Viperhand - Douglas Niles [52]
Hoxitl shrugged. He had bigger problems to worry about than the objections of the priest of this minor town-problems such as the location of the woman, Erixitl. Inwardly he blanched as he recalled the fates of his two apprentices.
"We will do the best we can," he said. "We know little-nothing, really-about these strangers. I have had the chance to observe one of them in Nexal, and he seems human in most respects."
"I know someone who knows these strangers. She even speaks their tongue!" offered Shatil.
"Who?" demanded the two priests together.
"My sister! She met the white men when they first landed in Payit, even learning to speak their lanuage!" Sbatil said eagerly.
"Splendid!" said Hoxitl. "Send her to the village before the invaders get here. She will be very useful for translating."
"I shall summon her immediately," said Shatil, flattered by Hoxitl's attention. "I know Erixitl will be proud at the honor we do her."
"What is it?" asked Zilti in alarm. He had watched, astonished, as the patriarch's face flushed. Hoxitl shook his head as if he had been struck dumb and needed to clear his mind. "It's… nothing," said Hoxitl, struggling to contain his glee. "Your plan is a splendid one," he told Shatil. "Very good indeed."
The long column snaked over the green ridgetops and back down into the lush valleys. Water and food, as Tbkol had promised, were plentiful. Also, garbed in the lighter cotton armor, the legion moved at a brisk pace. A bright sun shone from a clear sky overhead, as it had throughout their march from Kultaka.
"By tomorrow we shall reach Palul," explained Tbkol, standing beside Cordell atop the crest of a ridge.
"Darien is observing the village even now," said the commander, gesturing toward the ridges before them. The Kultakan had told him that Palul was still two or three valleys away. With a shudder, the young chief looked to the west, trying to understand the power of this woman who could fly, disappear from sight, or slay a great man like his father simply by raising her hand.
Behind them, the column extended to the bottom of the valley they had just passed through. The five hundred men of the Golden Legion marched in the fore, followed by twenty thousand Kultakan warriors and the five thousand warriors of the Payit. Cordell reflected, with quiet pride, that never had he had so many men under his command.
And never had such a tempting objective loomed before him. The images of gold and silver danced through his mind, enlivened by the many tales he had heard of the wealth of storied Nexal. The tales of the pyramids, of the size of the city, and the wealth that had been collected there after many years of taxing their subjects made his pulse pound.
Ibkol gasped and stepped suddenly backward. Cordell looked up to see Darien. The elven mage had appeared on the ridge beside them. She was completely muffled in her robe today, for the sun was very bright.
"I have seen the village," she explained. "Actually, it is more like a city by the standards of Faerun. It seems to have nearly a thousand houses in the community itself, and many more spread across the surrounding hills and valley"
"Any activity there?"
"Yes. In fact, they seem to be preparing a feast. The women were placing flowers and feathered blankets all around their square. My guess is that they are preparing to welcome us."
The news was eminently pleasing to Cordell. "Perhaps we won't have to fight a battle at every stop after all," he observed. "If they're planning a feast, let's not keep them waiting."
"No! I don't want to talk to the invaders!" Erix tried to keep her voice down, but she couldn't hide her tension.
"You have to. It's important, more important than you can imagine," argued Shatil. The two of them stood in the small yard before their father's house. Lotil was inside, working at his loom.
"You are the only one here who can understand them!" persisted her brother.
Erix avoided looking over her shoulder at the town. In her vision, it had grown darker every day, every time she looked at it. Now all she