purse.
He gripped his knife.
But Relkin did not remove the little bag of coins. It never occurred to him to even try. He had no wish to get a flogging, and stealing the commander’s purse in this situation would guarantee it.
Glaves relaxed, even more surprised. The boy must be incredibly stupid. He was the same one that had been awarded a Legion Star. So this was the best the legion could offer. This is what it took to win the highest awards in the military. Glaves sighed with pity for the poor dolts.
Relkin refastened the commander’s shirt and laid a blanket over him. Then he joined Baz who was leaning on his sword and conversing with a pair of legionaries. Together they strolled back to their tent.
CHAPTER NINE
On into the southlands went the legion fleet as the great river snaked back and forth in huge arcs across an increasingly flat, low-lying marshland. Occasionally they would see boats of Teetol make or the smokes of Teetol villages, but, in general, the land seemed as empty of human beings as it was full of wildfowl. Thousands upon thousands of ducks, geese, swans, and cranes filled the waters and the air. Occasionally they glimpsed herds of animals, wild auroch, water beast, black antelope. Once they saw a large hunting party of Teetol braves, in big twenty-man canoes with totems carved into the prows.
The Teetol saw them and stayed well clear, heading for the western side of the river.
For days it went thus, and then in a matter hours they crossed the boundary between the world of the Teetol and the ancient Empire of Ourdh.
First there were scattered villages, trading posts, rickety docks poking out into the river, and then quite abruptly huge watchtowers built of sun-dried-mud brick rose up against the sky. These great square towers, with battlements at the top, became a brooding presence over the river.
The landscape became a monotony of irrigation channels surrounding the sinuous windings of the river. Houses and farm buildings all made of mud brick began to appear and soon to crowd the riverside.
Everywhere they looked they saw the peasant masses, the fedd, bent over their labors. On the backs of these masses, bound to the land by ancient laws of tenure, the dynasties of Ourdh had come and gone for thousands of years.
Here and there, prosperous towns and villages were painted white. Elsewhere they were in poor condition, with walls tumbling and weeds growing on them.
On the river there were small craft of many kinds. Later they began to see larger vessels, two- and three-masted ships, even deep-sea ships from faraway lands.
They passed their first Ourdhi city, ancient Forkono, a large place with many three-story buildings in the central district. Here as everywhere the dominant style was for mud brick with white-painted stucco.
And so it continued, through the great province of Usono and on into Sagala and eventually to Shekawat their first really large city. Here they saw the great temple pyramid, the Shekawata Puchin, which towered three hundred feet into the air and dominated the whole area.
Here they also saw a few deep-sea vessels, including a trader from Kadein, come to Shekawat to sell Kadein wine and take home sesame oil, hot peppers, dates, honey, and raisins.
The trader spoke of river pirates on the reaches to the south of them. “They’re thick on the water like mosquitoes on a bog. Watch out for fireboats and sneak attacks at night.”
At Shekawat, General Paxion found more messages from General Hektor bidding him to hurry. A huge battle loomed and the Second Legion was needed desperately.
The legion upped anchors once more and went on, leaving most of the men frustrated. They’d all been waiting for their first chance to take liberty in one of Ourdh’s great cities. Shekawat was easily the size of Kadein itself.
But the men drew solace from the knowledge that much greater cities lay ahead of them. In Ourdh, there were four truly great cities, each with more than a
He gripped his knife.
But Relkin did not remove the little bag of coins. It never occurred to him to even try. He had no wish to get a flogging, and stealing the commander’s purse in this situation would guarantee it.
Glaves relaxed, even more surprised. The boy must be incredibly stupid. He was the same one that had been awarded a Legion Star. So this was the best the legion could offer. This is what it took to win the highest awards in the military. Glaves sighed with pity for the poor dolts.
Relkin refastened the commander’s shirt and laid a blanket over him. Then he joined Baz who was leaning on his sword and conversing with a pair of legionaries. Together they strolled back to their tent.
CHAPTER NINE
On into the southlands went the legion fleet as the great river snaked back and forth in huge arcs across an increasingly flat, low-lying marshland. Occasionally they would see boats of Teetol make or the smokes of Teetol villages, but, in general, the land seemed as empty of human beings as it was full of wildfowl. Thousands upon thousands of ducks, geese, swans, and cranes filled the waters and the air. Occasionally they glimpsed herds of animals, wild auroch, water beast, black antelope. Once they saw a large hunting party of Teetol braves, in big twenty-man canoes with totems carved into the prows.
The Teetol saw them and stayed well clear, heading for the western side of the river.
For days it went thus, and then in a matter hours they crossed the boundary between the world of the Teetol and the ancient Empire of Ourdh.
First there were scattered villages, trading posts, rickety docks poking out into the river, and then quite abruptly huge watchtowers built of sun-dried-mud brick rose up against the sky. These great square towers, with battlements at the top, became a brooding presence over the river.
The landscape became a monotony of irrigation channels surrounding the sinuous windings of the river. Houses and farm buildings all made of mud brick began to appear and soon to crowd the riverside.
Everywhere they looked they saw the peasant masses, the fedd, bent over their labors. On the backs of these masses, bound to the land by ancient laws of tenure, the dynasties of Ourdh had come and gone for thousands of years.
Here and there, prosperous towns and villages were painted white. Elsewhere they were in poor condition, with walls tumbling and weeds growing on them.
On the river there were small craft of many kinds. Later they began to see larger vessels, two- and three-masted ships, even deep-sea ships from faraway lands.
They passed their first Ourdhi city, ancient Forkono, a large place with many three-story buildings in the central district. Here as everywhere the dominant style was for mud brick with white-painted stucco.
And so it continued, through the great province of Usono and on into Sagala and eventually to Shekawat their first really large city. Here they saw the great temple pyramid, the Shekawata Puchin, which towered three hundred feet into the air and dominated the whole area.
Here they also saw a few deep-sea vessels, including a trader from Kadein, come to Shekawat to sell Kadein wine and take home sesame oil, hot peppers, dates, honey, and raisins.
The trader spoke of river pirates on the reaches to the south of them. “They’re thick on the water like mosquitoes on a bog. Watch out for fireboats and sneak attacks at night.”
At Shekawat, General Paxion found more messages from General Hektor bidding him to hurry. A huge battle loomed and the Second Legion was needed desperately.
The legion upped anchors once more and went on, leaving most of the men frustrated. They’d all been waiting for their first chance to take liberty in one of Ourdh’s great cities. Shekawat was easily the size of Kadein itself.
But the men drew solace from the knowledge that much greater cities lay ahead of them. In Ourdh, there were four truly great cities, each with more than a
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