horizon. At the same time he was drawing Leda's attention to the sight, Gord was up and arming himself, all of his fatigue dissolved in a flood of adrenaline. Both of them mounted their horses and stood in the stirrups to gain a better perspective. Four — no, five — riders were coming toward their encampment at a trot. They were in a good place to defend themselves, for the rocky outcropping and brush provided both cover and concealment. Leda set out the eight arrows she had remaining in her quiver, and Gord selected from his belt pouch a dozen good stones for his sling.
'I'll hail them at a distance, and see if we can parlay,' he told the girl. 'If they are hostile, or prove treacherous, send your shafts at the one with whom I speak, for he will be the leader.'
Leda nodded and returned to checking her bowstring, bow, and arrows. The best of the shafts were set for first use, for the shots would be the longest. This would change if a battle occurred, so the arrows with poor feathers or a slightly warped shaft would serve for close work. 'Good luck, Gord,' she called as he climbed up onto the outcropping to make himself seen to the approaching warriors.
The burnoused men immediately slowed their mounts from a trot to a walk when Gord stood up on the spur of rock and raised one hand. He remained motionless like that for a minute as they continued to advance abreast. At about three hundred yards distance, the five horsemen stopped their advance and gathered momentarily for a conference. Then one of their number broke away from the cluster and came forward, keeping his horse to a slow walk and holding the point of his lance skyward. Hoping to impress the visitors, Gord jumped down from the jutting stone, a distance of about twelve or so feet to the dry grass below. He landed, rolled once, regained his feet, and began jogging toward the lone warrior, all in a single fluid motion.
The nomad stood in his stirrups as the young adventurer came toward him, staring at him because of the unusual activity he had just demonstrated. As Gord approached to within twenty yards, the nomad dipped his lance toward the young man, indicating that he had better come no closer. 'I am Achulka aka Saufghi of the Al Illa- Thuffi,' the stranger shouted. 'Who are you, outlander?'
'Those who name me comrade have called me Pharzool,' Gord replied.
'Do any Arroden name you?'
'Perhaps from the Hells,' the young adventurer retorted, and spat as he did so.
The nomad stared hard at Gord's necklace — the Arroden trinket with the silver bracelets adorning it that he had acquired during his solitary attack upon the veiled warriors. 'You took those silver bands from the veiled men?' asked the nomad.
Gord plucked absently at the necklace and dangling bracelets, never taking his eyes from the horseman before him. 'Well, I had many more than this under my blade,' he said with a straight face, 'but I took only these few things as souvenirs.'
Achulka raised the long lance he held upright, so that its yellow-tufted tip was far above Gord's head. Then, with a slow and careful motion, he turned the weapon to a point-down position and sunk the steel head into the earth beside his leg. At the sight of this, his four fellows began to ride slowly ahead. 'We now speak as not- enemies, Farzeel the Outlander. You may tell your comrades this, for we would not wish fighting by mistake.'
'I will have my woman join me, but one other will remain behind until we see if you speak truth, warrior of the Al Illa-Thuffi. And my name is Pharzool,' he added. Then he turned his head slightly and called, 'Leda, bring your bow and join me!'
The swarthy Achulka laughed a real laugh, showing white teeth and an honest smile as he did so. 'Yes, Gray-Lion-of-the-Mountains… Farzeel is certainly a good name for you. Why mispronounce it as those from the north do? And why pretend you have three in the camp when you are only two?'
Then it was Gord's turn to laugh. 'Fair enough, man of the Al Illa-Thuffi. I greet you as a not-enemy and ask what purpose you have in conferring with my woman and me.'
The four other tribesmen joined their leader just as Leda trotted up beside Gord, her bow and arrow still raised and her eyes narrowed. Achulka raised his eyebrows at his first good view of her and whistled like a hawk, his way of extolling the girl's strange but stunning beauty. Leda was both annoyed and pleased at his display, but more the latter than the former. She lowered her bow and held it and the arrow loosely in her left hand thereafter.
