8
The Free Rovers
Twilight made a gray world where one could not trace the true meeting ofland and water, sea and sky. Surely the haze about them was more thanjust the normal dusk of coming night.
Ross balanced in the middle of the skiff as it bobbed along the swell ofwaves inside a barrier reef. To his mind the craft carrying the three ofthem and their net of supplies was too frail, rode too high. But Kararapaddling in the bow, Loketh at the stern seemed to be content, and Rosscould not, for pride's sake, question their competency. He comfortedhimself with the knowledge that no agent was able to absorb everyprimitive skill, and Karara's people had explored the Pacific inout-rigger canoes hardly more stable than their present vessel,navigating by currents and stars.
Smothering his feeling of helplessness and the slow anger that roused inhim, the Terran busied himself with study of a sort. They had had thelonger part of the day in the cave before Loketh would agree to ventureout of hiding and paddle south. Ross, using the analyzer, had, withLoketh's aid, set about learning what he could of the native tongue.
Now possessed of a working vocabulary of clicked words, he was able tofollow Loketh's speech so that translation through the dolphins was notnecessary except for complicated directions. Also, he had a moredetailed briefing of the present situation on Hawaika.
Enough to know that they might be embarking on a mad venture. Thecitadel of the Foanna was distinctly forbidden ground, not only forLoketh's people but also for the Foanna's Hawaikan followers who werehoused and labored in an outer ring of fortification-cum-village. Thosenatives were, Ross gathered, a hereditary corps of servants andwarriors, born to that status and not recruited from the nativepopulation at large. As such, they were armored by the "magic" of theirmasters.
"If the Foanna are so powerful," Ross had demanded, "why do you go withus against them?" To depend so heavily on the native made him uneasy.
The Hawaikan looked to Karara. One of his hands raised; his fingerssketched a sign toward the girl.
"With the Sea Maid and her magic I do not fear." He paused beforeadding, "Always has it been said of me--and to me--that I am a uselessone, fit only to do women's tasks. No word weaver shall ever chant mybattle deeds in the great hall of Zahur. I who am Zahur's true son cannot carry my sword in any lord's train. But now you offer me one of thegreat to-be-remembered quests. If I go, so may I prove that I am a man,even if I go limpingly. There is nothing the Foanna can do to me whichis worse than what the Shadow has already done. Choosing to follow you Imay stand up to face Zahur in his own hall, show him that the blood ofhis House has not been drained from my veins because I walk crookedly!"
There was such bitter fire, not only in the sputtering rush of Loketh'swords, but in his eyes, his face, the wry twist of his lips, that Rossbelieved him. The Terran no longer had any doubts that the castleoutcast was willing to brave the unknown terrors of the Foanna keep, notjust to aid Ross whom he considered himself bound to serve by thecustoms of his people, but because he saw in this venture a chance togain what he had never had, a place in his warrior culture.
Shut off from the normal life of his people, he had early turned to thesea. His twisted leg had not proved a handicap in the water, and hestated with confidence that he was the best swimmer in the castle. Notthat the men of his father's following had taken greatly to the sea,which they looked upon merely as a way of preying upon the true searovers.
The reef on which the ships had been wrecked was a snare of sorts--firstby the whim of nature when wind and current piled up the trading shipsthere. Then, Ross was startled when Loketh elaborated on a laterdevelopment of that trap.
"So Zahur returned from this meeting and set up a great magic among therock, according to the spells he was taught. Now ships are drawn thereso the wrecks have been many and Zahur becomes an even greater lord withmany men coming to take sword oath under him."
"This magic," asked Ross, "of what manner is it and where did Zahurobtain it?"
"It is fashioned so--" Loketh sketched two straight lines in the air,"not curved as a sword. And the color of water under a storm sky, bothrods being as tall as a man. There was much care to set them in place,that was done by a man of Glicmas."
"A man of Glicmas?"
"Glicmas is now the high lord of the Iccio. He is blood kin to Zahur,yet Zahur must take sword oath to send to Glicmas a fourth of all hissea-gleanings for a year in payment for this magic."
"And Glicmas, where did he get it? From the Foanna?"
Loketh made an emphatic denial of that. "No, the Foanna have spoken outagainst their use, making even greater ill feeling between the Old Onesand the coast people. It is said that Glicmas saw a great wonder in thesky and followed it to a high place of his own country. A mountain brokein twain and a voice issued forth from the rent, calling that the lordof the country come and stand to hear it. When Glicmas did so he wastold that the magic would be his. Then the mountain closed again and hefound many strange things upon the ground. As he uses them they make himakin to the Foanna in power. Some he gives to those who are his bloodkin, and together they will be great until they close their fists notonly upon the sea rovers, but upon the Foanna also. This they have cometo believe."
"But you do not?" Karara asked then.
"I do not know, Sea Maid. The time is coming when perhaps they shallhave their chance to prove how strong is their magic. Already the Roversgather in fleets as they never did before. And it seems that they, too,have found a new magic, for their ships fly through the water, dependingno longer on wind-filling sails, or upon strong arms of men at longpaddles. There is a struggle before us. But that you must know, beingwho and what you are, Sea Maid."
