Hadon counted fifty, excluding himself, the bard, the scribe, and the doctor. He ordered the fort’s soldiers out to line up along the road.
“Take their weapons away from them. They will be too tired to resist. Give them food and water after they’ve rested and send them back at once. Without their weapons. These will be shipped back after they’ve reported to the Mukha commander.”
“I suggest that they be sent back under an armed escort,” the colonel said. “Otherwise, they might just become outlaws, and we’ve enough problems with these.”
“As you wish,” Hadon said. “We need a priestess. Do you think yours would do us the favor of accompanying us?”
The colonel turned pale and said, “She wouldn’t want to leave—”
“You,” Hadon finished for him, grinning. “We’ll see. Please conduct me to her so I may make my request.”
On being introduced to the priestess, Phekly, Hadon could understand why the colonel did not want to lose her. She was a beautiful young woman with glossy black hair and large bright black eyes and a superb figure. And it became evident that she and the colonel were in love.
“I’d have to get authorization from the Mother at Mukha,” she said. “That would delay you for many days. However, I have no intention of going with you into the Wild Lands unless the Mother orders me to do so. Which I doubt very much, since she is also my physical mother. I could appoint our priest of Resu as a temporary priestess of Kho—there is precedent for that—but unfortunately he is very sick with a fever. Besides, he is a drunkard and a coward.”
“I bow to your wishes, priestess,” Hadon said. “Even though they leave us without spiritual guidance and protection.”
“You could wait until a priestess could come up from Mukha,” she said.
“I have orders from the queen not to delay,” he said. He withdrew, leaving a troubled woman behind him—evidently her conscience was hurting her—and he went out of the fort again. Presently he saw a squat, powerful Klemqaba woman, holding her baby, trotting stubbornly toward him. The spiral tattoos on her forehead indicated that she was a priestess, and, seeing these, Hadon was struck with an idea. He didn’t like it, but expediency overrode prejudice now.
“Is she the last?” Hadon asked Tadoku.
“Probably she’s the last who will show,” Tadoku said, checking the count with Hinokly.
“Appoint her as our priestess,” Hadon said.
Tadoku and Hinokly gasped, and Tadoku said, “Sir?”
“I spoke clearly enough,” Hadon said. “Yes, I know that no Klemqaba priestess has ever presided over rites attended by the Klemkho. But she is a priestess of Kho, and there is no written law that says she can’t conduct rites for humans. Besides, she is tough, otherwise she would have given up long ago. And I like it that she did not abandon her baby. She has a strong character.”
“The men won’t like it, sir,” Tadoku said.
“I don’t ask them to like it,” he said. “I doubt that they will insult her, even though she is a Klemqaba. But my orders are that any man who does so will be executed.”
Kebiwabes, who had been standing nearby, said, “This is a queer expedition, Hadon. Sent out to find a god, and vicared by a Goat woman. But I have more confidence in its success than I had when I boarded the galley at Khokarsa. In my opinion, Hadon, you have the makings of a king. And in you I may have the makings of a great epic.”
“Let us hope so,” Hadon said. Hadon looked at Tadoku, who was talking to the woman, and he called for his second in command, a man from Qethruth named Mokwaten.
“Let everybody rest for an hour, then feed them. As soon as they have eaten, we will resume the march.”
Mokwaten said nothing, of course, but the bard groaned and said, “That march last night wore me out.”
“Be glad you didn’t have to run today,” Hadon said. “We stop at dusk, and you can get a long night’s sleep then.”
10
It took many days to pass the western flanks of the great Saasares mountains. Their slopes were covered with wild olive trees on the lower levels, oak higher up, and then fir and pine. Far off, whiteness glittered, ice and snow which did not melt even in summer.
“A thousand years ago, the tops of the mountains and the high valleys were filled with rivers of ice,” the bard said. “But the climate has been getting drier and warmer, and the ice rivers have melted away.”
