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M'Gamba Mim, who was huge and black and carried similar weapons. The blood of
both was on the ground before LeNos
could prevail; and then, still like an animal, he snarled at the slaves who
came to tend his cuts.
"Mesthles of the Windy Vale-Octans Bukk of Pachuka."
Mesthles had the thought-creased forehead of some scribe or scholar. He wore
peasant's clothes and fought with a farmer's scythe. Octans was lean, and his
ragged clothes gave him the look of a hungry bandit. But his sword proved
slower than the scythe and he was mown. "Omir Kelsumba-Otis
Kitamura." Kelsumba's wide black face was set in a determination as intense as
fury. Leros, watching, remembered this man as the one who had asked about
acquiring the healing powers of a god. When the fighters closed, Kelsumba
swung his massive battle-axe with incredible power, swinging and then
reversing instantly for the back-swing-as if his weapon were no heavier than a
stick.
Kitamura's sword was knocked aside, and then Kitamura's jawbone. He went down
on hands and knees and stayed there. Kelsumba left his finishing to the leaden
mauls of the burial party.
"Pernsol Muledriver-Polydorus the Foul." The Muledriver was an older man, who
set to work deliberately with short spear and long knife. Polydorus, a man of
indeterminate age, and seemingly no fouler than the next, went in carrying an
old sword, much nicked and dented. The old sword did its work efficiently, and
Pernsol died quietly, as if content to end life's struggles and take his
modest place at Thorun's board.
"Rafael Sandoval-Rahim Sosias." Sosias looked more like a tailor than a
fighting man, being not overly big and displaying a small, comfortable paunch.
But his curved sword hung as naturally from his hand as his hand from the
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end of his hairy arm. Sandoval was notably ugly, made so by nature, not by
scars. He twirled a spike-and-ball mace disdainfully. Rahim's sword was caught
in a loop of the mace's chain and pulled from his hand, but before Rafael
could disentangle his own weapon from the sword, Rahim had drawn an extra
knife from concealment and had slit his opponent's throat.
"Rudolph Thadbury-Shang Ti the Awesome."
Thadbury had a military as well as a fighting look, Leros
.thought this man had something more of the general than of the simple
swordsman about him but knew nothing of his background. Most of the
contestants were as much strangers to Leros and the other priests as they were
to one another.
Squarely built, with blunt-fingered enormous hands, Rudolph Thadbury exuded
strength and confidence. Shang Ti was awesome in truth, having a rather small
head set on such a giant's body that the head's smallness was made to look
grotesque. Shang Ti's sword was of a size to suit his stature.
Rudolph's had a thicker blade than the usual and was just long enough to reach
Shang Ti's heart.
"Siniuju of the Evergreen Slope-Thomas the Grabber."
Siniuju was almost scrawny, leaner than any other man left alive among the
warriors. He carried a two-handed sword that looked too heavy for him-until he
demonstrated how quickly he could make it move. Thomas was large and
fierce-looking, a Shang Ti slightly less massive and better proportioned. He
matched his spear over the long two-
handed sword. The spear proved longer still.
"Travers Sandakan-Vann the Nomad." Sandakan came carrying a thin-bladed axe
made with a sturdy armored shaft.
On his face were the lines of time and trouble and the scars of many fights.
Vann the Nomad wore the long shapeless sweater of the high-plains herdsmen and
wielded a long sword with demonic energy. Sandakan was no match for the
Nomad and when Travers was dead Vann cut off one of his ears, saying: "I will
give this back to him in Thorun's hall-if he is man enough to take it from
me!" It was a gesture new to
Leros, who thought about it and finally gave a hesitant smile of approval. As
soon as the latest corpse had been cleared from the ring he formally called
out the names for the day's final match. "Vladerlin Bain-Wull Narvaez." Coiled
around
Bain's waist was a long whip, whose purpose none had yet considered it politic
to ask. In his hands Bain wore a dagger and a sword. Narvaez, with a cheerful
foolish face and a farmer's pitchfork as his only visible weapon, looked like
some peasant fresh from fieldwork. A good harvester he sent the tines exactly
where he wanted them and Vladerlin was dead before he hit the ground, the
reason for his coiled whip now never to be known.
The sun had not yet reached its midday point. The fighting of the second round
was over.
The sixteen fighters who remained alive moved off to enjoy the food prepared
for them. For the most part they chatted and joked in good fellowship, though
a few were silent. Also they took thoughtful notice of each other's wounds,
calculating where weakness would be found tomorrow. All of them knew that even
the tiniest advantage must be seized. Not one survived among them who was not
extremely dangerous-not one survived who could not count killers of superior
ability among his victims.
Resting after their midday meal, they say the messenger come pelting down the
mountain. His news made Leros snap back his head to search the sky. From where
they camped beneath the trees it was not possible to see much of it. The
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warriors were curious, but not very. The Tournament they were engaged in was
more important than any distraction they could imagine.
Later still when a priest of the Inner Circle came down to talk earnestly to
Leros the news spread among the warriors that a round, silvery craft had come
from beyond the world to visit Godsmountain. Most of them were curious enough
to try to catch a glimpse of the ship, barely visible, resting among the trees
on a distant height.
V
Oscar Schoenberg and Athena Poulson and Gus De La
Torre had hunted again, on the day after Suomi's near-fatal confrontation with
the glacier-beast, while Barbara Hurtado and Celeste Servetus had gone through
the motions of hunting. Suomi had chosen to stay with the ship. Oscar and
Athena and Gus, all having had some excitement on their first day's hunt but
having returned from it empty handed returned from the second day's effort
with their hologram trophies of large predators, safely recorded on little
crystal cubes for later reproduction and display.
Athena, sitting in the lounge, rubbing her tired feet, complained it was going
to be difficult to find a place to show off her glacier-beast. "It's all right
for you, scar, but I [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]