Lost Empires - Faces Of Deception Part 5

"Yaks can carry anything," Rishi said, resuming his work. "You will see."

Atreus laid his sword on the rucksack, securing it in place beneath the cinchrope, then waded over to the front of the wagon. His numb feet were little morethan frozen weights, and they slipped twice as he pulled himself onto the driver'sfootboard. He kneeled on the bench and leaned into the back, reaching for his treasure basket.

The sound of approaching hooves began to drum down the road. Atreus peeredout through the back of the cargo bed, looking through the long tunnel of smashedwillows the wagon had left in its wake. The leaves were too thick to see up onto theroad, but he had little doubt about whom he was hearing. He threw open thetreasure basket, then groaned as he hefted the heavy coffer out.

"Here," said Yago. "I'll take that."Atreus turned to find his friend standing beside the driver's bench, both arms.e.xtended to take the coffer. Though the ogre's face betrayed no hint of his pain, hecould not quite lift his wounded arm high enough to accept the box.Atreus shook his head. "You rest your arm, "he said. * We might need it later."

The sound of the drumming hooves grew louder. Rishi came over with the yaksand gently shouldered Yago aside. The Mar was sitting sidesaddle on the leadmount, holding a willow switch in one hand and the second beast's tether in theother.

"Perhaps you will hold the coffer until we have time to secure it," said Rishi. "It should not be long. Most likely, our pursuers will not even notice where we left theroad."

Up on the road, Naraka chattered several commands in Maran, and the galloping hooves suddenly slowed.

*They noticed," Yago growled.

"It means nothing." Rishi waved Atreus toward the yak. "If you will be so kind asto mount, they cannot follow us into the swamp."

Atreus threw a leg over the yak and settled down behind its humped shoulders.He saw at once why Rishi had chosen to sit sidesaddle. Straddling the creature'sbroad back was incredibly uncomfortable, but with both hands holding the coffer, the only way to keep his balance was to squeeze the beast between his knees.

The rattle of falling stones sounded from the road bank. A single pony whinniedas it stepped into the icy water.Rishi tapped his yak on the neck. The beast turned away from the wagon andstarted into the swamp, drawing Atreus's mount along. The creatures had anawkward, rolling gait, and Atreus found himself instantly in danger of falling off. He braced the heavy coffer on the yak's hump and pressed his heels into its belly andtried not to think of the icy water below. Yago followed along close behind, hissplashing feet masking the softer babble of the yak*s hooves. If the ogre found thefrigid water more than merely uncomfortable, he betrayed no sign.

A few moments later, Naraka's scout gave the alarm cry. The patrol leader started barking orders, and the rest of his men clattered down into the willows, their ponieswhinnying at the freezing water.

*They will certainly turn back soon," Rishi whispered. *These Edenvale Mar haveno determination."

Rishi steered the yaks down a meandering labyrinth of narrow tunnel-like pa.s.sages, always working to keep a screen of thickets between them and their pursuers. They pa.s.sed a snow-covered hummock, and the yaks stopped andstarted to nose for gra.s.s. Rishi cursed the lead animal softly and slapped its neck.The reluctant beast finally turned away and continued forward.

Naraka's patrol stayed close behind, splashing through the swamp in a long, evenlys.p.a.ced line. Rishi kept looking back over his shoulder and scowling, then turningto Atreus to rea.s.sure him that their pursuers would soon give up. Instead, the poniesdrew ever nearer, whinnying and snorting with every step. Atreus could well understand their displeasure. He could not keep his own feet from dragging in thefrigid swamp, and they had become little more than frozen weights. Only Yago, with his thick layer of ogre fat, seemed as unaffected by the cold as the s.h.a.ggy yaks.

After a time, the sky started to gray with oncoming dusk. A chill breeze rose from the east and wafted across the swamp. Atreus and Rishi fell to shivering, and even Yago commented once or twice on the cold. Behind them, the ponies grew quiet, save for an occasional splash when one stumbled and spilled its rider into the water.At last, Naraka began to shout orders in Maran, his voice echoing through the swampfirst in one direction, then the other. Rishi sighed in relief, as he guided the yaks intothe heart of the willow thicket and stopped.

