"Where can we find a field magistrate?" asked Pelmore.
"There are plenty in Alberin," I said.
"What?" shrieked Pelmore. "That's two or three days by barge, even at speed."
"And he may decide that he wants an investigation first, and that will involve the Inquisition. It could take months."
"But my wedding is tomorrow!"
"Well, your condition should be a source of surprise for your bride," said Norellie.
"I'll send word when we are leaving for Alberin," I said, gesturing to the door. "Now get out, Pelmore."
Pelmore took a step, but without remembering that his trews were still around his ankles. He fell headlong. A minute later he had his trews up again, and was through the door and gone.
"Of course some Wayfarer inspectors can also be field magistrates," said Norellie.
"Actually, I did pass a ratification test recently," I responded. "Dear, dear, how forgetful of me."
Norellie handed a thumb-sized bag of dried herbs to me.
"Inspector, Riellen explained that you get very severe migraine headaches at the conclusion of each mission with the Wayfarer Constables," she said. "I'm sorry that I did not treat your misery last night. Riellen was telling me some very interesting things and I confess that we forgot about you. You should have moaned and complained, like other patients. Next time the signs of a headache are upon you, drop that bag of herbs into a mug of boiling water, then drink it as hot as you can stand. It works for most people, but not all."
"Thank you indeed," I said. "And by the by, are you the woman from Helion?"
"No."
'Then who are you?"
"There is no name for what I am, and I do many things. Sometimes I heal, sometimes I cause distress, sometimes I strew joy in my wake. When I first came to Gatrov the folk asked what my trade was, and I always replied which trade? After a while I decided I liked the name, so I put it on my card. Would you pass my bag over, young Constable? There's a good girl. Here's my card, Danol."
I read the card, and it declared her to b£ norellie
witchway —healer to discerning folk in Ne|eD.
"Catchy," I commented, "except that you spelled 'which' wrongly."
"I know, but I think 'witch' gives it more bite." it was at this very moment that Halland, the commander of the town militia, entered. He was about forty, with a neat, graying beard and the confident yet wary bearing of those who lead their men into real fighting. He glanced about. Three women and a lad in a room means either extreme guilt or extreme innocence. Apparently he decided that eitreme innocence was easier to cope with than the alternative. He saluted. I returned the salute as best I could, given the state of my forehead and arm.
"Commander, how delightful to see you," said Norellie.
'"Madame Norellie! You, ah, know the inspector?"
"Only professionally. He sent quite a lot of work my way today, and I sewed up his forehead and arm. Are you going to arrest me again?"
"Pardon?" I asked.
f'My status in this town is akin to that of a lamplight girl," explained Norellie. "People want my services, but don't like me working in their neighborhood."
"My apologies, madame, but the Inquisition's agent has reported that your healing techniques border on sorcery, and I am meant to enforce laws against sorcery," said Halland, although he sounded embarrassed.
"Well, I have finished with the inspector, so shall we be going off to the stocks?" Norellie asked.
"Stay, stay," said Halland. "I am here for Inspector Danolarian."
"Me?" I exclaimed. "I've never practiced sorcjery."
"You don't understand, Inspector, I've a message from the castle. The baron wants to see you. You're to go straightaway. Apparently he's planning an attack on the, er, Lupan folk from the shooting star, but he wants to hear all that is known about them first."
I had never met the baron, but his approach did seem sensible.
"Have you shown the samples I gave you to a scholar of the cold sciences?" I asked.
"Inspector, this is a river port. We have no academy, neither do we have their tools of trade or books." He held up a little pouch. "I had my armorer examine these, but he was of no help at all. That is another reason for me being here."
"Am I missing something?" asked Norellie.
"The Lupanians are very, very dangerous, and a detailed study of my samples could tell us much about them," I said, trying to sound neutral. "It does not really matter if the study is scientific or sorceric, as long as something can be learned."
Norellie looked to Halland. Halland hastily looked to me. I nodded.
