‘One day,’ Karsa said, ‘that Rathyd warleader shall kneel before me. This, I vow, here, on the blood of his kin, I so vow.’
The air was suddenly chill. Silence hung in the glade except for the muted buzz of flies.
Delum’s eyes were wide, his expression one of fear.
Bairoth turned away. ‘That vow shall destroy you, Karsa Orlong. No Rathyd kneels before an Uryd. Unless you prop his lifeless corpse against a tree stump. You now seek the impossible, and that is a path to madness.’
‘One vow among many I have made,’ Karsa said. ‘And each shall be kept. Witness, if you dare.’
Bairoth paused from studying the grey bear’s fur and defleshed skull-the Rathyd trophies-and glanced back at Karsa. ‘Do we have a choice?’
‘If you still breathe, then the answer is no, Bairoth Gild.’
‘Remind me to tell you one day, Karsa Orlong.’
‘Tell me of what?’
‘What life is like, for those of us in your shadow.’
Delum stepped close to Karsa. ‘You have wounds that need mending, Warleader.’
‘Aye, but for now, only the sword-cut. We must return to our horses and ride.’
‘Like a Lanyd arrow.’
‘Aye, just so, Delum Thord.’
Bairoth called out, ‘Karsa Orlong, I shall collect for you your trophies.’
‘Thank you, Bairoth Gild. We shall take that fur and skull, as well. You and Delum may keep those.’
Delum turned to face Bairoth. ‘Take them, brother. The grey bear better suits you than me.’
Bairoth nodded his thanks, then waved towards the dismembered warrior. ‘His ears and tongue are yours, Delum Thord.’
‘It is so, then.’
Among the Teblor, the Rathyd bred the fewest horses; despite this, there were plenty of wide runs from glade to glade down which Karsa and his companions could ride. In one of the clearings they had come upon an adult and two youths tending to six destriers. They had ridden them down, blades flashing, pausing only to collect trophies and gather up the horses, each taking two on a lead. An hour before darkness fell, they came to a forking of the trail, rode down the lower of the two for thirty paces, then released the leads and drove the Rathyd horses on. The three Uryd warriors then slipped a single, short rope around the necks of their own mounts, just above the collar bones, and with gentle, alternating tugs walked them backwards until they reached the fork, whereupon they proceeded onto the higher trail. Fifty paces ahead, Delum dismounted and backtracked to obscure their trail.
With the wheel taking shape overhead, they cut away from the rocky path and found a small clearing in which they made camp. Bairoth cut slices from the bear meat and they ate. Delum then rose to attend to the horses, using wet moss to wipe them down. The beasts were tired and left unhobbled to allow them to walk the clearing and stretch their necks.
Examining his wounds, Karsa noted that they had already begun to knit. So it was among the Teblor. Satisfied, he found his flask of blood-oil and set to repairing his weapon. Delum rejoined them and he and Bairoth followed suit.
‘Tomorrow,’ Karsa said, ‘we leave this trail.’
‘Down to the wider, easier ones in the valley?’ Bairoth asked.
‘If we are quick,’ Delum said, ‘we can pass through Rathyd land in a single day.’
‘No, we lead our horses higher, onto the goat and sheep trails,’ Karsa replied. ‘And we reverse our path for the length of the morning. Then we ride down into the valley once more. Bairoth Gild, with the hunt out, who will remain in the village?’
The heavy man drew out his new bear cloak and wrapped it about himself before answering. ‘Youths. Women. The old and the crippled.’
‘Dogs?’
‘No, the hunt will have taken those. So, Warleader, we attack the village.’
‘Yes. Then we find the hunt’s trail.’
Delum drew a deep breath and was slow in its release. ‘Karsa Orlong, the village of our victims thus far is not the only village. In the first valley alone there are at least three more. Word will go out. Every warrior will ready his sword. Every dog will be unleashed and sent out into the forest. The warriors may not find us, but the dogs will.’
‘And then,’ Bairoth growled, ‘there are three more valleys to cross.’
‘Small ones,’ Karsa pointed out. ‘And we cross them at the south ends, a day or more hard riding from the north mouths and the heart of the Rathyd lands.’
Delum said, ‘There will be such a foment of anger pursuing us, Warleader, that they will follow us into the valleys of the Sunyd.’