Chapter 27

"Did he say what I think he said?" Nil demanded as he turned to Makro and Lavender. "Soldiers? Where could they be from and why are they here?"

"You don't think Father sent some to support us, do you?" May asked.

"It wasn't planned that way," Nil answered with a shrug. "I suppose it's possible, but I'd be surprised. I guess that makes more sense than somebody following us. Who else would even know we're here?"

"Maybe they're not here because of us," Fobie interjected. "Maybe they're just ... I don't know ... exploring. Lav, does that happen often?"

"Not for many, many seasons," Lav said shaking her head. "The flatlanders near the sea did so in the time of my great-great-grandfather, but not since."

"I suppose it's possible though," Nil mused. "Lav, it looks like your father is mobilizing his warriors." Nil was looking back over his shoulder where Chief Xolan was hurriedly giving orders to men rushing in and out of the room. The other chiefs were huddled with their own retainers and whispering among themselves. One warrior walked over to them and asked Nil to attend on Xolan. Telling the others to wait where they were Nil and Lavender approached Lavender's father.

"Know who these are?" Xolan asked Nil. "Yours?"

"Not that I know of," Nil answered with a shrug. "I don't expect any of our people, but I can't tell for certain until I see them."

"Come with us?"

"Yes, of course," Nil responded. "Do I have time to get my battle armor? If it is my people it couldn't hurt; if it's not..." Xolan grunted his assent and said they would be forming up outside and leaving in a quarter-hour. Gathering his women Nil hustled them out the door and toward their rooms.

"Get the captain; send him to me," Nil barked as he strode into their room and started donning his armor as quickly as possible. Lavender was doing the same. He briefly considered ordering her to stay behind but quickly cast the idea aside. Not only was she his shield-maid and he would feel uncomfortably bare without her at his back, the fact was she would be invaluable in working with the Kushitic. He didn't like it but she would be going with him. The others wouldn't and he quickly made that very clear over their vocal protests.

"Marc," Nil acknowledged the guard captain as he entered the room. "I want four of your guards to go with Lavender and myself. You and the rest will stay here. Be ready to move and move fast. Your only concern is the safety of the women; everything else is expendable. Carry what you need but be prepared to abandon the rest."

"Yes, My Lord," the captain replied. "If we need to retreat where should we meet with you?"

"Here if possible but if not then try to meet with the ships when they're scheduled to return," Nil ordered. "If that's the case you'll have to be extremely careful; it could be the town is held by unfriendlies. Worst case, go to ground. Sooner or later Jeevel will come for us if we don't show up on time. My ladies will know where I am at all times but that is not your concern; yours is to protect them." He turned toward Makro, his other sisters and Rabszolga but still spoke to the captain. "They are under your command. I know Princesses Makro, Fobie and Deimie technically outrank you, but for now they are to take your orders. Is that clear?" The last being addressed to the women and as one they nodded in agreement.

"Good. Are you ready, Lav? Fine, then we'll be off. Ladies, a kiss goodbye and we're gone."

Nil and Lavender met with the Kushitic as they formed up ready to leave. There were about a hundred and fifty of them and Nil was pretty sure only half of them were from Xolan's clan. The Kushitic didn't wear uniforms per se but there were subtle differences between the various groups in the formation, mostly the predominant colors displayed. The Kushitic began to move and Nil, Lavender and their four guards fell in just behind Xolan who was deeply involved in a discussion with another chief.

"I'm surprised your father isn't taking more men," Nil noted to Lavender walking by his side.

"What do you mean?" she asked clearly puzzled. "This is every warrior available. There are a few remaining who are not well enough to travel, or too old, but all are going who can."

"I suppose there are quite a few scouting and stationed other places," he grunted. "But I expected more to be available."

