Swords of the Horseclans by Adams Robert

“Well,” began Captain Yahnekos, “we slipped through the shoals by night, and by dawn we were sheltered in a little overgrown cove what’s near a lake at the ebb. To see it from a sea you wouldn’t think a damned pirogue could get in nor out; but, unladen, a bireme can. I’ve used that cove quite often over the years . . two full fathoms up to ten foot of the shore in most places, a sweet-water spring no more’n two cables’ length inland. I come on ‘er me-self, y’know, more’n twenty year ago, an’…”

Captain Vanskeleeg shoved aside a heap of nutshells. “Your pardon, my lady. Yahnekos, here, is a first-rate captain, but if he fought the way he talks, he and his company would all be sharkbait long since.”

“We laid up in his cove the full length of a day, put out men to watch the sea and sent patrols inland to some swampmen’s villages. Not a single sail was spotted that whole day long, not even fishing craft. It looked like we had the only two ships on that whole stretch of coast.

“But when the patrols come back, it’s a different pot of fish. Both of the villages was part burnt and looted and the swampers what wasn’t dead was scattered to hell and gone. Aroun’ night, an old swamper—name of Pinknee, who’d been one of our men there—come down to the cove. He said soldiers had been scouring the swamps for nigh on a month, not slavin’, though, impressin’ for the fleet an’ the army. All they was takin’ alive was strong, hale men an’ boys an’ oncet they’d got ’em chained up, they’d kill every oldster and child they could get a spear into … and after they’d done with the women, they’d kill them too, even the good-Iookin’ ones, by damn!

“Anyhow, seems old Pinknee’s village had just been hit that mornin’. He never did say how he come to get away, but he did tell us how we could cut off the soldiers what done it. We talked it over and decided we owed it to the swampers and, besides, it sounded like fun. We hit ’em whilst they was makin’ nightcamp, kilt an hundred-an’ six pike-pushers an’ one officer. We persuaded the other officer”—the captain’s thin lips split in a wolfish grin—”that it might be to his best interests to tell us why he was ‘pressin’ the swampers, what town he and his troops was from, an’ how strong the garrison was. After he’d told us ever’thin’, we give him to the swampers.

“So, anyhow, we come to find out that ol’ Zastro’d pulled all but six score of the garrison outa Sabahnahpo-lis—that’s a middlin’ size town, a tradin’ town, just inland of the swamps. Town’s on a bluff and has good walls. Some swampers say it’uz builded on top of what useta be a God-town, but that don’t cut no bait fer us. We’d alluz been scared to tackle’er afore, but we worked us out a plan.

“We put chains on mosta the swampers, but so they could shed ’em easy like, y’see, and they all strapped dirks an short swords under their shirts. We figgered Yahnekos looked more like that Ehleenoee officer’n me, so we put that fancified cuirass on him — and was that a job, my lady; big as his ol’ belly is, we had to lay him down and set two big men on top of the breastplate afore we could get the thing buckled!”

Both Alexandros and Vanskeleeg grinned hugely, while the thick-bodied Yahnekos glared at them from under lowered brows and muttered something obscene under his breath.

Vanskeleeg continued. “So we got an hundred-odd of our reavers into the pikemen’s gear and, along about dusk the next day we marched up to the landward side of Sabahnahpolis. They’d closed the gate, o’course, it gettin’ toward night an’ all. You should’a heard ol’ Yahnekos, though—sounded just like one of them nobles, he did! Said he’uz tired and needed him a wash, an’ if they didn’ get them gates opened afore he’d took another breath, he’d have ever’ manjack’s parts off an’ feed ’em to his hounds.

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