little buildings. that is SePal!’
‘Of course,’ Schlee said as if it were of no particular moment.
‘It would not be a good picture if I had left things out.’
‘We have been tricked,’ Tynian said. ‘It was our thought that
our enemies were in the place Beresa. They are not. They are
in the place Sepal instead. The one called Berit does not have
the Flower-Gem. Anakha has the Flower-Gem. Anakha takes it
to Beresa. If the wicked ones meet with Berit in the place Sepal,
he will not have the Flower-Gem with him to give to the wicked
ones. They will be angry, and they may cause hurt to Anakha’s
mate.’
‘It may be that I taught it too well,’ Ghworg muttered. ‘It talks
much now.’
Schlee, however, had been listening carefully to Tynian’s
oration. ‘It has spoken truly, however. Anakha’s mate will be
in danger. Those who have taken her away may even kill her.’
The skin on his enormous shoulders flickered, absently shaking
off the snowflakes which continually fell on him, and his face
twisted as he concentrated. ‘It is my thought that this will anger
Anakha. He may be so angry that he will raise up the Flower
gem and make the world go away. We must keep the wicked
ones from causing hurt to her.’
‘Tynian-from-Deira and I will go to the place Sepal,’ Ulath
said. ‘The wicked ones will not know us because our faces have
been changed. We will be nearby when the wicked ones tell the
one called Berit that they will give him Anakha’s mate if he will
give them the Flower-Gem. We will kill them and take Anakha’s
mate back when they do this.’
‘It speaks well,’ Zoka told the other Troll-Gods. ‘its thought
is good. Let us help it and the other one – but let us not permit
it to kill the wicked ones. Killing them is not enough. The
thought of Khwaj is better. Let Khwaj make them into fires that
will never go out instead. Let them burn always. That will be
better.’
‘I will put these man-things into the time which does not
move,’ Ghnomb said. ‘We will watch them in Schlee’s picture
of the ground as they go to the place Sepal while the world
stands still.’
‘Can you truly see something as small as a man-thing in
Schlee’s picture of the ground?’ Ulath asked the God of Eat with
some surprise.
‘Can you not?’ Ghnomb seemed even more surprised. ‘We will
send Bhlokw with you to help you, and we will watch you in
Schlee’s picture of the ground. Then, when the wicked ones
show her to the one called Berit to prove to him that they truly
have her, you and Tynian-from-Deira will step out of the time
which does not move and take her away from them.’
Then I will reach into Schlee’s picture of the ground and take
them up in my hands,’ Khwaj added grimly. ‘I will bring them
here and make them into fires that will never go out.’
‘can you truly reach into Schlee’s picture of the ground and
pick the wicked ones out of the real world?’ Ulath asked in
astonishment.
‘It is easy,’ Khwaj shrugged.
Tynian was shaking his head vigorously.
‘What?’ Schlee demanded.
The one called Zalasta can also come into the time which does
not move. We have seen him do this.’
‘It will not matter,’ Khwaj told him. ‘The one called Zalasta
IS one of the wicked ones. I will make him into a fire which will
never go out as well. I will let him burn forever in the time
which does not move. The fire will be just as hot there as it will
be here.’
The snow was heavier – and wetter – after they crossed the
rocky spine that divided the rivers flowing west from those that
flowed east. The huge cloud of humid air that hung perpetually
above the Astel Marshes lapped against the eastern slopes of
the Mountains of Zemoch, unloosing phenomenal snowfalls that
buried the forests and clogged the passes. The Church Knights
grimly forced their way through sodden drifts as they followed
the valley of the south fork of the River Esos toward the Zemoch
town of Basne.
Patriarch Abriel of the Cyrinic Knights had begun this
campaign with a certain sense of well-being. His health was
good, and a lifetime of military training had kept him in peak
physical condition. He was, however, fast approaching his
seventieth year and he found that starting out each morning
was growing harder and harder, though he would never
have admitted it.
About mid-morning on a snowy day, one of the scouting parties
ranging ahead returned with three goatskin-clad Zemochs.
