The Woad to Wuin

by Peter David

  “I should hope not,” said Kate, sounding rather amused at the notion.

  “But … Peacelord …”

  He looked uncomfortable, and I said impatiently, “Out with it.”

  “Well … Peacelord … a number of the temples in the Golden City have already been converted over to shrines in honor of you. Men kneel, bow, and scrape before them. You are being worshipped by any number of your soldiers. They … but seek your approval, Peacelord.”

  The entire matter had devolved into a conversation which I had no desire to pursue. Rather than do so, I stood, reaching for clean clothes and dressing quickly. “What of Beliquose?” I demanded. “I have scores to settle with that one as well.”

  “He has not yet been found, Peacelord. We have, however, captured some of his band … including the most bizarre creature I have ever encountered …” Mordant promptly cawed in what could have been interpreted as annoyance, and Slake amended the statement with a mocking bow to the drabit. “One of the most bizarre creatures I have ever encountered … second, of course, to Mordant.” He might have been imitating Slake, or he might have just been sarcastic, but Mordant bobbed his head in response.

  But Slake’s comments had naturally caught my interest, so much so that I ceased dressing and walked quickly toward Slake. Stopping just short of him, I said with urgency, “This ‘creature’ … is it female in its aspect? But covered with hair? And missing an eye?”

  Slake could not have looked more amazed. “That … is absolutely correct, Peacelord! However did you know?”

  I smiled grimly. “I’ve had dealings with her before. Her name is Bicce. She’s Beliquose’s hound. She could prove quite valuable … or, at the very least, provide some serious amusement value.” Then I nodded, as much to myself as to Slake. “We will go at once to the Golden City. I want to see her with my own eyes.”

  Kate seemed surprised by the pronouncement, but Slake was clearly pleased by the decision. “That is as it should be, Peacelord. On the evening of your greatest triumph yet, it is not meet that you should be here in this makeshift shelter. There are many excellent residences within the Golden City. I shall make ready a horse for you …”

  “And for me,” Kate said firmly. She had risen and was standing next to me, running her hand up and down my arm. “Where my lord goes, so go I as well.” She looked up at me with unbridled adoration. As she did, I felt as if something small and dark was crawling around within me, for she saw me as some great divine being, and I knew that it was not true …

  Or maybe it is, and you just don’t want to admit to it, suggested my inner voice, which didn’t go very far toward settling my mind on the matter.

  I had to admit that the city was a rather impressive affair. In addition to the massive outer wall that served as the city’s primary line of defense, there were inner walls which divided different sections of the city from one another. The most prominent was a jagged wall that separated what was popularly known as the lower city, east of the wall, from the upper city which was to the west. The lower city, through which I was in the process of passing, was the more crowded and heavily commercial section … when it was fully functioning. There was not a good deal of commerce going on at that point, however. Instead many of the stores had already been pillaged and looted. Carpets and tapestries were strewn about in one place, necklaces in another, prayer garments in yet another. There was raucous laughter, some of it floating from shadows, and at other points clearly being produced from revelers in the streets who wore my colors and sang my praises. As had been the case all evening, they would bow if they saw me, or offer me prayers or sacrifices.

  I rode through the narrow streets, tall and proud upon a horse that I had borrowed from one of my men (who had, naturally, given it to me with all praise offered in the highest). It was not remotely as majestic and powerful as Entipy had been, but I made do. The horse’s hooves clip-clopped steadily on the street’s raised paving. Kate rode nearby, on horseback rather than a litter, her legs arranged daintily to one side. She looked the ideal picture of sophistication and elegance. Slake and half a dozen other men were serving as our escorts, lining up in front, beside, and behind us. The security was largely to protect Kate and provide a show of force, naturally. It wasn’t as if I needed to be concerned about my continued health.

  There was a general aroma of burning in the area as fires were breaking out in different sections of the city. I briskly informed several of my people to scatter throughout and put a stop to such activities at once. From a safety point of view, it would have been sheer madness considering that we were actually taking up residence there, for however brief a time. We certainly didn’t need our temporary residence burning down around our ears.

