“By the Black Chunkrah!” I said. “We’ll take a fine crew of ’em to sail with us across the Ice Floes of Sicce!”
We were ringed in.
Now the renders ceased loosing shafts for fear of hitting their own men. I sized up the men opposite me, selected a likely looking Kataki with his steel-armed tail, his low-browed face fierce and leering upon us.
I sprang.
“Hai! Jikai!” I bellowed.
He swung his blade up and I sidestepped, caught the vicious stab of his tail in my left hand, pulled. He staggered. I took the time to s***h right-handed at a fellow who tried to cut me down from the side and then brought the longsword blurring around to chop through the mailed junction of the Kataki’s neck and shoulder. He dropped. I dropped his tail, cut savagely left and right, and so leaped back to the ranks
