The Switching Skill, Chapter Three

    Dar-teh remained still, hopeful that here would be the abandoned mounts of the slain men, but knowing that other Chalkars might be present as well. All was quiet, however, and after a short wait he quit the trail and stepped softly into the forest, moving briskly from tree to tree, pausing briefly behind each large trunk, moving in a circular fashion toward the sounds he had heard.
    Although his ailment blocked the memories of his past, Dar- teh knew the skills of stalking and was aware of the procedures to be used. The brief thought came to him that he should stop and wait for a much longer time, in order to assure himself of the absence of men, but something else urged him to continue, and although he bothered not to examine the reason why, the dark hair and lovely face of the girl waiting above flashed frequently though his mind.
   As he crouched in the mist, a rogue breeze rushed through the trees, clearing the fog momentarily, and revealing to the man the beasts he had heard. They were standing in the trees just a dozen paces away, three of them, staring at Dar-teh, their ears pricked curiously forward.
    He had not bothered to question the girl in detail regarding the number and location of the Chalkars. He could only hope that the initial three had been a party separated by any main group by a substantial distance, sent by their fellows to track and capture the girl, as she herself had said. He stayed motionless for a time, then, satisfied that no other men were present in this portion of the mountain forest, stepped towards the beasts.
   They were fine horses, not great in size, but sturdy, well muscled, and of good conformation. They were saddled and bridled, and carried additional equipment of the vanquished trio. Dar-teh stroked each one and spoke in low tones, allowing the animals to take in his scent, familiar to them because of their late master's clothes, then, he loosed the reins from the branches to which they were tied and led the animals away.
    As he began to retrace his steps, a faint, distant sound reached his ears. So delicate was the tone that at first he thought it to be the wind crying among the distant cliffs and gorges, or perhaps even the imaginings of his overwrought and exhausted mind. Then he heard it again, and knew it for what it was; the sound of men, coming from below, perhaps miles down the mountain, reaching his ears only through some freakish quirk of the wind and the rocks. Then it was gone, and although he strained to hear more, there was nothing.
   Yet he knew it had been the cries of men, and along with them the ghost-like neighs of horses, even the crack of whips. Men, many men, possibly the army of the Chalkars…far below, but traveling up this same tortuous trail.
   He reached the broken mess of rocks which permitted passage to the shelf above, where he had left the girl, and where the earth soaked up the blood of the Chalkars to the extent that it could before the sticky fluid froze on its surface. Dar-teh pulled on the reins of the three mounts, and they followed well enough, being animals familiar with rough terrain. Dar-teh bounded the last few steps to the top, and the animals leapt up behind him, snorting and milling about nervously on the open space above. Dar-teh held their bonds tightly and called soothing words. Then, as the animals calmed, he turned his head slowly, half expecting disappointment, but there, a short bow shot away, sitting her mount close against the gray stone wall, was the dark hair and small form of the girl.
    Dar-teh mounted the best of the horses, and clucking softly to them all, moved at a soft trot toward her. The powerful muscles and smooth gait of the beast felt pleasantly familiar between his thighs.
   As he approached, she observed, somewhat surprised, that he'd secured the Chalkars' mounts in short order, and that he rode with ease and handled the animals well. She looked at him with soft and wondering eyes, but eyes which also revealed to the perceptive warrior much fear and distrust.
   "I heard distant sounds," he said, "as if a great number of men were coming. If so, they do not know the land, for such numbers as they seemed to be cannot pass along these narrow shelves, or up the rough trail."
    The girl's eyes widened slightly. "A great number of men--that would be the Chalkar army, or part of it. The Dala has sent a flying column, consisting of five thousand men, south through these mountains to clear his flank. I was with that column. They will sweep west, across the lower hills and valleys, and destroy the towns and villages along their way."
    Dar-teh looked at her with narrow eyes. A flying column of five thousand? Ravaging the countryside? The main army he knew, must then be of immense proportions, bigger than he could believe. But the girl had spoken quickly and in a knowing tone. He searched his memory for knowledge of an immense army made up of almond-eyed horsemen, but he recalled nothing.
   "Then we are safe," he proposed, "for we are high above their intended path."
   "Perhaps," answered the girl. She motioned toward the dead ones. "Those, however, followed me for two days. I escaped from the column on the open plain, and they no doubt expected to recapture me quickly. Now that the army is passing below the place where I climbed into these high peaks, the commander may set others upon my trail, or at least upon the trail of the three who will never return."