  I have no idea what prompted me to react to one particular scream out of all the ones that I was hearing. Perhaps it was the proximity, occurring just down the street from where we were. Or perhaps, if one is so inclined, one can think that I was divinely inspired. Whatever the reason, I suddenly veered my horse off the twisting road and darted down the side street from which the cry had originated. This caused a burst of confusion from our escort, but by the time they reacted I was already halfway down the street, leaving them to catch up as best they could.

  The scene I came upon drew me up short. Two of my men were holding a struggling young girl steady, while a third was stepping up to her with a knife at her throat, clearly ready to send her blood cascading down the front of her clothes. Not for a moment, though, did I think this was simple murder. No, I knew it to be retribution the moment I arrived upon the scene. For lying upon the ground, moaning, with a small, dainty dagger protruding from between his ribs, was Gavin. He was staring up at the sky and looked extremely puzzled that such a thing had come to pass.

  “Stop!” My voice thundered through the narrow alley, and at first the soldiers were about to ignore my direct order until they realized who was issuing it. The knife-wielder dropped the weapon as if it had suddenly transformed into a scorpion and stepped back, raising his hands into the air in utter compliance with my command. The others likewise froze in their places, although they continued to hold the girl so that she could not bolt. Kate reined up behind me, but I didn’t give her a glance. Instead my attention was on the bizarre scene before me … except that it was not so bizarre, for I had already intuited much of what had happened before a single question had been asked.

  I looked to the moaning form of Gavin upon the ground. “You tried to ravish her, did you not?” I asked without preamble.

  The most he could manage was a weak nod.

  “After I warned you?”

  The boy took a deep breath and let it out unsteadily. “I … thought it was what you wanted, Peacelord.”

  I could scarce credit my ears. I urged my steed a few steps closer so that he could clearly see the look of pure astonishment upon my face. “You thought … what? Are you mad? Did I not say to you, in our common language and with sufficient volume to reach your ears, that no good came from treating a woman with cruelty? And look what happened!”

  “I …” He gulped deeply. “I thought … you were testing me. Challenging me.”

  I moaned loudly and put my hand to my face, shaking my head in disbelief.

  And apparently in an endeavor to justify his actions, he cried out, “Gods move in mysterious ways!” Then he groaned, clutching at his side. I could see from the angle and positioning that the wound wasn’t going to be fatal … and certainly the volume and energy in his voice was enough to confirm that.

  As for me, I was strongly considering riding my horse over his head for that last remark.

  Apparently thinking he was helping the boy’s cause, the knife-wielder and would-be executioner stepped forward, each dropping to one knee to show proper respect. “Peacelord … I saw the entire thing. The boy was simply attempting to have his way with his captive. She did not cooperate. She had the dagger hidden in her hair, and I was passing by when I saw her plunge it into him as
he tried to shove her to the ground.”

  “The nerve of her,” I said dryly. Apparently it was a bit too dryly, because there were concurring nods from my men, and even—as I saw out of the corner of my eye—the Lady Kate.

  The entire business left a bad taste in my mouth, and I saw no reason to chew it alone. I gave the impression of deeply pondering what had happened, but really I had made up my mind in the briefest of instants. “Release her,” I said firmly. And when I saw their hesitation, I repeated—effortlessly sounding as angry as I already felt—“Release her!”

  They did not comprehend, but there was no requirement for them to do so. They pulled their hands away from her, leaving her standing there by herself and looking rather suspicious. Clearly she wanted to bolt, but figured that any such action would be met with immediate, and lethal, consequences.

  Gods … she was so young. She was only just in the bloom of young womanhood, perhaps by the merest of months. And Gavin a bare-faced boy, not even shaving. Children molesting children. What in all the hells was the world coming to?

