"Right," Eliar agreed.

The willow trees along the tumbling river had turned, and their leaves were red as Althalus and Gher rode north through Arum toward Gosti's fort. "Let me do the talking when we get to the bridge, Gher," Althalus cautioned. "There's something I need to set up."

"All right," Gher agreed.

It was almost noon when they reached the bridge, and the toll taker stopped them to demand two ounces of gold. "That's a fine-looking tunic you've got there friend," the tattooed fellow noted after Althalus had paid him.

"It keeps the weather off," Althalus replied with a casual shrug.

"Where did you come by it?"

"Up in Hule," Althalus replied, even as he had the last time. "I happened across this wolf, you see, and he was about to jump on me and tear out my throat so that he could have me for supper. Now, I've always sort of liked wolves-they sing so prettily-but I don't like them well enough to provide supper for them, particularly when I'm going to be the main course. Well, I just happened to have this pair of bone dice with me, and I persuaded the wolf that it might be more interesting if we played dice to decide the matter instead of rolling around on the ground trying to rip each other apart."

Even as he had the previous time, the toll taker became totally engrossed in the wild story about the dice game with the wolf, and Gher appeared to be-caught up in it as well. Althalus was pleased that he hadn't lost his touch, and he expanded the story, adding more outrageous details as he went along.

"Oh, that's a rare story, friend!" the chortling toll taker said at the conclusion, clapping Althalus on the back with one meaty hand. "Gosti's got to hear this one!" He turned to one of the broadly grinning guards. "Take over here," he ordered. "I want to introduce our friend here to Gosti."

"Right," the guard agreed.

"That was a terrible good story, Althalus," Gher said admiringly as they followed the toll taker across the bridge.

"I'm glad you liked it."

"Was that the same one you told him last time?"

"More or less. I embellished it a little, though."

They followed the fur-clad man up through the village, through the gates of the fort, and then on into the dining hall, where Gosti sat ripping chunks from the haunch of roasted pork.

"Ho, Gosti!" their guide said loudly to get the fat man's attention. "This is Althalus. Have him tell you the story of how he came by this fine wolf-eared tunic of his."

"All right," Gosti replied, taking a gulp of mead from his drinking horn. "You don't mind if I keep eating while you tell me the story, do you?

"Not at all, Gosti," Althalus replied. "I certainly wouldn't want you to start wasting away right in front of my eyes."

Gosti blinked, and then he roared with laughter, spewing greasy pork all over the table.

Althalus glanced quickly around the smoky dining hall, and he saw Ghend and Khnom seated near the fire pit. Ghend nodded slightly and put on his peculiar bronze helmet.

Althalus launched into a much-expanded version of his story about the dice game with the wolf, and by late afternoon he and Gher were firmly ensconced in chairs beside the enormous fat man.

After sunset, Gosti drifted off to sleep, and the tall, bearded Galbak leaned across the table. "If you and your boy have finished, Althalus, I'll take you to a place where you can get some sleep. When Gosti starts to snore, nobody sleeps."

"I am a little tired, Galbak," Althalus admitted. "Telling stories can be exhausting."

Galbak let out a bit of a laugh. "Don't play games with me, Althalus. You loved every minute of it."

Althalus grinned at him as he and Gher rose from their seats. "You seem to be Gosti's right hand, Galbak," he told the towering Arum as they crossed the dining hall.

"Well, more like his left one," Galbak rumbled. "He eats with his right hand." Galbak sighed then. "That's what's going to kill him in the end, I'm afraid. It's probably all right to be sort of fat, but Gosti's taken it too far. He can't sleep lying down anymore, and there are times when he can barely get his breath."

"You're likely to be the one who succeeds him, aren't you?"

"Probably so, but I'm not looking forward to it very much. Gosti and I are like brothers, and I'm more or less forced to stand and watch while he eats himself to death."

Ghend rose from the bench upon which he and Khnom had been sitting. "That was quite some story, stranger," he complimented Althalus.

