Turn12

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Table of contents

1 C'tis 2 Ermor 3 Man 4 Marignon 5 Pangaea 6 Pythium 7 T'ien Ch'i 8 Ulm 9 Vanheim

C'tis

"There are many ways to lose an egg," said Mother Gehyra.

It was a cool, windy day on the High Rock, and it had raining sporadically for the last three days. The lizard lands were in the depths of winter. Laph wasn't about to let that delay her training, though, and if today that meant standing outside in less than 290 degree weather, then so be it. The clan needed a new spinner.

"Their shells can be too thin or too thick. They can boil or freeze or fall and shatter. Predators eat them. Predators eat the nest-sitters, so there is no one left to protect the hatchlings. There may not be enough food once a brood is hatched to feed all the young. Sometimes it's a wonder that enough lizards make it from egg to laying to keep the whole process going, one more generation of lizards at a time."

The last spinner died shortly after Laph and Ruli hatched. He was an old lizard with a gravely, somniferous voice that Laph had found mesmerizing, though Ruli always seemed to drift off into daydreams. The old spinner had never liked any of his acolytes, which was why there was no spinner now: their tales were always too long, too short, too rambling, too moralistic, or worst of all, too boring. Sometimes he accused them of being all of the above at the same time.

"If I asked any one of those hatchlings tomorrow, they could tell me a yarn with better pacing and narrative tension than you could in a thousand years," he had yelled at his last acolyte when Laph was very small. She hadn't quite understood what he meant, and worried that he was going to put them on the spot, one by one, and make them tell a story just to prove his point. She spent all night frantically wracking her brain for a good one, and had to run the next morning not to be late, mumbling the opening lines to herself as she scurried. But there were coughing sounds coming from his quarters, and the hierodules shooed them all away. She never saw him alive again.

"There are many ways for a lizard to be lost," intoned Mother Gehyra. She was not a spinner, but she could have been, so she led the acolyte through the rituals.

"Too many to list, really, especially if we do not want to add death by droning." Laph could just discern a faint smile. It was hard to imagine that lurking within stern, dour Mother Gehyra was a sense of humor. But once Gehyra had been young, too. "Our time is short, especially when compared to some of the warmling races, and we have perforce learned to live with death always at our tails."

Laph glanced at the other elders on the council, waiting to stand in judgement over her. There was Lipit, fidgeting nervously, barely a season older than Laph but head of the Empoisoner's Guild after the untimely demise of Nanugal. Playing with strong poisons must be way up on that list, she thought. Great-Grandfather Lugal sat as far away from the circle as he could without being impolite, and stared off into space, lost in dark memories. Or possibly napping. It was hard to tell.

Far in the back, next to some shriveled old lizard Laph didn't recognize, Mother Lalek stood with a few hatchlings, so that they could perhaps tell their great-great-grand-hatchlings they had been there when a spinner was chosen. No pressure, Laph, no pressure...

"There are many ways to lose the dead," said Mother Gehyra.

She was wrapping up; it was almost Laph's turn. "We know more than any other living race how to mange death, but someone must clean the bones, grind the dust, speak the incantations. And there are always eggs to guard, hatchlings to train, predators to be kept at bay."

Cole's little army had marched through the capital a few weeks ago, and Laph had had to revise her mental image of Ash'embe as newly hatched and grasping a falchion-rattle bigger than he was. There was a certain hardness to his eyes, as he nimbly dashed around his troops, issuing orders, nipping stragglers into formation. Some of the lizards were missing eyes, or tails; some were just missing. But then again, the egg-raids and other warmling banditry on outlying settlements had fallen sharply. Some of the young die so the rest have a chance to live. Now the army was gone again.

Ruli had not been with them. When Laph asked, trying to keep her tail from flicking nervously at the thought that something had happened, Ash'embe just rolled his eyes skyward and strode off, muttering inaudibly. "Do not mind the brave Ash'embe," said Cole. "Arruli is finding other means of defense than claw and talon." And that was the best she could get out of him before he, too, left for parts unknown.

