Mika wakened slowly. Everything hurt. His head throbbed and his eyelids were thick and swollen. His throat was dry and his stomach was cramped. Every single joint was stiff and sore. And he was cold. He groaned in misery.
Tam added groans and whimpers of his own. Mika sat up and rubbed his head, which was now scabbed over with dry blood. His hands and arms were covered with Tam's blood and his body was rank with old sweat. He could feel a line of blisters beginning to rise under the edges of his tunic at neck and shoulders.
Mika flexed his arms and rolled his head cautiously, feeling the muscles complain at the smallest movement.
Tam lay still, barely lifting his head from the ground. He tried to wag his tail, but even that small effort was too much, and he stopped after one feeble wave.
"By the Great She Wolf, if we feel this terrible after such a little encounter, pray the gods we never have to go into a real battle," muttered Mika.
The roan, hearing Mika's voice, whickered softly.
Mika crawled out from under the overhanging branches and looked around carefully. The day was dark and grey. A dense rain-swollen cloud cover hung over the ridge, obscuring its upper reaches from sight. Mika stared up at the almost vertical drop, frankly astonished that they had descended it safely. No sane person would purposely choose that route unless he had a death wish.
The roan was tossing his head impatiently, and as Mika untied him from the tree limb, he butted him gently in the chest with the flat of his head. Mika shook his own head in quiet amusement.
He had been riding for almost as long as he had been walking and never had he viewed a horse as anything but an uncomfortable but necessary means of transportation. He had known of nomads who had an almost mystical relationship with their horses, but he had never felt such warmth for a horse until now.
After leading the roan to the stream and allowing him to drink his fill, Mika tethered him in a patch of grass. Then he tended to the princess.
She was beginning to look a little shopworn, Mika reflected as he untied her from the horse. He supposed that it was partially his fault for leaving her draped over the horse overnight. After all, there were limits to what one could expect from magic spells. Even one cast by the best of magic-users. For instance, her need for food and water was magically suspended. But even the best spell didn't extend to clothes and dirt.
The princess's hair hung down over her head, all dusty and dirty with muddy drops where the horse had splashed water. Her dress was filthy and wrinkled and had torn in several places. Maybe she would look better right side up, Mika mused.
But she didn't. The princess was definitely a mess, and of course, she was still sound asleep.
"This is getting tiresome," Mika said between gritted teeth as he slung her over his shoulder and tottered toward the stream. "The least she could do is carry her own weight."
Mika sat the princess down at the edge of the stream and propped her up against the trunk of a tree. Ripping yet another strip off her gown, he dipped it in the cold water and rubbed it over her face. The water ran in muddy rivulets down her bosom, which no longer looked quite so attractive.
In fact, the whole princess thing was beginning to pall. She was about as much fun as listening to a lecture on the medicinal properties of goldenwort.
Other questions now presented themselves. Now that Recknass and Hary were dead, what about the mission to ransom the princess?
And where would Mika take her if they ever got to Eru-Tovar? How would he locate the mysterious magician? And what should Mika do if the magician demanded payment in advance? Mika sighed and shook his head. All of these new problems made his head ache just thinking about them.
He finally abandoned the cleaning of the princess as a lost cause and turned his attention to his own needs. Stripping off the sweat-stiffened leather tunic, his single remaining boot, and his loincloth, he waded into the stream.
The water was cold but invigorating. Mika found a sinkhole near the edge of a greenery-hung bank and submerged until only his head stuck out, staying there until he felt the last of the tension ease from his body, as well as the multitude of aches and pains.
After a while, he moved to a more shallow location where a layer of white sand lay thick on the floor of the stream. This he scooped up by the handful and rubbed over his body till his skin tingled and squeaked beneath his palms.
Next he unbraided his hair and floated spread-eagle on his back, letting the current wash away the blood and the grime. Then he scrubbed his hair with sand, gingerly avoiding the still painful bruise.
His skin was puckered and blue by the time he finished rinsing his few bits of leather clothing, knowing that they would dry stiff and unbending.
Naked, his dripping clothes tucked under his arm, he returned to the spruce and crawled inside. He hung his clothes over several of the lower branches, restarted the fire, and added small bits of dry wood, enough to take the chill out of the air, but not enough to cause smoke which could be seen through the trees.
Tam stood shakily and nosed his way out from under the tree, his pink bandaged tail looking very odd in the cold light of the morning. As Tam drank at the stream Mika dragged the princess under the shelter of the spruce and took stock of their situation.
