by Andre Norton
It was late afternoon and the first heavy flakes of snow had begun to fall by the time Rohan and Snolli arrived back in camp.
Rohan touched the hilt of his sword with his gloved hand, grateful that the
Nordor leaders had relented and allowed edged weapons after all. He hoped the weather would not grow too cold to use them. The approaching snowstorm added to his apprehension. He was warm enough, but he missed the comfort of armor. The brush of dried herbs and grasses Granddam Zazar had given him to wear was useless without a helm to wear it in. However, he had tied it to a thong and now kept it close to his skin. Another item she had given him—a silver amulet with the design of crashing waves—he wore more openly. "I'm late again," he stated with some degree of guilt.
"Never mind, boy," Snolli told him. "They need what we bring. They'll wait for us." He fingered the elaborate badge of office he wore. Rohan hid a smile, remembering how delighted his grandfather had been at the title Admiral-General, and how he had tried to hide it.
"That's more than just a general, isn't it," he had said, scowling.
"Indeed it is, sir," Rohan had said.
"Do I keep the badge, once this war is over?"
"I see no reason why you can't, sir. In fact, I see no reason why yours shouldn't be a permanent office, in Rendel."
His grandfather had grunted dismissively, but Rohan knew better than to believe his gruff act. The Council of Rendel would be wise to have just such a scheme in mind, he thought, or I'm in trouble again for speaking when I didn't know all the facts.
"Well, judging from the number of guards and the flag there, I'd say we've arrived." Snolli tramped straight to the men stationed at the entrance to the command tent. "You there. Make way for the Admiral-General of all of Rendel and his second in command. We bring information."
"High Marshal Harous and all the other leaders of the Four Armies are waiting for you eagerly," one of the guards replied. He saluted and ushered them inside.
As before, the interior was warm, not only from the brazier, but also from the presence of many more men than had been there the previous day. Rohan recognized his friend Ce-bastian, seated beside Gaurin, and remembered that there was kinship between them. Hynnel was on Gaurin's other side, and next to him was
Lathrom. He looked up at Rohan and nodded a welcome. Steuart, the champion of the Grand Tourney, sat next to Chevin, Harous's lieutenant, and Rohan realized that he was a part of Harous's staff. Elsewhere around the table he recognized
Jabez of Mimon, Vinod of Vacaster, and Reges of Lerkland, all young nobles of his ac- quaintance, who had found positions as junior officers. Ni-kolos of Grattenbor,
Royance's deputy, had the seat that would have been his lord's. Gidon of Bilth acted as his second in command. Harous himself occupied the seat at the head of the table, and Tusser was relegated to a spot as far down from him as possible.
Rohan deliberately chose a chair close by the Bog-man. "I know these men. Let me do the talking," he whispered to Snolli.
Harous spoke first. "Welcome, Admiral-General, and Rohan," he said. "As you can see, we have been studying the map of the area and making conjectures as to where our enemy has gathered, but without firm information our guesses are only useless exercises. I hope that you have brought us something we can use."
"I have," Snolli retorted. His chest puffed up a little. "The Sea-Rovers have made themselves more than useful today. Rohan, you tell them."
Relieved that his grandfather was taking his advice, Rohan began, though he left out certain private observations.
The grizzled old Admiral-General insisted on leading the mission in person. "You may be young and hot for battle," he told Rohan, "but it is too soon to engage the enemy. Not until we know what we're facing. Takes somebody seasoned to get in and out in one piece when we go to take a look. They are bound to object, if they catch us."
Without reminding his grandfather that the reconnaissance mission had been his idea, Rohan surrendered command of the Spume-Maiden, chosen because she was faster than any other ship in the fleet. Snolli promptly took his place beside
Captain Harvas. Rohan's battle flag floated in the breeze, sea-blue with the device of crashing waves, and the old Chieftain ordered his run up above it. In moments, Snolli's ensign floated free, crimson with an attacking sea eagle.
Skillfully, Harvas took advantage of the slight breeze to take the little ship north, far enough from the shore for safety, but still close enough so that, with the use of Snolli's far-see glass, they could note what was to be seen. The stubby little vessel pitched and rolled in the dark waves.
They rounded a promontory. "Huh," his grandfather grunted. "There they are." He passed the glass to Rohan, who gazed through it eagerly.
If it had been a brighter day, he could have observed more, but it was enough.
"We counted five great beasts, all in stalls made of stone. The Frydian invaders must have gathered the stones and built them," Rohan told the generals. "I think there was a sixth stall, but it was empty."
Harous raised one eyebrow. "Six Ice Dragons," he said.
"Add to that a host of armsmen," Rohan continued. "They are camped not in good order the way we are, but huddled in clusters here and there. This made it difficult to count, but I think we may be outnumbered roughly three to one."
"Interesting odds," Gaurin commented. "However, the important news is that the
Frydians must be planning to take the sea road and make a direct assault on us."
