I managed to
overtake Tobo before he sped through the crossroads’ circle.
“We’re stopping here,” I told him, hanging onto
his shoulder.
He looked at me like he was trying to remember who I was.
“Back up to the circle.”
“All right. You don’t have to be so
pushy.”
“Good. The real you is back. Yes. I do. No one else seems
to be able to restrain you.” As we stepped into the circle, I
told him, “There should be a . . . yes.
Right here.” There was a hole in the roadway surface, four
inches deep and as big around as my wrist. “Put the handle of
the pickax in that.”
“Why?”
“If the shadows can get inside the protected areas,
that’s the direction they’ll come from. Come on. Do it.
We’ve got a ton of work to do if we’re going to set up
a safe camp.” There were too many of us to get everyone
inside the circle. That meant some would have to overnight on the
road, not a practice encouraged by Murgen.
I wanted only the calmest personalities back there. Murgen
guaranteed that every night on the plain would be some kind of
adventure.
Suvrin found me trying to get Iqbal and his family moved toward
the heart of the circle. The animals were hobbled there. And I had
a feeling that the plain really did not like being trampled upon by
things with such hard feet. “What is it, Suvrin?”
“Master Santaraksita would like to see you at your
earliest convenience.” He grinned like he was having a
wonderful time.
“Suvrin, have you been getting into the ganja or
something?”
“I’m just happy. I missed the Protector’s
state visit. Therefore I’m all right until sometime
that’s still far off yet. I’m on the greatest adventure
of my life, going places no one of my generation would have thought
possible even a few weeks ago. It won’t last. It just plain
won’t last. The way my luck runs. But I’m for damned
sure having fun now. Except my feet hurt.”
“Welcome to the Black Company. Get used to it. Bunions
should be our seal, not a fire breathing skull. Did anyone learn
anything useful today?”
“My guess would be that Master Santaraksita might have
come up with something. Else why would he bother to send me to find
you?”
“You got bold and sarky fast once you got up
here.”
“I’ve always thought I’m more likable when
I’m not afraid.”
I glanced around. I wondered if stupid ought not to be in there
somewhere, too. “Show me where the old boy is.”
Suvrin had the chatters. Bad, for him. “He’s a
wonder, isn’t he?”
“Santaraksita? I don’t know about that. He’s
something. Keep an eye out that you don’t accidentally find
his hand fishing around in your pants.”
Suvrin had made camp for himself and the older men right at the
edge of the circle, on its eastern side. Santaraksita had to have
picked the spot. It was directly opposite the nearest standing
stone. The librarian was seated Gunni-style, crosslegged, as near
the edge as he dared get, staring at the pillar. “Is that
you, Dorabee? Come sit with me.”
I overcame a burst of impatience, settled. I was out of shape
for that. The Company continued its northern habits—using chairs
and stools and whatnot—even though we now had only two Old Crew
souls left. Such is inertia. “What are we looking for,
Master?” It was obvious he was watching the standing
stone.
“Let’s see if you’re as bright as I believe
you are.”
There was a challenge I could not ignore. I stared at the column
and waited for truth to declare itself.
A group of the characters on the pillar brightened momentarily.
That had nothing to do with the light of the setting sun, which had
begun creeping in under the edge of the clouds. That was painting
everything bloody. After a while I told Santaraksita, “It
seems to be illuminating groups of characters according to some
pattern.”
“Mainly in reading order, I think.”
“Down? And to the left?”
“Reading downward in columns isn’t uncommon in the
temple literature of antiquity. Some inks dried quite slowly. If
you wrote in horizontal lines, you sometimes smeared your earlier
work. Writing downward in columns right to left suggests to me
left-handedness. Possibly those who placed the stellae were mostly
left-handed.”
It struck me that writing whatever way was convenient for you
personally could lead to a lot of confusion. I said so.
“Absolutely, Dorabee. Deciphering classical writing is
always a challenge. Particularly if the ancient copyists had time
on their hands and were inclined to play pranks. I’ve seen
manuscripts put together so that they could be read both
horizontally and vertically and each way tells a different story.
