The Second Book of Lankhmar

neither had Groniger voiced any objection to her spying on ahead-nor even concern for her safety. Where was the man's one-time clear-headedness and prudence? Afreyt was not unversed in island woodcraft and she now spotted Skor peering toward Cold Harbor from the grove of dwarf cedars whence Fathrd had launched yestermorning's brief arrow-fusillade. She called Skor's name, and he whipped around nocking an arrow to his bow, then came up swiftly when he saw her familiar blues.
           "Lady Afreyt, what do you here? You look weary," he greeted her succinctly. He looked weary himself and hollow-eyed, his cheeks and forehead smudged with soot above his straggly russet beard. perhaps against the glare of glacial ice.
           She quickly told him about the Rimeland reinforcements approaching behind her.
           His weariness seemed to lift from him as she spoke. "That's brave news," he said when she had done. "We joined our lines (I'm now making the rounds of them) with those of the Cold Harbor defenders before sunset yesterday and have the Mingol fore-raiders penned on the beach — and all by bluff! The mere sight of the forces you describe, strategically deployed, will cause 'em to take ship and sail away, I think — and we not lift a finger."
           "Your pardon, lieutenant," she rejoined. her own weariness lifting at his optimism, "but I have heard you and your fellows named berserkers — and have always thought it was the way of such to charge the enemy at the first chance, charge wolf-howling and bounding, mother-naked?"
           "To tell the truth, that was once my own understanding of it," he replied. thoughtfully rubbing his broken nose with the back of his hand, "but the captain's changed my mind for me. He's a great one for sleights and deceits, the captain is! Makes the foe imagine things. sets their own minds to work against 'em, never fights when there's an easier way — and some of his wisdom has rubbed off on us."
           "Why are you wearing Fafhrd's sword?" she asked, seeing it suddenly.
           "Oh, he went off yestermorning to Hellglow after the girl, leaving me in command, and he's not yet returned," Skor answered readily, though a crease of concern appeared between his brows, and he went on briefly to tell Afreyt about Mara's strange abduction.
           "I wonder at him leaving you all so long to shift without him, merely for that," Afreyt commented, frowning.
           "Truth to tell, I wondered at it myself, yestermorning," Skor admitted. "But as events came on us, I asked myself what the captain would do in each case, and did that, and it's worked out — so far." He hooked a middle-finger over ar fore-one.
           There came a faint tramping and the wispers of a horase chant and turning they saw the front of the Rime column coming downhill.
           "Well, they look fearsome enough,"Skor said, after a moment. "Strange, too," he added, as the litter and gallows hove into view. The girls in their red cloaks were walking beside the former.
           "Yes, they are that," Afreyt said.
           "How are they armed?" he asked her. "I mean, besides the pikes and spears and quarterstaves and such?"
           She told him those were their only weapons, as far as she knew.
           "They'd not stand up to Mingols, then, not if they had to cover any distance to attack," he judged. "Still, if we showed ;'em under the right conditions, and put a few bowmen amongst 'em...."
           "The problem, I think, will be to keep them from charging," Afreyt told him. "Or, at any rate, to get them to stop marching."
           "Oh, so it's that way," he said, raising an eyebrow.
           "Cousin Afreyt! Cousin Afreyt!" May and Gale were crying shrilly while they waved at her. But then the girls were pointing overhead and calling, "Look! Look!" and next they were running downhill alongside the column, still waving and calling and pointing at the sky.
           Afreyt and Skor looked up and saw, at least a hundred yards above them, the figures of a man and a small girl (Mara by her red cloak) stretched out flat on their faces and clinging to each other and to something invisible that was swiftly swooping toward Cold Harbor. They came around in a great curve, getting lower all the time, and headed straight for Skor and Afreyt. She saw it was Fafhrd and Mara, all right, and she realized that she and Cif must have looked just