"So tell me, Elaphe Acolyte," said Mother Gehyra. "What use is a spinner of yarns? With all the forces stacked against our very survival, why should we listen to you tell us tales of things that may have never been, and are not, and never will be again?"

It was a good question. Laph had lost her composure, and for a moment she stared in panic across the assembled crowd of lizards, toyed with shouting "I don't know", and running down to the open desert to go bury herself under a rock for the rest of her sad, sorry little life. She took a deep breath. She just needed to remember the opening line, it was brilliant, she'd worked on it all month...

Something caught her eye, at the back of the crowd. Three of Mother Lalek's hatchlings, oblivious to the lull in the grown-up talk, were playing an elaborate game. One of them was clearly pretending to be human, exaggerating the ponderous, clumsy way warmlings walk, and advanced menacingly on the others. The larger of the other two darted heroically toward the "warmling", nipping playfully at his feet. But the one in the back – she was playing with a few sticks, and at first Laph thought she wasn't following the same game. But no: suddenly she realized what the sticks looked like. It was a skeleton, with a piece of rope serving as a tail...

Laph laughed. "How can we survive without these yarns?" she said. It startled her that she'd spoken aloud. This was not how her speech went. She was going to start with a long and rather elegant section on the construction of a narrative framework being important to the essence of self and society. But dozens of beady eyes stared at her, curious at the unexpected departure from tradition. Nothing for it but to carry on now.

"Look, last week, I spun a somewhat embellished story to those little hatchlings, over there" – she pointed to the still oblivious little lizards – "about the great Arruli and the Mouse of Bones, and now that little one will grow up and remember a very useful little trick that has long been forgotten. We have forgotten an awful lot, that we really ought to have remembered," she continued, way off script, not really caring.

"After all, the first of our kind on this world came from the stars! Long ago, one of a thousand thousand nests on a thousand worlds, eggs scattered throughout the universe so no single danger could threaten them all. But our little nest had a spate of serious troubles in the distant past, betrayal by warmlings who used us for their own nefarious purposes, and we fell further than we should have, and we have forgotten so much..."

For a moment, she looked at the puzzled faces of the assembled grandees and elder-lizards, and tried to picture any of them back in Aetonyx's day, when a lizard could hail a passing ship and depart for worlds unknown. It was hard. Only Great-Grandfather Lugal, for some reason, seemed likely to have been able to cope. But he's not from around here, originally, is he?

"The reason we have not forgotten more," she continued, feeling bolder, "is because of me. And Mother Gehyra, and old spinner Larch, and all the way back to the young lizards who sat on this very rock and basked in the stories of Aetonyx himself. Because if no one tells the tale of all the great and wonderful and boneheaded and awful things that we do... then what's the point in doing them?"

She scurried off the speaking rock, returned to her place. Well, so much for that, she thought. Mother Gehyra had had a long and productive life as a hierodule. Perhaps it wouldn't be that bad.

There was the distant sound of bony hands clapping. One pair, actually, attached to the shriveled lizard in the back, who now that she peered closer looked an awful lot like Larch. Suspiciously like the old spinner, in fact. The bony lizard said nothing, only nodded and smiled. A revenant, she thought. I didn't know we still knew how. And then the other lizards applauded. The old spinner approved of the acolyte.

C'tis had a new yarnspinner.

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Ermor

ErmorTurn12

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Man

Would I ever get home? Would I spend the rest of my life going from province to province, fighting battle after battle after battle? What did my palace in the Capitol of Man look like anyway? I seem to have already forgotten about it. Why are there so many local Lords who think they are stronger than the entire Empire of Man?

I sighed deeply, for the questions all had no answer. Only time would tell.

To get my mind of my depression from these endless battles, I summoned Uncle Ralph to my field tent. I was starting to really enjoy chewing him out. It was too bad that I had yet to faze him. But one of these days, I would get to him. I would get a rise out of him with something. Some day…

“You called, my Queen?”

