Gor - Raiders Of Gor Part 43

"If I can control the bird," I said , "follow me, and keep the instructions I have given you."

"Let me ride first," said Terence of Treve.

I smiled. Why would one who had been a tamsman of Ko-ro-ba, the Towers of the Morning, let one of Treve, a traditional enemy, take the saddle of a tam before him? it would not do, of course, to tell him this.

"No," I said.

There was a pair of slave manages wrapped about the pommel of the saddle, also a length of rope. These things I thrust in my belt.

I gestured and the tam hobble, fastening the right foot of the great bird to a huge bolt set in the s.h.i.+p's keel, was opened.

I drew on the one-strap.

To my delight the tarn, with a snap of its wings, leaped from the hold. He stood on the deck of the round s.h.i.+p, opening and closing his wings, looking about himself, and then threw bark his head and screamed. The other tarns below in the hold, some ten of them, s.h.i.+fted and rattled their hobbles.

The sleet struck down cutting my face.

I drew again on the one-strap and again the bird's wings snapped, and he was on the long, sloping yard on the round s.h.i.+p's foremast.

His head was very high and every nerve in his body seemed alert, but puzzled. He looked about himself.

I did not hurry the bird.

I slapped the side of its neck, and spoke to it, gently, confidently.

I drew on the one-strap. The bird did not move. His talons clutched the sloping yard.

I did not use the tarn goad.

I waited for some time, stroking it, and talking to it.

And then, suddenly, I gave a cry and jerked on the one-strap and the bird, by training and instinct, flung itself into the sleeting wind and began to climb the dark, running sky.

I was again on tamback!

The bird climbed until I released the one-strap and then it began to circle. Its movements were as sure and as swift as though it might have been over the familiar crags of the Voltai or the ca.n.a.ls of Port Kar.

I tested its responses to the straps. They were im- mediate and eager. And suddenly I realized that the bird was trembling with excitement and pleasure, finding itself swift and alive and strong in a new world to his senses.

Already, below me, I saw tarns being unhooded, and the straps that bound their beaks being unbuckled, and cast aside. Riders were climbing into the saddles. I saw tarns leaping to the decks of the round s.h.i.+ps, and I saw the knotted ropes being attached to the saddles, and picked seamen, experts with the sword, five to a rope, taking their positions. And besides these seamen, each tarnsman, tied to his saddle, carried a s.h.i.+elded, protected s.h.i.+p's lantern, lighted, and, in the pockets of leather ap.r.o.ns, tied together and thrown across the saddles numerous clay flasks, corked with rags. These flasks I knew, were filled with tharlarion oil, and the rags that corked them had been soaked in the same substance.

Soon, behind me, there were some hundred tarnsmen, and below each, dangling, hanging to the knotted ropes, were five picked men.

I saw that the fleets of my fifth wave, the two fleets of forty s.h.i.+ps apiece, under the command of Chung and Nigel, were well engaged in their strikes on the flanks of the great fleet.

At this time, before their numbers could have been well ascertained by the enemy, before the enemy could be much aware of anything more than the unexpected flanking attacks, I, followed by the tarnsmen, with the picked seamen, darted through the sleeting, windy skies over the locked fleets.

In the turmoil below, primarily of tam s.h.i.+ps locked in battle, and the great round s.h.i.+ps trying to close with enemy tam s.h.i.+ps, I saw, protected by ten tam s.h.i.+ps on each side, and ten before and ten behind, the flags.h.i.+p of Cos and Tyros. It was a great sNp, painted in the yellow of Tyros, with more than two hundred oarsmen.

It was the s.h.i.+p of Chenbar. It would carry, besides its oarsmen, who were all free, fighting men, some one hundred bowmen, and another hundred men, seamen, artillery men, auxiliary personnel and officers.

I drew on the four-strap. Almost instantly the s.h.i.+p was the center of a great beating of wings and descending tams.

My own tarn landed on the stern castle itself, and I leaped from its back.

I whipped the sword from its sheath. Startled, Chenbar himself, LJbar of Tyros, the Sea Sleen, drew his blade.

I tore away the wind scarf from my face. "You!" he cried.

"Bosk," I told him, "Captain of Port Kar." Our blades met.

Behind us I could hear shouts and cries, and the sounds of men dropping from their ropes to the deck, and of weapons meeting weapons. I heard the hiss of crossbow quarrels.

