The Sword Of Bheleu

"The god of destruction? Is that what you were shouting about?"

"That was more of the sword's doing. The entity that controls it claims to be or represent Bheleu. It might be telling the truth. Enough of this, though; we have to straighten out the mess here and make peace with Eramma before the High King at Kholis sends an army to destroy us."

"A few moments will make no difference. Garth, you have been acting strangely for these past few months. You have gone off on mysterious expeditions with little or no notice, vanishing completely for weeks with no explanation, leaving your wives and family to worry. You have undertaken single-handedly to establish trade with the humans of Eramma. You have now returned unexpectedly from your latest venture and immediately started a disastrous battle..."

Garth interrupted, saying, "The battle was not disastrous; we won easily. It's the consequences of the victory that may be disastrous."

"I stand corrected. Let me finish, though. You started, then, a battle that could have disastrous consequences. You have acquired a sword with which you are able to perform destructive magic and you claim it has a mind and will of its own; after the battle the sword has mysteriously vanished. You have brought back with you a human female of no particular value, and then abandoned her. You have behaved oddly, perhaps even insanely, screaming a lot of nonsense about gods and death, while setting fires on all sides. I am told by this human, Saram, that you have made some sort of pact with a local wizard who has promised you immortality.

"Garth, surely you see that to all appearances you have become completely irrational, madder than the Baron you slew. We have all deferred to you, and let you go your way, so far as was practical, because you are a respected overman, an honored member of the City Council, an experienced military commander, the hereditary Prince of Ordunin, and generally as highly placed and well-considered as it is possible to be among our people. A great deal of eccentricity can be tolerated under such circumstances. There are limits, however, and until Kyrith and I, the legally appointed co-commanders of this force, have received some acceptable explanation of your behavior, we ca

Garth listened to this speech with shifting emotions. At first he was a

He had behaved irrationally, he knew that. He had been under the sword's influence. He might even now be less than fully under his own control; he knew that the spell could be subtle and that he need not be touching the weapon to be affected, though he thought it must weaken with distance. He could not be trusted, either by himself or by others. Unpleasant as that conclusion was, he knew he had to accept it.

Hesitantly, he said, "You are correct, Galt and Kyrith. You are entitled to an explanation. I am not mad; I have reasons, reasons I think good and sufficient, for everything f have done. I can see, though, that from your viewpoint my behavior has been strange indeed. I will be glad to explain myself and let you decide for yourselves how to deal with me."

Saram broke into the conversation. "If I might make a suggestion," he said, "there is no need to stand about out here while explaining. The King's I

Garth realized that he was, in fact, quite thirsty, his throat full of smoke. He nodded consent.

"An excellent idea," Galt agreed.

Though the Baron's mansion was gone, the cellars remained, half-filled with rubble and not readily passable in the darkness, forcing the party to take a roundabout route to reach the street where the King's I

The street that ran behind the destroyed manor had been the town's filthiest alleyway, dark and forbidding; now, though, the destruction of the surrounding buildings had let in fresh air and firelight, so that it was no longer much worse than any other debris-strewn byway. Its most outstanding feature was the presence of an unburnt building, the King's I

The three overpeople and two humans picked their way through the gloom, past broken stones and fallen timbers that littered their path, while Koros padded silently along a few paces behind, following its master.

Galt remarked, "It's curious that this tavern should have survived unscathed, so close to the square."

"It is more curious than you know," Garth said. "It alone, of all the buildings in Skelleth, withstood the power of the sword when I tried to set it ablaze."

"I think that you and I, Garth, both suspect why this is," Saram remarked.

"Tell me, then," Galt said. "Or is this some great secret that you two share?"

"No, hardly that," Garth replied. "This i

"From what I know of the old man," Saram added, "he could probably have saved the entire village, but preferred not to take the trouble."

Galt snorted in derision. "If this man is such a mighty wizard, what is he doing in a pesthole like Skelleth?"

"That's one of the mysteries about him," Saram answered.

They had reached the door of the tavern; it was closed, despite the relatively warm weather, the only sign that there was anything out of the ordinary. The broad front window was clean and unbroken, the half-timbered walls clean and smooth, with no sign of smoke or soot anywhere.

Saram opened the door and led the party inside; Koros, at a word from Garth, waited in the alleyway.

CHAPTER TEN

The interior of the tavern was crowded with people, all human. As the three overpeople entered a sudden quiet spread before them. Three dozen pairs of eyes watched them intently. In the silence earth could hear the sound of a knife sliding from its sheath.

Saram muttered, "I think you had better say something."

"People of Skelleth!" earth said, "We have come in peace. The battle is over. We mean you no harm; we have come here to drink and to talk, nothing more."

The silence and tension remained; the crowd still watched.

"I

One of the men muttered a vague reply; the other sat and stared.

Galt waved to earth and the others. "Come and sit downy"

Hesitantly earth obeyed, taking the remaining empty chair at the table. Kyrith followed, and stood awkwardly for a moment until Saram brought her a chair from a neighboring table.