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.Theconvenience of the scoundrels that ran Makiem, the inconvenience of himself, naturally.She was thegood minister's daughter, and, if anything, she was slicker and nastier than her father.What a team we'd make, he sighed once again, if only we could be on the same side!"You needn't pretend, my dear.You know everything and I know it, so what's the difference? You can't gothis time.""I go where you go," she responded."It is law and custom.And you cannot stop me!"He chuckled."But it's cold up there, baby! What good would you be as a sleeping beauty?"She reached over, opened a wicker basket, and removed something.It was a slightly different design, butunmistakably a spacesuit.He gaped."How long have you had that thing?" he asked."Since Makiem," she replied smugly.Camp 43, GedemondasThe trails weren't bad.Gedemondans, it was known, were large creatures, and limited but steady use bythe horselike Dillians had made them even more comfortable, on the whole around two meters wide. It was a strange party that set off from the chilly shack into the snow cover: Tael, the Dillian guide, was inthe lead, then the two Lata, occasionally walking but more often riding on Tael's back, then Renardleading the winged pegasus, Doma, with the strange figure of Mavra Chang tied between wings andneck.The air was becoming cold; there was little conversation between them, nor was much possiblewithout yelling, for blowing wind howled through the rocky clefts as if it, too, were a strange and livingcreature of this strangest of worlds.It was only on the occasional breaks, done mostly for Renard's benefit, that they could say anything.Theplain was far behind; the twists and turns that the switchbacked trail forced upon them had all but theconfident Tael totally lost, and the bright snow reflecting the glare of the sun, even when cut with sungoggles, made distance impossible to judge.They were tiny figures moving in a sea of white.The trail itself seemed often lost in the snow, yet Tael went on as if it were a paved and marked highway,never hesitating in the slightest and the footing was always there.After they had been climbing for what seemed like a full day, they rounded one more mountain curve and,suddenly, the plain was spread out below them once more."Wait!" Mavra called to them."Look! They've arrived!"They stopped, and saw immediately what she meant.Tiny puffs of orange seemed everywhere in the air,and large numbers of creatures could be seen erecting tents and digging into the rock that was the startof the mountains.The cabin was invisible, but they all knew that, if it was there at all, it was beingconverted into a fort."Look at them!" Tael breathed.This was her first taste of armies and war."There must be thousands ofthem!""The Yaxa," Vistaru said flatly."They will be coming up only a day or so behind us.This is not good."Tael laughed confidently."Let them try and find the trail!" she boasted."Without a guide they haven't aprayer!"Mavra turned and looked out at the sky.There were thin, wispy clouds and an occasional big, fat cumuluspuff, but it was basically crystal clear."They'll follow our own tracks," she told them."There's no snow, nothing to cover them.They mightmistake them for animal tracks, or Dillians alone, but where a four-footed animal or Dillian can go, so canthey."The centaur frowned.A good snow guide, Mavra thought, but nave as hell.Dillia must be a very peacefulplace."We could lay a false trail," Tael suggested."Run tracks off a cliff.It's not that hard.The powder herecould be brushed for a few hundred meters."Mavra considered it."All right, do it," she told them."But it won't do much.Slow them up, get a couple,that's all.Better than nothing, though."They rigged the deception fairly simply.The Dillian girl picked a point, walked out to where there seemedto be continuous snow, then stopped [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.Theconvenience of the scoundrels that ran Makiem, the inconvenience of himself, naturally.She was thegood minister's daughter, and, if anything, she was slicker and nastier than her father.What a team we'd make, he sighed once again, if only we could be on the same side!"You needn't pretend, my dear.You know everything and I know it, so what's the difference? You can't gothis time.""I go where you go," she responded."It is law and custom.And you cannot stop me!"He chuckled."But it's cold up there, baby! What good would you be as a sleeping beauty?"She reached over, opened a wicker basket, and removed something.It was a slightly different design, butunmistakably a spacesuit.He gaped."How long have you had that thing?" he asked."Since Makiem," she replied smugly.Camp 43, GedemondasThe trails weren't bad.Gedemondans, it was known, were large creatures, and limited but steady use bythe horselike Dillians had made them even more comfortable, on the whole around two meters wide. It was a strange party that set off from the chilly shack into the snow cover: Tael, the Dillian guide, was inthe lead, then the two Lata, occasionally walking but more often riding on Tael's back, then Renardleading the winged pegasus, Doma, with the strange figure of Mavra Chang tied between wings andneck.The air was becoming cold; there was little conversation between them, nor was much possiblewithout yelling, for blowing wind howled through the rocky clefts as if it, too, were a strange and livingcreature of this strangest of worlds.It was only on the occasional breaks, done mostly for Renard's benefit, that they could say anything.Theplain was far behind; the twists and turns that the switchbacked trail forced upon them had all but theconfident Tael totally lost, and the bright snow reflecting the glare of the sun, even when cut with sungoggles, made distance impossible to judge.They were tiny figures moving in a sea of white.The trail itself seemed often lost in the snow, yet Tael went on as if it were a paved and marked highway,never hesitating in the slightest and the footing was always there.After they had been climbing for what seemed like a full day, they rounded one more mountain curve and,suddenly, the plain was spread out below them once more."Wait!" Mavra called to them."Look! They've arrived!"They stopped, and saw immediately what she meant.Tiny puffs of orange seemed everywhere in the air,and large numbers of creatures could be seen erecting tents and digging into the rock that was the startof the mountains.The cabin was invisible, but they all knew that, if it was there at all, it was beingconverted into a fort."Look at them!" Tael breathed.This was her first taste of armies and war."There must be thousands ofthem!""The Yaxa," Vistaru said flatly."They will be coming up only a day or so behind us.This is not good."Tael laughed confidently."Let them try and find the trail!" she boasted."Without a guide they haven't aprayer!"Mavra turned and looked out at the sky.There were thin, wispy clouds and an occasional big, fat cumuluspuff, but it was basically crystal clear."They'll follow our own tracks," she told them."There's no snow, nothing to cover them.They mightmistake them for animal tracks, or Dillians alone, but where a four-footed animal or Dillian can go, so canthey."The centaur frowned.A good snow guide, Mavra thought, but nave as hell.Dillia must be a very peacefulplace."We could lay a false trail," Tael suggested."Run tracks off a cliff.It's not that hard.The powder herecould be brushed for a few hundred meters."Mavra considered it."All right, do it," she told them."But it won't do much.Slow them up, get a couple,that's all.Better than nothing, though."They rigged the deception fairly simply.The Dillian girl picked a point, walked out to where there seemedto be continuous snow, then stopped [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]