"I doubt it," countered the zulkir, pointing at Chanar's prone form. "At least if that greedy oaf is any
example."
Yamun eyed Chanar with a spiteful sneer. "He isn't."
Noting the khahan's hostility, Chanar returned to his feet and sheathed his sword. He scowled at Batu as
if the Shou had personally arranged this embarrassment.
Addressing Szass Tam, the khahan asked, "Did you bring me here to talk about my generals, or do you
want some-thing?"
"Look out there," the zulkir said, pointing at the plain to the west. The gray lines were still crawling over
the snow. "Nearly one hundred and ninety thousand men are march-ing against you, and we can summon
more at a moment's notice."
"Then do it," Batu said. "Twice that number would not con-cern us."
The zulkir scowled at the Shou, then turned his attention back to the khahan. "Do you allow your
subordinates to speak for you?"
"When they speak the truth," Yamun replied with a steady gaze. "We have nothing to fear from your
pitiful nineteen tumens."
Szass Tam raised an condescending eyebrow. "Is that so?"
"Yes. At the other end of the canyon, over three hundred and fifty thousand warriors await the order to
attack," the khahan proudly lied.
The zulkir glanced to the east, then turned back to Yamun. "I count ninety-seven thousand, four hundred
and thirty-two, exclusive of the two thousand, seven hundred and thirty-six here with the Shou
commander—somewhat less than the three hundred and fifty thousand you claim."
Yamun grimaced, then snapped, "I have no use for your counting, or your sorcery. We are traveling
through your land. If you stand aside, we will take only the food and wine we need to live. If you stand in
our way, not an infant will be spared our swords."
Szass listened to the threat with a patient smile, then said, "Perhaps I should show you something." The
zulkir stared at the snowy plain. "This is what will be in a week's time."
Suddenly an image of the khahan's one hundred thousand Tuigan warriors appeared at the base of the
hill. They were all fully armed and prepared for battle. As Batu and the oth-ers watched, a powerfully built
figure in t'ie cha armor rode out in front of the army.
"Khahan!" gasped Chanar, looking from the figure back to his commander. "That's you!"
Batu shared his rival's astonishment. Even from this dis-tance, the figure was clearly the khahan. That
meant they were watching an illusion, the Shou knew, but it looked so real that he could hardly force
himself to disbelieve it.
The illusory khahan lifted his sword and gave the signal to charge. Using one of the favorite Tuigan
battle formations, the entire line started forward. There were two ranks of heavy, armored cavalry in front
and three ranks of unar-mored cavalry in the rear. The charge gained momentum, and soon the Tuigan
were streaking across the plain unop-posed.
All at once, the first rank of horses crashed to the ground, spilling armored men in every direction.
Where no enemy had been standing, a line of pikemen appeared. They drew their swords and began
hacking the unhorsed cavalry to pieces.
The second Tuigan rank charged forward. A wall of fire erupted in their path. Those that did not perish
in its flames pulled up short. Moments later, several artillery legions ap-peared on the Tuigan flanks.
Trebuchets and catapults be-gan raining boulders down on the line.
The barbarians responded by rushing their light cavalry around to outflank the artillery. No sooner had
they broken formation than several legions of gnoll longbowmen ap-peared on their wings. Clouds of arrows
began sailing into the light cavalry.
"Enough!" the khahan growled. "This is not real!"
The illusion faded immediately. An instant later, all that remained below the hill was the snow-covered
battlefield.
Batu admired the artistry that had gone into conceiving the plan. From what the Shou knew of Tuigan
tactics, Szass Tam had foreseen every detail correctly. "I look forward to battling you, Zulkir," Batu said,
bowing slightly. "Your plan seems bold and ingenious."
"And it will no longer work," the khahan observed gruffly.
"Yes," Jochibi agreed, a note of suspicion in his voice. "Why reveal your intentions to us?"
An icy smile creased the zulkir's thin lips. "Because I have better things to do with your army than
destroy it."
"This is not your army to do anything with, stillborn kid of a sickly goat!" Chanar interjected.
"Only a fool would need to be reminded of that, Chanar!" the khahan snapped. "Now be silent. I wish to
hear the zulkir's words."
"Your wisdom is as magnificent as your title, Illustrious Emperor of All Peoples," the zulkir responded, a
mocking glint in his eye. "I have shown you what will be if we fight. Now, let me show you what could be."
Again, the Tuigan army appeared at the base of the hill. This time, it was spread out over a much larger
area, practi-cally the entire plain. The terrain seemed strange. There were dozens of villages scattered
around a small, unwalled city. Most of the hamlets east of the city, and the city itself, were burning. The
barbarians were riding toward a lake on the western side of the plain. As they traveled, they paused only
long enough to loot and set fire to every settlement they crossed.
As the armies moved forward, the zulkir said, "You are looking at Rashemen, a land on our northern
border. We have been trying to destroy its people for many years, but a great lake lies between us and
them.
"When you appeared out of the wastelands," the zulkir proceeded, "I thought you were nothing more
than an army of thieves. Now that I have seen the cunning of your gen-erals and the might of your army, I
know I was mistaken."
The zulkir motioned at the field below. "You will be de-stroyed if you invade my land, which we call
Thay. Still, it will not be an easy task, and the battle will greatly weaken us."
As Szass spoke, the illusory Tuigan forces continued to ride toward the lake. They crossed ground and
moved at such an incredible pace that Batu knew he was seeing in minutes what would take days to
accomplish in reality.
"While I was pondering this unpleasant thought," Szass continued, "it came to me that you are the tool
we need to destroy Rashemen."
"We are nobody's tool!" the khahan objected.
The zulkir rolled his eyes in impatience, but said, "Of course not. I only meant to imply that together we
might succeed where neither of us could alone."
"You may continue," the khahan said after a pause. "I am listening."
The zulkir smiled confidently. "Good. My proposal is this: Thay will attack Rashemen's southern flank. In
the mean-time, you will ride north, then invade Rashemen from the east. With her forces occupied in the
south, there will be nothing to oppose you."
The Tuigan army reached the great lake on Rashemen's western edge and began to regroup.
"What do you get out of this?" Jochibi asked.
Szass looked toward the scar-faced officer. "A wise ques-tion," the zulkir acknowledged. "The answer, I
hope, is Rashemen. As you ride through, you will rip her entrails out, leaving nothing but devastation in your
wake. It will be an easy matter for us to follow through and finish the job."
"A treacherous plan," the khahan said thoughtfully. He turned to Batu. "What do you think?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]