Wine of the Gods 4: Explorers

by Pam Uphoff

  Jin snorted. "We need no assistance, and these lands are part of the Kingdom of the West. I hold these lands through a grant of King Rebo Negue."

  "King Negue cannot give away what he does not own."

  "Indeed. Is this a Declaration of War I hear? Does Auralia seek to contend for the control of these lands?"

  "We come in Peace, to unite all of mankind under a single banner, to stop all strife, forever."

  "Nothing is forever."

  "Peace is. Behold! The God of Peace has arrived!"

  Light flashed at the flat top of a rock knob halfway between Jin and the Auralian army. The youth from the ceremony last night, mounted on a horse. In the daylight, youth and horse were equally golden. Jin's skin crawled and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. Not again! Not Wizards!

  "Do you accept Peace?" The golden youth's voice carried unnaturally.

  "Turn and leave us, and we will both know Peace." Jin called back.

  The youth spun the palomino. He raised his hand to the Auralian Army. "Bring them Peace!" He bellowed, and swept his arm down to point at Jin.

  A roar rose from the Army, and they started advancing in order, shields up.

  Jin caught muttering and unease behind him. "Hold steady lads, we know all about magic." He hesitated, this could be a bad idea . . . "Get me torches, six of them, quickly." Jesse took off running as Jin and his officers retreated more slowly.

  The Auralian Emissary was retreating too, and Jin checked out the terrain . . . a flat topped knob, only about ten feet across, but three feet high. This would do. He climbed up as Jesse returned with the torches, one lit. Smart boy.

  Jin lit the rest, and lay them equidistantly around the flat topped knob. In the daylight, they were more noticeable for the thin strings of dark smoke from the tar that impregnated them, than the actual flames. He stepped back and raised his voice. "God of War. God of Defenders. Help us today as we fight for our families and our freedom." He turned to face the ridge. "War!" he bellowed. Let them take heart, do not let a bit of flash steal their resolve. Let them believe.

  "War!" His men yelled back at him. "War!" as he jumped off the knob and started back for the ridge. "War!"

  He saw the Corporal's eye widen in shock, and spun, ready to defend himself.

  A black horse reared in the center of the torches, the rider all in black and silver, a glittering sword raised. The horse's front hooves touched down in the inadequate space. The rider faced him.

  "Who calls the God of War?"

  "Jin Genero. Liege of King Rebo of the Kingdom of the West. These Auralians threaten our homes, in the name of peace." Jin braced suddenly weak knees.

  "Peace." The god's dark eyes glittered deep in the helmet, and the black horse spun. "So I see."

  The golden youth had been watching silently, and now he spoke. "We outnumber you two-to-one, Old Man."

  "Obviously you know nothing of war, Boy. Were you three-to-one against a prepared defense, I might be concerned. As it is, you are about to be given a lesson in battlefield tactics." The black horse leaped from the knob and stretched out in a flat run. Jin gasped as the huge creature bore down on the golden youth.

  The boy gawped for a moment, fumbled for his sword and a panicked expression spread across his face as the black horse closed the distance with uncanny speed. A flash of light, and Peace was gone. The black rider swerved enough to bypass the knob and bore down on the dismounted foot soldiers. Officers screamed orders, but the charge had been too sudden, too swift. A few pikes came into position, but the black horse swerved and hit the least prepared part of the front. Men screamed and the glittering sword swung, throwing red from its tip. The black rider burst through the back of the formation and bore down on the rear guard. They were minding the horses and the wagons, in no formation at all and were slaughtered in a single zigzag pass. The horses scattered, bolting or milling around. The black rider swung around for another pass, and Young Henner popped up out of an arroyo at a gallop, ten lancers forming up on him.

  The Auralian officers were asserting order, but with the black rider on one side and the lancers on the other they were in trouble.

  Jin turned and bellowed up the slopes, "Archers forward! Ornisto, get a shield wall down here."

  The lancers made a pass through the back of the troops, and turned for another. The black rider had killed all the soldiers around the wagons, and Jin could see about half the wagons being driven off to the east by the women that he'd seen last night. Two of the other wagons, without drivers, were moving, the horses spooked and driven at the Auralians as they started getting a shield wall organized. The black rider hit a horse with the flat of his blade and the team broke into a gallop.

