"Stand up." " You used to be faster." " You used to have more hair." "Look at you." "What a mess!" "What happened to that uniform..." "You used to be so proud of?" "You've been roaming the wastelands, brawling with half-men, no doubt." "A man needs his exercise." "It's good to see you, sir." "I believe we were heading for the same tavern." "Let's go have a drink." " Peacemaker?" " You think I'm too old?" "I can still toss five of the likes of you." "I didn't teach you every trick I know." "Taught me enough not to argue with you." "Peacemaker is a respectable job." "You should try it." "How long do you intend to live out in the wastelands?" "It's my home." "What happened to regend and lauria wasn't your fault." "We've all lost families because of the war." "You have to let go." "The wasteland suits me fine." "So where's meridian?" "I've never heard of it." "It's a small settlement to the east." "They're having disputes over water rights." "Why you?" "Why not send the enforcers?" "Because the council didn't deem it big enough for the enforcers." "And I have a personal interest in meridian." "I've given up teaching." "I don't want to show people to fight anymore." "The times are changing." "There are more important things to do today." "Those of us who survived the wars..." "Have a responsibility to those who didn't." "Mom, look!" "Wh-what the hell's that?" "Spare some water?" "I'll pay." "No need." "Jux." "Go get some water, please." "You're not from meridian, are you?" "No, ma'am." "You come about the work?" "Maybe." "Ever work on a purification farm before?" "Farming's a little out of my line, but..." "Still, when I have to, I can manage." "What I'm offering is food and shelter." "Food sounds good." "Come on in." "My name's kasha." "What shall we call you?" "Whatever you like." "I'm not particular." "This is tark, my foreman." "Tooey and off, his helpers." "Tooey will show you to your quarters where you can store your belongings." "I hope you like it here." "Tooey, back to work." "You might as well know the layout from the start." "I'mhead dog on this farm." "That woman and child are under my protection, so, unless you want to answer to me, don't go making trouble for us." "Understand?" "Mm." " What are you building'?" " A wind racer." "You're doing a dandy job, fellows." "Straight ahead now." "A little to the left, please, and thank you!" "And break, lads." "Hello, cali." "Where'd you get that dirge?" "Designed it myself." "Good." "Wouldn't it be easier to walk on your hands?" "Cali." "It's good to see you." "I've got something for you." "A letter, all the way from the city." "Can I invite you and your friends in for lunch?" "Oh, another time, perhaps." "My medical expertise is in need." "Not a moment to lose!" "Come along, chaps." " Off we go." " See you at the gathering tonight." "Straight ahead, lads." "Those won't grow." "What?" "Those won't grow." "Why not?" "You planted them upside down." "Too close together." "They should be this far apart." " Your mother teach you that?" " No, my father did." "But he's dead now." "In the war." "He was a commander." "Commander terran." " I knew him." " You knew him?" "He was a great man." "What's your name?" "Jux." "Well, jux, I'll tell you what:" "You help me with my farm work," "I'll help you build that wind racer." "Deal." "Tark." "Hitch up the wagon and ask the new man to join us." "We're taking him along?" "I wouldn't trust him here alone." "Together, we are strong." "Strong in our commitment, strong in our purpose." "We must make this land live again." "Let us not weaken ourselves by leaving the valley, as so many have already done." "Help us to brave the summer sandstorms." "Let us hold strong against the heat of the wind that cuts through our valley." "And let us have the strength to fight even the violence..." "Which arises from our valley as well." " Welcome, kasha." " May I speak?" "For years now," "I've been advising you to hold onto your land." "At times, it hasn't seemed worth it." "But times are about to change." "I have just received a letter from the council of the order." "A peacemaker has been appointed to this settlement!" "The days of fear are over." "Now we can farm our land." "Seems I arrived just in time for a speech." "That's damnil." "It's just as well you're here, damnil." "The peacemaker's arrival is more significant to you than the rest of us." "Ah, yes." "The peacemaker." "I've known about that appointment for some time." "No one would be happier to see a peacemaker than I would." "I'm a law-abiding citizen." "There's a lot of dangerous land between here and the city." "Anything could happen to a peacemaker on the road these days." "Until he arrives," "I... am the authority..." "In this valley!" "Five cents!" "Five cents!" "Whoa." "Ho." "Hello, kasha." "Father has your package." "The valve." "Come on, jux." "Let's play!" "Ha, ha, ha, ha!" "Come on!" "Hey." "Hey." "Come on, you owe me a beer." "Knock