Alicia seemed to have withdrawn into herself. Reith supposed that she was trying to sort out conflicting emotions, and that if he tried to pry her out of her shell he would only reopen old wounds and make her even unhappier than, he suspected, she was. So he treated her with wary respect, watching for signs that she would welcome a resumption of their old comradeship.
Now, approaching Zinjaban, they began little by little to warm towards each other. Reith said: "Stavrakos made a terrible fuss about my going off to find you. He actually expected me to stay with the crew until the movie was shot and then, if I liked, go searching. He talked of refusing to pay me, because I was breaking my contract."
"Sounds like the hog," said Alicia. "How'd you get around him?"
"Believe it or not, the rest of the crew—even Fodor and Ordway—took my side. Ordway would have gladly come along on the rescue if I'd let him; but he'd have been a liability. Anyway, the gang told Kostis that, if he tried to stop me from saving you, they'd pull a strike. So Kostis gave in."
A smile lit up her somber face. "Nice to know they think me worth saving. But I'm surprised Attila stood by you. He's always resented my position."
"He muttered about barbarian honor; and Cyril of course has been sweet on you all along. What's this mysterious magic you have, which works a spell on everyone?"
"Ha!" she said. "I don't try to fascinate anybody. All I want is to do my research, write my books, and leave the social sciences in better shape because of me. Hey, isn't that Zinjaban on that rise ahead of us?"
On the hither side of a row of distant mountains, two towers like oil-well rigs reared unlovely heads. As the gig rolled nearer, rows of tents came into view. The towers, it could now be seen, were built of wooden beams and braces supporting a network of stairs and ladders, which led to a series of platforms.
As the ayas toiled up the long slope, the landscape opened out. The village of Zinjaban lay off to the right of the tent city. On the left, in a fallow field, squadrons of cavalry practiced maneuvers, wheeling, charging, and rallying, while the low sun flashed ruby sparkles from their mail. Beyond the twin towers the ground dropped away towards the Khoruz, still out of sight below the curve of the ridge. Farther still, beyond the vale, the travelers saw the foothills and peaks of the Qe'bas.
The gig drew up at the edge of the tent city. Reith swung down and was looking for someone in authority, when he turned at a wild yell. "Hey, Fergus! You did it! By God's whiskers, you did it!"
Anthony Fallon hurried up, burbling: "Alicia! Thank Bákh you made it! It must be quite a story. When—how—"
"Go easy, Tony," said Reith. "She's had a rough time. Might have been rougher yet if Minyev hadn't quarreled with Vizman and murdered him."
"What!"
"Yep; struck a knife in his back. Alicia got away in the confusion, and I came along just in time to help."
"What happened to Minyev?"
"I suspect something lingering and humorous, with either boiling oil or melted lead. We didn't hang around to find out. Now tell me what you're doing here! By the time we got to Mishé, the crew had finished their shooting there."
"I came out with Gashigi. I thought, with such a mixed crowd of Terrans and Krishnans, the World Fed needed someone to keep an eye on things."
"Gashigi's here, too?"
"Yes; she wants to make sure the Republic isn't put to unnecessary expense, nor its people abused. See that big contraption over yonder, with all the gilding? That's her carriage."
"Where's Strachan? It's his job to find us quarters."
"He's over the river with the shooting crew, translating. I can tell you where you're going; he and I worked it out You'll bunk with Colonel Bobir of the Gozashtando Regiment."
"And Alicia?"
"We'll put her in with Mary Hopkins, the wardrobe mistress. She's that severe-looking old prune you've met."
"Who's got the rooms at Manshu's?" Fallon smiled wryly. "Rank has its privileges. Stavrakos and Gashigi have Manshu's two rooms."
"All to themselves?"
"Well, it's understood that Ordway visits the Treasurer more or less nighdy; they seem to have a hot thing going. The joke on location is, if you feel the earth shake, it's not an earthquake; it's just Cyril and Gashigi having fun."
"And Stavrakos?"
"Far as I know, Kostis sleeps alone. Some say he's one of us girls; but I think it's only his moneybags he's in love with."
"What's that big tent over there?"
"That's the portable studio, for interiors. Come along, you two; I'll show you your tents and find your man a place among the Krishnans."
Reith met Mary Hopkins, saw Alicia's luggage stowed, and went on with Fallon to Bobir's tent.
An hour later, Reith was settled in. He had greeted Bobir, commander of the Gozashtanduma, whom he already knew, and was introduced to the colonel named Padras, who commanded the Mikardando regiment.
Reith was strolling about to orient himself when a bugle call drew his attention westward. A column of ayas, bearing both Terran and Mikardando riders, was fording the river. The water, now shadowed by the hills beyond, curled up around the shanks of the horned, six-legged mounts.
Reith picked out Fodor by his great stature and bald head. As the group plodded up the hither slope, Fodor spurred his aya to a gallop and swept past the tents, yelling "Hi-yah! Hi-yah!" Leaning as he banked a turn, the Hungarian, a magnificent rider, set his animal at the vehicle park and pounded straight for Reith's gig. When the beast seemed about to crash into the little vehicle, Fodor pulled his aya into a soaring leap and cleared the trap by a few centimeters. Although relieved to see his carriage unscathed, Reith was a little disappointed that Fodor's neck seemed equally intact.
The director galloped back, jerked his mount to a halt, and leaped down roaring welcomes. He grabbed Reith and boisterously kissed him on both cheeks.
"We got some first-class takes today!" he bellowed. "You must see the rushes! Now, what the hell have you been doing? The damn picture is three-quarters shot, castle scenes and all. All we got left to do is the long chase to Castle Kandakh, and then the big battle with your Gozashtanders. We do the long chase tomorrow, d.v. The battle will take several days, with rehearsals and all. Did you get Alicia? Is she all right? Where—"
"Here I am, Attila," said Alicia, who emerged from her tent to be promptly grabbed and kissed in her turn. "Thanks to Fergus, I'm still alive and in one piece."
"What happened?" roared Fodor. "Could we get a movie script out of the story?"
"I'm saving it for my next book of memoirs," answered Alicia.
As word of Alicia's arrival spread, the rest of the crew rushed up to congratulate her, wringing her hands, kissing her, and plying her with questions. She dampened down their exuberance and called: "Fergus!"
When she got him aside, she said: "A little bijar tells me you could use something to restore your energy. I have a bottle hidden in Mary's tent."
"You wonder woman! Lead on."
Reith and Alicia were curled up in the tent, sipping falat and exchanging banter in a relaxed, low-keyed mode, when Alicia murmured: "By the way, thanks for the story you told Tony; I mean about Vizman's death."
Reith nodded. "That's the official version from now on. There's nobody to contradict it."
"How are you fixed for quarters?"