Chapter 6: Back to the Post

The weather held good, with blue skies and sunlight to warm their spirits. It was as though the storm had wrung out of the air all of the moisture that normally filled it with banks of clouds and foggy rain. For three more days they moved steadily northward, spending their nights on the seaward slopes of the islands. They were forced to stay well out to sea to avoid the silty river deltas that stretched out from the gaps between the islands, reaching muddy arms out toward them as they passed.

By the afternoon of the third day, The string of islands on their left had consolidated itself into a continuous ridge. Along the horizon ahead of them, what had at first seemed nothing more than a bank of lowlying clouds resolved itself into rank after rank of rolling hills. The steep slope of their southwestern face was still the inner side of the ringwall. The ground to the northeast, though, continued to rise beyond a broad expanse of beach.

"Only a single low range of hills lies that way," ThallanKren told Pete, pointing to the northwest. "Beyond is a land of level plains, stretching far away. Not much grows there. Here, we must leave you and return to our village. May you reach the end of your journey in good health."

"We thank you for your help, bringing us this far in so short a time," Pete answered for all of them. "Tell your chief that we shall keep the memory of his friendship for all time."

Their escort helped them to carry the raft to a safe distance from the shore. They deflated it, and secured it against future storms on the off chance that they might pass this way again, then turned to leave.

"Come, Thanna. It is time to return to your father."

"I'm not going back."

Pete turned abruptly to face her. KeeBar just stood there with his mouth open.

"But, you can't go with us!" Pete exclaimed.

"Why not? KeeBar is going with you. I am going where he goes."

ThallanKren tried to get her to change her mind, but all that she would say was, "I go where KeeBar goes."

Finally, ThallanKren turned to KeeBar.

"There is no reasoning with her, since she is a woman. If we take her with us by force, she will only escape to follow you. If you truly do not want her, tell her so. Otherwise, she is given into your care, to follow along behind you."

KeeBar looked searchingly at Thanna. She gazed steadily back at him.

"Thanna, is this truly what you wish? It is not just that I am a stranger, and travel with even stranger friends?"

"If you return to the village of my father, or journey on to the edge of the worldbowl, I shall travel with you, or follow behind. I followed you here to learn of your friends, but it is you I shall follow for the rest of my days."

"Then, I say to come." He reached out and took her hands in both of his. "Walk beside me, rather than follow along behind."

Pete turned to ThallanKren. "Will this cause your chief to be angry?"

"No, not greatly so. He will be sad at his daughter's going, since she is the last of his children, but this time must come to every parent. I think that she has found a good provider." He grinned at Pete, showing a double row of sharp fangs. "And, one with powerful friends."

With that, he turned and waded out into the surf, followed by the rest of their escort.

"What was that all about?" Steve asked, and Pete explained to the others what had taken place.

"But, won't this cause trouble?" Steve persisted. "And, shouldn't there be a marriage ceremony, or something?"

"That was their marriage ceremony. Apparently, this sort of thing is quite common. It seems to work for them as well as any other method, from what I've been told. Now, we had better be on our way. We still have a long way to go."

Their pace was slow at first. They were sluggish, and stiff from their days of sitting in the raft. The slope up from the beach was a steep one, but by sundown they were well on their way to the top of the line of hills above the beach. As the sun went down, KeeBar spotted a cavelike hollow in an eastward facing wall of rock, protected by jumbled boulders.

"Best not to build fire, this night," he told them. "I not know what animals we find here, or what might come to heat of fire."

"Haven't you any idea of what we might meet?" Asked Lyssa.

"Hear stories of tall, tall lizard. Much fierce, and walk like man. Not know more."

"Sounds like ones we've found bones of in our own world," Dan Crewe exclaimed. "Allosaurus, or even Tyrannosaurus Rex! I've often thought about what a great trophy one would make for a hunter."

"Maybe," Pete answered doubtfully, surprised at Dan's sudden spate of words. "But I want something bigger than this peashooter when I meet up with one."

"But, think of the thrill!" exulted Dan. "Imagine beating the odds for that kind of a trophy!"

"You're perfectly welcome to try, as far as I'm concerned," was Pete's reply. "Just so you make it after we get back to the base, if you please."

"All right, but I still think it would be a shame to throw away the chance for a kill like that."

Pete let the conversation lapse, but thought to himself that it would be best to see that either Amy or Lyssa carried the carbine from then on whenever it left his own hands.