"Ah, I think I understand," she said and then paused for a moment. "Nil, My Lord, there is something I do not think you understand. The Kushitic are a great people, a proud people, but not a numerous people. How many of us do you think there are?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "You're spread out all over these mountains; there are what, twelve, thirteen clans? Maybe fifteen or twenty thousand? More?"

"No, my Lord," Lavender shook her head. "About three thousand five hundred in total among all the clans. Of that maybe seven in ten are women and children. Then there are the aged and infirmed. Maybe two in ten are warriors capable of battle."

"Shit!" Nil hissed and stopped so quickly one of his guards ran into his back with a grunt. Nodding his apology Nil started walking again as Lavender looked on with an amused expression.

"You're telling me the Kushitic have only about six hundred, maybe seven hundred warriors altogether?" he asked Lavender incredulously. "You have got to be kidding me."

"I would never do that to you, Nil." Lavender admonished. "It is true."

"Damn!" Nil swore. "We'd better hope these visitors are ours because if they aren't it could get real ugly around here."

"We have over a hundred and fifty warriors. How many would we need?" she protested.

"Depends on how many of them there are, I would say," he mused. "From what I've seen, your father's warriors are good; but quantity has a quality all its own. I wouldn't hesitate matching up our own Jeevelian soldiers one-on-one with them and while I think we're some of the best, we can't assume everyone else is that much worse. If there are a lot of them, well..."

"But they do not have us," Lavender responded with utter confidence.

"That's true my dear blood-thirsty warrior," he chuckled. "But we're only good for fifty or sixty between us."

"Besides," she continued as if he hadn't said anything. "You have not seen our shiakye in battle yet."

Nil glanced over at the trailing Florien and Cerberus. In addition to their own two dogs there were another thirty or forty scattered throughout the formation.

"I'll take you word for that," he said with a shrug. "I admit they are individually very formidable, but..."

"But nothing," Lav assured him. "You would be surprised at just how formidable they can be; I know any enemy will be."

"But you haven't had anybody attack you for years," Nil continued. "It's not like they've been battle-tested."

"Neither have you," she countered. "But that does not matter. They are born with the knowledge they need. You will see, if it comes to that."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Nil sighed.

The Kushitic's long legs and ground-eating stride forced Nil and his guards to follow at a slow jog causing them to break out in a fine sheen of sweat even in the cool mountain air. The journey back down to where they first entered Kushitic country was much quicker than the initial trip, unencumbered by wagons as they were, and driven by a more immediate purpose. Still it surprised Nil when Xolan called a halt just below a gentle rise in the road. There had been numerous runners going back and forth from the main column as they traveled so it was unlikely what was on the other side was going to be much of a surprise. Nil guessed, correctly, that Xolan had no intention of letting the foreign forces, whoever they might be, know the Kushitic had a sizable contingent in the area. Xolan motioned for Nil to join him and Nil and Lavender did so letting the Jeevelian guards rest from their short run.

"Chief Xolan," Nil nodded as he approached Lavender's father.

"Two hundred fifty, maybe three hundred," Xolan started without any preliminary pleasantries. "Wear red with gold, all."

"Doesn't sound like my people," Nil said with a shake of his head. Jeevel used mostly purple with yellow trim on their regular uniforms. "Red and gold: that seems familiar to me for some reason, but I can't seem to recall where I saw it," he admitted.

"Durhorn," Lavender interjected from her accustomed place behind him.

"What?" came Nil's startled response as he looked back at her. "Durhorn?"

"The Durhorn guards in Salas wore red and gold," she reminded him.

"Why, so they did. But what in the hell would Durhorn be doing here?" he asked. She just shrugged. "That could be ... unpleasant."

"Know them?" Xolan demanded.

"Maybe," Nil admitted. "Know of them, anyway. We had a small problem with an official from that country awhile ago and far away. But I don't see how they would know I'm here. It could be just a coincidence."

"Argument?" Xolan inquired the hint of a smile on his lips.