"Naraka is calling his men to him," the Mar explained. "They will certainly turn backnow."

As the ponies splashed toward Naraka's voice, Atreus allowed himself the luxury oflifting his sodden boots out of the water. Though his feet felt as heavy and dead a.s.stones, his lower legs were throbbing stumps of cold pain. His thighs ached fromsqueezing his mount, and the effort of balancing the heavy coffer had numbed his shoulders with fatigue. He could not imagine pa.s.sing the night in this cold swamp, andyet he did not see how they could spend it anywhere else.

The splashing slowly faded as the last of Naraka's men rejoined the patrol, and theswamp fell ominously silent. After a few moments, the sound of murmuring voices began to filter through the willows, occasionally punctuated by the soft crackle ofsnapping sticks.

"The fiend," Rishi hissed. "Does he care nothing for his men and his ponies?"

"What's he doing?" Yago asked.

"Preparing a camp." Rishi shook his head sadly, then cast an accusatory glance inAtreus's direction. "How unfortunate the good sir did not kill him when he had thechance. His mercy will cost us many hours of cold misery and perhaps a few toes aswell."

Rishi urged the yaks onto a small hummock in the heart of the thicket. The hungrybeasts immediately pawed through the snow and began to tear at the mossygra.s.s beneath. The Mar slid off his mount, freeing the rucksack with a single tug onthe rope.

"Hurry. We must make camp before dark." Rishi turned to Yago. "The marsh is full of good things to eat. If you go down by the water, I am sure you will catch something."

"Eels?" Yago licked his lips. Whole raw eels were an ogre delicacy, second only to bear brains. "I could swallow a dozen of them at once!"

"Fish," Rishi said. "I fear the water is too cold for eels."

The ogre's face fell, but he went to kneel at the water's edge. Atreus dropped his treasure coffer into the snow, then swung an aching leg over the yak's shouldersand slid to the ground. The impact sent waves of agony shooting up his cold legs, buthe felt no sensation at all in his feet.

"There is no need for concern," Rishi said, eyeing Atreus's clumsy limp. "Thefeeling will come back when you start to move." Rishi pa.s.sed him an extra cloak from the rucksack and set to work stomping down aplace to sleep. Atreus took the sword and began to cut willows for insulation. As promised, the feeling soon returned to Atreus's feet, and he wished it had not. Theflesh felt as if it were on fire, and the bones underneath ached with the cold. He hacked all the harder.

The light was just starting to fade when a sporadic series of screeches and agonized whinnies echoed across the swamp. Hardly able to believe the awfulsound was being made by ponies, Atreus stopped work and looked up. In the twilightsky, he could barely make out three distant columns of smoke.

"In the name of Sune," Atreus gasped. "What's Naraka doing? Burning his poniesalive?"

"That is no doubt what the poor beasts fear, but we are not to be so lucky," saidRishi. "The ponies must be warmed and dried before the night turns cold, or ice willform on their legs and perhaps cripple them before morning."

Atreus glanced at the grazing yaks, who seemed quite content with the snowy ice b.a.l.l.s hanging from their s.h.a.ggy legs."Oh no, do not worry about the yaks," laughed Rishi. "For them, cold is better. Ifnot for us, they could keep going all night."

This turned Atreus's thoughts to his own soggy feet. He cleared a place for a fire and gathered several handfuls of brown gra.s.s from under the hummock's heavythatch. Rishi looked increasingly distressed as Atreus began to stack dead willowstalks next to the fire pit. When he withdrew his flint and steel from the rucksack, theMar could contain his alarm no longer.

"Excuse me, but surely the good sir is not thinking of making a fire."

"He is doing more than thinking of it," Atreus replied. "His feet are wet and cold, and he wants to be able walk when he gets out of this swamp."

Rishi paled. "Perhaps the good sir is unaccustomed to the trials of being a fugitive.Even if the patrol cannot see the fire's light, we are upwind. They will smell the smokeand follow it to us."

