The Exotic Enchanter Read Free

you come from Galich, or by way of Polotsk?"
    "Ah, we came the long way round, Your Highness. We were trying to avoid trouble."
    "Wise of you. But this is not trouble; you have yet to meet that. Now, to get to the forest, you must have passed Velikaya Klyucheva. How fared the harvest there?"
    "Really, I am not a farmer, Your Highness. I could see nothing wrong."
    "Well, then, have you seen any burned or abandoned villages?"
    "No, Your Highness."
    "Any men mounted on small, shaggy ponies, riding without stirrups and often without saddles? They would be wearing ragged coats and trousers, caps and boots, and many layers of filth. Their weapons would be long knives and curved bows."
    "They sound like folk one would not care to meet. Bandits?"
    "Polovtsi. You saw none?"
    "No, Your Highness."
    "Did you even pass by any of their campsites? They are hard to overlook, for one can smell them three days' ride downwind."
    "I am sure we passed nothing of the kind, Your Highness."
    "Hippogriffs and flying carpets you have seen, but not the scourge of the steppes! And you call yourselves scholars! You did not need to come so far just to learn new tales to spin for your supper! So perhaps—"
    At this point, to the psychologists' relief, someone struck up a gusla , an instrument that looked like a near ancestor of the balalaika. Then he started a song that had everyone lifting their cups.
    As more of the men joined in the newcomers were able to hear that it was a listing of heroes; at every name a cup was drained. Igor and the rest drank to Sviatoslav of Kiev, Yaroslav the Wise, Mstislav the Brave, another Sviatoslav of Kiev, Vsevolod of Suzdal, and Yaroslav of Galich. But when a certain Oleg was named, Igor looked morose, and his cup lost its rhythm. Nor did he drink again, and the song faltered as others followed the prince. The player ended with a roaring paen to Vladimir the Great, then called for the singer's due. No few cups were set before him.
    Igor muttered curses against another list, starting with Boris and Oleg. "They will do anything for silver," he growled. "And you, who have come so far, and seen so little, tell me—are you for hire also?"
    Shea couldn't tell if they were being insulted or recruited. "We are pledged to return to our own lands if we live, but on a journey such as this, it is no disgrace to earn some extra silver."
    Further aminadversions were interrupted by a servant who hastily passed the prince's table on his way to the door. "Your Highness, the princess' personal guard is here!"
    The sound of hoofbeats and jingling harness now penetrated the noisy room. Igor woke up and so did Harold's curiosity. He had seen a princess or two in his travels, and wondered how this one would measure up.
    When Euphrosinia Yaroslavna entered the room, all heads turned in her direction. Every man got to his feet and bowed as she saluted the icon. Igor left the table and embraced her warmly.
    She and her escort wore the boots, trousers, and coats of hunters; the escort carried longswords and shields instead of spears, and wore mail. All had grim faces.
    "The Polovtsi attacked Yuri the Red's estate at Nizhni Charinsk two days ago," she announced. "They wen 1 rebuilding the palisade after it burned last month, and were caught completely off guard."
    From the curses that rent the air, the psychologists drew two conclusions: the Polovtsi had raided a "safe" location, and they had no business knowing that the palisade was down. Sure enough, the word "spies" came up.
    "Yuri's son Boris rode to Seversk to report," the princess continued. "The raiders took the entire household, including that young woman who is neither Rus nor Polovets nor Greek nor anything else we have been able to discover."
    Chalmers' face suddenly matched Euphrosinia's for grimness. "Is she a small woman, Your Highness?" His voice didn't break. "Good-looking, very fair skin and brown hair?"
    "It seems that you know her," Euphrosinia replied. "What is her