Definitely the work of someone who had no worries about his next
meal. Today’s formal rules have been around for only a few
generations. They were agreed upon simply so we could read one
another’s work. And they still haven’t penetrated the
lay population to any depth.”
Most of that I knew already. But he needed his moments of
pedantry to feel complete. They cost me nothing. “And what do
we have here?”
“I’m not sure. My eyes aren’t sharp enough to
pick up everything. But the characters on the stone closely
resemble those in your oldest book and I’ve been able to
discern a few simple words.” He showed me what he had written
down. It was not enough to make sense of anything.
“Mostly I think we’re looking at names. Possibly
arranged in a holy scripture sort of way. Maybe a
roll-call-of-the-ancestors kind of thing.”
“It is immortality of a sort.”
“Perhaps. Certainly you can find similarly conceived
monuments in almost every older city. Iron was a popular material
for those who considered themselves truly rich and historically
significant. Generally, though, they were erected to celebrate
individuals, notably kings and conquerers, who wanted following
generations to know all about them.”
“And every one of those I’ve ever seen was a
complete puzzle to the people living around it now. Thus, a feeble
immortality of a sort.”
“And there’s the point. We’ll all achieve our
immortality in the next world, however we may conceive that, but we
all want to be remembered in this one. I suppose so that when the
newly dead arrive in heaven, they’ll already know who we are.
And, yes, even though I am a devout, practicing Gunni, I’m
very cynical about what humanity brings to the religious
experience.”
“I’m always intrigued by your thinking, Master
Santaraksita, but in today’s circumstances I just don’t
have time to sit around musing on humanity’s innumerable
foibles. Nor even those of God. Or the gods, if you
prefer.”
Santaraksita chuckled. “Do you find it amusing to see our
roles thus reversed?” A few months in the real world had done
wonders for his attitude. He accepted his situation and tried to
learn from it. I considered accusing him of being a Bhodi fellow
traveler.
“I fear I’m much less of a thinker than you like to
believe, Master. I’ve never had time for it. I’m
probably really more of a parrot than anything.”
“And I suspect that surviving in your trade eventually
leaves everyone more philosophical than you want to admit,
Dorabee.”
“Or more brutal. None of these men were ever sterling
subjects.”
Santaraksita shrugged. “You remain a wonder, whether
or not you wish to be one.” He made a gesture to indicate the
standing stone. “Well, there you have it. It may say
something. Or it may just be remembering the otherwise unheralded
whose ashes nourished weeds. Or it may even be trying to
communicate, since some of the characters seem to have
changed.” His tone became one of intense interest as he
completed his last sentence. “Dorabee, the inscription
doesn’t remain constant. I must have a closer look at one of
those stellae.”
“Don’t even think about it. You’d probably be
dead before you got to it. And would get the rest of us dead,
too.”
He pouted.
“This’s the dangerous part of the adventure,”
I told him. “This’s the part that leaves us no room for
innovation or deviation or expressing our personalities.
You’ve seen Sindawe. No better or stronger man ever lived.
That was nothing he deserved. Whenever you feel creative, you just
go look on that travois. Then take another look. Gah! It smells
like the inside of a stable here already. A little breeze
wouldn’t hurt.” As long as it blew away from me.
The animals were all crowded together and surrounded so they
could not do something stupid like wander out of the protective
circle. And herbivores tend to generate vast quantities of
by-product.
“All right. All right. I don’t make a habit of doing
what’s stupid, Dorabee.” He grinned.
“Really? What about how you got here?”
“Maybe it’s a hobby.” He could laugh at
himself. “There’s stupid and stupid. None of those
boulders is going to make my pebble turn into a standing
stone.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or an
insult. Just keep an eye on the rock and let me know if it says
anything interesting.” It occurred to me to wonder if these
pillars were related to the pillars the Company had found in the
place called the Plain of Fear, long before my time. Those stones
had even walked and talked—unless the Captain exaggerated even
worse than I thought. “Whoa! Look there. Right along the edge
of the road. That’s a shadow, being sneaky. It’s
already dark enough for them to start moving around.”
It was time I started moving around, making sure everyone
remained calm. The shadows could not reach us if no one did
anything stupid. But they might try to provoke a panic, the way
hunters will try to scare up game.
