"I don"t think he"s crazy."
"Neither do I. So, any idea what he means?"
"No. They"re just dead objects far as I"m concerned."
"Still no idea what they"re for?"
He grinned. "If I did, believe me, I"d have told you. Yelled it. I was talking to Alfray about this earlier. What I didn"t say to him was that even if the stars are a blind, useless pieces of wood or something, I"d still have us go after them."
Coilla gave him a quizzical look.
"No, I"m not crazy either," he told her, pushing his doubts about the dreams to arm"s length. "I see it like this. If we need anything, we need a purpose. Without one, this band would fall apart quicker than you can spit. It"s our military upbringing, I suppose. Even though we"re not part of the horde any more we"re still orcs and we"re still part of the orc nation, scattered and reviled as that might be. I figure we hang together or get hanged apart."
"I understand. Maybe there"s something in the orc nature that craves comradeship. I don"t think we"re really meant to be lone beings. Any-way, whatever happens, whatever we might or might not have thrown away, you"ve given us that purpose, Stryke. Even if it all goes murder-ously wrong any minute, we still had that. We tried."
Stryke smiled at her. "Yes, right. We tried."
They had reached the edge of the forest. It was mature, enormous, dark.
Stryke halted the column. He waved forward Alfray, Jup and Haskeer.
"What"s the plan, chief?" Jup asked.
"Like I said before; simple and straightforward. We raise a flag of truce and try to make contact with Keppatawn"s clan."
Alfray began preparing the flag, using the Wolverines" banner spar. "Suppose there"s more than one clan in the forest, Stryke?" he said.
"We"ll have to hope they"re all friendly with each other and pa.s.s us on. Let"s go."
With some apprehension they entered the trees. Alfray held aloft the flag. He was aware, as they all were, that it was universally recog-nised but not always universally respected.
The interior of the forest was cool and smelt earthy. It wasn"t as dark inside as it appeared from without. The silence was near absolute, and that made all of them edgy.
After riding for ten minutes they entered a small clearing.
"Why do I feel I have to whisper?" Coilla whispered.
Alfray looked up at the forest"s ceiling far above, where sunlight shafted. "This place seems almost holy, that"s why."
Jup agreed. "I reckon the magic"s strong here. The water from the inlet, the covering of trees; they both help hold it.
This might be oneof Maras-Dantia"s few remaining untouched oases. Something like the way it once was."
Haskeer seemed oblivious to all that. "What do we do, just keep wandering about in here until we find a centaur?"
All around, scores of centaurs appeared from behind trees and crashed out of bushes. Some held long, slim spears.
Most had short horn bows, notched and pointing the band"s way.
"No," Coilla replied.
"Take it easy!" Stryke told the band. "Steady now."
A centaur came forward. He was young and proud. The hair on the lower, equine, portion of his body was silken brown. He had a fine tail and st.u.r.dy hoofs. Above, where his body somewhat resembled that of a human, he had muscular arms and abundant chest hair. He was straight-backed. A curly beard adorned his face.
Several of the band"s horses shied.
"You"re in clan territory," the centaur announced. "What"s your busi-ness here?"
"Peaceable business," Stryke a.s.sured him.
"Peaceable? You"re orcs."
"And we have a reputation, yes. It tends to go before us. As does yours. But like you, we fight in just cause, and we don"t betray a flag of truce."
"Well said. I am Gelorak."
"I"m Stryke. This is my warband, the Wolverines."
The centaur raised an eyebrow. "Your name"s known here. Have you come on your own account or do you act for others?"
"We"re here for ourselves."The other centaurs still had their bows levelled at the band.
"You"re gaining a reputation as an orc who brings trouble with him, Stryke. I ask again, what business have you here?"
"Nothing that brings you trouble. We seek a centaur called Keppatawn."
"Our chief? You require armaments?"
"No. We want to talk with him on another matter."
Gelorak studied them thoughtfully. "It"s for him to decide whether he wishes to treat with you. I"ll take you to him." He glanced at Stryke"s sword. "I would not demean you by asking that you surrender your weapons during your stay here.
That"s not something one should lightly ask of an orc, I think. But you are on your honour not to draw them in anger."
"Thank you. We appreciate the consideration. Our weapons will not he drawn unless any draw theirs against us. You have my word."
"Very well. Come."
He waved a hand. The bows were lowered.
Gelorak led the band deeper into the great forest, the other centaurs close to hand. Eventually they came to a much larger clearing.
There were buildings that resembled stables, along with more con-ventional thatched, round huts. The largest structure by far looked like an open-fronted barn. It housed an enormous forge. In blasting heat and clouds of smoke, sweating centaurs hammered on anvils and worked bellows. Others used tongs to remove glowing pieces of metal from braziers. They plunged them, hissing and steaming, into barrels of water.
Fowl and pigs ran free. There was a distinct odour of dung in the air, and it wasn"t all from the livestock.
Dozens of centaurs, young and old, were going about their ch.o.r.es. Most of them stopped and stared when the Wolverines arrived. Stryke took some comfort from the fact that their reaction seemed born more of curiosity than ill will.