"This is Ghend," Galbak introduced them, "and that's his servant, Khnom. They're from Regwos, and they're wintering here."

"Pleased to meet you, Ghend," Althalus murmured perfunctorily. "Maybe we'll have time to get better acquainted during the winter."

"Maybe," Ghend agreed, sitting back down.

Galbak led Althalus and Gher on toward the dining room door. "I wouldn't get my hopes up too much about that one, Althalus," he suggested. "Ghend keeps pretty much to himself, and you could tell him the funniest joke in the world and he wouldn't so much as crack a smile. I've never heard him laugh once since he came here."

Althalus shrugged. "Some people are like that." He glanced back over his shoulder and saw Khnom exaggeratedly mouth the word "stables." Althalus nodded briefly and then followed Galbak on out of the dining hall.

The room to which Gosti's cousin led them had no door, nor any significant furniture. There was a pile of straw in one comer that was evidently intended to serve as a bed. "It isn't much," Galbak apologized, "but Gosti hates to spend money on furniture instead of food."

"It'll be just fine," Althalus assured him. "The boy and I can go to the stable and pick up our blankets, and then we'll settle in."

"I'll see you in the morning, then," Galbak said, and then he retraced his steps back toward the dining hall.

"It's working out pretty good, isn't it, Althalus?" Gher noted as the two of them walked through the fort toward the stables. "You got some plans about that real tall fellow, don't you?"

"I get a feeling that he's going to be useful later on," Althalus replied. "It seems that Gosti concentrates on eating and leaves details up to his cousin. That could be important before this is over."

They left the main building and passed through the various workmen's open-fronted sheds to the hay barn on the northeast corner of the enclosure. Then they entered the stables that were butted up against the north wall. Ghend and Khnom were waiting there in the dim light.

"You took your time getting here," Ghend growled.

"There's no real rush," Althalus replied. "There's already snow in the passes, so we aren't going anywhere until spring."

"I know that, Althalus," Ghend said, "but I was starting to wonder if you'd changed your mind."

"And leave all of Gosti's gold for you? Don't be silly. Have you located the strong room yet?"

Ghend nodded. "It's on the main floor-past the dining hall and up a very short flight of stairs. I haven't had a chance to look inside yet, but I'd guess that it's got a wooden floor-probably split logs. Nobody in his right mind stores gold in a room with a dirt floor."

"Truly," Althalus agreed. "Particularly in a region where everybody's carrying mining tools. Is it guarded?"

"All the time, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. The guards who watch the door at night usually take a couple of flagons of mead to work with them. If we go in after midnight, they'll probably be dozing. We'll be able to kill them quietly"

Althalus nodded. "Could you see the lock?" he asked.

"It won't be a problem," Khnom assured him. "I could undo that one in my sleep. We could do this tonight, you know."

"Too dangerous," Gher said quickly. "You fellows only got here a few days ago, and me and Althalus came today. They're probably watching us sort of careful because we're still strangers, and that big, mean Galbak's almost certain sure told the guards that they'd get skun alive if they drank theirselves to sleep. I think we ought to wait until they get used to us-and by then the snow'll be belly deep on a tall horse."

"He's right," Althalus said. "I want lots of open running room out there after we steal that gold. Galbak's got long legs, and he can probably run like a deer for at least a day and a half before he gets winded. No robbery's complete until you've gotten away."

"You're very good at this, Althalus," Ghend observed.

"I learned a long time ago that good planning makes for good robberies. We've got a long winter ahead of us, but we've got plenty of work to keep us busy. We need to go over every inch of this fort so that we can find our way in the dark. Our main problem is that we're inside a walled-in group of buildings. Getting inside was easy. Getting out with the gold might be a lot more difficult."

"I've had some luck with fire," Khnom suggested. "The fort is made of wood, you know, and people whose houses are on fire are too busy to pay attention to anything but the fire."

