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.They seemed not to notice the hot, Flamerule sun beating down on them through the clouds.The eleventh man was gaunt and bald, with facial features far less severe than the butter-skinned nomads who gathered around him.The bald man smiled amiably and slipped from his saddle when the king got within a dozen yards."Greetings, Azoun, king of Cormyr," he said in heavily accented Common."I am here as the mouth of Yamun Khahan, Illustrious Emperor of All Peoples.Hear my words as his." He then bowed to Azoun, which drew scowls from his companions.Thanking the gods that he didn't have to test his feeble grasp of Tuigan just yet, the Cormyrian king nodded in reply to the emissary's bow.He glanced at the dark-eyed Tuigan soldiers, feeling the anger that had flared to life in the refugee camp burn within him."Where is your master?" he asked coldly.The bald man started back for his horse."Yamun Khahan waits for us.He invites you to the camp under his protection.""And my guards?""Are welcome, too," the emissary replied, making a broad, sweeping gesture with his hand."The khahan assumed you would bring an escort.You are, after all, a great leader of soldiers." He wheeled his horse about and pointed to the east."Our camp is not far away.Please follow me, Your Highness."Azoun hesitated for an instant, then urged his horse on.Vangerdahast and Thom fell in behind the king, and the Cormyrian guards spread out to encircle all three men.The ten black-garbed Tuigan soldiers split into two groups after the westerners had arrayed themselves.One group of five fell back and followed the entourage, the other rode just ahead of the bald emissary.After half an hour of riding along the road, which became rutted and hilly as time went on, Azoun began to spot other groups of riders.These bands of men roamed far to the north and south of the road, through the fields and the occasional groups of trees that cut across the land.The king could see only their dark shapes, but he assumed they were Tuigan since the flow of refugees had stopped some time ago.Azoun glanced back at Vangerdahast to ask the wizard a question.The paunchy old man was lolling slightly in his saddle, his eyelids fluttering.When Thom nudged the wizard, he cast watery, dull eyes on the king."I'm not feeling very well at the moment," Vangerdahast noted softly.He shook his head as if to clear it, then added, "But I'm sure I'll be fine in a little bit.Just tired, I suppose."A pall of smoke to the east became visible at about the same time Azoun spotted the other riders.From the blue-gray haze hanging low in the cloudy sky, the king realized that they were getting close to the Tuigan camp.After Azoun and his escort topped two more rises in the road, the huge collection of tents revealed itself to them.The round, domelike tents lay scattered to either side of the road.Thousands of fires trailed thin wisps of smoke, which then joined together in the blue haze Azoun had spotted earlier.Wicker corrals of horses and sheep dotted the camp, spaced seemingly at random amidst the soldiers' quarters.Men lounged in groups or raced about on horses, the most activity seeming to center around a large white tent in the middle of the camp, right next to the road.The bald emissary reined in his horse and waited for the king to reach his side before allowing the mount to move."This is our camp, Azoun of Cormyr.Yamun Khahan waits for us here."This was the first time the emissary had been close to Azoun, and the king could now see that he was not a Tuigan.Not only were his features less severe, but they seemed to mark the gaunt, bald man as a resident of the oriental lands."How did you come to be the voice of the khahan?" Azoun asked after a moment."You are not Tuigan.""I was once a citizen of Khazari, a land now under the khahan's rule," the man said a little wistfully."My name is Koja, and I am presently grand historian for Yamun Khahan." He bowed again in greeting."The khahan sent me to meet you because I have seen you before, at the Council of Semphar.I was still an envoy from Prince Ogandi of Khazari then."Azoun cast his mind back to the meeting that seemed to signal the beginning of the problems with the Tuigan.Over a year ago, the countries of Faerun and of Kara-Tur had met in Semphar to discuss the Tuigan and their attacks on trade caravans crossing the steppes between the two great powers.There had been many nations represented at the council, and the eastern land of Khazari had claimed only a small voice in the proceedings.Koja smiled warmly."It is not surprising that you cannot remember me, Your Highness.I had very little to add to the discussions." He paused and motioned for the lead riders to move ahead to the camp.They set off at a gallop."But I remembered you quite well.I even mentioned your speech at the council to the khahan when I first met him."Azoun looked puzzled."My speech?""Yes," Koja said."You spoke after Chanar Khan interrupted the meeting.Chanar informed us all that the khahan demanded a tax on all caravans, that he wished to be recognized as sovereign over us all, but you told him—""—that Yamun Khahan could expect no gold from Cormyr," the king said, finishing Koja's recollection."I bade the general inform the khahan that he did not rule the entire world.""Yamun Khahan has not forgotten that," Koja said, a hint of a warning buried deep in his voice.Azoun brought his horse to a stop."Is that why my emissary was slain?" he snapped, his eyes growing hard."Because of something I said a year past?""Of course not," Koja said quickly.He turned from the king and watched a group of forty or so soldiers race from the camp toward them.With a smile, he glanced at Azoun again and concluded, "Your emissary refused to honor our customs and insulted Yamun Khahan in his own tent.He was punished according to Tuigan law."Vangerdahast, who had been napping in the saddle, snorted awake when the procession stopped.Thom held out a hand to steady the old man."Vangy," he whispered."Are you feeling all right?"The old wizard motioned to the bard as if he were ready to reply.Suddenly his eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped from his horse to the ground, unconscious.Azoun spun around in his saddle, and the Cormyrian guards all drew their swords.The western soldiers closed a tight circle around the king, but Koja, who had been trapped in the press with Azoun, shouted, "It's no use to fight.Hundreds of soldiers block the way back to your camp."Thom looked up from the ground, where he cradled the fallen wizard in his arms, assuring the soldiers' horses did not trample the old man."Vangy's alive," he called.Azoun drew his own sword and pushed it close to Koja."If you think this will stop the army, you're a fool."The emissary reached out with an empty hand."Please, Your Highness.You have the word of the khahan to insure your safety.Had I known the old one was a wizard, I could have warned you about this place."The Cormyrian soldiers looked to Azoun, waiting for orders.The five black-garbed Tuigan still guarding the westerners had drawn their weapons, too.They sat atop their prancing horses, wide grins on their scarred faces."What do you mean, this place?" the king asked sharply."We chose to camp here because it is like the Tuigan capital in the steppes, Quaraband.This place is magic-dead," Koja replied, gesturing with his empty hands."The whole camp is located in an area where magic will not work.That is why the wizard is sick."Glancing at the soldiers racing from the camp, Azoun realized that a fight would be out of the question.With Vangerdahast unable to cast spells of any kind, he and his men would be slaughtered.The king gritted his teeth and ordered his guards to lower their weapons.Koja breathed an audible sigh of relief, then slid to the ground and helped Thom sling Vangerdahast onto a horse."You are in no danger, Your Highness," he said, smiling sincerely [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]