And as the fogs rolled into the distance all around, Derkin Lawgiver and everyone else could see what the mist had been sent to cover. All around the dwarven encampment were ranks and legions of human soldiers. There were thousands of them, horse battalions and footmen, pikemen and lancers, companies of archers and bolt-men-a full, mighty army in position to attack from all sides. And above each unit were the banners of Daltigoth, of the Empire of Ergoth, of the troops of the Emperor Quivalin Soth V.

Derkin turned full around, trying to count an enemy beyond counting, looking for escape routes that were not there. "Rust!" he muttered. "We're outnumbered. And we're surrounded!"

Part V

Master of the Mountains

The Emperor's Road

For long moments tbe two forces-tbe Chosen Ones and the emperor's army-simply stared at one another. Then trumpets sounded, and a small group of human horsemen separated from the massed line below the peak. Carrying a banner on a tall staff, they rode forward at a walk until they were halfway across the space between their regiment and the nearest company of dwarves. There they stopped and sat waiting.

Derkin Lawgiver studied them for a moment, then turned to Tap Tolec. "My horse," he said.

Mounted, and flanked by the Ten on their own mounts, Derkin pranced his horse through his line, and rode out to where the humans waited. When he came near, the man in the lead raised his visor and held up one hand. "Are you the leader of these dwarves?" he demanded.

"So they tell me," Derkin responded. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

"My name is Coffell," the man intoned. "Sergeant-Major in the service of His Imperial Majesty's mounted lancers. On behalf of His Imperial Majesty, I offer you the clemency of the empire, provided all your people lay down their arms and surrender immediately."

"What does this clemency amount to?" Derkin asked.

The man raised his head slightly, sneering. "If you surrender without a fight, you will not be killed," he said. "Instead, it shall be your privilege to serve His Imperial Majesty in appropriate labors."

"You mean as slaves." Derkin returned the sneer. "Most of us have already tried that. We didn't like it. Did Sakar Kane send you people? Is he with you?"

For a moment the man hesitated, then he leaned aside to whisper to the man beside him. This second rider wheeled his horse and trotted back to his own line. Watching carefully, Derkin saw him approach a large, dark-cloaked man on a powerful-looking black horse. A moment later, the messenger raced back, to whisper something to Coffell.

The sergeant-major turned to Derkin again. "I am empowered to tell you that the man called Sakar Kane is no longer in either the service or the good graces of His Imperial Majesty," he said. "He has disappeared."

'Then who is in charge here?" Derkin demanded.

"You may deliver your decision to me," Coffell said. "Will you lay down your arms?"

"I don't want to talk to you." The dwarf glared at him. Then he pointed. "I want to talk to him."

Coffell turned, saw where Derkin was pointing, and frowned. "You are in no position to be arrogant," he chided.

Derkin signaled casually, and the Ten pulled crossbows from their saddle hooks. Efficiently and in unison, they drew the bows, set bolts in them, and raised them. "And you, human, are in no position to return alive to your friends," Derkin rumbled. "Now quit arguing. I want to talk to the man in charge."

Pale and angry, the sergeant-major whispered again, and again the messenger headed back to his own lines, this time at a gallop. After a moment, the dark-cloaked man stepped his horse forward and followed the messenger out to the conference. Ignoring the drawn crossbows, the newcomer gazed at Derkin with eyes that held a palpable force-eyes that resembled small, dark mirrors in a strong, brutal face. "I am Dreyus," he said. "And you must be the dwarf they call Derkin. All through the winter, wanderers have arrived in Daltigoth to tell of your attack on Klanath. They said you burned the city. Now I see that you've done much more than that. You've been busy little people, haven't you?"

"What do you want here?" Derkin asked.

"I am on the emperor's business, and this is the emperor's road," Dreyus purred. "What I want is for everything to be put in order, as I will direct. You can begin as soon as you have surrendered. You may do that

now.

"I'll see you roast on coals first," Derkin explained.

"Ah," Dreyus hissed. "You are as they have said. Very well, you won't see me at all. Or anything else." He pointed a finger at the dwarf and muttered something in a language that was no language.

Remembering something he had found in an old Hylar scroll, Damon ducked his head and closed his eyes. The blinding light that leapt from the man's finger was like silent lightning. But instead of striking Derkin's eyes, it struck his mirror-bright helmet and rebounded. Coffell screeched and clapped his hands to his eyes, then fell over backward as his horse reared, neighing wildly. In an instant, blinded men and blinded horses were bouncing, pitching, falling, and staggering off in various directions. Of all the humans in the little group, only Dreyus still sat his saddle, ignoring the pandemonium.

"Don't do that again," Derkin suggested. "Next time, these people with me will make a porcupine of you."

"I assume you do not surrender?" Dreyus growled.

"Of course not," Derkin said. "We are free dwarves, and we will remain free or die. Furthermore, Klanath will not be put back, as you put it. It is too near Kal-Thax. We don't want human settlements this close. Also, this is not the 'emperor's road,' because there is no road here. If you and your emperor want to keep pestering those people east of here, you'll have to find another path. This one is closed."

"Closed?" Dreyus sneered. "You dwarves can't keep us from using Redrock Cleft."

"We don't have to." Derkin grinned. "There is no Red-rock Cleft. My delvers caved it in a month ago. You might climb through it afoot, but you'll never get a horse across it."

The big man's eyes seemed to blaze, and his face went dark with fury. "You've lost your chance to live," he hissed.

"By the way," Derkin asked casually, "can you tell me where Sakar Kane is? I still have business with him. If there is one thing we won't stand for, it's a liar."

Dreyus glared at the dwarf. "You're insane," he said. Without a further word, he reined the black horse around and trotted away.

"Why don't we put a few bolts in him?" Tap asked. "He's still in range."

Derkin shook his head. "He hasn't attacked us, yet," the Lawgiver said. Unmoving, he watched as the big man returned to his troops. A moment later, a pair of riders withdrew from the line there and headed eastward at a gallop. "He doesn't believe me about Redrock Cleft," Derkin said. He turned his horse and headed back to his own lines. "Maybe when he finds out that it really is closed, he'll just turn around and go away."

"If he doesn't, we're likely all going to die here," Talon Oakbeard pointed out. "Those soldiers are all around us. We have no fortifications, and we're outnumbered two to one."

"Maybe we will die, then," Derkin agreed. With sad, angry eyes he scanned his encampment. Two hundred yards across in all directions, the barren center of what had once been Klanath was a tapestry of dwarven ranks, deployed for defense. All around the encampment was a solid ring of sturdy, armored forms. A pair of javelins stood above each dwarf, and a shield at each shoulder. On every second back was a slung crossbow, and those without crossbows had webbed slings. And each dwarf had a sword, axe, or hammer.