'I am unaware as to how I broke my word.'
'You swore that you would not slay Dansin.'
'I did not slay Dansin.'
'You swore your beast would not slay Dansin.'
Garth started to speak, then halted. He had not foreseen such a possibility. He would have to be more careful when setting Koros free to hunt-assuming he lived long enough to do anything. Choosing his words carefully, he said, 'I did not order it to slay Dansin.'
'Yet it did so.'
'I was not aware of this'
Elmil's voice was controlled and steady. Garth could not tell if the bandit was suppressing fear, or rage, or hatred, or was merely tensing in preparation for the kill. 'Your beast devoured Dansin without provocation, though you swore it would not.'
'It was hungry.'
'So you let it feed on my comrade?'
'I did not know what it ate. I was in Mormoreth. I had been trapped in the crypts beneath the palace for several days, and Koros had not been fed. It killed and ate Shang, but was still hungry. I set it free to hunt. I did not know that it would kill Dansin, nor even that he was in the area. Had I not let it hunt, it might have turned on me.'
The point of Elmil's sword moved slightly away from Garth's throat. 'Shang is dead?'
'Yes.'
'You killed him?'
'Koros killed him.'
'What is in that tent?' He nodded toward the magic cage.
'The basilisk.'
'Basilisk?'
'The monster I was sent to capture.'
'What kind of monster?'
'A very poisonous one. Its gaze will turn one to stone.'
Elmil said nothing.
'It was the basilisk that permitted Shang to turn the people of Mormoreth to stone. He collected its venom.'
'I don't believe it.'
'Then look for yourself.'
Emil managed a feeble grin. 'Maybe I do believe you, after all.'
'Good. May I get up?'
Elmil hobbled back and permitted Garth to sit up. Remembering the sorry condition of his feet, the overman declined to stand.
'You still broke your word.'
'True, though it was unintentional. My apologies, though I realize they can do little to comfort you or Dansin.'
'It is the custom among my people to pay for a man's death.'
'I have little to give for blood-money.' An idea struck him. 'Except, that is, for the city of Mormoreth, which I took from Shang. Will you accept the city as weregild?'
It was Elmil's turn to be astonished.
'As you know, the people of Mormoreth are no more and, now that Shang is dead, the city is empty. It's a good city, though there are a few broken doors and rather a lot of statues.'
'It is a farmer's city.' The barbarian's tone was uncertain, belying his words of rejection.
'Cannot bandits learn farming? Surely it's a more profitable trade, and it is definitely safer.'
Elmil grinned. 'Very well, Garth Oath-Breaker, we will accept your payment for Dansin's life.'
'Good.'
'The sun is well up. Will you be riding soon?'
'I suppose I shall.'
'Perhaps I will accompany you as far as the South Road.'
'If you wish.'
'It will be a great surprise to my tribe to hear that we now own the Valley of Mormoreth.'
'You paid heavily for it; eleven of your tribesmen are dead.'
'True. Those of us who survive will have to take extra wives to compensate.'
Garth was unsure whether this was a joke, a fact to be regretted or a pleasurable circumstance, so he said nothing. Human sexuality was utterly incomprehensible to him.
The conversation ceased, and Garth rose, limping, to saddle Koros.
CHAPTER TEN
Nine days later Garth halted his warbeast as Skelleth came into sight in the distance. He did not care to ride boldly into the village dragging the basilisk's enclosure. For one thing, he doubted it would fit through the narrow, winding streets. For another, such a spectacle would undoubtedly stir up all manner of gossip, and he doubted very much that the Forgotten King would appreciate that. There was also the possibility that some fool would peer under the cloth cover, which was becoming somewhat bedraggled. It had rained twice on the journey home, a foretaste of the spring rains that were due any day now, and the cloth had stretched and sagged while wet. Mud had spattered all along its lower edge, and the constant friction where the chains dragged on the ground had worn away small patches here and there, though fortunately not enough to provide a view of the interior. In all, the thing looked a mess, though it was still serviceable, and Garth's esthetic pride also contributed somewhat to his disinclination to parade through the streets with such a thing trailing behind him.
Recalling his first entry into Skelleth, he decided that it would not even do to ride Koros; if he wanted to avoid being the cause of a crowd of onlookers, he would have to sneak into town on foot, looking as small and human as he could manage. Therefore he would have to leave Koros and the basilisk somewhere where he could find them again but passers-by would not. He knew Koros would keep anyone who happened along at a distance no matter where he left it, even right where it was in the middle of the highway. He wanted not merely to keep the basilisk safe, but to keep it undetected. Glancing about, he made out a rather scraggly copse off to his left, and decided it would provide the best cover of anything on the muddy, lightly farmed plain surrounding Skelleth.
Ten minutes later he was glad that the cloth had been muddied, as the mud provided some degree of camouflage; the weather-beaten little trees of the copse could hardly hide so large an object by themselves. Having ordered Koros to guard the spot, he turned and headed again toward the village, wearing a rough gray cloak he had pieced together from his bolt of cloth to hide his armor and weapons, and with rags tied around his otherwise bare feet to protect them from pebbles and to hide the coarse black fur that covered them. Fortunately, his burns had healed almost completely on the trek from Mormoreth.
This arrangement had another advantage, he realized; he would be able to inquire as to why the Forgotten King wanted the basilisk. Should he be planning some great evil, Garth could withhold his knowledge of the monster's whereabouts, which he could not have done had he simply hauled the creature directly into town.
It was an hour's walk to the East Gate, and Garth spent the time considering the most tactful way to coax the Forgotten King into explaining what he wanted with what was undoubtedly the most deadly creature in the world. It did little good; his mind did not readily lend itself to verbal subtlety in such matters.
There was no guard at the gate; there had been none when he left, either. Garth was not surprised. There had been very few wars in his lifetime or that of his father, save for minor squabbles and pirate raids, and there was nothing in Skelleth worth fighting for in any case. Such a village, in such a desolate region, had little need for guards. However, when he had passed the ruins into the part of the town that was still inhabited, he was surprised to see the streets empty. It was midafternoon, and he would have expected to find women on their way