it off." "Knock it off." "Guess your weight." "Step right up, I'll guess your weight." "Hey." "Isn't that her wagon?" "Yeah." "Let's go, then." "Don't go away." "I'll be right back." "It hurt me much more than it hurts you." "How're ya doin'?" "Fine." "I was beginning to wonder..." "If we'd get it before summer." "It's the last one." "Take good care of it." "I don't want to get caught without a pump during a sandstorm." "We'll be careful." "Come on, jux." "Let's get a sweet roll." "Oh!" "I thought scud rats only came out at night." "You're a big, fat, slimy pig." "If you're trying to provoke me, you'll have to do better than that." "Your mistress is a whore." "Let's get him!" "No!" "Hold it." "He's my meat." "Get him!" "Leave him to me." " Tark!" " Jux!" "Ow!" "Ow!" "Damnil's going to pay me more for this." "Don't spend it too soon." "Clean up this mess." "It's time we found out who this man is." "Oh, my god." "I didn't think we could trust him." "Terran had a sword like that." "He must have been an officer in the guard." " Probably stole it." " Perhaps." "He's dangerous, any way you look at it." "I better kill him." "No." "Don't do anything yet." "We'll put this in a safe place and keep an eye on him." "Where did you learn to fight?" "I was a soldier." "Will you teach me?" "I don't think that's a good idea." "All right." "Come here." "I'll tell you the secret to being a good fighter, but you must promise never to misuse this knowledge." "I promise." "What's the secret?" "Before you learn to fight, you must first learn to meditate." "Meditate?" "Yeah." "First, draw a triangle." "Put your head here." "Hands here." "Put your knees on your elbows." "And then, raise your toes to the sun." "When you master that, I'll teach you." "What is it?" "Sounds like it's near the windmill." "Look!" "I brought you breakfast." "You have a healthy appetite." "You're too polite." "I eat like a pig." "I want to thank you for what you did last night." "You like being mysterious, don't you?" "But I know more about you than you think I do." "Used to be a soldier." "Probably an officer of some rank." "And you're here in the valley for a specific purpose." "And what's that?" "It's obviously not to learn farming." "Well, all that matters is that you protected the farm." "So I'm gonna trust you with its secret." "Come with me." "We'll be running a pipeline down here, so you're gonna have to know about this sooner or later." "It's a-torch." "My husband searched years for this." "I found it just after he died." "It's pure water?" "An endless supply of it." "Comes out of the ground that way." "Let me show you what I'm gonna do with it." "Will you light that, please?" "I'm gonna irrigate this entire valley." "See, I'm gonna build an aqueduct, which will cut straight down the middle." "From there, it can branch out to the individual farms." "Each farm will have its own source of water." "That's a really- who thought of this?" "I did." "It's a really simple." "You did?" "All by myself." "How many people know about this?" "Just you and tark." "You do realize the hordes that are gonna migrate here." "Yes." "There's going to be a new city in meridian." "Ahh." "What's the matter?" "Never seen a grown man naked?" "You're very cool for a man in your position." "Let's cut off his balls and slit open his gut." "You shouldn't play with sharp objects." "Stand back." "Give him room." " Very pleasant here." " It was." "You got a lot of guts." "Of course, you realize if I wanted you killed, you'd be dead by now." "Maybe." "I don't want any trouble." "I just want the land." "My wells are running dry." "I need more water." "Well, perhaps you should use it more conservatively." "That's for the peasants." "There's more water here than anyone realizes." "I know it's here." "Eventually, I'll find it." "Whoever controls the water controls the valley." "I'd like you to work for me." " Why?" " You're an impressive man." "With you on my side, the peasants lose heart, give up the fight." "What would they do?" "Where will they go?" "What does it matter?" "They're pig herders." "They squat anywhere." "Their kind always does." "Oh, and uh." "You'll make it worth my while." "Think about it." "Don't think too long." "Work with me, nobody gets hurt." "Turn me down, a lot of people get hurt." "Oh, no." "?" "The year of the scud in double-oh-three?" "?" "And they escaped from the wars?" "?" "Year of the scud in double-oh-three?" "?" "Double-oh-three double-oh-three?" "?" "It was the year of the scud in double-oh-three?" "You're up late." "I was restless." "It's been so long since I felt safe on the farm." "So, you feel safe now?" "Yes." "It's a relief to have the mill working again." "Do you think the tubing will hold?" "Yes." "Blades aren't too tight?" "Are you sure..." "That it's gonna be all right?" "Do you ever wonder what people were like before the sandstorms came?" "Never lost any sleep over it." "What is it?" "Just an old