  Most of the Auralians got out of the way. One horse was impaled on a pike, bringing its teammate down in a thrashing, kicking tangle as the wagon tipped and rolled into the foot soldiers. Henner and the god charged into the confusion.

  The Auralians managed to rally, and retreated behind a shield wall to the remaining two wagons, and Jin grabbed a horse and galloped out to command his men to let them go.

  He organized his people quickly, one force shadowing the Auralians, the others rounding up stray animals and the women's wagons to limit the Auralians' resources.

  When he paused to catch his breath and look around, there was no sign of the God of War.

  "I may have to build a temple," he muttered.

  ***

  Lefty cleared his throat. "I don't suppose anyone could explain that to me? I've gotten used to wizards popping in and out, but that was strange even for you. Us. Whatever."

  "Someone has prayed to the God of War, and like it or not, he's gone to deal with their problem. He'll be back soon enough." Harry looked worriedly out the door. "Although one always worries what is going on in the world, that requires the attention of a god."

  As explanations went, that one was unsettling. Lefty looked at the others, then back to Harry. "Did you say 'The God of War?' You don't mean The God of War, do you?" His stomach was sinking at their surprised expressions.

  Never snickered. "I keep forgetting you didn't grow up here. Yes. The God of War. The Auld Wulf. What did you think he was?"

  "A mage." Lefty looked around the Tavern, eyeing the men and women. Eyed Harry. Never and Question were rather obviously trying to not laugh.

  Dydit nodded toward Harry. "God of the Roads."

  "Do you mean to tell me you were being serious when you called Romeau the God of Love!"

  Harry tapped a spot on the map. "You've penciled in some mountains here?"

  Lefty gave him a dubious look over, but pulled his attention back to the map. "Yes. When the wind is strong enough to clear the steam and fog, you can spot mountains that stick up through the ice cap. The increased elevation may be why we haven't cleared the ice, yet. Unless the hotsprings quit altogether, we should be out fairly early this summer."

  Dydit tapped the map thoughtfully. "Once we're out, we should have warmer weather, and if we keep going south, we could stay out quite a long time, maybe spend winter far to the south over there. We could report, pick up supplies and send the kids back for school, before we get too far from the Rip hotsprings."

  "No! Not without us! We'll be good!"

  They all blinked at the little girl in the corner. Never looked exasperated. "Aren't you supposed to be in school."

  "Miss Nina said I could read while she worked with the other students." Rustle held out a thick story book, as evidence of her exemplary behavior.

  "I suspect she expected you to stay at school while reading." Never pointed out the door. The girl slunk out.

  "Once she starts doing 'unnoticeable' consciously she's going to be impossible to keep track of," Dydit said.

  "Ha! Just look for someone who's talking about something interesting. Or failing that, the Auld Wulf. Bad case of hero worship there."

  "She's very smart. She'll probably be a very strong witch." Brock ran the dry goods store here in Ash,
generally with all the young women swooning over him.

  Dydit bristled. "Anyway, we should figure out at least whether we'll be wintering over or getting back to the Rip in the Fall. Perhaps we should check out the north, move east, or west then late in the summer turn and head back to the Rip and travel home."

  "So we'll have the pleasure of your company for another winter." Brock was smiling at Never and Dydit was looked away. Scowling.

  Lefty paused. He hadn't thought about Dydit having a rival. Never ignored them both and turned back to the map.

  Maybe Never wasn't chasing men at all? Lefty quickly turned back to planning. His friends would have to figure out their relationships on their own. "We'll no doubt rearrange all of our plans, once we get out of the ice. So we should load up the food and feed and go."

  They wrangled over organizing their travels, how many horses to take and which ones. "Storm and Zip are a good team." Question snickered. "I think Dad bred both your favorite mares."

  Dydit nodded. "But that little dun mare is a pleasure to ride. And Muddy's five now, well up to a long season's work."

  Never sniffed at the horse obsessed. "I dredged up some good diamonds last fall. I'll bring them, and some gold. If there are any people over there one or the other should do for trading."

  Lefty looked up at an odd twitch at his inner awareness. Harry and Nil hastily grabbed a table and chairs and hauled them away, leaving an open space that was quickly filled.

