Rorton laughed.
“The step has been taken,” whispered Axel to me, “from which there is no return.”
“Let us parley,” said Genserich.
“Lay down your weapons,” said Rorton.
“To die in our place?” asked Genserich.
Men looked at one another, tensely.
“We are six, you are six,” said Genserich.
“Three others will join us,” said Rorton. “They are with me.”
“That I would hear from their own mouths,” said Genserich.
“Put aside your weapons,” said Rorton.
“Men do not choose doom lightly,” said Genserich. “Your quarrels may find two, but then it is four to six. Those are not terrible odds, when the alternative is sure death. How many will die on each side?”
“None need die,” said Rorton. “Set aside your weapons.”
“Set aside yours,” suggested Genserich. “Then this matter has not occurred.”
The fellows with Rorton looked uneasily to one another.
“It has occurred,” said Rorton.
“What do you want?” asked Genserich.
“Seven slaves, and the gold,” said Rorton.
“Be with us and you will have your share, both of the selling price for the slaves, and your share of the gold,” said Genserich.
“Who would not prefer it all?” he asked.
“Who, indeed?” said Genserich.
“I will be first,” said Rorton.
“Let us do contest,” said Genserich.
“Do contest,” suggested one of Rorton’s men.
“Do contest!” called Aeson.
“We are men,” said Rorton, “neither sleen, nor panthers.”
“In such a way, only one dies,” said Genserich.
“Do not draw your weapon!” said Rorton.
“I draw it,” said Genserich, and very slowly eased the blade from its sheath. Neither bowman loosed his quarrel.
“I am not your match,” said Rorton.
“Then take your place in line,” said Genserich.
“No!” cried Rorton wildly, and whipped out his blade.
At that moment there came from our right a plunging through brush and leaves.
One of Genserich’s guards broke into the camp, and with him was the other guard, and the fellow sent out to call them in.
“Larl, larl!” cried the man.
“Do not be foolish!” said Genserich. “There are no larls within a thousand pasangs of the forests. It is far beyond their range.”
Axel and I exchanged startled, elated glances.
“I saw it!” said the fellow who had gone out for the guards.
“I, too!” cried the second guard.
“It is approaching!” cried the first guard.
“It is a large panther,” said Genserich.
At that moment, to the right, high above the brush, higher than the blade of a war spear, we saw a broad, wide, triangular-shaped head.
Two men cried out with misery. Slaves screamed in terror.
“Do not attack it!” I cried. “It is a domestic beast! There are men with it!”
“Two, three hundred!” called out Axel, in an authoritative voice.
“Cut us loose,” I said, “now, if you would live. We may be able to save your lives.”
“We are officers from the camp of the great ship, of which you have heard,” said Axel, taking some liberties with the truth. “You are intruders, you are caught, trapped! A hundred bows are drawn, a hundred shafts set to the string. Cast down your weapons, free us, immediately, if you would live.”
At this point, the larl crouched at the edge of the camp. It was a gigantic creature. Even crouching its head was as high as that of a tall man.
The hair on the back of the neck of Tiomines began to bristle. His ears flattened back. He began to growl. “Steady, friend,” said Axel, as his hands were being freed.
I did see one or two men with the beast, behind it, in mariner’s caps. Too, I saw a helmet. That pleased me. In this situation it was better to know the spear than the sea.
The larl, as it was a bred beast, was larger than the usual wild larl to the south. It may have weighed as much as a dozen panthers, three forest bosk.
This sort of thing is common with bred animals, where the largest and the fiercest, and the most dangerous, may be bred, again and again, increment by increment, with the largest, the fiercest, and most dangerous. The same is true of domestic sleen. The wild sleen is agile and dangerous, but it is seldom a match for the bred sleen.
My hands were being freed.
Aeson freed us of the neck rope.
“My weapons!” I demanded.
They were hurried to me.
I saw Axel cinching his belt about his waist. He then accepted his hunting spear, handed to him by Genak.
“How did they find us?” asked Aeson.
“We summoned them,” I said, “yesterday evening. You, Genak, Axel, and I, with the whistle.”
“It made no sound,” said Aeson.
“None we could hear,” I said, “but one easily detected by many animals, by the panther, the larl, the sleen. Did you not note the reaction of Tiomines?”
