In the Moons of Borea Read Online Free PDF Page A

considering Silberhutte's suggestion, de Marigny made no answer. He looked into the eager, honest eyes of this white giant, a man tall as Titus Crow himself but broader yet. Without question Silberhutte must be formidably strong. And did not his companions treat him with the utmost respect, and they themselves men obviously well versed in the arts of combat?
    Finally he said, 'All right, Hank, and glad to have you along. But first we'll have to make you a seat or sling of some sort that we can suspend from the cloak's harness. There's just a bit too much of you for me to carry like a babe in arms for any great length of time.'
    An hour later, after a meal of smoked meat, bread, and wild honey washed down with richly spiced tea, the two were ready to take their departure. While they, had eaten, Umchak the Eskimo had worked with leather barely mature, fashioning a seat which, attached to the cloak's harness, would hang immediately beneath de Marigny where he himself floated in the spread of the cloak's canopy.
    First they tested the cloak's strength. In ascending, it was very slow, and descent was deceptive in that the 'brakes' had to be applied that much sooner, but in level flight the loss of speed was not so great as de Marigny had feared. Manoeuvrability, however, was an almost total loss. Carrying two men, the contraption was simply too cumbersome to perform any but the most rudimentary routines of flight.
    Eventually de Marigny was satisfied that he could handle the cloak adequately under the circumstances, and then they descended to say their farewells to the three who breathlessly waited below. De Marigny wrapped himself in a warm fur from Kota'na's pack while Silberhutte delivered his final instructions to his retainers. Moments later, as de Marigny hovered only a few feet above the forest's floor, Silberhutte again climbed into his own makeshift harness and they were off.
    As they rose up through the forest, Kota'na called: 'And if we get back to the plateau before you, Lord, how shall I tell the Woman of the Winds what you are about?'
    `Tell your mistress what you know,' Silberhutte shouted down.
    'She may well be displeased, Lord, that I return without you.'
    'Then tell her that you keep only the bears, Kota'na – that the Lord Silberhutte is his own man. Now begone - and all speed to you, bear-brother . .
    And with that they were away, climbing above the treetops to circle once, twice, before setting a course that followed the way the wolf-warriors had taken.
    At first they flew close to the treetops, descending occasionally to ensure that they still followed the course of the twin ruts in the forest floor that told of the clock's passing. But soon they were able to climb a little higher as the trees below thinned out and the trail became that much easier to follow. By then it was apparent that they followed a course which circled to the east, back toward the territories of Ithaqua's tribes, those lands bordering on the great white plain which lay south of the impregnable plateau.
    The miles were quickly eaten up beneath them, and as they went, their elevation offered a view of great beauty and mystery. To the north the peaks of a low range showed white heads above belts of grey cloud, behind which` the moons of Borea were hidden except for their uppermost rims. To the south the green forest extended until hidden by distance and a wall of mist that rose until it merged with the far grey sky. Flying over rivers and lakes, they told of the adventures each had known since last he saw the other.
    De Marigny related the fantastic story of how he had gone to the assistance of Titus Crow and Tiania the girl-goddess in Earth's dreamworld; Silberhutte in turn told of all that had transpired since Ithaqua bore him away from Earth's icy northern mountains to Borea; and so they grew to know one another. They had been merely distant colleagues in the old days, meeting on no more than two or three occasions. That had been at a