The People of the Crater Read online

  _CHAPTER ELEVEN_

  _Thrala's Mate_

  Although there were falls of rock within the Caverns and some of thepassages were closed, few of the Folk suffered injury. Gibi scoutsreported that the land about the entrance to the Caves had sunk, andthat the River of Gold, thrown out of its bed, was fast filling thisbasin to form a lake.

  As far as they could discover, none of the Black Ones had survived thebattle and the sealing of the Caves. But they could not be sure thatthere was not a handful of outlaws somewhere within the confines of Tav.

  The Crater itself was changed. A series of raw hills had appeared in thecentral plain. The pool of boiling mud had vanished and trees in theforest lay flat, as if cut by a giant scythe.

  Upon their return to the cliff city, the Gibi found most of their waxskyscrapers in ruins, but they set about rebuilding without complaint.The squirrel farmers emerged from their burrows and were again busy inthe fields.

  Garin felt out of place in all the activity that filled the Caverns.More than ever he was the outlander with no true roots in Tav.Restlessly, he explored the Caverns, spending many hours in the Place ofAncestors, where he studied those men of the outer world who hadpreceded him into this weird land.

  One night when he came back to his chamber he found Dandtan and Trarawaiting him there. There was a curious hardness in Dandtan's attitude,a somber sobriety in Trar's carriage.

  "Have you sought the Hall of Women since the battle?" demanded the sonof the Ancient Ones abruptly.

  "No," retorted Garin shortly. Did Dandtan accuse him of double dealing?

  "Have you sent a message to Thrala?"

  Garin held back his rising temper. "I have not ventured where I cannot."

  Dandtan nodded to Trar as if his suspicions had been confirmed. "You seehow it stands, Trar."

  Trar shook his head slowly. "But never has the summoning been atfault--"

  "You forget," Dandtan reminded him sharply. "It was once--and thepenalty was exacted. So shall it be again."

  Garin looked from one to the other, confused. Dandtan seemed possessedof a certain ruthless anger, but Trar was manifestly unhappy.

  "It must come after council, the Daughter willing," the Lord of the Folksaid.

  Dandtan strode toward the door. "Thrala is not to know. Assemble theCouncil tonight. Meanwhile, see that he," he jerked his thumb towardGarin, "does not leave this room."

  Thus Garin became a prisoner under the guard of the Folk, unable todiscover of what Dandtan accused him, or how he had aroused the hatredof the Cavern ruler. Unless Dandtan's jealousy had been aroused and hewas determined to rid himself of a rival.

  Believing this, the flyer went willingly to the chamber where the judgeswaited. Dandtan sat at the head of a long table, Trar at his right handand lesser nobles of the Folk beyond.

  "You know the charge," Dandtan's words were tipped with venom as Garincame to stand before him. "Out of his own mouth has this outlandercondemned himself. Therefore I ask that you decree for him the fate ofthat outlander of the second calling who rebelled against thesummoning."

  "The outlander has admitted his fault?" questioned one of the Folk.

  Trar inclined his head sadly. "He did."

  As Garin opened his mouth to demand a stating of the charge against him,Dandtan spoke again:

  "What say you, Lords?"

  For a long moment they sat in silence and then they bobbed their lizardheads in assent. "Do as you desire, Dweller in the Light."

  Dandtan smiled without mirth. "Look, outlander." He passed his hand overthe glass of the seeing mirror set in the table top. "This is the fateof him who rebels--"

  In the shining surface Garin saw pictured a break in Tav's wall. At itsfoot stood a group of men of the Ancient Ones, and in their midststruggled a prisoner. They were forcing him to climb the crater wall.Garin watched him reach the lip and crawl over, to stagger across thesteaming rock, dodging the scalding vapor of hot springs, until hepitched face down in the slimy mud.

  "Such was his ending, and so will you end--"

  The calm brutality of that statement aroused Garin's anger. "Ratherwould I die that way than linger in this den," he cried hotly. "You, whoowe your life to me, would send me to such a death without even tellingme of what I am accused. Little is there to choose between you andKepta, after all--except that he was an open enemy!"

  Dandtan sprang to his feet, but Trar caught his arm.

  "He speaks fairly. Ask him why he will not fulfill the summoning."

  While Dandtan hesitated, Garin leaned across the table, flinging hiswords, weapon-like, straight into that cold face.

  "I'll admit that I love Thrala--have loved her since that moment when Isaw her on the steps of the morgel pit in the caves. Since when has itbecome a crime to love that which may not be yours--if you do not try totake it?"

  Trar released Dandtan, his golden eyes gleaming.

  "If you love her, claim her. It is your right."

  "Do I not know," Garin turned to him, "that she is Dandtan's. Thran hadno idea of Dandtan's survival when he laid his will upon her. Shall Istoop to holding her to an unwelcome bargain? Let her go to the one sheloves...."

  Dandtan's face was livid, and his hands, resting on the table, trembled.One by one the lords of the Folk slipped away, leaving the twoface-to-face.

  "And I thought to order you to your death." Dandtan's whisper was huskyas it emerged between dry lips. "Garin, we thought you knew--and,knowing, had refused her."

  "Knew what?"

  * * * * *

  "That I am Thran's son--and Thrala's brother."

  The floor swung beneath Garin's unsteady feet. Dandtan's hands were warmon his shoulders.

  "I am a fool," said the American slowly.

  Dandtan smiled. "A very honorable fool! Now get you to Thrala, whodeserves to hear the full of this tangle."

  So it was that, with Dandtan by his side, Garin walked for the secondtime down that hallway, to pass the golden curtains and stand in thepresence of the Daughter. She came straight from her cushions into hisarms when she read what was in his face. They needed no words.

  And in that hour began Garin's life in Tav.

  Transcriber's Note:

  This etext was produced from _Fantasy Book_ Vol. 1 number 1 (1947). Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note.