Atreus turned toward the frigid channel, where Yago was kneeling on the sh.o.r.e with his arm thrust into the swamp up to the elbow. *Through that water? Impossible!"

Rishi calmly removed his boots and trousers, stepped past Yago, and waded outinto the icy swamp. He turned to face Atreus. "How l-long would you like me to stay?"

Yago raised his brow at the Mar's strange behavior, then gasped and lookedback into the water. There was a brief splash, and he flipped an odd two-foot fish up onto the hummock. With a bulldog jaw and a long round body striped with brown andyellow scales, the thing looked like a hybrid of catfish and grayling. As soon as it hitthe snow, it began to flop about, working its way back toward the water.

Yago lunged up the hill to pin down his catch, and Atreus turned back to Rishi.

"All right, no fire." He waved the Mar out of the water. "But I thought you said Edenvale Mar had no determination?"

"I do not think Naraka is from Edenvale." Rishi climbed ash.o.r.e and began drying hislegs with gra.s.s. "But he will certainly turn back in the morning. He is only hoping wewill be foolish enough to make a fire tonight and lead him to us."Yago looked at his catch. "No fire?" Atreus put the flint and steel away. "Afraid not."

"Great," the ogre grumbled. "As if eatin' fish wasn't bad enough."

He killed the swamp fish with a bite to the back of the neck, then began to devourit, scales and all. Atreus and Rishi made do with a dinner of raw barley in warm yakmilk, and the sun vanished, plunging the camp into chilling darkness. Rishi broughtthe yaks over to the bed he had prepared, forcing them to lie down about three feet apart, with their backs toward each other and their heads at opposite ends. He tethered them in place by tying each beast's lead to the tail of the other one.

Atreus removed his boots and put on a dry pair of socks. He and Rishi wrapped themselves in their extra cloaks and settled down between the yaks, each clutching the other one's feet to his chest. Yago laid down on the outside of the makeshift shelter, curling up beside one of the s.h.a.ggy beasts.

They did not really sleep. The temperature plunged, and they spent most of the night shivering. Atreus's feet ached terribly, and Rishi a.s.sured him this was a good sign. When his toes started to sting a few hours later, the Mar said this was even better. Yago fidgeted relentlessly, rocking his yak back and forth, and at one point cursed the beast for not being still. At first, Atreus watched the constellations, trying to mark the time by their progress. Later, he tried to avoid looking at them. The minutes were pa.s.sing like hours, and what movement he did notice only made him think of the dropping temperature.

After what felt like a hundred frozen hours, Rishi suddenly sat up and pulled on his boots, declaring the time had come to rise. While the Mar untethered and milked the yaks, Yago went down to the channel and punched through the ice crust that had formed during the night, returning with two more big swamp fish. Confident they would be gone before Naraka's men could find their campsite, they started a fire and gorged themselves on a warm meal.

The hot food rejuvenated Atreus. He soon found himself optimistic enough toremove his tattered map from inside his tunic and examine it in the firelight. Gyatsewas the first valley on the chart, and from what he had heard the people there wouldwelcome a few gold coins. Perhaps that would be a good place to replenish theirsupplies. Of course, Rishi would have to do the buying. One look at Atreus's face and the Mar would flee for their lives.

Yago peered over Atreus's shoulder, squinting at the meaningless squiggles."That thing say how far is it to Rishi's secret caravan road?"

"If it did, the road would not be much of a secret," said Rishi.

Yago frowned, then reached down to tap the map with a big greasy finger. "But thisis a map. It tells us how to find stuff."

"Not Rishi's road." Atreus did not attempt to explain further. He had tried a dozentimes to help Yago understand the mystery of map reading, but the ogre still found the lines and symbols impossible to decipher. Consequently, the ogre regarded maps as some sort of divining magic. "We'll just have to be patient."Atreus folded the map and returned it to his tunic, then helped Rishi load the yakswhile Yago cleaned and re-bandaged his wound. They transferred half the gold tothe rucksack so Rishi could lash a balanced load onto shoulders of the lead yak, and by the time they finished, the gray glow of first light was showing in the eastern sky.Naturally, Rishi insisted on riding with the treasure, but Atreus did not worry aboutbeing abandoned. Half the gold remained safely locked in its inviolable coffer, andhe knew the Mar would never settle for half when he could have all.