    These revelations provided Dar-teh with much information to ponder, and his mind raced ahead, asking questions and endeavoring to provide plausible answers, yet he did not utter his queries aloud. Instead, he gazed at the girl quietly as he thought. She had obviously been a captive. No doubt she was an important one too, for her relatively good condition and the fact that she had possession of a good horse and equipment precluded the possibility that she had been merely a slave--and she had been wise and brave enough to escape. Yet, a large army with flanking columns indicated a war or invasion of tremendous proportions. What role could this small girl play in such ponderous events?
   "Then, if you still fear pursuit," Dar-teh spoke at last, "we should leave at once. There is nothing to keep us on this forsaken cliff." He touched his heels to the sides of the horse, and moved forward without another word. Hunger gnawed at his stomach, and thirst burned his throat, but it was not the custom of the man to pause in such a place as this merely to satisfy such cravings. True, he had vanquished enemies in this spot, and possibly the couple could find a defensible and sheltered place nearby at which to make camp, but Dar-teh's warrior instincts were strong; his judgment told him to ride further into the heights, and to establish a redoubt at a place of his own choosing, rather than at one which fate had selected for him.
    Soon, the prudence of these actions would become apparent. The girl followed on her own mount, and they proceeded along the trail, away from the scrub and rocks wherefrom Dar-teh had recently emerged, and passing the dead Chalkars Dar-teh and the girl had slain.
   To go up was his goal, for he knew a similar ledge existed there, running by the cave in which he had slept. It had been dark during most of his time upon it, but that shelf, like this one, seemed to be part of the natural, winding passage across the cold range.
    Their path sloped upward, and after a time the brush and trees cleared away on their left, permitting them a sudden and tremendous view of the cascading side of the range, tumbling down upon countless forested slopes and hanging valleys. Dar- teh allowed his mount to choose its own way and its own pace upon the icy stone. The animal stepped slowly, providing the man and the girl ample opportunity to scrutinize the terrain below. It was the girl who called out softly and pointed.
    Dar-teh followed her gaze and saw the ten brown specks forming an unnatural row. They were still far below, perhaps half a day's ride, winding cautiously along the huge mountainside as their three companions had undoubtedly done the day before.
   The girl had been correct, Dar-teh thought. The commander in charge of the column had detected the trail of the girl, with the first three scouts in pursuit, cutting away into the peaks. His column may have followed the same trail from the time the girl had escaped back upon the plains, but could no longer do so, and so he had sent a fresh party of ten to reinforce the first, and bring them back quickly.
    Dar-teh motioned, and quickly they pulled away from the edge. The chance that the men below would catch sight of them so high above was slim, but it was a chance that need not be taken. They were able to continue along the narrowing trail some distance further, and then a cut in the rock provided the chance Dar-teh had hoped for. He pointed his mount toward the narrow, rubble filled crack and urged it upward. The horse did not waver; it took a few light, careful steps, and then bounded forcefully up the climb, scraping for footing on the bare stone and progressing with powerful leaps. After a moment, they emerged on the ledge above, not far from the place Dar-teh had first awakened half covered with snow.
    His mount pranced nervously forward and Dar-teh pulled it around in time to see the girl's mount bound up beside him.
    It was a cold and gray morn, but nevertheless the light was sufficient, whereas on the evening before, when the man had come to consciousness nearby, all had been mysteriously dark. Now Dar-teh was able to look about him and observe the strange surroundings.
   First, there was the almost bare stone upon which they stood, treeless, and nearly devoid of other plant life as well, allowing the chill wind to rush down from its icy source even higher in the range. In both directions the stone slab extended until disappearing in the murk, and before them yet another tall cliff rose. Turning, they could observe the view below, still magnificent, almost frightening.
   Experiencing the place again, this time with the benefit of daylight, renewed a sense of mystery and uneasiness in the man. How could he have come to be in this remote, uninhabitable place? Why could he not remember the simplest details of his identity or his past? Not even in his most drunken stupor had he woken to such a blank remembrance. He stepped his horse slowly across the stone.
   "Here is the place where I found myself, coming awake from a weird slumber in the dark of the night. I do not remember how I came to be here, nor even my name or where I am from. It was as though the spirits had deposited me here themselves. I stumbled to a small cave further down and huddled there until I heard the shouts off the Chalkars pursuing you this morn."
