The Dark Design by Phillip Jose Farmer

Loghu had told him, “No, you will not get killed or kill that savage and so arouse his people to kill you. Leave it to me.”

Loghu had men astonished everybody, Oskas most of all, by challenging him to a fight to the death.

After recovering from the shock, Oskas had roared with laughter. “What? I should fight a woman? I beat my wives when they anger me, but I would not fight one. If I were to do this, it would not matter that I would kill you easily. I would be laughed at; I would no longer be Oskas, The Bear Claw, I would be The Man Who Fought a Woman.”

“What will it be?” Loghu had said. “Tomahawk? Spear? Knife? Or bare hands? You have seen me in the contests. You know how good I am with all weapons. It is true that you are bigger and stronger, but I know many tricks you don’t. I’ve had some of the best instructors in the world.”

What she did not mention was that he was very intoxicated, very fat, and very much out of condition.

Had it been a man who talked to him like that, Oskas would have leaped upon him. Drunk as he was, he knew that he was in a quandary. If he killed this woman, he would be a public jest. If he didn’t accept the challenge, he would be said to be afraid of her.

Monat, smiling, stepped forward. “Chief, Loghu is my very good friend. I am also a friend of yours. Why don’t we drop this matter? After all, it is the drink that is speaking in you, not you yourself, Oskas, the chief, a mighty warrior on Earth and along The River. No one can blame you for refusing to fight a woman.

“However, it is not right that you should bother another man’s woman. You would not do it if you were not full of whiskey. So, I say that from now on you must not treat this woman with anything but the respect you demand from other men toward your women.

“Now, as Burton has told you, I was once a great magician. I still have some powers left, and I will not hesitate to use them if you harm Loghu. I would do so reluctantly, since I have great respect for you. But I will if I have to.”

Oskas turned pale beneath the dark skin and the flush of whiskey-heated blood. He said, “Yes, it must be the drink. No one can blame me for what I do when I am drunk.”

No more was said that night, and the next day Oskas claimed to have been so intoxicated he did not remember anything about the party.

For several months, he had been cool though polite to Loghu. Lately, he had resumed making remarks to her, though he had not touched her. This may have been because Loghu had told him, in private so that he would not lose face, that she would slice open his belly if he so much as laid a hand on her. Following which, she would crush his testicles.

She reported that he had only laughed at her. Despite which, he was aware that, given a chance, she could do just what she said. Nevertheless, Oskas had a compulsive passion for her. Now that the time was drawing close for her to leave, he was again after her.

Burton, talking to him now, kept this in mind. It wouldn’t do to have him think that he had little time left to get Loghu into his bed.

“No, we are not leaving. We will follow the plan that I have worked out for you, and I and my people will be among the vanguard when we seize the boat.

“However, as you know, it is essential that we get to the boat when it has stopped to draw lightning from a stone. If it’s moving we have no chance. Now, I have calculated the area where the boat will stop nearest to this place. I can’t pinpoint it. But I can say within four or five grailstones where it will stop in the evening.