It seemed reasonable to expect that some of the drivers and nomads had escaped the predations of the gnoll army. It also seemed logical to assume that the entire area was probably crawling with a large assortment of gnolls, hyenas, trolls, hyenadons, and nomads and drivers, all trying to either escape or kill each other.
With any luck at all, most of them would leave the area soon, running and pursuing each other westward. Mika was concerned about Hornsbuck and Marek and Klaren and a few of the others, but not enough to join the fray. It made sense to stay right where he was, under the tree, until all danger had passed and he and Tam were in better shape.
The more Mika thought about it, the more unusual it seemed that such an army of creatures would appear in the middle of the desolate plains. It was obvious they must have had some connection with the magic-user. Who in Hades was that man, and when would he turn up again?
Tam crawled back under the tree, collapsed next to the fire, and began licking himself, his every movement a visible effort.
Mika took his second boot, now washed by the stream, and scooped some water up. Mixing in a large amount of the dried vegetables and meat, he set it to simmer over the fire.
It began to rain before the stew was done, big fat drops of water that splatted against the ground. But under the tree it was warm and dry. No rain squeezed through the densely matted branches. He was feeling safe for the first time in days.
Tam wasn't too interested in eating the stew, so Mika ate alone. He offered some to the princess out of politeness, but of course, she didn't want any either.
Dinner finished, Mika rinsed out his boot and hung it up to dry. His breechclout was dry, so he put it on, then busied himself with combing the tangles out of his hair. His head still ached so he left his hair dangling loosely about his shoulders. Then he rubbed some of the herbal ointment into his blisters and over a number of other cuts and scratches that covered his body.
The unguent was soothing, spreading an icy cool across the skin, and Mika felt good, knowing that he owned the recipe for the mixture and had the knowledge necessary for making it. Once again, he felt grateful to his father for persevering in the face of his disinterest and said a quiet prayer of thanks.
His quiet ruminations were set aside abruptly, for at that moment, the roan neighed and Mika felt more than heard the tread of heavy feet nearby.
Gripping his sword, he crouched low, ready should anyone or anything attempt to invade his area.
Tam raised himself up and growled once, his ears stiffly erect. Then, his posture eased, his ears lowered and his injured tail thumped softly on the ground. Mika knew that whoever was nearby was no enemy.
Pushing the branches aside cautiously, Mika looked out and saw Hornsbuck and RedTail crashing through the underbrush, both sodden and miserable looking. They had not spotted him. For a moment Mika was tempted to let them pass by, but they looked so wretched that he relented.
"Hornsbuck!" he called in a low tone. Hornsbuck whirled, drawing his sword in a harsh clang of steel.
"Mika!" he said in wonderment, then a scowl creased his face and he frowned at Mika suspiciously.
"What be you doing here, hiding under this big tree like a rabbit?"
"Come out of the rain, Hornsbuck. We can talk in here. Come on!" he urged as rain pelted down his face.
Mika pulled his head in and added several sticks to the fire. He was glad to see that Hornsbuck was still alive, but he was in no mood for the man's militaristic drivel. Personally, Mika saw no sense in wandering around a wet forest thick with gnolls when it was possible to be dry and safe.
"Where are you?" Hornsbuck roared in a loud whisper as he plowed straight into the dense foliage, showering those inside with moisture and causing the fire to hiss and sputter.
"Hornsbuck! Down!" Mika commanded, tugging on the man's soggy breechclout, forcing him to his knees.
"Eh? Oh!" said Hornsbuck as he parted the branches and looked down into the warm dry interior of the tree. "Tree, eh?" he said with great insight. "Pretty smart. Dry too. Smelled the smoke. Couldn't see it, but smelled it. Knew someone was around. Have you seen any gnolls?"
"Come inside, Hornsbuck," Mika said impatiently as wind gusted through the open branches, spread wide by Hornsbuck's broad bulk. RedTail needed no further urging. He entered, touched noses with TamTur, and was immediately busy sniffing Tam's wounds.
"Glad there's a fire," grunted Hornsbuck as he squeezed through and walked in to where Mika sat at the base of the trunk.
He sank to a seated position in front of the small blaze and sat there steaming like some giant semi-tamed bear, his great bulk seeming to fill the interior, making the space small with his huge presence.
"Where's Recknass?" he asked suddenly, peering around him as though he might somehow have overlooked the giant.
"Dead," said Mika, and he quickly told Horns-buck all that had transpired since they had parted. Hornsbuck looked puzzled.
"Why would they have killed each other?" pondered Hornsbuck. "Did you have anything to do with it?"
