Gladiators Of Hapanu

Chapter 11

Blade was so busy working out his ideas that he didn't join in the celebration of the raiders' victory. He wandered about, mostly watching the carpenters and bowmakers at work. He not only ignored Meera, he ignored all the village women who wanted one of the great heroes of the raid against the Yal to take them to his sleeping mat. Lokhra put the doubts he was arousing into words.

«If the Yal woman had you in her grip, we would understand. She is very beautiful, wise, and strong. She is a good woman for you. But you do not take her either. She serves you only as a little girl or an old woman might do. Yet you still look at no other woman. Did you take a wound to your manhood, Blade?» The question might have been insulting, except for Lokhra's tone of voice. She seemed really worried about Blade's strange new habit of ignoring women.

Blade decided he was going to have to come up with some sort of explanation. «You do not need to praise Meera to me,» he said. «I know the kind of woman she is. But that does not matter. I have had a vision.» Visions and dreams played a large part in the religion of the Forest People, so this would seem a plausible explanation.

Lokhra's eyes opened wide and she made a gesture to turn away bad luck. «May you say what kind of vision it was?»

«I can say what I have seen so far. It was very clear. I saw that a great change might soon come to the Fak'si, perhaps to all the Forest People. I saw also that if the change came it would come through me.»

Lokhra's eyes opened even wider. «What kind of change?»

«This I did not see. I saw clearly that I would have to wait for a second vision to know. I also saw even more clearly that I should not lie with a woman or drink beer until the second vision came.»

Lokhra moaned faintly in awe and pressed her forehead against Blade's feet, then against the floor. When she rose, she asked, «May I speak of this to others?»

Blade laughed. «Yes. It is no secret. Be particularly sure to tell the women. I would like them to know that my manhood is still with me. In time I will prove it.»

Lokhra must have told half the village that same day. By the next morning Blade found himself being looked at with awe as well as admiration. All the women wanted to press their foreheads against his feet, and all the men wanted to pull his hair. Such crowds gathered every time he went out for a walk that he finally had to stop going out during the day. He stayed aboard his houseboat and let Meera bring him food and water, as wall as the charcoal and pieces of bark he needed for making drawings. No one seemed to think there was anything suspicious about Blade's vision.

At least none of the ordinary people seemed to think so. Blade now realized he should probably have mentioned his vision to the priests first. Home Dimension bureaucracies weren't the only place where it was a good idea to «go through channels.» It was also a good idea among primitive peoples with possibly jealous priesthoods.

However, any damage was already done. He would just have to go ahead and hope the priests wouldn't mind this strange Englishman stealing all their thunder! Blade didn't know whether to be optimistic or not. The priests should have the interests of their people at heart-but it was quite possible they'd think their own power more important.

In any case, Swebon was certainly the best starting place.

It was a week after the raid before Blade asked Swebon to meet him in a place where they wouldn't be overheard. Early the next morning they climbed into a small canoe and paddled out into the middle of the river. Swebon threw the anchor stone overboard, and they sat while the sun rose and Blade explained his plans for helping the Forest People defeat their enemies.

«What you need more than anything else is a strong weapon,» he said. «Strong enough to slay the Treemen and the Sons of Hapanu.»

«We have known this for a long time,» said Swebon wearily. «But our wisest men have found nothing. Perhaps the Forest will give us nothing, and the Forest Spirit is turning away from us.»

Blade shook his head. «No, Swebon. That was not my vision. The Forest Spirit has already given you all you need to win these battles. It merely asks you to see them in new ways.» Blade wanted to make this point very clear from the start. It would answer the objections of those people who were simply afraid of anything new. Swebon wasn't one of them, but not all the Fak'si would be that intelligent.

«And-your vision has shown you these new ways?» asked Swebon. He didn't sound completely convinced, but he did sound ready to listen.

«Yes. The second vision that I was promised has come.»

Blade started explaining. The best weapon the Forest People had against their two great enemies was the bow. It could strike from a distance, and it could strike with enough power to kill. Or at least it could if it was changed.

The bows the Forest People had now were weak. They could not shoot an arrow far enough or hard enough. They could not reach a vital organ of a Treemen or penetrate the armor of a Son of Hapanu.

