The Nonborn King (53 page)

We tramped on for a day or two, going upstream, until we came into some jungle country, tough as hell to get through, Then we found this biind valley late in the afternoon, an open place with big trees. That's where we saw the birds, the aircraft, I mean. Christ, it was a shocker' These bloody great stilt-legged things hiding there among the sequoias with people working on them doing God knows what. We lay back in the bush watching for the rest of the afternoon and then we were going to sneak away. But we saw them readying one bird for takeoff, and, I mean, could you leave at a time like that? So we hung about well into the evening. And damn my eyes if the ship wasn't a rhocraft, a gravomagnetic vehicle that works on the same principle as our egg-shaped flying machines back in the Galactic Milieu. How the friggerty things ever got to the Pliocene,

Oh? - -. The same kind that did for Finiah?... Son of a bitch.

At any rate, we watched one go up, and watched it come down. By then it was night, so we had to bivouac right there. Then this hyena pack came, and if Dougal hadn't done some fancy swordplay, the brutes would have torn us to pieces. We made enough noise fighting the beasts off to rouse the bloody dead. People came from the Lowiife camp and helped us get rid of the last of the hyenas.

But one of the Lowlives recognized me. And I was screwed six ways from Sunday.

I was a silver in Finiah, you see. When the Lowlives captured me and cut off my collar, they said I could work for their cause or have my tripes cut out. So I cooperated, bided my time. then scarpered with Dougal when a good chance presented itself I planned to go to Goriah and join Alken Drum way back then, too, but Dougal and I got taken by Howlers and ah. shit You don't have to hear that

Well When this man Orion Blue recognized me and called me a traitor, some of the Lowlives wanted to hang me right then and there Dougal, too, of course But their leader, a goldtorc named Basil, said we d have to be taken back to Hidden Springs for a tnal before Chief Burke

So we set out We were on the trail with Blue and three other Lowlife guards when your lot sprang the ambush You know the rest When I saw poor old Dougal go down, and the rest of the Lowiives being cut up. I thought it was time to be prudent I yelled out about the aircraft Your man, Wormface, decided to bring me to visit you Charmed. I'm sure

Now fry my brains and be damned

What? Yes, there were only two aircraft We saw one operational The other one had burnt vegetation around its pads, though It didn't took broken People were working on it Toting equipment in and out while we watched

How many? Well, we didn't exactly count them Let me think At least thirty-five people, maybe more You bet there were guards' Some armed with iron spears and arrows, and one big black broad with a stun-gun, for God's sake' they didn't talk about their plans for the aircraft in front of me I'm a dirty traitor, remember? Turncoat Tony' First I betrayed the Tanu by choosing life, letting the Lowlives cut off my silver torc Then I betrayed the Lowlives by running from the Iron Villages Then I betrayed the Howlers by abandoning my wife And if you keep me around here very long, I'll do my best for you' Walala weiala weia'

"What do you think of his story?" Ayfa asked Sharn, after Tony had been led away

"We knew that a Lowlife expedition went east, toward the Ship's Grave Now we know that it was successful "

"What are we to do about this. High King?" Skathe asked "There can be no Firvuiag-Lowhfe alliance in the Nightfall War The humans will use these aircraft against us " The King and Queen were sitting at a small table with Skathe and the veteran deputy Medor They had retired to a curtainedoff portion of the royal tent for the interview with Tony, and now drank coot beer from great glass beakers

Sharn said, "I would call your attention to the fact that the Vale of Hyenas is suggestively close to Nionel "

"You think that there's Howler collusion in the bird plot?" Medor wiped foam from his spin upper lip

"It's a dead cert," said the Firvulag King

"We were afraid it would happen," Ayfa said gloomily. "after the matter of the brides Fitham Pegleg has been re searching the matter while on his diplomatic mission to Nionel We have his full report ready to present to the Gnomish Council tomorrow Sugoll still professes nominal toyaity to High Vrazei He's got his people working tike beavers to complete the spiffymg-up of the Field of Gold for the Tourney But as far as allying with us in the Nightfall War goes, forget him The entire Howler tnbe has thrown in with the humans, and that's that "

"We've got to do something about those birds," Skathe insisted "But it'll be a tough chew You heard what that twit said, the Lowlives are guarding the aircraft with iron "

Medor said, "And if we go in there in force, we're likely to tip our hand ahead of time to Sugoll Or to Alken Drum '

