Part 18 (1/2)

Mountains, forests, even the sky and the very horizon were gone not as in a mist not hidden from view but vanished utterly into brightness. Only vaguely could they see one another and their footsteps in the snow. Their main awareness of one another came through touch and, hand in hand, they wandered aimlessly for miles until eventually they stumbled across a fallen tree whose roots offered them some shelter.

They built a rough snow wall to keep out the wind, and slumped down in the cramped s.p.a.ce to contemplate their imminent demise. Even with their Orthlundyn clothing, and the extra garments that the local Riddinvolk, used to such conditions, had given them, the bitter cold struck through and both knew that without food and warmth they would soon die.

Loman was wakened from a fitful half sleep by his brother clamping a hand over his mouth and whispering in his ear. 'Morlider. Just outside. Listen.'

Nearby voices speaking a strange language drifted into their shelter. Loman craned forward, listening intently, and then raised four fingers to his brother. Isloman nodded. Four men.

'Food,' mouthed Loman silently. Isloman nodded again and raised a clenched fist. This time Loman nodded and cautiously slipped his gloved hand through the straps of his s.h.i.+eld. Isloman slowly did the same and, on his brother's signal, the two of them crashed down their snow wall and charged out roaring and shouting at the four men.

Except that there were not four, but six. Without pausing to a.s.sess the consequences of their mistaken arithmetic the two brothers pressed on. Strong even in those days, Loman sent two of the men staggering with a single blow of his s.h.i.+eld and then swung his club at the head of a third.

But the blow never landed and, instead, Loman found himself sprawling on his back only vaguely aware of where he was and how he got there. There had been no impact, he was sure. He rolled over and tried to regain his balance and then there was an impact. A stunning blow came from nowhere and exploded in his head, filling it with white light. Now he was face down in the snow and sufficiently aware to know that he was losing this battle utterly. He was going to die. Somewhere he could hear his brother's voice and the sound of fighting.

'I'm coming, Isloman,' he shouted weakly and, with head still ringing, he struggled to his knees. His s.h.i.+eld and club were gone, but he had his fists and his strength. As he moved, he heard a gasp of surprise and the sound of a sword being drawn. Looking up and focusing blearily, he saw a white, fur-clad figure approaching purposefully with a white-bladed sword in his hand. He was not going to be able to move in time.

'Wait,' cried an authoritative voice. 'Wait.' The figure paused. A second figure joined it and, bending forward, spoke to Loman.

'What did you say?' it demanded.

Loman, uncertain at this strange turn in the proceedings, swore at him roundly and tried again to stand. 'Well I'm d.a.m.ned,' said the figure. 'Orthlundyn or I'm a Mandroc. What are you doing here?'

Loman kept his gaze on the drawn sword. 'Wis.h.i.+ng I was somewhere else,' he said.

The figure laughed unexpectedly and stepped forward, its hand extended. 'Yes. Orthlundyn without a doubt. Put up your sword, Yatsu, we mustn't slaughter our allies, even if they do ambush us. Take my hand, man.'

Hesitantly Loman grasped the offered hand and struggled to his feet, swaying dizzily. The two men steadied him, and for a moment he leaned on them both while his head cleared.

The second man chuckled again. 'I didn't know Orthlundyn were so hard,' he said. 'One kick from Yatsu is usually sufficient to take a man out of this world and you're only a bit dizzy. Remarkable.' He gestured to an untidy white mound by the roots of the fallen tree. 'Let him up,' he said, and Loman watched the mound break up as four more fur-clad individuals rose to their feet and released his bruised and winded brother.

'Well, Orthlundyn,' said the man, turning back to Loman, 'you gave us quite a surprise. I think we'll talk a little. My name's Dirfrin, and this little group you've a.s.sailed is a detachment of King Rgoric's Goraidin.'

The name meant nothing to either of the brothers, and Dirfrin did not seem disposed to elaborate.

After a little wound counting and some awkward introductions, Dirfrin laid a sad hand on Loman's shoulder. 'I'm afraid your unit's been wiped out, Loman,' he said. 'We came across the remains of them earlier. I'm sorry.'

Loman cast his eyes upwards, while Isloman dropped his head into his hands.

After a moment, Dirfrin continued. 'Worse,' he said. 'The Morlider have moved in unexpectedly and now occupy this entire area. If you go off on your own, then the weather, the terrain or the enemy will kill you within a couple of days.'

Loman looked inclined to demur, but Isloman laid a hand on his arm and shook his head.

'Furthermore, I don't want you falling into enemy hands. They're none too kind with prisoners and they'll find out about us for sure, and if that happens we'll be in even more trouble than we are now. It's a matter of urgency that we get back to the army and report where the enemy are and in what strength.'

'What can we do?' asked Isloman.

'You'll have to come with us,' came the reply. There was some muttering in the strange language that the brothers had heard before. Dirfrin looked angry. He drew a long knife and offered it, hilt first, to one of his men.

'Well, kill them here in cold blood if you've the stomach for it, because that's the only alternative we have.' The man lowered his eyes and waved the knife away. Dirfrin returned it to its sheath and Loman and Isloman unclenched their fists.

