anything that fast, and I saw Aldrick ex Gladius fight Araris Valerian when I was a boy."
"They went down hard, eh?"
"Two of them didn't go down at all. They got away, and Flavis let them go. It would have been suicide to send anyone out into the dark after them."
Tavi felt a sensation almost akin to that of his mouth watering at the scent of a fine meal. "Wait. Differently garbed? How so?"
Hagar turned to his horse, and said, "I've got it here, sir. Flavis said you might want to see it."
"Flavis was right, " Tavi said. "Tribune, a lamp please."
"It will give away our position, sir," Max said.
"So will the scent of a hundred horses," Tavi said drily. "I need to see this."
Max nodded and fetched a lamp. He draped his cloak over it, then murmured, "Light." Very little of the golden glow of the furylamp emerged from beneath the cloak, and the three of them hunkered down to examine the gear Hagar had brought.
A hooded black cloak big enough to make a small tent was first, wrapped around the rest. Within the cloak lay a pair of short fighting blades-or what would have been so, for a Cane. The blades of the weapons were three feet long, curved, and made of the tempered, scarlet bloodsteel from which the Canim forged their best equipment. The spines of the knives bore teeth like those of a wood saw, and the pommel of one was made in the shape of a wolf skull, complete with tiny scarlet gems for eyes. Half a dozen heavy, metal spikes were next, as long as Tavi's forearm and as thick as his thumb. A Cane's enormous arm could throw them entirely through a human target, or crack a man's skull through a good helmet. Finally, the equipment included a matte black chain of some strange and enormously heavy metal that made almost no sound when link brushed against link.
Tavi stared down at them for a moment, thinking.
"Looks more like a Cursor's gear," Max said quietly. "Smaller than their normal stuff. Light. Perfect to disable a target and make an escape."
"Mmm," Tavi said. "Which is exactly what they used it to do. Add in how well they fought, and it indicates that they might be elite soldiers of some kind. Certainly scouts."
"Either way, they've got regulars behind them somewhere."
Tavi nodded grimly. "And now they know where we are."
Max frowned and fell silent.
"Sir," Hagar said, "I should also tell you that the scouts may have taken heavy losses."
Tavi grunted and frowned. "How so?"
"Only about forty-five of the eighty that went out this morning made the rendezvous. Scouts are an independent bunch, and they can get pinned down in a hiding place for days, sometimes. No one saw any bodies, but a couple of them found signs that some of their companions had been attacked."
"They want to keep us blind," Tavi said, nodding. "Hold on." Tavi rose and walked over to one of the horses they'd used to carry supplies. He unloaded a heavy square of leather wrapped around a bundle, untied the cord holding it closed, and drew out a pair of Canim sickle-swords and one of their axes. He brought them over and tossed them down beside the other gear. He squinted down at them for a long moment, tracking an elusive thought that danced about just beneath the surface of realization.
"If they know we're out here," Max said quietly, "we'd best not linger. We don't want to get hit by a squad of their regulars in the dark."
Hagar nodded. "Flavis is already on the way back to the Elinarch."
Tavi stared at the weapons. There was something there. An answer. He knew it.
"Sir?" Max said. "We might need to get a move on. Whatever they're doing or however many they are, they aren't going to be able to sneak up on the town."
Suddenly, realization hit Tavi in a flash, and he slammed a fist against his palm. "Crows, that's it."
Hagar blinked at him.
Tavi pointed at the sickle-swords and the Canim axe. "Max. What do you see."
"Canim weapons?"
"Look closer," Tavi said.
Max pursed his lips and frowned. "Urn. Bloodstain on that one. Edges are nicked up pretty bad on those sickle-swords. And there's rust on..." Max paused and frowned. "What are those stains on the sickles and the axe?"
"Exactly," Tavi said. He pointed at the bloodsteel gear. "Look. Edges in excellent shape. High quality craftsmanship." He pointed at the gear taken from the slain raiders. "Rust. Much lower