Beneath the Eye of God (The Commodore Ardcasl Space Adventures Book 1) (12 page)

Ohan signaled for his companions to halt, dismounted and handed his reigns to the Commodore. Each forest clan formed its own self-sufficient community but there was a significant amount of interaction between them, especially in the complex business of arranging marriages which often had to be done outside the clan to prevent inbreeding. The arrival of strangers was therefore an unusual but not unheard-of event. It included important rituals designed to let everyone know exactly what the intentions of the visitors were.

Ohan knew that his party had been spotted near the abandoned water tree and that the seemingly accidental visit of the three young men had been carefully planned. In spite of Leahn's belief that all he needed was "the right little brown girl" Ohan intended to make it clear to all from the very beginning that the purpose of this visit was definitely not matrimonial.

As he approached the welcoming party, he saw that the headman was a woman. Of medium height, middle-aged and strongly built with a sleek brown pelt, she was dressed in the traditional, richly decorated, beaten bark cloth of his people, now rarely seen among the clans at the edge of the forest.

One of the young men stepped forward. "Ohan, this is Vardara, mother of our clan." He turned to face the woman. "Mother, may I present Ohan. Though his honor is not known to me, he is a true son of the forest."

As Ohan approached, he offered both his hands to the woman. He saw in her eyes the same detached no-nonsense look with which his own mother had often greeted him when seriousness was called for. She took his hands in hers. His, he knew, were sweaty. Hers were cool and firm.

"We are a clan of the people of the forest," she said in a soft voice. "Whose child do we welcome here today?"

Ohan began a litany that every forest child learned as soon as he learned to speak, as much a part of him as his soul and pelt. He began to recite his genealogy to the ninth generation. The elders on either side of the headwoman listened attentively. He knew that long hours of debate lay ahead as these grayfurs argued about who he was and was not related to.

He waited in anticipation as he went through his fifth generation antecedents and was not disappointed by the brief nods he noted among his listeners. This was followed by a small gasp when he got to the eighth generation. Ohan was not, he was secretly proud to admit, just anybody. Though his family had not done much of note lately, he could boast of a couple of relatively impressive ancestors.

"You are welcome, cousin," Vardara said when he had finished. "Who have you brought with you to our family?"

"Friends, mother, well-known to me, whose honor I ask you to accept as part of my own."

The woman looked doubtfully at his companions. "Are you sure you want to take their honor as your own? It is not necessary. Two are of a race unknown to us and one is of legend. A white warrior. I could scarcely believe what my children told me of their meeting yesterday. If these beings hold you against your will, we will aid you."

"No, mother. They are truly my friends and I travel with them willingly. The unknown ones are from far away and as for the legends," he turned to glance at Leahn, "I have heard some of them but I do not believe them. If you cannot accept my friends, we will leave together."

She held his hands tightly. "We have never turned one of the people away before. We shall not do it now. Introduce me to your brothers and your sister."

Ohan called to his companions who dismounted and came to join them. "This is the Commodore, the leader of our group, a traveller through many distant lands."

Vardara took the Commodore's hands in hers. "My son, Ohan, has pledged his honor as your own. We welcome you as we welcome him."

The Commodore shot a quick glance at Ohan as he translated the formal speech. "Thank you, madam. The conduct of my associates, I can guarantee. It is only my own that sometimes goes awry. But perhaps you have rowdy children of your own and will not judge me too harshly."

Vardara smiled. "I have heard of lands beyond our own. They are said to be places of wonder. I hope you will not find us too quiet for your taste."

"In all my travels, I have yet to find a land free of wonder. That would be the greatest wonder of all." He looked deeply into Vardara's eyes. "I'm sure I shall find much of interest here."

"You're right," she laughed. "I have had children like you." She turned to the twins and hesitantly took each of their slim hands in hers.

"Erol and Elor are distinguished scholars from a distant land," Ohan explained. "They have come to learn what they can of the ways of the people."

Though she stood on a step above them, the forest woman found herself looking straight into the yellow eyes of the tall slender twins. "I have always lived among my own people," she said. "I cannot imagine what it would be like to travel to a land where every face is different from those I have always known. We will try to make you feel at home."

"We thank you," Elor replied in perfect forest dialect. "Kindness wears a familiar face wherever it is found."

"And this is Leahn, mother," Ohan said carefully. "A woman from the highlands. If any have a question, I will answer for her."

Vardara seemed a little surprised. "Will you?" She appraised Leahn coolly. "I think she may be able to answer for herself, though she seems less formidable without the horse." The older woman took the hands of the younger. "They say the highlands lie near our forest but you, I think, have come on a longer journey than any of the others. You are welcome, daughter."

***

There seemed to be around fifty adults and more than a dozen children in the community. It was similar in construction to the abandoned site they had already visited. A large room just above the trunk of the fallen tree was made available for the visitors. There were several families with young children who had built their rooms higher up in the branches. Most of the older women lived with them while a number of the older men and some of the teen-age boys preferred to live together down near the trunk in a communal room next to the one set aside for the newcomers.

A strong corral was made for the horses near the water hole to keep them from foraging among the crops. Though water was not as plentiful here as it had been at the lost city, Ohan assured his friends that there was enough for each horse to enjoy a couple of baskets full. The entire community turned out to watch in awe as Leahn and the twins washed the big animals, who snorted and rolled about as happily as they had at the water pit.

Leahn emerged, scabbard in hand, soaked and laughing from the muddy corral. Vardara met her at the gate. "I was raised on cat and horse stories," she said. "I learned them from my grandmother and I tell them to my grandchildren but to actually see five horses together quite takes my breath away. They're even bigger than I imagined. And to see them handled so skillfully by a woman is even more exciting. You must have lived with them all your life."

