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Joe went. Else had no trouble imagining schemers like er-Rashal al-Dhulquarnen trying to breed a race of warriors as placid and pliable as Joe's favorite mule. Ah. The Sha-lug were not mat way? The ideal Sha-lug. Not those Sha-lug like Else Tage, with a regrettable tendency to think for himself. "Pinkus, here's an original notion. Instead of worrying about mat stuff, how about we concentrate on getting out of this alive?" "Shit, we got no worries, Pipe. Things are so ugly right now that I guarantee you everything's going to turn out all right. That's the way the Pinkus Ghort story gets told." 16. Andoraycms and. the Black Mountain Massacre B lood and murder swirled around the AndorayaW The Connecten attack had caught them off guard. But they were shambling along through an alien time, unready for much of anything but being amazed. Page 102 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html The Andorayans could no longer refuse to believe that tiiey had fallen into a world where the grandsons of the men they had pursued were long dead of old age. That truth hammered them constantly. They were never a part of that army. Their presence was tolerated but to the Amhanders they were less than remoras to sharks. Unpleasantnesses had hounded them since th^t day at the bridge in the Haunted Hills. In the matter of the murder of Erief Erealsson Shakrt grew ever more suspicious of the gods themselves. The served them too well. He did not share his suspicions. Words spoken were words sure to be overheard by the Instrumentalities of the Night. now. He moment Shagot had no idea what they wanted him doing knew only that he was supposed to recognize the when it arrived. Shagot was doubtful of any convictions he discovered when he explored his own inner landscape. Or was amazed at the depth of his own cynicism. The rest of the band were deeper in the dark. All they could do was stick, protect him, and hope that a time would come when everyone would understand what they had to do. But there was no enthusiasm for the task. When die Arnhander army entered the pass below the Black Mountain of the Steigfeit Range, Shagot's companions were beyond complaining. They no longer talked to their leader much, either. They just trudged along, bent to the Will of the Gods, indifferent to a world that betrayed no interest in them. Thus, because of their self-involvement, they responded slowly when the attack came. Shagot said, "They don't see us." Indeed. The attackers paid them no heed at all. Until they began to run toward those same trees whence the attack had come. Then a couple of infantrymen came at them. Svavar and Finnboga dispatched the two almost casually. "Don't anybody move," Shagot said. More attackers were headed their way. The Connectens lost interest. "Like old Trygg," Hallgrim said. "He was always forgetting what he was going to do." Shagot said, "Let's move. They aren't looking, now." They covered maybe eighty feet before a lone horseman in heavy armor charged them. Sigurjon flung an axe. While the rider fended it Shagot dropped his mount with a two-handed sword stroke to its forelegs. The odiers murdered the rider before he hit the ground. Trial and error showed them that short bursts, a dozen yards at a time, followed by a minute of inactivity, let them travel without attracting attackers. "Pretty damned feeble magic if you ask me, Grim," Svavar said. "It's keeping your stinky ass alive, ain't it? Once we get to them rocks over there we'll lay up until this shit is over and the survivors go away." It was clear who the victors would be. Already it was all over but the butchery. THE BATTLEFIELD WAS QUIET. THE CONNECTENS HAD GIVEN UP looting the dead and murdering the wounded. Now they were coping with the enormity of what they had done. It was more difficult for them than for men of Shagot's land and time. The Connec's only acquaintance with war was through those few adventurous sons who went to fight in the Holy Lands. Svavar asked, "What do we do next, Grim?" Shagot had no idea. This disaster was nothing that the gods had foreseen. "I need to sleep on it. I'll let you know in the morning." The others did not question that. They were all weird men. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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