His quiet ruminations were set aside abruptly, for at that moment, the roan neighed and Mika felt more than heard the tread of heavy feet nearby.
Gripping his sword, he crouched low, ready should anyone or anything attempt to invade his area.
Tam raised himself up and growled once, his ears stiffly erect. Then, his posture eased, his ears lowered and his injured tail thumped softly on the ground. Mika knew that whoever was nearby was no enemy.
Pushing the branches aside cautiously, Mika looked out and saw Hornsbuck and RedTail crashing through the underbrush, both sodden and miserable looking. They had not spotted him. For a moment Mika was tempted to let them pass by, but they looked so wretched that he relented.
'Hornsbuck!' he called in a low tone. Hornsbuck whirled, drawing his sword in a harsh clang of steel.
'Mika!' he said in wonderment, then a scowl creased his face and he frowned at Mika suspiciously.
'What be you doing here, hiding under this big tree like a rabbit?'
'Come out of the rain, Hornsbuck. We can talk in here. Come on!' he urged as rain pelted down his face.
Mika pulled his head in and added several sticks to the fire. He was glad to see that Hornsbuck was still alive, but he was in no mood for the man's militaristic drivel. Personally, Mika saw no sense in wandering around a wet forest thick with gnolls when it was possible to be dry and safe.
'Where are you?' Hornsbuck roared in a loud whisper as he plowed straight into the dense foliage, showering those inside with moisture and causing the fire to hiss and sputter.
'Hornsbuck! Down!' Mika commanded, tugging on the man's soggy breechclout, forcing him to his knees.
'Eh? Oh!' said Hornsbuck as he parted the branches and looked down into the warm dry interior of the tree. 'Tree, eh?' he said with great insight. 'Pretty smart. Dry too. Smelled the smoke. Couldn't see it, but smelled it. Knew someone was around. Have you seen any gnolls?'
'Come inside, Hornsbuck,' Mika said impatiently as wind gusted through the open branches, spread wide by Hornsbuck's broad bulk. RedTail needed no further urging. He entered, touched noses with TamTur, and was immediately busy sniffing Tam's wounds.
'Glad there's a fire,' grunted Hornsbuck as he squeezed through and walked in to where Mika sat at the base of the trunk.
He sank to a seated position in front of the small blaze and sat there steaming like some giant semi-tamed bear, his great bulk seeming to fill the interior, making the space small with his huge presence.
'Where's Recknass?' he asked suddenly, peering around him as though he might somehow have overlooked the giant.
'Dead,' said Mika, and he quickly told Horns-buck all that had transpired since they had parted. Hornsbuck looked puzzled.
'Why would they have killed each other?' pondered Hornsbuck. 'Did you have anything to do with it?'
'Me? I've told you everything,' Mika said indignantly. 'In fact, I expect it was one of them who hit me on the head. And now I'm stuck nursemaiding the princess all day!'
'Oh, so that's why you're not out hunting gnolls. Wondered about that,' muttered Hornsbuck. 'But I can see as how you'd have to stay here with her. I hate gnolls!' And he spat a stream of brown tobacco juice toward the princess as though to add emphasis to his hatred.
'Uh, Hornsbuck, not in here,' Mika said with distaste.
'Women,' sighed Hornsbuck. 'They're a problem even when they ain't yapping.' And he leaned over and wiped the ugly brown stain that was spreading across what remained of the princess's dress with his ham-sized fist. He only made it worse.
'Well, maybe she won't notice,' he said, wiping his hand on the front of his tunic. 'Maybe she won't ever wake up!' he added, the idea obviously much to his liking. 'Then we could just leave her here and be on our way.'
'Neither Enor nor the Guild would approve,' said Mika. 'And besides, Tam is injured and needs to rest.'
'You're right,' said Hornsbuck. 'What's a nomad without his wolf? But Tam should be up and about in a day or so, nothing to really fuss about, just a few hyena bites. It's just that I get crazy sitting around doing nothing. Don't suppose you've got anything to eat? I'm starved. Damn gnolls got my horse and all my provisions, too.'
Mika poured a generous portion of the dried mixture into his boot, added water, and set it over the fire once more. If Hornsbuck saw anything strange about cooking in the boot, he said nothing about it while gobbling the hot concoction.
'Not half bad, this,' he said, gesturing at the stew with his food-smeared fingers. 'Be better with beans, though.' Then, spraying food in all directions, he told his tale.
'Separated from the rest of the men, just like we decided. Took Klaren and Meno with me. They both got themselves killed.
'Klaren got pulled from his horse by a troll and Meno took a gnoll's pikestaff in the chest. Their wolves stuck by 'em till the end, then they got cornered by a pack of hyenadons. RedTail and I tried to help, but it was hopeless. The only thing we could do was try to save ourselves. Damn shame about Klaren. He was a good man.
'We got to the rendezvous point and waited, but nobody showed up, 'cept some gnolls. So we left. My guess is that everyone is scattered from here to Eru-Tovar and gone. We'll just have to make it on our own.'
'But how are we going to do that if the woods are crawling with gnolls and trolls and hyenas?' asked Mika. Then, seeing Hornsbuck casting a critical eye on him, he hastened to explain.
'I mean, I'd like nothing more than the chance to kill some more of those filthy creatures, that's for sure, but there is the princess to think of. She's still my first concern. I know that Enor will expect me to deliver her safely to the city, so I mustn't think about myself and what I'd do if I were alone. Too bad, really. The two of us could see to it that there were fewer gnolls in the world,' Mika said with a sad sigh.
'I know, lad,' said Hornsbuck, patting Mika on the back. 'I don't like seeing them murder my men and get away with it, but you're right about the princess. We've got to see to her first. Once she's taken care of, we can find a few gnolls and show them how we feel about their kind.'
Not if I can help it, thought Mika as he tried to look as though he agreed with the older man.
'But how do we get her to Eru-Tovar safely?' asked Mika. 'The gnolls will surely find us before we reach the city.'
'I know a way,' said Hornsbuck. 'But we'll need some food. We'll have to kill the roan.'
'No!' blurted Mika, unwilling to sacrifice the horse to Hornsbuck's great undiscriminating belly. 'We'll find something else. What is your plan?'
Hornsbuck's green eyes pierced Mika and stared at him intently. 'I'll show you when the time comes,' he said slowly. 'It's a lost way, a path I have kept secret these many years. u must promise me not to tell anyone once I show you.'
'All right,' agreed Mika, not really caring, so long as it was safe and free of gnolls.
The next few days passed slowly. Very slowly. Hornsbuck ate what little wild stuff they were able to gather, tossed knucklebones, hawked, spat, cursed, belched, farted, and made other obnoxious and rude noises. Smart and wily he might be in the ways of survival, but the man's social graces were all but nonexistent. Mika had never quite noticed before what a coarse brute Hornsbuck was, but then he had never been thrown so intimately into his company before.
The man was addled from war-lust and if insufferable when awake, he was only slightly less noisy when asleep. Never had Mika so. missed or so appreciated Celia and the company of women. Wedged in one small corner between Tam and the princess, Mika read his book of spells out of sheer despair, in an attempt to separate himself from Hornsbuck's endless, mindless commentary.
As he read, a plan began to take shape in Mika's mind, a dangerous, yet wonderful plan.
Chapter 17
Two days had passed, and Tam was well, or nearly so. His wounds had healed enough so that he was able to walk and run without difficulty or pain.
