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Palaver in Polichni

"This was a splendid idea indeed, to lead those bastards to our doorsteps. Congratulations and welcome." - With sour face the village's eldest put the traditional welcoming gift - dry bread and watered wine - in front of the two fugitives, after Areus had roughly explained where he came from and what had happened.

At the central place of the village, there was a big gathering going on. Two dozen men from the village, as well as a band of twenty strange-looking female soldiers from Keft were gathered in a big circle. The soldiers were armored with helmets, leather gloves and armed with bows and short swords. They uniformly wore closed leather shoes, long trousers made of rough cloth and open bodices with leather-protected sholders. On their back they carried ox-hide bucklers in the shape of an eight, as well as a quiver for their arrows, which was fastened to the body by a piece of cloth such that it covered one breast, leaving the other exposed.

The soldier's forehead, cheeks and arms were painted with black snakelike stripes; their lips were painted black as well as their nipples, which - as Areus noticed - were maidenly small and looked like none of the women had nursed a child yet.

When everyone had settled again after the interruption, the negotiations were continued: "This incident just showed how good it is to have you here, your Excellency", the eldest addressed the most senior of the soldiers, who stuck out because her face was not painted, she didn't wear a helmet and her long black hair was artfully tucked up. - "When the three Kurgan envoys", the man continued, "had accepted your gift a week ago and left peacefully, we just began to nurture a little hope that we could get a dialog going. They really seemed to be delighted by the silver chalice. But we feared it wouldn't last long. Now we cannot hope for understanding any more. Next time they will come in large numbers, and if you don't defend us, Polichni is doomed."

Areus had not told anything about the three Kurgan thugs they had killed on their way to Zakton, and he didn't feel encouraged to do so now. Nor about the precious silver cup they had found in a saddle bag. Instead, he silently followed the further conversation. Ida kept quiet, too.

The woman addressed as Excellency offered to evacuate the complete village of about one hundred inhabitants within the next two days into a safer place: "We do this for you based on the particularly intense relations we have built over the last years, though in general the motherland does not support this type of action, because we do not wish to interfer with matters of the marginal lands. You being experienced fishers can help us quite nicely in Soleway. Even if it is not fish that you shall fetch for us from the bottom of the sea."

She continued: "It is a true pitty that this attempt of a peaceful communication with the Kurgan again was a failure. But as long as we don't speak their language, we must follow this route, as tedious as it is."

"This woman here, Ida, she speaks the Kurgan language", Areus intervened, pointing at his companion. Silence set in. Everyone looked at Ida. - "Is it true? You speak the language of the men from the north", her Excellence asked. Ida nodded.

The commander stepped up to Ida, looked over her and shouted something unintelligeable. - "That means: stop", Ida replied, "but you slur. The Kurgan say", and she produced some impressive sizzling and croaking sounds. - "I thought so already, but finally now I know for sure." - A whiff of a smile passed the soldier's face. She asked: "Where did you learn this difficult language?" - "I lived among them five years as prisoner and slave."

Again the commander turned to the villagers: "You do your packing until tomorrow noon. Then a transport ship will arrive and take along one half of you. The other half will be taken a day later. We leave a watch of eight soldiers. May Korvé be with you." - She fleetingly pointed at eight of the soldiers who immediately stood at attention. To Areus they looked stunning: daunting, cool, but also strangely vulnerable and sexy. And a thought crossed his mind: Did they spend as much time for military training as they did for looking cool, dressing and body painting?

The village's eldest might have had a similar thought, because he said: "I beg your pardon, your Excellency. Will these be enough if the riders come back?" - The commander looked around, pointed at a wooden pole at some distance and said calmly: "Girls. Eight arrows in that pole. I count to three." - Then she counted in a very unexcited way, like you would read a phone number: "One, two, three", and at "three", there was one hiss, and eight arrows stuck in the pole, one neatly below the other. - "And?" the commander asked. In unison the eight soldiers shouted: "Light, quick, smart, deadly!" - "That's us, sisters", the commander replied: "And when do we surrender?" - One shout with eight voices: "Never!", and eight fists held eight sharp small daggers - quickly pulled out of their belts - at their own throats.

"To answer your question", the commander turned to the eldest: "Yes, they will be enough for quite a number of those brutes." - Then she gave a sign to the other soldiers who immediately started marching to the ship. In leaving she turned around, pointed at Ida and said: "You join us."

Ida got up and Areus, too. Immediately the soldier insisted: "She joins us", and turned away. Seeing his chance slip away to get to Keft, Areus exclaimed: "That's impossible!" - Not without the rich knowledge of the Keftiu would he ever be able to return to his home town, to make forget the shame he had loaded upon himself when he watched his friends being slain. Indignantly the commander asked: "What's impossible?" - Now he had to put all at stake. Why else had he given away the fact that this woman owned knowledge they needed? - "She is my wife and we belong together!" - Ida looked at him in complete astonishment, but again kept quiet.

There was a short pause. Then, without looking at anybody in particular, the soldier said in passing: "In this case the man shall join as well."