I stared at the man. He had his usual annoying smirk on his face. Mr Know-it-all in the flesh. Mr I-have-all-the-Answers. Mr Cool-as-a-Cucumber. Well, some day I would get his goat. It was a suddenly personal goal of mine.

“Yes, my dear uncle. It seems that just a few months ago, you told me that the Royal Library would learn new spells and teach them to me. You said there was a marvelous depth of magic which we had barely scratched the surface. Didn’t you tell me all these things?”

“Yes, my dear, I certainly did.”

“Then WHERE ARE THEY??? Where is all this new knowledge? I asked Veronicas about it. She said they have nothing new.”

“Well, these things take time, Selena. We have many researchers working as fast as they can. But this world has some kind of magical suppression in place. Research stays hidden far longer than it ought to do. Things are so very slow to discover.”

“Slow for everybody? Or slow for the Kingdom of Man?”

“Slow for everybody. In fact, the lands of Man are better suited for magic research than some other lands around here. We are actually better off than some of our neighbors with respect to research. Still, overall, it is slow, slow, slow to get anywhere.”

“Yes, dear uncle, that seems true. Veronicas said the very same thing. While I don’t always trust you, I sure can trust one of my best friends.”

“Aw, my dear Queen, surely you can trust your own uncle, right?”

I had him. Yup, he had set himself up for the kill. I would get a rise out of him for sure. I blasted out a vehement one-word response, “WRONG!!!”

Ralph looked hurt. Or maybe he just pretended to look hurt. It was hard to tell with that slippery man. He said, “My Queen, you can trust me with your own life. Surely you know that!”

“Oh yes, Ralph, I surely do know that. I know full well you would protect me on the battlefield even at the expense of your own life. You have even assigned me all these bodyguards which shadow me wherever I go. You would do anything in your power to save me from harm. I do know this.”

“Then why do you say such bad things to me?”

“Because, while I can trust you with my life, there are different kinds of trust.”

“Such as???”

“Such as the words we speak. Ralph, I never know when to believe you. I never know when you are telling me lies that you think I want to hear. I never know when you are speaking only truth.”

Ralph looked indignant. Good! He was finally showing a bit of emotion. “I never lie to you!”

“Oh? Then what about all these new spells you said I would learn? What of them?”

Ralph was unable to hide the fleeting smirk for a tiny moment. “My Queen, I just explained about the magic damper in this land. These things take time. We already went over this.”

“Ah yes, we did. But what we didn’t go over was the small fact that you directed my very own loyal researches to learn about magical artifacts instead of about battlefield spells for me. According to my trusted friend Veronicas, this is true! Do you deny this?”

Ralph’s eyes had a momentary flash of fear. It was the kind of look a little kid had when caught with his hand in a cookie jar. He did recover quickly of course, and replied quietly, “She is correct, my Queen. The Royal researchers have learned how to make minor artifacts of magical power instead of learning spells useful for you in battle.”

I blurted out, “But why???”

“Because of the magic damper in this world, we needed a way to research faster. Well, your very own friend Veronicas, who shows great promise for a mere Daughter of Avalon I might add, heard of a splendid writing utensil called an Owl Quill. With this magical Owl Quill, our researchers can discover knowledge a lot faster. Plus it can now be made by the Mothers of Avalon from a mere 5 air gems, which we have in great supply in your royal coffers. So I told her to go ahead and do it.”

“Um, Veronicas discovered this?”

“Yes, she did. And she was right. We have constructed the first one already and it works exactly as she had surmised. Words written with this Owl Quill are far more effective than words written in normal ink.”

“I see…”

“Yes, I am sure you do. And this approach greatly helps the Empire of Man in the long run. By delaying learning spells for you, we can help in a lot of other areas. Besides, I have watched you over and over and over again with those Fire Flies plus Earth Stones spells and you are very good with them. I know you would do even better and move up higher into the Hall of Fame were we to discover more powerful spells, but I thought we could wait. Don’t you agree?”