As one set of birds hovered over the deck and their men dropped to its planks, the birds darted away, and another set took their place. And then, their fighters disembarked, the birds with their riders swept away, up into the 'black, vicious sleeting sky, to light the oily rags, one by one, in the clay flasks of tharlarion oil and hurt them, from the heights of the sky, down onto the decks of s.h.i.+ps of Cos and Tyros. I did not expect a great deal of damage to be done by these shattering bombs of burning oil, but I was counting on the confluence of three factors: the psychological effect of such an attack, the fear of the outflanking fleets, whose numbers could not yet well have been ascertained, and, in the confusion and, hopefully terror, the unexpected, sudden loss of their commander.

I slipped on the sleet-iced deck of the stern castle and parried Chenbar's blade from my throat.

I leaped to my feet and again we engaged.

Then we grappled, the sword wrist of each in the hand of the other.

I threw him against the sternpost and his back and head struck against the post.

I heard someone behind me but whoever it was was met by one of my men. There were blades clas.h.i.+ng at my back. I feared for the instant I might have broken Chenbar's back. I released the sword hand of the admiral of Tyros and struck him in the stomach with my left fist. As he sank forward I wrenched free my sword hand and, holding the sword still in my fist, struck him a heavy blow across the jaw with my fist. I spun about. My men were engaging those who would try to climb to the stern castle. Chenbar had sunk to his knees, stunned. I pulled the slave manacles from my belt and clapped them on Chenbar's wrists. Then, on his stomach, I dragged him to the talons of the tarn. With the rope, taken from my belt, I tied the slave manacles to the right foot of the bird.

Chenbar tried, groggily, to get up, but my foot on his neck held him in place.

I looked about.

My men were forcing the defenders of the s.h.i.+p over the side, into the cold waters. The defenders had not been prepared for such an attack. They had been taken unawares and resistance had been slight. Moreover, my men outnumbered them by some hundred swords.

The defenders were swimming across to the other tam s.h.i.+ps of Tyros, now swinging about to close with us and board.

Crossbow bolts from the other s.h.i.+ps began to fall into the deck of the flags.h.i.+p.

"Hold the men of Tyros left aboard at the parapetsl" I cried.

I heard a voice from across the water cry out. "Hold your fire!"

Then the first of the tarns returned to the flags.h.i.+p, having cast down its flaming bombs of burning oil.

Five of my men seized its rope, and, in an instant, they were lifted away from the s.h.i.+p.

"Fire the s.h.i.+p!" I called to my men.

They rushed below the decks to set fires in the hold.

More tarns returned and more of my men, sometimes six and seven to a rope, were carried away from the s.h.i.+p.

Smoke began to drift up through the planking of the deck.

One of the s.h.i.+ps of Cos grated against the side of our own.

My men fought back boarders and then, with oars thrust away the other s.h.i.+p.

Another s.h.i.+p struck our side, shearing oars. My men rushed to repel boarders again.

"Look!" one cried.

They gave a cheer. The s.h.i.+p flew the flag of Bosk, with its green stripes on the white background.

"Tab!" they cried. "Tab!"

It was the Venna, thrust through to free us.

I briefly saw Tab, sweating even in the cold, in a torn tunic, a sword in his hand on the stem castle of the Venna.

Then, on the other side, was the Tela, the Venna's sister s.h.i.+p. The heavy, protective wales, the parallel beams protecting her hull, were fresh scarred and half cut away.

My men eagerly leaped aboard these two s.h.i.+ps.

I waved away other tamsmen, returning to the flags.h.i.+p to pick up men.

I could see s.h.i.+ps burning in the distance.

Then flames shot up through the deck planking of the flags.h.i.+p.

The last of the men of Tyros aboard the s.h.i.+p leaped free to the cold waters to swim to their own s.h.i.+ps. I could see some, a hundred yards-away, climbing the wales of tarn s.h.i.+ps, some clinging to their oars.

Chenbar and I remained alone on the deck of the stern castle of the flags.h.i.+p.

I climbed to the saddle.

A crossbow bolt dropped past me, striking into the burning deck.

Chenbar shook his head, and leaped to his feet, his wrists in manacles. "Fightl"

he screamed to his distant s.h.i.+ps. "Fight!"

I drew on the one-strap and the tam, against the wind, took flight and Chenbar of Kasra, LThar of Tyros, the Sea Sleen, in the manacles of a common slave, swung free below us, helpless and pendant in the furies of the wind and the sleeting rain, the captive of Bosk, a captain of Port Kar, admiral of her fleet.

