Blade bent, one arm dipping to snatch up the spear of a fallen Senar. Then the arm straightened with a snap, and the spear flashed across the clearing and into the warrior's back. He threw his arms up; sword flying into the air, and toppled. Blade followed the spear across the clearing, cut down another warrior who ran at him, and reached the girl. Quick slashes with his own sword, and the ropes fell away.
As they did, the girl collapsed to the ground, eyes rolling up in her head. For a moment Blade thought she was dead; then he saw a faint motion of her breast. Thrusting his sword into his belt and dropping his shield, he got the helpless girl up on his back.
When he raised his head, he saw that Rilgon's warriors had either fled or gone down. Most of those who had gone down lay still on the tramped-down earth of the path, but some were still writhing and moaning. Blade and two of the Purple River Blenar moved among them, putting them out of their pain.
They had just finished doing this when the Purple River rear guard came up. Behind them Blade could see a much reduced group of Senar, several of them wounded, all of them hanging back at a safe distance. Without a word, the Blenar leader pointed at the woods along the river. The rescue force formed a double line and turned off the path.
They moved north along the bank of the river for nearly two hours, not stopping or slowing below a fast jog. For all his iron endurance, Blade found himself hard put to match the pace with the extra burden of the girl on his back.
The two hours passed without incident, however. Perhaps they had outrun warning of their presence. Or perhaps the local Senar took one look at the force of grim-faced, armored Blenar pounding along the riverbank and thought better of tackling them. There were twenty-four left out of the thirty that had come into the village. Behind them lay nearly forty of Rilgon's men, both Blenar and Senar.
After about two hours the raiders paused for a short breather in a particularly dense and deserted patch of forest. Blade sat down with a thud and let the girl slide to the ground. She was still unconscious, but breathing regularly, and circulation was obviously returning to her hands and feet. By morning she might be able to walk.
Blade would have liked to ask a few questions about who his rescuers were, where they were taking him, and why. But before he could get up enough breath to say a word, the leader called everybody to his feet. Two of the warriors picked up the girl between them, to relieve Blade. Then the whole party set out again, this time veering sharply to the northwest, away from the river.
They marched, with only one more stop, until well after dawn. By then they were deep into the forest, and there had been no sign of pursuit since they left the first village. But the leader was still careful to hide the camp in thick undergrowth and brush away his raiders' tracks for many yards back. Only then did he unsling his own shield and weapons and pull off his helmet.
Blade was prepared to respect the leader for this. However, that did not mean he was willing to keep from asking any of the pointed questions he had in mind. Blade got the girl awake and gave her some water. Her name was Melyna, and she had been taken prisoner in the ambush of a hunting party. She had tried to adapt to Senar captivity as best she could, horrifying as it was, in the hope of somehow being able to escape. But there had been no chance. Finally she simply didn't care any more whether she lived or died. Hence the rebellion and the death sentence from which Blade had rescued her.
When he had finished listening to Melyna, Blade rose and went over to where the leader was sitting on the grass, rubbing his sword with oil from a small copper vial. He looked up as Blade approached.
«Greetings, Blade. You have come to satisfy your curiosity on various matters, have you not?»
Blade nodded emphatically. «Such as who you are, where you are from, where you are taking me, and why.»
The leader chuckled. «Indeed the first is easy. My name is Himgar. I am War Councilor to the people living in the forests around the Purple River. I am in fact to my people what Rilgon is to his. Who and what are you?»
Blade gave his usual story. Himgar listened, nodding with interest at various points. «We had gathered from what Nugun told us that you were a mighty warrior from a distant land. He-«
«How is he?»
«Nugun? He was wounded in the shoulder in the attack by the river and fell into the water. He wanted to rejoin you and die beside you. But then he realized that you might be captured, and he should go to the Purple River and tell the people there about you. In spite of his wound, he made the journey.
«He is not only unusually intelligent for one of the Senar, but incredibly loyal. The fact that you had won such loyalty from one of the Senar was one of the things that decided us to send a rescue party. After that, it was simply a matter of marching and fighting. As you can see, none of Rilgon's fighters, Senar or Blenar, can stand against us.» The last was not said boastfully, merely as a fact of life.
Blade nodded. «Then why have you not moved against Rilgon and destroyed him?»
Himgar shook his head wearily. «All of the Councilors would give up their souls to the Spirit of Union gladly if we could do that. But we are less than five thousand all together, and barely one out of four of these is a trained and armored warrior. Rilgon could mass ten times that many within a few days, and they would drag us down the way wolves drag down a stag. The Purple River would be defenseless, our lands would be overrun, and the last hope of Brega would perish with us.»
«How are you the last hope of Brega?» Blade neither could nor would keep a slight note of skepticism out of his voice. He did not want to seem too willing to join anybody, even someone as apparently brave and honest as Himgar.
«We who worship the Spirit of Union dream of a world where men and women live together in peace, neither despising and abusing the other, both working to build and not to destroy.»
«A dream indeed,» said Blade. «You wish to rebuild your land as it was before the disaster.»
Himgar shot him a sharp look. «You are familiar with our history, then-or at least our legends?»
Blade nodded and explained how he had talked with Wyala and Nugun.
«You seem to understand the dream, then,» said Himgar. «Is it perhaps because in your homeland men and women live like that?»
«To some degree, yes,» said Blade.
«Then perhaps you will understand why Rilgon must be defeated?»
«No, I do not.» Blade actually suspected he did, but he wasn't going to give Himgar an easy victory by admitting that right away.
«Rilgon seeks to march on the city of Brega with his followers, thousands of Blenar and tens of thousands of Senar. He would destroy the city and all its works, take all its land, enslave all its women, and divide them among his followers.»
«I know,» said Blade. «He also thought I was worth a visit. He came down the river on his barge to see me and offered me many women and much power if I would serve him.»
Himgar's nerves were not quite proof against that bold announcement. He swallowed. «You talked with him?»
«Yes. And I pretended to accept his offer. I wasn't going to give him an excuse to kill me on the spot. Do you take me for a fool, Himgar?» Blade put more anger in his voice than he really felt.
«No, Blade,» said Himgar. «I do not. But I hope you can at least see why Rilgon must be stopped.»
«I can see why, Himgar. But I do not see that I need to take much of a hand in doing it. If he tries to march that rabble of his down to the city, the women will simply have better hunting without having to go into the forests to get it.»