The noise was tremendous; loud screeches and terrible moans filled the air like bees droning around a pot of spilled honey. Arms and legs waved everywhere, and even as Mika watched in bewilderment, a large, armor-clad body flew past him and landed in the middle of the crowd, smashing several unfortunates beneath it.
'What on Oerth!' Mika wondered aloud.
'Probably a drunk,' said a woman who leaned out of her window, her eyes bright with curiosity. 'But it won't last long. Here comes a complement of the guard,' she said, nodding toward the street Mika had just left. 'Some poor soul will sleep in the dungeon for the next fortnight.'
Another body went flying. Mika and his motley band were hemmed in by the crush of people crowding behind them. Curious by nature, Mika was not averse to finding out what had caused such an enormous ruckus and seeing the person who was able to toss such large men so high into the air. There! There went another one, the poor fellow landing head-first on the canopy of a mead-seller's wagon, bringing the vehicle and its contents to the ground in a splintering crash.
Mika's height permitted him to view the proceedings better than most of those who filled the street, and the press of those behind his group brought them closer and closer to the site of the disturbance.
'… teach you to lay your hands on a lady, you thug!' bellowed a deep voice and a large, beetle- browed man arced overhead. The crowd roared its encouragement to the unseen assailant, and Mika could see grushniks passing hands as people wagered on the eventful outcome of the fray.
'… Sell me bad wine, will you?!' roared the voice. 'I'll teach you to pick on a poor, defenseless woman!' The crowd ducked as another body was hurled into its midst. Suddenly, Hornsbuck leaned forward and his green eyes grew bright. Standing up in the roan's stirrups, he began to scan the crowd, seemingly searching for someone or something. Concerned, Mika tugged at his leg, but it was like pulling on a hundred-year-old oak and had about as much effect.
'He watered down the wine, the pig-dog!' roared the deep, bass voice, and the crowd roared back its approval.
A wide smile crossed Hornsbuck's face. Following some unspoken command, the roan began to push through the densely packed crowds with Mika, who was unable to stop him, and unwilling to be separated, following behind.
It was difficult to move, but faced with the choice of moving aside or being crushed beneath the hooves of the huge horse, the crowd parted. Mika, the princess, and RedTail brought up the rear.
At last they reached the center of the maelstrom. And to Mika's astonishment, a woman proved to be the cause of ail the noise and trouble. A large woman 10 be sure, a very large woman.
She stood at least a hand taller than Mika's own six feet and was as broad as Hornsbuck. She had white- blond hair woven into two hawserlike braids and was dressed in a thick, leather tunic, similar to Horns- buck's, which covered her huge body from neck to mid-thigh.
Her legs-massive, treelike limbs-were not bare, but were encased in rough, blue cotton trousers. Her boots were of thick, heavy leather tied off below the knee. Her arms were bare and as muscular as Horns- buck's. As Mika watched with awe, she picked up the last of her attackers, a man easily as big as she, squeezed him in an immense bear hug till his ribs could be heard to crack, then lofted him above her head and threw him at a large, white, pasty-faced merchant who stood wringing his hands in despair among the broken remains of his wine cart.
The bully crashed into the wine merchant, and both of them collapsed on the ground. The man crawled to his feet, stumbled over the fallen body of his employer, and then, panic written on his face as he looked back at the angry woman, ran off amid the jeers and catcalls of the boisterous crowd.
'Who else? Who else would seek to subdue a poor, helpless female?' shouted the woman, hands on her broad hips as she turned around slowly, scanning the crowd.
'Lotus Blossom,' Hornsbuck crooned into the sudden silence.
'Hornsbuck, be quiet! Not now!' Mika whispered in alarm, punching Hornsbuck on the leg. 'The woman's a lunatic, leave her alone!'
