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before as a boy.
Two nights later, higher up the river as it began to shallow and narrow into tributaries leading off into the
hills, the Watchers were seen again. This time by three men-Sergeant Maeen, a soldier,
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and one of the Shore People. Again, they did nothing but sit their horses and then vanish. Cassini insisted
on casting an interrogatory spell, trying to find out who these Watchers were and whether their presence
presaged good or evil for us.
"Cast a spell in their direction," Janos muttered. "How intelligent. If they were not aware of us before,
they certainly are now."
Cassini's spell produced nothing. From his wizardry, these Watchers could be nothing else but a natural
illusion-an unusual sort of mirage. Janos also had a thought on this-that the Watchers might well have
armor beyond what could be seen with the eye. Cassini followed mis bit of possible imprudence with
something I knew to be dangerously arrogant. The next day, he found the highest hilltop in sight, and,
carrying a flaming torch to its top, "claimed" the land for Orissa. By this I do not mean he professed
physical rights to the land for himself or for our city-even in those days none of us, not even an Evocator,
possessed such insolence. The ceremony, which consisted of prayers and then the planting of seeds
brought from our city, was intended to tell the beings physical and invisible of Orissa and its people. The
ceremony went on to request, although I thought it sounded more like a demand, that just as all beings
from and of this land were entitled to respect and honor and protection under the real and Evocatorial
laws of Orissa, so our party "requested" equal justice and consideration.
I did not think such a ceremony wise at any time, and am grateful I have succeeded today in banning it
from use when Orissans travel abroad. I certainly did not think it apt in this strange country, with its
sorcerous "waves," its unknown people and customs, and most of all those spectral Watchers. But
neither Janos nor I could say anything. If I ordered Cassini not to perform the ceremony here or
elsewhere, he would unquestionably report me to the Council of Evocators when he returned. And they
would, without a doubt, put the most selfish and even treasonous interpretation on what an Antero meant
by such a command. Since this was yet another problem I could not solve, I tried to put it from my mind.
Cassini's conceit, in spite of his performance with the counterspell, was annoying everyone. He seemed
to think he was in charge of the expedition, and that it was the duty of all members to make certain their
Evocator was comfortably fed, clothed, and kept safe. As our journey grew wearisome, I found myself
thinking how much I would be willing to take my chances without the purported benefits of an Evocator's
cloak on my Finding,
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and how cheery I might become if something incapacitating happened to Cassini.
The river shallowed, then became spotty pools and marshland. We found ourselves standing around a
rather picturesque pool from which a spring bubbled.
"This is the first time I have ever followed a river from its outlet to the headwaters," Janos observed.
"Does this, O Evocator, entitle me to some special blessing?" Cassini smiled thinly, but said nothing. If the
other members of the party were not getting along with Cassini, he and Janos were almost to the point of
open enmity. Fortunately neither of them was foolish enough to spark a feud on this foreign shore,
although I feared there would be some confrontation when we returned.
We camped at the spring that night. Janos and I spent some time discussing how we would navigate
from this point-the Watcher's relict showed little detail of what we surmised were the long, barren leagues
ahead. We used two landmarks behind us that also appeared on the Watcher's "map" and set a compass
direction from there that we felt would lead us most directly to the next landmark. I had discovered a
hidden talent: I understood maps and liked drawing them. I had been keeping careful track of the terrain
thus far, and even if we were forced to double back I was sure we could quickly return to this spot, and
not repeat our previous wanderings that sometimes had led us into marshes or up blind or torturous
canyons.
After dinner the man who spoke for our drivers sought me out. He said this was as far as the Shore
People had contracted to go, and tomorrow they and their mounts would turn back toward the coast. I
started to lose my temper and was proud that I caught myself in time. I told the man that he and his
brothers had contracted for our entire journey, which had barely begun. That was not true, he said. They
agreed they would travel with us to the end of the world. This spring-this place where the river
stopped-was the end. So I asked, pointing into the distance: what then, is beyond the spring? Or that
grove of trees near the rise? The man shrugged: the answer was obvious. He said that must be another
world, for it is known to all this one ends at the spring; and that world most certainly belongs to some
other tribe. He smiled and said he was sure that tribe would look with favor upon such good men as
ourselves. You will meet new friends, he said, and perhaps you can acquire new beasts of burden from
them.
The argument began, and I quickly backed away from moral issues and concentrated on rewards. There
had been some sort of
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misunderstanding-my fault or theirs did not matter. Now I offered them a chance not only for glory
among their own people- glory that would travel back with me to my own homeland-but riches. I had
already promised gold and now I doubled the amount of that offer. I told them that when we returned to
the Pepper Coast, they could have their choice of any of our weapons or clothes, save only the most
personal. That interested the man; but it would be very difficult, he said sadly. Very, very difficult. I
increased my offer: we would have L'ur and his skilled sailor/ shipwrights build new and superior huts for
them before we left. And, since I would swiftly return from Orissa to begin developing this new trading
area, they would be rewarded with costly gifts from Orissa when I came back. He still shook his head:
very, very difficult. Spices that would make their fish soar in flavor. Ah? A glimmer of interest, then:
sorry, but it remains very, very difficult. I took gold from the chest and gave each man two pieces as
evidence of my intent. We are very grateful. But... I must think ... Perhaps... if we did agree to continue ..
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