Achulka dismounted, and his fellow nomads followed suit, forming a loose line spread out behind him. The leader kept his eyes on the girl while addressing Gord. 'I see now why you are so fierce. Had I a woman like that, I too would be a lion! Is that not Yoli garb she wears? I recognize it as such, and the weapons too. Which of you took them from those dogs?'
Leda answered without the slightest hesitation. 'I did, with my own hands. The one who wore this mail and bore these arms now feeds the vultures.'
At that, Gord nodded solemnly, keeping his face a mask. The girl looked so intense as she spoke that it was all he could manage to not laugh. She said nothing but the absolute facts, of course.
'It is time for a council between us,' Achulka said, gesturing back toward his fellows to indicate whom he meant. 'Perhaps I have something to propose, but my brother warriors must agree first.'
Gord would not be put in the position of waiting for these nomads to decide what to do. 'We are riding south,' he said curtly. 'If you wish to speak further, you will surely find us in that direction. Leda, bring our horses forth. Farewell to you, men of the Al Illa-Thuffi.' As the woman turned and began walking back toward the camp, Gord continued to face the nomads and maintained an alert but unthreat-ening posture, legs slightly apart and hands on hips near his weapons.
The horsemen behind Achulka looked surprised at Gord's statement, and several black looks shot back and forth as hands touched sword hilts. Their leader hissed over his shoulder at them once, softly but sharply, and the other four regained their composure. 'Very well, Farzeel,' he said after a few seconds, his jaw set. 'If we care to speak with you and your warrior-woman further, we will seek you to the south. In fact, we are headed that way ourselves, but not until after we parley.'
Gord looked at each of the tribesmen in turn, not smiling but not challenging. He simply gazed so as to be able to recall their faces later, if he needed to. Each warrior looked away from the young adventurer's eyes after but a moment — except for Achulka, the last one Gord stared at, who returned his stare calmly but firmly. Gord broke the silence by saying, 'Come in peace if you come at all.' Then he turned on his heel and followed Leda back to where their horses were tethered. He did not expect the men to try to attack him from behind; indeed, when he reached the outcropping he turned back to see the five of them sitting in a circle on the ground, obviously engaged in conversation.
Gord and Leda rode for most of the day. He acted especially alert, casting furtive glances over his shoulder when he thought she was not looking. After they had trotted their horses due south for a time, Gord angled their path slightly to the east and picked up their speed to a canter. Leda knew without being told that he was doing this to widen the distance between themselves and the five nomads.
Speed and distance were important to them, but not at the expense of their steeds. Periodically, both Gord and Leda dismounted and walked for a short time to allow their mounts to rest. The horses snatched mouthfuls of tough grass as they walked, and Gord and Leda also ate on the move. This way they managed to keep covering ground with no pause. However, fatigue began to tell on Gord by mid-afternoon, for he had not been able to doze in the saddle as he had said he would do.
'How much longer can you manage, Gord?' asked Leda as they walked, with a look of genuine concern for him.
Gord smiled at her. 'For the rest of this day and tonight too, if necessary, girl. We won't have to keep up this pace much longer, though. I'm beginning to think that those nomads aren't likely to bother us — I'm just being extra cautious.'
At that the half-elven girl seemed momentarily relieved, but then she thought of something else. 'It's because of me that you are being so careful, isn't it?' she said. 'Achulka was very interested in me, and you think that he and his fellows will try to steal me.'
Gord had thought of that, but there was more to his desire for putting distance between themselves and the five horsemen than that. Gord was certain the nomads wanted something from them, and he saw no sense in tempting fate. 'I mean no offense, Leda, but even as beautiful and exotic as you are, we also have valuable horses, weapons, and other possessions most of these nomads would kill for. Before you came close enough for him to see, the man seemed very interested in these silver rings,' Gord said, gesturing to the bracelets on his chest. 'For many reasons, I wanted us to press on as quickly as we could. Better to have distance between us and possible friends