“The ice rivers still exist in the great mountains along the shore of the world-ringing sea to the north,” Hinokly said. “We did not go very high into the mountains there, but we went far enough to see those cold and brooding masses. Then we turned eastward and walked along the foothills until we came to a river fed by the melting snows of the mountains. We made dugouts and voyaged down that river to the Ringing Sea.”
“And that is where you encountered Sahhindar?” Hadon said.
“Yes. But he said that we were mistaken about the sea being on the edge of the world. It is only another sea, and there are islands in it, and on the other side is more land. He said that there is no edge to the world. It is”—he hesitated—“round. Shaped like an olive.”
“But that’s crazy!” Tadoku said.
“I thought it improbable,” Hinokly said. “However, I was not about to argue with a god.”
“Tell me more of Sahhindar,” Hadon said. “And this beautiful witch from the sea, this Lalila, and her child, and the one-eyed manling, and the great ax made from a fallen star.”
“He is somewhat taller than you, Hadon, and has bigger bones, and is somewhat more muscular, though not much more. But I have seen him lift a boulder that four men could not lift, and I have seen him outrun a charging elephant. His body is scarred from the knife and the claw and the tusk. Perhaps he bears a hundred scars in all. The most prominent is on his forehead, however, which he said was the result of his scalp being torn open by one of those half-men, the nukaar. He has large dark gray eyes, and—”
“Wait,” Hadon said. “If he is a god, why does he not heal the scars? And can a god be wounded?”
“You may ask him if you ever meet him,” Hinokly said. “I did not question him; I only answered him. And he has long straight black hair, and he wears only a loincloth of antelope hide and a belt with a leather scabbard holding a large iron knife. He carries on his back a quiver of arrows and a bow. The strong men could not bend that bow. The tips of the arrows, however, are of flint.”
“Did he say he was indeed the son of Kho, Sahhindar?”
“We addressed him as such, and he did not correct us. But he carries the bow and he looks as Sahhindar is described to us by the priestesses and priests. And he has companions that only deities would have.”
“You mean the violet-eyed woman and the others?”
“No, I mean the great lion, and the elephant on whose back he rode, and the monkey that sat on his shoulder. They obeyed him as if he were their mother, and I swear that he talked to them. The elephant stayed away from us, but the lion walked among us, and we were very nervous.”
“Then he never said that he was a god?”
“Never. Actually, he did not talk much to us except to find out where we were from and where we were going, and to charge us to bring the woman and her party safely to Khokarsa and to treat them well. Oh, yes, he spoke our tongue, of course, but strangely. He said that it had changed somewhat since he had last been in Khokarsa.”
Hadon felt his skin prickle. “If he was in Khokarsa that long ago, then he must truly be Sahhindar. But why did he not come back with you?”
“I wish he had, since we would not then have suffered such misfortunes. On the other hand, he terrified me when he was around, and I was glad when he left. Anyway, he said he had business elsewhere, and I did not ask him what it was. He was lifted by the elephant onto its back, and he rode off on it with the lion walking beside them and the monkey screeching between the elephant’s ears.
“I cannot tell you much about him, but if we should find
the woman, we should learn more from her. Apparently Sahhindar had brought her and the others across the Kemuqoqanqo, the Ringing Sea, from lands beyond, and he talked much to them. I did not get a chance to talk to her, because it was shortly after Sahhindar had left us that we were attacked by the savages. The rest you know.”
Hadon knew the rest and was not comforted by it. Hinokly had made a map on the way north, but on the journey back he had lost all of his papyrus rolls. He was leading the expedition by memory now. That was not good, because they had a vast area to get lost in.
