Four, if she had rejected him, he would have been humiliated.
He slept with Jum and Aejip between him and Vana.
Just as they were about to emerge from the jungle, they saw twenty warriors walking along the highway.
These looked as if they could have been of Vana's tribe. Deyv quickly drew his sword and put its edge across the woman's jugular vein. She nodded, indicating in her strange way that she wasn't going to call out. Later, he would find out that the warriors were enemies of her people. In any event, she wouldn't have tried to get their attention. Eggless, she no longer had a tribe.
While they sat behind a bush, they continued the language lesson. By the time the war party was out of sight, she had learned ten more words.
They set out at a leisurely pace so the swift-walking warriors could get even farther ahead of them.
While they were eating some freshly picked fruit, they saw the nose of The Dark Beast rise ahead on their right. Within seven sleep-times it would be fully exposed, a black object that would fill most of the sky. A pale darkness would fall over the land, and the air would become cooler. More rain would fall, and the winds would grow stronger. It would be a bad time to travel then. Visibility would be much less; they wouldn't even be able to see down the road. Nevertheless, they had to keep going. The thief might not be daunted by the darkness.
A heavy rain came and washed out the faint traces of the thief. Two slight earthquakes momentarily rippled the road. Near sleep-time they came to another junction. Deyv started to detour around the poles, fearing a recurrence of the shocking incident, but he stopped when he saw Vana's curious behavior.
She had boldly walked up to the poles. Before reaching the intersection, however, she sank to her knees.
After bowing deeply three times and chanting at the same time, she rose and walked between the poles.
Deyv was amazed. He had thought that these clanging, light-flashing things were strange animals. It had not occurred to him they might be gods of some sort.
They'd accepted her prayers and let her through.
Would they do the same for him? Or, since he didn't belong to their totem, would they blast him? Best not to tempt them. After he'd taught her enough to ask her about the poles, he'd get the truth. Meanwhile, he'd just detour.
She stood with a puzzled, half-amused expression until he and the animals joined her. She asked him something in her barbarous speech, but he ignored her. He felt that he'd somehow made a fool of himself, and she was laughing at him.
A little later, during another driving rain, he glimpsed something ahead. They retired quickly into the jungle. Along came the warriors with the kinky yellow hair, this time trotting. As far as Deyv could determine, they hadn't succeeded in acquiring any heads. The war party quickly disappeared into the rain, but Deyv restrained his companions from returning to the road. There had been something of haste about the group, something that suggested they were being pursued. A little while afterward, his caution was vindicated. Another war party, of about forty men, dogtrotted by them.
Deyv waited a while longer to make sure that they wouldn't run into a rearguard. Then they moved out.
They were so miserable from the cold, drenching downpour that they didn't talk much. Aejip went off to hunt their next meal. Shortly before sleep-time, she caught up with them. No carcass dangled from her mouth. Hungry, shivering, they sought out a dry, safe place. Unable to find either, they took refuge under a tree and tried to sleep. It was a grouchy bunch that took the road after they'd given up getting anything but a few very short naps.
Then the skies cleared. Though The Beast still cast its cold shadow, they felt somewhat better. Aejip slid into the jungle and came back rather quickly with a fawn she'd killed. Since it was impossible to find dry wood, Deyv and Vana ate the meat raw. Shortly thereafter, Vana relieved herself. Deyv was disgusted.
His tribe always went into the bush when they had to obey the call of nature. So did all the nine tribes of his area. They might have some customs which he found repulsive, but at least they were modest.
Their campsite was about two hundred yards into the jungle. They had started for the highway when they heard to their left loud buzzings and whistlings. Unable to resist their curiosity, they walked cautiously toward the noise.
Deyv pushed on stealthily through the foliage until he could dimly see something through the leaves. He stopped so he could distinguish whatever it was that was moving out there. Unable to see anything more clearly, he started to move closer to the objects. At that moment, something touched his shoulder from behind. He was in such a state of nervous concentration that the unexpected touch startled him. He whirled, ready to fight or run away from whatever was behind him. But it was only Vana grinning at him. She held up her bone whistle and gestured that he should let her precede him. He didn't like this.
After all, he was the leader. However, this was her territory. She would know more than he what to do there. In certain situations, anyway.
He waved her ahead. They went through some dense bush which suddenly gave way to a large open area. In its center was a cylinder about forty feet high with a diameter of thirty feet. Its walls were of some rough grayish substance. From its base the same substance spread out, paving the area and preventing the growth of any plants. Round holes perforated the walls of the cylinder, and to and from these holes large insects darted, whistling. These were honey beetles, greenish winged things that had built the edifice with a quick-hardening saliva which resisted the heaviest stone axe. The bite of one was painful but not fatal. The bites of a dozen could kill a man.
Deyv had seen honey-beetle buildings before. He'd assisted at attempts to smoke out the beetles, attempts he would just as soon forget. A wealth of delicious honey was stored in that structure, but very few men or beasts could get at it.
What was not familiar was the creature that had disturbed the beetles. The thing was huge, its head three feet higher than Deyv's. It had four massive legs ending in broad round pads. The body was shaped like a bean pod. That is, the main body was. From its front a trunk reared at a right angle. This was shaped like the torso of a man and had shoulders, two arms, a neck, and a head. The hands had a thumb and four fingers.
Vana turned and said, "Archkerri."
The 'word meant nothing to Deyv. He had never even heard of such a centaurial being.
Its body was enough to startle and frighten him. But it was not an animal. At least, it was not a thing which he could define as such. Instead of hair or fur or smooth naked skin, it was covered with leaves.
These were green, about the size of Deyv's hands, triangular and overlapping, the points downward.
They were all over the body and limbs, though the red hands lacked them. The head looked more like a cabbage than anything else. From its center protruded a long thin whitish tube from which the buzzing was coming. When the thing turned its head, it revealed two huge eyes with a black pupil and leaf-green iris and cornea.
If left to himself, Deyv would have departed with all possible haste. Vana, however, stepped out into the clearing and raised her bone whistle to her lips.
Deyv said, "Don't!"
He was too late.
A series of long and short whistles in groups of from two to five came from her bone. The thing immediately stopped trying to beat the honey beetles off with its red hands. It turned around slowly, its eyes fixed on Vana. Then its tube emitted buzzes, some longer than others and also arranged in groups.