‘Yes, we shall have to pass the Lokhali. But, Mylai Tui, with the weapon I brought from the other side of the sky, we shall be as an army.’
‘My lord, the weapon did not prevent you from entering the donjons of Baya Nor.’
‘It did not.’ Again he laughed. ‘But who may question the purpose of Oruri?’
Mylai Tui was silent for a moment or two. Then she said: ‘None have ventured to the mountain and returned.’
‘There are those who have seen the mountain and returned.’ She gave him a look of sad resignation. ‘Lord, I know there is much about you that I cannot understand and much that I will never understand. I am proud to have lain with you, and I am proud to have received at last the gift of your loins. If it pleases my lord to seek Oruri before Oruri does the seeking, then I will endeavour to accept this thing … But stay, my lord, stay long enough to look upon the face of your son.’
He took her hands. ‘Mylai Tui, I know it is hard for you to understand. But my head is sorely troubled by many questions. This thing will not wait. I must go as soon as I may, and I must see what can be seen. But I will return. I will return because I greatly desire to lie with you, as I will lie with you this night. And I will return because I desire greatly to gaze upon the harvest of the joining of our flesh … Now let there be an end. The decision is made. Zu Shan seeks the hunters, and I doubt not that they will be found.’
Suddenly, she brightened. ‘It is possible, is it not, that Enka Ne may learn of this madness and prevent it?’
Paul gave her a penetrating look. ‘I respect the power of Enka Ne. Let the god-king respect mine. Otherwise, many in Baya Nor may have cause to grieve.’
Three days later, in the early evening, when the nine moons rode high and swiftly through a cloudless sky, Zu Shan brought four hunters to the house of Poul Mer Lo. The usual courtesies were exchanged, and the men squatted in a semicircle on the verandah while Mylai Tui supplied them with kappa spirit.
‘Paul,’ said Zu Shan in English, so that the Bayani would not understand, ‘there are the men we should take. There were others attracted by the payment you offered. But these are the best. Two of them I already knew, and the others are known to them. They are among the best hunters in Baya Nor. But more than that, they have much faith in Poul Mer Lo, the teacher. And one of them, Shon Hu, has even seen the mountain. He has hunted very far, and he says he knows the way.’
‘Are they afraid?’
Zu Shan gave a thin smile. ‘Yes, Paul, they are afraid—as I am.’
‘Good. Men who are afraid live longer. You have done very well, Zu Shan—better than I thought.’
He turned to the Bayani, who were politely sipping their kappa spirit as though no one had spoken.
‘Hunters,’ said Poul Mer Lo in Bayani, ‘I journey far. It may be that there will be danger on this journey, for I am told that the Temple of the White Darkness is not a place where men go who wish to count the great number of their grandchildren.’
The hunters laughed, a little self-consciously.
‘But I think,’ went on Poul Mer Lo, ‘that we shall be among those who return; for if men desire something greatly, they can often accomplish it. Also, we shall carry a terrible weapon which I have brought with me for this purpose from the land beyond the sky.’
‘Lord,’ said the man who had been identified as Shon Hu, ‘the journey is one thing but the Lokhali is another.’
Poul Mer Lo rose, went into the house and returned with his sweeper rifle.
‘Your darts and blow-pipes, your tridents and clubs are excellent weapons,’ he said. ‘But how many Lokhali can you stop with them if we are attacked?’
Shon Hu looked at his companions. ‘Lord, we are only men—good men, perhaps, but no more than men. Perhaps, if Oruri smiled, we would carry three times our own number of Lokhali with us into his bosom.’
Poul Mer Lo pushed the breeder button of his atomic rifle. About two hundred metres away there was a small group of trees looming in the twilight.
‘Observe!’ said Poul Mer Lo. He sighted, pressed the trigger and swept the tops of the trees with the rifle. After two or three passes, smoke began to rise. After five passes, the trees burst into flame—a noisy, crackling bonfire.
‘Lord,’ said Shon Hu at length, ‘you have shown us a fearful thing.’
‘It is,’ agreed Poul Mer Lo, ‘a most fearful thing. Your job, Shon Hu, will be to protect me. My job will be to use this weapon. If we are attacked by the Lokhali, many of them will need to explain to Oruri why they wished to obstruct the passing of Poul Mer Lo and his companions…’ He gazed round the semi-circle. ‘Nevertheless, I know our journey is still a difficult and dangerous one. If any of you feels that he has spoken rashly, let him now stand and go forth. We who remain will pray for the good fortune of his children and his children’s children.’
No one moved.
Silently and sadly, Mylai Tui brought more kappa spirit.
TWENTY-FIVE
After much hard bargaining, Shon Hu had obtained a barge for the very reasonable sum of nine rings. Poul Mer Lo, impatient to get the expedition under way now that he had made his decision, would have paid the sixteen rings demanded by the barge builder without question. But, as Shon Hu explained, to have paid such a price without haggling would have excited much interest. The barge builder would have boasted of his achievement, enquiries might then have been made about Shon Hu, the actual purchaser, and the ring money might then have been traced back to Poul Mer Lo. That in itself might well have been sufficient to bring the transaction to the notice of one of the officers of the god-king; and, quite possibly, the whole expedition would have been frustrated before it had begun. For, after the burning of the school, it was obvious that Enka Ne was not so oblivious of the activities of the stranger as Poul Mer Lo had formerly supposed.
So he had to wait patiently for two full days while Shon Hu and a phenomenal quantity of kappa spirit brought the price down to nine rings.
The rime was not wholly wasted, however, for there was much to be done. Supplies of fresh water had to be stored in skins, as had quantities of dried kappa and smoked strips of meat; for though the expedition included four hunters, Poul Mer Lo did not propose to waste much time hunting for food. Of his personal possessions, he proposed to take only the transceiver and the sweeper rifle. The atomic grenades that Shah Shan had presented to him at the temple of Baya Lys were not suitable weapons for close range fighting—if, indeed, any close range fighting should occur. To call them weapons was not completely accurate, either, for they were far more use to engineers than soldiers—except, perhaps, where a very long fuse could be used as during a retreat, or for very long range work.
Poul Mer Lo did not really know why he was taking the transceiver. It was in excellent order; and its miniature ‘hot’ battery would remain efficient for a long time to come. But he well knew that there was no other working transmitter on Altair Five. During the last few months, many times at dead of night he had put the transceiver on full power and swept carefully through the medium and short wave bands. All he could raise was the usual random crackle.
The sweeper rifle gave him some cause for anxiety. There was a visual indicator showing its charge level, and this was now registering well below the half-charge mark; indicating that the rifle was now not good for more than half a dozen full strength discharges. Somehow, it had leaked; and as he did not possess a geiger counter there was no means of telling if the micro-pile were still intact. For all he knew, thought Poul Mer Lo, both he and the rifle might now be dangerously radioactive —a menace to all and sundry. But there was nothing to be done about it. If such were the will of Oruri … He was amused at himself for letting the expression creep into his train of thought.