Ignoring Mika completely, Hornsbuck placed his hand on top of Mika's turban and leaned forward, resting his entire weight on Mika's head. Mika staggered under the weight, unable to say a word as he tried to keep his legs from buckling. Hornsbuck sat back, releasing him as the woman whipped around, her face purple with her exertions.
As Mika struggled to pull the turban up over his eyebrows, he saw the woman's fists clench and the muscles in the great arms bulge. He edged backward, wondering if he could get away before the woman pinched their heads for daring to speak. Then he heard the welcome sound of the guard as they trudged forward, pushing through the crowd. Maybe all was not lost, maybe the guard would arrive on the scene and arrest the madwoman before he and Hornsbuck were killed.
'Hornsbuck!' cried the woman, the rage fading:: ~n her face, replaced by a huge grin. Her brilliant
~:'..:wer-blue eyes sparkled when she smiled at the nomad as he dismounted from the roan and stumbled toward her with open arms.
'Lotus Blossom,' he cooed warmly, folding her into his vast embrace, and the two leather-clad bodies merged like bears in heat.
'Here comes the guard,' Mika called hoarsely, almost unable to believe that this enormous woman with the bulging biceps was Hornsbuck's infamous inamorata of whom he had spoken so often.
'Hornsbuck, he tried to cheat me,' said the woman, her lower lip trembling as she nestled her head on Hornsbuck's shoulder. 'I bought a liter of wine to drink with my dinner. It was watered! When I complained, he laughed and turned his bullies on me. I defended myself and managed to hold my own.'
Hornsbuck did not answer, seemingly content to hold the woman in his own mammoth arms.
Mika looked around at the broken jugs, the wine merchant's entire inventory, the smashed wagon, the bullies, all four of them lying unconscious with more than a few limbs twisted in unnatural positions, and thought that Lotus Blossom could probably hold her own against an entire squad of guards. Judging from the sound of marching feet behind them, she might just get the opportunity to prove it.
'Quick, the guard!' he said, repeating the warning even more loudly.
'Come, my sweet, let us remove ourselves from this unruly mob,' Lotus Blossom said with great dignity, offering Hornsbuck her arm.
Hornsbuck responded rather slowly, linking his arm through hers as though uncertain of what he was doing or why. Lotus Blossom batted her eyelids coyly and smiled a shy, dimpled smile, her grapefruit-sized cheeks glowing red with vibrant health.
'Here, merchant, this should cover your damages,' Mika said as he half-emptied his sack of money, showering the recumbent form with a sprinkling of grushniks which would not have begun to make good the damage.
'But do not let us hear of any further complaints, or we will return and mark paid to the business that the lady began.'
The sight of Hornsbuck, coupled with the mighty woman, was more than the poor merchant could bear, and he sank back on the wine-wet cobbles and groaned.
The crowd began to disperse, confusing and inhibiting the guards' progress. Mika seized the roan's reins and, whistling for the wolves, slowly followed the leather-clad pair as they sauntered down the street, foreheads touching, Lotus Blossom murmuring soft nothings in Hornsbuck's ear.
Halfway down the street, the captain of the guard trotted up alongside Mika and touched his wolf-tail- embellished cap in greeting.
'Good brother, it seems we have come too late to break up the fight that has disturbed this street. Did you sec what happened? Can you describe the ruffians?'
'Indeed,' answered Mika, touching his turban in turn, thankful that it was he who had been asked. 'It was two men, dark they were. One had a ring through his left nostril. The other had a knife scar running the length of his face. They looked like Blackmoorian cutthroats. I think they tried to rob the wine merchant. They ran off down that side street yonder. If you hurry, you can catch them still.'
'Many thanks, brother,' said the guardsman. Calling to his men, he rode off down the street, bypassing Hornsbuck and Lotus Blossom without a second glance.
Lotus Blossom stopped in front of a slope-roofed, evil-looking dive. Foul fumes speaking of lost evenings and wasted lives wafted out of the open door. A ragged, reeking wastrel lay sleeping in the doorway, his snores and