“Maybe…” I was lost deep in thought. Veronicas? My little playmate that I had known all my life? She shows great promise? Actually, in retrospect, I should not be surprised about this. I have always known she was smart.

“Selena?”

“Yes, Ralph?

“There was a huge side benefit to doing this.”

“Which is?”

“I have ordered the construction of a magical staff of great power. It is called the Thorn Spear. When you stop by home in a couple of months, it is yours!”

My eyes glistened with excitement. I said softly, “A magical staff for me? What does it do?”

“It poisons your enemies when you hit them with it. I do know how much you hate swords and spears, but I wanted to make you stronger. If any Valkyries were to fly over the battlefield and threaten you, they would just die quickly to the poison. And no mundane sword for you, as powerful mages such as the Goddess of Man must have a magic staff. Again, it was your friend Veronicas who found this Thorn Spear. She knew it was perfect for you. Wait until you try it out!”

I stared at Ralph and smiled. He stared back and returned the smile before continuing, “Oh, and armor too. I know how you hate to encumber yourself with all the spells you cast, so I myself ordered the construction of a Weightless Scale Mail. With its enhanced magical weightlessness, this chain mail protects you without any encumbrance at all! Plus magical boots, a splendid cat charm, an enchanted amulet of missile protection, and some other assorted things. All these things are yours, because you are participating in far more battles than I ever thought you would.”

Ralph’s smile turned into a broad grin when he saw the misty look in my eyes. “He concluded, “Now can you trust me?”

My eyes twinkled as I answered, “Yes, uncle, perhaps I can. Just keep me informed on all matters such as this. Tell me the truth always. Don’t tell me only what you think I want to hear. I have enough advisors doing this already. Please?”

“Yes, my Queen, I hear and obey.”

Now for the kill. “So, my obeying and loyal Prophet of Man who always tells me the truth, why did you order my personal reports to be screened by you prior to their delivery to me?”

His eyes opened as wide as saucers with sudden shock over my words. I could easily see in his face that he thought he had been getting away with this. But I am Selena, Queen of Man. I know all, see all! I am a Great Enchantress!

And there it was. I had finally gotten a rise out of that insolent man!

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Marignon

Muszinger

On this very day, nine-hundred and ninety-seven years ago, the inconceivable happened. While the faithful sat in quiet remembrance of the manifestation, the corrupt leaders and faithless magicians of the empire of Ermor, forsaking the teachings of the church and seeking to master the grave on their own terms, opened the forbidden gate and let death pour in.

On this very day, one year ago, the inspirational happened. The LORD sent forth His faithful servant Aftial to lead the church triumphant against the hosts of darkness and bring the light of faith to the lost and confused people of the whole world. You have seen Her fight today-- seen how the heretical and barbaric spells of these druids melted into mist in the face of righteousness. You have seen how the forces of Marignon, inspired by Her presence and reunited under the direct leadership of the church have swept our enemies before us time and again these last glorious months. You have seen God himself lean down from heaven and smite the unbelieving.

Yet if you look to the west you will see that the sun is setting. Night is coming, and the servants of darkness stalk the fetid fields and dying forests, reveling because they are unchecked and unmatched in their conquests. Until THIS day! I set here the cornerstone for the topless tower that will rise upon this plain. At its top shall be a never ceasing flame, and it will maintain a faithful watch upon the lands of death, protecting the lands of the church beyond, never sleeping, never turning aside-- a dagger pointed at the heart of our enemy-- a ray of light shining down to the craven creatures below who long for God's loving sword to free them from their misery.