The yaks plunged into the swamp without hesitation, their hooves crashing through the thick ice and leaving an easy path to follow. Atreus hardly cared.Without the coffer, he could sit sidesaddle on his yak and hold his feet out of thewater, and that alone was a good start to the day.

The sky had just brightened to the color of blue steel when Naraka's patrol began to splash up from behind. They were moving fast and in a large group, eager to catch up before the sun melted the ice away.

"I guess Naraka didn't turn back after all," Atreus noted."Naraka is a terrible bully who is driving his men beyond all endurance," Rishisaid. "The good sir may rest a.s.sured that they will certainly rebel against*""I don't think we'd better count on that," Atreus interrupted. "And we can't outrun their ponies, not when we're so easy to track."

Rishi glanced toward the eastern horizon, where the sun had not yet risen highenough to show itself over the tall willows. "The sun will melt this ice very soon, andthen*"

"I need no hollow a.s.surances, Rishi. We all know they'll catch up long beforethis ice melts," Atreus said as he urged his mount up beside the Mar's. "Do you have any of your throwing daggers left?"

Rishi lifted his brow. "Has the master decided it is necessary to kill our pursuers?"

Atreus shook his head. "No, but the time has come to chase them off. How many daggers do you have?" "Enough." Rishi opened his cloak, revealing two long lines of small silver hilts.Atreus turned to Yago. "How does your shoulder feel?" The ogre reached over and used his injured arm to pluck a willow bush out byits roots. "A little stiff, but ready enough to swing a club."

Atreus grinned and said, "Follow me."

He urged his yak ahead of Rishi's and led the way through the winding channels, all the time listening to the splashing of Naraka's ponies grow louder. After a time, the channel curled around the head of a small, willow-screened hummock. Atreus and Rishi tethered their yaks on the far side, then the three companions sneaked back across the little island and crouched behind the willows on the other side. In front of them lay the pa.s.sage through which they hadjust ridden, their path clearly marked by the channel of broken ice.

The patrol was so close that Atreus could hear murmuring voices and snortingponies, but it seemed to take forever to arrive. He felt himself growing numb in thecold air and began to squeeze the hilt of his stolen sword, trying to keep his arm from growing stiff. Finally, Naraka came trotting into sight, his eyes fixed on thechannel of broken ice. As soon as he saw the hairpin curve ahead, the captainslowed and began to scan the willows along the banks.

Atreus cursed silently and laid down in the snow, motioning for Yago and Rishi todo likewise. Naraka continued cautiously ahead, his eyes working the sh.o.r.e methodically, looking first high then low, low then high, then finally moving on to thenext thicket.

Atreus held his hand palm up, signaling his companions to remain still. "Catchand-club" had been a favorite game among his ogre siblings, and he had learnedearly that motion attracts attention. As long as they remained as still as the willows screening them, they would not be noticed.Naraka's gaze reached their thicket, and Rishi gasped almost audibly. Atreusfrowned at the Mar, silently willing him to hold his breath. Naraka glanced thebase of the willow screen, then ran his eyes up the length of the stalks and backdown again. He paused for a moment, then finally moved on.

Atreus let his breath out, waiting as the rest of the patrol followed Naraka into thechannel. He did not move until Naraka was halfway to the bend and there were ahalf-dozen riders in the water in front of them.

"Remember, don't kill them," Atreus whispered. "What we need is a panic, not an angry mob."

"I understand." Rishi rose to a crouch. "Your plan is very wise and clear."

Rishi pulled three little knives from inside his cloak. Yago rose to his knees andcupped his hands, holding them about two feet apart. Atreus gathered his legs beneathhim, ready to jump to the Mar's defense if matters did not go as planned, thennodded.