"Of course they are," Snolli said impatiently.
"And how, Rohan, did you manage to find out all this without being spotted from the shore?"
The Admiral-General took this question himself. "It's an old Sea-Rover trick. We sailed on past, innocent as you please, as if we were out on an errand that had nothing to do with the people from the North. And then, when we were out of sight of them, we headed out to sea until we couldn't see the shore and turned back south once again. Harvas used to be a wave-reader until his ship was destroyed, when first we came to Rendel. He can smell his way across the water both coming and going."
"That name is familiar," Harous said. "He was in Rendel-sham briefly, was he not? When the late King Florian was flirting with an alliance between our two peoples?"-
"Your spies are competent. Yes, I sent Harvas as surety for the hostage the cata—I mean, King Florian had left with us while we were discussing terms. He was just a Prince then. All came to naught, though. Wasn't until my son Obern married that skinny, pale girl that we could treat with your Queen."
"Ashen," Gaurin said mildly.
"Oh, yes," Snolli said. "You married her later, didn't you."
Rohan wanted to put his elbow in Snolli's ribs or his fist in his mouth if there were room, what with Snolli's large foot occupying it already. He might wreck the whole alliance among the several peoples of Rendel with his rough tongue.
Also, there was more important information to relay. He had to speak up, and break into his grandfather's pleasant game.
"We killed one of the Dragons," he said, "and its rider."
Every man in the room, except for Snolli who just sat complacently in his chair, leapt to his feet. Even Tusser was impressed. The air was full of their questions. How, where, what had they used against it—Rohan also had to stand, and gesture for silence.
"Admiral Snolli went back to his own ship. Something told me there was more to be seen. Before Snolli could stop me, I sent Spume-Maiden sailing north again.
The Dragon was in the air by the time we turned back," he said. "So their suspicions must have been aroused despite our pretense."
"We've seen these things before," Snolli observed judiciously, "though mostly on the ground. They came after us, when Void was destroyed. That's our old stronghold," he added for the benefit of those who didn't know the Sea-Rovers' story. "But we outran them with a favoring wind, and their being weary from destruction. This time luck was all that saved this young fool."
The g
enerals and their aides sat down again and Rohan took up the terrible, necessary tale once more.
Snolli, of course, was in hot pursuit but the much slower Gorgull couldn't catch up before the battle was over. The Dragon seemed as large as the ship they sailed in, but that could have just been their imaginations. It swooped down for a closer look at them. Even without the far-see glass Rohan could see a man seated just behind the enormous head.
He turned to Dordan, one of the steadiest of the marines. "Archers," he ordered.
"Have our bows warmed, greased, and drawn already," Dordan said, grinning. "A giant crossbow or a catapult would be useful, but we don't have any."
"Stay hidden until it comes close enough."
"Count on me, even as your father did." Dordan gave a signal and the bowmen under his command took what shelter they could find on the deck of the little ship.
When the Dragon came within range, Dordan leapt up with a loud cry. He and his archers took deadly aim, and fired. The Dragon veered off as its rider, startled, tried to dodge the hail of arrows. Some missed, but many more found a mark. The rider clutched at his shoulder but kept his seat.
An arrow had lodged in the beast's eye and it began raking at the injury with its great claws. It tossed its head, and its rider lost his perch. The force with which the caped figure hit the water must have killed him. If he could have held his seat just a few moments longer, he would have lived, at least for a little while, because the Dragon drifted down and settled onto the surface. It spread out its great wings for buoyancy.
"Quick, before it can take flight again!" Rohan shouted.
A boat was already being lowered. He scrambled into it as it cleared the deck.
"Let us keep on putting arrows into the beast, from a distance," Dordan said.
"No use in getting too close, too soon."
Rohan gripped the hilt of his Rinbell sword, grateful to have it in his hand.
Grandfather had called him hot for battle. That was an understatement. He was feverish for real action, wanted to grapple the creature and subdue it with only his own strength as a weapon, but he recognized the archer's wisdom. He nodded.
Dordan gave a signal and another flight of arrows arched over their heads. As before, most found their mark but a few had been aimed at the rider whose body floated nearby.
"These things can be killed," Rohan said. "They are not invincible, as we had thought."
"We haven't bagged this one yet," Dordan warned. "And we brought it down only because its rider wasn't expecting us to attack. I think he just came out to give us a looking-over."
"Well, then, let's finish it off."
By this time, more boats had left the ship, all filled with armed men. They circled the downed Dragon, approaching cautiously; the creature was very dangerous. It lashed out with its wings, threatening to swamp any boat that came too close.
"We've just been scratching at it. Those arrows aren't any more to it than a speck of sand would be to us. If we're to have a chance, we have to blind it completely," Dordan reported. He stood up in the boat, keeping his feet with difficulty as the Dragon's continued flailing created a heavy chop.