  “Do you know who I am?” I demanded. When she shook her head, I said, “I am the one saving your life. Go.”

  She stayed where she was.

  “Is everyone in this city insane? I said go!” I bellowed, and this time she went. She turned and sprinted away down the alley and was gone in a heartbeat.

  And still they didn’t comprehend. “Did you … wish us to engage in a hunt, Peacelord?” one of them asked tentatively.

  “No. I just wanted to let her go.”

  From the ground, still obviously afraid to remove the knife lest a flow of his blood spurt forth, Gavin called, “But … but Peacelord … I did nothing that many others are not already doing! Why … why did you spare her punishment for her assault upon me?”

  I smiled wanly and replied, “You said it yourself: I move in mysterious ways. And in my mysterious way … I feel you deserve punishment.”

  “But … but …” Clearly desperate to understand, he cried out, “But … Peacelord … you have ravished women, have you not?! Taken advantage of them?”

  I paled slightly, but I doubt it was evident in the evening light. “If I have or have not, what of it?”

  “Well … if you did … then did you deserve punishment?”

  And one of the soldiers, his face twisted in fury, stepped quickly over and kicked Gavin in the ribs right where he’d been stabbed. The boy let out a shriek and curled up into a ball, sobbing. “How dare you? How dare you question the god on earth!” bellowed my man, and he drew back his foot with the clear intent of delivering another message.

  “That’s enough,” I said brusquely, freezing him in his place. I glowered at all of them, then pointed at Gavin and told them, “Get him attended to.” I snapped the reins briskly, turned the horse around and continued on our way to the upper city. The rest of my entourage followed a short distance behind, clearly not understanding why I had done what I had done. It was rather liberating not to give a damn about what they were thinking.

  In the midst of chaos and carnage, one of the fanciest houses had been readied for our arrival. Obviously word had been sent on ahead. They had done a superb job readying it for us. Illumination was provided by hundreds of candles, suffusing the place in an almost romantic glow. There were ten rooms in the place, and the Lady Kate and I chose the largest bedroom for our own. We didn’t intend to stay there indefinitely; Dreadnaught stronghold beckoned to us. But the Lady Kate had pointed out that, all too often, we simply stormed through cities, burned and pillaged, and then continued on our way while leaving flaming ruins behind. It seemed reasonable that, considering the majesty of the Golden City, we use it as our temporary base while we attended to the enemies who had dared to challenge us and had—however temporarily—caused us inconvenience. Not to mention the fact that they’d killed my horse.

  Servants were already in place, tending to our every need. There were still screams mixed with raucous laughter in the distance, but it seemed mostly concentrated in the lower half of the city which was still separated by the jagged wall. And although there was a good deal of looting going on in the upper city as well, a squadron of men had already fanned out in a one-block radius to make certain that there would be no accidental pillaging of our temporary domicile. As the dirt from the road and the ashes from the air were wiped from our sweating bodies, updates were brought to me with regularity over the status of our incursion. There were pockets of resistance, but my men were able to root them out with ruthless efficiency.

  I stretched out upon the bed, which was surprisingly soft, and stared up at the ceiling, resting my head upon my hands. Lady Kate, as exhausted as I was by the day’s activities, curled up next to me and rested her head upon my shoulders. And to my mild annoyance, I heard Gavin’s voice echoing within me. Did you deserve punishment? he had demanded.

  I felt something dark creeping about within my soul, something from which I found myself recoiling even as I mentally embraced it at the same time. Did I deserve punishment? I murmured, “What do you think this is?”

  “Mmmm?” purred the Lady Kate, half asleep.

  “Nothing, my dear,” I told her, and let my mind slip away into the darkness.

  I had been angry any number of times in my life, but it was hard for me to recall a time that I had been angrier than I was at that moment. If I’d had a sword in my hand, I might well have been moved to manslaughter.