Rishi leaped into the willows, splashing through the ice at the edge of the thicket. Several riders cried out in alarm and jerked their mounts around just as the Marhurled his first dagger. Yago brought his hands together, creating a deep boomingclap at about the same time the blade sank into the shoulder of the closest pony.

The beast whinnied and reared wildly, hurling its astonished rider from the saddle.He bounced off the pony behind him and splashed face first into the icy water, then surfaced an instant later, shrieking as though he were the one who had beenwounded. Naraka spun on his saddle, screaming orders and reaching for his sword. Severalriders lowered their lances, and Rishi hurled another dagger. Yago clapped his hands,and again the blade caught a pony in the shoulder. The creature shrieked and shied away, then touched the ice crust behind it and bolted down the channel. A trio of ridersmanaged to retain control of their mounts, urging them into a stiff, chill-legged charge.

"One more!" Atreus called.

Rishi hurled his third dagger, and again Yago clapped. This time, several poniesflinched noticeably. The beast leading the charge turned its head as though to wheel around, but it was the middle pony that caught the dagger*in the shoulder, as before*and went down.

The lead rider jerked his mount back into the charge, closing to within two paces ofthe willows where Rishi stood fumbling for another throwing dagger. Atreus jumped intothe thicket and shoved the Mar aside, raising his sword even as he cursed the icy water pouring into his frozen boots. The rider's eyes widened. He cried out something about *Ysdar's devil" and turned his lance toward Atreus.

Atreus tapped the lance aside with his sword, as he stepped forward and caughtthe man across the chest with the flat of the blade. The rider splashed into the water,and Rishi was on him in a second, jerking the weapons from his scabbard belt. Yagounseated the third guard with even less trouble, jerking a willow out by the roots and hurling the muddy mess into the fellow's chest. The man tumbled backward off his pony.

A voice hissed, "You dare a.s.sail a bahrana?"

Atreus looked down to find Rishi pressing the edge of a dagger to the first rider's gullet."I will teach you better than to attack above your cla.s.s," Rishi threatened."No!" Atreus caught Rishi's hand, planting a foot on the rider's chest and pushing him underwater, shouting, "Go!"Atreus shoved Rishi up the hummock, then glanced back at the patrol. Naraka's ponywas splashing down the channel in a slow, awkward gallop, while most of his men were struggling to bring their panicked mounts under control. Only the riders at therear of the patrol were still in command of their ponies, but they were making onlya token effort to get past the confusion and attack.

When one warrior raised his lance to throw, Naraka barked an order in Maran and pointed at Atreus's foot, where the submerged captive's arms were still flailing inthe water. An idea flashed through Atreus's mind. He smiled and reached down, pulling his prisoner's head up by the long hair.

"Tonight, this man serves me in Ysdar's h.e.l.l!" Atreus called. He hacked off ahandful of hair and shook it in Naraka's direction. "Before this is done, you will all serve me in Ysdar's h.e.l.l!"

The patrol gave a collective gasp. Even Naraka turned pale, but that did not keephim from kicking his mount until the poor creature stumbled on the silty bottom and fell. Atreus allowed himself a throaty laugh, then tucked the lock of stolen hair into hisbelt and clambered out of the willows.

On the other side of the hummock, Rishi had already untethered their mounts.The pony of the unhorsed man was standing at the end of their little caravan, its reins tied to the tail of Atreus's yak.

"What's the pony for?" Atreus snapped off a fresh willow to use as a riding crop, thenclimbed onto his yak. "You said they were no good in the swamp."

"The good sir is correct. Ponies are terrible in the swamp," Rishi agreed,urging his yak into the water. "But taking it will cause our enemies great trouble, as no pony can carry two men. Without it, they will certainly have to turn back."

"Certainly?" scoffed Yago. "I've heard that before "

"Well, it can't hurt," said Atreus. "Besides, we may need a pack animal when wereach this secret caravan road." He turned to Rishi. "How soon will that be?" "Oh, very soon," replied the Mar. "By high-sun at the latest, and certainly muchbefore that if we were successful in frightening off Naraka."

