friend of his, and Tyl was in his own camp several hundred miles away, and Var did not have to follow any empire directive. But he would go for TyL
Jim the Gun intercepted him as he departed. 'Show him this,' he said. 'No one else.'
And he gave Var a handgun and a box of ammunition. And a written note.
Tyl was impressed by power and therefore fascinated by the gun. In some fashion Var did not follow, but which he suspected was influenced by the note Tyl's wife read, the chief set aside his standing grudge and cultivated Var for his knowledge of firearms.
Var had good memory for any person who had ever threatened his well-being and he had not at all forgotten his embarrassments of the first meeting with this man. But Tyl was one of those who, though~maddening when antipathetic, could be absolutely charming when friendly. As surely as he might have courted a lovely girl, Tyl courted Var.
And by the time Tyl and his vast tribe reached the mountain, he and Var were friends. They entered the circle together many times, but never for terms or blood, and under Tyl's expert guidance Var became far more proficient with the sticks. He saw that he had been a preposterous fool ever to challenge Tyl with this weapon; the man had never had cause to fear him in the circle.
A dozen times in practice Tyl disarmed him, each time showing him the mistake he had made and drilling him in the proper countermoves.
Tyl named him a score of names, stickers of the empire, that were his marks to excel, and warned him of the other warriors to be wary of. 'You are strong and tough,' he said, 'and courageous-but you still lack sufficient experience. In a year, two'
Var, in those evenings when the tribe settled for the night and went about the processes even a travelling tribe must go about, also had a regular practise against other weapons. The Master had instructed him in the basictechniques, but that was not at all the same as actual combat. The stick had to learn to blunt the sword, thwart -the club, and to navigate the staff-or the stick was useless. Here with Tyl's disciplined, combat-ready tribe, Var's stick mastered these things. - - -
More of a warrior than be had been, he returned to the Nameless One's hidden camp near the mountain. Now he understood why Tyl was second in command. The man was honorable and sensible and capable and a expert warrior-and not given to letting minor grudges override his judgment. The feud between them had been a momentary thing that Var bad mistaken once for malice. The Master must have known, and shown him the truth by sending him on this mission.
Var was present when the Weaponless conferred with the Two Weapons.
'You have seen the gun,' the Master said. 'What it can do.'
Tyl nodded. The truth was that he had fired it many times and become fairly proficient. He had even brought down a rabbit with it-something Var, with his clumsy grip, could not do.
'The men we face have guns-and worse weapons. They do not honor the code of the circle.'
Tyl nodded again. Var knew he was fascinated by the tactical problems inherent in gun combat.
'For six years I have held the empire in check-for fear of the killers of the underworld. Their guns-when we had none.'
Tyl looked surprised, realizing that this was not just a staging area. 'The men who travel to the mountain-'
'Do not always die there.' -
Var did not comprehend the expression that crossed Tyl's face. 'Sol of All Weapons-'
'There-alive. Hostage.'
'And you-' -
'I came from the mountain. I returned.'
Now Tyl's mouth fell open. 'Sos! Sos the Rope! And the bird-'
'Nameless, weaponless, helpless. Stupid dead. Bound to dismantle the empire.'
Tyl looked as though something astonishing and profound and not entirely pleasing had passed between them, more than the information about the mountain. Var could not quite grasp what, though he did recognize the name. 'Sos' as connected to 'Sosa.' He suspected that Tyl's most basic loyalty lay with Sol of
