The arrival of Kareena's party was the signal for a burst of activity in the camp. Blade was forgotten as the Kaldakans bustled about, striking the tents, tying the packs and bags to the munfans' harnesses, emptying garbage, putting out the campfires, or simply standing guard. Blade noticed that the sentries all carried bows and arrows and spent most of their time looking at the sky. It was another gray day, with a sky full of low-hanging clouds. Blade had no idea what they expected to see coming out of those clouds and everyone was running about too fast to let him ask.
Eventually the bustle died away. Blade saw men kneeling beside each munfan, tying long heavy leather hobbles to brass rings around their hind legs to keep them from taking a full stride. That made sense. Judging from the size of those hind legs, a munfan could run much faster than a man. If an unhobbled munfan bolted, there'd be no way of catching it and no way to save its load other than shooting it.
The last hobbles were being tied into place when Bairam came over to Blade, carrying two laser rifles. He handed one of them to Blade.
«Blade, you saved my life. My honor demands that you carry Oltec, though not living Oltec.»
«Your sister-«began Blade, but the boy silenced him with an angry gesture.
«Kareena takes too much on herself. I am not less than she in war or in knowing the Law.» Blade seriously doubted this, but it would hardly be tactful to say so.
«This is so,» he said quietly. «But my honor as a warrior of England demands that I not break a promise. I have promised Kareena that I will carry no Oltec. Would you have me break my promise to her and lose honor?» He wished he could speak more bluntly. Bairam was rapidly becoming a brave and well-intentioned young nuisance.
«You do not have what Kareena can call a weapon if you carry a dead thing of Oltec that has lost its power,» said Bairam insistently. «That is the Law. She can say nothing, yet those who see you will not know that it is dead. This way Kareena's not trusting you will bring you no shame. I cannot have you be shamed. My honor will not let me.»
Again Blade wanted to answer bluntly, «Your honor will not let you be quiet either, it seems,» but held his tongue. Bairam was going to be stubborn about this, and if Blade argued much longer Kareena or Hota would notice that something was going on. Then there would be another quarrel for everyone. Short of turning Bairam over his knee and spanking him, Blade didn't see there was anything he could do except make the best of a bad situation.
«I thank you, for your care for my honor. I will take this dead Oltec and care for it as though it lived.» He took the laser rifle and for lack of any better idea went through the British Army's manual of arms with it. Bairam watched, fascinated.
«Now, I will go to Kareena and explain this,» said Blade, when he'd finished. «She must-«
«Oh, no. I will tell her myself. If there is to be another quarrel, I must not let you suffer for it. More honor and many kills, Blade of England.» Before Blade could reply, the boy turned and ran off, so fast that Blade couldn't have called to him without letting the whole camp hear. He felt like throwing the rifle to the ground in frustration but knew that would not be a good idea if Oltec really was sacred. At least the damned rifle had a sling, so he could carry it across his chest while he carried the spear on one shoulder.
Whatever Kareena said to her brother, she didn't bother saying anything to Blade. Her whistle shrilled again, the man leading the first munfan jerked the rein, and once more the Kaldakans were on the move. Blade brought up the rear, along with two men carrying rifles and three more carrying bows and arrows. He noticed that the riflemen carried their weapons at the ready, the archers had their bows strung, and all five were watching the sky. Blade watched the munfans instead.
Without the hobbles they certainly would have been out of control within minutes and out of sight soon after that. Their hind claws threw up gravel and clods of earth, while their tails flicked back and forth through long arcs, hard enough to break bone if they hit a man. The carrying harnesses creaked and jingled and the heavy packs and bags bounced so that Blade expected at any minute to see one burst open or fall to the ground.
By mid-afternoon blue sky was showing overhead, but there were still wide patches of gray cloud to hide whatever the Kaldakans feared in the sky. Twice Kareena came back along the caravan but hardly looked at Blade. He began to wish he'd done something to protect his feet. The ground underfoot was getting stony and rough, and even his tough soles were taking punishment.
Another hour or so, and Kareena's whistle signaled a break. The men leading the munfans led them down to a pond to drink, then turned them loose along the bank to graze on ferns and grass. Blade was watching them munch busily, when he heard someone shout. He turned and saw a sentry pointing up into the sky. Following the man's gesture, Blade saw three hawklike birds circling low over the grazing munfans. They flew gracefully, and as they banked Blade saw golden patches under their wings and on their bellies. Handsome birds, but what was all the excitement about?
Then one of the birds flew into the clouds, and suddenly Blade realized they weren't flying low at all. He guessed that if they looked so large up near the clouds, their wings must have a spread of twelve feet from tip to tip.
Blade didn't believe that figure at first, then he watched the birds again and decided that fifteen feet would be a better guess. Of course a bird that size was a theoretical impossibility, but he didn't know enough about this Dimension yet to be sure how much Home Dimension theory applied. There could be mutations, there could have been genetic engineering, the birds might be robots….
Meanwhile, none of the Kaldakans seemed to be worrying about theory. They were getting ready to meet the birds. Blade saw the archers picking arrows and the riflemen unslinging their weapons. Meanwhile the people with swords and spears were spreading out into a circle around the munfans, to keep them from bolting. Blade started over to join them, since his only usable weapon was his spear. This was going to be a long-range fight.
Then a rifleman ran up, carrying a second laser under one arm. Blade recognized Sidas, who'd brought him the spear yesterday. «Here, Blade,» said the man. «Your Oltec seems to be dead. Since you can carry one now, you should have a live one.» He pushed the second laser into Blade's hands and hurried off to rejoin his comrades before Blade could either thank him or protest. After a moment's hesitation Blade followed Sidas toward the other riflemen. He certainly wasn't going to waste time arguing with Kareena or Hota now!
As Blade joined the riflemen, the giant hawks swept low over the caravan with harsh cries. The munfans squealed and some of them danced about as wildly as if the ground under them was red-hot. One tried to break through the circle, but two men drove it back with the butts of their spears.
The birds came over a second time, and now several archers notched arrows and shot. Blade saw two arrows strike home, but the birds flew steadily on until they were out of range. Blade heard Kareena cursing the archers who'd shot, and he hoped his laser had plenty of power. Those birds were going to take a lot of punishment. He also wondered why some of the riflemen hadn't opened up already. Feathers could burn, even if the laser beam didn't get through to a vital organ.
Then the three birds were banking in a wide turn, sliding down until they were just above the treetops, and coming back again. They were enormous, and they were coming straight at Blade. He knelt, raising his rifle. Bowstrings thrummed, arrows whistled, and one of the birds let out a harsh screech. Two more panic-stricken munfans charged the men around them. Blade saw the middle bird growing steadily larger, curled his finger around the trigger