"Fuck his earhotes," growled Skathe "If we could only use those aircraft ourselves'"

Medor gave a rueful laugh "Not a prayer' We have only a handful of First Comers left alive who'd remember the original evacuation from Brede's Ship I don't think a single one of them knows a flux-tapper from a hippy chip Te knows I don't, and I'm about the closest thing to a technician on the Council No those ships are useless to us "

"Maybe not," said Sharn A slow smile wds beginning to spread across his great mouth "Now consider We've been bewailing the fact that the Foe leadership has passed to a puny human He's bedded down in Goriah tighter than a tick. too. for all that Nodonn and Celo would like to hope otherwise They'll never boot Aiken out of the Castle of Glass with a few hundred knights. Not even using the sacred Sword."

"Our Sword!" Medor said in a strangled voice.

"Who knows it better than I?" Sharn cried "My grandsire's grandsire wielded it in the first Great Ordeal at the Ship's Grave! And when the Nightfall War comes upon us, / snail carry it.. if a certain idea I just had bears fruit."

"I think I see!" exclaimed Ayfa. "And Nodonn's honorable, for all that he's the prince of Pricks. If he promised, he'd keep his word."

"Who?" demanded Skathe. "What? How?"

Sharn explained. "We tell Nodonn about the two aircraft You know that the Foe retained a certain scientific bem Celadeyr of Afaliah and Thufan Thunderhead are both creators, both First Comers. What's more likely than that they have some knowledge of these flying machines? In the libraries of their citadels, if no place else."

Medor broke in excitedly. "And if Tanu make off with the aircraft, then the machines no longer threaten us' Nodonn would never use them in the Nightfall War. He's too chivalrous."

"He'd use them against Aiken Drum. though," said [he Queen.

Medor leaned back in his chair and laughed at the top of his lungs. "Nodonn zaps Aiken from the air in a glorified Flying Hunt before the Grand Tourney ever begins' He takes over as Tanu King! Tremendous! And in return for our help, "

"He gives me the Sword." Sharn said. "Just as soon as he conquers Goriah. It will be up to him to retrieve the Spear in one piece from the dead hand of the usurper "

The face of Skathe the giantess was wreathed in awe. "High King, your wisdom is beyond measure!"

Sharn sipped a little beer. "Oh, I don't know " He winked at Ayfa. "Maybe I do get a great notion from time to time ."

"When will you contact Nodonn?" Medor asked

The King's expression became solemn. "I'll get hold of Nodonn tonight Put the whole thing up to him. But he'll bite, I'd stake my throne on it When the Gnomish Council hears from me tomorrow, I'll probably have the whole deal worked out."

Medor rose to go "Shall I tell Karbree to dispose of that fellow Tony."

Skathe looked thoughtful "Let me have him for a while " She smiled at the dubious looks on the faces of the others "You know me, always a traditionalist to the core. Still, it might not be a bad idea to check matters out, see whether those Howlers are onto something."

Sharn and Ayfa and Medor looked shocked "Well, you never know until you try," said the ogress reasonably

6

IT WAS NEARLY DAWN IN AFALIAH AND THE FIRST EUPHORIA

resulting from the conference with the Firvulag King had begun to dissipate

Nodonn, his brother Kuhal, and Ceiadeyr were sitting in the ravaged library of the citadel drinking brandy-laced coffee The floor was littered in rejected AV reference crystals, the aftermath of a near-maniacal search for pnsms containing the specifications arid flight manual of the ancient flying machines. These had been located at last, filed in the wrong drawer, and now Ceiadeyr was manipulating the visual display of the" big reader while the other two considered courses of action

"Just look at it," Celo said, magnifying an internal configuration diagram. "I'd forgotten the big baggage area back in the tail If you really pack the passengers in, the thing can probably hold two hundred knights That gives us four hundred crack fighters for your invasion of Goriah! We'll have that number and to spare by the time Thufan and his Hunt gel here from Tarasiah day after tomorrow "

"It's Tana's own luck that the old Thunderhead is qualified to pilot the machines," Nodonn said. "But you, Celo, "

"I had six hours of instruction back on Duat!" bellowed the veteran "That's more than anybody else "

"A thousand years ago," Kuhal said, keeping a neutral aspect "The flight manual's perfectly straightforward," Celo retorted. "And you don't need any fancy maneuvering. Just take the thing in at hover, screened and invisible, and blast that little gold bastard at close range with the Sword. Fat lot of good his sigma-field'll do him with the floor cut out from under him!"

