halt. Otto and Hagop had small nods to admit that they
felt unsettled, too. The rest were too macho to admit anything.
So. Maybe my collywobbles were not imaginary.
“I get a feeling going down there could become a watershed
of Company history. Can one of you geniuses tell me why?”
Goblin and One-Eye looked at each other. Neither spoke.
“The only thing the Annals say that’s weird is that
Gea-Xle was one of those rare places the Company walked away
from.”
“What does that mean?” That Murgen was a natural
shill.
“It means our forebrethren didn’t have to fight
their way out. They could have renewed their commission. But the
Captain heard about a treasure mountain up north where the silver
nuggets were supposed to weigh a pound.”
There was more to the tale but they did not want to hear it. We
were not really the Black Company anymore, just rootless men from
nowhere headed the same direction. How much was that my fault? How
much the fault of bitter circumstance?
“No comment?” They both looked thoughtful, though.
“So. Murgen. Break out the real colors tomorrow. With all the
honors.”
That jacked up some eyebrows.
“Finish the tea, guys. And tell your bellies to get ready
for some real brew. They make the genuine elixir down
there.”
That sparked some interest.
“You see? The Annals are good for something after
all.”
I set about doing some writing in the latest of my own volumes,
occasionally peeking at one or another of the wizards. They had
forgotten their feud, were using their heads for something more
than the creation of mischief.
During one of my upward glances I caught a silvery yellow flash.
It seemed to come from the rocks where I had been a while back,
watching the city lights.
“Lady!”
I barked my shins a dozen times getting there, then felt like a
fool when I found her seated on a rock, arms around her legs, chin
on her knees, contemplating the night. The light of a newly risen
moon fell upon her from behind. She was astonished by my wild
stumble to the rescue.
“What happened?” I demanded.
“What?”
“I saw some weird flashes up here.”
Her expression, in that light, seemed honestly baffled.
“Must have been a trick of the moonlight. Better turn in
pretty soon. I want to get an early start.”
“All right,” she said in a small, troubled
voice.
“Is something wrong?”
“No. I’m just lost.”
I knew what she meant without her having to explain.
Going back I ran into Goblin and One-Eye moving up carefully.
Fireflies of magic danced in their hands and dread smoldered in
their eyes.
----
----
Chapter Sixteen: WILLOW’S WAR
Willow was amazed. It actually went pretty much the way it was
supposed to. The Taglians gave up their territories below the Main
without a finger raised to resist. The army of the Shadowmasters
came over the river and still met no resistance. It dissolved into
its four elements. Still meeting no opposition, those forces broke
up into companies, the better to plunder. The looting was so good
all discipline collapsed.
Taglian marauders began picking off foragers and small raiding
parties, suddenly, everywhere. The invaders suffered a thousand
casualties before they understood. Cordy Mather engineered that
phase, claiming to emulate his military idols, the Black Company.
When the invaders responded with larger foraging parties he
countered by leading them into traps and ambushes. At his peak he
twice suckered entire companies into densely built and specially
prepared towns that he burned down around them. The third time he
tried that, though, the invaders did not take the bait. His
overconfident Taglians got whipped. Wounded, he went back to
Taglios to contemplate the fickleness of fate.
Willow, meantime, was marching around the eastern Taglian
territories with Smoke and twenty-five hundred volunteers, keeping
close to the enemy commander, trying to look like a menace that
would become nemesis the moment the invaders made a
felt unsettled, too. The rest were too macho to admit anything.
So. Maybe my collywobbles were not imaginary.
“I get a feeling going down there could become a watershed
of Company history. Can one of you geniuses tell me why?”
Goblin and One-Eye looked at each other. Neither spoke.
“The only thing the Annals say that’s weird is that
Gea-Xle was one of those rare places the Company walked away
from.”
“What does that mean?” That Murgen was a natural
shill.
“It means our forebrethren didn’t have to fight
their way out. They could have renewed their commission. But the
Captain heard about a treasure mountain up north where the silver
nuggets were supposed to weigh a pound.”
There was more to the tale but they did not want to hear it. We
were not really the Black Company anymore, just rootless men from
nowhere headed the same direction. How much was that my fault? How
much the fault of bitter circumstance?
“No comment?” They both looked thoughtful, though.
“So. Murgen. Break out the real colors tomorrow. With all the
honors.”
That jacked up some eyebrows.
“Finish the tea, guys. And tell your bellies to get ready
for some real brew. They make the genuine elixir down
there.”
That sparked some interest.
“You see? The Annals are good for something after
all.”
I set about doing some writing in the latest of my own volumes,
occasionally peeking at one or another of the wizards. They had
forgotten their feud, were using their heads for something more
than the creation of mischief.
During one of my upward glances I caught a silvery yellow flash.
It seemed to come from the rocks where I had been a while back,
watching the city lights.
“Lady!”
I barked my shins a dozen times getting there, then felt like a
fool when I found her seated on a rock, arms around her legs, chin
on her knees, contemplating the night. The light of a newly risen
moon fell upon her from behind. She was astonished by my wild
stumble to the rescue.
“What happened?” I demanded.
“What?”
“I saw some weird flashes up here.”
Her expression, in that light, seemed honestly baffled.
“Must have been a trick of the moonlight. Better turn in
pretty soon. I want to get an early start.”
“All right,” she said in a small, troubled
voice.
“Is something wrong?”
“No. I’m just lost.”
I knew what she meant without her having to explain.
Going back I ran into Goblin and One-Eye moving up carefully.
Fireflies of magic danced in their hands and dread smoldered in
their eyes.
----
----
Chapter Sixteen: WILLOW’S WAR
Willow was amazed. It actually went pretty much the way it was
supposed to. The Taglians gave up their territories below the Main
without a finger raised to resist. The army of the Shadowmasters
came over the river and still met no resistance. It dissolved into
its four elements. Still meeting no opposition, those forces broke
up into companies, the better to plunder. The looting was so good
all discipline collapsed.
Taglian marauders began picking off foragers and small raiding
parties, suddenly, everywhere. The invaders suffered a thousand
casualties before they understood. Cordy Mather engineered that
phase, claiming to emulate his military idols, the Black Company.
When the invaders responded with larger foraging parties he
countered by leading them into traps and ambushes. At his peak he
twice suckered entire companies into densely built and specially
prepared towns that he burned down around them. The third time he
tried that, though, the invaders did not take the bait. His
overconfident Taglians got whipped. Wounded, he went back to
Taglios to contemplate the fickleness of fate.
Willow, meantime, was marching around the eastern Taglian
territories with Smoke and twenty-five hundred volunteers, keeping
close to the enemy commander, trying to look like a menace that
would become nemesis the moment the invaders made a
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