magnanimously, 'have a few more. Now, tell me that about my ability again?'
Torquil kept silent until Colwyn had concluded his inspection and returned to the forefront of the troupe. Then the bandit leader slowed his walk until he fell in next to Kegan. He reached into a pocket, withdrew a small cloth pouch.
'If you want to see the profit of this journey, take a look in this.'
Kegan eyed him uncertainly for a moment, then took the pouch. He extracted a handful of rocks. Dull, gray, featureless pebbles. Crystals of sand and mica and feldspar. He stared intently at them, thinking he might be missing something, before returning his gaze to his chief.
'They're worth a fortune,' Torquil was whispering, his gaze still on Colwyn. 'And I memorized the location well. Plenty of time after we finish with this business to return and gather up all we can carry. The smallest alone's worth a king's ransom.'
'Maybe,' replied Kegan dryly, 'to someone who's very nearsighted, or heir to a very poor kingdom.'
'What? What are you blathering… ?' He gaped at Kegan's open palm. 'Where did you get those rocks?'
'From your pouch full of profit.'
'That's not possible! I took only the finest—' He broke off as he dug into his other pockets, pulling out handfuls of narrow gray stones. No green light burned in their depths, no promise of the easy life shone from glassy surfaces. Numb, he let them fall to the ground. The only light they threw back at him came from bits of quartz embedded in the matrix.
Kegan was shaking his head, his voice pitying. 'Poor Torquil, once the finest thief on the north continent, now reduced to this. Remind me to steal you some reading glasses.'
Torquil tore his gaze from the place where he'd dropped the worthless rocks and all but snarled at his companion. 'I swear to you, they were emeralds. Emeralds the size of a man's hand!'
'The size of a man's dreams, maybe.' Kegan strode out in front, still shaking his head.
'Perhaps the wealth was in your heart and not in the stones.'
Torquil looked around sharply. 'What? Who said that?' He tried to see who'd spoken but could not. The seer was too far ahead for the bandit to notice the old man's faint smile.
The lake on their left seemed as big as the swamp itself, and Colwyn was grateful for the way it shielded their exposed flank. They were able to concentrate ahead and to their right. All save Torquil, that is. He spent his time staring at the ground and muttering to himself, his brow occasionally twisting with the strain of confused thoughts.
Only one member of the party really let his eyes wander: Ergo the Magnificent. After all, it was hardly his place to one were inclined to more culturally elevating pursuits such as inspecting passing bushes for their gooseberry content.
Irony has a way of bestowing responsibilities, however, and it was his roving gaze that happened to fix on the supposedly secure left flank, just as clawed, alien shapes began silently rising from the water, dripping green scum and camouflaging moss. If not for Ergo's wandering eye, the surprise might have been total.
As it was, his fright was strong enough to stifle the first cries of alarm in his throat. It took his vocal cords another precious minute to engage.
'SLAYERS!'
The little procession whirled. Colwyn spotted the emerging assailants first. 'There, from the lake! Torquil, get the wise men to safety!' Sword drawn and ready, the bandit leader hurried to comply.
'Oswyn, Darro, you heard the king!' The two men rushed to escort the elderly noncombatants out of range while the rest engaged the Slayers.
Even as the seer and Ynyr were being hustled back down the trail, other Slayers were materializing to block any retreat. A single spear transfixed the unfortunate Darro, who never saw his killer. A bolt of energy sped straight at Titch. Moving like the whirlwind he occasionally became, Ergo leaped forward and knocked the boy to the ground. Later he would swear that the bolt cursed as it exploded over their heads.
The pair of Slayers pressed Oswyn hard as they attempted to reach the seer, but he kept them off until help arrived in the form of Colwyn and Torquil. The Slayers were large and powerful, but slow to react. In combat with men they relied for success on numbers and their strange energy weapons. In close quarters the two were no match for the tough escapees.
No one saw a third Slayer rise slowly from the bog on the opposite side of the trail to aim his spear at Ynvr's back. The blast of energy never reached its intended target. It fell from the hand that had gripped it as a trident of peculiar design pierced the Slayer's neck.
Other Slayers continued to rise from the lake, but with the element of surprise now fled, they were evenly matched against Torquil's band. Men fighting for freedom always fight harder than those fighting as slaves, and now they confirmed Colwyn's decision to enlist them in his cause.
Soon the murky surface of the lake was clean once more and the air smelled of destroyed Slayers. Colwyn walked over to join Torquil, who was cleaning his muddy ax on a legging.
'How many did we lose? I was too busy to see.'
'Only Darro.'
Colwyn turned to the now quiescent lake. 'I'm sorry. I knew him but briefly. He struck me as a good man unjustly wronged.'
'A very good man.' Torquil's tone was somber. 'Made a pariah and an outlaw for daring to love the daughter of a powerful nobleman.'
'Did she love him back?'
'So Darro always insisted, no matter how hard we teased him about it.'
'Then surely there was no crime in it,' Colwyn said. 'When this is over I will make certain that his name is expunged from any criminal records where it appears, and that his family is told in whose service and how well he sold his life.'
'Darro would've liked that. Few men choose crime for a profession. It always seems to choose them.'
'I know how the fates can set one on a path he never imagined, nor even wishes for himself. What of you, friend Torquil? What troubles placed you on this sorry path?'
'Another time, Colwyn, mayhap I'll tell you you.' He ges-
tured up the trail. 'For the moment, it seems we have lost one man only to find another to take his place.'
Colwyn followed his pointing finger. 'One, I see, who may be worth more than any three, though 'tis no man who stands before us.'
They approached the newcomer. His recovered trident in hand, the cyclops stood between Ergo and Titch, towering over them. His single eye regarded them benignly.
Ergo was forced to lean back in order to see the disconcerting face of their rescuer. 'This is the second time you've saved my life. I admit to feeling some apprehension the first time our paths crossed.'
'That is quite understandable.' There was nothing but gentleness in the Cyclops's voice. 'My appearance is upsetting to most men, something which I regret but refuse to apologize for, as I am not responsible for it.'
'I am Ergo.' He extended a welcoming hand, saw it vanish in the vast but easy grip.
'The Magnificent, if I am not mistaken?'
Ergo tried to hide his annoyance. 'He appears to have compensated for the loss of an eye by developing a talent for eavesdropping,' he muttered to Titch. 'Doesn't he have a name? But why do I ask you? So terrifying a vision would obviously send a child such as yourself fleeing in terror at its mere sight.'
'Not really,' said Titch apologetically. 'His name is Rell. I've met him before.' The cyclops smiled down at the boy. 'He visits the seer sometimes. He doesn't talk much and when he and my master converse they use words that are beyond me. He lets my master do most of the talking. I don't think he likes to talk.'
'So I've noticed. Except to be sarcastic to those who wish 'Or to talk with those who already are friends,' the cyclops commented.
Ergo was still reluctant to forgive the slight. 'My name is not for jesting with, beanpole. It's all very well and good to have a short name when you're twelve feet tall, but small people need large names to give them weight.'
'Your actions give you more weight than any name could, my sensitive friend,' the giant told him somberly. 'I saw you save the boy from the spear. That was worth a hundred noble titles. I've seen many noble men turn tail
