“Shall I splash you?” he called.
“You hadn’t better,” she answered, then launched herself, gasping as she surfaced. He did splash her then, and she charged him, splashing back. In a moment they were tussling and laughing, their wet bodies twisting against each other.
Abruptly Macurdy let her go and backed away, chagrined, and at the same time pleased with himself. Melody smiled. “That’s a good start, Macurdy,” she said softly, and reaching, touched his cheek. Then she turned and waded out of the river. Macurdy watched first her departing back, then her buttocks and legs, while his fingers touched his cheek where hers had. Varia had touched him like that.
That evening, fireflies were out by the hundreds in their camp, yellowish glowing lights bobbing and circling in the twilight and dark. Melody went to where Macurdy squatted, and squatted beside him, their arms and shoulders touching as they watched. But only for a little. Then the three tallfolk bedded down near each other, Macurdy feeling as if, for the first time in his life, he had a girl friend. His relationship with Varia had skipped that stage.
The next day brought a thundershower by midmorning, and a prolonged thunderstorm in late afternoon that drove them to cover at a crossroads inn. It wasn’t as large as the inn they’d stayed in before, nor as clean, and Macurdy decided this was a good time to exercise the magic Arbel had taught him for killing fleas, lice, and the like.
It seemed to work well; either that or there’d been none to start with. And no one had sex out of sight on the floor, because there was no bed, only three straw-filled sacks unrolled side by side.
About two hours into their ride next morning, Blue Wing’s voice called from overhead: “Macurdy! Macurdy!” Macurdy reined in and waited, looking up. The great bird spiraled sharply down and reached for the roadside with long legs.
“What’d you find?”
“There’s a town ahead, not far from the highway.”
“Aye,” said Tossi. “Gormin Town. I recall it. It’s a reeve’s town, a shire seat, walled with a palisade. There’s a better than usual inn at the crossroads nearby.”
Macurdy nodded, looking at Blue Wing, waiting.
“The town has an open space near its center,” the bird continued. “With poles standing there, and men hanging on them.”
“Hanging?”
“By their wrists. Some appear to be dead. Others were just then being fastened up.”
“Sounds like a good place to stay away from,” Jeremid suggested.
Macurdy spoke as if to himself. “Men hung up from poles.” He focused on Blue Wing again. “How many?”
“You know I’m not good with numbers,” Blue Wing said a little testily. “You are six, right?”
“That’s right.”
“At least twice that many, I would guess.”
“If we spend a day or two there, what will you do?” Macurdy asked. “I may need you.”
“There’s a slaughterhouse nearby, with a place where the offal is thrown. They’ll very likely put out some choice pieces for me: a head already skinned perhaps, and some organs. And I can keep track of where you are by the dwarves’ ponies. There’ll hardly be anything else like them there.”
“Thanks. Keep an eye on me for a while, if you would. I may have questions.”
“As you wish.”
The raven took to the air, running and hopping a few strides for his takeoff, as if his crop was full; perhaps he’d already visited the slaughterhouse. Macurdy nudged his horse with his heels. “Gormin Town doesn’t sound like a good place to be,” Jeremid said.
Macurdy’s lips pursed thoughtfully. “To get Varia away from the Sisterhood, it could be useful to have armed men with me. Not to take inside the dwarf kingdom, but standing by.”
It was Melody who answered. “What do men hanging in the square have to do with that?”
“I’m not sure. But—why hang men up like that? Are they bandits? Rebels?”
She waited for the rest of it, and when there was no more, rode on frowning. An hour and a half later they came to the inn, at the crossroads a half-mile outside the town’s north gate. Macurdy stopped outside the courtyard, and looking up, spotted Blue Wing high overhead. He waved until the bird tilted and started down. Then Macurdy gathered the others close around him. In a minute, Blue Wing arrived to perch on the top rail of a fence beside the road.