If this world was Balhadorha. If the man hadn't followed a wrong lead and discovered a world not even hinted at in legend. A possibility Dumarest didn't mention as he sat, listening to the others.
"We've got to get inside and quickly!" Usan Labria was insistent. The last attack had almost killed her, the next might; she had no time to waste. "Can you lift the ship and set it down beyond that wall?"
"On those mounds? No." The captain was blunt. "We need level ground."
"Climb it, then?" Pacula looked from one to the other. "With ropes and pitons it should be possible."
"A hundred feet of sheer surface?" Timus shrugged. He was not a mountaineer.
"We could cut steps and make holds," she explained. "It shouldn't be hard. On Teralde, as a girl, I climbed higher slopes than that."
"I've a better suggestion," said Jarv Nonach from behind his pomander. "Let's blow a way in. With explosives we could break a hole in the wall."
"If it isn't too thick or too hard," agreed the engineer. Scowling he added, "We should have brought a raft with us. Well, it's too late to wish that now. Earl?"
"I suggest we wait. There is too much we don't know about this world as yet. To rush in might be stupid."
"Wait? For how long?" Usan bit at her lower lip. "And for what purpose? We aren't interested in anything aside from getting what we came to find. Blow the city to hell for all I care. Just let's get inside."
"And out again?" Dumarest set down his empty cup. "That's important, Usan, don't you think? To escape with the wealth we hope to find."
"Of course, but-" She broke off, making a helpless gesture. "You said the place was deserted."
"Marek said that, and I agree it seems that way, but we can't be sure. A delay won't do any harm."
A delay she couldn't afford, and others were equally impatient. A symptom of the danger Sufan had hinted at, the greed which blinded elementary caution.
"I say we blast a way in. Grab what we can and leave before anything can stop us." The navigator was definite. Sneeringly he added, "I'm not afraid of what I can't see if others are."
"I agree," said Acilus. "I didn't come here to start at shadows."
"We have to decide." Sufan Noyoka's eyes darted from one to the other. "Earl could be right to anticipate unknown dangers, but speed could be on our side. In any case we have no choice. How else to get within the city?"
Dumarest said quietly, "You're forgetting Marek Cognez."
"I'm glad someone remembered me." The man sat back in his chair, smiling. "To each his own. You, Captain, brought us here. You, Jarv, and you Sufan, guided us with some help from others. Earl warns us. I solve puzzles. And the city, as you said, Timus, is an enigma. One I find entrancing. Those who built it must have left. How? Did they have wings? The shape of the city is against it-level areas are needed for landing."
"Birds fly," said Pacula. "They don't need flat areas on which to land."
"True, but birds don't build cities. We couldn't spot anything which could have been a perch. And after landing, what then? Men do not walk on rounded surfaces and no creature finds it easy."
"There could be streets."
"True, we saw none but, I admit, they could be there. But think a moment. Imagine a city of mounds, not domes but structures shaped like eggs. Only the central spire shows straight lines. Logic tells us that the streets, if present, would be narrow and winding, overhung and unpleasant to walk on especially for a winged race. And the surrounding clearing, what of that? Earl studied it. Earl?"
"A radioactive compound with a long half-life would have sterilized the soil," he said.
"Yes, but why?" Marek looked from face to face. "A part of the puzzle and a question which should be answered. Given time I will answer it, but I must have time."
"We don't need answers," snapped the navigator. "Smash the wall and go in."
"And if the city isn't empty?"
"Kill those inside."
"If they can be killed. But think a moment. Does a man leave his house unguarded? If the city holds treasure it could be protected. If-"
"There are too many 'ifs.' " Rae Acilus slammed his hand hard on the table. "Marek, you say the city is deserted. Right?"
"As far as I can determine, yes."
"So we have nothing to worry about from what could be inside. Our only problem is the wall. We can climb it or blow a hole through it."
"Or burn one with lasers," said the engineer. "If it isn't too thick."
"A hundred feet high-it has to be thick. Now…"
Dumarest rose and left them arguing. Outside the blue sun was setting, the one of somber red lifting above the horizon. Here there could be no night or time of darkness-always one or more of the suns would ride in the sky.
Without the sight of stars would those who had lived here have ever guessed at the tremendous majesty of the universe? Had they grown introverted, using their skill and energy to turn one planet into a paradise instead of forming a thousand into living hells? Was that the basis of the legend, the moral truth it held?
But if people had lived here what had happened to them? Where were those who had built and lived in the city?
"Earl?" He turned. Embira had come to join him at the open port. "Is that you, Earl?"
"Yes, couldn't you tell?"
"The metal," she said. "Of the hull and that you wear. They merge-is it you?"
For answer he took her hands. They were cold, trembling, a quiver which grew as suddenly she pressed herself hard against him.
"Earl! Please!"
A woman lost and needing comfort. He held her close, one hand stroking the mane of her hair, the other about her shoulders. Suffused by her femininity it was hard to remember she was blind, that she couldn't see his face, his expression. That she knew him only as an aura distinguished by the metal he wore, the knife he carried.
"Earl!"
"I'm sorry." He eased the grip of his arm, a constriction born of protective tenderness. "Did I hurt you?"
"A little, but it was nice." She spoke with a warm softness. "Nice to feel you close to me, Earl. I feel safe when you are. Less afraid."
"Still afraid, Embira?"
"It's this place, this world. It is so empty and the sky so threatening. Will we be leaving soon?"
"Yes, soon."
"And then, Earl?" She waited for the answer she hoped to hear, one he could not give. "Will you stay with me? Will you?"
"For as long as necessary, Embira."
"I want you to stay with me for always. I never want to be without you. Earl, promise me that you will stay!"
"You should rest, Embira. You must be tired."
"And you?"
Deliberately he mistook her invitation. "I've work to do, Embira. I'm going to examine the area around the ship."
* * *
He walked a mile in a direct line from the city, cutting a path when the vegetation grew too dense, pausing often to listen, dropping at times to rest his ear against the ground. The stillness was complete.
A heavy, brooding silence which was unnatural. The vegetation provided good cover for game and there should have been small animals if not larger beasts, but he saw nothing, not even the trails such animals would have made. The air, too, was devoid of birds and he could spot no sign of insects. The bushes must be hybrids, propagating from roots alone, the flowers and fruits an unnecessary byproduct.
He cut one open and sniffed at the succulent mass of orange pulp. As he'd expected, it was seedless. The blooms were the size of his opened hand, waxen petals of a pale amber laced with black. Like the fruits they had no discernible odor.