They traveled for nearly a quarter hour, then began to hear distant splashesbehind them. Rishi cursed their pursuers for demons, and Atreus began to fear theywould not be rid of the patrol until they killed Naraka. This was something Atreus was loathe to do, as he admired the man's determination. Fortunately,the patrol was moving far more cautiously. By the time it had drawn close enough to worry about, the sun had risen well into the sky, though the ice had not yet melted offthe channels.

Atreus and his companions attacked the patrol again. This time, they woundedonly Naraka's mount, though several nervous ponies threw their riders at the sound of Yago's thunderous clapping. The riders, better prepared than last time, managedto launch a counterattack of flying lances, driving the ambushers away before Rishicould unleash a second dagger.

And so the morning went, with Yago clapping every time Rishi hurled one of hisdaggers. The number of pursuers dropped steadily as those on wounded mounts fellbehind. The ponies grew increasingly skittish as their fellows were wounded, to thepoint that they sometimes fled at the mere sound of the ogre's big hands. Once Rishiwas grabbed from behind and had to stab a man in the thigh. Another time Yagopunched a pony unconscious, and Atreus had to save its trapped rider from drowning.

This mercy only served to convince the patrol that he intended to enslave them allin Ysdar's h.e.l.l. Those who had already lost tresses to him grew desperate andattacked rashly, while those who had lost no hair grew more cautious than ever.Atreus stopped cutting off their locks, though he took pains to make it appear he was still trying.There were only a dozen riders left when Naraka finally antic.i.p.ated an ambush andlaid a trap of his own. The trio was rushing across a hummock toward the soundof splashing when Naraka and eight men took them from the side. Yago, ten paces inthe lead, was quickly separated from Atreus and Rishi.

Rishi managed to fling a dagger into Naraka's arm. The patrol leader responded in kind, catching Atreus just under the collarbone with a hurled lance. Atreus took theblow without falling, then yanked the weapon out and slammed its shaft acrossNaraka's throat. The patrol leader tumbled from his saddle, and the battle became a blur.

On the other side of the hummock, Yago was being driven toward the water, wielding a lance with his wounded arm and holding a screaming man in the other.One of Rishi's daggers flashed past and took a pony behind the jaw, dropping beastand rider in a cacophony of screeching and crashing. Another pony leaped its fallenfellow and landed only paces away.

Atreus hurled himself at its feet and came up holding his sword. He blocked a lance, slamming his blade into the rider's flank and felt warm blood spatter his face. Hestepped away and found three men advancing on him cautiously, their lances lowand ready. Yago was nowhere in sight, but there was a lot of splashing on the far sideof the hummock.

"Yago!" Atreus yelled."Come back!"

"Can't!" came the reply. "Got myself walled off!"

Atreus cursed, and the three riders kicked their ponies, urging them into a charge.

"Yago, break off!" Atreus yelled. "Run!"

Atreus turned and hurled himself out of the ponies path, rolled, and came upsprinting. He saw Rishi already at the yaks, just climbing onto the lead beast's back. "Rishi! If you leave me, I swear you'll wish*""Leave you?" Rishi called, as though the thought had not even occurred to him. "I would never do that!" The little Mar spun, already flinging one of his daggers. Atreus ducked, then hearda pained cry behind him."You see, I am very faithful!"

Rishi raised another knife, but did not throw it, his eyes darting back and forthbetween the riders behind Atreus. Having witnessed the Mar's accuracy many times,neither man felt like risking an attack, and Atreus raced the last few steps to his mountin relative safety. He jumped on his yak, slapped its neck with the flat of his blade, andthey were quickly splashing through the water at a trot.

When Atreus heard no sign of pursuers, he paused to look back. Naraka's man were scurrying over the hummock, tending to their wounded and struggling to calm their panicked mounts. Atreus saw no sign of Yago, but neither did he hear any hint that the battle was continuing on the far side of the hummock.

"Did you see what happened to Yago?" Atreus asked. "Did he get away?"

Rishi furrowed his brow. "I saw no more than you, but did you not hear him?"