Again Blade had to wonder how much Paor suspected about the attacks of the sea reptiles. He shook his head. «I do not think we have that much time. Besides, I have a better plan for getting the drends across the water.»
It was basically a simple plan, although Blade knew too well how many things would still have to go exactly right. Cut down trees along the shore and build rafts-big ones, large enough to support a dozen drends. Launch the rafts and lead the drends on board, tethering them securely so they would not fall overboard.
Then set the wagons afloat. Tie two or three wagons to each raft. The men and women aboard the wagons go to work with poles or paddles. Slowly the wagons make their way across the miles of water. When dry land is reached on the far side, ground the rafts, unload the drends, and hitch them up to pull the wagons ashore.
Obviously it would be impossible to bring all the drends across in one trip this way. Many wagons would have to make several trips towing drend rafts. It would also be necessary to make all the crossings by day, to keep the wagons or the rafts from running aground.
Blade counted up wagons and drends and did some calculations. It would take nearly a week to get everybody across the water by this method. During the crossing an attack by any creatures under Menel control could mean a bloody shambles.
Any other method, though, would leave the Kargoi just as vulnerable and take much more time. They could not afford to give that much time to either the Menel or whoever might be waiting on the far side of the water. An alert and waiting enemy could do a great deal of damage to the slow convoys of wagons and drend rafts as they crept toward the far shore of the water.
Fortunately there was something that could be done about human enemies, unlike the Menel. If the hides of drends and sea reptiles were stretched over light wooden frameworks and made waterproof, then what? The Kargoi would have dozens of shallow-draft boats, easily handled and carrying twenty or thirty warriors apiece.
With enough of these boats, the Kargoi could send a thousand or more warriors across the water in a single night. If they landed by surprise, they could certainly sweep aside any force likely to be waiting for them. They could seize and hold a stretch of the far shore; if necessary they could build a log fort large enough to hold all of the Kargoi in an emergency.
Then the wagons and the drends could cross the water to a safe landing, the Kargoi would be united, and they could plan their next move. At this point even Blade wasn't sure what that next move might be. Too much depended on what the enemy did-the unknown human enemy across the water, and the known nonhuman one lurking out to sea.
Chapter 18
Darkness was all around the boat as it crept across water like black marble. The darkness hid all but one of the thirty-five boats that followed in the wake of Blade's.
Eight hundred warriors of the Kargoi were approaching the far shore of the water. In another few minutes they should be landing safely, if their luck held. So far it had held for more than three hours. No sign of the Menel, no sign of an alert and waiting enemy, no sign of anything alive in the darkness and the water except themselves. Surely that luck could hold for at least a few more minutes.
Blade carefully shifted in the cramped bow of the boat and looked aft. The paddles rose and fell steadily, with only a gentle pluk as they dipped and the faint plank of falling drops as they rose. He could see the boat immediately astern, and if he looked hard enough, the faintest hint of the one behind that.
When the warriors landed, they would make camp until dawn. Then four columns of a hundred men each would go out to explore the countryside, capture or kill any small bands of enemies, and report any large ones. The rest of the landing party would start chopping down trees and digging ditches to make a large fortified enclosure. One boat would return across the water, bringing word to the waiting Kargoi. As soon as the enclosure was finished, the wagons and the rafts would start their crossing. Another week would see the Kargoi united once again.
In the silence and the darkness the sudden splash of a paddle off to the left sounded like an explosion. Blade twisted again, peering in the direction of the sound. The splash came again, closer, and a third time, still closer.
Before Blade could even draw his sword a long low canoe with four men in it seemed to leap at him out of the darkness.
Blade crouched, bracing himself with one hand while he snatched up a spear with the other. One of the men in the canoe whirled, dropping his paddle and raising a long fishing trident. Both Blade and the fisherman made their throws at the same moment. Blade ducked and the trident passed over his head, without spoiling his own aim. His spear took the man in the shoulder. He fell back on the man behind him, his face twisted in pain but not crying out.
In the next moment Blade's boat rode up over the low-lying canoe, driving it down into the water. The tough wood of the canoe pressed upward against the hide of the boat. Blade heard seams parting and felt water rushing in around his feet. He drew his sword and vaulted over the bow into the half-submerged canoe. One of the fishermen lunged at him with a short knife, missed, then grappled with him and tried to bear him over the side. The man fought in total silence and with astonishing strength. At last Blade was able to bring his knee up into the man's groin. With a gasp the fisherman jerked back, giving Blade just enough room to bring his sword into play. The fisherman made no sound even when he died.
Meanwhile the other two men in the canoe were battling against two Kargoi warriors. One of them threw a net over one of his attackers while the other fell on the entangled man, stabbing at his throat with a knife. The steel bit home, and suddenly the battle wasn't silent any more. The stabbed warrior let out a bubbling scream of agony. His attacker fell on top of him with a faint thud, cut down by the second warrior. The last fisherman had no weapon but his net, yet he tried to pull it back for another throw as the Kargoi came at him. The net leaped out, the sword slashed down, and both men went over the side.
Splashes sounded behind Blade as the warriors in his boat jumped overboard. Blade was relieved to see that the water was no more than waist-deep. The men began pushing toward shore, holding their greased and blackened weapons over their heads.
On either side of the wading men other boats pushed forward, the men at the paddles no longer trying to be silent. Blade sprang overboard from the sinking canoe and splashed toward one of the passing boats. As he did, he heard the long, deep blasts of a horn sounding from the darkness ahead. A second horn answered it, then two more almost together.
Before Blade could climb into the boat, he saw lights appearing ahead. The alarm was up, and now the Kargoi were going to have to fight their way ashore. Blade scrambled into the boat and shouted, «Light up your torches and put your backs into it! Archers, hold your fire until I give the order!»
Torches flared as the boats shot ahead. Blade's boat joined the rush toward shore. They passed the wading men, splashing furiously toward a shore now less than a spear's throw away. Blade saw one man vanish as he stepped into a deep hole. Two of his comrades hauled him to the surface, spluttering and gasping for breath.
On the land several of the lights now formed a cluster. Blade could make out a number of dark-skinned figures standing in the light, holding bows and spears. A flurry of movement, and several more ran out from the trees. One held a long red staff. A closer look, and Blade realized that the staff bearer was a woman.