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Between eating and sleeping, the Yawtl talked.
"Feersh the Blind is a wicked old witch."
Sloosh, interrupting, said, "By 'witch' he doesn't mean one who practices magic. Such a being exists only in the minds of the ignorant and superstitious. He means one who has found artifacts of the ancients and has discovered how to use them."
Hoozisst looked a
"My tribe has had some contact with her, since her sons and daughters occasionally visit our village. We give them smoked meat and other goods. In return, she doesn't use her powers to do us evil. This burns us, but we can do nothing about it. Anyway, when one of her sons, Skibroziy, came to our village, he
"drew me aside and ordered me to come with him to see his mother. I asked him why she wanted me. He replied, in that sneering imperious ma
"I was afraid. I've no shame admitting that. But I went. Besides, I thought there might be some profit in it for me. After all, I'd done nothing to offend Feersh. Skibroziy and I traveled through the jungle—our village is only three sleep-times away—and he guided me through the sand trap, and we climbed the ladder which hangs down from the central part of the three ship-creatures.
"Feersh sat me down and gave me the best food and drink. Then she said she'd picked me to run an errand for her. Some errand! She had heard that I was the bravest, most cu
"She demanded that I go out, no matter how far or how long it took me, and steal soul eggs. Not just anybody's. They had to indicate a certain type of character. She described the character of the owners, and she also described, in minute detail, how the eggs would indicate this.
"I didn't like leaving my tribe for a long time, nor did I care for the unknown dangers I might run into.
On the other hand, I was flattered because she'd chosen me. I wasn't going to do it for nothing, though.
So I asked her what reward I would get for my time and perilous labors. To my surprise, she replied that
I could have whatever I wanted from a group of rare or unique treasures of the ancients. She took me to where they lay on the deck and asked me to pick one. I finally did so after some agonizing and chose the
Emerald of Anticipation. I'll tell you what it is later.
"I was somewhat suspicious and didn't really believe her promise. But I thought that if she went back on it, I'd steal the Emerald from her. That shows you how valuable it was, that I would think of doing that when I was so scared of her powers. Though I must admit that there isn't a Yawtl around here who hasn't dreamed of stealing from Feersh. We all lacked the guts to try it, though.
"So I went out, and the first egg I stole was from the Riverpig Tribe. I wouldn't steal from my own tribe unless it was absolutely necessary. Anyway, mine had no eggs like those she wanted. Except for my own egg. Which, as you see, she now has. I found two more in other Yawtl tribes, and then I had to go to the human and Tsimmanbul villages and Houses."
Deyv asked, "What's a Tsimmanbul?"
"A sapient species descended from an animal that once lived in the ocean," Sloosh said. "They didn't evolve naturally from their flippered state into land-dwelling bipeds. The ancients used their powers to change them into these. But their intelligence was equal to that of humans."
"I think I must sleep now," Hoozisst said.
This irritated and frustrated his listeners, and he probably enjoyed their reactions.
When Deyv relieved Vana from guard duty, he stationed himself on the edge of the forest. Standing there facing the sand traps, he thought that if it hadn't been for his missing egg and the nearness of
Feersh the Blind, he could enjoy being there. For some reason which the Yawtl didn't know, this thin circle of woods was free of insects. Moreover, the animals, safe or dangerous, avoided it. If this was because Feersh had cast a spell on it, the magic hadn't influenced Jum and Aejip. They seemed at ease.
The hunting in the swamp and the fishing in the river beyond the forest were as good as could be asked for.
He fantasized the Earth as a place where such forests were interspersed among the jungles he knew.
After the necessary hunting, a man could retreat to such a forest and "enjoy life without the dangers" of predators and the vexatious and sometimes painful or fatal insect and snake bites.
Deyv was, however, a realist. Into his thoughts of the paradise of such forests crawled visions of humans. There would be bachelors who'd sneak in and kill, or a raid by warriors fixed on wiping out
Deyv and his tribe. And there would be bothersome and sometimes infuriating interferences by parents and other relatives, not to mention the shaman and his wife or friends. And there would be a wife who would too often want her own way. And ...
But this was normal human life and, whatever its vexations, it was overall enjoyable, rewarding, and fulfilling. This was the only way open to a man if he was to be a completely rounded human.
So, counting all the advantages and disadvantages, there would be no better place than a forest like this.
Deyv couldn't see the humans aboard the tharakorm. But at least fifty leathery-winged ratlike khratikl were out feeding the sand monsters. They flew in couples which carried between each member a large chunk of raw meat. When they came above the places where the beasts hid, they dropped the flesh and flapped off for the jungle beyond the ship-creatures. The Yawtl had said that there were corrals there where cattle were raised. These were tended by khratikl supervised by human slaves. They provided food for the sand things, the slaves, the khratikl, Feersh's family, and the captive tharakorm.
Deyv, watching the tentacles crawl out to seize the meat or giant stings readying to pierce it, thought that the feeding was a flaw in the idea of the sand traps. An observer in the forest could note the location of the shishvenomi, as Hoozisst called the sand-beasts, and then avoid the traps. But he'd have to have a good memory.
Hoozisst had also told them that the shishvenomi didn't need food very often. They went into a semihibernation until their sensors detected vibrations on the surface. Then they became fully awake, only to fall back into their sleep after eating or if their prey eluded them.
Deyv had asked why the slaves didn't try to escape.
"They have a fairly good life," Hoozisst had said. "And they're descendants of slaves. Feersh's greatgreat-
grandmother captured their ancestors. In fact, they worship Feersh as a goddess. They also sacrifice to her. When the population gets too large, they reduce it by killing the useless old people and the babies who don't have matching soul eggs."
Deyv was indifferent to the babies' fate, since his own tribe had the same custom. But he was horrified by what happened to the old people. "Those slaves are beasts! They deserve to be slaves!"
The Yawtl had smiled but had not replied.
Now, watching the khratikl, Deyv didn't feel as repulsed or as indignant. It seemed to him that perhaps
Feersh had done the right thing. After all, if the slaves got too numerous, they'd starve. And they couldn't just drive the old ones into the jungle to fend for themselves. It really was better, more humane, that they be spared that horror.
Perhaps he'd misjudged the witch. Could anyone who'd prepared a forest like this, such a delightful place, be wicked? It didn't seem likely. And if she wasn't a witch but was a good-magic person, then perhaps her motive in stealing the soul eggs was good. She may have intended, and probably did, some benefit for those who had been robbed. However, since they wouldn't have voluntarily come to her with their eggs because of her bad reputation—no doubt the result of lies by her enemies—she'd sent the