Farmer, Philip Jose World of Tiers 01 The Maker of Universes

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not slept for a long time and had had an especially exhausting night, fell asleep.
Wolff stared for awhile into the flames of the dying fire. He had seen and experienced much in a short
time, but he had much more to go through. That is, he would if he lived. A whooping cry rose from the
depths, and a great green eagle screamed somewhere in the air along the mountain-face.
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He wondered where Chryseis was tonight. Was she alive and if so, how was she faring? And where was
the horn? Kickaha had said that they had to find the horn if they were to have any success at all. Without
it, they would inevitably lose.
So thinking, he too fell asleep.
Four days later, when the sun was in the midpoint of its course around the planet, they pulled themselves
over the rim. Before them was a plain that rolled for at least 160 miles before the horizon dropped it out
of sight. To both sides, perhaps a hundred miles away, were mountain ranges. These might be large
enough to cause comparison with the Himalayas. But they were mice beside the monolith,
Abharhploonta, that dominated this section of the multilevel planet. Abharhploonta was, so Kickaha
claimed, fifteen hundred miles from the rim, yet it looked no more than fifty miles away. It towered fully
as high as the mountain up which they had just climbed.
"Now you get the idea," Kickaha said. "This world is not pear-shaped. It's a planetary Tower of
Babylon. A series of staggered columns, each smaller than the one beneath it. On the very apex of this
Earth-sized tower is the palace of the Lord. As you can see, we have a long way to go.
"But it's a great life while it lasts! I've had a wild and wonderful time! If the Lord struck me at this
moment, I couldn't complain. Although, of course, I would, being human and therefore bitter about being
cutoff in my prime! And believe me, my friend, I'm prime!"
Wolff could not help smiling at the youth. He looked so gay and buoyant, like a bronze statue suddenly
touched into animation and overflowingly joyous because he was alive.
"Okay!" Kickaha cried. "The first thing we have to do is get some fitting clothes for you! Nakedness is
chic in the level below, but not on this one. You have to wear at least a breechcloth and a feather in your
hair; otherwise the natives will have contempt for you. And contempt here means slavery or death for the
contemptible."
He began walking along the rim, Wolff with him.
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"Observe how green and lush the grass is and how it is as high as our knees, Bob. It affords pasture for
browsers and grazers. But it is also high enough to conceal the beasts that feed on the grass-eaters. So
beware! The plains puma and the dire wolf and the striped hunting dog and the giant weasel prowl
through the grasses. Then there is Felis Atrox, whom I call the atrocious lion. He once roamed the plains
of the North American Southwest, became extinct there about 10,000 years ago. He's very much alive
here, one-third larger than the African lion and twice as nasty.
"Hey, look there! Mammoths!"
Wolff wanted to stop to watch the huge gray beasts, which were about a quarter of a mile away. But
Kickaha urged him on. "There're plenty more around, and there'll be times when you wish there weren't.
Spend your time watching the grass. If it moves contrary to the wind, tell me."
They walked swiftly for two miles. During this time, they came close to a band of wild horses. The
stallions whickered and raced up to investigate them, then stood their ground, pawing and snorting, until
the two had passed. They were magnificent animals, tall, sleek, and black or glossy red or spotted white
and black.
"Nothing of your Indian pony there," Kickaha said. "I think the Lord imported nothing but the best
stock."
Presently, Kickaha stopped by a pile of rocks. "My marker," he said. He walked straight inward across
the plain from the cairn. After a mile they came to a tall tree. The youth leaped up, grabbed the lowest
branch, and began climbing. Halfway up, he reached a hollow and brought out a large bag. On returning,
Kickaha took out of the bag two bows, two quivers of arrows, a deerskin breechcloth, and a belt with a
skin scabbard in which was a long steel knife.
Wolff put on the loincloth and belt and took the bow and quiver.
"You know how to use these?" Kickaha said. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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