the mossy undergrowth ending in a neat line.
'Earl?'
'Nothing.' Dumarest rose, dusting his hands. As the engineer made to step out into the open he caught the man's arm. 'No. We'll move around the edge and stay close to the vegetation.'
'Why? The cleared ground will make the going easier.'
'And reveal us to any who might be watching.'
'There isn't anyone.'
'We can't be sure of that.'
'No,' Timus admitted. 'We can't. But if there is they must have seen us land. Curiosity alone would have brought them outside or at least had them standing on the wall. Marek's right, Earl. The place is deserted.'
And old. Dumarest could sense it as he led the way along the edge of the clearing. An impression heightened by the utter lack of sound, the intangible aura always associated with things of great antiquity. How long had it lain cupped in the palm of the hills? Given time enough it would vanish, buried beneath rain-borne dust, dirt carried by the winds, the broken leaves of the surrounding vegetation drifting to land, to rot and lift the surface of the terrain.
Thousand of years, millions perhaps, but it would happen.
Were other cities buried beneath the surface of this world?
* * *
Back at the ship Usan Labria said eagerly, 'Well, Earl? What did you find?' She frowned as he told her. 'Nothing? Just a city with no apparent way to get inside?'
'That's all.' Dumarest drew water from a spigot and carried the cup back to the table around which they sat. The salon seemed cramped after the openness outside. 'We made a complete circuit and studied the place from all directions. From each it looked the same.'
'Balhadorha!' Timus snorted his disgust. 'The world of fabulous treasure. The planet on which all questions are answered and all problems solved. So much for the truth of legend. All we have is an enigma.'
'Which can be solved!' Sufan Noyoka was sharp. 'What did you expect, men coming to greet us, giving us fortunes as a gift? A pit filled with precious metals or trees bearing priceless gems? Legend distorts the truth, but legend need not lie. Within that city could lie items of tremendous value.'
If this world was Balhadorha. If the man hadn't followed a wrong lead and discovered a world not even hinted at in legend. A possibility Dumarest didn't mention as he sat, listening to the others.
'We've got to get inside and quickly!' Usan Labria was insistent. The last attack had almost killed her, the next might; she had no time to waste. 'Can you lift the ship and set it down beyond that wall?'
'On those mounds? No.' The captain was blunt. 'We need level ground.'
'Climb it, then?' Pacula looked from one to the other. 'With ropes and pitons it should be possible.'
'A hundred feet of sheer surface?' Timus shrugged. He was not a mountaineer.
'We could cut steps and make holds,' she explained. 'It shouldn't be hard. On Teralde, as a girl, I climbed higher slopes than that.'
'I've a better suggestion,' said Jarv Nonach from behind his pomander. 'Let's blow a way in. With explosives we could break a hole in the wall.'
'If it isn't too thick or too hard,' agreed the engineer. Scowling he added, 'We should have brought a raft with us. Well, it's too late to wish that now. Earl?'
'I suggest we wait. There is too much we don't know about this world as yet. To rush in might be stupid.'
'Wait? For how long?' Usan bit at her lower lip. 'And for what purpose? We aren't interested in anything aside from getting what we came to find. Blow the city to hell for all I care. Just let's get inside.'
'And out again?' Dumarest set down his empty cup. 'That's important, Usan, don't you think? To escape with the wealth we hope to find.'
'Of course, but-' She broke off, making a helpless gesture. 'You said the place was deserted.'
'Marek said that, and I agree it seems that way, but we can't be sure. A delay won't do any harm.'
A delay she couldn't afford, and others were equally impatient. A symptom of the danger Sufan had hinted at, the greed which blinded elementary caution.
'I say we blast a way in. Grab what we can and leave before anything can stop us.' The navigator was definite. Sneeringly he added, 'I'm not afraid of what I can't see if others are.'
'I agree,' said Acilus. 'I didn't come here to start at shadows.'
'We have to decide.' Sufan Noyoka's eyes darted from one to the other. 'Earl could be right to anticipate unknown dangers, but speed could be on our side. In any case we have no choice. How else to get within the city?'
Dumarest said quietly, 'You're forgetting Marek Cognez.'
'I'm glad someone remembered me.' The man sat back in his chair, smiling. 'To each his own. You, Captain, brought us here. You, Jarv, and you Sufan, guided us with some help from others. Earl warns us. I solve puzzles. And the city, as you said, Timus, is an enigma. One I find entrancing. Those who built it must have left. How? Did they have wings? The shape of the city is against it-level areas are needed for landing.'
'Birds fly,' said Pacula. 'They don't need flat areas on which to land.'
'True, but birds don't build cities. We couldn't spot anything which could have been a perch. And after landing, what then? Men do not walk on rounded surfaces and no creature finds it easy.'
'There could be streets.'
'True, we saw none but, I admit, they could be there. But think a moment. Imagine a city of mounds, not domes but structures shaped like eggs. Only the central spire shows straight lines. Logic tells us that the streets, if present, would be narrow and winding, overhung and unpleasant to walk on especially for a winged race. And the surrounding clearing, what of that? Earl studied it. Earl?'
'A radioactive compound with a long half-life would have sterilized the soil,' he said.
'Yes, but why?' Marek looked from face to face. 'A part of the puzzle and a question which should be answered. Given time I will answer it, but I must have time.'
'We don't need answers,' snapped the navigator. 'Smash the wall and go in.'
'And if the city isn't empty?'
'Kill those inside.'
'If they can be killed. But think a moment. Does a man leave his house unguarded? If the city holds treasure it could be protected. If-'
'There are too many 'ifs.' ' Rae Acilus slammed his hand hard on the table. 'Marek, you say the city is deserted. Right?'
'As far as I can determine, yes.'
'So we have nothing to worry about from what could be inside. Our only problem is the wall. We can climb it or blow a hole through it.'
'Or burn one with lasers,' said the engineer. 'If it isn't too thick.'
'A hundred feet high-it has to be thick. Now…'
Dumarest rose and left them arguing. Outside the blue sun was setting, the one of somber red lifting above the horizon. Here there could be no night or time of darkness-always one or more of the suns would ride in the sky.
Without the sight of stars would those who had lived here have ever guessed at the tremendous majesty of the universe? Had they grown introverted, using their skill and energy to turn one planet into a paradise instead of forming a thousand into living hells? Was that the basis of the legend, the moral truth it held?
But if people had lived here what had happened to them? Where were those who had built and lived in the city?
'Earl?' He turned. Embira had come to join him at the open port. 'Is that you, Earl?'
'Yes, couldn't you tell?'
'The metal,' she said. 'Of the hull and that you wear. They merge-is it you?'
For answer he took her hands. They were cold, trembling, a quiver which grew as suddenly she pressed herself hard against him.
'Earl! Please!'
A woman lost and needing comfort. He held her close, one hand stroking the mane of her hair, the other
