Chapter 7: Upon the Altar of Astur

"Follow me, and quietly," Chinzel commanded, his slight form taking on added stature as he led them through the seemingly trackless swamps. Twice more, he blew on his talisman, shrill blasts that made Ashaia wince. Gortai darted swift glances behind them and to both sides, trying to catch a glimpse of the swamp dwellers he was sure surrounded them, but it was on the trail ahead of them that one first appeared. Shantar motioned the others to silence as Chinzel called out a low greeting to the swamp dweller.

"Hail, Argul," he called. "It is I, Chinzel of Talai, bringing friends."

"These are not of the Brotherhood." The accusing voice was a deep, croaking bass that sprang oddly from Argul's slender frame, the man's wide, lipless mouth and bulging eyes reminding Shantar of some moist swamp creature. "Why do you bring them here to us?"

"I have promised them safe passage to Talai," Chinzel answered in a firm voice. "They would avoid both the King's soldiers and the priests of Kathool."

Argul winced at the name of Kathool. "I shall take you to our village, where you will no doubt be made welcome," he told them sullenly. "But our chief may have more to say about these friends of yours."

He led them off at a sharp angle, and in moments the ground beneath their feet rose until once more they rode on firm ground. Trees surrounded them in massive columns as they rode slowly onward, roots springing from high up on the tapering trunks and curving out and down to form graceful arches. The ground was dry now, the mild rain having dwindled away to nothing as they rode.

Without quite knowing how it had happened, Shantar suddenly realized that they had arrived in the midst of a village. Small, slender figures of men and women, their pale yellow skins scantily clad in scraps of brown cloth, appeared from all sides. Even tinier children peeked shyly from behind every tree and bush. They pulled their ponies to a halt in the middle of a large clearing, waiting for their hosts to make the first move.

"Welcome to our village in the swamps!" The deep, booming voice came from a man who might well have been Argul's older brother. His straight black hair was lightly silvered, his round face deeply lined, but his body was as trimly muscular as any. "The friends of our kinsman Chinzel are as welcome as he. Your ponies will be taken care of, and there is food and drink in plenty awaiting you."

"I thank you, Chief Horgun," Chinzel replied solemnly. "My friends and I come in peace, asking refuge from our enemies and yours."

This simple ceremony over, their ponies were led away and the travelers were surrounded by curious villagers. It was almost time for the noonday meal, and the smell of wood smoke and cooking food filled the air. The chief led them to where several of his wives were laying out platters of food in the center of a circle of woven reed mats.

"Be seated, and partake of our food," he invited, the solemn gravity of his bearing contrasting oddly with his almost complete lack of clothing.

The food was delicious, and not merely because of the long morning of hard riding with no breakfast to sustain them. The Chief's wives beamed as food disappeared in wholesale quantities, and Chief Horgun was content to let talk wait until their appetites had been satisfied.

"It has been long since you last visited us, friend Chinzel," he spoke when his visitors at last showed signs of slowing down. "What brings you and your friends our way? And with both soldiers and Kathool's foul priests hot on your trail?"

"It began as a simple trip to check out the country home of a certain fat dowager," Chinzel related, drawing a knowing smile from the Chief. "Word had come to us that she kept an unusually large collection of jewelry there, and I was sent by the guild to see if it was true. It was, and I was heading back to Talai when I met up with these people. I had been traveling along behind them for some time, keeping them in sight. Rumor had it that a fat reward could be had for information about certain hill men. They noticed my interest, and invited me to join them. I didn't want to, at first, but when I found out who they were, and why they were wanted, I consented, promising them that I would bring them by the fastest road to Talai."

"And just who are they that you should promise them so much, so easily?" The Chief eyed them keenly, his penetrating gaze returning ever and again to Ashaia who sat with her back to a tree root, delicately licking the last traces of grease from her fingertips. "Who is this girl who goes dressed as a man, sitting and eating with men as their equal?"

Chinzel leaned forward, as though to give his words more weight. "This girl who dresses as a man is the reason why the priests have stirred up the countryside, combing every hiding place in search of her. They know that if she reaches Talai, many priestly heads will roll, leaving green clad shoulders untenanted. Chief Horgun of the Swampy Domains, I bring with me as my guest the Princess Ashaia, herself!"

"This is true?" The little chief sprang to his feet, the better to peer into the faces of his guests. "Yes, I see that it is. By what right do you do this? Even though your mother was stolen away, even though you have been taken into the tribe as a son and a brother, you had no right to do this! To bring here the sister of the Tiger King himself is rank folly! We have lived in these swamps for countless generations, finding safety in silence and stealth, and now you have revealed our selves and our village to the highest of authorities."

"He did so under threat of death," Shantar spoke up bluntly before Chinzel could answer. "From our hands if he did not aid us, or from the priests of Kathool if we were captured. In spite of our actions, he has acted with honor. I would not see him blamed for what he could not avoid."

"That may be the truth as you see it," Chief Horgun retorted sternly. "But he did not have to bring you to our village. He could just as easily have led you through our swamp without revealing our presence."

"I did so with full knowledge of the consequences, brother of my mother. There is war stirring in the land, and neither you nor I have any love for the green robes who are doing the stirring. I would not see Kath ruled over by them. King Khamul, as poorly as his family has ruled us in the past, is far preferable. Certainly, I have no wish to have my soul sent to serve their filthy Kathool. I brought them here because it was the quickest way to get them where they must go. These men are honorable warriors, far better to have as friends than as enemies. Princess Ashaia will not betray our secrets. In any case, I am sure that if the morning finds her in Talai, none will guess that on this night she was in the GreatSouthSwamp!" Chinzel sat proudly erect, his receding jaw firmly set.

"What is done cannot with honor be undone," Horgun sighed. "We shall take them to Talai under cover of darkness. None shall see them pass, for tonight is a night when the very Gods might walk. You have come on the eve of the Night of Astur! Tonight is the night when She walks on silver goat hooves. Her horns of jet gleam clear in the light of the three moons. She dances in the moonlight, attended by her thousand children! Aieeh, we shall rejoice in Her presence, and afterwards we shall speed our guests on their way." His deep voice dropped to a more normal level, but his eyes still glowed with religious fervor. "You shall find that the true worship of the Goddess Astur, patroness of the fish that swim, the plants that grow, and the animals that live in the freedom of the wild forests, is a far different thing than the debased rituals you find among the harlots of the cities. The ceremonies begin at dusk. Until then, you are made free of our village."