They went forward through darkness. Presently they were mounting a slight rise. From the top of it Ketrik looked down at the campfires of a Rajec caravan, a large one.
As they moved down the slope, Ketrik realized he'd have to stick to his word. His mind raced, building up a brief but, he hoped, suitable story. He was sufficiently versed in Martian history. He knew that aeons ago vast tribes of these black-skinned Rajecs had been dominant on the planet. But the "Upper Martians," so called, had progressed phenomenally. They were superior in the arts, social government, science, and the "culture" of warfare. They had swept down from the north, expanding, building their cities and developing their waterways, the now famous Canals. A bitter thousand-years' war had driven the Rajecs ever southward into the merciless deserts.
There they had stayed, waging periodic but futile warfare. Wild and tribal now, they still had never forgotten. The S'Relah was a fanatic, inter-tribal society ... persisting through countless generations, dedicated to a relentless hate of those upper Martians. And Ketrik knew what few men knew—that among the S'Relah were many renegade Martians, outlaws and embittered "politicals" usually, working through the Society for personal gain or revenge.
Ketrik had his story ready as they came into the camp. The Rajec leader was sent for. This man was large, well proportioned, the muscles beneath his ebon skin high-lighted in the glow of the central fire. He was armed merely with a razor-edged dagger in a jewelled belt. Ketrik, looking at him, felt respect and a certain foreboding—the latter occasioned by the slight enigmatic smile about the other's lips.
The man eyed Ketrik with equal interest. His keen gaze lingered overly long on his "Martian" features. He certainly noted the electro which Ketrik retained, but it didn't seem to bother him. He spoke at last, in Martian.
"You claim to be S'Relah. We will need proof of that. What is your name?"
"Khosan."
"Ah, yes. Khosan. And where do you come from?"
"L'Ottli." Ketrik named a small mining camp far to the south. "Been prospecting there for six months, trying to make stake enough to get up to Turibek."