“They rode through the night, and are heading due south. I think they will make camp by the Tigren, some thirty miles from here. There is a narrow valley opening on to a bowl-shaped canyon. It’s been used by slavers for years - and horse thieves, cattle stealers and renegades. It is easily defendable.”
“How long until we reach them?”
“Some time after midnight. We’ll move on for two more hours, then we’ll rest and eat before switching horses.”
“I don’t need a rest.”
“The horses do,” said Shadak, “and so do I. Be patient. It will be a long night, and fraught with peril. And I have to tell you that our chances are not good. Tailia was right to be concerned for her safety; we will need more luck than any two men have a right to ask for.”
“Why are you doing this?” asked Druss. “The women are nothing to you.” Shadak did not reply and they rode in silence until the sun was almost at noon. The hunter spotted a small grove of trees to the east and turned his horse; the two men dismounted in the shade of several spreading elms beside a rock pool.
“How many did you kill back there?” he asked Druss as they sat in the shade.
“Six,” answered the axeman, taking a strip of dried beef from the pouch at his side and tearing off a chunk.
“You ever kill men before?”
“No.”
“Six is… impressive. What did you use?” Druss chewed for a moment, then swallowed. “Felling-axe and a hatchet. Oh… and one of their daggers,” he said at last. “And my hands.”
“And you have had no training in combat?”
“No.”
Shadak shook his head. “Talk me through the fights - everything you can remember.” Druss did so, Shadak listened in silence, and when the axeman had finished his tale the hunter smiled. “You are a rare young man. You positioned yourself well, in front of the fallen tree. That was a good move - the first of many, it seems. But the most impressive is the last. How did you know the swordsman would jump to your left?”
“He saw I had an axe and that I was right-handed. In normal circumstances the axe would have been raised over my left shoulder and pulled down towards the right. Therefore he moved to his right - my left.”
“That is cool thinking for a man in combat. I think there is a great deal of your grandfather in you.”
“Don’t say that!” growled Druss. “He was insane.”
“He was also a brilliant fighting man. Yes, he was evil. But that does not lessen his courage and his skills.”
“I am my own man,” said Druss. “What I have is mine.”
“I do not doubt it. But you have great strength, good timing and a warrior’s mind. These are gifts that pass from father to son, and on through the line. But know this, laddie, there are responsibilities that you must accept.”
“Like what?”
“Burdens that separate the hero from the rogue.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“It comes back to the question you asked me, about the women. The true warrior lives by a code. He has to. For each man there are different perspectives, but at the core they are the same: Never violate a woman, nor harm a child. Do not lie, cheat or steal. These things are for lesser men. Protect the weak against the evil strong. And never allow thoughts of gain to lead you into the pursuit of evil.”
“This is your code?” asked Druss.
“It is. And there is more, but I shall not bore you with it.”
“I am not bored. Why do you need such a code to live by?”
Shadak laughed. “You will understand, Druss, as the years go by.”
“I want to understand now,” said the younger man.
“Of course you do. That is the curse of the young, they want it all now. No. Rest a while. Even your prodigious strength will fail after a time. Sleep a little. And wake refreshed. It will be a long - and bloody - night.”
The moon was high, and a quarter full in a cloudless sky. Silver light bathed the mountains, rippling on the river below, making it seem of molten metal. Three camp-fires burned and Druss could just make out the movement of men in the flickering light. The women were huddled between two wagons; there was no fire near them, but guards patrolled close by. To the north of the wagons, around thirty paces from the women, was a large tent. It gleamed yellow-gold, like a great lantern, shimmering shadows being cast on the inside walls; there was obviously a brazier within, and several lamps.
Shadak moved silently alongside the axeman, beckoning him back. Druss edged from the slope, returning to the glade where the horses were tethered.
“How many did you count?” asked Shadak, keeping his voice low.
“Thirty-four, not including those inside the tent.”
“There are two men there, Harib Ka and Collan. But I make it thirty-six outside. They have placed two men by the river-bank to prevent any of the women trying to swim to safety.”
“When do we go in?” asked Druss.
