"I do not know," I said. "That is, to me, a very fascinating aspect of thismorning's dark business."
"They do not greet us," said Samos, irritably. He was, after all, an agent ofPriest-Kings, and, indeed, the first captain of the council of captains, thatbody sovereign in the affairs of Port Kar.
"No," I said.
"What shall we do?" he asked.
"Wait," I suggested.
We heard, outside, the screaming of a predatory ul, a gigantic, toothed, wingedlizard, soaring over the marshes.
"How was this rendezvous arranged?" I asked.
"My original contact was made by a pointed, weighted message cylinder, foundupright two days ago in the dirt of my men's exercise yard," said Samos.
"Doubtless it was dropped there at night, by someone on tarnback."
"By one of them?" I asked.
"That seems unlikely," said Samos, "over the city."
"Yes," I said.
"They have their human confederates," he said.
"Yes," I said. I had, in my adventures on Gor, met several of the confederatesof such creatures, both male and female. The females, invariably, had been quitebeautiful. I had little doubt that they had been selected, ultimately, with thecollar in mind, that they might, when they had served their purposes, be reducedto bondage. Doubtless this projected aspect of their utility was not made clearto them in their recruitment. She who had once been Miss Elicia Nevins, now theslave Elicia in my holding, chained now nude by the neck to my slave ring, hadbeen such a girl. Now, however, instead of finding herself the slave of one ofher allies, or being simply disposed of in a slave market, she found herself theslave of one of her former enemies. That, I thought, particularly on Gor, wouldgive her slavery a peculiarly intimate and terrifying flavor. It was an Ahn orso until dawn now. Soon, doubtless, she would be released from the ring. Shewould be supervised in relieving and washing herself. Then she would be put withmy other women. She then, like the others, after having been issued her slavegruel, and after having finished it, and washed the wooden bowl, would beassigned her chores for the day.
We heard, again, the screaming of the ul outside the building. The tarns in thetarn cot moved about. The ul will not attack a tarn. The tarn could tear it topieces.
"We have been foolish," I said to Samos.
"How so?" asked Samos.
"Surely the protocols in such a matter, from the point of view of our friends,must be reasonably clear."
"I do not understand," said Samos.
"Put yourself in their place," I said. "They are larger and stronger than we,and quite possibly more ferocious and vicious. Too, they regard themselves asmore intelligent than ourselves, and as being a dominant species."
"So?" asked Samos.
"So," said I, "naturally they expect not to address us first, but to be firstaddressed."
"I," asked Samos, "first speak to such as they, I, who am first captain in thehigh city of Port Kar, jewel of gleaming Thassa?"
"Correct," I said.
"Never," said he.
"Do you wish me to do so?" I asked.
"No," said Samos.
"Then speak first," I said.
"We shall withdraw," said Samos, angrily.
"If I were you," I said, "I do not think I would risk displeasing them."
"Do you think they would be angry?" he asked.
"I expect so," I said. "I do not imagine they would care to have beenfruitlessly inconvenienced by human beings."
"Perhaps I should speak first," said Samos.
"I would recommend it," I said.
"They it is, after all," said he, "who have called this meeting."
"True," I encouraged him. "Also, it would be deplorable, would it not, to betorn to pieces without even having discovered what was on their minds?"
"Doubtless," said Samos, grimly.
"I can be persuasive," I admitted.
"Yes," agreed Samos.
Samos cleared his throat. He was not much pleased to speak first, but he woulddo it. Like many slavers and pirates, Samos was, basically, a good fellow.
"Tal," said Samos, clearly, obviously addressing this greeting to our shaggyconfreres. "Tal, large friends."
We saw the fur move, gigantic muscles slowly, evenly, beginning to stir beneathit. As they had lain it would have been difficult to detect, or strike, a vitalarea. Sinuously, slowly, the two creatures separated and then, slowly, seemed torise and grow before us. Samos and I stepped back. Their heads and arms were nowvisible. The light reflected back, suddenly, eccentrically, from the two largeeyes of one of them. For an instant they blazed, like red-hot copper disks, likethose of a wolf or coyote at the perimeter of a fire lit camp.
I could now, the angle of the lighting being different, see them, blinking, asthe large, deep orbs they were. I could see the pupils contracting. Suchcreatures are primarily nocturnal. Their night vision is far superior to that ofthe human. Their accommodation to shifting light conditions is also much morerapid than is that of the human. These things have been selected for in theirbloody species. When the eyes of the creature had reflected back the light, thelight, too, had suddenly reflected back from its fangs, and I had seen, too, thelong, dark tongue move about on the lips, and then draw back into the mouth.
The creatures seemed to continue to grow before us. Then they stood erect beforeus. Their hind legs, some eight to ten inches in width, are proportionatelyshorter than their arms, which tend to be some eight inches in width at thebiceps and some five inches, or so, in width at the wrist. Standing as theywere, upright, the larger of the two creatures was some nine feet tall, and thesmaller some eight and a half feet tall. I conjecture the larger weighed aboutnine hundred pounds and the smaller about eight hundred and fifty pounds. Theseare approximately average heights and weights for this type of creature. Theirhands and feet are six digited, tentacle like and multiply jointed. The nails,or claws, on the hands, are usually filed, presumably to facilitate themanipulation of tools and instrumentation. The claws, retractable, on the feetare commonly left unfiled. A common killing method for the creature is to seizethe victim about the head or shoulders, usually with the teeth, and, raking, todisembowel it with the tearing of the clawed hind feet. Other common methods areto hold the victim and tear away the throat from between the head and body, orto bite away the head itself.
"Tal," repeated Samos, uneasily.
I looked across the table at the creatures. I saw intelligence in their eyes.
"Tal," repeated Samos.
Their heads were better than a foot in width. Their snouts were two-nostriled,fattish and leathery. Their ears were large, wide and pointed. They were nowerected and oriented towards us. This pleased me, as it indicated they had noimmediate intention of attacking. When such a creature attacks the ears flattenagainst the sides of the head, this having the apparent function of reducingtheir susceptibility to injury. This is a common feature of predatorycarnivores.
"They do not respond," said Samos.
I did not take my eyes from the creatures. I shrugged. "Let us wait," I said. Iwas uncertain as to what alien protocols the creatures might expect us toobserve.
The creatures stood upright now but they could function as well on all fours,using the hind legs and the knuckles of the hands. The upright carriageincreases scanning range, and has probably contributed to the development andrefinement of binocular vision. The horizontal carriage permits great speed, andhas probably contributed, via natural selections, to the development ofolfactory and auditory acuity. In running, such creatures almost invariably,like the baboon, have recourse to all fours. They will normally drop to allfours in charging, as well, the increased speed increasing the impact of theirstrike.
"One is a Blood," I said.
"What is that?" asked Samos.
"In their military organizations," I said, "six such beasts constitute a Hand,and its leader is called an Eye. Two hands and two eyes constitute a largerunit, called a "Kur" or "Beast," which is commanded by a leader, or Blood.