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positions to defend their mates, pipes in arms. Not that it would do any good, of course, even if they
knew how to use them. But not a one failed in his duty."
"We practiced," added Yurra. "For many, many eightdays. It was Abka's idea. He said that if we
became accurate enough, and all fired at once at the same target, that we could make up for our weak
siphons."
"He was right," said Guo firmly. "I think you kept me from being blinded."
"You fought without a shield, with two maces," said Woddulakotat admiringly. "You were truly
awesome." Yurra hooted vigorous agreement.
For a moment, the gigantic mother and her two consorts-to-be gazed at each other. Then,
simultaneously, tinges of green began to flicker in their mantles.
Perhaps it will not be so bad, after all, being a mother.
The thought was still too new and unsettling. For the males as well, it seemed, judging from the speed
with which those first, tentative flickers of green disappeared.
"If you intend to continue fighting in this crazy manner," said Yurra suddenly, "we should give some
thought to making a kind of shield for your cowl. So that we can concentrate on piping, instead of
dodging darts."
Guo was relieved, herself, at the change of subject.
"Good idea. I'll talk to my flankers about it."
The three of them began discussing the design and construction of the shield. Anchoring it, of course,
was no problem the thick, hard tissue of Guo's cowl made a perfect location for attaching a shield. The
problem was in the design. More like a visor than a shield, it would have to be so that the males atop
her cowl, while protected, would still have gaps through which to pipe.
Shortly thereafter, the signal was passed down from somewhere ahead:Make camp where you can for
the night. We depart at first light tomorrow.
Guo looked around. They were in a place where the path broadened slightly. To one side was a large
mound of moss. One of Guo's flankers inspected the mound and announced that it was (relatively) free of
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pests. Guo and her flankers moved onto the mound. She noticed the apprehensive glances which her
flankers cast about in the gloom. It was almost dark. The swamp was horrid enough in daylight. What
monsters crept within it during the dark?
She commanded them to gather closely around her bulk atop her mantle, even, as many as could fit.
The flankers quickly agreed on a system of rotating guards. (So, Guo noticed with admiration, did the
males of her cluster.) Then, feeling reassured by the proximity of Guo's great muscles, the flankers not on
watch fell quickly asleep. No large predator would likely approach such a formidable creature as Guo,
even in the dark. If they did, the watch would sound the alarm, and whatever predator might lurk in the
swamp would soon learn the bitter lesson which Guo had taught, that very day, to the Utuku. Even in
sleep, the great battlemother did not relinguish her grip on the maces.
Guo's last memory, before she fell asleep, was a faint whisper from Woddulakotat.
"Tomorrow, Guo, we will talk about Kopporu, and what you must do. But think on this, as you drift into
sleep. I was there, at the end, with the Great Mother. My bondmates and I had taken position on her
cowl, alongside her own cluster, for we knew that her husbands would be useless. We saw Kopporu's
retreat, at the same time as the Great Mother.
"She did not hesitate, Guo. Not for a moment. She commanded an attendant, and gave her the shell; and
ordered us onto the attendant. Then she gave the attendant the message for you, and bade her leave.
"I looked back, Guo, at the Great Mother. It was my last sight of her. Her mantle was glowing like the
Mother-of-Pearl itself in midday. One color, Guo one color alone. The deepest green I have ever
seen."
Chapter 17
When Guo awoke the next day, the answer to her dilemma was clear. As she slept, her mind seemed to
have reached a conclusion on its own. A problem, however, remained: How should she carry out her
decision?
Here, she was treading on uncertain ground. By choice, she had spent as much of her short life as
possible in the company of warriors. She knew little of the customs and traditions which prevailed within
the yurts of the mothers and clan leaders, even though she herself was a high-ranked member of the
tribe's prevalent clan.
She did not think in these terms, but the essence of her problem was that:she needed a lawyer .
Lawyers, of course, did not exist among the Kiktu. (They had only just begun emerging, as a distinct
subset of the priestly caste, in the civilized realms of the south.) The Kiktu were barbarians. They had no
written language beyond a crude system of notations which were even more limited than the runes of
Earth's ancient barbarians. Like the tribes of northern Europe a millenia past, custom and law was
maintained by oral tradition transmitted from one generation of clan leaders to the next.
Had Guo ever read the old Icelandic sagas, she would have found the scene toward the end ofThe Saga
of Burnt Njal quite familiar. The tribe, gathered in full assembly, deliberating on a matter of law. Each
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old and wise being of the tribe advancing their arguments; only to be refuted when an older and wiser
being remembered a different law which everyone else had forgotten.
Law and custom was the province of the old clan leaders. What was she to do? All the clan leaders
were dead. There were not even very many old warriors left alive, Guo suspected. Other than Kopporu's
personal guard, and the members of her own small clan, the vast majority of the warriors who had filled
the ranks of the left flank had been the young and adventuresome warriors of the tribe who had flocked
to Kopporu's standard.
The word of Kopporu's own clan members would inevitably be suspect in the tribal assembly which
would judge Kopporu's conduct. The word of the old members of Kopporu's personal guard Aktako
and her close friends would be even more suspect.
The young warriors who made up almost all that was left of the Kiktu would be torn and confused. On
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