adequate.”
“Seems like some local king would raise an army and wipe them out if they’re such a threat.”
“It’s been tried before,” said Shadya. “Either those armies have trouble locating Hubul’s Host, or they simply never return. These are not small forces either. The largest to go off in search of the Host and never be heard from again numbered eleven thousand.”
“There’s actually a song about them.” Rondel said.
“Raise an army, or two
Hubul’s Host will laugh at you.
Raise a nation or two
Only then will Hubul’s Host consider you.
Come with your army
And Hubul’s Host will hide.
Come with your nation
And you will die.”
“So they only fight when they feel challenged. Otherwise they’ll hide because you aren’t even worth their time.” Andrasta grunted. “Sounds like my kind of people.” She frowned at Shadya. “If these people are so good, how did you escape?”
Rondel raised an eyebrow. A fair point.
“I was away fetching water with my younger sister when the attack came. We ran back to camp when we heard the commotion. There was no way I could stop the Host and I had my sister to protect. So, we hid in the rocks. I had that warded blanket you hid under with me. I also made more wards in the dirt around us. It was enough.”
“So, your wards were strong enough to best these sorcerers?” asked Andrasta.
“I’ve always had a talent for warding and my skills have been improving. They also thought they had killed everyone. Alone, I can’t defeat them all. That’s why I need your help.”
“What happened to your sister?” asked Rondel. “Will we meet up with her?”
Shadya looked away, wiping her cheek. “No. The bandits left us no food, no camels or horses to travel with. My sister died of thirst as we walked to the nearest town. Turning rock into food and water cannot be done with wards.”
* * *
Andrasta rode quietly in the back, letting Rondel and Shadya continue to chat about an awful lot of nothing. She had tried to sleep, but soon gave up with the constant braying going on at the front of the wagon. Doing her best to block out the mindless chatter, she stared out at the unforgiving landscape of rock and sand. She knew of nothing that compared to the seemingly endless dead land of Erba.
It almost made her long for Juntark with its wild plains and lush jungles. Her home was a beautiful land forever tainted by those who inhabited it. She could live her whole life and be content to never return, but she knew she would eventually have to go back.
I have promises to keep.
She shook away those thoughts, focusing instead on the bleak, orange desert that seemed to glow under the sun’s harsh rays. She managed to spot small pockets of rock in the distance, sometimes enough to be considered a low mountain or at least a tall hill.
The rock formations were in many ways the life of a desert, usually housing small seepages, or if lucky, actual pools of water. In the interim, the only sign of life came from a cactus or small bit of ugly brush.
Andrasta hoped she might come across some desert animal when they stopped for the night. It would be good to have meat again. She needed something more than bread and fruit to regain her strength.
Rondel ripped out a belly laugh. Shadya snorted beside him. Neither offered to fill her in on the joke and for that Andrasta was glad.
She did not like the strange woman and liked her story even less.
This job didn’t feel like the ones she had grown accustomed to since leaving Iget. She and Rondel had stolen things, put the fear of the local gods in certain people, and participated in several other less-than-legal activities. In each of those cases, the work felt like business.
But this is something more. This is personal. And last time we did something personal, we nearly got ourselves killed.
Memories of The Blood Forest and the Cult of Sutek flooded her mind. She had accepted the offer of work from a
“Seems like some local king would raise an army and wipe them out if they’re such a threat.”
“It’s been tried before,” said Shadya. “Either those armies have trouble locating Hubul’s Host, or they simply never return. These are not small forces either. The largest to go off in search of the Host and never be heard from again numbered eleven thousand.”
“There’s actually a song about them.” Rondel said.
“Raise an army, or two
Hubul’s Host will laugh at you.
Raise a nation or two
Only then will Hubul’s Host consider you.
Come with your army
And Hubul’s Host will hide.
Come with your nation
And you will die.”
“So they only fight when they feel challenged. Otherwise they’ll hide because you aren’t even worth their time.” Andrasta grunted. “Sounds like my kind of people.” She frowned at Shadya. “If these people are so good, how did you escape?”
Rondel raised an eyebrow. A fair point.
“I was away fetching water with my younger sister when the attack came. We ran back to camp when we heard the commotion. There was no way I could stop the Host and I had my sister to protect. So, we hid in the rocks. I had that warded blanket you hid under with me. I also made more wards in the dirt around us. It was enough.”
“So, your wards were strong enough to best these sorcerers?” asked Andrasta.
“I’ve always had a talent for warding and my skills have been improving. They also thought they had killed everyone. Alone, I can’t defeat them all. That’s why I need your help.”
“What happened to your sister?” asked Rondel. “Will we meet up with her?”
Shadya looked away, wiping her cheek. “No. The bandits left us no food, no camels or horses to travel with. My sister died of thirst as we walked to the nearest town. Turning rock into food and water cannot be done with wards.”
* * *
Andrasta rode quietly in the back, letting Rondel and Shadya continue to chat about an awful lot of nothing. She had tried to sleep, but soon gave up with the constant braying going on at the front of the wagon. Doing her best to block out the mindless chatter, she stared out at the unforgiving landscape of rock and sand. She knew of nothing that compared to the seemingly endless dead land of Erba.
It almost made her long for Juntark with its wild plains and lush jungles. Her home was a beautiful land forever tainted by those who inhabited it. She could live her whole life and be content to never return, but she knew she would eventually have to go back.
I have promises to keep.
She shook away those thoughts, focusing instead on the bleak, orange desert that seemed to glow under the sun’s harsh rays. She managed to spot small pockets of rock in the distance, sometimes enough to be considered a low mountain or at least a tall hill.
The rock formations were in many ways the life of a desert, usually housing small seepages, or if lucky, actual pools of water. In the interim, the only sign of life came from a cactus or small bit of ugly brush.
Andrasta hoped she might come across some desert animal when they stopped for the night. It would be good to have meat again. She needed something more than bread and fruit to regain her strength.
Rondel ripped out a belly laugh. Shadya snorted beside him. Neither offered to fill her in on the joke and for that Andrasta was glad.
She did not like the strange woman and liked her story even less.
This job didn’t feel like the ones she had grown accustomed to since leaving Iget. She and Rondel had stolen things, put the fear of the local gods in certain people, and participated in several other less-than-legal activities. In each of those cases, the work felt like business.
But this is something more. This is personal. And last time we did something personal, we nearly got ourselves killed.
Memories of The Blood Forest and the Cult of Sutek flooded her mind. She had accepted the offer of work from a
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