I did not understand his words, and was about to ask his meaning, when Nidisar stepped closer and took the sack. “Jalav and I shall see to the division,” he said, grinning. “I have promised to show her and the others our city, and shall begin with the fair. I bid you a good day, Arbitrator.”
Nidisar then took my arm and hurried me to where Larid and Fayan waited. When we reached my warriors, I found Larid pleased by the outcome, but not so Fayan. She scowled about her, then faced Nidisar.
“You males always cease before a thing is clearly done,” she said, folding her arms below her life sign. “Had you continued, Jalav would have surely prevailed.”
Nidisar looked annoyed. “You would do well to recall, girl,” he said, “that it was Jalav’s throw, and not your own, which equaled mine. See to your tone when you speak to me, else I shall take great pleasure in teaching you that I am a male who need not cease even when a thing is done!”
Fayan growled low and put hand to sword, but that was no place to avenge injured pride. “Fayan!” I said sharply. “He is unarmed, and only a male! Would you take his words as those from a warrior?”
“I do not care for his manner,” Fayan said coldly, but took her hand from her sword. “Let us return to the others, Jalav, and see what we may see as quickly as possible. I would be gone from this place as soon as may be.”
“We shall indeed see what there is,” I said. “Nidisar here has said that he will show us about his city. Thus may we know where we go.”
Fayan did not argue with my decision. She stayed well away from Nidisar as we made our way toward Binat and Comir, and Larid was well amused by the heated glances exchanged between warrior and male. I, too, felt amused, although I hoped that Fayan’s sword would remain sheathed. I had come to be slightly fond of the male, and did not wish to see him slain.
Binat and Comir listened with interest as Larid related the happenings. After having inspected these other warriors of mine, Nidisar turned to our kand and gestured me closer.
“This is truly a fine beast,” he said, stroking the kan’s side. “Do your people breed these in your homeland?”
“We merely traded for these,” I informed him, seeing that the light had already passed its highest point. “The time passes swiftly, and we have seen little. I would have you show us the city now.”
“Ah, but first you must see the fair,” said he, giving to the kan a final, appreciative slap. “And first at the fair must we see a pavilion which provides food. The competition has left a void in me, which this purse may help to fill.”
He patted the sack of leather which he had hung from his belt, and still his meaning escaped me. Perhaps the sack contained that which might be traded for food and drink. A great desire had I to ask of it, yet I thought that might be unwise, and therefore I merely shrugged.
“I, too, would enjoy a meal,” I said. “I shall fetch the others.”
I gathered my warriors, and we, leading our kand, followed Nidisar across the sickly, yellowish grass to the ring of brightly colored tents. Males and their slavewomen continued to move about in and around them in great numbers, and some of these males paused to speak words of praise to Nidisar and myself. Nidisar accepted all praise as though it were due him, and led the way, after many halts, to a tent striped in many shades of red. The front of the tent was open and in its interior we could see long platforms of the sort Maranu had had, yet these platforms stood upon legs rather than upon the ground, and beside them, one to each side, stood another shorter, narrower platform upon which certain of the males and slavewomen sat. To the right stood truly large pots, stirred by slavewomen, and through a small opening in the tent beyond the pots, we could see a large fire, over which roasted an entire nilno. The nilno was tended by a young male, and a short, older male of rounded proportions stood near to the pots in the tent, speaking with other males, and accepting from them something he placed in a large, leather sack at his waist. I did not know what the stirred pots contained, but did not like the odor, and a glance at my warriors showed that they, too, disliked the aroma and the appearance of the tent.
“You may tie your kand there,” said Nidisar, indicating a log which lay before the tent. Then he led the way directly into the tent and toward the pots. The rounded male turned from others, and gave to Nidisar a wide smile.
“May I serve you, master?” said he with a sweep of his arm. “Sednet soup, perhaps, or a steaming bowl of lellin stew?”
“One of each, proprietor,” responded Nidisar jovially, “and a flagon of renth as well, to wet my throat.” Then Nidisar turned to me with a grin. “And what would you have, Jalav? If you wish, you may also feed those others lightly from your share of the purse.”
“I shall have no more than a bit of yonder nilno,” I said, knowing my nose wrinkled from the odors arising from the pots. “My warriors, too, will have the nilno.”
The rounded male of the pots frowned as he inspected me, and drew himself the straighter. “The nilno has not yet been completely roasted,” he said in stiff anger. “Should the female so dislike my other offerings, master, she and her trollops may simply go hungry!”
“What means ‘trollops’?” I demanded, disliking his tone, his manner, and his “offerings.” My hand did not touch my sword, yet was it not far away.
“Females!” Nidisar interposed hastily, a hand upon my arm. “It merely means females, Jalav! As the nilno is not yet done, allow me to recommend the lellin stew. Its manner of preparation here is quite tasty.”
“I shall have none of it,” I said, my eyes hard upon the rounded male. “You may cut for us a hand of portions of the nilno, male, else we shall cut whatever pleases us.”
Abruptly, Fayan stood beside me, her dagger in her hand. The short, rounded male paled.
“I—I ask your pardon,” said this frightened male. “I would gladly serve the ladies nilno, but it has been upon the fire for less than a hin! It won’t be fit to eat for sometime!”
“Bring the portions,” I directed, annoyed. “We have little time to be wasted here.”
The male then scurried quickly toward the opening beyond which lay the nilno. One of the slavewomen, fear upon her face, gave to Nidisar two wooden pots of whatever the larger pots contained. Nidisar accepted the pots with a pleasant smile, then stepped the closer to me.
“You must not treat people so, Jalav,” he hissed. “It is scandalous for a woman to act so, and we do not wish to have the Guard called down upon us! Curb your temper, girl, else you shall be shown only the dungeons of the High Seat!”
“A warrior may not be spoken to in such a manner,” I said, also annoyed. “Yonder cringing male had best learn manners, as it seems it is not his wish to don sword.”
Nidisar made a sound of vexation, as the rounded male returned with a small square of wood which was piled high with nilno. This square of wood he nervously handed to me, then turned to Nidisar. Nidisar put his fingers in the small sack at his waist, bringing forth a flat, five-sided, silverish piece of metal. This the rounded male took without comment, placing it within his own sack, and returning to Nidisar several other pieces of metal, also the same shape, yet of a reddish tint. Nidisar put these in the sack in place of the one he had given to the rounded male, and I knew I had been mistaken in my original suppositions. The sack did not contain something to be traded for items one wished, for who would take metal of that sort for items of worth? And not a word of bargaining had been spoken between them. No, the exchange of metal had other meaning that I did not understand.
“Let us sit and eat,” said Nidisar, taking up once more the pot he had placed upon the platform. “I believe that board in the farther corner would serve us best.”
With a movement of his head he indicated the place, and led us there. Again I followed, bearing the nilno. Nidisar approached a platform which stood close to the cloth side of the tent, and placed upon the platform the pots he had been given. The platform stood well away from others which were in use, and seemed to please Nidisar. He perched himself upon the shorter and narrower of the platforms, then began feeding with a smooth bit of wood which was widened and carved a bit at one end.