swampy ground.
Jerdren beckoned her over as two of the Keep men went a little farther on. They were back within moments.
“I was right,” the archer said. “Fens and bogs are ahead,just across the river. That big mound is about dead ahead of us, and the river bends back south again.” Jerdren had his map out, and the man pointed. “Justhere.”
“So the islands are back west along the road,” Jerdren mused.“We’ll stay in the trees, take a short rest there, then find a place to look outwhere they are. We can decide what to do at that point.”
They went on, paralleling the road but still in tree shadow. Afternoon shade soon hid most of the land to the south, deep shadows cast by the hills rising steeply out beyond the river. Jerdren chose a small clearing a little farther back in the woods, and dropped his pack.
“Cold camp tonight,” he said. “If the men we want are up onthat hillside somewhere, a fire might be seen.”
Eddis settled on her heels, back against a tree. “So-wherefrom here? And who’s going?”
“Best plan, I’d say, is you and I, M’Baddah, and a couple ofthe Keep hunters go down to the road, see what we can make out. Go from there.”
She shoved to her feet for answer.
Willow came with them. “There is nothing coming along theroad, in either direction,” the elf said quietly. He couldn’t have been heard atany distance beyond his companions. Wind blew dry brush and dust westward along the road. “I can see no movement south, toward the river, either, but there isplenty of tall brush out there, between us and water.”
Jerdren peered and finally shook his head. “I can’t even seethat. No sign of movement up on the hillside, either, but it’s kind of dark overthere.”
He took a step toward the open, but Willow held him back.
“There is still light on the road. If anyone was watchingover there, you could be seen.”
“Maybe,” Jerdren replied with a shrug. “Still-I don’t seeanything high enough out there where someone could be spying on the Keep.”
“We’re too far east of the Keep for that,” one of the hunterssaid, “but look a little farther west. The slope goes up sharply, and it dropsoff to the west. If I was setting a watch, it would be on the west edge there.”He pointed.
“Then we need to go farther west?” Jerdren asked, butM’Baddah shook his head.
“Even if the watch is up there, I think no one would set acamp up there. Too much trouble to get in and out. Likely the camp itself is in thick woods, fairly close to the water. Soon there will be ice and snow on the heights, and if we are searching for signs of men and horses along the water,”M’Baddah added, “then it makes sense to me that we start here and work our wayback west, toward the Keep.”
“I agree,” Eddis said. “If there’s nothing else we can seeout here, I say head back to camp, and decide who goes…”
She fell silent as Willow held up a hand. He was gazing back the way they’d come.
“Enemy. Men there,” he whispered sharply, and drew his sword.
Jerdren shook his head dubiously but drew his sword as a bowstring twanged loudly, and a man yelled in pain. Someone else swore.
M’Baddah and Willow were already running quietly and swiftlythrough the trees, Eddis and the others right behind them. The elf held up a hand as they neared the camp and gestured with his chin. A man lay dead a few paces ahead, between them and the camp. Three others were shooting arrows into the small clearing, and as they watched, one of the men fell. More yelling from the far side of the camp. Jerdren touched Eddis’ shoulder to get her attention.
“We’ll send M’Baddah and Willow around the north side. Keepthose for ourselves.” He grinned tightly as the elf vanished quietly into thetrees. “I’d say-” he was counting under his breath-“about
There was more yelling north of them, all at once, and then M’Baddah’s voice: “Eddis, go!”
She threw herself at the nearest of the archers with a hawklike scream. The man yelped in surprise as he came around, the bow falling from his hands, but as she closed with him, he drew a dagger from his sleeve and brought it up in a slashing backhand, inside her down-swing. Pain flared hot and sharp across her cheek. Her earlobe stung, and blood ran down her neck. She fell back a pace, and the man came after her.
“Fool!” she snarled and lunged. The sword went deep into hisbelly, and the hilt was torn from her hand as he fell. She set one foot on his chest, fought the weapon free, and brought it down in a hard arc across his throat. He shuddered, went limp. Cursing steadily, she shifted the blade to her left hand and felt her face cautiously. A long cut ran from her jaw nearly to her nose. It stung, and her ear throbbed. Most of the blood came from a small nick at the base of the lobe. Messy, a little uncomfortable, but nothing more.
The clatter of fighting ceased, as suddenly as it had began. Jerdren had one of the men by his leather jerkin, a thick-bladed dagger held against the fellow’s throat. He looked at her in sudden concern.
“Much hurt, there, Eddis? You’re all bloody.”
She shook her head.
“Good. Hey, the camp! Coming in!” Another glance at Eddis.“Need my help?”
“You deal with him. He clipped my ear, that’s all.”
She checked the fallen men. The one who’d been wounded justas they came up was huddled in on himself, moaning pitifully. She shifted the sword back to her right again and tapped the back of his head with it. “You’renot dying. You’re making too much noise to be hurt badly,” she said harshly.“Get up. You wanted in our camp? Fine, let’s go.”
It took a little prodding, but he finally edged away from the tip of her blade and fumbled to his feet.
She gazed at him. Dirty, ragged. “You attacked us a couplenights ago, just inside the forest, didn’t you?”
Silence. He stared at her slack-jawed.
She nudged him with the flat of her blade. “Go on, move it.”
There were three other ragged, thin men already in the clearing. One lay on his side, eyes closed. His shirt was soaked with blood, and he seemed to be barely breathing. The one Jerdren had by the jerkin wasn’tinjured that she could tell. The other two bore cuts but weren’t much hurt. Twoof the Keep men took the man Eddis was guarding as Blorys came across the open ground, his eyes wide.
“You’re hurt!”
“It’s not bad, really,” Eddis said. She was suddenly verytired and wanted nothing more than to just collapse. “My ear,” she added with asmile. “You know how ears and scalp wounds bleed.”
“Your face-gods, Eddis!”
“It’s shallow, just a cut. M’Baddah can-”
Mead came up and took her arm. “I have a charm, Eddis. We’llheal it.”
“You might need that later,” she began, but Blorys and themage both shook their heads.
“It would be bad for morale,” the elf said, “to have our onlyswordswoman scarred. Besides, it is my charm, and therefore my decision.”
“All right,” she said, “but later. There’s some unfinishedbusiness first.”
One of their men lay facedown in the clearing, an arrow protruding from his back, and three others had been injured, though none badly.
Jerdren, M’Baddah and Willow had already begun questioningtheir prisoners, and the wounded man Eddis had brought in was stammering out answers, despite curses and threats from the man Jers had disarmed and dragged in. Two Keep men stood over him with drawn swords, which Eddis thought was all that kept him from throwing himself on the fellow.
“Yeah, we were with those guys that ambushed you the othernight. But how’d we know you were gonna be down here by the road? Couple fellasfollowed your tracks the next morning, and you were going north.”
“If you’d been smart,” Jerdren said evenly, “you’d all havekept going the way you were running when we were done with you. Why didn’t you?”
The fellow gave him a sullen look. “Because
