When the sun was at its highest—not very high in these latitudes, of course—Lesh gathered her companions on the top of the scree caused by the landslide, and started working out how long it might take to clear away. Already draftimals were dragging musculators towards it, along with grabbers and scoopers.
This spot afforded a splendid prospect of the area including the bay where Voosla was lying, minus her giqs, all of which had been detached and were now spread as far as the horizon. Delighted, Thilling used up her stock of sheets in fixing a view in each direction, returned them to their pack, and asked Awb to take them back to the city and bring replacements. Nervously, because he had no wish to encounter Phrallet, but equally none to disappoint Thilling, he complied.
It took him a long time to regain the shore because the usual branchways were decaying, like so much of the vegetation on this blighted coast, and he had to stay on the ground most of the way. The stink of rotting foliage was all-pervasive, and he wondered how the people working here could bear it.
Coming in sight of the sea again, he discovered that a strange briq had entered the bay. She must have been just around the western headland when he looked before, because she was of a type by no means speedy, the broad northern breed called variously smaq or luqqra much in favor for carrying bulky freight. Voosla had crossed a number of them during the couple of brights prior to landfall.
As she touched the side of the city, Axwep came to greet her commander, and by the tune Awb arrived they were deep in conversation.
“There’s somebody who can probably tell us,” the mayor said, interrupting herself. “Awb! Do you know where Lesh is?”
“When I left, she was on top of the rockpile trying to work out how long it will take to clear,” Awb called back.
“Will you be going back there?”
“Yes, I’m on an errand for Thilling.”
“Then you can carry a message. Come here. This is Eupril; she’s from the quarry down-coast which we passed the dark before last.”
Awb remembered that being pointed out to him, at a spot where luminants grew normally. He had never seen a quarry, but he knew about such places where specially developed microorganisms were used to break up rock and concentrate valuable elements to enrich poor soil, or even to extract metals. In ancient times, it was said, the folk had employed fire for similar purposes: however, during the Age of Multiplication fire had fallen out of use except for very special purposes, because most burnable substances were far too valuable for other applications. Most people nowadays were terrified of it. Sometimes, far out at sea, one could smell smoke on the wind, and the Vooslans would mutter sympathy for the poor landlivers whose homes and crops were going up in flames.
“I don’t suppose it’ll do much good,” Eupril said sardonically. She was thickset, with the forceful voice of one used to calling over long distances, rather like Axwep. “I’ve warned and warned those people that they picked a bad site for this observatory of theirs. We surveyed it when we first came up here, and though there were a lot of useful minerals we decided against prospecting further. We didn’t like the look of the natives, nor what we found the other side of the ridge. People who won’t listen make my pith ache, you know? Of course, when we saw a chunk had fallen off the mountain, we thought we’d better come and see if they needed help. We have no other way of finding out. Used to have a nervograp link, but it went bad on us.”
“From the same blight that’s spoiling everything else?” Awb suggested.
“Now that’s the other reason I’m here,” Eupril said. “We have news for Lesh. It’s not a blight. It’s a poison.”
“How can you be sure?” Axwep demanded. “I mean, I know the people here haven’t been able to isolate a causative organism yet, but there’s a lot of talk about germs you can’t see even with the best microscope, that go through the finest filters and can still do damage—”