Leahn retrieved her boots from the rock where she had left them. "Yes, my family had several. I've ridden since I was a child."

"In the highlands?"

"Yes."

"Is your family still there?"

Leahn paused to look at the little headwoman. "Yes. Some of them. My parents are dead."

Vardara had guided them into the shade beside the fallen trunk away from the others. "My husband was the clan leader before his death. I did not want the job but I have good people helping me. You heard Ohan call me mother when you came here. And I welcomed you as daughter. Those are formal terms of greeting and acceptance among our people. But as headwoman to this clan, those terms have more than ritual meaning for me. You, of course, are not of our people but Ohan asked that you be accepted into our clan during your stay. How long have you been without your own mother?"

Leahn found she could not meet the woman's steady gaze. "A long time," she replied.

"May I try to stand a little in her place while you are with us?"

"Well, if you want to . . . sure."

"Good." Vardara stepped back and put her hands on her hips. "Just look at yourself," she said sharply.

Leahn was taken aback. She suddenly saw herself standing, sword in one hand, boots in the other, soaked to the skin, skimpy wet tunic, stringy hair, in mud to her knees. "How did you do that?" she stammered. "That's exactly how my mother used to make me feel when I'd ruin my new clothes playing in the yard."

Vardara smiled. "You'll get the hang of it one day." Then she turned stern again. "And where were you planning to sleep tonight?"

"What? Oh, well, I thought I'd probably just bunk in with the guys. I don't want to put anybody out."

"Just bunk in with the guys," Vardara growled as she hustled Leahn away. "Don't want to put anybody out. Good gracious, child. That's what mothers are for."

Leahn stopped short. She was staring at the topmost room high above the tangle of fallen branches. "Who lives there?" she asked.

Vardara followed her gaze. "What, way up there on top? That's for one of my granddaughters. Kind of a simple child. My son-in-law builds a room up there for her every time we move. Spoils her, if you ask me." Her face lit up. "Would you like to stay up there? That would be perfect. I'll have her out in no time."

"Oh no, no, no," Leahn implored. "I couldn't."

"Of course you could. The child won't mind a bit." Vardara was pushing Leahn down into a narrow passageway beneath the trunk. "Do her good. Stop her mooning about up there."

"Look, I really don't want to do that. Maybe we could just share the place tonight and I could find something else tomorrow."

Vardara paused. "Share? Well, it might be good for the child if you really don't mind." She hustled on down the passage and held aside the fiber curtain to a small room. "And best of all, her father, my son-in-law, will hate it. They pamper the girl too much. But first get out of those wet clothes, get cleaned up and have a relaxing steam bath."

She pitched a small gourd full of water onto some stones in the corner of the room. They began to sizzle and a cloud of steam rose up. "And give me that ridiculous sword. What a pretty girl like you is doing prancing around out in the forest with a bunch of men and a big old sword, I can't imagine. But you won't need it here. I'll give it to that Commodore fellow to keep until you're ready to leave."

"Oh, I don't think . . ."

"Of course you don't, dear. That's what I'm here for." She led Leahn firmly into the little room. "Now get in and clean yourself up. I'll bring you some suitable clothes." She closed the heavy curtain. Leahn heard her start off up the passageway. "And do try to do something about your hair."

The room was dug into the ground directly beneath the trunk of the water tree which served as its ceiling. The floor and walls were lined with smooth, carefully fitted aromatic wood. The stones in the corner were heated by a fire somewhere outside. Leahn found a large basket of water with a gourd floating in it and threw more water onto the stones. The room filled with steamy fragrance. She unlaced her tunic and found some polished wooden scrapers to clean her mud off. Then she stretched out on the smooth floor. The truth that this was the first time she had been really alone for a long time caught up to her just before she drifted off to sleep.

***

Leahn woke to find herself curled in the corner near the stones. A thin young girl watched her from the far side of the room near the door.

"Oh, good. You're finally awake," the girl chattered brightly. "I was just thinking of waking you. We don't want to miss supper."

Leahn's tunic and boots were gone, though her knives were still there. The girl unrolled a length of beautifully decorated fabric. "Isn't it pretty? Grandma sent it for you. I'm to show you how it ties together. Isn't this exciting? We're going to room together."

She grew briefly shy. "I'm Neali. I hope you don't mind. Grandma said you liked my room."

Leahn rolled up onto her knees, pleasantly stiff after her nap. She saw that the girl was trying mightily not to stare at her smooth white skin. "I'm pleased to meet you, Neali. I hope you don't mind a roommate for a couple of days. My name's Leahn."

She indicated the dress the girl was holding. "How do I get into that thing?"

As she helped Leahn into the garment, Neali explained about the varieties of bark cloth and how, the longer you beat and rolled them, the more the fibers were broken down and the finer the texture of the cloth that resulted. The rough fabrics were used for curtains and wall hangings while the finer ones were stained in a number of traditional designs, usually in bold patterns of black with shades of brown and yellow.

"We girls have to do all the pounding of the stupid bark until you think your arms are going to fall off. And it's never enough, of course," Neali giggled.

"And all the old aunts get to do the decoration. I'm learning to do some of the simple patterns now," she said proudly as she gave a final tug and tuck to Leahn's outfit.

"Well, except that you're too tall, it's just about right. But we really should do something about your hair." She started to survey the problem from various angles.

"Now you're starting to sound like my mother too. Ow!"