18 How Bosk Returned to His Home

When we struck the icy, wind-driven decks of the Dorna MY men rose at their benches and, cheering, waved their caps.

"Take this prisoner," I told an officer, "and chain him below decks. The council will decide what is to be done with him."

There was another cheer.

Chenbar stood facing me for an instant, his fists clenched, fury in his eyes, and then he was rudely turned about and, by two seamen, forced below decks.

"I expect," said the oar-master, "that in the rag of a slave he will eventually find his place at the bench of an a.r.s.enal round s.h.i.+p."

"Admiral!" cried the voice from the masthead. "The fleet of Cos and Tyros is putting aboutf They fly!"

I shook with emotion. I could not speak. The men were cheering about me. Then I said, "Recall our s.h.i.+ps."

Men ran to signal s.h.i.+ps among the reserves, that they might draw toward our engaged fleet, recalling it.

The Doma now heaved and pitched like a snared sleen. She, like most tarn s.h.i.+ps, was a narrow vessel, long and of shallow draft. I looked to the round s.h.i.+ps.

Even they leaped in the water. I did not think the Dorna would long live in such a sea unless she might run before it.

"Lift the anchors," I said. "Set the storm sail!"

Men hastened to do what I had told them, and, as they did so, I sent signals to reserve s.h.i.+ps, to be conveyed to the balance of the fleet, that they might save themselves while they could. There could be no question of following up what had appeared to be the victory over the fleets of Cos and Tyros.

I stood on the icy, wind-struck deck of the Doma, my back turned to the storm.

My admirals cloak, brought with my returning men from the round s.h.i.+p, was given to me and I wrapped it about my shoulders. A vessel of hot Paga was brought, too.

"The victory draught," said the oar-master.

I grinned. I did not feel victorious. I was cold. I was alive. I swallowed the hot paga.

The yard had been lowered and the small, triangular storm sail was attached to it. The anchors were raised and the yard, on its ropes and pulleys, began to climb toward the masthead. Meanwhile, the starboard oars, under the call of the oar-master began swinging the vessel about, to bring her stern into the wind.

The wind struck the side of the hull and the s.h.i.+p heeled to leeward. The deck was suddenly washed with cold waves, and then the waters had slipped back. The two helmsmen strained with their side rudders, bringing the s.h.i.+p about. Then the wind was at the stern and the oar-master began his count, easing the s.h.i.+p ahead until the storm sail was caught by the blasts. When it was it was like a fist striking the sail and the mast screamed, and the bow, for a terrible moment dipped in the water and then, dripping the cold waters, the bow leaped up and tilted to the sky.

"Stroke!" called the oar-master, his cry almost lost in the sleet and wind "Stroke! Stroke!"

The beating of the copper drum of the keleustes took UP maximum beat.

The tiny storm sail, swollen with the black wind and sleet, tore at the yard and the brail ropes. The Dorna knifed ahead, leaping between the waves that rose towering on either side.

She would live.

I did not know if the victory we had won, for victory it surely seemed to be, was decisive or not, but I well knew that the twenty-fifth of Se'Kara, for that was the day on which this battle had been fought, would not be soon forgotten in Port Kar, that city once called squalid and malignant, but which had now found a Home Stone, that city once called the scourge of gleaming Tha.s.sa, but which might now be better spoken of, as she had been by some of her citizens aforetimes, as her jewel, the jewel of gleaming Tha.s.sa. I wondered how many men would claim to have fought on the twenty-fiftb of Se'Kara, abroad on Tha.s.sa. I smiled. This day would doubtless be made holiday in Port Kar. And those who had fought here would be, in years to come, as comrades and brothers. I am English.

And I recalled another vic- tory, in another time, on a distant world. I supposed that in time to come men might, on this holiday, show their wounds to slaves and wondering children, saying to them, "These I had in SeKara." Would this battle be sung as had that one? Not in England, I knew. But on Gor, it would. And yet songs 'I told myself, are lies. And those that had died this day did not sing. And yet, I asked myself, had they lived, would they not have sung?

And I told myself, I thought yes. And so, then, I asked Myself, might we not then sing for them, and for ourselves as well, and could there not be, in some way that was hard to understand, but good, truth in songs?

I went to the tarn that I had ridden back to the Dorna. I took off my Admiral's cloak and threw it over the s.h.i.+vering bird.