"The materials, amulets, and devices confiscated from Madame Norellie's house last month had to be destroyed, and in the presence of a magistrate," mumbled Halland, then he went down on one knee before her. "Madame Norellie, good lady, might there be anything that we missed that you may use to examine these Lupanian objects?"
"You expect me to tell you?"
Halland thought about that for a moment. "Madame Norellie, I apologize for the raid from the bottom of my soul. I shall write out an order for the town militia to cease harassing you in perpetuity. It's the absalver no trestipar."
"That means that from now on you shall be responsible for any breaches of the sorcery laws that I may commit!" exclaimed Norellie. "You are putting your life in my hands."
"Madame Norellie, I might have been forced to raid your house, but that does not mean I don't respect and trust you. With that in mind, will you help?" There was an extended pause. I suspected that Norellie was making Halland squirm.
"Give me your samples, I'll do what I can," she declared, holding a hand out to Halland with just the trace of a smile.
'TU deliver my pledge in writing within the hour," offered Halland, placing the pouch of stone chips and oxide in her hand. To me, his fingers seemed to linger slightly longer than was needed. Norellie selected a crumb of oxidation.
"From another world," Norellie said slowly, turning the orange chip over in her fingers "It has an odd feel about it."
"When will your work be done?" Halland asked. "The baron will want to know."
'The baron will have to wait. I'll need to buy a few things in the market, and Lady Lavenci's hand needs further treatment. Call past at dusk."
Chapter Seven
THE SORCERESS AND TtiE HEAT BEAM
The baron of Gatrov was in an ideal position for someone who liked a bit of peace and quiet. His barony was prosperous, if not actually rich, and was some distance from the borders of other kingdoms. Invading armies tended to bypass his town and castle, and his subjects were well behaved. The trouble was that the baron did not want peace and quiet. He dreamed of martial glory, and longed for a chance to prove himself in a battle. As we arrived at the castle his mounted archers were on the green, practicing firing from horseback at a gallop. They were aiming at human-sized hay stooks directly ahead. Even at a hundred yards, most of the arrows were hitting the stooks, which were set up like ranks of infantry.
Halland, Riellen, and I were met by a steward at the gatehouse, and were taken straight into the throne hall. Here the baron had called a hasty war court of his kavelars ^nd marshals, and once more I had to repeat my fantastic story and show my samples. Riellen stood listening at the back of the hall.
"Long tentacles, you say?" the baron asked as I stood before the throne, at the focus of a half circle of kavelars.
"At least forty feet in length, and very strong," I answered.
"And a sort of magical flamethrower?"
"A beam of pure heat," I explained.
"Well then, we attack!" he said happily, slapping the armrest of his throne.
"My lord, with respect..." I began tentatively.
"Yes, yes?" snapped the baron. "Come on, fellow, out with it! One mouth, two ears, so we should listen twice as much as talk. I'm listening, so you talk."
"Granted, an armored kavelar on horseback armed with a lance could have a chance against th
e tentacled monsters themselves, but what about their heat weapon? It melted rock at a distance of one mile, so I would rate it as quite formidable."
"Oh pish to that," the baron laughed. "Bald Pate Hill will provide cover to half a mile distance, then it's a charge over open, flat ground. We shall rally at the hill tonight, for a charge with kavelars, lancers, and mounted archers tomorrow morning. The sun will be at our backs and in the enemy's eyes, and we'll be upon them before they even know we're coming."
"But the heat—" I began again.
"We shall have the paint and heraldic devices stripped from our shields so that they reflect the heat away like a mirror, don't you see? Now then, I have twenty kavelars, fifty lancers, and fifty mounted bowmen. Should that be enough, Inspector Danol? How many of those tentacled bounders were there?"
"The cylinder would have been perhaps fifteen feet by about fifty."
"By Miral's rings, as little as that? Even packing their marines in like salted fish in a barrel, they could not have more than two or three dozen in their ranks. So, we outnumber them. Do they have horses?"
"I saw none," I answered listlessly.