“I did,” said Genak, wryly.
“I do not care to repeat myself,” said Axel. “You are surrounded. There are more than two hundred men about. Must the larl be loosed amongst you, scattering bodies and blood as far as the river? Must a hundred, two hundred shafts, leap from the forest, seeking hearts? Look. I lift my hand. When I lower it, a wind of death will spring from the forest, a raging blast of feathered death. You will all be dead in an Ihn. Cast away your weapons and kneel!” Axel’s lifted hand trembled, and his eyes glittered with a fierce, feral blaze. I thought he was doing quite well. I was about ready to cast away my own weapons. Asperiche, I thought, would have been proud of him. I must beat Asperiche, I thought. She has obviously been too free with her smiles.
“See?” I said. “He is only too ready to lower his hand! In the name of the Priest-Kings, if no other, save yourselves!”
Genserich looked about, wildly. Clearly it was difficult to see into the shadows of the forest, which were well nigh impenetrable.
For all he knew, an indefinite number of bowmen might be concealed in the shadows, and greenery.
Too, there was the larl.
“I urge you,” I cried. “Your position is hopeless!”
“I will lower my hand!” cried Axel. “I am eager to do so!”
“Wait!” I said, doing as well as I could, but with little hope of outdoing Axel. “Do not act now! You know the fever to which you are subject. The blood lust is upon you!”
“It is not!” cried Axel, wildly, with an excellent imitation of a fellow on whom might rest the flames of blood lust.
“We were treated as guests!” I cried.
“But not well treated,” he said.
“Show them mercy!” I cried.
“They deserve none!” he said.
“Wait!” I said.
“No!” he said.
“Please!” I said.
“I will count three,” said Axel, eyes blazing. “One! Two!”
“Cast away your weapons, kneel!” commanded Genserich.
His voice, and the authority it bore, brooked no insubordination. Even Rorton, and his cohorts, obeyed.
“On your bellies, facing the river, your hands crossed behind you!” said Axel. Then he turned to the forest. “A few of you come forth to secure the prisoners; the rest of you remain where you are, bows drawn. Fire at the first indication of the least resistance.”
Shortly thereafter the band of Genserich was helplessly trussed, hand and foot.
“You may sit up,” said Axel, affably.
“Where are the others?” demanded Genserich.
“What others?” asked Axel.
“The hundred, the two hundred others,” said Genserich.
“I may have miscounted,” said Axel.
“One hundred, two hundred!” said Genserich.
“I did not know for sure,” said Axel. “It was an estimate.”
“There are no more than twenty here,” said Genserich.
“I count seventeen,” said Axel. “Still you are outnumbered.”
“We are finished,” said Rorton to Genserich. “You were tricked. You are a fool!”
“We mean you no harm,” I said.
“Do not be sure of that,” said Axel.
“The beast heard you yesterday evening,” said the leader of the newcomers, who was the second in command, it seems, of one of the coastal ships, of the sort which had brought men to Tarncamp earlier. In his group, counting himself as one, there were ten mariners, and five mercenaries. The larl had been turned over to them by Pani, with two trainers, who had accompanied them. It may be recalled that this arrangement had been put in place by either Tyrtaios, or Lord Okimoto, to support Axel, and take action, if he were fortunate enough to make contact with the Panther Women. “We followed the beast,” he said, “but it was slow going in the night, and we did not anticipate fifteen men here. We expected a small group of Panther Girls, and perhaps one or two mercenaries.”
“That was what Tyrtaios anticipated,” said Axel. “He did not expect a sizable party of armed men.”
“The larl must be returned,” said one of the two trainers. “It has done its work.”
I was sure I knew why there was concern to return the larl. The great ship would soon begin its journey to the sea. There was housing for such beasts within its great hulk.
“Dally a bit,” said Axel. “We may have need of it here.”
“What for?” asked the trainer.
Axel gestured to the prisoners, “Why, to feed, of course,” he said.
“No!” cried Donna. “No!”
“Do not fear,” said Axel. “You are a slave. You will not be eaten unless perhaps you are displeasing in some way.”
She would know that, of course. Accordingly her concern was not on her own behalf, but on behalf of another.
“Wretched Genserich!” snarled Rorton. “It is you who have brought us to this!”
