bones?"
"They are obviously not in salable condition," said Ifness. "I can make no firm offer until you clean and dry them, make up standard bales, and convey them to the Shillinsk dock."
Gulshe gave his flowing mustache a sad tug; Srenka was less controlled. "I feared such duplicity! " he cried. "We have no guarantee of profit; we have invested time and property to no avail, and I for one will not let the matter rest on these terms."
Ifness said coldly, "Upon our return to Shillinsk I will compensate you and your comrade generously; as you point out, you have done your best. However, I cannot undertake to buy a field full of corpses in order to gratify your avarice. You must find another customer."
Srenka twisted his face into a ferocious grimace, his lower canine tusks gripping his nose ring. Gulshe warned him with a gesture. 'The protests are reason- able. Our friend understandably cannot burden himself with merchandise in its present condition. I am certain that a mutually profitable arrangement is possible. In a year the bones will be well weathered and in prime condition, or we might rent slaves to boil and strip the carcasses. In the meantime let us leave this foul place; I feel a presentiment."
To Shagfe then," growled Srenka. "At Shagfe I plan to drink a crock of Baba's cellar brew."
"A moment," said Ifness, scrutinizing the hillside. "I am interested in the band which destroyed the Red Devils. Where did they go after the victory?"
"Back the way they had come," sneered Srenka. "Where else?"
"They did not visit Shagfe?"
"At Shagfe you can make your own inquiries."
Etzwane said, "Ahulphs might track them."
"They are a month gone and far away," said Ifness. "The effort might well be tedious."
"In Shagfe we will undoubtedly hear news," suggested Gulshe.
To Shagfe then," said Srenka. "I thirst for old Baba's cellar brew."
Ifness turned a reflective glance toward Shagfe. Gulshe and Srenka already were riding down the long slope. They halted and looked back. "Come along then; the day will not last forever; yonder is Shagfe! "
"Very well," said Ifness. "We will visit Shagfe."
Shagfe, a dreary and unprepossessing settlement, baked in the lavender sunlight. Rude mud huts straggled along a wind-scoured street; behind was a scatter of leather tents. A rambling flat-roofed structure of mud and wattle dominated the town: the inn and grog shop. A clattering windmill nearby drew water into a tank, which overflowed into a trough; here sat a band of ahulphs who had come to drink. They had brought rock crystals and already had bartered for rags of yellow cloth, which they wore rakishly tied to their hearing knobs.
Riding into Shagfe the four passed the slave pens: a complex of three sheds and three fenced yards in which a score of men, as many women, and several dozen blank-eyed children were confined.
Ifness, drawing his pacer to a halt, turned to Gulshe. "Who are these captives, local persons?"
Gulshe examined the group without interest. "They appear to be strangers, probably excess folk sold by the hetman of their clan. They might be persons taken in raids beyond the mountains. Or they might be persons seized and sold by private enterprises. " Gulshe gave a curious choked chuckle. "In short, they are anyone unable to prevent otherwise. Here there is no one to say us nay, and each man must see to his own welfare."
"Such an existence is unpleasant," said Etzwane in disgust.
Gulshe looked at him without comprehension and turned to Ifness as if questioning Etzwane's sanity; Ifness smiled grimly. "Who buys the slaves?"
Gulshe shrugged. "Hozman Sore-throat takes them all, and pays a good weight of metal in the bargain."
"You are very knowledgeable in this regard," said Etzwane in a dour voice.
Srenka said, "And what of that? Do you begrudge us a livelihood? Perhaps the time has come for an understanding."
"Yes," said Gulshe, "the time has come. " He brought forth a heavy-bladed knife of polished black glass. "Magic
"They are obviously not in salable condition," said Ifness. "I can make no firm offer until you clean and dry them, make up standard bales, and convey them to the Shillinsk dock."
Gulshe gave his flowing mustache a sad tug; Srenka was less controlled. "I feared such duplicity! " he cried. "We have no guarantee of profit; we have invested time and property to no avail, and I for one will not let the matter rest on these terms."
Ifness said coldly, "Upon our return to Shillinsk I will compensate you and your comrade generously; as you point out, you have done your best. However, I cannot undertake to buy a field full of corpses in order to gratify your avarice. You must find another customer."
Srenka twisted his face into a ferocious grimace, his lower canine tusks gripping his nose ring. Gulshe warned him with a gesture. 'The protests are reason- able. Our friend understandably cannot burden himself with merchandise in its present condition. I am certain that a mutually profitable arrangement is possible. In a year the bones will be well weathered and in prime condition, or we might rent slaves to boil and strip the carcasses. In the meantime let us leave this foul place; I feel a presentiment."
To Shagfe then," growled Srenka. "At Shagfe I plan to drink a crock of Baba's cellar brew."
"A moment," said Ifness, scrutinizing the hillside. "I am interested in the band which destroyed the Red Devils. Where did they go after the victory?"
"Back the way they had come," sneered Srenka. "Where else?"
"They did not visit Shagfe?"
"At Shagfe you can make your own inquiries."
Etzwane said, "Ahulphs might track them."
"They are a month gone and far away," said Ifness. "The effort might well be tedious."
"In Shagfe we will undoubtedly hear news," suggested Gulshe.
To Shagfe then," said Srenka. "I thirst for old Baba's cellar brew."
Ifness turned a reflective glance toward Shagfe. Gulshe and Srenka already were riding down the long slope. They halted and looked back. "Come along then; the day will not last forever; yonder is Shagfe! "
"Very well," said Ifness. "We will visit Shagfe."
Shagfe, a dreary and unprepossessing settlement, baked in the lavender sunlight. Rude mud huts straggled along a wind-scoured street; behind was a scatter of leather tents. A rambling flat-roofed structure of mud and wattle dominated the town: the inn and grog shop. A clattering windmill nearby drew water into a tank, which overflowed into a trough; here sat a band of ahulphs who had come to drink. They had brought rock crystals and already had bartered for rags of yellow cloth, which they wore rakishly tied to their hearing knobs.
Riding into Shagfe the four passed the slave pens: a complex of three sheds and three fenced yards in which a score of men, as many women, and several dozen blank-eyed children were confined.
Ifness, drawing his pacer to a halt, turned to Gulshe. "Who are these captives, local persons?"
Gulshe examined the group without interest. "They appear to be strangers, probably excess folk sold by the hetman of their clan. They might be persons taken in raids beyond the mountains. Or they might be persons seized and sold by private enterprises. " Gulshe gave a curious choked chuckle. "In short, they are anyone unable to prevent otherwise. Here there is no one to say us nay, and each man must see to his own welfare."
"Such an existence is unpleasant," said Etzwane in disgust.
Gulshe looked at him without comprehension and turned to Ifness as if questioning Etzwane's sanity; Ifness smiled grimly. "Who buys the slaves?"
Gulshe shrugged. "Hozman Sore-throat takes them all, and pays a good weight of metal in the bargain."
"You are very knowledgeable in this regard," said Etzwane in a dour voice.
Srenka said, "And what of that? Do you begrudge us a livelihood? Perhaps the time has come for an understanding."
"Yes," said Gulshe, "the time has come. " He brought forth a heavy-bladed knife of polished black glass. "Magic
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