The next few days took them across the hills, and out onto a high, level prairie. A few scattered clumps of palmlike ferns marked the infrequent water holes. They checked each one carefully, but found only a few shallow footprints in the mud. They were up high enough by now that the cool mornings made KeeBar and Thanna sluggish, at least until they had walked a few miles, but the humans enjoyed the change from coastal heat and humidity. The temperature never dropped anywhere near the freezing point, even on the first couple of nights when the sky was clear. After that, gathering clouds insured that the nights were only a little cooler than the days.

The plains, covered sparsely by lowgrowing ferns and mosses, at last began to slope downward. They were heading almost due west, by now, still paralleling the ancient ringwall. KeeBar, and soon the others, could see what looked to be a broad river valley opening out ahead of them. The low clouds, that had been dripping rain at them on and off all day, parted momentarily. This gave the humans a clearer glimpse of the countryside, and Lyssa's sharp eyes picked out something strange on the slope below them.

"Look there," she called out. "That looks like a trail of some kind."

They hurried forward, finding the overgrown remnants of a oncebroad roadway. The rains and encroaching plants made it hard to tell for sure, but Pete thought that he could see ruts where wheels might once have rolled. None of the marks were recent. It seemed evident that nothing had passed here, except on foot, for a good many decades. In several places, long stretches had been washed out by storms so that only narrow foot trails remained.

"It looks like it points straight toward the crater wall," Amy pointed out. "Let's see where it goes."

With KeeBar in the lead, they moved south along the old track. A few minutes of fast walking brought them to the crest of the ridge.

"Back! Get Back!" KeeBar shouted the warning, racing back up the trail toward them. He didn't let them stop until they had covered almost a mile.

"What did you see?" asked Dan. "Was it one of those big lizards?"

"No, nothing like that. A big stone house!"

"What kind of a house?" Pete asked, his voice sharp. "Why did it frighten you?"

"I have heard of it. It is the place where our messengers meet the Great Ones. They must not find us here!"

"Why not?" Steve asked. "What could they do?"

"It is forbidden for any but chosen messengers to come here. It would mean banishment, or worse, if we were found. Word would be sent out, and then none would help us, or even speak to us."

"In that case," Amy suggested, "we had better get off this trail. It must be the way that the Great Ones go back and forth to the meeting place."

They made haste, putting as much distance as they could between them and the trail. They crossed a low ridge, then descended a long slope. By midmorning of the next day, they were threading their way among giant cycads. The ground grew damp, then marshy. Tall cattail reeds grew in the soggier patches, and large blotches of iridescent slime covered rocks and fallen trees. A few more minutes of sloshing along brought them out onto the banks of a sluggish river. It wasn't very wide, but hanging curtains of mist veiled the farther shore. The urging of a vagrant breeze parted the mists for a moment, giving glimpses of a swampy expanse similar to where they stood.

"Well, Pete?" Steve's flat voice probed at him. "How do you propose to get us across this?"

"I don't know. Maybe Keebar can suggest something."

"My people would swim this," he replied. "Not know how you would cross."

"Maybe we can make a raft of logs," Nancy spoke up, looking around at the clumps of trees that surrounded them. "We have machetes."

"I have some rope in my pack," added Charley. "Or else, we could use some of these here vines."

"These plants look almost like bamboo," Dan suggested. "Maybe they'll float."

They hacked at the stumpy, segmented trunks, finding them surprisingly light and strong. Lashing bundles of them together with vines, they soon had a sturdy raft bobbing in the shallow water. Towed by Thanna and KeeBar, they easily crossed the sluggish river. They were making their way through the swamp on the other side, when a bellowing scream resounded from behind them. Plowing through the muck toward them on short, bowed legs was the very embodiment of a walking appetite! Fanged jaws agape, the stubby monstrosity churned up the ooze with its short legs, making surprisingly good time in spite of its ungainly appearance.

"Scatter!" Pete yelled. They fanned out in all directions. It paused, confused, then charged after Charley. Lyssa dropped to one knee, pouring burst after burst of rifle fire into its flank, but failed to reach a vital spot through heavy layers of fat and muscle. KeeBar hurled his spear at its head, but failed to divert it. Charley ducked around a clump of fern trees, but the beast just pushed straight on through, throwing splintered chunks of wood to both sides.