The men were thin and dirty, and they had terrified expressions
on their faces. Patriarch Bergsten rode on ahead to question
them. When the rest of them caught up to the gigantic churchman,
he was having a rather heated discussion with an Arcian
Knight. ‘But they’re Zemochs, your Grace,’ the knight protested.
‘Our quarrel was with Otha, Sir Knight,’ Bergsten said coldly,
‘not with these poor, superstitious devils. Give them some food
and warm clothing and let them go.’
‘But -‘
‘We’re not going to have trouble about this, are we, Sir
Knight?’ Bergsten asked in an ominous tone, swelling even
larger. The knight seemed to consider his situation. He backed up a
few paces. ‘Ah – no, your Grace,’ he replied, ‘I don’t believe
SO.’
‘Our Holy Mother appreciates your obedience, my son,’ Bergsten
told him. ‘Did those three have anything useful for us?’ Komier asked.
‘Not much,’ Bergsten replied, hauling himself back up into
his saddle. ‘There’s an army of some kind moving into place
somewhere to the east of Argoch. There was a lot of superstition
mixed up in what they told me, so I couldn’t get anything very
accurate out of them.’
‘A fight then,’ Komier said, rubbing his hands together in
anticipation.
‘I sort of doubt that,’ Bergsten disagreed. ‘As closely as I could
make out from all the gibberish, the force up ahead is composed
largely of irregulars – religious fanatics of some kind. Our Holy
Mother in Chyrellos didn’t make many friends in this part of
the world when she tried to re-assimilate herself with the
branches of Elene faith in western Daresia during the ninth
century.’
‘That was almost two thousand years ago, Bergsten,’ Komier
objected. ‘That’s a long time to hold a grudge.’
Bergsten shrugged. ‘The old ones are the best. Send your
scouts out a little further, Komier. Let’s see if we can get some
kind of coherent report on the welcoming committee. A few
prisoners might be useful.’
‘I know how to do this, Bergsten.’
‘Do it then. Don’t just sit there talking about it.’
They passed Argoch, and Komier’s scouts brought in several
prisoners. Patriarch Bergsten interrogated the poorly clad and
ignorant Elene captives briefly, and then he ordered them
released.
“your Grace,’ Darellon protested, ‘that was very unwise.
Those men will run back to their commanders and report everything
they’ve seen.’
“yes,’ Bergsten replied, ‘I know. I want them to do that. I also
want them to tell all their friends that they’ve seen a hundred
thousand Church Knights coming down out of the mountains.
I’m encouraging defections, Darellon. We don’t want to kill
those poor misguided heretics, we just want them to get out of
our way.’
‘I still think it’s strategically unsound, your Grace.’
“you’re entitled to your opinion, my son,’ Bergsten said. ‘This
isn’t an article of the faith, so our Holy Mother encourages disagreement
and discussion.’
There isn’t much point to discussion after you’ve already let
them go, your Grace.’
“you know, that very same thought occurred to me.’
They encountered the opposing force in the broad valley of
the River esos just to the south of the Zemoch town of Basne
thirty leagues or so to the west of the Astellian border. The
reports of the scouts and the information gleaned from the captives
proved to be accurate. What faced them was not so much
an army as it was a mob, poorly armed and undisciplined.
The preceptors of the Four Orders gathered around Patriarch
Bergsten to consider options. ‘They’re members of our own
faith,’ Bergsten told them. ‘Our disagreements with them lie in
the area of Church Government, not in the substance of our
common beliefs. Those matters aren’t settled on the battlefield,
so I don’t want too many of those people killed.’
‘I don’t see much danger of that, your Grace,’ Preceptor Abriel
said. ‘They outnumber us about two to one, Lord Abriel,’ Sir Heldin
pointed out. ‘One charge should even things out, Heldin,’ Abriel replied.
‘Those people are amateurs, enthusiastic but untrained, and
about half of them are only armed with pitchforks. If we all drop
our visors, level our lances and charge them en masse, most of
them will still be running a week from now.”