"No cavalry? Capital! What about bowmen?"
"I saw none of those either," I reported.
"Maybe they are like an octopus, just a lump with tentacles. Not very fast on land."
"They don't need to be fast on land when they can do this at one mile," I said, holding a chip of melted blackstone out to the baron. A marshal took it from me, walked up to the throne, and presented it to the baron. The nobleman turned it over in his fingers for some moments.
"Impressive, I'll grant you that," he said, tossing it over his shoulder, "but consider this: hold a polished shield with felt backing above your head while riding on a hot day, and you will remain as cool as if you were sipping wine in the shade of the castle's cloisters. Inspector Danol, you are to spend the afternoon briefing my kavelars on wnat you know of these Lupanians, then be ready to ride out with us at dusk tonight. I want to muster the attack force in the dark, then catch those damn Lupanians with their trews down at sunrise." I
"Me, my lord?" I asked, hardly believing what I was hearing. "Yes, yes, just you. Constable Riellen is much too small to look heroic alongside my men in the victory par&de before the regent. Anyway, she's a girl, and we all know girls can't fight. Constable, you are dismissed. Inspector Danol, gentlemen of the court, come out onto the green and we shall work out some tactics on the horseflesh, so to speak. Oh, and jlid you really play the sun down at Alpindrak's summit?" "Indeed I did, my lord."
"Splendid! Splendid! Look, I have a set of ^ar pipes—by Bflrrington, cost me a fortune. Would you mind playing the sun down with them this evening, from my battlements? You know, just so I can tell people you've played the!
Barringtons."
>! # X
"That bonehead is going to get ten dozen men killed tomorrow morning, and he wants me to be one of them," I muttered as Halland, Riellen, and I sat at a table outside trie Bargeman's Barrel sometime after dusk.
We were sitting outside for privacy, and were staring with foreboding at the lingering colors on the western horizon.
"It's already later than when the other cylinder arrived," skid Halland.
"It's probably a dangerous voyage through the void between the moonworlds," I responded hopefully. "Perhaps there was an accident."
. "Let us hope that the odds against making a successful crossing are nine in ten, so we shall have only one cylinder to deal with," said Halland. We contemplated that thought hopefully for a few moments.
"What did Norellie find out about that piece of orange stuff?" I asked Halland.
"Er, some sort of pottery, she thinks. I have the message here, that serving wench, Mervielle, brought it. The voidship is really a huge glazed jar. Is that not amazing? I just can't see how they'd prefer pottery to wood for a ship."
"A glazed jar sealed with wax and a cork can keep a reed-paper note dry while it drifts across an entire ocean," I pointed out. "Perhaps glazed pottery is a more sensible material for a ship than folk suspect."
"I tried to hold a rally to raise the uninformed and oppressed commoners'
awareness of the threat, but Commander Halland had me arrested and locked in a cell for an hour," said Riellen sullenly.
Halland and I exchanged knowing glances.
"I've spread the word that a force of greenwood outlaws made camp at Bald Pate Hill, and massacred the viscount and some peasants," said Halland.
"Greenwood outlaws?" Riellen exclaimed in disbelief. "But—"
"Nobody would believe what is really out there!" Halland insisted defensively.
"At least the pretense of a believable enemy lets me put the militia on alert for the night. The town's wall is being manned by militiamen with bows, and all men of able body are under orders to have arms within reach at all times."
"Immediate flight would be a more sensible course to follow," I suggested.
"Actually I have ordered the wives and children of some militiamen onto barges bound for Alberin, Inspector," said Halland.
"I could hold a rally in the market and alert the uninformed and neglected commoners to the nature of the real threat," suggested Riellen brightly.
•Riellen, I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but for once you may be right," I said slowly, hardly believing my own words. "What do you say, sir?" I asked Halland.
