proved to have no concept of cooperative tactics. She, on the other hand, had experience fighting with more than one opponent simultaneously. She spun about herself, striking at them with blade, pommel, fist, or leg; whatever lay within range. She even took advantage of her speed to whip her waist-long gold-tinged bronze hair in their faces to distract them, and her heavy braids, which hung from the sides of her head, hit them with considerable force. Even so, despite their clumsy technique, their knives were deadly weapons, and they were stronger than she expected. As a result, she suffered a number of wounds herself, some fairly severe.
She subdued three fairly quickly, but the remaining trio, which included the captain, proved more difficult. Furthermore, she handicapped herself in that she didn't try to kill them: her blows were meant to stun and incapacitate, but their compact bodies were tough and resilient. Even as she feared they might get the better of her, a small explosion blew out the window. A moment later a squalling tomcat leapt through and onto the back of one of her attackers. He sank his teeth and front claws into the mate's neck as he began ripping with his rear claws. The Leng Man broke off as he danced around and tried to dislodge the demonic feline, all the while screaming in pain.
Conaed appeared on the window frame as Creme commenced his assault. The Zoog muttered under his breath, as his nose tendrils convulsed and his eyes shined an eerie green hue, and a cloud of glowing green darts appeared before his face. He gave a hiss, and the darts flew at the remaining mate, striking him in the back. He arched his spine as he howled, then fell to the ground, unconscious.
Teehar flew in above Conaed right at the captain. At the last minute he braked, and fluttered his wings in the mariner's face, pecking and scratching at his eyes. The captain ducked and backed off, waving at the bird to ward him off.
Medb focused on Creme's mate. "Away!"
The cat disengaged and leapt clear.
"Setim!" A disc of light rushed at the mate and collided with him, slamming him into the wall behind him. He stood dazed for a moment, then slumped, slid down the wall onto the floor, and fell over onto his side.
She turned her attention back to the captain. "Teehar!"
The bird flapped away. She rushed at the Leng Man, moving too fast for him to see, and dealt him an underhanded blow with her left fist into his abdomen just under the diaphragm. His breath whooshed out of his mouth as he doubled over, an astonished expression on his face. She flipped the dirk into the air, caught it by the blade, and cracked the handle on the back of his skull above the neck, laying him out cold.
She paused to see if any of seamen would stir, but when they remained quite she breathed a sigh of relief and gazed at the animals. Conaed jumped down from the window and sat beside Creme, while Teehar perched on the frame above them.
"Excellent work, Teehar."
"Thank you, Mistress."
"Creme, Runt, my appreciation for your timely aid."
"Thank you, Lady," Conaed said.
She focused on the cat. "Apparently, you have conquered your childhood terror."
Creme purred and twitched his tail. "Not at all, Madam. It was a short distance, and Runt accompanied me. However, we would have been here sooner, except Zoogs do not run as fast as we cats."
Conaed blinked and his tendrils waved like frantic worms, but he made no reply.
She smiled at his discomfort. "It was indeed fortunate you chose to keep pace with him. We would not have won without his magical knowledge."
Creme meowed. "True." And he rubbed his head against the Zoog's body.
As her companions watched, she stripped the unconscious Leng-men of their clothes and possessions, and dumped the five mates into the deserted street. The captain she tied up with his own clothing. She was somewhat appalled by their unkempt, greasy fur, alive with lice, but she managed to choke down her revulsion and finish her work.
When she was ready, she shocked him with a minor magical bolt to awaken him. He looked up at her as she stood over him, still naked, with her dirk in one hand and his knife in the other.
"You have information I want; you will tell me what I want to know, have no illusions about that. So I give you a choice: you may freely answer my questions, in which case I will release you and you may return to your ship unharmed; or you may refuse, in which case--" And she rubbed the flats of the blades together for emphasis.
He said nothing, but he grinned in contempt as he spat at her. The saliva landed between her ample breasts. She casually glanced down at herself, only to stare him in the eye with a ferocious grin.
"I hoped that would be your answer." She knelt down and began to work on him.
