All around, strange insects and birdlike creatures flew. He waited, looking out over the tops of trees. Swearing, he called down to Laurie, "This one's rotten. A faint pungent odor greeted his careful sniffing. Pug took several cuts at the bark, then felt the edge of his wooden ax bite into the softer pulp beneath.
His job was to cut away the tops of the huge trees, making the fall less dangerous to those below. Pug made another survey and started tying his ropes. It scurried away from the presence of the human and made the short jump to the branch of a neighboring tree. He relaxed when he saw it was only a needler, a creature whose protection was its resemblance to a clump of ngaggi needles. Reaching the most likely place for a topping, Pug froze as he caught a glimpse of movement. Pug continued his climb, keeping one eye always searching for the dangerous tree dwellers of Kelewan. He had come to this camp over four months ago, and he and Pug had quickly become friends. The patrol had ridden into a major Tsurani offensive, and Laurie had been captured. He said he had wanted material for ballads that would make him famous throughout the Kingdom. The troubadour had no business being here, but then he'd had no business tagging along with a patrol in the hope of seeing Tsurani soldiers, either. Laurie stood knee-deep in the murky water, absently swatting at the insects that plagued them while they worked. Pug reached the first large branches and looked down at his friend.
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His skin had been tanned deeply by the harsh sun of the Tsurani homeworld. His sinewy muscles strained as he climbed the tree. Properly cured hides could produce a suit of leather armor as tough as Midkemian chain mail, and laminated wooden weapons were nearly the match of Midkemian steel.įour years in the swamp camp had hardened Pug's body. The resins were used to laminate woods and cure hides. The wood of this tree could be worked like paper, then dried to an incredible hardness, useful in fashioning a hundred things. With few metals, the Tsurani had become clever in finding substitutes. This one's old and may be rotten." Without another word Pug scampered up the bole of the ngaggi tree, a firlike swamp tree the Tsurani harvested for wood and resins. "At least it ended quickly." He turned to the tall blond singer from the Kingdom city of Tyr-Sog and said, "Keep a sharp eye out. Pug tied a coil of rope securely around his waist. Laurie's voice whispered in his ear, "Looks like our venerable overseer was disturbed by the sound of Toffston's dying." Pug looked over to see a Tsurani guard wipe off his sword. Its venom was slow-acting and painful short of magic, there was no cure. The dying man had been bitten by a relli, a snakelike swamp creature. Life in the work camp was cheap, and it did no good to dwell on the fate that awaited so many. The other slaves went about their work, ignoring the sound as much as possible.
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