"Lord?" Tasi-feng inquired.

"These people are reasonably good fighters." Another runner reported that the force attacking Yang-chu had withdrawn. Soon similar reports arrived from the bther attacked parties. Shih-ka'i observed, "Their communications are fair."

Tasi-feng asked, "Shall we pursue, Lord?"

Shih-ka'i glanced at the map. "Slowly." He indicated two parties which had not been attacked. "Move these people to pincer the group dropping off here. We'll take more prisoners. Tell Yang-chu to hold his position. I want to see what he's got."

Yang-chu's group had received the most attention. The slope below his perimeter was littered with bodies. "They took some of their fallen with them," the Tervola told Shih-ka'i. "As many as they could carry."

Shih-ka'i looked across the desert. Among the dust devils he could see a cloud raised by the retreating enemy. "Any wizardry used?"

"Neither by us nor them, Lord."

"Good." He watched the dust. Where could they have come from? How could people exist in this? He glanced at the bodies, quickly averted his gaze. He was not accustomed to seeing the aftermath of battles.

The corpses were of men who had been well-fed, well-clad, and well-armed. "Yang-chu." He indicated the dead. "Collect them. Strip them. Keep each man's things separate. Send the bundles through to the fortress." He summoned his will, looked into a few lifeless faces. They told him very little. All dead men had the same message for the living. It was a message Lord Ssu-ma did not want to hear. They were a curious breed. Both kinds. Shih-ka'i had never seen their like before. But how were they so different? He shrugged. The legion's surgeons would dissect them and let him know.

He took a last look at the dust cloud. It was moving straight out the line he had drawn on the map. He returned to the fortress.