The days and nights passed, one much like the other. The savannas rolled away as far as the eye could see, waist-high tawny grass with short bushy trees here and there and an occasional waterhole or small lake around which grew taller trees. The animal life became more numerous and at length awesome in its number. There were times when the party had to halt and wait for hundreds of thousands, perhaps a million antelopes of many kinds as they ran before them, scared of something behind them and chasing the horizon in front of them. The earth shook and drummed, and dust rose high and then settled, streaking them with brown dirt. They saw many prides of ruwodeth (lion), lone or paired cheetahs, leopards, packs of the white-and-black hunting dogs, hyenas, jackals, herds of many qampo, (elephants), the huge white bok’ul“ikadeth (rhinoceros), the tower-necked c’ad”eneske (giraffe), the q“ok’odakwa (ostrich), the bom‘-odemu (warthog), the bog”ugu (giant wild pig), and the terrible baq“oq”u (wild buffalo). There were many akarwa-damo (monkeys) in the trees near the waterholes and the rain lakes and also the akarwadamowu (baboons). And everywhere there were birds.
There was no lack of meat, if it could be killed. But fifty-six people had to be fed, and hunters had to go out every other day. Individually, they were not very successful, so Hadon arranged for all to take part. Some would lie in ambush while others, jumping up and shouting and waving their spears, initiated a stampede. Then the ambushers would throw their spears or cast their stones from slings at the passing gazelle, antelope, or buffalo. Twice they also flushed out prides of lions which had been stalking the same prey, and one man was severely mauled. He died two days later, and they heaped stones over him and erected over the pile a wooden pole with a tiny figurine of Kho at its end. The priestess, Mumona, chanted the burial rites over him, and the throat of a hare was cut and its blood was poured over the cairn.
“An ill omen,” Hinokly said. “The first man to die on our expedition was killed by a lion under the same circumstances. Let us hope that this expedition does not follow in the footsteps of the first.”
“That is up to Kho,” Hadon said. “Don’t spread such talk among the men. They’re frightened enough as it is.”
Hadon was not scared, but he was worried. Even if the three people he was seeking were still alive, which was doubtful, how could they be found in this great wilderness? He could see his party years from now, reduced to a very few, getting old and weak, wandering here and there, knowing their quest was hopeless. Minruth would not wait for more than two years, if he waited that long. Even if Hadon did complete his mission, he might find that Minruth had talked his daughter into marrying him. Or perhaps Awineth, wearying, had decreed another Great Games and taken a husband.
On the thirtieth day after leaving the outpost, they saw their first savages. These consisted of a dozen men, women, and children, who fled as soon as they caught sight of the Khokarsans. They were short, slim, and dark-haired, wore skins around the loins, and were painted with red-and-black designs. The men were bearded. Some had bows, which made Hadon so curious that he almost sent some men out after the savages. He had seen bows only in drawings and sculpture, and he would have liked to try one. But even in the Wild Lands the taboo against bows held. It would be dangerous even to touch one.
The next day they saw the peaks of some mountains. Hinokly said that he recognized them; they were on the right path. They should go along the foothills of these, keeping northward, until they rounded them. After traveling eastward, they would come to a river that originated somewhere up in the mountains.
“That river eventually joins another which flows southward from the even greater mountains to the north. The two form a broad river which flows into the Ringing Sea. But it will be about three months before we get there. Having to gather plants, hunt animals, and heap trail-mark cairns will slow us down considerably, even though we are going faster because we’re not handicapped by oxen.”
Hadon stopped and said, “Something’s happened! That scout is running as if a lion were after him!”
Hinokly looked in the direction in which Hadon’s finger was pointing. Coming from the west was Nagota, one of the better scouts and hunters, a citizen of Bawaku. He was running with all his strength now, though not going swiftly, since he had obviously been running for some time. He almost fell when he got to Hadon, and it was a minute before he got breath enough to gasp out his message.
Hadon could see no cause for alarm. If any danger threatened, it had to be at least half a mile away. He had told Tadoku to draw the party up in a battle formation. They assembled in a center of spear and ax men with two wings of javelin and sling men. Kebiwabes, who had been singing, walked toward them with his lyre in hand. As a bard, he would not be taking part in any fighting unless the situation became desperate.
The scout said, “Sir, there’s a giant out there, about a mile away by now, I suppose. He’s running toward us, and about a half-mile behind him is an army of savages.”