This shall be the Shadow Watch, and the men chosen to serve here will carry a awesome responsibility, holding the blackness at bay and waiting until the promised time when the LORD's most faithful servant will lead us on the final, great crusade to cleanse this stain from His creation. If the defenders of the Shadow Watch ever feel tainted by the stench of decay which rises from those foul fens they should climb to the highest point of the tower as the golden sun rises in the east. As far as the eye can see will stretch the Church and Kingdom of Marignon. Every cottage you spy will be the house of a devout believer. Every fire will be from the cleansing of the flock. Every road will be one along which the armies of Marignon march to bring salvation to the people of the world. As the sun ascends high in the sky let it's fiery rays penetrate you, burning your despair and rekindling the light of your faith; for darkness does not love the light.

And every night must end in glorious day. Through time and tides of time the everlasting light will bring this death-infested world to an end. We who have the good fortune to live through the fires of the LORD's most precious gift must be prepared to be singed as His righteous anger scours the world. Yet prepared by the fires of the Church, and protected from deception, we will all by lifted up by LORD. And above the broken confines of this world He will make us live to never die.

Esclave

On the last day of Carrofactorum, we passed into the town square where an angry mob had gathered.

"She's a witch, burn her!"

There was a crowd gathered around some woman, who certainly was dressed like a witch.

"Hey, maybe you should step in," suggested Cleric Virgilie with a wink and a nudge. Ever since I started displaying my increased knowledge of practical magick he's been insisting that it won't be long before I make the rank of Witch Hunter. But it's one thing to master the arcane magicks (only the non-evil ones of course), it's quite another to acquire enough political friends to make the necessary rank in the church. Normally a cleric spends many years mastering basic fire magick, and so has enough time to find friendly church leaders to sponsor him. Me... I think I spent too much time this year with my angel in the library.

"Let's just keep going," I muttered under my breath, but it was too late, we'd been spotted by the extremely loud leader of the crowd.

"You, good sirs! You are from the House of Just Fires! We have found a witch, may we burn her?"

I sighed. "How do you know she is a witch?" You won't believe some of the ridiculous charges people have brought against supposed witches. There was this one time when a guy brought in a newt and insisted that it was really all that remained of his best friend...

"She was overheard speaking ill of the Most Righteous Aftial!"

This was about to get a little tricky. The inquisition had surprised everyone by making criticism of Aftial blasphemy, arguing that

'... as you do unto the most pious of my servants, you do also unto me,'
and then they went into the village to buy meat.

meant that speaking ill of Aftial was speaking ill of the LORD. Myself, I was not sure about the Angel. Certainly she had helped the Church expand it's realms, but she seems to inspire worship, which belongs only to God. I realized suddenly that I never had never asked my goddess of the morning what she thought about Aftial, and now she was gone...

"Burn her, burn the witch!"

The mob was getting out of hand. "Quiet, quiet. There are ways of telling if she is a witch."

"Tell us!"

"What are they?"

"Do they hurt?!"

"I shall perform the sacred test of St. Lynad. Stand aside, good people, and let me near the accused."

Virgilie gasped a little, since the test of St. Lynad was notorious for getting out of hand and spreading fire to innocent bystanders. The crowd knew this well, and drew back as far as they could.

Chanting loudly, I approached the young women who, hands tied behind her back, quaked in fear. Her witch's hat was far too big for her, and fell down over her face. I tried to reassure her with sympathetic eyes, but realized that the chant, which describes in awful detail the burns which will be inflicted upon the unrighteous was probably not helping.

Best get this over with. I raised my hands to heaven and a tongue of flame fell down from the sky directly on top of the witch. Immediately the dust in the air began to burn in a maelstrom that carried sparks everywhere. In seconds, the heat from the inferno had singed my robe and hair. With a loud cry, for the heat was unbearable, I dropped my hands. The fire vanished, and the smoke settled. There, on the blackened cobblestones, stood the woman, completely unscathed, but looking very shaken.

The crowd was stunned, and I seized on their uncertainty. "The LORD has protected this woman from the divine fire-- yet since she has brought this suspicion upon herself, I hereby cast her out into the Plains of Eternal Peril, there to reflect on how to lead a more godly life."

As the crowd milled about, I gingerly stepped over the heated rocks to the woman's side, and whispered, "Sorry for the exile, but you'll be safer there. The after-effects of being turned briefly to stone should wear off soon."