injury." "Turn over." "No, it's all right." "Turn... over." "Relax." "I know what I'm doing." "I was married to a soldier once, remember?" "You pretend you never feel any pain." "You think you're..." "Invulnerable." "Just like him." "Your husband's dead." "I know." "I buried him." "You should be proud, kasha." "You've done well on your own." "Only because I've had to." "Sun's coming up." "We better get back to the farm." "We can repair the blades." "Depends on what they did to the pump." "Off!" "Get out here!" "What?" "What?" "They did the job well." "Hopeless!" "There'll be blood to pay for this." " Tark." " Huh?" "How far away in damnil's farm?" "I don't know." "Five miles." "Maybe five and a half." "You interested in a little exercise tonight?" "Yeah." "We'll kill them." "Scatter their bodies over the plain." "We'll take the mill-listen." "Don't get carried away." "All we have to do is steal one valve." "Right." "Let's try to do it as quietly as possible." "Come on." "Let's go." "You know, I really liked him." "He was nice, but he was one of those men..." "That like tearing your clothes off." "Yeah." "I tried to tell him, this cost me three gallons to get this." "Did you charge him extra?" "I just want to get drunk." "Well, he was very cute." "Yeah, he says he saw a dog..." "On the plain by kasha's farm." "A dog?" "There's no way around them, so let's take them out as quickly as possible." "It only takes a moment to break a man's neck." "Just do it quietly." "You take the one on the left." "Psst." "Hey." "What?" "Whoa." "Whoa, there." "Whoa." "Whoa." "We'll never get across without them seeing us." "Hurry up." "Disconnect the valve." "I need tools." "I can't take it out without breaking it." "We're gonna have to take the whole pump." "Feel strong?" "I can carry the whole damn windmill if I have to." "I'm tired." "Tired?" "It's early for you." "You got to sleep last night." "Some of us had work to do." "Who says I got to sleep last night?" "Oh yeah?" "What kept you up?" "I'm not saying." "But I tell you, old jenkin should buy his daughter a new cot." "You never touched jenkin's daughter." "More like it was one of the old man's pigs." "Hard to tell the two apart in the dark." "You should know." "You boys head off." "Tavern's closed." "Hyah!" "Hyah." "Hyah." "Hyah!" "Get!" "Come on." "Come on." "Let's go." "Whoa." "You took your sweet time with that." "Look at it this way, we're half way home already." "Well, what happened?" "It was that stranger." "He cut through us like a sandstorm." "I've never seen anyone so fast." "We should have killed him when he was having his bath." "Let's kill him now." "It's obvious you can't handle it." "We need a professional." "Find sho." "You know where he is." "What've you two been doing all night?" "Where did you get it?" "Damnil lent it to us." "Took it right out from under his nose." "You stole one of damnil's pumps?" "Yes." "That's great." " How did you do it?" " Just walked in and took it." "He must be furious." "That's amazing." "That's." "That's great." "Way to go." "But wait, I didn't do it alone." "Don't just stand there, tooey." "Let's go get the man a drink." "Oh, yeah." "I don't believe this." "On your mark." "Get set." "Go." "Sorry." "You get that one." "Yes." " Can I get a sweet roll?" " Sure, but don't get lost." "I won't." "Tark." "What are you doing here?" "Let's go." "There you go, telling me what to do again." "You think you're boss?" "I'm not taking orders from you anymore." "I don't take orders from no one." "Come on, you pig sticker." "Come on." "I'm not afraid of you." "I can take a hundred of you." "Oh, there you go, running away." "I knew you were a coward." "You come out of nowhere and start ruining everything." "You make her think you're better than anyone else." "Oh, I'm no good." "Probably gonna just go off somewhere and rot." "You'll never miss me." "Nobody wants a worn-out old soldier anyway." "What do you think I am?" "Come on." "Let's go home." "Here." "I feel like a rat turd." "You smell like one." "What happened to you?" "Oh, nothing, jux." "He's all right." "Let's take him back to the farm." "You know something?" "You're not so disgusting." "Oh, you act tough." "No, no." "You don't make me puke." "Thanks." "Take jux home." "Go." "Hey." "That's him." "That's your man." "I am sho." " Haven't we met before?" " Not in combat." "You wear the vest of a guard." "I was a captain of the elite." "But now you're an assassin." "We all have to make a living." "Well, it's time for you to earn it." "You're very anxious to die." "You don't even have a sword." "I don't need one." "Please don't insult me." "I want this to be sporting." "I don't suppose any of these peasants have a sword they can lend you?" "Then we will fight with staves." "You're very good." "But I think a little out of practice." "We won't know that till it's over." "Jux, run home." "Stop!" "Grab the boy." "Finish him off." "Shut up!" "If you interfere