«A stronger bow is all you need,» said Blade. «I have looked at your arrows. They are as good as you need. I have also seen your archers shoot, and know they can shoot well.

«I know there is no one wood in the Forest that can make such a strong bow. But I saw that if a man used several different woods, he might make such a bow.»

With the help of his sketches, Blade continued his explanation. He was proposing a laminated bow, built up by gluing together layers of different kinds of wood, and perhaps bone and sinew as well. The present bow of the Forest People was like the English longbow, carved out of a single piece of wood. Unfortunately the Forest had no tough but flexible woods like ash, elm, or yew, so the single-piece bows were weak. Blade was proposing something more like the Turkish or Mongol horsebows, which could penetrate mail at two hundred yards.

Making a laminated bow required choosing materials carefully, and then gluing them together so that they stayed together under stress. The only way to pick the right woods was by experimenting, but Blade already knew what glue he was going to use.

«Kohkol sap should do very well,» he said. «It must be boiled longer, so that it will be stronger than it is now. But that should not be hard to do.»

The laminated bow was Blade's most important idea, but not his only one. «It will be some time before all the Forest People can have strong bows,» he said. «Also, even the most powerful bow will not kill a Treeman if it does not hit him in a vital spot. I know how to make any arrow you may shoot hurt a Treeman, no matter where it hits him.» Blade hesitated. «I now speak of matters which perhaps belong only to the chiefs and priests,» he went on. «If I speak wrongly, will it remain between us?»

Swebon nodded. «I swear not to be angry at anything you say. I also swear that no priest who would be angry shall hear any of this from me.»

«Good.» Blade explained. If the Shield of Life could act as an anaesthetic, it might also act as a tranquilizer. Made much stronger and smeared on the point of an arrow, the Shield of Life could numb the muscles and slow the movements of a Treeman. Then the Forest People could close in and kill him.

Blade was rather surprised that the Forest People hadn't long since developed poisoned arrows and darts on their own. The natives of the Amazon basin used such weapons freely. On the other hand, the Forest People had plenty of metal for weapons and their bows were powerful enough for hunting birds and small game. They hadn't needed a really deadly weapon until recently.

Swebon's frown deepened as Blade explained this new use for the Shield of Life. When Blade was finished, the chief lay back in the bottom of the canoe and stared up at the sky. He was silent for so long that Blade thought he'd gone to sleep. At last he sat up.

«It is not our custom to let a man who is neither chief nor priest work with the Shield of Life. The priests will not like this change.» He held up a hand as Blade was about to speak. «I do not like it myself. But-the Forest changes. Perhaps the ways of the Forest People must change also.»

«I think so,» said Blade. «I would not ask this if I did not think so.»

«I know you would not,» said Swebon. «Therefore I say-go and do what you will with the Shield of Life. But go into the Forest and do your work where no one can see you. Then no priest can say a word against you until your work is done. If you do what you promised, so many will speak for you that no priest will be brave enough to speak against you.»

Blade wasn't surprised to find that Swebon's common sense and shrewdness extended to politics, but he was glad.

One point remained to be settled, though. Blade knew it was the most important point of all. He also knew it was the one where he and Swebon would be most likely to quarrel.

«Do you wish me to go entirely alone into the Forest?» Blade asked.

«No. You will need other hands to help you, and other eyes to watch your back. I would go with you myself, if I could leave the village for so long. But I do not think that would be wise. My brother-he still looks at your Meera with desire….»

«I understand. But he will not be able to do anything against her. I am taking her into the Forest with me, to be my other hands and eyes.»

Swebon started so violently he set the canoe rocking. By the time it steadied, he was staring at Blade as if the Englishman had suddenly grown a second head. Finally he sighed. «Blade, I do not understand this. You have not lain with the woman since you made her your captive. Yet you will take her with you into the Forest, to learn your secrets. Then perhaps she will stick a knife into your back and run away to her people with all she has learned.» Swebon's voice was rising almost to a shout. «Blade, I must ask it-are you mad?»

«Not mad. I only follow my vision. It has told me-«

«Curse your visions!» growled Swebon. Then he sighed. «Go on. What tricks have they told you to play on the Fak'si now?»