"Fatal argument," Nil admitted. "If it really is Durhorn and they've heard of me, I doubt they will be very happy if they knew I was here." Now Xolan's hint of a smile broke out into a wide grin and there were a number of grunts and coughs from the other chiefs who surrounded them, listening. Nil half expected a number of the other chiefs to suggest turning him over to the invaders if it did turn out to be his enemy but there was never even a hint of that from the onlookers.

"We are a proud and stubborn people," Lavender whispered into his ear. "We would never turn over our worst enemy if it was demanded."

"So that's where you got it," Nil whispered back.

"I am not stubborn!" Lavender protested. Nil could only respond with a snort; it covered the laugh that almost came out.

Xolan decided that their small group, the other clan chiefs, Nil and Lavender would walk up to the crest of the ridge to get a better view of what exactly was happening while the rest of the main body remained out of sight and prepared for battle if one was necessary. As they mounted the crest Nil saw the road stretch out below them running up to the wall delineating Kushitic territory.

From his vantage point Nil could see the foreign troops standing at ease on the far side of the wall along with three wagons, undoubtedly their supply train. They milled about a bit so it was difficult to get an exact count of their numbers but Nil was comfortable with the Kushitic's estimate although he would have guessed at closer to three hundred. He also noticed there were at least a dozen Kushitic warriors on their side of the wall rather than the four that had been there when they passed through. The gate was closed and one of the Kushitic was standing on a box and speaking to one of the foreigners.

Maybe speaking wasn't quite the right term. Although it was too far away to hear them, given the gesturing and waving of weapons, there seemed to be a lot more shouting going on than talking. One of the Kushitic looked up and saw the group standing on the ridge. He brought them to the attention of the one on the wall who, after a few hurried words, sent the guard running up the hill towards them.

"This is no little scouting party," Nil commented on the obvious. "You're right, Lav: Those uniforms do look like the ones the Durhorn guards were wearing in Salas. What in the hell are they doing here?"

The Durhorn commander arguing with the Kushitic on the wall ― at least that was who Nil assumed he was ― noticed them at about the same time and turned around suddenly to bellow orders to his troops. Suddenly the Durhorn troops stopped their lounging about and rushed to form up into ranks in a surprisingly short amount of time.

"Huh," Nil grunted. "They're well trained at the least." Lavender merely nodded.

The runner from the wall reached their group and began talking very quickly to Xolan and the other assembled chiefs. He was talking quickly enough that Nil was having trouble following what he was saying. He looked over at Lavender for help.

"They are from Durhorn," Lavender repeated. "They say they are looking for dangerous criminals ― that would be us I assume ― and they demand that we be brought to them or they will come in and take us. Dumisani ― he is the one on the wall ― has naturally refused and called the Durhorn chief a tiny-cocked son of a mountain goat..." she paused for a moment and chuckled. "If I did not know any better I would say he has been taking diplomacy lessons from you."

"Lav," Nil said trying to sound hurt, "I take exception to that. I think you've been talking to Makro too much. Besides, if you think my diplomatic expertise is somewhat lacking, you should see my father. He doesn't respond well to threats, insults or flattery particularly well, no matter how subtle. From what I've seen diplomacy is nothing more that saying the nastiest things with a smile. May is good at that; I'm not. I suppose I see Father's point though: It's a lot easier to come to an agreement with a particularly disagreeable person if he's dead."

"Yes," Lav grinned. "I have to agree with you."

"I know you do, my love," he said patting her arm. "That's why people like us need people like May around. Our way, the discussions are shorter but it's harder to get them to sign an agreement afterwards."

"But our way is a lot more fun," she laughed.

"I don't know. May seems to really enjoy her verbal battles," he said and then shrugged. "To each her own I guess."

"Her tongue can be as sharp as a knife," Lav agreed. "It would appear we will not have to worry about being talked to death here." Nil looked to where she was pointing at the wall. The Durhorn troops had formed up and were advancing towards the wall under the urging of their officers.