will be able to disarm them easily. Riverwind can be rescued that way, too.”
“Why won't our people be sneezing?” Vvelz asked.
The old man froze, his enthusiastic expression giving way to consternation. Then, his face brightened once more. “Why, give them kerchiefs to wear!” he exclaimed. “It will work! Let's tell Mors right away!”
But Mors was not impressed. “I'd rather see you repair these bow-things you found,” he said with annoyance. “I would rather strike the Host from long range than close in with unskilled fighters and toss dust in their faces.”
“Master Mors, even if I could fix all the bows, you would not have enough to make a difference against the entire Host. And archery is not a skill easily learned; it takes much practice, yes.”
“How much practice?” Mors said.
“In Que-Shu, boys are taught archery not long after they learn to walk. A lifetime's practice makes them peerless archers.”
“My people have only to hit close ranks of warriors,” Mors insisted.
Vvelz intervened. “Perhaps we could adopt both plans. The bows will cause great harm to the warriors' spirits, and the pepper will send them to defeat.”
“I don't like it,” Mors grumbled. “True warriors do not fight by throwing dirt in their enemy's eyes. It's not honor-able.”
“Is it honorable to blind their captain and chase him from the city like a worthless beggar?” Vvelz said, knocking Mors's rod from his hand. The blind elf leaped to his feet.
“You gutless hand-waver! I may be blind, but I can break your neck with one hand-”
Di An, who had been listening quietly to all this, grasped Mors's leg and said, “Good Mors, don't hurt him. Master Vvelz seeks only to counsel you.” She retrieved Mors's staff and placed it in his hands. The blind warrior's rough hand gripped her small one.
Mors relaxed. “What is your point?”
Di An looked at Vvelz. The latter said, “You do not owe Li El honorable combat. She is the one you are fighting. The Host is merely her instrument.”
The scarred eyes turned to the sound of Vvelz's voice. “And Karn? What do I owe him? Stinging powder? Darts flung from two hundred paces?”
“You could forgive him,” Catchflea said softly. “He has served Li El all these years, and that should be punishment enough.”
“It was his choice,” Mors said, sitting back down. “Bring the bows and the pepper from the hiding place. We will scourge Li El with flowers if that's what it takes. As for my son, if he will follow us to the world of blue sky and sunlight, I will try to forgive him.”
“And if he won't?” asked Vvelz.
“Then he can lie in the tomb next to his mother.”
Two cohorts, almost a thousand warriors, tramped in ragged lines across the floor of the great cavern. Karn had divided them into four units called Diamond, Ruby, Emerald, and Garnet. He commanded the Ruby Division, and Riverwind was with him, under one of Li El's illusions. He thought he was tracking Loreman and Hollow-sky after their attempt to kill Goldmoon.
“I've not been in these mountains before,” Riverwind said. The wheat field they were crossing was tall and sparse. Wind was uncommon in Hest, but a slight, swirling breeze stirred the weak stands of grain.
“The wretches have hidden from us for years,” Karn said, eyeing the plainsman uncertainly. Talking to the bewitched giant was like talking to a sleepwalker. Karn wasn't sure what the outlander saw or heard in his present state. Shame burned deep in his heart at having to employ this overgrown lout. Karn believed that he was good enough to crush the rebels; he didn't need a befuddled giant to assist him.
Riverwind felt the circling wind and smelled the ever-present smoke in the air. Yet he saw the plain of his homeland under a golden yellow sun. His heart beat fast. Gold-moon was safe only if he could catch and slay the evil men who wanted her dead. His long legs covered the ground in great strides, and his escort was strung out in a long line, trying to keep up.
“Slow down,” Karn said irritably. “Infernal giant,” he added under his breath.
Riverwind did more than slow, he stopped. His keen eyes caught a glint of steel on the slope of the mountain ahead.
“There,” he said, pointing.
“What?” said Karn, shading his eyes from the brazen sun.
“Someone is up there. Carrying a sword. It must be them,” Riverwind said. His pulse quickened in his chest.
Karn saw, not the illusion of mountains, but the abandoned temple where his ancestors had once worshiped. “You're wrong. We checked there already. The diggers must be dispersed in small bands throughout the caverns.”
'They are there,” Riverwind insisted. He started off at a fast lope.
“Wait! Halt! I command here!” Karn shouted. Riverwind slowed. Goldmoon had told him to obey this short fellow. Karn hustled up. “Remember, you do as I say!” he said hoarsely. “That, ah, mountain is infested with evil spirits. Our quarry would not be hiding up there.”
“Why not? If I wanted to hide, I'd go where evil spirits were rumored to live. Ghosts would keep visitors away.”
The other soldiers had caught up and were listening with evident interest. The giant's words made sense to them.
“Goldmoon said to search the tunnels in the south wall- I mean, mountain range. An army of rebels could hide there.” Those were Li El's orders. Besides, Karn reasoned, nobody would dare hide in the ancient temple.
Riverwind did not advance toward the temple, nor did he turn. The rest of Ruby Division slouched to a halt behind the plainsman. “The enemy is there.” He raised a long arm and pointed again at the distant temple.
Karn had had enough of the outlander's arrogance. “Form a line of march!” Karn raged. He cursed at thЈ Hestite soldiers until they formed two parallel lines. “Now stand there until I order you to move!” To Riverwind, he said, “You will obey my orders without question, understand? Her Highness-Goldmoon-expects you to do as I say.”
Riverwind looked down at the man. “Yes, Captain.”
The Ruby Division made off for the south wall. Riverwind walked slowly alongside the column, his gaze still fixed on the abandoned temple, which he saw as a mountain. He had seen the glint of steel there. He really had.
Chapter Nine
Karn, Riverwind and the Ruby Division reached the south wall many hours later. As Karn had said, the cave wall was honeycombed with holes and tunnels, many of which had been carved out of the limestone by early Hestites and used as homes. The soldiers went in by twos and threes, rooting through the rubbish collected at the mouth of the caves, searching for signs of recent habitation. They found none.
“They could be deeper in the wall,” Karn mused. One of his subordinates said timidly that it did not seem likely. “Oh? Why so?” Karn asked.
The filthy, mud-coated Hestite replied, “Water has trickled down through the walls, my captain. In most of the caves a foot of water has collected at the back. There's nothing else in them but mud and broken pottery.”
Karn sat on a round boulder and said, “Well, keep looking. The scum are likely to be in the last place you think to search.” The weary soldier saluted and returned to the hunt.
“Shall I go, too?” Riverwind asked.
“No, I don't want you to get wedged in some tight spot,” Karn answered absently. “Those holes weren't
