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Show A commotion in the hall interrupted him and a young man in a doublet of light chain mail came running into the room. "Midoctor," he panted, "a multitude of knights on horse and f o o t . . . ." Dr'Igor pushed his chair back purposefully and followed the young man out of the room, and down the hall. Dr'Anya and Janni followed him out of the building-Belinda and the others bringing up the rear-and up several hundred meters to a lookout. It was to the right of the pass by which Dr'Anya and Janni had entered the valley that morning. "Lookest thou!" Janni breathed. The group looked down from behind a natural enclosure to the wide and winding road that led from the east risings into the main pass that led through the Tartars from the Provinces into the Commendiums. The sight was impressive-a long column, six horses wide, interspersed every five rows or so with as many foot soldiers. The column stretched down the mountain side without apparent end. "How many sayest thou?" asked Dr'Igor thoughtfully. "At least a thousand in sight," said Janni. "Saints around us!" She had never seen such a thing in her whole life. So this was an army! "But. . . b u t . . .Dr'Igor!" said Dr'Anya. "Thou hast at the most but a hundred folk in this valley!" "AhHa!" said Dr'Igor smiling. "Thou knowest not how many we have in Westwick." He turned to the group of people around him. "Pass the word," he said. "Fall back to Westwick!" Inside of five minutes, everyone had vanished around them, and in the small valley, horses, armor, and PackJacks were being readied for the trip through Kyoto pass, over the small rise of mountain to the north, and down 253 |