Hadon asked him a few questions and found out in detail what had happened. The scout had been on top of a hill about fifty feet high when he had seen the man on the horizon. He had waited until the man came closer, since one man did not represent an immediate threat. Then he had changed his mind. This man, this giant, rather, looked as if he could take on a whole corps. He was about seven feet high and as muscular as a gorilla. He wore a lionskin kilt, and he was bearded. The beard had made the scout think he was a savage, but when he saw the brass bands around the huge club he was carrying, he was not so sure.
Hadon swore and said, “As if I didn’t have enough troubles!”
“What is the matter?” Takodu said.
“My cousin, Kwasin, is coming! With a pack of savages on his heels!”
“But he was in the Western Lands!” Tadoku said. “What is he doing so far north?”
“We’ll soon find out,” Hadon said. “Or we will if we can fight off the savages. Scout, how many were there?”
“About fifty.”
“And how are they armed?”
“They have no shields. They carry spears, knives, axes, bolas, and bows.”
Hadon wondered what had brought so many of them together. Usually, according to Hinokly, their bands seldom numbered over a dozen. But occasionally they assembled for a big hunt or a tribal ceremony. Kwasin must have stumbled across them during one of these events.
Hadon ordered his force to run to a round hill topped by three trees a quarter of a mile away. They could make a better stand there. He waited, and presently he saw a tiny figure come from a clump of trees near a waterhole. Then he went to the hill, where Tadoku had arranged the men in two circles, one within the other.
Shortly thereafter, the first of the savages ran out from behind the trees. He was gaining on the giant, which was no wonder. Hadon thought that Kwasin must have had a long head start; otherwise, the heavy man could not have been so far ahead of his chasers. Hadon signaled, and two slingers raced toward him. He picked his leather cuirass and helmet from the ground, where he had set them, and donned them. The helmet was conical, with a neck guard and nose flap, and the cuirass was fitted with a leather apron to guard his genitals. He drew his tenu from the scabbard and slashed through the air to warm up his arms.
Kwasin came near enough to recognize Hadon, and his eyes opened even wider. He said nothing because he was out of breath; he puffed like a bull buffalo cornered by lions. Sweat matted his long hair and beard and coated him with a silvery
shine. Hadon gestured at the hill, and Kwasin trotted on by him.
By then the first group of savages, about twelve, were a quarter of a mile away. They were tall, and their hair and beards were dyed scarlet, and their dark-white bodies were painted with red, black, and green swirls and X’s, and slivers of bone were stuck through their septums.
The first group stopped then, and one of them turned and called out to those streaming behind them. There was a roar, and the rest ran up and lined up before the man who had spoken. Thirty of them carried quivers and short, thick wooden bows. They drew arrows from the quivers and fitted the shafts to the strings. However, they did not fire, since they were about 1,250 feet away and so out of range. But Hadon’s slingers could cast their missiles over a fourth of a mile, and at his orders they each loosed, in rapid succession, four biconical lead missiles. Only after three of their men had fallen did the savages realize what was going on. Then, yelling, they charged, and Hadon and his two slingers ran back to the hill and up it. The spearmen opened their shields to let them in, and Hadon joined Kwasin, Tadoku, the bard, the priestess, the scribe, and the doctor. The savages, however, had retreated.
Tadoku ordered the outer ring of spearmen to kneel so the slingers behind them could have a clear field. Kebiwabes started to sing a war song while playing on his lyre, but Tadoku ordered him to cease. He wanted the officers’ commands to be clearly heard. The baby started crying then, and the priestess shushed it by giving it the breast.
Kwasin was not breathing so heavily now. He grinned at Hadon and said, “Greetings, cousin! We meet unexpectedly and in strange circumstances in a strange place! What are you doing here?” His voice was deep and booming, a lion’s.
“Explanations will have to wait until after we settle with the savages,” Hadon said.
Kwasin took another drink of water from a clay canteen. Then he wiped his huge hairy hand over his lips, and his strong white teeth and black eyes glittered in a smile.
Hadon of Ancient Opar Page 11