As I strode off, not feeling like talking to Cleric Virgilie, I bumped into a perfectly proportioned man, whose face shone with a look of divine health. "Very impressive, my young friend," he said in a smooth baritone. "Come with me, for there is much to discuss..."

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Pangaea

PangaeaTurn12

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Pythium

Regic could not believe his luck. Having been sent by the Emperor to discover the source of this 'Silk' that was fetching such enormous sums from Pythian nobles, he had arrived to find a land utterly devoid of military. He had waited several days to see that no province defense patrols came by, but now he was quite sure of his find. He dug in his travel bag for the paper soldiers that were standard equipment for any scout, set them up on a hill, and headed down to the village of Gila.

On reaching the village he asked the first person he came to where to find the mayor and was returned a quizzical look and something that sounded like to him like 'kwin toe sigh?'. Eventually, whether through his efforts or just random curiosity he did not know, he got the village gather around him. It took several hours but he thought he eventually got the point across the the soldiers on the hill were from their new ruler. Regic was not so sure he translated '200% taxes' as well, but it looked like a rain heavy cloud was making it's way toward the hill, so he decided not to push his luck. He concluded the meeting hastily.

Nonetheless he considered the entire encounter an amazing success. He was absently contemplating what rewards the Emperor would bestow on him for it, when he wandered into an army of T'ien Ch'i and abruptly found countless arrows sticking out of him.

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T'ien Ch'i

T'ien Ch'iTurn12

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Ulm

UlmTurn12

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Vanheim

In which Vethru goes for a sail.

Vethru

I have my small ship, but there's no star to steer her by. You pick a cloudy night for what we're up to. I've got an old Van navigating instead. They say he's been sailing the shores of the gorge since he was a boy, twelve hundred years ago. That sounds pretty good, but I heard another Van mumble that it didn't really matter, because that earthquake four hundred and fifty years ago changed all the shoreline, anyway. Either way, between him and me (I'm a damn good navigator myself), we have no trouble finding our way across the gorge to Cimri, at night, in silence. The Vans are good at that, too.

Quellian Ji lands in my boat and says, "Grey team and white team are both in position, boss." I nod to Hallixene, and he gives the order. The men at the oars pick up the pace.

One huskarl stares at the bird. He's new. Another man says, "Yeah, the bird talks." The first man shrugs. They're all veterans. Not much worries them, and they're not much for small talk.

We reach the shore and they have the boats up on the beach, quietly, quickly, as if their ancestors have spent several millennia turning ocean raiding into a high art form, which they have. The only one having trouble is Kor, the dwarf. By the time he's stumbled out of the boat, the scouts from team green are into the forest, and those from team blue are down the beach, keeping an eye on the nearby fishing village.

I'm an old man, and it takes me nearly a half hour to get up the hill to where the temple is. Of course, team green is way ahead of me; there are bodies all around the two buildings on the hill by the time I get there. The first is a modest stepped pyramid. Even in the dim torchlight, I can see bloodstains on its stones. Hallixene tells me our target is the other building.

From the outside, it looks like a wooden stockade, but once inside, I see that the wood is a facade; the building is solid stone. We pass through the main worship area, where the statue of a twelve-foot tall stag stands. In an inner room we go down some stairs, past broken doors and more bodies, before reaching the vault.

There's an unarmed old man standing in front of the door. "Blasphemers! Unholy! He will trample you, and your necks will know His sacred antlers!" His back is pressed to a thick, ornate oaken door. He's pretty feisty for being surrounded by men with sharp steel things pointed at him.

My men part, and he gets a good look at me. "You," the man snarls. "You are an abomination, and He will never suffer you to exist." He gestures, and a bright, searing light flashes. It's painful--very painful--but it's not enough. I step forward, and he says, "You cannot harm me, unholy thing. His blessings will shield me."