“Stop her!” cried Axel, and Donna had scarcely reached the edge of the camp, her scarlet tunic bright against the green, when she was seized.
“Bind her, hand and foot,” said Axel, “and throw her here.” He indicated a place at the feet of Genserich. “It is where she belongs,” he said.
Soon she lay at her master’s feet, as helplessly trussed as he. “Forgive me, Master,” she said, “I have failed you.”
“Serve your new master well,” he said.
She wept, her tears falling into the dirt.
“Did you hear me, worthless slut?” he said.
“Yes, Master,” she wept. “I must serve him well. I am a slave.”
“I am first here,” said Axel to the mariner who was leader of the newcomers. “It is yours to abet me, and act in my support.”
“How is it that you are first?” asked the mariner.
“I am a high officer amongst remote forces,” said Axel. I could see why Asperiche might be taken with the fellow.
“I thought you were a sleen master, put out to locate spies for us,” said the mariner.
“Do you think such a weighty task would be entrusted to one who was not a high officer?” inquired Axel.
“I would have supposed so,” said the mariner.
“It was not,” said Axel. “You may address me as ‘Captain’.”
“Yes, Captain,” said the mariner.
“You have been paid, I take it,” said Axel.
“Yes,” said the mariner.
“But not enough,” said Axel.
“Oh?” said the mariner, interested.
“You see those four slaves,” said Axel, “those on the neck rope, who have not yet earned tunics?” Here he indicated Darla, Tuza, Emerald, and Hiza.
“Yes,” said the mariner. “Two are passable.”
“Those four were the spies,” said Axel, “once Panther Girls.”
“We were to capture them,” said the mariner.
“Others have saved us the trouble,” said Axel, indicating Genserich and his band, clustered about, bound and helpless.
“They are ours!” said Genserich.
“You are ours,” said Axel, “and so what was yours is now ours.”
“Sleen!” said Genserich.
“What is to be done with them?” asked the mariner.
“They are to be slain!” said Rorton, struggling.
“We give them to you as a bonus,” said Axel, generously.
“My thanks, Captain,” said the mariner.
“Kill them!” cried Rorton.
“Dead slaves are worthless,” said a fellow.
“What is your home port?” inquired Axel.
“Brundisium,” said the mariner.
“I supposed so,” said Axel. “Good. I suppose you have marking irons, and collars, on your vessel.”
“Of course,” said the mariner. “In our business, we commonly pass selling poles.”
“How long will it take you to reach Brundisium?” asked Axel.
“We are days from the coast here,” said the mariner, “and then, once we reach the coast, and are under sail, depending on the winds, it will be ten to fifteen days.”
“Excellent,” said Axel.
“Why, excellent?” asked the mariner.
“It will give you time to deck train the new slaves,” said Axel, “helping them to understand, and well, the nature of their new lives.”
“That is true,” said the mariner.
Also, of course, within this interval, the great ship would presumably be abroad on Thassa, and any intelligence borne by the slaves would be outdated, irrelevant, and useless, even should they dare to impart it.
“What of the other slaves?” asked the mariner.
“Do not be greedy,” said Axel.
“What of the larl?” asked one of the two trainers. “Some haste is involved in these matters.”
“There are fifteen prisoners here,” said Axel. “Doubtless they should be stripped, if they are to be eaten.”
“Not at all,” said one of the trainers. “Organ meat is of most interest, and clothing may be torn through.”
“Too, removing the garmenture of the prisoners would take time,” I pointed out.
“Let us feed them one at a time to the larl, say, one each day,” said Axel.
“One each day!” said the trainer, in exasperation.
“Who shall be first?” asked Axel.
“What of this fellow?” I said, indicating Rorton.
“Urt!” cried Rorton.
“An excellent choice,” said Axel.
“Matters press,” said one of the trainers. “We have no time for this. They are helpless. Cut their throats, and cast them in the river. I wish you well!” He then, with his fellow, turned about, and uttered something to the larl, which suddenly, even eagerly, bounded away, taking its way east, along the river. The two trainers then followed its track. The larl moves swiftly, and, like the sleen, has excellent night vision. I had no doubt it had received permission to return to its housing. No longer was it slowed by stumbling men, as it had apparently been the preceding night.