  I was standing in the main courtyard in the back of the mansion, facing my lieutenants who looked, to the man, rather contrite. It might have been a sunny day, but the sky above was still thick with smoke from the fires that had been raging during the night. Even though they were by and large extinguished, the soot and blackness still hung there. It was beginning to make my throat somewhat scratchy, which did nothing to improve my mood. Mordant was perched upon my extended arm, and I was seriously toying with the notion of shouting, “Mordant, rip their faces off!” just to see if he would. As it was, my ire was reflected in the drabit’s own disposition, because he was making loud hissing noises at Boar Tooth, Slake, and That Guy that clearly had them rather concerned for their continued health. They had every reason to be.

  “Refresh my memory,” I said coldly. “Was there not an individual with a voice remarkably like mine—and who, in fact, resembled me greatly—who issued an order that stated Meander was to be mine and mine alone?”

  “Yes, Peacelord,” Boar Tooth began, but—”

  I didn’t wait for him to finish, instead stepping toward him and making casually sure that Mordant was practically thrust into his face. “And now you gentlemen are here to tell me that he has been captured … but is in no condition to be brought before me. Do you know what that suggests to me, gentlemen? It suggests that he is dead … and if that is the case, then I promise you,” and my voice rose with barely contained fury, “that he shall not be predeceasing one or more of you by very long!”

  “He is not dead, Peacelord!” Slake cried out, looking the most apprehensive of the three. Boar Tooth didn’t look much happier. Only That Guy seemed unperturbed, which was about typical for him. “By the gods on high—by you—I swear, he is not dead! He is simply … indisposed …”

  “And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “Peacelord,” Boar Tooth spoke up gamely, trying to sound as placating as possible. “By all accounts, the Keepless King fought with the strength of ten lions when he was cornered. Our men were at a sore disadvantage, for they were mindful of your orders to take him alive, whereas he was under no similar constraints when it came to fighting back. The truth is—”

  “The truth is,” Slake spoke up when Boar Tooth hesitated, “that Meander might well have gotten away if our men had not taken … stronger measures.”

  “How strong? Is he going to die?”

  “In his own time, Peacelord, but that time will not be hastened by any acts of ours,” Boar Tooth assured me. “He is gravely wounded, but our
best healers are with him now, and they assure me he will recover. It will, however, take a while.”

  The Lady Kate was seated nearby, idly skimming through parchments that had been left by the previous owners of the mansion that we had taken over. I had no idea who those occupants were, or what had been done with them, nor did I care particularly. Without glancing up from the parchments, she suggested in an offhand manner, “Why not simply kill him on his sickbed and have done with it? You intend to dispose of him anyway. Why wait?”

  It made a certain amount of sense. I turned back to my men and said, “Is he conscious?”

  “Not at this time, Peacelord,” Boar Tooth said with regret. “As his healing progresses, though, that will certainly change—”

  I didn’t bother to listen to the rest of his words, instead saying impatiently, “What is the point in slaying an unconscious man? All he will do is go on to the next life without knowing who it was who ended this one. It lessens the joy of vengeance. Besides, I want to get him to beg for his life, as my mother very likely did for hers before he slew her. No … we will wait until he comes out of his unconscious state. See to it,” I warned them, “that he is thoroughly bound so that he cannot possibly escape. I will not tolerate any mishaps with this.” They bobbed their heads eagerly, sensing that they might well have just narrowly escaped a most unfortunate fate. With no reason to dwell upon the condition of Meander, I continued, “And Beliquose? What of him? I owe that bastard a debt that I intend to repay in full.”

  “A mixed bag of news in that regard, Peacelord,” admitted Boar Tooth. “Beliquose had the luck of the devil. He managed to elude capture …”

  “With that voice?” I said incredulously. “You should have been able to track him down from a mile away! How could he have escaped?”

  “As near as we can determine,” said Boar Tooth, “he slew one of our own men, donned his uniform and slipped away thus disguised. He also came close to freeing several of his band whom we had captured. There was a battle … and most of those who were our prisoners were killed endeavoring to escape.”