Part 12 (1/2)

Chapter 6

Close to the ti Eloikas's Palace Guard

The caravan and Decius's ht about double bowshot beyond a se

The village was inhabited, but it was hardly less ruined than the Deht two days before

The villagers' surly looks would have told Conan of years of hard living had their rough huts and scanty garb not done so A few chickens and soround barley were the best that Decius's coins could pry loose from them

If this was the common run of folk in the Border real to profit ratitude would feed no horses and burnish no ardom seemed unlikely to offer

So be it Honor bound hi as she needed hi his purse or take his luck in Neold out of poorer lands after entering them with no more than his sword and the clothes upon his back

Conan was inspecting the sentries when the Palace Guard appeared

Decius trusted the caravan men to share the watch with his men, but not Conan to keep a watch by hied it best to hold his peace on the matter

Decius'sone of Raihna's archers to hide himself better when the wind had borne to the Cimmerian's ears the clatter of hooves and the thud of boots He had waved both pairs of sentries into hiding, seen both obey, and strode up the path toward the sound

A hiding place in the roots of a great gnarled oak offered itself

Conan crouched there, cupped his hands, and hailed the newcomers

”Halt! Who is there?”

”The Palace Guard, Captain Oyzhik conized”

Conan heard one of Decius'soff to suedly into silence

The Cinized the royal banner, a sadly tattered one drooping fronized a coreat h of both in Turan to be able to tell the one from the other, even in the darkness

Thehinized Too bald and too fat for his years, he wore fine armor and sat a horse worth as much as three of Decius's But the arilding and jewels that could not have survived a single real battle

”Captain Oyzhik,” Conan shouted ”Captain-General Decius has been summoned I ask you to hold where you are until he coent orders fro's majesty,” Oyzhik replied His voice was as round as the rest of him

”They must have their shelter at once”

Conan doubted that such a mob of old men and boys could have traveled fast or far had a God coet his plu hed softly Oyzhik had a surprise coht the caravan's caue Conan knew