Crystal Gorge. David Eddings

these wars a couple of times, so we know how to hold the bug-people back when it’s necessary, and we can count on some help from our employers. Once we know for sure which part of the Land of Dhrall the bug-people will hit next, we should be able to join forces before things get out of hand.’

      ‘Probably so, yes,’ Commander Narasan agreed. ‘How’s your supply of that bug-venom holding out?’

      ‘We’ve got plenty, Narasan,’ Sorgan replied. ‘That poison’s almost worth its weight in gold.’

      ‘I’ve noticed, yes.’

      ‘Did Veltan give you any kind of idea about how long it’s going to take him to deliver those animal riders that he’s bringing up there to help me?’

      ‘Horses, Sorgan,’ Narasan said. ‘They call them horses.’

      Sorgan shrugged. ‘Whatever,’ he said. ‘I don’t really think they’ll be very useful when the bug-men attack.’

      ‘I wouldn’t be too sure about that, Sorgan,’ Narasan disagreed. ‘I’ve heard some stories about what happened over in the Land of the Malavi. The horse-soldiers’ specialty is surprise attacks. They whip in, kill about half of the foot soldiers on the opposing side, and then they ride away – at a dead run. In many ways, they’re very much like you Maags. You both specialize in speed.’

      ‘I hadn’t really thought of it that way,’ Sorgan conceded. ‘I’ll have to see them in action before I make any decisions. When do you think Veltan’s going to be able to get them up to the north country.’

      ‘He wasn’t very specific, Sorgan.’ Then Narasan shrugged. ‘You know how he is sometimes. I don’t think he sees time in quite the same way as we do.’

      ‘That’s probably because that pet thunderbolt of his has fried his brains,’ Sorgan said. ‘Try to keep Lady Zelana’s sister from flying apart, if you can. Oh, one other thing.’

      ‘Yes?’

      ‘Would it be all right if I borrow that young officer Keselo? He and Rabbit and Longbow make a good team, so we probably shouldn’t separate them.’

      Commander Narasan gave his friend a sly smile. ‘Of course, Sorgan,’ he said. ‘We can talk about how much he’s going to cost you some other time, can’t we?’

      ‘You wouldn’t!’ Sorgan exclaimed.

      ‘Fair is fair, Sorgan,’ Commander Narasan said with mock seriousness.

      Commander Narasan prudently let the Maag fleet leave the harbor first. The Maags had a longer voyage ahead of them, of course, but Andar was fairly certain that the commander’s decision was based on something a bit more significant than simple courtesy. The Maags were fiercely competitive, and Andar had noticed that Sorgan’s control of the other ship-captains in his fleet was marginal at best. Andar was almost positive that if Commander Narasan had ordered the Trogite fleet to set sail, some – if not all – of the Maags would have taken that to be a challenge, and a boat-race right now was the last thing they needed.

      After the Maag ships had cleared the harbor, Commander Narasan ordered the Trogite fleet to set sail. The sun was well up now, and Andar was obliged to shade his eyes as the fleet came out of the harbor. That was the one thing about sailing that Andar didn’t like. There wasn’t any shade, and the sun always seemed to be just out in front of the ship upon which he was stationed. He turned then and walked on back to the stern of the Victory. The rest of the fleet was wallowing along behind, so Andar went to the main cabin to report the progress to the commander.

      Veltan’s older sister was in full voice as Andar entered the cabin. ‘Any fool can see that the creatures of the Wasteland will attack my Domain next,’ she told Commander Narasan and Queen Trenicia in a shrill voice. ‘My older brother is just trying to assert his authority by robbing me of half the forces I’ll need before too much longer.’

      ‘Sorgan and I have been through this twice before, Lady Aracia,’ the commander assured her. ‘We have ways to delay the enemy if it’s necessary. Maag ships are almost as fast as the wind. If the enemy attacks your Domain, my people will be able to hold them back until Sorgan joins us.’ He turned to Andar. ‘How’s it going?’ he asked.

      ‘The last of the ships have cleared the harbor, Commander,’ Andar replied, ‘and we’ve got a favorable wind. ‘I’m fairly sure that we’ll make good time today.’

      ‘Could you give me an estimate of just how long it’s going to take us to reach Lady Aracia’s temple?’

      Andar scratched his cheek. ‘If the wind holds, I’d say about ten or eleven days. If what we’ve been told about the bug-people is anywhere close to the truth, it’s going to take them at least twice that long to move a significant force into Lady Aracia’s Domain, and that should give us all the time we’ll need to build fortifications. Then, too, once our ships have unloaded our men, they’ll be free to sail on down to the Isle of Akalla and pick up Queen Trenicia’s army and bring it on up here. I’d say that Lady Aracia’s Domain’s going to be well-protected before the bug-people show up in any significant numbers.’

      ‘There you have it, Lady Aracia,’ Narasan told their distraught employer. ‘If all goes well – and I’m sure it will – Sorgan’s Maags would just be redundancy. We won’t really need them when we get right down to the point.’

      ‘Well – maybe,’ Aracia reluctantly agreed. ‘Let Dahlaine keep those pirates. They aren’t real soldiers anyway, and that grubby country off to the north is all they’re really fit to defend. My Domain is the very heart of the Land of Dhrall, so it’s vital that we protect it from the incursions of the servants of the Vlagh.’

      ‘We’ll have it well covered, my Lady,’ Andar assured her.

      ‘You gentlemen are busy,’ Aracia said then. ‘If you encounter any problems, let me know about them. I’m sure I’ll be able to deal with them for you.’ And then she left the cabin.

      ‘I think I’m in your debt, Andar,’ Narasan said after Aracia had left. ‘That woman’s starting to irritate me with all that screaming, and you seem to have a gift for quieting her down.’

      Andar shrugged. ‘I have an older sister who’s at least as excitable as Aracia is,’ he explained. ‘I learned ways to calm her early in life. As I recall, my father was most grateful.’

      ‘You people have very complicated societies,’ Queen Trenicia of Akalla observed. ‘Things are much simpler on our island.’

      ‘Complications make life more interesting, Queen Trenicia,’ Commander Narasan replied with a faint smile.

      ‘I much prefer simple, Lord Narasan,’ the warrior queen replied with a broad smile.

      ‘Has Veltan’s older sister always been like this, Queen Trenicia?’ Narasan asked.

      ‘I haven’t known her “always”, Lord Narasan. She came to the Isle of Akalla last spring with bars of that yellow lead she calls “gold” that everybody seems to think is valuable. I refused, of course, but then she offered diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires. I’ll work for jewels, but not for yellow lead.’

      ‘I don’t want to offend you, Queen Trenicia,’ Narasan said then, ‘but a society where women are the leaders – and the warriors – is most unusual. How did it happen to come about?’

      The warrior queen shrugged. ‘From our way of looking at things, societies dominated by men are the unusual ones. The men of the Isle of Akalla are useless – except as breeding stock. They spend hours sitting in front of mirrors trying to make themselves look pretty by painting their faces.’

      ‘You’re not serious!’ Narasan exclaimed.

      ‘Oh, yes,’ Trenicia replied. ‘In a certain way, looking pretty is their only way to stay alive. Ugly men don’t live very long on the Isle of Akalla.’ Then she laughed.