"Me? I've told you everything," Mika said indignantly. "In fact, I expect it was one of them who hit me on the head. And now I'm stuck nursemaiding the princess all day!"
"Oh, so that's why you're not out hunting gnolls. Wondered about that," muttered Hornsbuck. "But I can see as how you'd have to stay here with her. I hate gnolls!" And he spat a stream of brown tobacco juice toward the princess as though to add emphasis to his hatred.
"Uh, Hornsbuck, not in here," Mika said with distaste.
"Women," sighed Hornsbuck. "They're a problem even when they ain't yapping." And he leaned over and wiped the ugly brown stain that was spreading across what remained of the princess's dress with his ham-sized fist. He only made it worse.
"Well, maybe she won't notice," he said, wiping his hand on the front of his tunic. "Maybe she won't ever wake up!" he added, the idea obviously much to his liking. "Then we could just leave her here and be on our way."
"Neither Enor nor the Guild would approve," said Mika. "And besides, Tam is injured and needs to rest."
"You're right," said Hornsbuck. "What's a nomad without his wolf? But Tam should be up and about in a day or so, nothing to really fuss about, just a few hyena bites. It's just that I get crazy sitting around doing nothing. Don't suppose you've got anything to eat? I'm starved. Damn gnolls got my horse and all my provisions, too."
Mika poured a generous portion of the dried mixture into his boot, added water, and set it over the fire once more. If Hornsbuck saw anything strange about cooking in the boot, he said nothing about it while gobbling the hot concoction.
"Not half bad, this," he said, gesturing at the stew with his food-smeared fingers. "Be better with beans, though." Then, spraying food in all directions, he told his tale.
"Separated from the rest of the men, just like we decided. Took Klaren and Meno with me. They both got themselves killed.
"Klaren got pulled from his horse by a troll and Meno took a gnoll's pikestaff in the chest. Their wolves stuck by 'em till the end, then they got cornered by a pack of hyenadons. RedTail and I tried to help, but it was hopeless. The only thing we could do was try to save ourselves. Damn shame about Klaren. He was a good man.
"We got to the rendezvous point and waited, but nobody showed up, 'cept some gnolls. So we left. My guess is that everyone is scattered from here to Eru-Tovar and gone. We'll just have to make it on our own."
"But how are we going to do that if the woods are crawling with gnolls and trolls and hyenas?" asked Mika. Then, seeing Hornsbuck casting a critical eye on him, he hastened to explain.
"I mean, I'd like nothing more than the chance to kill some more of those filthy creatures, that's for sure, but there is the princess to think of. She's still my first concern. I know that Enor will expect me to deliver her safely to the city, so I mustn't think about myself and what I'd do if I were alone. Too bad, really. The two of us could see to it that there were fewer gnolls in the world," Mika said with a sad sigh.
"I know, lad," said Hornsbuck, patting Mika on the back. "I don't like seeing them murder my men and get away with it, but you're right about the princess. We've got to see to her first. Once she's taken care of, we can find a few gnolls and show them how we feel about their kind."
Not if I can help it, thought Mika as he tried to look as though he agreed with the older man.
"But how do we get her to Eru-Tovar safely?" asked Mika. "The gnolls will surely find us before we reach the city."
"I know a way," said Hornsbuck. "But we'll need some food. We'll have to kill the roan."
"No!" blurted Mika, unwilling to sacrifice the horse to Hornsbuck's great undiscriminating belly. "We'll find something else. What is your plan?"
Hornsbuck's green eyes pierced Mika and stared at him intently. "I'll show you when the time comes," he said slowly. "It's a lost way, a path I have kept secret these many years. \bu must promise me not to tell anyone once I show you."
"All right," agreed Mika, not really caring, so long as it was safe and free of gnolls.
The next few days passed slowly. Very slowly. Hornsbuck ate what little wild stuff they were able to gather, tossed knucklebones, hawked, spat, cursed, belched, farted, and made other obnoxious and rude noises. Smart and wily he might be in the ways of survival, but the man's social graces were all but nonexistent. Mika had never quite noticed before what a coarse brute Hornsbuck was, but then he had never been thrown so intimately into his company before.
The man was addled from war-lust and if insufferable when awake, he was only slightly less noisy when asleep. Never had Mika so. missed or so appreciated Celia and the company of women. Wedged in one small corner between Tam and the princess, Mika read his book of spells out of sheer despair, in an attempt to separate himself from Hornsbuck's endless, mindless commentary.
As he read, a plan began to take shape in Mika's mind, a dangerous, yet wonderful plan.