I managed to
overtake Tobo before he sped through the crossroads’ circle.
“We’re stopping here,” I told him, hanging onto
his shoulder.
He looked at me like he was trying to remember who I was.
“Back up to the circle.”
“All right. You don’t have to be so
pushy.”
“Good. The real you is back. Yes. I do. No one else seems
to be able to restrain you.” As we stepped into the circle, I
told him, “There should be a . . . yes.
Right here.” There was a hole in the roadway surface, four
inches deep and as big around as my wrist. “Put the handle of
the pickax in that.”
“Why?”
“If the shadows can get inside the protected areas,
that’s the direction they’ll come from. Come on. Do it.
We’ve got a ton of work to do if we’re going to set up
a safe camp.” There were too many of us to get everyone
inside the circle. That meant some would have to overnight on the
road, not a practice encouraged by Murgen.
I wanted only the calmest personalities back there. Murgen
guaranteed that every night on the plain would be some kind of
adventure.
Suvrin found me trying to get Iqbal and his family moved toward
the heart of the circle. The animals were hobbled there. And I had
a feeling that the plain really did not like being trampled upon by
things with such hard feet. “What is it, Suvrin?”
“Master Santaraksita would like to see you at your
earliest convenience.” He grinned like he was having a
wonderful time.
“Suvrin, have you been getting into the ganja or
something?”
“I’m just happy. I missed the Protector’s
state visit. Therefore I’m all right until sometime
that’s still far off yet. I’m on the greatest adventure
of my life, going places no one of my generation would have thought
possible even a few weeks ago. It won’t last. It just plain
won’t last. The way my luck runs. But I’m for damned
sure having fun now. Except my feet hurt.”
“Welcome to the Black Company. Get used to it. Bunions
should be our seal, not a fire breathing skull. Did anyone learn
anything useful today?”
“My guess would be that Master Santaraksita might have
come up with something. Else why would he bother to send me to find
you?”
“You got bold and sarky fast once you got up
here.”
“I’ve always thought I’m more likable when
I’m not afraid.”
I glanced around. I wondered if stupid ought not to be in there
somewhere, too. “Show me where the old boy is.”
Suvrin had the chatters. Bad, for him. “He’s a
wonder, isn’t he?”
“Santaraksita? I don’t know about that. He’s
something. Keep an eye out that you don’t accidentally find
his hand fishing around in your pants.”
Suvrin had made camp for himself and the older men right at the
edge of the circle, on its eastern side. Santaraksita had to have
picked the spot. It was directly opposite the nearest standing
stone. The librarian was seated Gunni-style, crosslegged, as near
the edge as he dared get, staring at the pillar. “Is that
you, Dorabee? Come sit with me.”
I overcame a burst of impatience, settled. I was out of shape
for that. The Company continued its northern habits—using chairs
and stools and whatnot—even though we now had only two Old Crew
souls left. Such is inertia. “What are we looking for,
Master?” It was obvious he was watching the standing
stone.
“Let’s see if you’re as bright as I believe
you are.”
There was a challenge I could not ignore. I stared at the column
and waited for truth to declare itself.
A group of the characters on the pillar brightened momentarily.
That had nothing to do with the light of the setting sun, which had
begun creeping in under the edge of the clouds. That was painting
everything bloody. After a while I told Santaraksita, “It
seems to be illuminating groups of characters according to some
pattern.”
“Mainly in reading order, I think.”
“Down? And to the left?”
“Reading downward in columns isn’t uncommon in the
temple literature of antiquity. Some inks dried quite slowly. If
you wrote in horizontal lines, you sometimes smeared your earlier
work. Writing downward in columns right to left suggests to me
left-handedness. Possibly those who placed the stellae were mostly
left-handed.”
It struck me that writing whatever way was convenient for you
personally could lead to a lot of confusion. I said so.
“Absolutely, Dorabee. Deciphering classical writing is
always a challenge. Particularly if the ancient copyists had time
on their hands and were inclined to play pranks. I’ve seen
manuscripts put together so that they could be read both
horizontally and vertically and each way tells a different story.
