Morgon sat in his tent and examined the party of natives coming towards him. Ardolf of Gorm was amongst them. His guard presented arms and Ardolf entered his tent. Morgon remained seated and waited for the tribesman to go through the elaborate ritual of salutes that clan chieftains thought essential when addressing senior officers of the Imperial Army. He wondered if the man realised the Army had fallen apart.
'You asked me to report to you, Lord Morgon.'
The little toad spoke the southern language. That was a relief. Morgon had developed a policy of never trying to intimidate anyone in a language other than his own. He'd lectured his officers on it, reminding them that you got things wrong when you tried to speak a foreign language and that made you sound ridiculous rather than threatening. He grabbed Ardolf by the neck.
'You told me those priests were never wrong.'
'I only told you what the Grand Master said.'
'The stupid idiot got it wrong and now he's dead,' Morgon bellowed. 'You've got a new Grand Master. That Aaroen is a dangerous man. He's started a new religion. Even the painted savages are talking about it.'
He pointed at the golden disk which hung about Ardolf's neck.
'That's one of the few that's left in this whole frigging land. Your people are melting them down and trading the gold for weapons. They'll soon be better equipped than my boys.'
'The weapons will be used against the Catti.'
'Not if you don't assert your authority. That new religion is uniting the tribes. You've got to do something to make them hate one another again.'
'I'm going to do that,' Ardolf spluttered. 'I'm going to remind them of what the Catti have done to us. I'll make them proud again.'
'How are you going to do that?'
'I'll return Balduur's head.'
'By Bithras.' Morgan took in a deep breath. 'You do like to punish yourself. Haven't you forgotten what happened last time?'
'Last time we were taken in by false intelligence.'
'Hgh.' Morgon grunted. 'And this time?'
'This time we've got it right. We know where it is. We captured one of the princess' girls and made her talk. The little bitch said the head was given to Balduur's daughter.'
'Who?'
'The old witch who lives in the marshes. Prince Fury is with her and he's got that girl with him ... the one who came here with the Sky Warrior.'
'Is that so?' Morgon smiled.
Ardolf's expression relaxed. 'I've sent men to hunt them down. They've talked to the marsh men and they confirm that the young woman is with Prince Fury. We've offered a bounty. I expect to have Balduur's head and that of the young woman by the next rising of Our Lord Sun.'