"Well, the news, Anda-Nokomis-and I think it's probably reliable-is that Santil's near enough openly in arms against Bekla. He wasn't going to wait to be treated like that other poor fellow-what was his name?-Enka-Mor-det. He's left his estate and gone into the Chalcon hills- taken his servants, tenants-the lot. And men are joining him from all over, apparently."
"Have the Leopards sent anyone against him, then?" asked Bayub-Otal.
"The lad couldn't say. But he did tell us one other thing which made me prick up my ears. He said his father had heard rumors of some sort of trouble further south, too. Who would that be, do you suppose?"
"Elleroth of Sarkid; the Ban's son? He's the most likely.",
"Just what I thought myself. Listen, Anda-Nokomis: suppose-just suppose-that Karnat, with his army half as big again with Suban auxiliaries, crosses the Valderra and succeeds in going straight on to Bekla."
"Well?"
"Then Suba's rewarded for its indispensable help by being made an independent province in its own right- which it always should have been. You rule it, Anda-Nokomis-which everyone wants, seeing you're the rightful, legal heir, and son of the finest Suban girl that ever-"
"And Karnat?"
"Once there was peace, I doubt Karnat would require a great deal more from Suba. Well, come to that, we haven't got much to give him, have we? Frogs, ducks, reeds-Suba's always been a place on its own. Karnat himself s only valued it because it put him east of the Zhairgen. But you must come and talk to him yourself, Anda-Nokomis."
"I fully intend to," replied Bayub-Otal, "as soon as I can get there. He's at Melvda-Rain, I suppose?"
Lenkrit nodded. "He's an honest man: we all think so. As for the Subans, it's you they're ready to fight for- Nokomis's boy, that that damned Fornis cheated out of his inheritance."
"Well," said Bayub-Otal, standing up somewhat abruptly, "when do we start? You'll be wanting to sleep now, I dare say, if you've come twenty miles during the night."
"Yes, we'll lie up here today, Anda-Nokomis, and get across into Urtah tonight. After that it'll be easy enough until we come to the Valderra. You see, the Beklans have got outposts-standing patrols-all along the east bank, from Rallur right up to the hills in the north."
"Where's the main Beklan army itself, then?" asked Bayub-Otal.
"At Rallur. They've built a light bridge across the Ol-men-just above where it runs into the Valderra-so that they can move south quickly if they have to. But all the signs are that they think they won't have to; anyway, they've got hardly any outposts downstream. They must feel sure that we can only get across upstream."
He smiled and Bayub-Otal, nodding, smiled too. To' Maia, though she had not really been following all that Lenkrit had said, it was clear enough that they had some unspoken knowledge in common.
"When the three of us came across," resumed Lenkrit after a few moments, "my people put on a little act about half a mile away-you know, shouting and pretending they were coming over-to distract the Beklan patroclass="underline" so we got across the ford without being spotted. But there'll be nothing like that coming back. It's true there are several fords to choose from, but every single one of them's watched. I think," said Lenkrit with a certain relish, "I think we'll hardly avoid a little scuffle."
Bayub-Otal nodded again. "Well, you'd better sleep now. That boy there's half asleep already."
45: ACROSS THE VALDERRA
To Maia there was no tedium in idling away the hours. After the past two days, merely to lie in the sun and do nothing was pleasant. Besides, she had been used enough, in years gone by, to minding sheep and goats on the waste, and this was not much different. The sun moved. The leaves rustled. One lay on one's back and looked up at the marching clouds. After a time evening came.
They set off about two hours after sunset. According to Lenkrit it was no more than six or seven miles to the Olmen, but after some time Maia reckoned that they must already have gone further. At first they went straight down through the woods, but once out on the open plain Lenkrit proceeded cautiously, keeping wide of the two or three villages they encountered. Once, when dogs began to bark, he went back a good half-mile before taking them off the track and round by way of the village fields.
Despite this caution she became keenly aware-for it C frightened her-of a potential ruthlessness in her new companions. 'Tain't so much what they're doing now, she thought, it's what they'd be ready to do if they was put to it. It was true that the Subans were not looking for trouble; but they were clearly prepared to shed blood if they had to. Once, when two drovers, who from their overheard talk seemed to be out late in search of a strayed beast, passed close by without seeing them, it was plain enough that at a word from Lenkrit the young men would have knifed them. Maia wondered how many people they had in fact killed since first leaving Suba.
The river, when at length they reached it some two or three hours after midnight, was much as Lenkrit had already described it to her-slow-flowing and about sixty feet wide, meandering across the plain between treeless banks. One of the young men took a cord from his pack, tied one end to the hilt of his knife and plumbed the depth. It was about five feet under the bank.
"We did better coming," said Lenkrit. "It was only waist-deep. Still, we can't spend time looking for a better place. We'll just have to flounder across as best we can."
"It's flowing so slowly, it'll be very little deeper in the middle," said Bayub-Otal. "We ought to be able to wade it, just."
"But do you think the bottom will be firm enough, Anda-Nokomis?" asked Tescon.
As they stood debating the matter among themselves, Maia began to feel a mixture of impatience and mischief. No one had consulted her: it had not even occurred to them that she, a girl, might be of any use.
In the near-darkness, she wandered quietly a little distance upstream. Then, sitting down on the bank, she slipped off her clothes, rolled them round her sandals and, holding the light bundle over her head, slid down into the water and turned on her back.
To get across took her less than half a minute. She had drifted scarcely any distance with the current. Pulling herself out, she walked back until she was opposite the Su-bans.
"My lord!"
They spun round, clutching their weapons as though Kembri himself were upon them. All but Pillan looked startled out of their wits. For a few moments none said a word. Then Bayub-Otal, taking care not to raise his voice, said, "Maia! How did you get over?"
"Swam, my lord. Would you like me to take the packs and that over for you?"
And without waiting for an answer she once more lowered herself into the water and swam across.
They were embarrassed out of countenance, these neck-or-nothing desperadoes. They would not look directly at her. After some moments Bayub-Otal said, "Come on, Lenkrit, give her your pack. We're lucky to have her to help us."
Without replying, Lenkrit stooped and lowered his pack down to her. She took it over dry and then came back for Thel's. When all the packs and weapons were across she offered to take their clothes, but the men would not undress, choosing to splash and flounder as best they could through the bed of the river, emerging wet from head to foot.
They sat on the bank slapping themselves and squeezing the water out of their sleeves. Maia, having dressed again, remained carefully silent. At length, with an air of mingled curiosity and resentment, Lenkrit said to her "You don't mind-men-seeing you naked?"