Cy slid away, getting slowly to his feet. The raider looked around for his scimitar. It was lying in the dirt a few yards away. As he moved to retrieve it, the chain-wielder fell to his knees, bright red blood covering his hands, and a look of complete disbelief filled his eyes. Before Cy had retrieved his blade, the man was facedown on the dirt.
Cy took a deep breath and looked around. The houses were completely consumed by flames. The screaming and chaotic sounds of the raiders riding through the village had stopped. His own horse was nowhere in sight, and he cursed his bad luck for having ridden past this chain-swinging baboon. He felt around his own body to assess the damage. The bruise on his chest where the chain had taken him off his horse had already turned deep purple. His tailbone and back were sore but functional. He had lost a couple of teeth, but his jaw worked well enough for him to be able to enjoy supper around the campfire that night, and that was all he needed to know.
Sheathing his sword, Cy walked over to the blond man. His enchanted dagger lay just past the man's fallen fingertips. The chain-wielder lay facedown in a good-sized puddle of his own cooling blood. Cy wiped the dagger off on the back of the fallen man's dark robes.
The sound of horse hooves lifted over the crackling of the burning thatch roofs. Cy spun around, his dagger in hand.
That was a nice bit of fighting, if I do say so myself."
Cy recognized the speaker-Lume, the captain of the raiding party. He rode up on his horse and stopped just in front of the fallen man.
"Sir?" Cy looked down at his bruises and bleeding wounds.
"I saw the whole thing. Most of the rest of this scum-" He waved his arm over his shoulder toward the forest and the raiding party-"would be dead after fighting a man like that."
"Thank you, sir."
Cy looked down at the blade of his dagger and twirled it absently.
"If all my men could fight like that, we'd be able to take Karsus without the rest of Olostin's raiders."
Lume dismounted and walked over to the dead man. He kicked him once in the ribs, then rolled him over with his boot.
The man's eyes were open but unfocused. His mouth hung wide as if he were trying to catch a last breath, and blood still trickled down his neck, but it was already starting to harden into scabs.
Lume regarded the dead man for a moment then said, "You know, Cy, I think I might just have a job for you. Stop by my tent in the morning, and we'll discuss the details."
Lume put one foot in a stirrup and swung his weight into his saddle.
"In the meantime," the captain said, "head back to camp. The rest of the party has the villagers well in hand."
Lume turned his horse back toward the village.
"And one more thing, Cy," he said over his shoulder.
"Yes, sir?"
"Enjoy yourself around the campfire tonight, and don't forget to get your share of the booty. We made a good haul this time."
"Thank you, sir, I will."
The evening's festivities were grand. The raiders had made their biggest haul ever. One of the men had ransacked Kath's stock of supplies and come up with several kegs of good red wine and a large cask of mead. There was more than enough in those barrels to make the fifty or so raiders in Су's party jolly as monks in a vineyard.
The campfire raged. The wine flowed freely. Men told stories of their conquests during the raids. The men they had fought grew larger and more fearsome as the evening wore on. The riches they had stolen became fortunes even the most powerful kings would envy. They laughed and danced and lied to each other until they had all passed out. Then they slept. They would be allowed their excesses for the evening since their booty had been so large. Captain Lume didn't participate in the camp-fires, but he didn't wake the men early after a good night's haul.
Yes, life as one of Olostin's raiders was very fulfilling for someone like Cy. He had the freedom to do what he wanted, so long as it didn't directly contradict the orders he had been given, and he had the camaraderie of the other raiders. He had riches and wine, and from time to time he even had the affections of a lady or two. All in all, life was good.
"You're quite fast, Cy," complimented Lume. Cy had woken just before midday, and after he had dunked his head in a rain barrel and re-bandaged his wounds from the fight the night before, he went to see his captain.
"Thank you, sir."
Cy didn't have a military background, but he believed in giving respect to his elders. Lume was the captain of the raiding party and at least ten years older than Cy, so he figured the man deserved the title of "sir."
"Sit down, please." Lume pointed to a simple chair in the corner of his tent.
Cy nodded and did as he was told.
For a tent, Lume's place was comfortable and well appointed. A hammock stretched from a pole holding up the center of the roof in the middle of the tent to another support forming the corner. A desk sat in the opposite corner with a chair behind it and a large chest beside. Papers were stacked in neat piles on the desk, and a large water pipe sat near them. It was lit, and Lume took a few puffs on it while Cy got comfortable.
The captain leaned forward in his chair, bracing himself against the desk.
"How long have you been with this raiding party, Cy?"
"About a year now, sir."
"Is that all?" he asked.
Су nodded.
"You know, I hate to admit it, but I've been working for Olostin for fifteen years. I've been leading raiding parties for almost five years now." He leaned back in his chair. "I'm afraid I lose track of all of the young men whom I've seen come and go. I would have thought you'd been with this group longer, but I guess I'm just remembering someone else."
Lume looked at the palm of his hand for a moment. Cy shifted in his chair.
"Cy, I make no apologies for the mistakes of other men. If a man in my party gets himself killed, then it's his own fault."
He looked the younger man up and down then stared him right in the eyes. Cy held his gaze for a moment, then let it fall.
"If I can't remember how long you've been with this group it's only because I've seen hundreds of others just like you get killed. To tell the honest truth, I can't even remember any of their names. To me, they could have all been named Cy."
Lume chuckled at this. Cy did not. The captain became serious and once again looked Cy over. "I'll come to the point, Cy. I have a job for you." "Sir," he said, not sure what else he could say. "You're as good with that dagger as I've seen in a long while, and you managed to keep yourself alive last night. I'm hoping," continued Lume, "that you'll manage to get yourself out of this little project alive as well. Tell me, what do you know about our illustrious leader Olostin?" "Sir, I know he fights to stop the tyranny of the arch-wizards, sir."
"That's a good practiced answer if I've ever heard one." Cy was startled and began to stand to defend himself. Lume raised his hand and started to laugh. "It's all right, son," he said. "You've got the basic idea."
Cy settled back down into the chair. He felt as if he has been scolded by his father.
"Do you want to stop the… tyranny of the arch-wizards?"
Cy just looked at the captain, wondering where all of this was leading. For a man who said he was going to get to the point, he sure had a round about way of getting there, Cy thought, and all of this questioning of his loyalty and teasing about his age was starting to make him angry.
"Well, Cy?" The captain raised his voice. "Do you believe in what we're fighting for?"