‘Like what?’
‘Burdens that separate the hero from the rogue.’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘It comes back to the question you asked me, about the women. The true warrior lives by a code. He has to. For each man there are different perspectives, but at the core they are the same: Never violate a woman, nor harm a child. Do not lie, cheat or steal. These things are for lesser men. Protect the weak against the evil strong. And never allow thoughts of gain to lead you into the pursuit of evil.’
‘This is your code?’ asked Druss.
‘It is. And there is more, but I shall not bore you with it.’
‘I am not bored. Why do you need such a code to live by?’
Shadak laughed. ‘You will understand, Druss, as the years go by.’
‘I want to understand now,’ said the younger man.
‘Of course you do. That is the curse of the young, they want it all now. No. Rest a while. Even your prodigious strength will fail after a time. Sleep a little. And wake refreshed. It will be a long -and bloody – night.’
*
The moon was high, and a quarter full in a cloudless sky. Silver light bathed the mountains, rippling on the river below, making it seem of molten metal. Three camp-fires burned and Druss could just make out the movement of men in the flickering light. The women were huddled between two wagons; there was no fire near them, but guards patrolled close by. To the north of the wagons, around thirty paces from the women, was a large tent. It gleamed yellow-gold, like a great lantern, shimmering shadows being cast on the inside walls; there was obviously a brazier within, and several lamps.
Shadak moved silently alongside the axeman, beckoning him back. Druss edged from the slope, returning to the glade where the horses were tethered.
‘How many did you count?’ asked Shadak, keeping his voice low.
‘Thirty-four, not including those inside the tent.’
There are two men there, Harib Ka and Collan. But I make it thirty-six outside. They have placed two men by the river-bank to prevent any of the women trying to swim to safety.’
‘When do we go in?’ asked Druss.
‘You are very anxious to fight, laddie. But I need you to have a cool head down there. No baresark warfare.’
‘Do not concern yourself about me, hunter. I merely want my wife back.’
Shadak nodded. ‘I understand that, but now I want you to consider something. What if she has been raped?’
Druss’s eyes gleamed, his fingers tightening on the axe haft. ‘Why do you ask this now?’
‘It is certain that some of the women will have been violated. It is the way of men such as these to take their pleasures where they want them. How cool do you feel now?’
Druss swallowed back his rising anger. ‘Cool enough. I am not a baresark, Shadak. I know this. And I will follow your plan to the last detail, live or die, win or lose.’
‘Good. We will move two hours before dawn. Most of them will be deeply asleep by then. Do you believe in the gods?’
‘I never saw one – so no.’
.Shadak grinned. ‘Neither do I. It puts praying for divine help out of the question, I suppose.’
Druss was silent for a moment. ‘Tell me now,’ he said at last, ‘why you need a code to live by.’
Shadak’s face was ghostly in the moonlight, the expression suddenly stern and forbidding. Then he relaxed and turned to gaze down at the camp of the raiders. ‘Those men down there have only one code. It is simple: Do what you will is the whole of the law. Do you understand?’
‘No,’ admitted Druss.
‘It means that whatever their strength can obtain is rightfully theirs. If another man holds something they desire they kill the other man. This is right in their minds; this is the law the world offers – the law of the wolf. But you and I are no different from them, Druss. We have the same desires, the same perceived needs. If we are attracted to a woman, why should we not have her, regardless of her opinions? If another man has wealth, why should we not take it, if we are stronger, deadlier than he? It is an easy trap to fall into. Collan was once an officer in the Drenai lancers. He comes from a good family; he took the Oath as we all did, and when he said the words he probably believed them. But in Drenan he met a woman he wanted desperately, and she wanted him. But she was married. Collan murdered her husband. That was his first step on the road to Perdition; after that the other steps were easy. Short of money, he became a mercenary – fighting for gold in any cause, right or wrong, good or evil. He began to see only what was good for Collan. Villages were there merely for him to raid. Harib Ka is a Ventrian nobleman, distantly related to the Royal House. His story is similar. Both lacked the Iron Code. I am not a good man, Druss, but the Code holds me to the Way of the Warrior.’