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the room in a rustle of skirts.
As he followed the servant back to his room, Hael pondered the unexpected turn
of events. Earlier in the evening, he would have sworn that the woman intended
to seduce him. He had too many years behind him to be flattering himself about
it.
THE STEEL KINGS
85
He felt both relief and alarm. What had changed her mind? Had it been his
questions about the ominously-named Death-moon? That had certainly frightened
her. Or had she made her decision previously? She had received him dressed in
a gown that would have done credit to a Nevan prostitute, but for dinner she
had changed to far more seemly garments. That might be explained by local
custom. But then she had made a point of asking him about wife and children,
not a subject usually brought up by a woman with seduction on her mind. She
had mentioned her own husband and grown sons.
Some new factor had entered the equation, and his situation now looked far
more dangerous than before. On the other hand, it looked as if opportunities
were opening up.
SIX
Kairn wondered if the life of a lone warrior was always like this: travel,
battle, narrow escape, recovery from wounds, love and eventual desertion.
Leaving Star Eye had been wrenching, and he wondered whether it was something
he would have to do often. He suspected that a woman like Star Eye did not
fall into a warrior's life very often. Their parting had not been tearful, but
he could read the resentment in every line of her.
"I know you must be off," she had said, "and I won't demean myself by begging
you to come back."
"Star Eye," he had said, half-choking, "I cannot say how grateful "
"Oh, shut up! Be off with you, then."
Puzzled and feeling very unheroic, he had wheeled his cabo to leave.
"One more thing." He turned back. She stood in the doorway of her hut. "In
Crag there is a man. His name is Death-moon."
"Yes?"
THE STEEL KINGS
87
"Avoid him." She went inside and closed the door.
He rode off remembering his father's saying that women always got in the last
word. What these words meant was unclear, but they definitely had been the
last. Perhaps that was all she had wanted to do. He was scarcely likely to
seek out a man with a name like Deathmoon.
Two days of riding along narrow, winding country roads brought him to a
highway. This one was raised above the surrounding land and had a paved
surface, gently arched and well maintained. It carried a busy traffic,
including coffles of slaves connected by odd-looking chains running through
rings fastened around their necks.
Four-wheeled wagons rumbled along, laden with cargo and drawn by complaining,
foul-smelling humpers. Two-wheeled carts similarly laden were hauled by yoked
slaves. Once again, Kairn felt repugnance at the lavish use made of slaves in
this land. He had difficulty feeling much sympathy for slaves, but this seemed
excessive.
Occasionally there were mysterious litters, borne on the shoulders of matched
slave teams. The open litters always contained men, so he guessed that the
curtained ones bore women. Once, as one passed him, he saw a dainty hand
adorned with multiple rings push aside a curtain, and for a few seconds he was
Page 43
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studied by a huge, brown eye, heavily made up with black cosmetic. It was
intriguing, but Star Eye had temporarily drained him of interest in women.
Besides, she was going in the opposite direction.
He also saw files of soldiers, firetubes slanted over their shoulders,
marching in the lockstep that seemed proper and soldierly to civilized people
and seemed comical to all the rest. There was nothing comical about the
soldiers themselves, though. They looked grim and competent, but it still
seemed strange to see warriors who bore no bladed weapons save knives or small
hatchets.
He noticed that the soldiers differed somewhat as to uniforms. One group he
passed wore white tunics and black trousers. Another group he saw later in the
day, camped by the road, were clad all in red. He guessed that these meant
88 John Maddox Roberts
different regiments, but they might equally be the troops of different
landholders, wearing their masters' livery; if the landholders were allowed
private armies. They usually were, in his experience.
What was strangest was the extreme uniformity of their equipment. Every man,
regardless of uniform, seemed to carry exactly the same weapons and gear. They
were not differentiated into light and heavy infantry, scouts, mounted troops,
regulars and local auxiliaries, and so forth. This hinted of a formidable
centralized organization that controlled all aspects of the soldiers' lives.
This was an ominous thought. Not even his father's old enemy, Gasam, wielded
such control.
When the light began to dun he rode away from the road, into the forest. He
had had enough of walls for a while. He longed to sleep beneath the stars once
more, even if the stars around here were barely visible through the tree
branches. He did not go far. All he wanted was solitude, he did not want to
get lost.
He watered his cabo at a small stream, then picketed the beast in a tiny
clearing where grass grew abundantly. He did not plan to do any cooking, but
he built a small fire for its cheering light and in hopes that the smoke would
hold the insects at bay. Before the light was gone entirely, he scouted around
his campsite, looking for signs of dangerous animals. The area was fairly
densely populated, and he knew that big predators rarely were found where man
was much in evidence. Still, it paid to be careful.
He found the tracks of a great many small beasts,\>ut none that could harm
him. There were other marks as well, human marks. These gave him pause, and he
wondered whether it would be such a good idea sleeping out here instead of
finding the nearest village.
The marks were those of sandaled feet. Whoever they were, they were armed, for
he could see the impressions of some sort of pole weapon where men had leaned
on them. Local farmers looking for strayed livestock? He did not think so. He
had yet to see a farmer here who carried so much as a
THE STEEL KINGS
89
staff. Beside one footprint he saw a strange, rounded impression that had him
puzzled until he realized that it was made by the butt of a firetube. Its
owner had grounded the weapon and probably leaned upon it, making the mark.
Did soldiers patrol these woods? But he had seen no soldiers carrying [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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