Dirfrin fixed them with an unwavering stare. 'Listen carefully, both of you. The Goraidin are the finest fighters in all Fyorlund. Our training's so hard that not one in a hundred ordinary High Guard will evenaspire to it and only one in three of those who do is likely to complete it. I'm afraid all I can offer you is a slim chance or no chance, but you look fit, you're certainly strong, you're well-clothed and, looking at your shelter, you're not stupid. We've picked up extra supplies from your dead friends so we'll take you with us.' He leaned forward urgently. 'But we can't allow you to delay us. We'll teach you what we can as we go and you'll have to learn as you've never learned before. But understand,' he paused, 'you'll obey any of these men without question, and without hesitation.' His tone was unequivocal. 'Too many people, ours and yours, depend on the information we have for us to be jeopardized by you. If you give us any trouble you'll be killed without compunction. Do you understand?'

Standing on the walls of Anderras Darion, warm in the summer sun, Loman s.h.i.+vered as he recalled Dirfrin's relentless gaze and grim voice. Looking over the sunlit plains of Orthlund, he nodded his head as he had done that bitterly cold day so long ago huddled in a mountain forest in Northern Riddin.

Now Hawklan wants us to train our own Goraidin, he thought. The request still fretted him. He and Isloman had travelled successfully with the Goraidin. They had learned. They had also taught.

'Well, at least you'll have sharp swords now and know how to use the shadows a little more wisely,' he remembered telling Dirfrin when they had finally parted.

But some of the skills he and his brother had learned disturbed Loman to this day. Countless ways to kill people and to wring information from them. Countless ways to rend and destroy. Yet other things were indisputably fine and made him proud to have been with the Goraidin. Courage, loyalty, sacrifice, the knowledge to survive in the most appalling conditions. He looked northwards pensively. And their actions did save many lives in that bitter war.

Loman breathed out noisily and curled his mouth in self-reproach. He was wasting his time debating this.

He had no alternative. He had had no alternative ever since he accepted the necessity of the Orthlundyn arming themselves, if for no other reason than the knowledge that any enemy would be doing the same.

He needed no trust in Hawklan to tell him that, nor advice from him about what he should do.

He was Orthlundyn. Whatever had been achieved could, and must, be improved.

He walked along the top of the wall towards one of the stairways. As he strode down the steps, two at a time, he went through a list of names that he realized had been forming in his head over the last few weeks. The names of those trainees who would probably be suitable for special training.

Chapter 26.

'What do you make of them?' said Isloman discreetly.

'I don't know,' replied Hawklan. 'But we'll be very conspicuous if we try to avoid them now. Keep smiling. If they offer us violence don't resist unless it gets really serious.'

They had been riding openly through the mountainous edges of Fyorlund for some days, avoiding villages and settlements as much as they could without actually appearing to do so. Now, however, they had no alternative but to pa.s.s through a large village situated at the mouth of a valley which was effectively the only route available. The cause of their concern was a modest but growing crowd of men in the square ahead of them. No women or children, Hawklan noted, and some of the men were carrying farm implements and other tools. Glancing casually around he took in the few side streets running up the valley sides. These Fyorlund villages are very pleasant, he thought, in spite of the gathering group. Heavy, squat, wooden buildings, vividly painted and decorated with carvings quite different from those of Orthlund. He had remarked on the difference to Isloman earlier as they had started to come upon outlying farmhouses.

'Wood is wood. Stone is stone,' Isloman had replied. 'They sing a different song.' Then he had laughed and shaken his head affectionately in the way that the Orthlundyn invariably did when Hawklan's rock blindness became apparent.

The houses of this village were scattered, apparently at random, over the floor of the narrow valley and up its steep sides, the position of each being determined by some local feature in the rock. Some of the higher buildings seemed to be clinging precariously to sheer rock faces and looked to be completely inaccessible. Presumably they were reached by these side streets, thought Hawklan. No escape there.

'We may have trouble ahead,' Hawklan said to his horse softly. 'Be ready to move quickly on my signal.'

'Youhave trouble ahead,' replied Serian. 'I can smell it from here.' Hawklan patted his head.

'Gently through the middle of them all,' he said to Isloman. 'Make for that building over there.' With a nod he indicated a three-storey building in the centre of one side of the square. It dominated the other buildings in the village and was obviously a meeting hall of some kind. On its roof sat Gavor.

The crowd parted quietly as the two men rode through, and Hawklan took the time to study the upturned faces for signs that might help him decide their mood. It was interesting.

There were strong elements of suspicion and fear, and some hostility, but there were some open friendly faces, and a large part of the crowd seemed to be doubtful, or simply curious, though whether curious about them or about what was going to happen, he could not tell. He caught the eye of several members of the crowd and nodded friendly greetings. Tilt the crowd our way, he thought.

Reaching the building he had indicated, he sat back in his saddle with his hands on his thighs and dropped the reins on the horse's neck. It was an open and relaxed gesture that again should impress the crowd favourably.

However, before he could dismount, a burly, ill-favoured man stepped forward and reached up for Serian's bridle. The horse craned his neck forward, teeth bared, and the man stepped back quickly.

Hawklan leaned forward and patted the horse's neck as if to calm him.