“Look at it this way, kid,” Aahz tried again. “At least we know what we aren’t up against.”
What we weren’t dealing with was soldiers. Though a large number of them were gathered in the near vicinity, there seemed to be no effort being made to organize or arm them for battle. As the appointed time drew near, it became more and more apparent that they were to be spectators only in the upcoming fray.
“I think I’d rather deal with soldiers,” I said glumly.
“Heads up, kid,” Aahz retorted, nudging me with his elbow. “Whatever’s going to happen is about to.”
I knew what he meant, which bothered me. There was no time to ponder it, however. Antonio had just put in his appearance.
He strolled around one corner of the mammoth box deep in conversation with a suspicious-looking character in a hooded cloak. He shot a glance in our direction, smiled, and waved merrily.
We didn’t wave back.
“I don’t like the looks of this, kid,” Aahz growled.
I didn’t either, but there wasn’t much we could do except wait. Antonio finished his conversation with the stranger and stepped back, folding his arms across his chest. The stranger waved some of the on looking soldiers aside, then stepped back himself. Drawing himself up, he began weaving his hands back and forth in a puzzling manner. Then the wind carried the sound to me and I realized he was chanting.
“Aahz!” I gasped. “They’ve got their own magician.”
“I know,” Aahz grinned back. “But from what I can hear he’s bluffing them the same way you bluffed the court back at Possiltum. He probably doesn’t have any more powers than I do.”