The Walrus and the Warwolf

'It's King Tor who'd be help if I spoke to him right,' said Drake. 'I could go to the province of Hok, aye, summon him out of the mountains, march his men to your banner.'Menator laughed.

'What's so funny, man?' said Drake, in anger. 'Haven't you heard?' said Lord Menator. 'King Tor is dead. He died this last winter. Killed on Stokos he was.' 'How came it?' said Drake.

'Your ogre-king gambled at war,' said Lord Menator. 'He left Hok with what men remained to him. He landed on Stokos. Many flocked to his banner. Then those who ruled in Cam were sore afraid.'T bet they were!' said Drake. 'Tell on!'

'With pleasure,' said Menator, for this was one of his favourite stories, and it was rare for him to meet ainan who did not know it backwards. 'It happened that those who held Stokos for Gouda Muck fought savage battles with Tor. The result.was a draw.''They split the island in half?' said Drake.

'No,' said Lord Menator. 'They sat licking their wounds, thinking. Those who ruled in the name of the Flame thought best. They sent to the Teeth, inviting me to take their side in return for the rule of Stokos. It was their lives they were fearing for, you see.''Gutless cowards!' said Drake. 'I see right enough!'

'So I sailed my ships to Stokos,' said Lord Menator. 'That turned the balance. King Tor's men saw that all was lost. So they murdered their king. They brought the ogre's head to Sudder Vemlouf in Cam. By that time, of course, I was ruling above Vemlouf.'

'So you won your war with the blood of others!' said Drake, shocked at how filthy power politics could be.

'Isn't that always the best way to win a war?' said Lord Menator, grinning.

He was doing well for himself. He had won the rule of the Greater Teeth; he had conquered Stokos; he commanded Androlmarphos. He was well on the way to fulfilling his ambition to conquer the western seaboard of Argan.

'Now,' said Lord Menator, 'the question arises – what shall we do with Drake Douay?'

'I see you don't like the man,' said Elkor Alish. 'But that's no excuse for killing him.''You wouldn't stand for it?' said Menator.

'My war is fought for reasons which are pure,' said Alish. 'I'll not stain my hands with the blood of the innocent – or stand aside and watch the innocent murdered, either.'

'But we must do something with this unruly fellow,' said Menator, 'or he'll scarper back to Selzirk to try something rash to rescue his Walrus and Warwolf. We wouldn't want to see him in Selzirk betraying our secrets, would we now?''I'd betray nothing!' said Drake, defiantly.

'Under torture,' said Menator, 'even the best will betray everything.''That's but theory talking,' said Drake.

'We can put theory to test, if you wish,' said Menator blandly.'No thanks!' said Drake.

So it came to pass that Drake Douay (also known as Arabin lol Arabin and Shen Shen Drax, as the Demon- son and other things), was placed in preventive detention aboard one of the ships moored in the harbour of the city of Androlmarphos.

Which was soon beleaguered by an army from the city of Selzirk.

50

Drake's training in preventive detention: with the knife; with sword; in combat against ghosts and shadows. He alarms his jailors with the intensity with which he rages against imprisonment. Sweat, rage and endeavour allow him to win back his strength. The elegant Elkor Alish, rated by many as the best swordsman of Rovac, visits him twice to check on his conditions, and, impressed by his dedication, gives him some pointers on technique and on training.Then Alish visits no more: for there is war.

The Harvest Plains finally responded to the capture of Androlmarphos by sending an army from Selzirk to lay seige to the place. That army was commanded by Morgan Hearst, a warrior of Rovac, who had once been a battle- companion of Elkor Alish.

Nothing daunted, Elkor Alish led his troops out of the planning to break the strength of Selzirk on the plain of battle. But the chances of war gave Hearst the victory. Alish, his battle-strength broken, retreated behind the walls of Androlmarphos. After a brief siege, Morgan Hearst used the death-stone against those walls. A few defenders escaped to sea; the rest, for the most part, died.

Since Drake was in preventive detention, he missed the preliminary skirmish which saw Lord Menator of the tattooed rose killed outside the walls of Androlmarphos. And he took no part in the Battle of the Pyramid Plain, or in the defence of 'Marphos. But he did see something of

the terrors of the attack which drove Alish and his allies from the city.

Before Drake's ship got away to sea, Drake saw walking rocks raging on the docks of 'Marphos, conjured to life by the death-stone. He had heard much of that rock-waking magic from Atsimo Andranovory in Selzirk, but had believed none of it until he saw those living rocks in rage.

Morgan Hearst commandeered some ships and gave chase to the few survivors – but, after a desperate battle at sea, Elkor Alish and some of his men escaped. Drake, by luck, was amongst them. By then, Drake had long since finished his weeping for Walrus and Warwolf; he counted himself lucky to have got away with his own life when so many thousands had perished.

Freedom delighted him. In the brightness of sun and sea, the horrors of helpless imprisonment and dreadful torture lost their grip on his imagination. He began to feel quite his old self again.

On the voyage between 'Marphos and Runcorn (a city still held by Elkor Alish), Drake had some strange meetings with faces from the past.

He met up once again with Forester, a strangely naive fellow whom he'd first met on the attempted voyage to Ork which had ended in sea-wreck disaster. He also renewed his acquaintance with Bluewater Draven, sometime commander of the Tusk, whom he had last seen on Chag-jalak in the North Strait, when pirates escaping from Collosnon captors had taken to the sea in separate boats.

Drake and Bluewater Draven had some wild fun with Forester, making him believe the most unbelievable stories about their exploits. They had success with outright lies which they would never have had with the truth, for the truth (about flying islands and such) was scarce believable except to those who had lived through it.

Drake had some anxieties about landing at Runcorn, where he had once ruled as Arabin lol Arabin, head of his own temple and master of City Hall. But he found, to his relief, that most of the original population had been killed, exiled or sold into slavery.

The city was on short commons. Under the ruthless rule of Elkor Alish, everyone was rationed to a single mug of beer a day, plus a little rice and vivda. Drake could see the sense in that, but, without any shame whatsoever, was soon heavily involved in black market bartering, and profiting greatly from his activities.

He soon found a groggery which suited him, a thievish den which took no heed of rationing, and he was there one morning drinking koumiss and dining on macedoine, when he was hailed by a familiar voice:'Drake!'

It was Jon Arabin. Drake, leaping to his feet, spilt both food and drink together.'Jon!' he cried. 'Jon, is it really you?''Who else would it be, man?' said the Warwolf.'But you're – you're dead!'

'Aye, dead and resurrected,' said Jon Arabin. 'But none the.worse for it.'

The next moment they were in each other's arms, slapping each other on the back, both laughing yet near to tears.'Do I get a cuddle?' said a voice.It was Slagger Mulps, the Walrus himself.

'No cuddles, unless you can pay for them,' said Drake. 'But – have a bowl of kale, man, and a mug of ale. Bar! Serve up for my friends!'

Soon all three were seated at table deep in food, drink and conversation. Great stuff! Old comrades true together. It made the place feel almost like home . . .'How did you get away from Selzirk?' asked Drake.'Ah,' said Jon Arabin. 'Thereby hangs a tale.'

And, with some help from the Walrus, Arabin told a fabulous tale about how they had variously bribed, deceived and outwitted their gaolers, killed guards, escaped to an underground tunnel, footed it for fifty leagues in utter darkness, fought with a giant worm, exited from the tunnel into a cave deep in the Spine Mountains, purchased a flying carpet from an old wizard, then navigated to Runcorn by air.

Drake only half-believed this tale, but doubted there was any chance of getting the truth out of them.