Definitely the work of someone who had no worries about his next
meal. Today’s formal rules have been around for only a few
generations. They were agreed upon simply so we could read one
another’s work. And they still haven’t penetrated the
lay population to any depth.”
Most of that I knew already. But he needed his moments of
pedantry to feel complete. They cost me nothing. “And what do
we have here?”
“I’m not sure. My eyes aren’t sharp enough to
pick up everything. But the characters on the stone closely
resemble those in your oldest book and I’ve been able to
discern a few simple words.” He showed me what he had written
down. It was not enough to make sense of anything.
“Mostly I think we’re looking at names. Possibly
arranged in a holy scripture sort of way. Maybe a
roll-call-of-the-ancestors kind of thing.”
“It is immortality of a sort.”
“Perhaps. Certainly you can find similarly conceived
monuments in almost every older city. Iron was a popular material
for those who considered themselves truly rich and historically
significant. Generally, though, they were erected to celebrate
individuals, notably kings and conquerers, who wanted following
generations to know all about them.”
“And every one of those I’ve ever seen was a
complete puzzle to the people living around it now. Thus, a feeble
immortality of a sort.”
“And there’s the point. We’ll all achieve our
immortality in the next world, however we may conceive that, but we
all want to be remembered in this one. I suppose so that when the
newly dead arrive in heaven, they’ll already know who we are.
And, yes, even though I am a devout, practicing Gunni, I’m
very cynical about what humanity brings to the religious
experience.”
“I’m always intrigued by your thinking, Master
Santaraksita, but in today’s circumstances I just don’t
have time to sit around musing on humanity’s innumerable
foibles. Nor even those of God. Or the gods, if you
prefer.”
Santaraksita chuckled. “Do you find it amusing to see our
roles thus reversed?” A few months in the real world had done
wonders for his attitude. He accepted his situation and tried to
learn from it. I considered accusing him of being a Bhodi fellow
traveler.
“I fear I’m much less of a thinker than you like to
believe, Master. I’ve never had time for it. I’m
probably really more of a parrot than anything.”
“And I suspect that surviving in your trade eventually
leaves everyone more philosophical than you want to admit,
Dorabee.”
“Or more brutal. None of these men were ever sterling
subjects.”
Santaraksita shrugged. “You remain a wonder, whether
or not you wish to be one.” He made a gesture to indicate the
standing stone. “Well, there you have it. It may say
something. Or it may just be remembering the otherwise unheralded
whose ashes nourished weeds. Or it may even be trying to
communicate, since some of the characters seem to have
changed.” His tone became one of intense interest as he
completed his last sentence. “Dorabee, the inscription
doesn’t remain constant. I must have a closer look at one of
those stellae.”
“Don’t even think about it. You’d probably be
dead before you got to it. And would get the rest of us dead,
too.”
He pouted.
“This’s the dangerous part of the adventure,”
I told him. “This’s the part that leaves us no room for
innovation or deviation or expressing our personalities.
You’ve seen Sindawe. No better or stronger man ever lived.
That was nothing he deserved. Whenever you feel creative, you just
go look on that travois. Then take another look. Gah! It smells
like the inside of a stable here already. A little breeze
wouldn’t hurt.” As long as it blew away from me.
The animals were all crowded together and surrounded so they
could not do something stupid like wander out of the protective
circle. And herbivores tend to generate vast quantities of
by-product.
“All right. All right. I don’t make a habit of doing
what’s stupid, Dorabee.” He grinned.
“Really? What about how you got here?”
“Maybe it’s a hobby.” He could laugh at
himself. “There’s stupid and stupid. None of those
boulders is going to make my pebble turn into a standing
stone.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or an
insult. Just keep an eye on the rock and let me know if it says
anything interesting.” It occurred to me to wonder if these
pillars were related to the pillars the Company had found in the
place called the Plain of Fear, long before my time. Those stones
had even walked and talked—unless the Captain exaggerated even
worse than I thought. “Whoa! Look there. Right along the edge
of the road. That’s a shadow, being sneaky. It’s
already dark enough for them to start moving around.”
It was time I started moving around, making sure everyone
remained calm. The shadows could not reach us if no one did
anything stupid. But they might try to provoke a panic, the way
hunters will try to scare up game.