"Wait here," Gelorak instructed. He cantered off towards the ar-moury.
"What do you think?" Coilla asked.
"They seem friendly enough," Stryke judged. "And they let us keep our weapons. That"s a good sign."
Gelorak re-emerged accompanied by another centaur. He was of middle years and his beard was greying. The powerful, muscular phy-sique that must have marked him out in youth was still in evidence, but it was tempered by a deformity.
He was lame. Withered and spindly, his right foreleg dragged as he walked.
"Well met," Stryke greeted.
"Well met. I am Keppatawn. I"m also a centaur of direct impulses and busy. So you"ll forgive me if I"m blunt. What do you want?"
"We have business to discuss with you. A trade that could prove to your advantage."
"That remains to be seen." He a.s.sessed them, eyes shrewd. His tone lightened. "But if it"s business, that"s always best discussed over a meal. Join us for food and drink."
"Thank you." Stryke dreaded the idea of anything else to eat, but knew protocol demanded acceptance.
The band was ushered to heavy oak tables placed near the clearing"s centre. There were benches on just one side for the orcs" benefit; cen-taurs stood to eat.
Meat and fish were brought. There was freshly baked bread, dishes of fruit, and baskets br.i.m.m.i.n.g with nuts, as befitted forest dwellers. Ale was provided too, along with jugs of heady red wine.
Once they were into the meal, which in Stryke"s case meant eating just enough to avoid offence, he toasted their hosts.
"A generous repast." He raised a flagon. "We thank you."
"I"ve often thought there are few disputes that can"t be put right by a good meal and some fine wine," Keppatawn replied. He drained his own flagon, then belched. It was a demonstration of the centaurs" well-known liking for life"s more sensual pleasures, which not uncommonly veered into excess. "Though I guess it"s a little different with you orcs, eh?" he added. "We tend to ask questions first, preferably while feasting, then fight. It"s the other way round with you, isn"t it?"
"Not always, Keppatawn. We are capable of reason."
"Of course you are," he replied goodnaturedly. "So what is it you want to be reasonable about today?"
"You have an item we"d like to trade for."
"If you"re talking of weapons, you won"t find better anywhere in Maras-Dantia."
"No, not weapons, though in truth yours are renowned." He lifted his cup and took a drink. "I"m talking about a relic. We call it a star. You may know it better as an instrumentality."
The remark silenced the table. Stryke hoped it hadn"t put a per-manent damper on things.
After a pause, Keppatawn smiled, signalling a resumption of chatter. Though it was at a lower level as all strained to hear. "We do have the artifact you refer to," he admitted. "And you"re not the first to travel here hoping for it."
"There have been others?"
"Over the years, yes."
"Can I ask who?"
"Oh, a motley bunch. Scholars, soldiers of fortune, those claiming mastery of black sorcery and white, dreamers..."
"What was their fate?"
"We killed them."
The band stiffened a little at hearing that.
"But not us?" Stryke persisted.
"You"ve come asking, not trying to take. I"m talking about the ones who arrived with ill intent.""There were those who didn"t?"
"Some. We usually let them live, and of course they left disap-pointed."
"Why?"
"Because they couldn"t, or wouldn"t, meet my terms for bartering what you call the star."
"What might those terms be?"
"We"ll get to that. I have somebody for you to meet." He turned to Gelorak, standing next to him. "Bring Hedgestus, and tell him to fetch the relic." Gelorak downed the last of his wine and trotted off. "Our shaman," Keppatawn explained to Stryke. "He"s the instrumentality"s keeper."
In due course, Gelorak came out of a small lodge on the fringe of the clearing with an ancient centaur of unsteady mien.
Unlike any of the other clan members the band had seen, he wore several necklaces threaded with what looked like pebbles, or possibly nut sh.e.l.ls. For his part, Gelorak carried a small wooden box. Both walked slowly.
After introductions, to which Hedgestus responded solemnly, Kep-patawn ordered the star produced. The ornately carved box was placed on the table and opened.
It held a star that again differed from the others Stryke had. This one was grey, with just two spikes projecting from the central ball.
"Doesn"t look like much, does it?" Keppatawn commented.
"No," Stryke agreed. "May I?"
The centaur chieftain nodded.
Stryke gently lifted the star from its box. It had occurred to him that it might be a fake. He tried applying some subtle pressure. The thing was absolutely solid, like the others.
Apparently Keppatawn realised what Stryke was doing, but didn"t seem to mind. "It"s more than tough, it"s indestructible. I"ve never seen anything like it, and I"ve worked with every material there is. I tried it in the furnace once.
Didn"t even scorch it."
Stryke put the star back.
"Why do you want it?" Keppatawn said.
It was a question Stryke had hoped to avoid. He decided on an outdated answer, figuring that counted as partial truth.
"We"re out of Queen Jennesta"s horde. We figured we might be able to use this to bargain our way back in." He added, "She has a pa.s.sion for old religious artifacts."