  The black horse was huge, splashed with blood. The rider's black leather and silver chain mail were equally splashed, the uplifted sword coated. The combined odor of sweating horse and fresh blood rolled over the room. Somehow the stench made it undeniably real. And the way the floorboards creaked under the huge animal.

  The warrior lowered his sword arm and swept his helmet off with the other. The Auld Wulf, sweaty and blood splashed. "Damn. That hasn't happened in centuries. And I'm not sure he really believed in the God of War anyway."

  Harry snorted. "No doubt he does now. Why don't you get your horse out of my tavern, then come back and tell us all about it?"

  The Auld Wulf laughed and disappeared. Horse and all. Only the smell remained.

  Nil sighed. "I really do wish he'd leave the horse behind, occasionally."

  Harry shook his head. "He hates the idea of his horse getting old and dying." He propped the door open, and started opening the windows. Lefty could feel the delicate little spell that triggered the breeze that thinned the horse fug from the air. I never noticed, before. They were just here, like the earth and the sky.

  He tried to get his mind back to the expedition, but gave it up gratefully when the horde of school children flooded in to find parents or sustenance. Quitting time. School's out.

  Rustle and Havi, with their closest friends came through long enough to get permission to explore the west ridge, and departed, passing the Auld Wulf as he entered. Rustle hung back and looked him over, then Havi grabbed her and pulled her out.

  Nil looked at the god. "So? Have any fun?"

  "Pax leading, so to speak, Auralian troops in the New Lands. Be careful out there. If you four see a good looking blond man, twentyish, golden eyes, run away or yell for help. The God of Peace is badly misnamed." He looked clean and tidy for the short time he'd been gone. But then perhaps he'd skipped the walk down from the winery. Hair and beard short, mostly gray. Dark eyes with a rim of warm reddish brown. Crisply ironed shirt and pants, without the usual wolfskin vest. He didn't look at all like a god.

  Now.

  Harry walked out of the kitchen. "Pax? Haven't seen that nasty little commie for . . . I don't know how long."

  "He hasn't changed a bit. Still all mouth, and no guts. I'll go talk to Rufi, warn him."

  Lefty hesitated. Maybe they were just kidding me. "You know, I really hope that all those stories about wars between the gods are just fables. Especially since I don't believe in gods, umm."

  Both putative gods grinned.

  "I'm afraid we have clashed regularly. But we try to leave other people out of it." Harry looked over at the Auld Wulf. "The three of us have always stood together, and Romeau's back now. I wonder if everyone is waking up?"

  Never bit her lip. "Waking up from what? And how many gods are there? I mean, we grew up around you three, but I never thought about there being more. And is there a reason for them to wake up, now?"

  Harry shook his head. "Romeau's awakening seems to have been accidental. There were thirteen gods. Barry Virtue—Ba'al, if you prefer—has got himself trapped in time dilation and good riddance. Chance was in Scoone for a while, before we all left. And I've caught news of Pax, off and on."

  "I've seen him twice since the comet fell." A gorgeous woman walked in on Sir Romeau's arm.

  "Oh, missed opportunities.

  Of these I have plenty.

  But not with him."

  Sir Romeau grinned and tossed his outrageous hat at a peg on the wall. Lefty felt the little touch of levitation and push he used to correct his throw. Gods! It was enough to make him glad to concentrate on the real work in the real world. But he hadn't gotten to where he was by not being curious.

  "Since the comet fell? That's a myth, told as one of the reasons for the death of the old world." Lefty eyed the woman . . . surely this wasn't . . . Lady Gisele. Goddess of Health and Fertility. The myths said she was the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone. He'd met Lady Gisele, the old woman with the herb garden across the alley . . .

  "Oh, one of the Farm Group. It killed nearly everyone, and caused the first of the dark ages." The Auld Wulf kicked back in his usual chair and grinned.

  That brought a pause to all conversations around them.

  Some rather alarming information about comets, remembered from books read decades ago, surfaced in his mind. This was going to need some thinking about.

  "Where did it hit?" Lefty's mind drifted toward the expanse of the wastes.

  The gods all shook their heads.

  "On the other side of the world." The Auld Wulf said. "We broke it up, tried to divert the pieces. At least two large pieces hit, and lots of smaller ones. No one survived, on that side of the world. On this side, a few small, self sufficient colonies held on with magical assistance."

