I didn’t want to get off discussing the flaws of the entire human race which Rokhaset, having derived his understanding of us from forty years of TV, was undoubtedly all too aware of. “Besides,” I said, “it’d be just plumb stupid of us. The Slades have got some tradin’ to do with your people, right?”
We had gotten past the edge of the Hollow now, and Rokhaset was moving a bit more easily. “That is a matter I have been discussing with your family during your convalescence, Clinton Slade. While the initial problem was certainly caused by your blind thievery, even the most reactionary of my people—and make no mistake about it, Jodi Goldman, the Nowëthada are just as capable of anger, deliberate prejudice, and judgmental behavior as your own—as I say, even the most reactionary of my people must admit that the two of you risked everything—your lives, your freedom, and your souls—to atone for the involuntary wrongdoings of Winston Slade and his descendants.
“We are, accordingly, quite interested in establishing a peaceful trade between the Slade clan and our own. Yet we still find ourselves at the same impasse that we encountered when first we spoke of this problem.”
“What d’you . . . oh, yeah.”
“You grasp the issue, Clinton Slade. We have no need for the devices your people manufacture, at least not in any significant quantity, and many of your machines would have to be specifically redesigned to make them worth our while. So the only reasonable trading goods we have are crystals—we supply you with diamonds, as we can, and you bring us gemstones and other crystals which cannot be found in this part of the world. Yet your people are as blind in this area as we are in what you call the visible spectrum. You cannot tell whether a crystal is hevrat with life, or is as dead”—he gestured at the brilliantly-sparkling diamond on Jodi’s finger—”as that. And clearly you cannot afford to purchase many rough stones, hoping they will be worthwhile, and have them rejected—at least not often.”
“Well . . . depends. If your people can shape stones like I’ve seen, you ought to be able to cut gems to order. That’d raise the value of the reject gems an’ we could still recoup.”
“Sure he could, Clint,” Jodi said, with the air of a teacher explaining something to a really slow student, “but to make it worth his people’s while we’d have to, well, make it worth their while . . .”
“D’oh!” I smacked my forehead. “Okay, yeah, that was dumb.”
“Alas, Clinton Slade, mine are a busy people indeed and truly we cannot perform much labor for you unless we can establish equitable exchange. I do, however, have one thing to give you.”
“Oh?”
He withdrew from the woven-crystal pouch at his side what looked like two medallions suspended from strings made of the same material as his pouch. “As, I suspect, nearly all people, the Nowëthada recognize and honor bravery, willingness to aid others, strength in battle, and so on. It took considerable courage for the two of you to come to us, into our stronghold, and hope to make peace—perhaps, if I read your personalities aright, more than it took to face the Lisharithada and the Magon.”
“Well, I don’t rightly know about that. Even walking into your throne room wasn’t as scary as fighting a stone monster the size of a house. But still, we appreciate the kind words.”
“To recognize you for bringing our people together, and standing with us against a common foe, I have had fashioned these amulets. They have little mystical significance to one such as yourself, but similar devices mean a great deal to my people, and I know that you award similar, um, medals, to courageous members of your own species. So take these, at least, as . . . what is the phrase? Ah, yes, as a token of our esteem and gratitude for bringing our sundered peoples together. May we one day find a way to bring peace to the Lisharithada as well.”
“I’m all for that, though I admit to not bein’ overly hopeful.” We each stooped low to let Rokhaset, who once more had clearly watched the similar rituals on movies and TV shows, put the medallions around our necks. Straightening up, we then got a chance to look at them.