"He was my father," said Kamchak, and turned away. During the meal, from time to time, messengers, from various parts of the city, and even from the distant wagons, 0~ hours away by racing kaiila, would approach Kamchak, speak with him and hastily depart.
More foods and wines were served, and even the high men of Turia, at quiva point, were forced to drink heavily and ~ some began to mumble and weep, while the feasters grew, to — the barbaric melodies of the musicians, ever more merry and, wild. At one point three Tuchuk girls, in swirling silks, switches in their hands, came into the room dragging a wretched, stripped Turian girl. They had found a long piece of rope and tied her hands behind her back and then had wound the same rope three or four times about the girl's waist, had-securely knotted it, and were leading her about by it. "She was our mistress!" cried one of the Tuchuk girls; leading the Turian girl, and struck her sharply with the — switch, at which information the Tuchuk girls at the tables clapped their hands with delight. Then, two or three other groups of Tuchuk struggled in, each lending some wretched wench who had but hours before owned them. These girls they forced to comb their hair and wash their feet before the tables, performing the duties of serving slaves. Later they made some of them dance for the men. Then one of the Tuchuk girls pointed to her ex-mistress and cried out, "What am I offered for this slave!" and one of the men, joining in the sport, would cry out a price, some figure in terms of copper tarn disks. The Tuchuk girls would shriek with delight and each joined in inciting buyers and auctioning their mistresses. One beautiful Turian girl was thrown, weep- ing and bound, into the arms of a leather-clad Tuchuk for only seven copper tarn disks. At the height of such festivities, a distraught messenger rushed to Kamchak. The Ubar of the Tuchuks listened impassively and then arose. He gestured at the captive Turian men. "Take them away," he said, "put them in the Kes and chain them put them to work." Phani- us lilrmus, Kamras and the others were dragged from the tables by their Tuchuk guards. The feasters were now watching Kamchak. Even the musicians were now silent. "The feast is done," said Kamchak.
The guests and the captives, led by those who would claim them, faded from the room.
Kamchak stood before the throne of Phanius Turmus, the purple robe of the Ubar over one shoulder, and looked at the overturned tables, the spilled cups, the remains of the feast. Only he, Harold and I remained in the great throneroom. "What is the matter?" I asked him.
"The wagons and bask are under attack," he said.
"By whom?" cried Harold.
"Paravaci," said Kamchak.
Kamchak had had his hying columns followed by some two dozen of the wagons, mostly containing supplies. On one of these wagons, with the top removed, were the two tarns Harold and I had stolen from the roof of Saphrar's keep. They had been brought for us, thinking that they might be of use in the warfare in the city or in the transportation of goods or men. A tarn can, incidentally, without difficulty, carry a knotted rope of seven to ten men.
Harold and I, mounted on kaiila, rascal toward these wagons. Thundering behind each of us was a Thousand, which would continue on toward the main Tuchuk encamp- meet, several Ahn away. Harold and I would take a tarn each and he would go to the Kassars and I to the Kataii, begging their help. I had little hope that either of these; peoples would come to the aid of Tuchuks. Then, on the path to the main Tuchuk encampment, Harold and I were each to join our Thousand, subsequently doing what we could to protect the bask and wagons. Kamchak would meanwhile marshal his forces within the city, preparing to withdraw, Kutaituchik unavenged, to ride back against the Paravaci. I had learned to my surprise that the Ubars of the Kassars, Kataii and Paravaci were, respectively, Conrad, Hakim- ba and Tolnus, the very three I had first encountered with Kamchak on the plains of Turia when first I came to the Wagon Peoples. What I had taken to be merely a group of four outriders had actually been a gathering of Ubars of the Wagon Peoples. I should have known that no four comma n warriors of the four peoples would have ridden together. Further, the Kassars, the Kataii and the Paravaci did not reveal their true Ubars with any greater willingness than the Tuchuks had. Bach people, as the Tuchuks had, had its false Ubar, its decoy to protect the true Ubar from danger or assassination. But, Kamchak had assured me, Conrad, Hakimba and Tolnus were indeed the true Ubars of their peoples.
I was nearly slain by arrows when I dropped the fern amidst the startled blacks of the Kataii, but my black jacket with the emblem of the four bosk horns, emblem of the Tuchuk courier, soon proved its worth and I was led to the dais of the Ubar of the Kataii. I was permitted to speak directly to Hakimba, when I made it clear to my escort that I knew the identity of their true Ubar and that it was with him I must speak.
As I expected, Haldmba's brown eyes and richly scarred countenance showed little interest in my presentation of the plight of the Tuchuks.
It was little to him, apparently, that the Paravaci should raid the herds and wagons of the Tuchuks when most of the Tuchuk warriors were engaged in Turia. He did not, on the other hand, approve of the fact that the raid had taken place during the Omen Year, which is a time of general truce among the Wagon Peoples. I sensed, however, that he was angry when I spoke of the probable complicity of the Para- vaci with the Turians, striking when and how they did, even during the Omen Year, presumably to draw the Tuchuks away from Turia. In short, though Hakimba did not approve of the Paravaci action and was incensed at their presumed league with the Turians, he did not feel sufficiently strongly to invest his own men in a struggle that did not seem to concern him directly.
"We have our own wagons," said Hakimba, at last. "Our wagons are not the wagons of the Tuchuks or of the Kas- ears or of the Paravaci. If the Paravaci attack our wagons, we will fight. We will not fight until then."
Hakimba was adamant and it was with a heavy heart that I climbed once more to the saddle of my tarn.
In the saddle I said to him, "I have heard that the Paravaci are killing bask."
Hakimba looked up. "Killing bosk?" he asked, skeptically. "Yes," I said, "and cutting out the nose rings to sell In Turia after the Tuchuks withdraw."
"Will you help?" I asked.
"We have our own wagons," said Hakiba. "We will watch our own wagons."
"What will you do," I asked, "if in another year the Para- vaci and the Turians turn on the Kataii and kill their bosk?" "The Paravaci," said Hakimba slowly, "would like to be the one people and own the grass of all the prairie and all the bosk."
"Will you not fight?" I demanded.|
"If the Paravaci attack us," said Hakimba, "then we will fight." Hakimba looked up. "We have our own wagons," he said. "We will watch our own wagons."
I drew on the one-strap and took the tarn into the air, striking out across the prairie skies to intercept my Thousand on its way to the wagons of the Tuchuks.
In my flight I could see at one point the Omen Valley, where the haruspexes were still working about their numer- | ous, smoking altars. I laughed bitterly.
In a few Ehn I had overtaken my Thousand and given the tarn over to five men, who would keep it until its wagon I should, following the tracks of the riders, reach them. Within perhaps the Ahn a grim, angry Harold brought his tarn down between the- two columns, that of his Thousand and of mine. It took only a moment for him to give the tarn into the keeping of some five warriors and leap on the back of his kaiila. I had noted, to my satisfaction, that he now handled the tarn rather well. He had apparently, in the past several days since our escape from Saphrar's keep, been familiarizing himself with the saddle straps and the bird's habits and responses. But he was not elated as he rode beside me nor did he speak lightly.
Like my own mission to the Kataii, Harold's mission to the Kassars had been fruitless. For much the same reasons as the Kataii, Conrad was unwilling to commit his forces to the defense of Tuchuk herds. Indeed, as we rode together, we wondered that Kamchak had even sent us on an errand so unlikely of success, an errand in its way, considering the temper of the Wagon Peoples, so foolish.