"In spite of my better judgment... I suppose I agree. But you would not be believed, Constable, and besides, the market is closed for the night." ("But a sizable number of the town's men will be in the taverns for the evening's pint," said Riellen. "I have studied rumor theory, and it is a fact that rumors are more readily believed than royal pronouncements. I can spread the word in the taverns, and the townsmen will take it to their homes." (Suddenly there was a green light in the sky, a^id we leaped to our feet to watch a second shooting star fly in low from the east. It passed to the north of us, no more than a few hundred feet above the fields, then it was lost to sight as it came down. Riellen and I followed Halland as he dashed for the port's watchtower. A minute later we were at the top, and looking to the northwest where a small fire was burning.
("Came down to the northwest, near the river," said Halland, gating through my farsight. "Five miles distant, no more. That is perfect." j "Perfect for what?" I asked.
(''Perfect for me to stand ready with a flamethrower and a cartload of hellfire oil, as you advised. As soon as the Lupanians have the hatch open, I'll char them black as toast in a smithy's forge."
"Wish I could be with you," I said sincerely. "Rather than with the baron as he suicides? Just take a tumble as soon as the others begin galloping, lad, then play dead while they get themselves killed. Nobody will ever know." "Will you take command of my constables, sir?" I asked, [ikh my hand firmly over Riellen's mouth again. Commander Halland cast an unenthusiastic I glance at my constable as I released her. Riellen gave him a pright and enthusiastic smile.
"Aye, I suppose I will," he said wearily. "Lass, I'm going to write a note assigning all three of you t
until someone of authority from the Wayfarers tells you to do otherwise. Tell Roval the same, when and if he ever sobers up, and don't forget Wallas."
"Aye sir," she said crisply, saluting.
Halland patted her skimpy shoulder and smiled.
"Well lass, looks like it's Halland and Riellen against the mighty magic of those sorcerers from Lupan. Now then, I suppose I'd better round up a dozen militiamen to go with us."
"A dozen militiamen, sir?" barked Riellen.
"Oh aye, but—"
"I'll do it, sir!" she said with another salute, then she hurried away down the tower's steps. Halland and I also descended.
"You seem awkward about Madame Norellie," I ventured.
"I had he
r arrested several times over, ransacked her house, smashed her jars of substances, burned her books, and even put her in the public stocks for a week. Now, in my hour of greatest need, she agrees to help. What does that tell you?"
"She is very public-spirited?"
"Madame Norellie has honor, and I do not. Inspector— Danolarian, friend, tell me, why did she do it? To force me to be in debt to her?"
"It is not just you," I said as reassuringly as I could. "This afternoon Madame Norellie... let us just say she is genuinely honorable, as you are."
"How do you know I am honorable?"
"Because you also have a sense of shame. Now what of the flamethrower?"
"Easy, there's a dozen, mounted on wagons, to defend the river port against raiders. All that we need is ..."
His voice trailed away. I followed his gaze to a rapidly gathering crowd. Just down the street, standing on the steps of the Gatrov Imperial Town Militia Offices, was Riellen, This time she was dressed as a Wayfarer, with her jacket rightways.
"Brothers! Friends! You all know why we're here!" floated out across the gaggle of heads to us. "Today the peace-loving people of the barony of Gatrovia lost two hundred of their brothers and sisters to the warmongering, imperialist, royal establishment sorcerers from Lupan. Now then, what are you going to do about it?"
The crowd of militiamen, some of whom had arrested her earlier, responded with cries along the lines of "Bastards!" and "Let's get 'em!"
"Inspector Danolarian Scryverin of the Wayfarer Constables of Alberin has been sent here to make a stand against the forces of warmongering, imperialist, royal establishment sorcerers from Lupan, and he has made an alliance: with your brave and freedom-loving leader, Commander Holland. Your baron, however, has deprived Commander Halland of the services of Inspector Danolarian!" There were cries of "Shame!," "Down with the baron," and "We're with Halland."
"How does she do it?" I asked softly. "Her speeches are so irritating when you hear them every day, yet people seem inspired when they get smaller doses of her."
"I wish she wouldn't use my name," muttered Halland, covering his face with his hand.
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