Nevertheless, his next arrow lodged in the beast's other eye. Its struggles grew more intense. It could not claw the arrows out without losing the buoyancy of its outstretched wings. Immediately the other archers began aiming for the same target and, in spite of the threshing of the creature's long neck, many found their mark.
"Bring us in closer, toward the head," Rohan said.
"Dangerous move, Rohan, but probably necessary," Kather said. He didn't have
Dordan's skill with the bow, and hefted a spear instead. An axe, the weapon the
Sea-Rovers liked best, hung at his belt. "Those arrows are just annoyances, if I guess right." He hefted his spear. "It'll take a few of these in just the right place—"
Kather launched the spear and found his target. Within a matter of moments, the
Dragon's head bristled with spears and its movements—Rohan hoped—grew feebler.
"We can't throw hard enough to make the spear points go deep," Rohan said. "The skull is too strong. We can't hope to reach the heart, not with its body half under water. That means someone will have to go up close, try for the brain. I mean, I can try for it."
"That is too close," Dordan said dubiously.
"I have to try. Take me in."
The men began working the boat as close as they dared, but it was useless. The
Dragon was still flailing its head back and forth and there was no hope of
Rohan's being able to leap up and catch it, even if he could have been able to avoid the huge mouth filled with sharp, white teeth. Snolli would be furious if he failed, and take credit if he succeeded. Well, so be it.
"The wing," he said. "I'll try for the wing, and then climb up the neck."
"You're mad."
"I'm a Sea-Rover," Rohan said, grinning. "If I fail, then tell my grandfather I died well."
Eight
The Dragon made no extra effort to fling Rohan off into the sea, perhaps because it simply didn't notice his presence. Nevertheless, a spasm of its wing flipped him high into the air and it was only by luck that he was hurled in the direction of the body and not into the water. Rohan grabbed one of the sharp spines that ran down the Dragon's back and, having a handhold at last, pulled himself slowly along these protuberances toward the beast's head. He was careful not to let go of one before he had a secure grasp on the next. Still, it seemed that days must have passed before he reached the saddlelike spot just behind the enormous skull where its late rider had sat. Here there were two depressions on either side that seemed perfectly designed for human legs. He scrambled up and into the natural saddle and gripped the beast's neck with thighs and feet. Then, as if sensing a stranger on its neck, the Dragon began to thrash in earnest in an attempt to fling him off. If Rohan had tried to mount the biggest, meanest, wildest horse in all of Rendel, he would not have had as rough a ride as the Ice
Dragon was giving him now.
He had to trust in the strength of his thigh muscles to keep from joining the
Dragon's late rider, who was floating out past the spot where this desperate battle was going on. Out of the corner of his eye, Rohan spotted one of the boats, making for the body. But he didn't have time to think about it.
He drew the Rinbell sword and held it high, point down, waiting for the right moment to strike. There had to be a vulnerable point somewhere, and Rohan was betting his life that it was very close to the natural saddle.
"They say Rinbell blades, if they choose, fight for those who wield them," he cried out, his words lost in the din of battle. "Let it be so!"
Closing his eyes, he struck. The blade hit solid bone and Rohan knew that he had failed, and would forfeit his life. "Anamara—"
Then, as if of its own volition, the point of the sword slid past the bone and went in, up to the hilt. Rohan moved it back and forth, trying to do the maximum damage. He felt something give deep in the Dragon's skull and it spasmed violently. All its limbs flailed out once more, and then its head drooped and it went limp.
"Here, Rohan. Jump for the boat. We'll catch you."
Rohan looked up. Dordan waited in the little vessel. He had brought it in perilously close. His men had hard work to keep the craft steady while lending what aid they could. The waters were still violently agitated from the Dragon's struggles.
"In a moment." Rohan set his foot on the back of the Dragon's skull and pulled.
At first the sword refused to budge and his heart sank. Then the blade came out, reluctantly. It would have to be cleaned with care, he thought, lest the
Dragon's ichor damage it. For the moment, he returned it to its sheath for safekeeping.
Suddenly weary in every bone, he summoned a last bit of strength and jumped. At that moment the boat was tossed and he missed, landing heavily in the icy cold water. The men hauled him out before he could sink and drown.
A few thick, heavy flakes of snow were just beginning to fall.
"What a tale!" Cebastian said. "Comrade, I almost envy you your adventure!"
Around him, the other young nobles nodded their agreement.
Rohan shrugged. "There'll be fighting enough for all of you on land, and perhaps even harder than my skirmish. We were lucky because we took the rider unprepared for us."
"I've heard they are monsters who ride the Dragons," Chevin said.
"This one looked rough and cruel, to be sure," Rohan said, "but he also looked human enough. At least on the outside. We were lucky with him but it will not be thus with the others. They will be ever on their guard from today. Anyway, we sailed on south, as my grandfather said, to Bilth harbor. I changed into dry clothes, and we came here at once."