After what seemed like hours but could only have been a few minutes, they heard the Guardian's voice calling from within the hut. It sounded almost frighteningly normal, but Blade noticed that Winter Owl drew his knife as he moved toward the door. Blade did the same, gave Cheeky to Eye of Crystal, and kept her behind him as they went in.
The Guardian was sitting slumped in a corner of the hut, a thin trickle of blood at one corner of his mouth. His eyes were open but seemed unfocused and wandering.
In the center of the hut lay the Wise One. Blade had never seen anyone who was more obviously dead, and few more gruesome corpses. The Wise One's face was contorted with awful pain, and in her last moment she'd emptied her bladder, bowels, and stomach. She'd even managed to dislocate some of her joints with the violence of her dying convulsions. The air was so thick with foul stenches that Blade felt even his iron stomach give one or two uncertain twitches, and Winter Owl clearly felt no better.
Crystal turned green and dashed for the fresh air. She stayed out only long enough to vomit herself empty, then returned with half a dozen reluctant warriors and women. By the time they'd carried out the Wise One's corpse and started scraping the floor of the hut, the Guardian was able to speak again.
«Daughter, wife's brother, B-Blade,» he said. «The Wise One is dead. She fought hard in the Challenge, and honorably. Let her courage be remembered…» His voice trailed off.
«For myself, I swear it,» said Blade.
«I thought-English were honorable,» said the Guardian. Then with a tremendous effort he focused his eyes and took in enough breath to speak steadily. «There is one more thing I must do tonight. I must read the poison on the dagger of the Wise One's First Friend. I took from her mind the picture of its being deadly, but not what it is. If we are to face it, we must know how to heal it.»
Blade and Winter Owl looked at each other over Crystal's head. Before Blade could speak, Winter Owl nodded and said, «This will do more for the Uchendi than you think, sister's husband. Blade knows an English weapon that can hurl small spears the length of a village. It seems to be lawful, with no magic to it. If these-these-«
«Arrows,» said Blade.
«If these arrows thrown by the bow were tipped with poison, what might they do to the shpugas?»
The Guardian managed a smile. «Nothing the Rutari will rejoice at, I think. And without their shpugas- Yes, it is true. I must read the poison at once, and be sure that someone else remembers what I learn. Then you who remain behind can make the poison, and my spirit will watch our victory if my body does not. «
«Father-«began Eye of Crystal. She took a deep breath, crossed her hands over her breasts, and got herself under control. «Father, do you wish what I think you do?»
«Yes. I will cause the poison to enter my body, and you will join me in the Sphere of Wisdom while it does its work. Remember what I say and what you see as I taught you, and you will be able to make the poison as easily as the Wise One.»
«Father, I know I must help in the reading. I have the healing knowledge more than anyone else here. But must-must it be you?»
«I am dying, daughter. Indeed, I have been dying since the spring. My heart has been failing. I knew that I would be of little use next year, so I chose to die by the Challenge.»
No one said anything. They all seemed to realize there was nothing to say. The Guardian smiled. «Come, daughter. Be true to all I have taught you. I cannot condemn anyone to die by the poison just to spare your heart. The only condemned man in the village now is River Over Stones. Would you choose to spend time in his mind?»
Crystal shuddered at the idea. «His mind is like a nest of snakes at best. It will be even worse tonight. Also, he does not have the Voice so strongly. He might not be able to tell me what must be known, even if he wished to.»
«Which he will not,» said the Guardian. «Do you know what must be done?»
«Yes.» Crystal stood, blinking back the tears for a moment, then motioned to the others. «Leave us, please. «
Blade obeyed so quickly he almost felt guilty. He would have given a lot to stand by Crystal in her coming ordeal. What made it worse was that she'd brought it on herself. If she hadn't revealed the archery to Winter Owl, he would never have spoken to the Guardian. If the Guardian hadn't known about archery, he would never have insisted on this painful method of reading the poison.
But if the poison wasn't analyzed the Uchendi would lose a major weapon against their enemies. And this after losing the Guardian's telepathic skills and leadership!
As usual, there was no easy solution.
Blade had long since become reconciled to this fact of life. He still hadn't managed to get used to seeing people like Eye of Crystal ground to mincemeat by the machinery of a badly run universe.
Chapter 21
The Guardian died at dawn. Eye of Crystal managed to gasp out how to make the poison, then collapsed so completely that Blade was afraid she was dying, too.
Her mother assured him this was probably not so. «She would spare herself no more than her father,» Kyarta said quietly, «but this is most likely no more than a sleep that will heal her if she is left in it. I will watch over her to be sure that it is nothing worse. You and Winter Owl will be the first called if I need anyone.»
Then, dry eyed, she gave orders for litter-bearers to carry away her unconscious daughter to their hut and her dead husband to the Dead House. There he would be embalmed with herbs and ashes. After lying for a month he would be cremated at the Burning Stairs by the river.
Kyarta, who Blade wouldn't have been surprised to see fall completely apart, seemed to be taking things calmly. Blade was glad to have someone else watch over Eye of Crystal. He and Winter Owl already had enough to do without that.
Warriors had to go find Ellspa's hiding place and if possible Ellspa herself. Cheeky gave the best directions he could, but no one could follow his route through the treetops. It was three days before they found the ruined hut. By that time the bird had flown so long ago that Winter Owl didn't even try to pick up her trail.
«I'd rather have bagged her along with her Mistress,» Blade reassured the chief. «But I don't think she'll do much harm. She won't be able to learn about the archery and warn the Rutari.»
«Perhaps not,» said Winter Owl. «But I think it would be best if the men we are teaching the archery were to go to a new camp. No one except those men will be allowed in it, or even near it. If Ellspa is hiding somewhere in Uchendi lands or if the Rutari have other spies, this will keep them from learning what they should not know.»
«Good idea,» said Blade. In fact, Winter Owl seemed to have got a firm grip on himself. He'd stopped arguing with Blade and even refused to quarrel with his niece. His brother-in-law's death and the knowledge that the war with the Rutari was fast approaching had sobered him. Blade no longer worried about Winter Owl's turning the warriors of the Uchendi against him or his new ideas.
In fact, Winter Owl worked nonstop for a week to get the Uchendi archers off to a good start, taking time off only for food and sleep and not much of either. By the end of the week he'd picked a hundred men to learn to shoot and fifty craftsmen to make bows, bowstrings, and arrows. Blade helped choose the wood for the bows and arrows.
«With the poison, the small reed arrows I used may be enough,» he said. «But we have not made any of the poison yet, let alone tested it to make sure it is strong enough. So we must be ready to make arrows strong enough to hurt a shpuga without the poison.