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.
Black Company S 4 - Shadow Games
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
mistake. Smoke had no intention of fighting, and was so stubborn even Willow was
tempted to grumble.
Smoke claimed he was waiting for something to happen. He wouldn’t say what.
Blade got stuck down south, in the territories yielded without a fight, along
the Main River. He was supposed to get the locals together and keep any
messengers from going back and forth. It was an easy job. There were no bridges
across the river and only four places where it could be forded. The
Shadowmasters must have been preoccupied. Their suspicions were not aroused. Or
maybe they just assumed no news was good news.
What Smoke was waiting for happened.
Like Blade said, Taglios was hag-ridden by its priests. Three major religions
existed there, not in harmony. Each had its splinters, factions, and subcults
that feuded among themselves when they weren’t feuding with the others. Taglian
culture centered upon religious differences and the efforts of the priests to
get ahead of each other. A lot of lower-class people weren’t signed up with
anybody. Especially out in the country. Likewise the ruling family, who did not
dare get religion if they wanted to stay in charge.
Old Smoke was waiting for one of the boss priests to get the idea he could make
a name for himself and his tribe by getting out and busting the heads of the
invaders nobody else would fight. “Purely a cynical political maneuver,” Smoke
told Willow. “The Prahbrindrah’s waited a long time to show someone what
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.
Black Company S 4 - Shadow Games
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
mistake. Smoke had no intention of fighting, and was so stubborn even Willow was
tempted to grumble.
Smoke claimed he was waiting for something to happen. He wouldn’t say what.
Blade got stuck down south, in the territories yielded without a fight, along
the Main River. He was supposed to get the locals together and keep any
messengers from going back and forth. It was an easy job. There were no bridges
across the river and only four places where it could be forded. The
Shadowmasters must have been preoccupied. Their suspicions were not aroused. Or
maybe they just assumed no news was good news.
What Smoke was waiting for happened.
Like Blade said, Taglios was hag-ridden by its priests. Three major religions
existed there, not in harmony. Each had its splinters, factions, and subcults
that feuded among themselves when they weren’t feuding with the others. Taglian
culture centered upon religious differences and the efforts of the priests to
get ahead of each other. A lot of lower-class people weren’t signed up with
anybody. Especially out in the country. Likewise the ruling family, who did not
dare get religion if they wanted to stay in charge.
Old Smoke was waiting for one of the boss priests to get the idea he could make
a name for himself and his tribe by getting out and busting the heads of the
invaders nobody else would fight. “Purely a cynical political maneuver,” Smoke
told Willow. “The Prahbrindrah’s waited a long time to show someone what
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