It took her some time to get results; he was tough and strong-willed, and for over an hour he alternated between lewd jokes and angry curses, punctuated by screams of pain and fear. However, she was not inexperienced at the art of persuasion, and finally he broke, shrieking that a priest of the ancient cult of Ubasti had paid him to kidnap her. When she realized he didn't know why, she cut off his manhood, after which he fainted. She collected her clothes, and discovered that Conaed had gone through the Leng Men's possessions, separating out anything of value or interest, including her money and their backgammon winnings. She wrapped it all in her dress, flung it over a shoulder like a bag, and she and the animals left.
She returned to the inn straightaway, and the sight of her walking through the streets naked, spattered with gore and grime, elicited many frightened stares. When she arrived, the family looked surprised and more than a little apprehensive to see her. At her request, they poured a bath for her in her room and brought her food and drink, and sent a messenger to the black galley with news of where the crew could find their captain. They also took her dress to be cleaned, and she gave them the captain's winnings, minus her crowns, instructing them to divide it up between the seamen he had cheated.
"Tell me of this cult," she asked, as she washed herself and tended to her wounds. "I had heard of it when I served as priestess to Bast in Egypt, but for some reason the other priests had not been very forth coming."
Creme twitched his tail in amusement. "I can imagine. Nephren-Ka, called the Black Pharaoh, first introduced the worship of Nyarlathotep and other dark gods to ancient Egypt. He also corrupted the established cults, including that of Bast. He renamed her Ubasti, but the object of worship was actually Nyarlathotep in the guise of one of his avatars."
"Ach, yes, of course."
"When his reign was brought down by the Pharaoh Sneferu, the cult was destroyed by the loyal priests who managed to survive the Black Pharaoh's pogroms, but some worshipers survived, and it continued underground. Later, Queen Nitocris revived the cult along with those of the other dark gods, and later still it flourished again under the reign of the Pharaoh Akenaten, but mostly it now survives in secret."
"According to the lore of the Elder Beings, Lady," Conaed added, "Nyarlat was the brother of Azathoth, produced by the union of the Aion Sophia and the Servitor Apep. In his bid to rule the Cosmos, Nyarlat attempted to seduce and thereby control the Servitors. One among them, however, recognized the danger and warned the Aions; that one was Bast."
"I am familiar with the story. Nyarlat swore revenge against her, one expression of which was his attempt to corrupt her cult in the Waking World. Perhaps he wishes to try the same feat here in the Dreamlands, and Inganok would make an ideal base, being as no cat would come here. We must find out where the cult is hiding; any suggestions?"
"Of what use would a statue dedicated to Bast be to this cult?" Teehar inquired.
"The statue is a conduit to the goddess," Creme replied. "If the cult can reconsecrate it to Nyarlathotep, he can communicate through it, in the guise of his avatar Ubasti."
"They would need a sacred place to perform such a ritual," Conaed said, "particularly one that is dedicated to gods both light and dark."
"Mistress," Teehar piped, "there is such a place! The temple of the Elder Beings, which stands on the hill in the center of the city!"
r /> Medb sat bolt upright. "Ach, yes, of course!" She felt stupid for not thinking of that herself. She stood and stepped out of the bath without bothering to dry off, nor did she dress. She just put on her belt and attached a narrow-bladed sword a full cloth-yard long, then draped her cloak over her shoulders. She took up an oval wooden shield reinforced with a metal rim and spokes and a large central metal knob, which also carried four short throwing spears in a special frame behind the grip, and slipped it onto her left arm. She next picked up Conaed and placed him on her left shoulder as Teehar flew onto her right. Finally, she gripped two eight-foot fighting spears in her right hand and strode from the room, with Creme leading the way.
Her manner and appearance were so resolute as she walked the streets to the temple that word went ahead of her, and the city dwellers began to congregate just to see what she would do. The only opposition she faced was when a band of a dozen well-armed Men of Leng blocked her path and demanded that she turn away. Without breaking stride, she leveled the pair of spears at them.
"Giorac!"
Instantly the Leng-men threw down their weapons, turned, and fled, howling in abject terror.
In the center of the city a very large, circular, colonnaded plaza had been built; in its center stood a sixteen-angled tower. A high polygonal wall with seven open gates surrounded it. Beyond lay a