"And what do you think I am? What do you think Ross is?"
"If the Foanna dwell on land and hold old knowledge and power beyond ourreckoning in their two hands," he replied, "then it is possible that thesame could have roots in the sea. It is my belief that you are of theShades, but not the Shadow. And this warrior is also of your kind--butperhaps in different degree, putting into action your desires andwishes. Thus, if you go up against the Foanna, you shall be wellmatched, kind to kind."
Nice to be so certain of that, Ross thought. He did not share Loketh'sconfidence on that subject.
"The Shades ... the Shadow ..." Karara persisted. "What are these,Loketh?"
An odd expression crossed the Hawaikan's face. "Are those not knownto you, Sea Maid? Indeed, then you are of a breed different from themen of land. The Shades are those of power who may come to the aidof men should it be their desire to influence the future. And theShadow ... the Shadow is That Which Ends All--man, hope, good. To Whichthere is no appeal, and Which holds a vast and enduring hatred for thatwhich has life and full substance."
"So Zahur has this new magic. Is it the gift of Shades or Shadow?" Rossbrought them back to the subject which had sparked in him a smallwarning signal.
"Zahur prospers mightily." Loketh's answer was ambiguous.
"And so the Shadow could not provide such magic?" The Terran pushed.
But before the Hawaikan had a chance to answer, Karara added anotherquestion:
"But you believe that it did?"
"I do not know. Only the magic has made Zahur a part of Glicmas, andGlicmas is now perhaps a part of that which spoke from the mountain. Itis not well to accept gifts which tie one man to another unless there isfrom the first a saying of how deep that bond may run."
"I think you are wise in that, Loketh," Karara said.
But the uneasiness had grown in Ross. Alien powers, out of a mountainheart, passed from one lord to another. And on the other hand theRovers' sudden magic in turn, lending their ships wings. The two factsbalanced in an odd way. Back on Terra there had been those sudden andunaccountable jumps in technical knowledge on the part of the enemy,jumps which had set in action the whole Time Travel service of which hehad become a part. And these jumps had not been the result of normalresearch; they had come from the looting of derelict
spaceships wreckedon his world in the far past.
Could driblets of the same stellar knowledge have been here deliberatelyfed to warring communities? He asked Loketh about the possibility ofspace-borne explorers. But to the Hawaikan that was a totally foreignconception. The stars, for Loketh, were the doorways and windows of theShades, and he treated the suggestion of space travel as perhaps naturalto those all-powerful specters, but certainly not for beings likehimself. There was no hint that Hawaika had been openly visited by agalactic ship. Though that did not bar such landings. The planet was,Ross thought, thinly populated. Whole sections of the interiors of thelarger islands were wilderness, and this world must be in the same stateof only partial occupation as his own earth had been in the Bronze Agewhen tribes on the march had fanned out into virgin wilderness, greatforests, and steppes unwalked by man before their coming.
Now as he balanced in the canoe and tried to keep his mind off thequeasiness in his middle and the insecurity of the one thickness ofsea-creature hide stretched over a bone framework which made up thecraft between his person and the water, Ross still mulled over whatmight be true. Had the galactic invaders for their own purposes begun tomeddle here, leaking weapons or tools to upset what must be a verydelicate balance of power? Why? To bring on a conflict which wouldoccupy the native population to the point of exhaustion or depopulation?So they could win a world for their own purposes without effort or riskon their part? Such cold-blooded fishing in carefully troubled watersfitted very well with the persons of the Baldies as he had known them onTerra.
And he could not set aside that memory of this very coast as he had seenit through the peep, the castle in ruins, tall pylons reaching from theland into the sea. Was this the beginning of that change which would endin the Hawaika of his own time, empty of intelligent life, shatteredinto a loose network of islands?
"This fog is strange." Karara's words startled Ross to return to thehere and now.
The haze he had been only half conscious of when they had put out fromthe tiny secret bay where Loketh kept his boat, was truly a fog, pilingup in soft billows and cutting down visibility with speed.
"The Foanna!" Loketh's answer was sharp, a recognition of danger. "Theirmagic--they hide their place so! There is trouble, trouble on the move!"
"Do we land then?" Ross did not ascribe the present blotting out of thelandscape to any real manipulation of nature on the part of theall-powerful Foanna. Too many times the reputations of "medicine men"had been so enhanced by coincidence. But he did doubt the wisdom oftrying to bore ahead blindly in this murk.
"Taua and Tino-rau can guide us," Karara reminded him. "Throw out therope, Ross. What is above water will not confuse them."
He moved cautiously, striving to adapt his actions to the swing of theboat. The line was ready coiled to hand and he tossed the loose endoverboard, to feel the cord jerk taut as one of the dolphins caught itup.
They were being towed now, though both paddlers reinforced the forwardtug with their efforts. The curtain gathering above the surface of thewater did not hamper the swimmers beneath its surface, and Ross feltrelief. He turned his head to speak to Loketh.
