managed to join one of the Ladder cables to the fragment they had retied around the tree. The resulting knot was larger than a man's head. It was hard to believe it would hold. As Carnelian directed the sartlar to gradually release that side of the Ladder, everything began creaking, groaning, squeezing smaller. The whole system stuttered, then fell silent. Like everyone else, Carnelian was ready to run from the whiplash should it all come apart.
'It holds,' said Fern at last, his voice loud in the silence.
Carnelian and Krow whooped and the Plainsmen joined them.
It was already getting dark when the other side of the Ladder was similarly secured. The Plainsmen celebrated while the sartlar looked on, as animated as rocks. They shied away from Carnelian as he walked in among them. He found Kor.
'You've done well.' He gazed over the sartlar. 'You've all done well.'
He looked down at Kor. 'Now go and rest.'
'Rest is forbidden us,' the woman said.
'But I've nothing more for you to do.'
The other Master commanded us to quarry salt.'
'Hush,' Carnelian said and looked round to see if any of the Plainsmen had heard her and was relieved when he saw them returning to the knoll.
He looked back at Kor. Then you must obey his commands.'
'And what shall we eat, Master?'
Carnelian grimaced. There was no spare djada. 'Eat what there is in the tree.'
'As the Master commands,' said the woman and limped off to join her fellow creatures, who were making their slow, melancholy way back to their caves.
When Carnelian returned to the knoll, the fires were already lit. Their crackle and the mutter of Plainsman voices were comforting. Fern made a space for him at his side. Carnelian sat down and took the djada offered.
The men would like you to know that most of the water caches in the trees have been drained,' Fern said, in a voice all were meant to hear.
Then we'll have to fetch water from the river.'
This was greeted with a murmur of discontent.
'We wish to return to our peoples in the mountains,' said Ravan.
'You know perfectly well the Master told us to wait here for him,' said Krow, his eyes flaming. 'And what if he doesn't return in time?' 'He will.'
Ravan stood up and looked around him. Loudly, he announced: 'Let's cut the Ladder and, in the morning, we'll leave this accursed place.'
Silence fell across the knoll, disturbed only by a few mutters of agreement. When Krow made to confront Ravan, Carnelian held up a hand to stay him. 'Let him speak.'
Ravan looked at Carnelian, surprised, then lifted his gaze over the camp.
The Ochre who have lived with them will tell you the Standing Dead are nothing more than men. Yes, they have power, but it is not divine. We four tribes have now fought together. Why don't we go on? Which other tribe could stand against our joined might? Imagine what could flow from this alliance: the salt that would free us from service in the legions; the captured children we could send to the Mountain in place of our own. All this we could do once freed from the Master.'
As voices broke out supporting Ravan, Carnelian saw how much the youth had become Osidian's pupil. He saw also what the consequence of such upheaval would be. The Wise would not tolerate such a challenge to their systems. But how could he explain to the Plainsmen the complex realities that lay behind the face the Commonwealth presented to its subjects? Still, this had to be stopped before it went too far. He rose.
'Ravan is right, you could cut the Ladder and return to your peoples, but consider this: the Manila came up before and massacred two tribes; the next time they come up do you want them led by the Master?'
Ravan saw Carnelian's words had spread dread. 'What of it? Did the Darkcloud not defeat them?'
Several answered him.
'Prepared, we could do so again.' His eyes became possessed by firelight. 'Perhaps we might even become strong enough to defy the Gatherers.'
Fern leapt to his feet and began making appeals to those who had seen the dragons of the legions. 'Do you really believe we could defeat those?'
Ravan thrust his head towards his brother. The Master believes so. He told me that is his plan.'
Carnelian was shocked Osidian had confided so much in the youth. Then he has deceived you, as he has deceived himself. The methods he has used to overturn your lives are the same the Standing Dead use to rule the world. A legion is altogether another matter. The dragons cannot be defeated by riders however numerous. As for defeating the Manila, up until now, when they have come up onto the Earthsky, they have wandered blind in a land they did not know. Even so, they destroyed two tribes. As for the Darkcloud's victory, I led the attack. We only won because we surprised them.' He located the Darkcloud around their fires. 'How many would have fallen in a pitched battle?'
Some of them shook their heads, but none spoke up.
'If the Master led the Marula, they would move with more certainty than even you in your own land. If you doubt this, ask Ravan and any of the rest of us whom he guided through the swamp and across the Earthsky when no Plainsman knew the way.'
Krow and Fern were nodding, as were many around other fires. Carnelian fixed Ravan with a glare.
'Do you really believe you could defeat the Master in battle? Would you have beaten the Bluedancing? You were there, Ravan, scared in the darkness with the rest of us before the Master came. Could you' – he looked out over the camp – 'or any of you have killed a ravener single-handed with a spear?'
His question echoed off the baobabs. Fern sat, then reached up and pulled his brother down. The youth scowled at the fire. Carnelian sank too and, ignoring Krow's stare, resumed the chewing of his djada. He was relieved when he heard chatter resume around the hearths.
At a sign from Carnelian, Fern and he slipped away from the drowsy camp to sit on the slope of the knoll from which they could keep a watch on the sartlar ladder.
'We got away with it this time,' said Fern.
Carnelian nodded. The next time might not be so easy.' He had hated threatening them with Osidian. It made him feel as if he was collaborating with him. He turned to his friend.
'Hasn't this made you feel it might well be safer if we were to bring Ravan into our circle?'
Fern shook his head vigorously. 'He's too erratic; too emotional. Besides, do you really believe he would support us in bringing back the old ways?'
'I suppose not. He will try this again.'
Fern hung his head, nodding. 'The problem is that the men are idle. I can't blame them for wanting to be back with their hearths.'
Light swelled in Carnelian's mind as he saw the valley in the mountains. He crushed the vision and peered into the night. 'And then there's the danger from the sartlar.'
'We could cut the ladder to their caves.'
Carnelian shook his head. 'I won't starve them.'
'We could keep watch every night.'
'We didn't even manage to stay awake.'
They hung their heads. Something occurred to Carnelian. He looked up. 'Perhaps we could knot our two problems into a solution. Let's fortify the camp.'
Fern considered this. 'What reason would we give them?'
They fear the Marula, don't they?'
Fern nodded. 'And we Plainsmen feel exposed without our ditches. It might work.'
Carnelian slapped Fern on the back. 'We'll make it work.'
Fern's grin appeared in the starlight. 'Now, let's see if this time we can manage to stay awake.'
Grumbling, the Plainsmen set to fortifying their camp on the knoll. Carnelian joined them digging the dry earth in the cool of the morning. Fern and he had mapped where the ditch would run around the crown from