«No tricks,» said Blade quietly. «My second vision only told me that I should not worry if other tribes learn my secrets. In fact, the vision told me to give the secrets to them. So it does not matter what Meera learns or where she goes. I hope-«He broke off, because Swebon's face was twisting violently in both rage and surprise. For a long moment Blade wasn't sure the chief wasn't going to attack him.

Then Swebon took a deep breath. «Why, Blade? I ask only that. Why? The Fak'si have taken you in, been your friends-«

«I do not hate the Fak'si, Swebon. Do not think that. But I cannot hate the other tribes of the Forest People either. I cannot give the Fak'si the strong bow and the strong Shield of Life to help them fight the other Forest People. I must give these things to all the Forest People, so that they can all fight the Treemen and the Sons of Hapanu. Otherwise the wars among the Forest People will destroy them even faster than the Treemen or the Sons of Hapanu. What will happen if every raid like ours kills fifty people instead of a dozen? Do you want to see that come, Swebon?»

The chief seemed not to be listening. He sat with his head in his hands and his heavy shoulders sagging. Then at last he raised his head and looked at Blade. To Blade's great relief Swebon was smiling.

«Blade, I had a vision of my own, one that gave me much pleasure. I had a vision of the Fak'si coming to rule the Forest People, and myself coming to rule the Fak'si.» He shrugged. «But it seems that I cannot bring my vision to be without killing you. I will not do that.

«Also, you could be right. Certainly our raid against the Yal shed more blood than we often did in the past. In the future, with the new bows-who can say how much blood might be shed? And who would gain from it, except the Sons of Hapanu?

«Perhaps the time is here for the Forest People to become one tribe instead of four. Certainly that would be a better fate than the Sons of Hapanu and the Treemen killing all our men and making slaves of all our women. If we must be one tribe to live, then I will work beside you for this.»

They shook hands and patted hair to seal that promise, then paddled back to the village.

Blade had to let Swebon gather the equipment for the trip into the Forest and the experiments there. The chief could go anywhere and pick up anything without arousing the suspicions of the priests or Guno, or drawing questions from anyone else. Blade trusted him to work fast and keep his mouth shut.

Guno was another matter. Blade couldn't trust the chiefs brother-or rather, he could trust the man to do something against him. It was too bad that Guno was Swebon's brother, with his own reputation and circle of friends and allies. Otherwise Blade would seriously have tried to find some way of provoking a fight with the man and killing him. As it was, there was nothing to do but hope to succeed quickly and then come out into the open. After that he'd have more people to guard his back than Swebon and Meera.

Since there was nothing else for Blade to do, he returned to his houseboat and slept peacefully through the hottest part of the day. When he awoke, the shadows outside were getting long, but Meera wasn't back yet. This was a mild surprise.

Usually she spent the morning getting fresh food and water and the afternoon cleaning the houseboat and preparing the evening meal.

It was twilight before Meera returned, and by then Blade was beginning to wonder. Suppose the secret was out and Guno had struck at him through Meera? He was just about ready to arm himself and go out to turn the village upside down for Meera when she appeared on the bank. She held a bulging sack under one arm and two filled gourds in the other hand.

He helped her aboard the houseboat and unloaded her, then asked, «Meera, where have you been?»

«Beyond the village, getting food for us.»

«Isn't there enough in the village?»

«Not-not the kind I wanted.»

«What kind did you want?»

She looked up at him, her eyes meeting his so steadily that he had the feeling she could look right through him. It wasn't a sensation Blade particularly enjoyed, certainly not when it involved someone he was planning to trust with his life.

«I saw Swebon while I was in the Forest,» she said.

«Ah.» That syllable never gave anything away.

«He said you and he spoke together this morning.»

«We did.»

«He would not tell me why you talked, but I think he wishes us well.» She smiled shyly. «He said-you had your second vision.»

«So?»

«Blade, please! You said that after your second vision, you might take a woman again. Have you forgotten that?»

«No.»

