There was no sound of horns that day, but a fleet of lumbering Trogite ships sailed into the bay of Lattash about midafternoon. That definitely brightened Rabbit’s day. His supply of bronze had finally arrived.
The Trogite Commander Narasan went down to the beach to greet his army, and after a bit of discussion he came back up the beach accompanied by four other armored Trogites. They were quite a bit shorter than the Maags Rabbit was more familiar with, and like Commander Narasan, they all wore tight-fitting black leather clothing, iron vests, and helmets. Their heavy swords were belted to their waists, and their boots were sturdy and well made.
Narasan paused as the Trogite delegation passed the arrow shop. “Would you like to join us, Rabbit?” he asked. “We’re going to discuss our strategy with Sorgan and the others, and you may have some contributions to make.”
“I’ll sit in if you want,” Rabbit agreed, “but I don’t know too much about strategy and the like.”
“That’s what I’m hoping, Rabbit,” Narasan replied. “Professionals tend to have their concepts locked in stone, so we overlook possibilities that might occur to a clever but inexperienced fellow like you.”
Rabbit was a little dubious, but he joined the Trogite soldiers walking toward Zelana’s cave.
“I don’t want to be offensive,” a very young and sincere-sounding Trogite soldier said to Rabbit, “but aren’t you just a bit small for a Maag? I’ve never encountered Maags before, but I’ve heard that most of them are about seven feet tall.”
“You wouldn’t believe how many other people have noticed the same thing,” Rabbit replied sourly.
“My name’s Keselo, by the way,” the young fellow introduced himself. “Is your name really Rabbit?”
“That’s what they call me. I don’t like it all that much, but up until a little while ago, the name served its purpose. My main goal in life was to sort of stay out of sight. Then Longbow came along and spoiled everything.”
“Longbow?”
“He’s a Dhrall archer who’s so good with his bow that if we gave him enough arrows, he could probably win this war all by himself.”
“You’re joking, of course.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure,” Rabbit replied.
Rabbit and Keselo followed Narasan and the three other Trogites into the cave, where Hook-Beak, Ox, and Ham-Hand were waiting.
“My men have finally arrived, Sorgan,” Narasan said. “This bulky one who’s going bald is Gunda. His lanky friend is Padan, the thin one is Jalkan, and the boy is Keselo. Gunda, Jalkan, and Padan have been with my army quite a while, and Keselo’s sort of an apprentice.”
“Gentlemen,” Sorgan said with a brief nod, “this is my first mate, Ox, and the other one’s my second mate, Kryda Ham-Hand.”
“Colorful names,” Padan observed.
“It’s a Maag peculiarity, Padan,” Narasan said. “Their names tend to be descriptive.”
“Ah,” Padan said. “My friends, Hairless Gunda, Scrawny Jalkan, and I are pleased to make your acquaintance, gentlemen.”
“Watch your mouth, Padan,” Gunda growled.
“I’m glad your people made it, Narasan,” Sorgan said. “The weather could turn just about any time now, and once the snow melts off, things are likely to get exciting up in that ravine. I wouldn’t want them to miss any of the fun.”
“Did your cousin manage to get back up to where his people are building that fort?” Narasan asked.
“He hasn’t sent word back yet, but he’s probably there. Once Skell sets his mind to something, he usually manages to pull it off. He’s stubborn and bad-tempered, but I can always count on him to do what he’s supposed to do. Something came to me last night that we might want to think about. You and I are professionals, Narasan, and when we’re working for money, we don’t let old dislikes get in the way. Some of our people get excited when they come across traditional enemies, though—the younger fellows for the most part. I think it’s one of those things a man has to outgrow. If we’re going to move up the ravine along those benches on either side of the river, I think maybe I’d better take one side, and you should take the other. That’ll put the river between us. The young fellows can shout curses at each other, but that’s about all.”
“I get your point, Sorgan,” Narasan agreed. “Which bench do you want? North or south?”
“I’m going to move my ships away from yours anyway,” Sorgan replied. “We don’t want them to be anchored side by side for the same reason that we don’t want our armies on the same side of the river. That’ll put me closer to the north bench, so I’ll take that one, if it’s all right with you.”
“Quite appropriate, Sorgan. Maags are Northmen, and we Trogites are Southerners.”
“You know, I’ve noticed the same thing myself,” Sorgan said.
5
The day was cloudy and calm, and the smiths were busy melting down Trogite bronze to cast more arrowheads in the clay molds. It was about midafternoon when Longbow came out of Zelana’s cave. “I think you’d better come inside, Rabbit,” he said. “There’s something you should probably know about.”
“Is it important? I’m sort of busy right now.”
“Your friends here know what they’re doing. You don’t have to stand over them. This is a matter of some seriousness.”
“Hammer,” Rabbit called out to the smith of Skell’s ship, the Shark, “take over here. Lady Zelana needs to talk with me.”
“If you say so, Rabbit,” Hammer agreed.
Hammer’s obedient attitude gave Rabbit a warm little glow. He knew that it was sort of childish, but his recent elevation among the ranks of the Maags was very satisfying for some reason. “What’s afoot?” he asked Longbow as the two of them went toward the mouth of Zelana’s cave.
Longbow smiled faintly. “I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise for you, my little friend.”
“Why do you always have to be that way?”
“For the fun of it, I suppose.”
“You’ve been spending way too much time with baby sister, Longbow,” Rabbit said sourly.
There seemed to be quite a crowd of people in Zelana’s cave. Most of them were fairly important, and that suggested to Rabbit that there might be some sort of crisis in the wind. The two chiefs, White-Braid and Old-Bear, were standing off to one side, along with the thin old man who seemed to have quite a bit of authority in Old-Bear’s tribe. Sorgan and Narasan, along with several other Maags and Trogites, were also there, and Zelana, her two brothers, and her older sister were at the back of the large chamber where Zelana spent most of her time. Eleria was there as well, along with three other children.