  Lefty shivered. They may be gods, but they aren't all powerful.

  Harry sighed. "Thirteen of us acting together, with thousands of witches and mages, and we couldn't do it."

  "Not the Auralian traditional thirteen?" Never looked fascinated. "So, there's a God of Peace and God of Chance out there? Who else? Who's missing? You all know each other, don't you?"

  Gisele sighed. "The Goddesses of Mercy and Logic. Gods of Art, Youth, Just Deserts, Virtue and Vice. Edmund Vice is Barry Virtue's twin brother. Well named, instead of sarcastically named."

  "Just Deserts?" Lefty started snickering. "That's . . . as odd as Romeau's poetry."

  "He's a royal pain to be around. Think of a practical joker with a god's power. Who's really soured on life." The Auld Wulf shook his head. "And Mercy is . . . merciful only by her own standards. Art's a snob. Even Logic was a bit odd. All things considered, I could do without any of them waking for another century or two."

  Never shook her head. "I really can't think of any of you as snobs or dangerous to ordinary people. You're more like the foundations of the world."

  The four gods all laughed at that. Harry shook his head reprovingly. "The world was here before us, and will survive our demise, probably without noticing."

  Chapter Three

  2 March 3477

  Dallas, Earth

  McCamey walked into Lon's office and closed the door.

  "That's not a good sign." Lon leaned away from his computer and gave his boss his full attention.

  "Has Jackson Jefferson been talking to you?"

  "Not as such. We swapped equipment lists. He commended my parsimony, and I suggested that he should take a good look at the site before moving that much equipment."

  "Rea
lly? What did he say?"

  "That I clearly wasn't bothering with a preliminary survey. I pointed out that I had treeless rolling hills and he was on a very steep slope in the middle of a dense forest. Haven't spoken to him since. Has he gone?"

  "Gone? How can he do that when he neglected to schedule gate time? He said New Carolina had flunkies to do that, and that we should have taken care of it."

  Lon could hear the man's teeth gritting, and sighed. He could see the writing on that wall clear enough. "You want my earliest time, don't you?"

  "Yes. He says he can't be ready to return trucks in a week, so we want your third slot too."

  Lon swiveled his chair back to the computer and brought up the gate scheduling page. "Let me see if there are cancellations, or if I can swap some spots with other companies. What we need are two outbound times and two returns. If JJ goes on March 16, and he wants two weeks . . . "

  "He said three would be perfect."

  "Sloppy. Well, I'll update my estimate for the second gate to sixty seconds, for my first movement. Then he can use the third gate for his return. Let me ask for any cancellations in between for my return . . . And it looks like we can get gates two and three weeks later for regular supply runs. All right. That's the best I can do, right now. He goes on the sixteenth, and I'll go on the twenty-third. Good, a hole popped up on March twenty-sixth. Three days to completely off load is a bit tight but we should make it with no problem. So that's my return. Now the scheduled gate on April 7 is his return, and he'd best schedule a supply delivery for that gate. The scheduled gate on April 28 I'll keep for my first regular supply run. May 16th can be his. Tell him March 16, April 7 and May 16 are reserved for him, and he needs to set up what he needs after that."

  "Your first supply run was scheduled just two weeks after the prior gate? Why?"

  "Three weeks after we go in. That gives me a week to find out what we don't have, send the order with the return trucks and get it two weeks later. I prefer more frequent contact the first few months. In case of disaster. Or people who just can't handle the isolation. Once that's settled, I'll stretch out the supply runs, probably to once a month. Looks like I'll be jumping straight to once a month on this one. I'll offset JJs gates so the warehouse people aren't so rushed. I'll see what sort of schedule JJ settles for, then shift mine so they don't coincide." He drummed his fingers. "He's got a gap of more than a month . . . I'll grab this open spot late on April 13th. Keep an eye on him. If he doesn't get at least a month's supply of stuff on his April 7th gate, you can switch the gate on the 13th to him and send him a month's worth of food and fuel even if he hasn't remembered to order it. I'll be ready for that gate, and if it doesn't happen, I'll be ready for the 28th. If I make the 13th, we can decide whether JJ needs the 28th, or we can cancel it, or the next one."