Part 6 (1/2)
Mika looked out past the fire and nodded his agreeht; the plains were a desolate place, nothing but rock, scree, greasewood, and an occasional salt bush all the way to the horizon and beyond By coical place and one he would be loath to leave
”Have you been here before?” Mika asked the older ood spot Why has no one set up a base ca post? The water is exceptional, sweet and satisfying to tongue and thirst I've told the s and fill them ater from the pool”
”Water Pah! I never touch the stuff round he poured hie skin that hung from his saddle He set-tied himself comfortably in front of the fire
”As for this place, I dunno, so funny about it if you ask me, which you did I've never seen it before It's not on the map, and I've never heard anyone talk about it And there's no rogues hanging about Water on the prairie would draw theure is that there was a rain, just a little one, see, and it filled the pool and brought on the grass I've known it to happen that way in the desert soain in a day or two Just luck, that's all Doesn'tWe'll still have to be on our toes if ant to reach the city with all our body parts attached”
The olderchill of ure is so io that it has to reach the city in such a short ti the remainder of histhe heavy beaten irth ”Guildsmen Merchants Pah! What kind of life is that for aover cloth and foodstuffs and fancies that no one really needs And for what, piles of coins! Fie! May the Great She Wolf take them all and lose them in the forest!”
”You think that's all it is?” Mika persisted ”I wouldn't think that even a Guildsman would ask us to take this risk for profit alone It has to be so for trouble, lad It will find you soon enough all on its own,” advised Hornsbuck, growingvaluable on board, we'd know about it Yon narrow-nose Guildsman would have told us to keep a special eye out, but he has not This caravan is no different froth for theafter Hornsbuck had lapsed into a nest of deep, ru, mead-scented snores, Mika lay awake, his arht sky, pondering the problem
Hornsbuck's analysis of the situation appeared sound, with one exception-the heavily laden, squeaking wagon It was different frouard it specifically, but the driver ell-aro if the need arose
Mika had continued to observe the wagon all day long and noted that even though it was heavily weighted, it kept pace without difficulty, thanks no doubt to the extra pair of h he could find no conaled their presence to every brigand and rogue within hearing distance What could the wagon hold that would weigh it down so?
Perhaps it was gold Gold bars were very heavy and would certainly weigh a wagon down and cause the Guilds sent to ransom the supposedheld somewhere by who knohat variety of fiends Mika would rescue her, slay the brutes, and have the gold-and the royal beauty-as his reward
Orsent to Eru-Tovar to pay hoe to a God soht There was no princess The deadto sidetrack the Wolf Nomad and appease his Gods But Mika could think of no God who could not be honored in Yecha as well as Eru-Tovar, the Gods being ht, of Iuz, demi-God of oppression, deceit, and pain
Many of those orshi+pped the dark God made their ho to Iuz? Many answers, all unpleasant, ihts in another direction
”Hornsbuck, you know that wagon, the one that squeaks” Mika began, but only snores replied, erupting from the nomad's slack lips
”Come on, Tam,” Mika said, deteron Maybe he could learn soo and either confirm or deny his suspicions
Most of the drivers had abandoned their wagons and were lounging about the central fire finishi+ng theirknucklebones with the no the practice, that his fellow no with any race and likely ee winners
The men crouched on their knees in a circle that had been swept shly polished knucklebones, the ridges of which had been incised with various numbers The idea was to bet correctly on which combination of nurushnicks heavier by
The wolves were curled up near their chosen hu their thick pelts Some were already asleep, noses tucked beneath their thick brushy tails
The driver of the squeaking wagon had not joined his associates in their various endeavors but instead sat upon the hard seat of his wagon, alert and watchful
”Ho, driver,” Mika hailed the man in a friendly h,” the driver said grudgingly, seely reluctant to pass even those feords
”Good,” said Mika ”But I think that you would do even better tomorrow if you did not have such a heavy load to pull Share your load out aht is more evenly distributed”
”No,” said the driver in a steady voice
”What?” said Mika, startled Drivers were generally no reed to take the job rather than rot in prison They had little or no character and usually vanished into the nearest tavern as soon as they reached their destination There, they drank themselves into oblivion until their funds ran out and they were tossed in jail oncejob None had the spine to stand up to a Wolf Noaped at the man, then repeated his request a little less pleasantly, thinking that perhaps the man had misunderstood
”No,” the man said quite clearly, not at all intimidated by Mika's manner ”My beasts are able to bear the load They will keep up with the rest”
”But you are very heavily weighted,” persisted Mika, wondering at the h it is in pain Aside froht break the wheel and cause us to waste valuable time, the noise alone could easily attract just the sort of villains we seek to avoid
”Do not be a stubbornyou a direct order to divide your load aons Just what is it you carry that is so damned heavy?”
”No,” repeated the h he had not heard any of what Mika had said ”I will not shi+ft the load, and what I carry is none of your concern” And his hand tightened on the handle of his knife
Mika's eyes bulged and he took an angry step toward theto the handle of his own knife Ta Mika's co to pull the man fro, which was obviously faulty But before he could do so, the Guildson
”What's the proble a sarcastic twist to the tide, deliberately reave this led voice Ta his quiet menace to Mika's words
”What's the proble his question to the driver in a normal tone of voice
”He told me to divide my load I said no,” replied the driver, his hand still on the handle of his knife
”Quite right,” agreed the Guildsman ”This load is not to be touched until we reach Eru-Tovar
”But it is too heavy,” said Mika, his face growing flushed And he repeated his earlier arguments
”No,” said the Guildsman A sneer spread across the driver's face
Mika started to speak, then stopped, a sht that he could not win Their voices had already attracted the attention of several noly, there was ht,” he said cal behind, none will turn back for you You will be on your own” And as he strolled away, Taly, he was pleased to see a look of consternation on the driver's face as he began to speak to the Guildsht, after the last of the gruamblers was sound asleep and the fire had burned down to e to relieve hions He paused to make certain that no one had noticed or followed him, then quietly on lengths of his goal
Stealth was a skill that Mika excelled at, soreat size But he could rival even Taether, on Mika looked at Taue lolled out of the corner of his rin in return Many was the tiether in a similar fashi+on