   The girl watched his face as he studied the unfriendly slope and turned to look at her quizzically. His expression and the tone of his voice could be mistaken for nothing but utter bewilderment and sincere concern.
    "It is true," she replied, "that it is hard to imagine a reason for a man to be alone and naked deep in an uninhabited land such as this. Perhaps, however, like me, you were the prisoner of some enemy band passing through this country, and you also escaped."
    Her words were meant to set his mind at ease, yet she knew they could not be true, for no men, soldiers or not, would have cause to--or would even dare--pass so high across the jagged peaks, for there were several established routes further below well suited to both large caravans and small groups of pilgrims. The trail they followed now was one made by the wild deer or bear, and would only be attempted by the most foolish, the most desperate, or the bravest of men.
   As she considered Dar-teh, the stories of her people flashed to mind, the tales of the Yidu, the high priests, as well as those of old Lintao, the grandmother who had raised her, legends of an ancient warrior, a spirit returning to the form of a man.....
   Dar-teh heard her words, but he was deep in thought, remembering as far back as he could, to the moment he waked on the ground. He endeavored to push his mind back a fragment further, trying to capture a moment beyond.
    The girl spoke again. "I am Miradi. How are you called?"
   "Dar-teh," he answered without thinking. Then, realizing he had spoken his name, a name from the past, he looked at her and saw a slight smile. But his name was all he could recall.
    "My home is upon the dry steppe far to the east. We are called the Kufra Kashmar, the desert people. To reach that land I must continue to cross this range and then travel for a hundred days across steppes, mountains, rivers and swamps. Perhaps I will never see my home again, but I will try."
   She paused briefly, then went on. "You may travel with me if you wish. At least accompany me out of the mountains. Once we make the flat land, perhaps you may recall more than you do now."
    Dar-teh needed little exhortation to be convinced to accompany the girl, especially as he had no idea as to any other reasonable course of action he might pursue.
    "Yes," he replied, "Perhaps I will remember more once away from this place, and, as I said before, together we may stand a better chance against whatever difficulties we face. First, however, we must be concerned about your Chalkar friends, for those following the trail will soon come upon their dead comrades. Even should we return and hide the corpses, they will undoubtedly still decipher from the blood and other sign that there has been a fight, and at that point their pursuit will become relentless. They will have good horses and equipment. We, on the other hand, although not poorly equipped, are only two, and you have a grave wound which requires rest and attention. I fear they will overtake us within a day."
   Dar-teh spoke like a commander himself, even like one who had formulated strategy and tactics for fighting men in many similar predicaments in the past.
   "What you say is true," Miradi replied. "What, then, do you suggest?"
    "We must put an end to their pursuit. They will know little or nothing of me, even if they suspect my presence. We are well armed with the bow, and they will expect only flight from us, not an attack. Should we find the proper place, we may be able to slay or wound another portion of them--at least enough to make them give up the chase."
   Miradi looked at the strange warrior, mounted on the rough saddle of hide and wood, dressed in hides, furs and pressed felts, and wrapped with the harness of the Chalkars, which supported blades, bows and shafts. His thick hair blew back from his face as the anxious horse danced nervously on the rock, revealing a stern hard countenance and a deadly stare. The metal of the bits and of the weapons clanked, and the hard leather creaked in reply. He appeared to her to be a more fierce and brutal figure than any of the Chalkars she had known, even though some of these latter had been among the most mighty and cruel warriors in the land.
    At the same time, however, she thought of how this stranger spoke intelligently and well, even in a tongue that was not his own, and how accurate his perception of their situation was. She was wounded, and she felt herself growing weaker with each passing moment. The thought of the ten Chalkars riding fast in pursuit sent chills up her spine. She had seen others of her gender in Chalkar hands when there was no chief or headman present to restrain them. Gladly would she cooperate with this man called Dar-teh in an effort to save them both.
    "Let us then," she said, "find the place where we will turn and destroy them." She nudged her mount into motion, and headed up the shelf, in a moment disappearing around the curve of a huge stone.
   Dar-teh took a last look around the bare, freakish ledge, the place where, as far as he knew, he had magically appeared in this world. Also, he looked again into the monstrous chasm before him, and watched fog banks of indeterminable length drift over the forests and across the naked cliffs, occasionally clearing to offer glimpses of vast, seemingly infinite stretches of mountains and valleys. He had only a moment to sit and wonder, however, for soon he remembered the girl, and clucking to his mount and to the horses he led, he turned and moved into the mist himself.