with me again," "I'll cut your head off." "The contest isn't over..." "Yet." "Let's go." "Tark." "Tark!" "Tark!" "How could I let this happen?" "It's not your fault." "If I hadn't pushed damnil, tark would still be alive and jux would be home safe." "It's not you." "It's me." "I attract violence." "What are you talking about?" "This has happened before." "It's not going to happen again." "What are you doing?" "I'm going to get jux." "No." "You're crazy." "You're in no condition to fight anybody." "I'll... go to damnil." "I'll talk to him." "I'll reason with him." "I know these men, kasha." "There's only one way to reason with them." "But we can't fight them!" "They have my son." "They only took jux..." "Because they knew I would come." "All right." "If you must go, you'll need your sword back." "Kasha!" "Kasha!" "He'll be here." "Good." "You're anxious to get this over with?" "I'm anxious for different company." "You don't think much of me, do you?" "You flatter yourself." "I don't think anything of you." "You hired me to do a job." "That's where your significance ends." "The rest is me and him." "Come on." "Let's go." "Mom?" "You're alone." "Where is he?" "Where is the stranger?" "He's gone." "He left the valley." "You lie!" "He wouldn't run." "Why have you taken my son?" "This whole thing has gone too far." "Let's put a stop to it now." "Too late to stop it." "I can't have you in the valley anymore." "Let my son go and we'll leave." "Too late for that too." "You had your chance to go." "Why didn't you take it?" "So what are you gonna do, murder us both like you murdered tark?" "No." "We're not going to murder anyone." "He is." "I have something else you want-water." "I've seen your puny little well." "I know where there's a freshwater spring- an endless supply of uncontaminated water." "Where?" "Release my son and I'll tell you." "Cut the boy's throat." "No!" "Where is the water?" "It's on my property." "Where?" "There's a tunnel in the garden leading to it." "Now, please, let us go." "Perhaps." "We'll check the water first." "Please." "At least let my son live." "I've never seen you crawl before." "It does my heart good." "Well, enjoy it, you bastard." "It may be the last thing you ever experience." "Get back!" "Tell him to release my son." "You'll never get away." "You better hope I do." "Otherwise, we'll see the inside of your throat." "Tell them." "Tell them." "Let the boy go." "Run, jux." "Run to town." "Don't stop and don't look back." "Go!" "Now it's our turn." "Nobody sets a foot outside this tent." "Get the boy!" "Little bitch." "Tie her up." "You take that one and head him off." "Come on." "After him." "Hurry up." "He's getting away." "He's losing her." "Get up." "Hey, let's get the job done." "Come here, you little bastard." " Does damnil want him dead or alive?" " Dead's easy to carry." "Pick him up." "We'd better stop him." "What?" "Stop him!" "Come on." "Let's go." "Come on." "Come on." "Come on." "Come on." "Come on." "Come on." "Come on." "Shit." "Shit!" "I told you not to play with sharp objects." "They've got my mom." "Let's go get her." "Good boy." "Good boy." "Let's go." "Come on." "Stay here." "I'll get her, jux." "Get it over as quickly as possible." "I knew you wouldn't run." "This time you brought a sword." "That's convenient." "Luck." "The same." "Lann, stop them." "I warned you not to interfere!" "You're the best competition I've ever had." "But no one is better than me." "You talk too much." "Get him." "Now!" " Leave her." " She either lives or dies." "It's up to you." "Why don't you drop your swords?" "Mom." "Mom!" "My swords." "You were a commander." "Why?" "Why..." "The dried up valley and a handful of peasants?" "You forget an old man in a mountain tavern." "Good morning, sir." "Good morning." "Morning." "Morning." "We've come about the work." "Good." "We're gonna be laying pipes." "Bring water to the whole valley." "Come with me." "This is tooey." "Hi." "Hi." "He's my helper." "My brother couldn't come today." "Will there still be work tomorrow?" "Sure." "Bring him along." "I just hope you guys aren't scared of work." "We're gonna be building ourselves a city." "Just go on over there." "Gonna miss old tark on this job." "He was gonna get me a couple of pigs." "Yeah." "He sure would have been proud, wouldn't he?" "You're leaving?" "Damnil's gone." "There's not much more I can do for you." "You've got your future." "I don't belong here." "Somehow..." "I knew you wouldn't stay, but I hoped." "You are..." "The strongest person I have ever known." "Build a good city." "Wait!" "Wait." "I'm coming with you." "You have to teach me to be a soldier." "You don't want to be a soldier." "I want to be like you and my dad." "No." "No, you don't." "You want to be like jux." "You help your mother." "Make this valley green." "Will you come back?" "When it's time, I'll be there." "Deal?" "Deal." "Now, you hurry back." "You've got a lot of work to do."