«Then-Blade, I thought-it seemed to me that…» She pointed with an unsteady hand at the sack on the floor. «That is the minya root. To eat it makes a man and a woman-«

Blade laughed. «I see. You thought that even after the second vision, I might not want you because I could not want you. So you went and-«

She nodded, her eyes on the floor. «Or-you had been long without a woman, and sometimes then a man cannot-«

Blade laughed again, so loudly that Meera's head jerked up and she stared at him. «Meera, Meera, Meera, I ought to spank you again for doubting me. I will not need any minya root.»

Her face was sober as she replied. «I would rather be spanked by you than beaten by the priests or their women. If you did not take me soon, they would wonder if I was a witch who cursed your manhood. Then they would beat me, or worse.» She pushed her skirt down over her hips until it slipped to the floor, then stood naked before Blade.

Blade was already naked. Now there was a warmth in his groin that didn't come from the hot weather. The warmth grew as his eyes ran up and down Meera's body and he thought of not only looking but touching. He imagined his lips on her eyes and mouth, then moving down her throat and across her breasts, teasing her nipples into hard points, while his hands stroked her hips, crept to the inside of her thighs, felt the triangle of dark hair between her legs turning damp

Meera laughed softly. «I see you do not need the minya root after all.»

«Not when you are here in front of me, and I have imagined-«

«I know what you have imagined. Now-do it?» It was as much a question as a request, and Meera's voice was shaking. Her eyes were on the floor again. «Blade, do not make me beg. For-a virgin-this is not fit-but-I desire you.»

«And I desire you, Meera,» said Blade quietly, stepping forward to put his arms around her. She stiffened at his touch and her head jerked upward like a puppet's. For a moment he thought fear might have wiped out her desire. Then her lips were seeking his, found them, and drove out all his doubts.

Blade did everything he'd imagined, slowly, tenderly, making it last in order to give Meera time to awaken and accept him. After a while he realized that her breath was coming fast, her eyes were half-closed and staring at nothing, her nipples were solid against his hands, and she was pressing her belly steadily against his thigh. If Meera wasn't awake and aroused by now, no woman ever had been.

Blade took her by the shoulders and gently pressed her down onto the sleeping pad. Her eyes were now completely closed and her thoughts seemed to be elsewhere. Her legs spread wide at Blade's first caress of the inside of her thighs. By the time his hand was resting lightly on the dark, damp hair, she was lifting her legs and twisting her head from side to side. Her hair hissed softly on the matting, and sometimes she moaned.

Blade balanced himself above Meera-then suddenly her arms and legs seemed to coil around him like serpents and drag him down. He was deep inside her almost before he realized it. He felt her stiffen, heard her cry out at the first moment's pain, then heard her give a great sigh of relief. For a moment she lay still under him, then slowly her hips began to move in time with his own thrusts.

It should have been impossible for Meera's passion to rise as fast as Blade's. In fact, she seemed to be fully blazing within seconds. Her fingers raked Blade's back and her lips roamed over every part of his face and throat she could reach. Then her teeth clamped down on Blade's ear, and in the same moment as the pain stabbed at him both he and Meera exploded in a whirlwind of a thousand flaring colors. That whirlwind swept away the rest of the world, and it was a long time returning.

Somehow Blade found himself lying on the sleeping mat beside Meera. A hand cupped one of her breasts while her arm trailed across his chest. Blade felt relaxed and contented. He thought the feeling was going to last until they both fell asleep.

Instead Meera's arm suddenly began to move, and soon slim fingers with natural talent were playing games along the insides of his thighs. Things took their inevitable course, and this time when they were finished Blade found he couldn't even think of sleep.

Meera was obviously in the same mood. She pulled Blade's hands onto her body and smiled at him. He kissed her and said, «Meera, if you're this curious about being a woman, perhaps I should have some of the minya root after all.» Meera nodded and jumped up. Even when she squatted down by the sack of food, she looked graceful.

The minya root was dry and powdery, with a sharp and not particularly pleasant flavor. Blade couldn't imagine anybody eating it for anything but its aphrodisiac qualities.

Whether it really had those qualities or not, Blade never knew. All he knew was that it was a long time before his strength ran out, and by that time Meera's curiosity was satisfied-at least for the night. They fell asleep in each other's arms, and it was noon before they woke up.