That would include raiders from Trawn, if there were any around. Blade almost hoped there were. He would be happier if he knew how the sleeping water worked on actual live stolofs before risking a fullscale battle. The hunters of Draad couldn't very well go out and bring him back a batch of the creatures. But if the warriors of Trawn attacked and dumped some into his lap?
Meanwhile, he had various kinds of flightless birds. He had things like three-foot-long chipmunks, he had gray and black spotted deer with a single horn curving backward between the ears. He had a snake fourteen feet long with poison fangs as long as his fingers and alarmingly swift movements. He also had black stalkers.
The hunters brought in four of them, and they lost three men dead and two more crippled for life while doing so. That was something else Blade knew would be held against him if his inventions were unsuccessful.
The black stalkers had the heavy-bodied build of home dimension wildcats. But they were the size of small tigers-three hundred pounds or more. They were swift and sure in their movements, and their mouths were a foot wide and set with an array of teeth that would have done credit to a shark. Their large yellow eyes followed Blade grimly and unwaveringly as he walked around the stout huts where they were confined. He looked back at them just as carefully. All the other animals would just be warming-up exercises, even the snake. The black stalkers would be the real test.
He wished he could be as sure who were his real human enemies.
Chapter 22
The next morning the blare of trumpets and the squalling of black stalkers sounded well before dawn. Blade was already awake when Kulo came in to help him dress and equip himself.
Blade pulled on a hunter's tunic and trousers of heavy green leather, reinforced over the chest, belly, and groin. He donned a warrior's leather helmet and thick-soled boots. He belted on a short sword and dagger. Then he picked up a sprayer and hung three bottles of sleeping water on his belt.
Blade started down the hill toward the arena. Behind him marched Kulo, dressed like Blade but looking thoroughly uncomfortable in the unfamiliar leather garments and boots. He had volunteered to enter the arena with Blade; therefore he wore the same clothes. Behind Kulo marched the other three assistants, carrying everything Blade thought might possibly be needed at the arena.
The sky overhead had turned from gray to blue by the time Blade reached the arena. It was going to be a sunny day, a rare event in the mountain forests. Blade felt his mood lighten as he saw the sunlight flash gold through the branches of the trees that towered up on either side of the path.
The log walls of the arena rose more than ten feet high. Around the outside warriors wearing the badges of Embor, Sanaya, and half a dozen different clans stood on guard.
On top of the log walls of the arena the king, the queen, Neena, the High Kaireen, and the rest of the notables were already in place. Some sat on benches, others squatted Indian-fashion on the bare, peeled logs. The wall of the arena rose half again as high as a black stalker could jump. The notables would be in no danger, whatever happened to Blade and Kulo.
Blade led his assistants up the ladder on the outside of the wall. Neena met his gaze but her face was chill. King Embor smiled in greeting, but thinly. Blade noticed that both of them wore fighting gear. Neena had two spears propped against her bench and the king had a bow slung across his back and a sword at his belt.
Queen Sanaya, on the other hand, once more seemed as cheerful as if she were on a picnic. She wore a red gown and white leather boots, with a dark brown fur robe thrown over her shoulders. A tiara of emeralds sparkled in her hair as she looked around her, laughing and chattering to everyone within earshot. She had the look of someone for whom the day could hold no unpleasant surprises.
Another ladder led down to the floor of the arena. The three assistants sat down on the logs and began unpacking the gear while Blade and Kulo climbed down the wobbling, hastily made ladder. Blade hoped he wouldn't have to climb that ladder in any sort of a hurry.
Blade checked his weapons, climbed up onto a stump, and looked out across the arena. On the opposite side of the circle, fifty feet away, was a gate of heavy logs for the test animals.
Blade motioned Kulo to stand well behind him. Then he looked up at the royal party. King Embor nodded and raised his hand. On top of the wall and from outside it horns and drums sounded to signal the beginning of the test. With grindings and creakings of wood, the gate started to swing open. Blade gripped his sprayer, wondering what would come through. King Embor had politely refused to let him know the order in which the animals would be released.
Then a faint cluck-cluck-cluck sounded from across the arena, followed by the sound of clumsily flapping wings. Blade laughed. The first test specimen was a mugos-a slow-wined, ground-dwelling bird about the size and shape of a Home Dimension turkey.
Blade strode forward. As the bird spotted him it clurked in alarm and darted back toward the gate. Finding the gate closed, it jumped on top of a stump and flapped its wings frantically. By that time Blade was within easy range. He raised the sprayer, aimed it at the bird's head, and rammed in the plunger.
The six feet of threebo jumped as Blade fired, and the fine spray missed the bird completely. He shifted one hand to get a better grip, then aimed and fired again. This time he hit his target. The bird blinked in surprise and bewilderment as the sleeping water doused it. It opened its beak to complain. Then it tottered, its eyes closed, and it fell forward off the stump with a faint plop.
Blade looked around the walls of the arena. Everyone was on his feet. Several of the clan chiefs were pointing at the fallen bird, openmouthed with unconcealed astonishment. Blade saw King Embor's thin smile changing into a grin. Watching the clan chiefs gaping like schoolboys must be a treat for him! Well, there were going to be a good many more surprises before this day was over.
The guards outside the gate came in, took the bird away, and led in one of the giant chipmunks. This animal was much more intelligent and quicker on its feet than the bird. It darted around and around the arena, ducking in and out behind the stumps, sometimes jumping up on top of one to chatter mockingly at Blade. Blade sprayed several doses of sleeping water into thin air, trying to hit it.
Now Blade waved Kulo forward. With the young man well out ahead of him, he managed to trap the animal against one wall. It tried to leap over a stump, but a shot from Kulo's sprayer caught it in midair. It landed sprawling, lurched to its feet, took two steps, then fell flat on its face and lay still.
This brought all the clan chiefs to their feet again. Several shouted out loud. They hadn't been told what they might expect to see from Prince Blade. Probably none of them even now understood exactly what was going on. But they could see skill and speed at work, and most of them could appreciate that. Blade threw a glance at Neena. She was obviously struggling not to smile. Sanaya was laughing out loud.
There was a pause, while servants walked precariously along the wall, handing mugs of beer and plates of sausage and roast meat to the spectators. Then the guards drove one of the single-horned deer in through the gate.
Blade knew that this animal would be a somewhat more drastic test than the ones before. It was many times larger, and would therefore need a much larger dose of sleeping water. In the confined arena it could not run as freely and swiftly as it could in the forest, but it would still be a difficult target. It was also capable of defending itself. That made Blade feel a good deal more comfortable about going after it. He didn't much like shooting things at birds and animals who could do nothing in return except run.