"One side of my pack came open," Valiha said. "There was water damage, and Chris's tent rests with the fishes now." She looked so mournful that Chris couldn't help laughing.
"He can double up with me," Robin said. Gaby had not expected that. She eyed Robin, who did not look up from the cup of hot coffee in her hands. She sat close to the small fire the Titanides had built, a blanket over her shoulders, looking like a drowned rat.
"I imagine you critters will want to stay in the tents this time," Cirocco suggested, looking from one Titanide to the other.
"If you critters will have us," Psaltery said. "Though I suspect you're going to be very boring company."
Gaby yawned. "I suspect you're right. What do you say, little ones? Shall we crawl into bed and be boring?"
Gaby had become the leader of the expedition through Cirocco's refusal to have anything to do with it. Since resigning her captaincy, Cirocco had never been eager to accept that sort of responsibility, though she still did well when such a position was forced on her. Now she would not even discuss it; Gaby was in charge, and that was that. Gaby accepted it, did not even become annoyed when the Titanides involuntarily looked toward Cirocco when Gaby told them what to do. They couldn't help it. She was the Wizard, but they would do what Gaby said so long as it was clear Cirocco had no objection.
And Cirocco was improving. The mornings were still the worst. Since she spent more time sleeping than anyone else, she had more mornings to contend with. She looked like death when she woke up. Her hands shook, and her eyes darted around, searching for help and not finding it. Her sleep was not much better. Gaby had heard her crying out in the night. But it was something she had to handle herself. What concerned Gaby at the moment was a simple matter of routes. They had landed at the northern bend of Long Bay. When Gaby sailed Nox, she always put into Snake Bay, the narrowing finger that led to the Ophion outflow. A rocky neck of land separated the two. Overland it was only five kilometers to the river. Following the beach would be at least twenty-five. She did not know this region well, could not remember if the beach extended all the way around. While she thought there was a pass between the rocky crags to the north, she was not sure of that either. Then there was the storm. The wind would be very bad if they followed the beach. Overland there would be mud and slippery trails to contend with, and the deeper darkness of the forest.
She waited a few hours to see if the storm would abate, consulted with Cirocco-who knew no more about it than Gaby-then ordered the camp broken and told Psaltery to strike out overland.
She never found out if it had been the best choice, but it was not a bad one. They had to pick their route carefully in several places. Yet the land was not as rugged as it had looked. They emerged on the southern beach of Snake Bay. It was not much of a beach-the bay was as sheer-sided as a Norwegian fjord-but she knew her way from there. The Circum-Gaea rejoined Ophion at that point after having made its way through North Rhea and down through the tortuous passes of the western Nemesis Mountains.
For some reason, Gaby's creation had fared better in this 30-kilometer stretch than anywhere else in Gaea. Much of the asphalt was cracked and buckled, some of it washed away, but for 50 and 100 meters at a time they could walk on road surface little changed from when Gaby's work crews had rolled it. The roadbed was particularly hard and stable in this area. Gaby had done a great deal of blasting just to make a path. Yet she would have thought the regular rains would have obliterated it long ago.
Nevertheless, there it was, winding its way up beside the seven massive river pumps lining the gorge. Gaby called the pumps Doc, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Sleepy, Dopey, and Bashful, and no longer apologized for it. She couldn't help it; she had run out of Greek names. Of them all, Sneezy and Grumpy were the most appropriate. The pumps made an awful racket. There was also a lot to be said for Dopey as a generic name.
The storm began to slacken as they approached the top of the system. It was the highest point on Ophion. From the level of Nox-highest of Gaea's ten major seas-the Seven Dwarfs raised the water another 4,000 meters. The place was called the Rhea Pass. From it one could look west to the alpine wall of the Nemesis Range: jagged teeth backlighted by the fertile greens and blues of Crius, its northern lakes and southern plains curving up behind the mountains. A steady rain was still falling in the pass, but the weather was clear to the east. Gaby decided that canoes should be built and that the party would take to the river and try to reach dry country before making camp.
Once again Gaby was amused by Chris. He was all eyes as he watched the Titanides select the proper canoe trees and, with a few well-aimed cuts, reap a harvest of perfect curved ribs and floorboards. He shook his head in wonder at the way they dovetailed into frameworks needing only a skin covering-which had been retained from the original fleet in Hyperion. In a little more than a rev they were ready to go.
She found herself watching Chris as the canoes were loaded. She was surprised at herself, but the fact was she found him irresistible in many ways. His almost childlike curiosity and willingness to listen while she and Cirocco pointed out the wonders of Gaea made her wistful and envious. She had once been like that. It was in contrast with Robin, who usually listened only long enough to be sure what was being said had no relevance to her. She supposed Robin's hard life had made her that way, but Chris had not had an easy life either. It showed in his quiet, moody spells. He was rather shy, but not to the point of fading into the background. When he was sure someone was actually listening, he could be a good talker.
And-she might as well admit-she felt a physical attraction. It was remarkable; her last affair with a man had been more than twenty years ago. But when he smiled, she felt good. When she was the reason for the smile, she felt terrific. His face had a lopsided beauty; he had good shoulders and arms and a marvelous ass. The small roll of fat around his waist was already melting away; a few weeks of exertion would turn him lean and narrow-hipped, the way she liked her men. She already had the urge to run her fingers through his hair and reach into his pants to see what that was like.
But not on this trip. Not with Valiha already mooning over him, Cirocco held at bay only by the effects of her megahangover, and-Gaby was beginning to suspect-even Robin showing signs of willingness to experiment in cross-cultural exploration.
He had enough problems without Gaby Plauget's trying to fit him into the disaster she had made of her love life. And she knew the biggest potential problem was the one he was least aware of. Her name was Cirocco. Chris was not ready for her, and Gaby intended to do what she could to protect him from her.
The segment of Ophion they now entered was a far cry from the stretch they had sailed in Hyperion. It necessitated changes. For the worst rapids Gaby insisted on an experienced canoeist front and rear. The Titanides all qualified, as did Gaby and Cirocco. Chris was a little rough, but he would do. Robin was an absolute novice, as well as a nonswimmer. Gaby put her between two Titanides, with the other two in the second boat, and Chris, Cirocco, and herself in the third, towing the fourth. In quiet places she let Robin take the lead and joined her, showing her how to handle the craft. As in everything she did, Robin worked at it single-mindedly and soon showed improvement.
It was an exhilarating trip. Chris was enthusiastic, but Robin bubbled with excitement when they reached the end of a stretch of rapids. Once she even suggested they go back and do it again, looking about three years old as she said it. She was aching to sit alone in the front. Gaby understood it well; there were few things Gaby liked more than a challenging white-water ride. When traveling with Psaltery, she defied the river, taking chances. Now, though she enjoyed herself, she was learning something Cirocco had found out a long time ago. It's not quite the same when you're the leader. Being responsible for others makes one conservative and a bit of a grouch. She had to be firm with Robin about wearing her inflatable life vest. They reached the twilight zone west of Crius before making camp. Everyone was pleasantly exhausted. They had a light dinner and a big breakfast and set out again toward gradually brightening lands. If anything could enhance the joys of being on the river, it was coming out of the Rhean rain into the Crian sunshine. The Titanides led the singing, which started with the traditional Gaean traveling song: "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." Gaby was not surprised or abashed to feel tears fill her eyes as they came to the end of it.