was to reach Avendoom and the Council of the Order, and then they would fill the Rainbow Horn with power. Without his magic, the Nameless One was not dangerous, and we would cope with his army one way or another. We had to cope.
The sorcerer had chosen the time of his attack very cunningly. At this very moment, when our armies had been pulled back beyond the Iselina, the north was especially vulnerable. If the king decided on a general engagement … Would he have time to gather the number of soldiers required?
Naturally, not all the soldiers had gone south. Some must have stayed on the northern borders. At least some …
The New Highway was crowded with people. Following the news of the invasion by the orcs, everyone had fled north, but now the refugees were fleeing by the hundreds to the south or west. On foot, on horses, on carts, on wagons, on sleighs, and even in carriages, all the people were dreaming of only one thing—how to get as far away as possible from the war. Every face was frozen in a grimace of fright, like a death mask.
Egrassa spurred his horse on mercilessly and rode pell-mell through the crowd, disregarding the shouts and the curses. We tried to keep up with him. It was a genuine race, and the prize was victory. It was a crazy gallop that tested the stamina of riders and horses. Who would be the first to give way? Who would beg for mercy?
The first horse fell on the second day. It was Eel’s mount. The Garrakian managed to leap off the falling animal in time to avoid injury, and he continued on Kli-Kli’s horse, seating the gobliness behind him. But this kind of pace could not be maintained for long, and by evening our steeds could barely stand. Just a little farther, and we would have to cover the rest of the distance to Avendoom on foot.
Egrassa halted the group on the edge of a large and wealthy village.
“We’ll stay here for the night. I hope there will be free places at the inn.”
“I’ll gladly sleep out in the street, as long as we can find fresh horses,” Eel declared.
Without saying another word, we walked toward the single-story timber building. It had the badge of the guild of innkeepers, and a sheet of tinplate with the name of the inn painted on it—Y.
“An original name, there’s no denying that!” Kli-Kli snorted contemptuously. “If the innkeeper’s as good as the name, I’m afraid for my stomach.”
“You can sleep in a snowdrift, and we’ll wake you in the morning,” I told her.
“You’re such a kind lad, Harold. It just melts my heart,” the gobliness retorted, giving as good as she got.
The establishment turned out to be quite decent. At least it was clean. And most important of all, there weren’t too many people. I counted eleven, including the fat innkeeper. As soon as he saw us, the landlord started looking nervous. Now why would that be? We didn’t really look like bandits, did we? The other people in the room took no notice of us at all and just sipped their beer.
“Do you have any rooms?” asked Lamplighter, taking the bull by the horns.
The innkeeper was about to lie, but he glanced at the morose-looking elf and changed his mind.
“Yes, noble gentlemen.”
“Good, then we’ll stay.”
The owner gave us an imploring glance and started sweating for no obvious reason, but he didn’t say anything and led us off to show us the rooms. As usual, I shared one with Lamplighter and Kli-Kli. After we’d settled in, we were the first back to the large room.
Nothing in the inn had changed. The ten tipplers were still sitting in the same places. We took seats at the bar and while we were waiting for Hallas, Eel, and Egrassa to join us and supper to be ready, we ordered beer.
Naturally, Kli-Kli wanted milk and, surprisingly enough, she was given it straightaway. The innkeeper kept sweating copiously. That was strange. Of course, the place was heated, and right royally, too, but it wasn’t that hot! When this strange man poured the beer for me and Mumr, he missed the mugs, his hands were shaking so badly.
“Can we buy horses in the village?” Mumr asked the owner casually.
“Perhaps you can, sir. To be quite honest, I don’t know about that.”
“How’s that, you don’t know? You live here!”
“I’ve really never taken any interest in horses. I can tell you who sells what kind of victuals. Sausage, for instance…”
“What would we want with your sausage?” Lamplighter retorted. “Are you selling your own horses?”
“I don’t have any horses.”
“Don’t lie to me. When I went into the stables, I saw ten beasts with my own eyes! Or are they not yours?”
“They’re not mine, sir. They belong to guests.”
“I see,” the warrior muttered disappointedly, and stuck his nose in his beer mug.
“Is there any news from the north?” Now it was my turn to start asking the questions.
“People are fleeing,” the landlord sighed, and cast a nervous glance behind me.
“And what about the king?”
“He’s gathering an army. There’ll be a battle any day now. That’s what they say.”
“And what about the Order?”
“The magicians? They’re waiting for something. The people blame them for the Nameless One coming.”
And so saying, he walked away, leaving us to ourselves.
“A strange situation, don’t you think, Harold?” Kli-Kli said thoughtfully, speaking through her teeth. “Our landlord is as nervous as if someone was holding a knife to his throat.”
“Maybe he just doesn’t like the look of your face.”
“Maybe,” the little gobliness said with a serious nod. “Or maybe it’s something else.”
“What, for instance?”
“Haven’t you noticed something odd? There are ten horses in the stable. There are ten men in this room. They’re sitting in twos at five tables. And sitting so that they cover the way out of the inn.”
A little bell started sounding the alarm in my head.
“Coincidence,” I said, but I realized I didn’t like this, either.
“Uh-huh,” she said, inconspicuously lowering one hand onto the handle of a throwing knife. “Precisely, coincidence. Mumr, are you listening?”
“Oh, yes!” said Lamplighter. He had his eyes screwed up and was gazing into a metal dish leaning against the wall. It was polished like a mirror and reflected the entire room very clearly.
“Well then, another strange thing is that, although they’re sitting in twos, they’re not saying a word. It’s as silent as the grave.”
“We get the idea, Kli-Kli. Why don’t you sing us a little song, and sing loud,” I suggested.
Kli-Kli helpfully started crooning a simple melody.
“What are we going to do?”
“Drink our beer and wait for the others to come,” Lamplighter answered.
“It looks like that’s what
“I know. They’ve decided to take us all at once. Is your crossbow loaded?”
“As always. Who are
“What does it matter who slits your throat?” asked Mumr, keeping his eyes fixed on the “mirror.”
Kli-Kli sang and wove her fingers into a pattern that I couldn’t make out.
“Don’t even think about it!” I hissed.
She didn’t seem to hear me. Loud footsteps in the corridor leading to the barroom told us and the unusual strangers that at least two guests were approaching. I recognized Hallas’s shuffling step. The innkeeper ducked smartly down under the bar. And that was the signal for action.
Kli-Kli casually snapped her fingers and a bright flash lit up the room behind us for a split second. I heard howls of pain and fury. Two of the scum put their hands over their eyes and another one just howled and rolled around on the floor. The others had been shocked by the unexpected shamanic spell, but they came rushing at us just the same. They were each holding something very sharp and deadly.
Without wasting any time, Kli-Kli flung her first two knives. I fired the crossbow and started reloading it while the gobliness sent another two knives flying through the air. Mumr blocked the attackers’ advance, waving his
