the pillars that held aloft the inverted blue bowl of the heavens. Eagles roosted upon the galleries of shaggy nests they had built in the high branches. They were magnificent birds with shining white heads and russet pinions. In flight they would emit a wild, chanting cry, then plunge into the lake and emerge with a large fish gripped in their talons.
They saw monstrous crocodiles sunning themselves on every beach, and gatherings of hippopotamus in the shallows. The rounded grey backs were as massive as granite boulders. When they sailed out into open water again, the shore turned due south, as Taita had predicted, and they ran on towards the end of the earth. They sailed past endless forests populated by great herds of black buffalo, grey elephant and enormous pig-like creatures that carried sharp horns upon their noses. They were the first of the kind they had encountered, and Taita drew sketches of them, which Fenn declared a marvel of accuracy.
'My friends the priests will hardly believe in the existence of such wondrous beasts,' Taita observed. 'Meren, might you be able to slay one of those creatures so that we could take the nose-horn back with us as a gift for Pharaoh?' Their mood had become so buoyant that they had begun to believe there would be an eventual return to their own land in the far north.
As always, Meren was eager for the chase, and leapt at the suggestion.
'If you can prevail upon That and the captain to anchor for a day or two, I will go ashore with a mount and a bow.'
Taita approached That with the suggestion that the horses, having been confined so long in the cramped conditions aboard the barges, would benefit greatly from a gallop, and found him surprisingly amenable.
'You are correct, Magus, and a goodly supply of fresh meat would not go amiss. With soldiers and slaves, I have many bellies to fill.'
That evening they came to a wide floodplain on the lakeshore. The open glades were alive with multitudes of game, from the grey pachyderms to the smallest, most graceful antelope. The plain was bisected by a small estuary running in from the east and debouching into the lake. It was navigable for a short distance, and provided a secure harbour for the flotilla. They landed the horses, and the men set up a camp on the riverbank. They were all delighted to have solid ground under their feet, and as they rode out the next morning the mood was festive. That instructed his hunters to attack the herds of buffalo and to pick out the cows and heifers, whose flesh was more palatable than that of the old bulls - they were so tough and rank that they were almost inedible.
By now Meren and Hilto had recovered from the wounds they had received at Tamafupa. They would lead the chase after the monstrous pachyderms with nose-horns. Nakonto and Imbali would follow on foot, while Taita and Fenn would stay behind as spectators. At the last moment Colonel That rode across and asked Taita, 'I would like to ride with you to watch the sport. I hope that you do not object to my presence.'
Taita was surprised. He had not expected such a friendly overture from the morose fellow. 'I would be delighted to have your company, Colonel. As you know, we are after one of those strange creatures which carries a horn upon its nose.'
By this time bands of cavalry were roving across the plain, harrying the buffalo herds with cries of excitement, riding in close to use the lance upon them. When the doughty bovines turned at bay they shot them down with volleys of arrows. Soon black carcasses were littered across the sward, and the panic-stricken herds charged willy- nilly about the plain, desperate to escape the hunters.
To avoid the confused ruck of herds and horsemen, and to discover open ground where they could hunt the pachyderm selectively, Meren crossed the little estuary and rode along the bank. The others followed him until they were out of sight of the vessels, and had the field to themselves. Ahead, they could see a number of quarry scattered across the grassland in small family groups of females and calves. However, Meren was determined to procure the horn of a patriarch, a trophy fit to present to Pharaoh.
As he led them further from the anchored ships, Taita noticed a gradual change coming over Colonel That. His reserve was softening,
and he even smiled at some of Fenn's chatter. 'Your ward is a bright young girl,' he remarked, 'but is she discreet?'
'She is a young girl, as you said, and is free of spite or malice.' That relaxed a little more, so Taita opened his Inner Eye and assessed the man's state of mind. He is under restraint, he thought. He does not want to be seen by his officers to converse freely with me. He is afraid of somebody among his men. I have no doubt it is Captain Onka, who has probably been placed here to watch and report on his superior officer. That has something to tell me, but he is fearful.
Taita reached out with his mind to Fenn, and saw her become receptive. He sent her a message in the Tenmass: 'Join Meren. Leave me alone with That.'
Immediately she turned towards him and smiled. 'Please excuse me, Magus,' she said sweetly. 'I would ride with Meren a space. He has promised to build me a bow of my own.' With her knees she pushed Whirlwind into a canter, leaving Taita alone with That.
The two men rode in silence until Taita said, 'From my conversation with Pharaoh Nefer Seti, I understood that his orders to you when you left Egypt all those years ago were to journey to the source of Mother Nile, then return to Karnak to report your findings.'
That glanced at him sharply, but did not reply.
Taita paused delicately, then went on: 'It seems strange that you have not returned to tell him of your success and to claim from him the reward you so handsomely deserve. It puzzles me to discover that we are journeying in the diametrically opposite direction to Egypt.'
That remained silent for a short while longer, then said softly, 'Pharaoh Nefer Seti is no longer my ruler. Egypt is no longer my homeland. My men and I have adopted a more beautiful, bountiful and blessed country as our own. Egypt is under a curse.'
'I would never have believed that any officer of your status could turn away from his patriotic duty,' Taita said.
'I am not the first Egyptian officer to do so. There was another, ninety years ago, who discovered this new country and never returned to Egypt.
He was sent by Queen Lostris on a similar mission, to discover the headwaters of the Nile. His name was General Lord Aquer.'
'I knew him well,' Taita interjected. 'He was a good soldier, but unpredictable.'