"It's a possibility," Althalus conceded, "but let's see if we can find some other way. A fire would only give us a two-hour head start-at most-and that's cutting things a little fine. I can lie my way past the front gate if that's our only way out, but we don't want to kill the guards. Blood attracts almost as much attention as fire, and we don't want to destroy the strong-room lock, either. If we do this right, they won't know they've been robbed for at least a day. If we've got a full day's head start, we're home free; if it's only five minutes, we're in trouble."

"And we should always tenlike we don't know each other," Gher added. "Don't get seen talking to each other and like that."

"We've got a whole winter to work out the details," Althalus said confidently. "I won't be able to help very much, because I'll have to spend the winter entertaining Gosti and the others in that hall with jokes and funny stories. That leaves most of the work up to you three. Now we'd all better get back to the main building. We are being watched, and if we stay out of sight for too long, somebody's liable to come looking for us."

Ghend's eyes were burning as he peered at Althalus in the dim light. "When this is all over, let's stay in touch," he said in his harsh voice. "I think we might want to talk about that business proposition I mentioned before."

"I'm always ready to listen, my friend," Althalus replied. "For now, though, let's get back to the main fort before somebody starts getting curious about where we are."

Althalus and Gher picked up their blankets and crossed the open courtyard to the main fort. "This must seem real strange to you, Althalus," Gher said as they were spreading their blankets on the pile of hay in the corner of their room. "I mean, you went through all this before, didn't you?"

"There are enough differences to make it interesting," Althalus replied. "When you get right down to it, we're pulling off a double swindle here. We're swindling Gosti in one direction and Ghend in another. That should be enough to keep me on my toes."

The weather closed in about a week after Althalus and Gher had reached Gosti's fort, and a series of savage snowstorms with howling winds and driving snow clawed at the buildings. It was warm and dry inside, however, and Althalus entertained Gosti and his men in the dining hall with jokes and stories. He also went out of his way to become better acquainted with the towering Galbak. The big man with agate-hard eyes seemed to be habitually melancholy, and it wasn't hard to see why. Arums are intensely loyal to begin with, and Galbak's close kinship to Gosti greatly increased his attachment to his Chief. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Gosti's health was deteriorating. The fat man wheezed a great deal whenever he spoke, and he needed help to rise from his chair.

"I give him maybe two more years, Althalus," Galbak said one snowy afternoon when the two of them had gone to the stable to check the horses. "Three at the very most. Gosti was never what you'd call skinny, but ten years of steady eating have turned him into a mountain. It'd be easier to jump over him than it'd be to walk around him."

"He's no midget, that's certain," Althalus agreed.

"He wasn't always like this," Galbak said sadly. "When we were just boys, he'd run and play like any other boy, but after his older brother died, Gosti realized that he'd be the next Clan Chief, and he started to indulge himself. The more he ate, the more he wanted, and now he can't stop. He has to eat constantly."

"It's very sad, Galbak, but what can you do?"

"Not very much. He doesn't really pay much attention to anything that's happening around him, so I've been sort of obliged to take over for him. I keep a running count of the gold that's piling up in his strong room. He doesn't even look at his gold anymore. I give him a number every week or so, and that always sends him off into another celebration." Galbak shrugged. "He's fat, but he's happy."

Althalus altered his plan slightly at that point. Quite obviously, Gosti was not much more than a figurehead. Galbak was the real Clan Chief here, and it'd be Galbak who'd give the orders after the robbery. In some ways, that made things easier. Waking Gosti from a sound sleep might have proved to be well-nigh impossible, and trying to explain that there'd been a robbery would most likely take an hour or two. Galbak's reaction should be almost instantaneous.

The winter dragged on, and Althalus concentrated most of his attention on keeping Gosti entertained, leaving the other business to Gher, Khnom, and Ghend. Then one night when the fire in the pit just in front of Gosti's table had burned low, Althalus chanced to overhear an argument between a pair of white-haired old Arums.

"Yer an idjut, Egnis," one of the creaky old warriors was saying scornfully. "There hain't no other door in the hay barn."

"There certainly is," Egnis retorted hotly. "Course you wouldn't know about it, Merg, 'cause you never done no honest work in yer whole life. You bin planted on yer backside right here fer forty years. I hauled hay through that back door every summer when I was a young feller."