"Don't believe everything you read," I say, and I touch him. He cries out in surprise, then he wails in pain. He shrivels until his complexion is worse than mine, then he crumbles into dust and bone. As the echo of his screams fade, even the einhere and huskarls are silent. They have that stunned "and I thought I believe in god's power before" look. I tell Hallixene to take them upstairs to plunder the temple.

"Kor!" I say. "Open up this door!"

He scuttles forward, mumbling. He begins tapping on the door with his hammer. "Skar mar lrr grror ar!" he says.

"Well, I didn't tell you to leave your gauntlets in the boat," I reply.

He grumbles again and makes a great show of limbering up and swinging the hammer, but the door falls at the first blow. Wussy dwarves.

Inside, as you would expect, is little of any real value. Religious types chronically overvalue sacred scriptures and undervalue gold and jewelry. The one area we both agree on is old stuff. I locate the two items I'm looking for. A thick leather-bound book, with five stars on the cover, and a length of dark wood, cut into a long prism, sort of like an obelisk. I like obelisks. On this one is inscribed letters I have not seen in a dozen worlds. I wrap the items in a cloth and tell Kor to grab a few other things to mask what I came for. He's got sense; he grabs what little shiny gold and silver stuff there is.

"Let's move," I say, and we're up the stairs and into the temple proper. "What in Hel are you doing?" I ask, when I see my men gathered around the statue. With ropes.

"We're pulling down the statue, my lord. It is an affront to you," Hallixene says. He looks confused, as if his actions were self-evident.

Worshipers--who can figure them out? I'm trying to steal something, and they think I'm worried about a statue?

But it'd take longer to dissuade them than to convince them to do it quickly. I take a good look at the statue. After you've seen a hundred worlds, the patterns start to look pretty familiar. Standard nature deity. "OK," I say. "This fellow is all about birth and death. His coming in the spring represents fertility, and his death in the autumn represents the harvest. All you need to do is break off his antlers; they represent his manhood. Without them, he is impotent. So do it, and let's get out of here!"

One of them manages to climb up the statue and do the deed without breaking his neck. As he comes down, there are shouts from outside, and I hear animal noises. Howls and roars. And clangs. In what seems like an instant, Hallixene is outside and back in again. "We're cut off," he says. "Men and animals, coming out of the forest to the west. A dozen men, lightly armored, bows and swords. I saw wolves, boars, and bears. "

Outside, there's not much light, but I see my Vans and huskarls fighting woodsman and wildlife. Some of my guys are wounded. More men and animals are coming out of the forest. We're outnumbered, and certainly outmaneuvered.

A female shape suddenly appears next to me. "Sir, grey two is under attack from the village. They have reinforcements--about twenty light infantry in addition to the village's twenty militia. The einhere are berserking, but they are holding. For now."

"How did they get word?" I wonder.

"Kesselar is missing," she says. "We saw hawks overhead."

"The bastards!" says Ji. Kesselar was one of Ji's lookout ravens.

"Galameteia, right?" She nods. "Tell white team to split: one half should reinforce grey two. Tell the other half to sweep around the other side of town and counterattack to take heat off us. After they counterattack, they should disappear and to make their way back to Vanheim as planned. Deliver those messages, then get right back here." She vanishes into the night.

The fighting is getting closer. We're piling up a lot of livestock, but we're slowly getting pushed back. "Ji! Get a message to blue two. Send a gull, don't go yourself. Tell them to set up an ambush at the edge of the beach. We'll be coming in hot."

"OK, boss."

I hear voices:

"How many of them are there?"

"Take that, bastard!"

"Right flank! We need help!"

"I can't see!"

"Where's Igestus? Where's Igestus?"

Hallixene: "Sir, we're not breaking through! They're turning our flank!"

Sweet limping Vishnu, this went south in a hurry. Hallixene's phantoms are helping, but my men are falling. There's a lot more of them than we expected. I'm going to have to string up some of my intelligence operatives. "Kor! Go throw rocks at them!" I hear grumbling moving off to my right. The dark doesn't bother him.

