“That was a great speech,” Waddo said, hiseyes shining. “For the king to call us his friends ...”

“Aye, he sounded strong,” Garivald agreed.“He sounded brave.”

“He did indeed.” That was Dagulf, who hadno great use for the king.

Neither did Garivald. Neither, so far ashe knew, did anyone in the village, save possibly Waddo. Even so, he said, “Imay fear Swemmel more than I love him, but I think the redheads will come tofear him, too.”

“He is what the kingdom needs right now,”Annore said.

“We will fight them,” Waddo said, soundingvery fierce for a heavy man with a bad ankle. “We will fight them, and we willbeat them.”

“And once we have beaten them, we willmake songs about it.” That was Annore again. She glanced over toward herhusband in confident anticipation.

No song rose up in Garivald right at themoment. He began sifting words in his mind, looking for rhymes, looking forsmooth flows from one thought to the next. He frowned. “I don’t know enough yetto make any songs.”

“Nor shall you learn,” Waddo said, “forsurely our brave warriors and fliers shall drive back the Algarvians longbefore they enter Zossen.” He looked toward the east with complete certainty.

“So may it be,” Garivald said from thebottom of his heart.

Unlike so many Zuwayzin, Hajjaj was notfond of the desert for its own sake. He was a city man, most at home in Bishahor in the capitals of the other kingdoms of the continent of Derlavai. And heloathed camels with a loathing both deep and passionate, a loathing based onmore experience than he cared to remember. Riding on camelback through thedesert, then, should have been nothing but ennui and discomfort.

Instead, he found himself smiling from earto ear as he rode along. This waste of thornbushes and sand and yellow stonehad been seized by Unkerlant more than a year before. Now it was back inZuwayzi hands, where the Treaty of Blu-denz said it belonged--not that KingSwemmel had paid any attention to the treaty when he invaded Zuwayza. That madeit worth seeing, worth riding through, even if it was full of scorpions andlizards and bat-eared foxes just like any other stretch of desert.