of Elvandar. Three times Tinuva and he had spied one another across a river, a valley, and from the opposite sides of a ridged canyon. The last time they had faced one another, both had emptied quivers of arrows across the gorge, each coming close to death, but both leaving with empty quivers and only minor wounds. To present Hartraft's head to Murad would gain Bovai glory, but killing Tinuva was a matter of personal honour, and had nothing whatever to do with glory. Tinuva must die so that the darkest affront to Bovai's family could at last be forgotten.

Finally, Bovai forced himself from his reverie. To Golun he said, 'This changes nothing. If Tinuva is among them, that will come as it does. Right now, we must do as we planned, and bring them to heel before they can escape. Go.'

Golun left while Bovai stared into the fire for a moment longer. Then he stood. The time for fantasies of revenge were past; now was the time to act. He tossed the fire poker aside and left the barracks.

The dead had been moved to the side of the building and covered with blankets so that the goblins and human renegades would not see the remains as they marched through the gate. Already Golun was urging the column forward, half a dozen mounted men galloping to the fore while his own brothers stood to one side.

All eyes were upon him as he stood in silence, his black cape wrapped around his thin frame, watching as the column trotted past. The last of the goblins came through the gate and disappeared into the mist. They would push the pursuit: his own brothers had to have their moment of remembrance before moving on.

The circle of moredhel gathered around him, heads lowered, a mournful chant beginning – the singing of the dead, calling upon the spirits of the Old Ones to come down, to gather up the souls of the slain and return them to the Immortal Lands in the sky, taking them to reside with the Mothers and Fathers. Their voices were whispers, lost in the wind, drifting through the trees, muffled in the swirling mists.

The singers lowered their heads. One soldier, chosen from the band, let the cowl of his cape fall over his face so that none would hear as he whispered the names of the fallen, the sacred names that no one spoke aloud, his softly-spoken words drowned out by the murmured cries of those gathered around him. He bid them farewell on their journey, and henceforth no one would again say their names lest they call them back from their journey and condemn them to wander the world as restless spirits.

The chant fell away, until the only sound that could be heard was the crying of the wind and the creaking of the frozen trees bending beneath the cold morning gale.

Bovai raised his head. 'We came to hunt the enemy,' he said, 'and till this moment the hunt has been good.'

There were nods of agreement.

'Until this moment we rejoiced, we laughed as we pursued a foe who ran before us as the rabbit runs before the fox.'

'Until this moment,' several of his brothers responded, following his words and the ritual of the call for a 'savata', the hunt of blood-vengeance.

'Until this moment our hearts were filled with joy, the joy of the hunt, the slaying of our foes, and we drove them before us.'

'Until this moment!' More joined in.

He paused, slowly turning, looking at each of those gathered around him.

'Those who walk the mortal world for but a brief moment, who know not the touch of eternity, who have taken from us our lands, now have snatched our brothers from us, sending them into the dark lands from which no one returns. Even as our brothers leave us, their souls cry to us.'

His words struck into the hearts of those around him, for the shrieking of the wind through the pass had a demented, unworldly tone to it, like that of souls lost in the night and more than one of the brothers looked about nervously.

'Who was this who did such an infamy to our brothers?' the singer of the dead cried.

Bovai pointed up the trail, into the swirling mist where the goblins and humans had already disappeared. "The Tsurani, and those who follow Hartraft.'

There was silence for a moment, for all knew his name.

'Tinuva, as always.'

'Tinuva.' The name was whispered, and heads lowered again. A few of the warriors glanced at one another, and some of the bolder among them cast a look at Bovai. He had mentioned the hated elf's name, which was the breaking of a silent, yet powerful, prohibition in Clan Raven.

'Hartraft and Tinuva I claim for myself for there is blood debt between us. The others I give to you, my brothers. Let us take their heads! Let us send their spirits to the dark world! Let us gain our vengeance and thus regain our honour! Swear this now with me.'

'We swear.'

The words were spoken softly, yet any who was not of their race, and had heard the two words spoken would have been filled with dread at the sound of the oath, as if a primal force out of an ancient time had stirred itself.

Suddenly Bovai was in motion. With a simple gesture he ordered his horse to be brought to him. He mounted with an ease that belied his distaste for riding and urged the animal forward. He would overtake the Master of the Hunt and the human outriders who served him, and he would lead the attack on Hartraft: and his Tsurani allies.

The horse's hooves clattered on the stones and the sound of ice cracking under its iron shoes filled the cold day's air like a clarion of doom.