Merg scoffed. "You can't remember that far back. You can't even remember this morning."

"There's a back door in the barn."

"No, there ain't."

"Is too."

"Is not."

Gosti was snoring loudly while Egnis and Merg continued to spit "is toos" and "is nots" at each other.

There was a way to settle the argument, of course, but Althalus decided not to suggest it. The two old codgers were having fun, so why spoil it for them? He rose quietly to his feet instead, and went to have a look for himself.

There was hay piled against the back wall of the barn, and Althalus scrambled up onto the stack and felt around under the hay. After a few moments, he found what he was looking for. Evidently, Egnis had been right. Althalus could feel a round pole that passed through a fair-sized hole in a jutting plank. He fumbled around some more, and he finally found the other one. Then he took hold of the pole and pushed it first toward one side and then toward the other. It slid back and forth quite easily. "Well, well, well," Althalus murmured softly to himself. "Isn't that interesting?" Then he climbed down from the haystack, brushed himself off, and went looking for Gher.

He found the boy in the kitchen, pilfering.

"Let that go for now, Gher," he instructed. "Go find Ghend and tell him that I'd like to speak with him."

"In the stables again?"

"No, let's meet in the hay barn instead. There's something there that's going to make things a lot easier for us."

"I'll see if I can find him," Gher said promptly.

"Do that," Althalus said, rather absently taking up a piece of bread and dipping it into a pot of still-warm gravy.

It was no more than a quarter of an hour later when Gher led Ghend and Khnom into the hay barn.

"What's afoot, Althalus?" Ghend asked. "Has something gone awry?"

"No, actually we've just had a stroke of luck. I happened to overhear an argument between a couple of old men."

"What a peculiar way for you to pass the time," Khnom said. "What were they arguing about?"

"This barn, actually," Althalus replied.

"How can you argue about a barn?" Ghend asked in a faintly derisive tone.

"They probably didn't have anything better to do. Anyway, they were busy remembering 'the good old days' the way old coots usually do, and somehow the question of barn doors came up. One of them said there was only one; the other insisted that there were two. I came out and had a look for myself, and it seems that the second coot was right. You see that haystack against the back wall?"

Ghend peered at the wall in the dim light. "Barely," he said. "You should have brought a torch here."

"In a hay barn? That's a quick way to attract a lot of attention, Ghend, old boy. Anyway, I climbed up that stack and stuck my hand down through the hay. There's a bar that runs across that back wall, and nobody I've ever heard of bars a blank wall. If there's a bar, there's a door, and if we can get that door open, we won't have to carry our newfound fortune out through the front gate after we find our, newfound fortune."

"That is a bit of luck," Khnom agreed. "That's one of the things I've been a little worried about."

"Judging from the condition of the logs in the walls here, this barn's probably several generations older than the log palisade around the fort. This is only a guess, but I think Gosti's people built the palisade after gold was discovered back in the mountains and the price Gosti charged to cross his bridge went up just a bit. There was no need for a palisade before that, because there wasn't anything here to steal. Now there is. The hay in that stack is old. The newer hay-last summer's crop-is up in the loft. I'm just guessing, but I suspect that haystack's been there for several years-probably since before they built the palisade. Since the barn wall was already there, they probably just included it in the palisade. There wouldn't have been much point to building a new wall where one was already in place, but Gher can go outside tomorrow to play in the snow or something, and have a look. If there is a door-and if we can get it open-we can lead our horses out that way and be long gone before anybody knows that we aren't here anymore."

"That's another reason to wait until after the snow melts before we visit Gosti's strong room," Khnom said. "Tracks in the snow are a dead giveaway. I think our chances of success just doubled."

"Play in the snow?" Gher objected.

"Make a snowman or something," Khnom suggested. "Little boys do that all the time, don't they?"

"Only if they don't have nothing better to do," Gher retorted. "I'd rather spend my time learning how to steal stuff. I don't think I even know how to make a snowman."