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-«