"Still," Kuhal said, "it might be best if one of the younger creators, "

"No time to train anybody from scratch." Celo insisted. "I can do it, danunit! Stuff me full of calcium pangamate. let Boduragol have a brief go at me to reseat the old piloting reflexes, and I'll fly like a friggin' fruit bat in the mating season! Old Thunderfart can check me out before we leave the Vale of Hyenas."

"If we do." said Nodonn, frowning as he added more brandy to his cup. "It seems to me that the most critical part of this enterprise may be its inception- Making off with the aircraft without having Aiken Drum leam of it."

"The kid's spies are everywhere." Celo conceded "And Sharn told me that the leader of the aircraft technicians wears a golden torc. It seems a foregone conclusion that the Lowlives would prefer Aiken Drum's rule of the Many-Colored Land to my own. If the people at the Vale of Hyenas aren't dealt with very carefully, they may well warn Aiken that we have taken the aircraft. Then we would lose the element of surprise in our attack on Goriah. That could be fatal to us."

"We charge 'em with a Flying Hunt." Celo said fiercely. "Massacre the whole nest of 'em, Just tike in the good old days!"

The laugh of Apollo was pitying. "I am not the Battlemaster [ was in the good old days, and these humans are not the cowering prey of yesteryear, either. They arc well armed, and there may be forty or more of them guarding the ships. Not one must be allowed to escape, or even to give the alarm. Even if I had the endurance to carry a full Hunt all the way from Koneyn to the Hercynian Wilderness. I would not attempt such a course. The effort would drain me. I would go into the invasion of Goriah in a dangerously weakened state." "But we could hold off until you recover, " Celadeyr began to say

Nodonn held up a dissenting hand "Every day that we delay sees Alken Drum recovering further from his own debilities Mercy has kept me closely informed of his progress She even, participates in his healing, albeit against her will No If we are to vanquish the usurper we must strike as soon as possible "

"What course do you favor. Brother^" Kuhal asked

"I'd use only a handful of the most powerful and courageous knights We would fly north without chahkos on the wings of a metapsychic gale, then smite the Lowlives in the Vale of Hyenas with mindpower rather than physical weapons No chivalrous confrontation, no Hunt ' Nodonn smiled at the quickly stifled outrage that seeped from the mind of the elderly champion "So, Celo, now you know the depths to which I'm prepared to stoop But the Lowlives don't fight us by the tenets of the battle-religion, so I am prepared to use fair means or foul, myself "

Celadeyr hesitated, then said, "If you fight Alken Drum unfairly, our Tanu people may repudiate you He is the chosen of Mayvar Kingmaker and acclaimed by the Conclave "

"I'll meet the usurper according to the ancient ntual," Nodonn reassured him "Sword against Spear, resuming the sacred contest that was interrupted by the flooding of the White Silver Plain "

The old creator's relief was evident "That will suffice As to the aircraft snatch, however Your proposal is daring, but fraught with peni This human wearing the golden torc need only broadcast a single thought and you are undone "

"If only Cull were alive," the Battlemaster said "A combatant redactor would be invaluable on a mission such as this, sorting the identities of the alien minds, lulling their suspicions. and quashing their outcries "

"The really topnotch mmdbenders went over to Alken, or worse, they're with Dionket and the pacifists My own Boduragol's a fine healer, but not really the man for stress situations None of his underlings in the House of Healing are competent to work bareneck humans It's hellish difficult to mind-mash Lowlives when they're not wearing gray or silver torcs And the gold-wearer's a real sticker "

"If only Mercy were with us'" Nodonn exclaimed "What we need is a human, to cope with humans "

Kuhal's coffee cup hit the table with a small crash His face had gone radiant "Of course," he whispered "Of course''

CLOUD I'm going to do it

HAGEN You're crazy Or else falling for that exotic on a rebound from poor old Eiaby

CLOUD: Bastard' [Pain ]

HAGEN: Oh, hell I'm sorry But you can't go throwing yourself away like this' We're getting so close Tomorrow we cross the Rif Range, if we can repair the track on the bloody FH-4 I can hardly wait to see the humongous waterfall' After that, how long can it tdke^ We latch up the ATVs, sail across the Med, crawl through the neck of the Balearic Peninsula, and we're almost on top of Afaliah We want you there to meet us, luv, not charging off on some halfass raid with your exotic boyfriend