A few hundred yards out in the lake, a high wedge of water was sweeping toward him. At the apex of the vee, he could see the shape of a boat, its bow riding high over the water.
“Oh, no,” he groaned to himself. “Trouble again!” He waited.
As the wave splashed to the pier, he dashed forward to secure the boat. Kio Barra merely glanced at him. Briefly, he caught the impression of a wide field. A line of great beasts were crossing it, their long necks bobbing as they walked. He nodded in understanding.
A caravan was coming in. That would be trouble, of course, but of minor nature. He turned, to follow the glittering figure as it floated toward the path and on, into the village.
As the caravan came to a stop, Naran’s beast bent its knees and [p 39] crouched. He swung himself to the ground.
He was getting the hang of this, he told himself. At first, he had been forced to fight an almost uncontrollable compulsion to float down normally, but now it seemed quite sensible to grab the heavy fiber strands and swing forward till his feet were solidly on the ground. He spun about.
“All right,” he shouted. “Take your reins. Form your unloading circles on me. We’ll be here for a day or two.”
He watched as the slings were lifted from the brutes’ backs, then turned his attention to the man who was greeting Dar Girdek.
So this was the Lord of the Mountain Lake. He shook his head. The fellow glittered almost from head to foot. Naran examined the jewelry
appraisingly. He wore a fourth-order cap. They didn’t make them any heavier than that one. And if there was a device that had been left out, he had never heard of it.