Galameteia is back. "Stay by me," I tell her. I whistle for Ji. "You wanted to be a general, bird--let's see what your girls can do. Call in team black."

Ji squawks. "The right flank will be toast!"

"No! Hit behind their center--clear the escape route. I've got the flank."

Ji rises into the night, shrieking like a banshee.

"Lord, no!" calls Hallixene. "You can't! Stay back, where we can protect you!"

"Shut up, and do what I tell you! Be ready--hit them hard when team black comes in."

I turn to Galameteia, and I hand her my package. "Get this back to Vanheim."

"But sir, I can carry you, too. I'm strong enough."

"Do it! I don't care if they cut off my head and burn my body. Listen! I will return. I promise you that. A bunch of tree-humping greenies can't keep me in the grave. "

She's uncertain. There's that crazy worshiper thing again. She can't decide whether to obey god or protect him. "Get moving," I say, and I slap her on the ass, because that makes any woman jump. When she jumps, she doesn't come back down.

With my package safe, I turn my attention to the battle. The right flank is collapsing; Kor can't hold back the wildlife pouring out of the forest. I put a couple lightning bolts into two bears, and then I dump some flares into the forest. The woods light up. Suddenly we don't have a problem anymore; we have a barbecue.

Then team black arrives. A hundred years ago, on a distant world, I heard one composer's impression of Valkyries riding to battle. He got it exactly right. They tear through the lightly armored woodsmen who never thought to look up into the night. They die in a hail of javelins, spitted on the spears of my fierce flying girls. It's so beautiful I almost want to cry.

Their line breaks, and we push through. We scramble through the woods, wolves and rangers on our heels. There aren't as many of us as made the trip up the hill. And I hate leaving perfectly good dead bodies behind. The enemy hassles us under the trees, where our airpower can't help us. We burst out onto the beach, and our pursuers are torn apart by the ambush. Neinos has managed a two-pronged attack, blue two and grey two hitting them from opposite directions.

I yell until everyone's scrambling into the boats, because I know there's one thing we haven't seen yet. And right on schedule, the druid comes out of the woods. By himself, he wouldn't be a problem. But the two great horned serpents with him kill my rearguard and slither down the beach toward the boats.

I can see how this is going to play out. I turn to Hallixene and say, "Get everyone in the boats, and set sail. If I see one boat turn around to come back for me, I will make the rest of your life miserable, and then I will make your unnaturally long afterlife extremely miserable." He pales but obeys me.

I walk unsteadily toward the snakes in the shifting sand. The druid knows what's going on. He'll gladly let my men get away for a shot at me. He's even smiling.

I smile back. Then I drop him with a lightning bolt. He wasn't expecting that. The reason is, by casting a spell at him, I give the snakes a chance to bite me. Most people won't make that trade, but I have an unfair advantage. I'm a real bastard that way. I dodge one snake, but the other one gets me in the left forearm and hangs on. That's good; that keeps him in reach. I put my dagger into his eye and stir. He backs away quick. The poison, I don't worry about. I'm past such things. But I'll need to fix my arm later.

The second one comes on again, but by now, I'm playing electric eel. I give him a good shock, and he circles, and he gets ready for another pass. He hesitates, and that's all the time I need. I stand up as straight as I can in the sand and throw my arms in the air.

The snake is mildly surprised when I rise out of his reach. As the Valkyries lift me into the night, Ji flies by, and I say, "Good job."

"Just like we practiced," he says.

"Stay with the boats," I tell him. "Make sure they get back in one piece. Ladies, let's swing by the boat so everyone can see I'm all right. Then it's home to Vanheim."

One of them takes me in her arms so I don't have to dangle by my wrists for the whole flight. "Thank you, Kestumaia, for your assistance," I tell her.

"It's my pleasure to serve you, my lord," she says.

I wonder how much. "You have beautiful eyes," I tell her. I can't tell if she's blushing or not, but that's OK. I've got the whole flight to work on her.

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