pointed out Seg.
“I trust so, jen.” Hodo addressed Seg correctly as Jen, Lord, and if anyone overheard they’d know he was not from Pandahem, where lords are Pantors.
As we walked along to try to sort out the mess, I realized the stupidity of that thought. Anyone could see Hodo Fra-Le was not of Pandahem, what with that enormous skyship in the background!
Nath the Impenitent was not dead.
I felt a tremendous lift of the heart at this news, and gave thanks to Opaz and Zair.
Nath was shifted off into the skyship’s sickbay and the two girls — Perli and Sanchi — went with him. The skyship, a splendid vessel built in Hamal and given the name
Zamra Venturer
was the answer to our immediate problems.
Her captain, Jiktar Nalgre Voernswert ti Zanchenden, warned by his land force commander, welcomed me as Jak. The stories told in the souks had one benefit, at the least.
Our other wounded were cared for. Shalane was desperately injured and hovered on the slippery slope down to the Ice Floes. I would not care to see her die. Phocis, by contrast, with a medical poultice on her punctured arm would be as good as new tomorrow.
This was not the time for congratulation or for slackening of effort. Yes, we had won free at last from the maze of the Coup Blag. We had the wonderful benefit of having airboats in which to fly over the inhospitable jungle. We all felt the enormous relief as a physical burden removed from our shoulders. But we could not relax. There remained far too much to do if we were to save Paz.
Although Jiktar Nalgre managed to remember to call me Jak instead of majister, he was all aquiver to put up a good front and do well. Seg told him to take
Zamra Venturer
around to the other side of the mountain so that we might find out what had befallen our youngest comrade, Cadet Ortyg Thingol.
He’d been left outside the mountain with Kov Hurngal’s airboat and an ink stained Relt stylor, Hurngal’s secretary. Ortyg had resisted being left and only a promise that he was in the most important position of having command of the airboat and having to rescue us had mollified him.
Now here we were flying in a mammoth skyship. I heaved up a sigh. Well, brown-curled handsome and romantic young air cadets have to learn the hard facts of life like anyone else, by Vox.
I decided to leave the voller in case Kov Loriman the Hunter did emerge into the suns’ light. As for the Relt, now his employer, Kov Hurngal, was dead he was free to stay or fly with us.
As for the Rumay women — the downing of their leader affected them all in a way that, to me at least, came as a surprise. They were stunned and apathetic. Sanka, who assumed the command, made one attempt to rally them. After that they all sat in a huddle crooning ritual dirges. I did not say as I felt very much like bursting out: “Shalane ain’t dead yet, you famblys!”
“They’ll have to be kept sequestered from the crew,” pointed out the ship’s captain, Jiktar Nalgre Voernswert ti Zanchenden. He was often known as Nalgre the Blunt. “They’re enough to frizzle the heart of a stone-monster.”
“They’ll be all right when Shalane gets better.”
“By Corg! I devoutly trust so!”
So, in much better heart than we had been when last the twin suns Zim and Genodras set over the shadowy face of Kregen, we flew off to find the rest of the Vallian armada.
Chapter eleven
How old Hack ’n’ Slay stood up
The real world of Kregen, as my Kregish friends are fond of remarking in many proverbs and adages, is always changing, continually surprising, exotic even to those born under the streaming mingled lights of the Suns of Scorpio.
Yet there are places familiar and dear because of that.
Seg and Milsi were adamant that we could now spend the time with them we had promised. Delia — ah! My Delia smoothed all and so we flew off to Croxdrin where Milsi was Queen and Seg was King. Along the River of Bloody Jaws we had had adventures, with more to come, no
“I trust so, jen.” Hodo addressed Seg correctly as Jen, Lord, and if anyone overheard they’d know he was not from Pandahem, where lords are Pantors.
As we walked along to try to sort out the mess, I realized the stupidity of that thought. Anyone could see Hodo Fra-Le was not of Pandahem, what with that enormous skyship in the background!
Nath the Impenitent was not dead.
I felt a tremendous lift of the heart at this news, and gave thanks to Opaz and Zair.
Nath was shifted off into the skyship’s sickbay and the two girls — Perli and Sanchi — went with him. The skyship, a splendid vessel built in Hamal and given the name
Zamra Venturer
was the answer to our immediate problems.
Her captain, Jiktar Nalgre Voernswert ti Zanchenden, warned by his land force commander, welcomed me as Jak. The stories told in the souks had one benefit, at the least.
Our other wounded were cared for. Shalane was desperately injured and hovered on the slippery slope down to the Ice Floes. I would not care to see her die. Phocis, by contrast, with a medical poultice on her punctured arm would be as good as new tomorrow.
This was not the time for congratulation or for slackening of effort. Yes, we had won free at last from the maze of the Coup Blag. We had the wonderful benefit of having airboats in which to fly over the inhospitable jungle. We all felt the enormous relief as a physical burden removed from our shoulders. But we could not relax. There remained far too much to do if we were to save Paz.
Although Jiktar Nalgre managed to remember to call me Jak instead of majister, he was all aquiver to put up a good front and do well. Seg told him to take
Zamra Venturer
around to the other side of the mountain so that we might find out what had befallen our youngest comrade, Cadet Ortyg Thingol.
He’d been left outside the mountain with Kov Hurngal’s airboat and an ink stained Relt stylor, Hurngal’s secretary. Ortyg had resisted being left and only a promise that he was in the most important position of having command of the airboat and having to rescue us had mollified him.
Now here we were flying in a mammoth skyship. I heaved up a sigh. Well, brown-curled handsome and romantic young air cadets have to learn the hard facts of life like anyone else, by Vox.
I decided to leave the voller in case Kov Loriman the Hunter did emerge into the suns’ light. As for the Relt, now his employer, Kov Hurngal, was dead he was free to stay or fly with us.
As for the Rumay women — the downing of their leader affected them all in a way that, to me at least, came as a surprise. They were stunned and apathetic. Sanka, who assumed the command, made one attempt to rally them. After that they all sat in a huddle crooning ritual dirges. I did not say as I felt very much like bursting out: “Shalane ain’t dead yet, you famblys!”
“They’ll have to be kept sequestered from the crew,” pointed out the ship’s captain, Jiktar Nalgre Voernswert ti Zanchenden. He was often known as Nalgre the Blunt. “They’re enough to frizzle the heart of a stone-monster.”
“They’ll be all right when Shalane gets better.”
“By Corg! I devoutly trust so!”
So, in much better heart than we had been when last the twin suns Zim and Genodras set over the shadowy face of Kregen, we flew off to find the rest of the Vallian armada.
Chapter eleven
How old Hack ’n’ Slay stood up
The real world of Kregen, as my Kregish friends are fond of remarking in many proverbs and adages, is always changing, continually surprising, exotic even to those born under the streaming mingled lights of the Suns of Scorpio.
Yet there are places familiar and dear because of that.
Seg and Milsi were adamant that we could now spend the time with them we had promised. Delia — ah! My Delia smoothed all and so we flew off to Croxdrin where Milsi was Queen and Seg was King. Along the River of Bloody Jaws we had had adventures, with more to come, no
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