Free The Exotic Enchanter by L. Sprague de Camp, Lyon Sprague de Camp, Christopher Stasheff Page A

but we had a scout who knew a ford across a little stream that they counted on to protect one flank. We had our men on foot right into the camp before the guards knew anything. Then the horsemen charged before the Polovtsi could so much as draw a sword!
    "We had the camp and the caravan under our hands in less time than it took one of those wretches to drain a cup. Yuri Dimitrivich's family and household, those who survived, are free."
    "What did you do with the rest, Your Highness?"
    The prince replied cheerfully, "They are on their way to Krasni Podok, and this vermin will join them. Don't worry about any blood prices, Egorov. The grivnas from that sale will more than cover the price of a few wounds."
    Igor lowered his voice. "I think I really will raise the liquor tax. If these merchants will go to so much trouble to supply drink to Polovtsi, perhaps I can persuade them to take as much trouble for their prince. Speaking of which, I could use a drink right now."
    "Ah, Your Highness, if anything is left, it would leave you flat alongside your enemies. In fact, I'd not offer anything here to anyone but an enemy."
    The prince looked around, then headed for the spring. He gestured for Shea to follow, which the psychologist did, telling himself that his dreams of freeing all the slaves in the train had been a few centuries too early. But what about—
    "Florimel, Your Highness! Was she freed?"
    "I gave Rurik Vasifyevich permission to look for her, once we'd taken the caravan," Igor replied. "He will be coming in with the rest of my band. Oleg Nikolaivich will take the caravan to Krasni Podok and bring back my profits." His smile grew a trifle cruel. "I will also find out who has been depending on Krasni Podok to supply his needs, at the expense of his fellow Rus."
    That should help a bit , Shea thought.

    Near sunset the rest of the party rode in, including Reed Chalmers. Never was there a more truly named Knight of the Woeful Countenance.
    He was still guarded, but Shea could see that the guards were now superfluous. Reed slumped in the saddle so that it was a wonder he didn't fall. There was no sign of Florimel.
    Shea helped his comrade down, and wished he had a drink to offer him. The best he could do was privacy, so he took Chalmers to the outskirts of the camp.
    "What happened?"
    Shea was relieved to see a trace of life in Chalmers' eyes, even if it was only frustration. "I—I don't know."
    "Can you tell me what you saw, at least?"
    "What—how can that help?"
    Florimel is gone again , Shea thought, Aloud, he said, "We never know what won't help. Besides, we kept our promise to Igor. He owes us something. Even if I can't help—"
    "All right."
    Chalmers described a search of the slave caravan, wagon by wagon and tent by tent, him and four guards. (Not just to keep an eye on him, either; suicidal last-ditch attacks were a Polovtsi specialty.) There'd been hundreds of slaves, some more wretched then others, but none of them as happy as Chalmers had expected to find them, now that they were free.
    "One man was bold enough to explain that Yuri the Red's household had been freed but no others," Chalmers said. "He asked if this was a true prince's justice. One of my guards knocked him senseless."
    Chalmers kept his anger on a tight rein until they came to the last tent. It had some sort of warding at the entrance, that kept Chalmers and his guards from going in.
    The warding did not keep the psychologist from seeing Florimel, standing with Malambroso in the far corner of the tent.
    "It should not have kept her from seeing me, either, but perhaps it did. Certainly she showed no signs of recognition. She looked like a sleepwalker."
    Then Malambroso began making passes with his hands. Chalmers knew there was only one thing to do: break the ward, then negate Malambroso's spell.
    He tried three times to enter the tent, using three different verses (and Shea couldn't have remembered what they were to save his life). The warding stayed