The Forests Of Gleor

Chapter 20

It was well on into the afternoon when Blade left the hut. He and Sanaya drank beer from a jug and ate dried meat from a leather bag. Then somehow they found the strength to join again. By the time they were done, the queen was falling asleep.

Blade rose, put on his clothes, and peered through a crack in the wall out into the clearing. He could see the telltale movements of the watching guards among the trees. He could safely leave the queen to their care, and make his way back to the workshop.

Blade said nothing and kept his hands carefully in view until he was well out of sight of the clearing and the hut. He was mildly relieved to be able to get that far without a spear or an arrow in his back. The queen had no doubt given orders against harming him. But there was always somebody who didn't get the word, or who was too quick on the draw.

Once he was out of sight of the clearing, Blade settled down to his steady, mile-eating stride. His memory of the path guided him swiftly through the forest, where the mist now hung and coiled thicker than ever.

The clouds were as heavy in the evening as they had been in the morning, and the fight went fast. It was almost totally dark by the time Blade reached the main path up to the workshop. By the time he saw the hearth glow from inside the walls, night had fallen on the forest and the mountains.

Three of the mountain hunters were sitting by the gate as Blade approached. They stood up and raised their spears as they saw him, then stepped aside as they recognized him. A moment later Blade heard footsteps behind the gate, and it was pulled open from inside. Blade entered, to meet Kulo.

The young man embraced Blade in his joy at his master's safe return, then shut the gate behind them. Blade could see that Kulo was excited about something more. He followed the young man into the workshop, and waited while Kulo took something long and wrapped in peza leaves from a bench.

«Look at it, Master Prince. I saw the drawings you made, and they started me thinking. I thought until I knew what we needed, and then I made it. Look at it, and see if my hands have made what we need.»

Blade untied the peza leaves, let them fall to the floor, and examined what he held in his hands. It was a six-foot length of threebo. At one end was one of the natural partitions between the sections. Looking closely, Blade saw that a small hole had been drilled or punched in the partition.

Sticking out of the other end of the stalk was the wooden knob of something that looked like a plunger.

«Draw it out, Master Prince, and then push it in,» said Kulo.

Blade hefted the odd weapon. It was heavier than it should have been.

«What did you put-?»

«Oh, Master Prince, I would not be so foolish as to use the new sleeping water. No, there is nothing in it but water from the spring.»

So Kulo had indeed guessed what the workshop and its affairs were all about. Not surprising. If Kulo had the wit to work up an effective sprayer for the sleeping water from Blade's rough sketches, he had the wit to do a great many other things as well.

Blade pointed the sprayer away from them, drew the plunger out to its full length, then pushed it in with all his strength. There was no sound of leakage-Kulo had done his work well. Instead there was a sharp hiss, and a thin spray of water, almost mist-fine, shot out of the other end of the threebo. It lengthened as Blade drove in the plunger, until it reached out twenty feet or more.

Too late Blade saw what was about to happen. He swung the sprayer to one side, but not before the jetting mist of water fell on the red-hot coals of the forge. Steam exploded upward with a thunderous hiss and crackle, and live coals shot out of the hearth like meteors and fell to the floor. Kulo practically fell over his own feet, dashing to get a bucket of water to douse them. By the time he'd finished, the steam and smoke in the room were nearly as thick as the mist outside.

When Kulo finished cleaning up, Blade was waiting for him, hand outstretched. The young man hesitated, then took the hand, and Blade slapped him on the shoulder.

«Well done, Kulo. We don't know for certain how strong the stolofs are, of course. So we may need to make the sprayers bigger and stronger, to hold more water. Otherwise I think you've done most of the work. King Embor will hear of this, and I don't doubt that you will be hearing from him when he does.»

A day spent rather badly was ending well, even triumphantly, and Blade felt surprisingly at peace with the world.

Blade did not allow himself to enjoy that feeling very long. There was far too much still to be done.

The method for distilling a stronger sleeping water was already worked out. Kulo's design would do for a sprayer. These made a good beginning, but that was all.

There weren't enough sprayers and water at the moment even for a good test, let alone a battle or a war against Trawn. Gallons of water and a dozen sprayers would be needed for the test alone. Dozens of barrels of the water and hundreds of sprayers would be needed for serious fighting, and so would hundreds of men trained in the tactics of using them. These tactics would be dangerous and they would require great speed and skill. Blade had no doubts about the courage of the warriors of Draad. But could they learn the speed and skill?

Blade realized that soon he would have more jobs than he could handle. He was already Director of Research and Development. Before long he would have to become Minister of War Production, and then Director of Training for His Majesty King Embor's Armed Forces! He had told J several times over that he was a field man, with little gift for administration. Yet here he was, up to his neck in just exactly that, and things were going to get much worse before they got any better!

For the time being, Blade decided that he would stick with the men and the equipment he had. In a few weeks he could produce everything that would be needed for a full-scale test, and then he could show off what he'd done.

There was also Queen Sanaya. Blade was sure he would be getting more invitations to come out into the forest and make love to her. If that was as far as matters went, well and good. Sooner or later, though, Sanaya would have more in mind than her own pleasures.

At least there was little chance of her finding out what he was doing here in the workshop. If Sanaya's guards wandered too close too often, the mountain hunters would know what to do about them, and do it without asking permission of Blade or anyone else. No, the secret was safe enough for the moment, even if Blade himself might not be.

So Blade went back to work with reasonable peace of mind.

He put in longer hours than ever over the next week. Again an invitation came from Queen Sanaya, and again Blade was led through the forests and over the hills to her hut. Again they met in what was almost more a battle than lovemaking, and again Blade was home in time for a night's sleep. This time Sanaya said nothing about «King Blade,» or anything else revealing. Blade had no intention of asking too many leading questions, either.

A second week, a third, a fourth passed in the same way. The sleeping water was steadily accumulating, in large pots and small leather bottles. Kulo had made a dozen of the sprayers himself and was now teaching the other three assistants to make them. Soon there would be more than enough for any test.

Blade found himself still getting tired and still losing weight. It was not surprising. Six days of each week he worked eighteen hours a day. On the seventh day he tramped across the hills to couple with Queen Sanaya in her hut. Blade was as tough and indestructible as any human being could be, but he was still human.

The fifth week came, and went by without any invitations from Sanaya. Blade decided that the time was at hand for the test, and sent one of the assistants down the mountains to carry that message. He also sent an escort of six of the mountain hunters with the messenger. There were rumors of scouting parties and raiders from Trawn farther than ever before, with stolofs and even the rare riding meytans. It was unlikely the raiders would push this far, but Blade was taking no chances.

The day after the messenger left, Kulo came running in to announce that three warriors of the king's guard were approaching. Blade washed himself hastily, pulled on some respectable clothes, and went out to greet them.

«Blade,» said the leader. «King Embor approaches. With him are the queen and Princess Neena, also various clan chiefs and their guards.»

«I am greatly honored-«began Blade politely. The leader cut him off with a gesture.

«Hear us. They come to see what you have done with what you have been given, for the greatness of Draad. They must be satisfied that you have done well, or it will go ill with you.»

Blade nodded, but he did not like the leader's words or his tone. Something was badly wrong-he was under suspicion. It was hard to even tell what was wrong. He had given Queen Sanaya no reason that he knew to tell lies. Unless she had, this royal visit made no sense.

Damn! Blade did not like being pitchforked into dangerous situations where he didn't even know which way to look for the danger. There was only one thing to do: try to look in all directions at once.