"How near are we?"
The mist had thickened to the point that, close as the native was, thelines of his body blurred. His clicking answer seemed distorted, too,almost as if the fog had altered not only his form but his personality.
"Maybe very soon now. We must see the sea gate before we are sure."
"And if we aren't able to see that?" challenged Ross.
"The sea gate is above and below the water. Those who obey the Sea Maid,who are able to speak thought to thought, will find it if we can not."
But they were never to reach that goal. Karara gave warning: "There areships about."
Ross knew that the dolphins had told her. He demanded in turn: "Whatkind?"
"Larger, much larger than this."
Then Loketh broke in: "A Rover Raider--three of them!"
Ross frowned. He was the cripple here. The other two, with their abilityto communicate with the dolphins, were the sighted, he the blind. And heresented his handicap in a burst of bitterness which must have coloredhis tone as he ordered, "Head inshore--now!"
Once on land, even in the fog, he felt that they had the advantage inany hide-and-seek which might ensue with this superior enemy force. Butafloat he was helpless and vulnerable, a state Ross did not accepteasily.
"No," Loketh returned as sharply. "There is no place to land along thecliff."
"We are between two of the ships," Karara reported.
"Your paddles--" Ross schooled his voice to a whisper, "hold them--don'tuse them. Let the dolphins take us on. In the fog, if we make no sound,we may get by the ships."
"Right!" Karara agreed, and he heard an assenting grunt from Loketh.
They were moving very slowly. Strong as the dolphins were, they darednot expend all their strength on towing the skiff too fast. Ross thoughtfuriously. Perhaps the sea could be their way of escape if the needarose. He had no idea why raiding ships were moving under the cover offog into the vicinity of the Foanna citadel. But the Terran's knowledgeof tactics led him to guess that this impending visit was notanticipated by the Foanna, nor was it a friendly one. And, as veteranseamen who should normally be wary of fog as thick as this, the Roversthemselves must have a driving reason, or some safeguard which led themhere now.
But dared the three spill out of their boat, trust to their swimmingability and that of the dolphins, and invade the Foanna sea gate so?Could they use the coming Rover attack as a cover for their own invasionof the hold? Ross considered that the odds in their favor were beginningto look better.
He whispered his idea and began to prepare their gear. The boat wasstill headed for the shore the three could not see. But they could hearsounds out of the white cotton wall which told them how completely theywere boxed in by the raiders; creaks, whispers, noises, Ross could notreadily identify, carried across the waves.
Before leaving the cave and beginning this voyage they had introducedLoketh to the use of the gill-pack, made him practice in the depths ofthe cave pool with one of the extras drawn through the gate among thesupplies. Now all three were equipped with the water aid, and they couldbe gone in the sea before the trap closed.
"The supply net--" Ross warned Karara. A moment or two later there was asmall bump against the skiff at his left hand. He cautiously raised thecollection of containers and eased the burden into the water, knowingthat one of the dolphins would take charge of it.
However, he was not prepared for what happened next. Under him the boatlurched first one way and then the other in sharp jerks as if thedolphins were trying to spill them into the sea. Ross heard Karara callout, her voice thin and frightened:
"Taua! Tino-rau! They have gone mad! They will not listen!"
The boat raced in a zigag path. Loketh clutched at Ross, striving tosteady him, to keep the boat on an even keel.
"The Foanna--!" Just as Loketh cried out, Karara plunged over the prowof the boat, whether by design or chance Ross did not know.
And then the craft whirled about, smashed side against side with a darkbulk looming out of the fog. Above, Ross heard cries, knew that they hadcrashed against one of the raiders. He fought to retain his balance, buthe had been knocked to the bottom of the boat against Loketh and theystruggled together, unable to move during a precious second or two.
Out of the air over their heads dropped a mass of waving strands whichenveloped both of them. The stuff was adhesive, slimy. Ross let out achoked cry as the lines tightened about his arms and body, pinioninghim.
Those tightened, wove a net. Now he was being drawn up out of theplunging skiff, a helpless captive. His flailing legs, still free of theslimy cords, struck against the side of the larger ship. Then he swungin, over the well of the deck, thudded down on that surface withbruising force, unable to understand anything except that he had beentaken prisoner by a very effective device.
Loketh dropped
beside him. But Karara was not brought in, and Ross heldto that small bit of hope. Had she made it to freedom by dropping intothe water before the Rovers netted them? He could see men gatheringabout him, masked and distorted in the fog. Then he was rolled acrossthe deck, boosted over the edge of a hatch and knew an instant of terroras he fell into the depth below.
How long was he unconscious? It could not have been very long, Rossdecided, as he opened his eyes on dark, heard the small sounds of theship. He lay very still, trying to remember, to gather his wits beforehe tried to flex his arms. They were held tight to his sides by strandswhich no longer seemed slimy, but were wrinkling as they dried. Therewas an odor from them which gagged him. But there was no loosening ofthose loops in spite of his struggles, which grew more intense as hisstrength returned. And at last he lay panting, knowing there was no easyway of escape from here.