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arrangements of curls and their faces were masks of cosmetics. He decided that
many of them would be very beautiful with the paint washed off. Some seemed
similarly interested in him, bringing upon him the stone-eyed stares of their
hulking bodyguards. These attendants were of yet another race, pale-skinned,
bald-headed men whose moun-
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John Maddox Roberts tainous bellies did not detract from a sense of great
physical strength.
A few streets away, he found a more congenial market. This one sold weapons.
Here he found a fine selection of swords and daggers, most of them still made
of bronze or of bronze with steel edges, but there were a few all-steel
weapons, evidence that his father's steel mine was having its effect here.
Once, only kings or great nobles could afford weapons of steel.
He admired the artistry of the bronze weapons. Steel had a brutal efficiency,
but bronze presented far greater scope for decoration and could be cast into a
multitude of shapes. The lustrous red-gold color of the metal was sensually
pleasing in a way that the silvery gray of steel could never match.
Some shops featured entire cuirasses and helmets of bronze, armor fit for the
most exalted of officers. Ansa could never see the sense in wearing such
encumbrances in battle, but he could not deny that it was impressive. He saw
no bows like his own, but he found some tall bows built up of split bamboo and
lashed with sinew. He took up several and tried the draw, finding them to be
nearly as powerful as his own bow, although far too long for use from the
saddle. Their arrows were also of bamboo, cleverly constructed from long
splints to make them perfectly cylindrical. Their heads were of many forms and
materials for various purposes, from round, wooden knobs for bird hunting to
compact bronze points for war. There were even bulbous, hollow heads variously
pierced for delivering signals by whistling, humming or hooting as they flew
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through the air.
On one table, he found weapons of stone. Even among his own people, stone
hatchets and war-hammers were not uncommon. Since few of the plainsmen
bothered with armor these weapons were as effective as the equivalents made of
far more costly metal. But the southerners made far greater use of stone, and
some of these weapons were quite
THE POISONED LANDS
121
beautiful. He was especially taken with a stone axe, its double-bladed head
crafted from a strange green stone, lovingly polished until it shone like
jade. Its slender shaft was made of a tough, flexible wood, completely covered
by a sheathing of rawhide thread braided intricately into decorative designs.
The rawhide continued over the narrow part of the axe where the handle passed
through the pierced head. The whole was as solid as if made from pure stone,
save that the rawhide-covered handle retained its slight whippi-ness,
magnifying the force of a blow. When he held it loosely by his side, the head
just brushed the ground. This Ansa considered to be the ideal length for a
weapon designed to be swung at arm's length.
The price was low, but he bargained the vendor even lower, stressing the
obsolescence of stone weapons, their low status compared to bronze and steel,
the absence of gold and jewels or other decoration beyond the braiding.
He walked from the market well pleased. There was nothing like acquiring a new
weapon to put him in an excellent frame of mind. He slid the handle through
his belt on the side opposite his sword. The small, compact axe head was not
uncomfortable in that position. Its narrow edges were not truly sharp, as the
weapon was more of a club or hammer in the form of an axe than a true chopping
weapon. He decided that in the future he would wear his traveling cloak to
cover his profusion of armament. That was a compromise he could live with.
Having no particular destination, his steps took him upward. As he ascended,
the construction grew less crowded and jumbled and he passed stately mansions
set behind high walls surrounding formal gardens. This, he was certain, was
where the aristocracy lived. Guards stationed atop the estate walls eyed him
suspiciously, but none sought to hinder him. The streets were wider here, and
they were not thronged like those below. He saw tradesmen carrying their
122
)ohn Maddox Roberts wares to the great houses for the benefit of those who had
no taste for rubbing elbows with the lower classes.
"Warrior!" Ansa knew he was the only such person hi the vicinity so he looked
upward toward the source of the voice. He saw a woman leaning over a terrace
wall, long curls as thick as a child's arm framing a face covered with the
masklike makeup of a high-caste woman. She leaned with her elbows atop a
balustrade, her forearms encased in innumerable bracelets of gold and silver.
"Yes?"
"Do you speak Granian?" she asked.
"If you do not speak too quickly."
"Where are you from?" She spoke bluntly and directly, and he wondered if that
was because she thought she was speaking to an inferior.
"I am from the plains beyond the desert to the north."
"Is that not the realm of Hael, the Steel King?"
This was the first time he had heard that title. "Yes. My name is Ansa, a
warrior of the ... Ramdi." He had to pause for a moment to remember which
tribe he had decided to claim.
"Warrior Amsi, would you come into my house? I wish to speak with you."
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