Manetho looked up at the sun, which was high in the heavens.
“Isn’t it about time we got started?”
Simeon, who was rebinding the wound with clean bandage, shook his head.
“No. That’s the first lesson you have to learn in the Delta: never hurry. Now listen.” He looked around. “This applies to all of you, so sit down for a moment and listen. If you want to get out of here alive, I want you to bear this in mind. Try to remember that a plant is never in a hurry. It’s got all the time in the world. And if you want to survive the Delta, try and learn to think like a plant.
“There’s something else I want to say. You may not believe this, but plants can read your minds. That means that when you feel tired and vulnerable, they know you’re tired and vulnerable. So the most important thing to remember in the Delta is to try to stay in the right state of mind. If you don’t, you may never get out again.”
Milo said: “But surely the Reapers should protect us from most things?”
“Perhaps. But I want you to bear in mind that the Delta is like a single living organism. It doesn’t seem to mind these things” — he gestured at the machete — “but I think we might get a more violent reaction if we tried blasting a way through. I can’t be sure of that, but I’ve got a strong feeling I’m right.” He looked at Doggins. “In a place like this, mind power is more important that fire power.”
Doggins said: “You know more about the Delta than any of us. So you tell us what we should do.”
“Right. First of all, there’s no wind, so the balloons are useless. That means we have to go on foot. Now the Delta’s about seventy miles from side to side. The thing we’re looking for is roughly in the centre, and I’ve never been there. All I know is that it’s at the meeting point of the two rivers. But out best approach is to stick to the hills. It’s less dangerous there. The higher you go, the safer it becomes. About the only real danger at a thousand feet is the strangler tree.”
Manetho said: “I’ve never heard of that one.”
“You’ve probably never heard of most of the trees and plants in the Delta. Half of them seem to be new species, and they haven’t even got names. The strangler tree looks like another tree that I used to call the snake willow. That’s got a lot of hanging lianas covered in moss, and it seems to be harmless. But the lianas of the strangler tree wait until you’re half-way through them, then grab you like tentacles. They don’t have nearly so much moss on the lianas. You’ll soon learn to tell the difference.”
Manetho asked: “What about the river? Is that navigable?”
“Possibly, although it’s full of sand bars and muddy lagoons. But it’s also full of big water scorpions that could overturn any boat or raft. And there’s also a nasty carnivorous dragonfly with jaws big enough to bite off your arm. So I think we’d be safer to stick to the hills.
“Another thing to watch out for are the chameleon crabs. They like to lie in ambush under the leaves of the marsh orchid, and their claws are as big as that one we’ve just eaten.”
Ulic said: “This is only a suggestion. . . but wouldn’t it be better to wait until we get a strong wind in the right direction, so we can use the balloons?”
“We could.” Simeon looked at Doggins. “But we may have to wait for days or even weeks.”
Doggins shook his head. “No. Let’s get it over with. If we stay here too long, the spiders might decide to come and find us.”
Simeon nodded, “I agree. So the only thing to decide is what to take with us. We can’t carry all our supplies, I suggest we try to travel light and fast.”
They emptied the canvas bags on to the ground. There were large quantities of food and drink — most of it in sealed wooden jars — as well as medical supplies. Each contained one of the long bladed machetes, suspended from a belt, a small but very sharp hatchet, and a canvas bucket. There were also light back-packs.
Doggins said: “All right. Each of you decide how much he wants to carry. But let’s try to keep it light.”
Niall packed dried biscuits and a quantity of bread, a container of honey, a box of dehydrated meat, and a bottle of the golden wine. He also packed bandages and the small hatchet. The fur-lined garment in which he had travelled was obviously too warm for the Delta; he left it behind with reluctance. Instead, he wore a way-farer’s tunic, made of coarse grey sackcloth. In one pocket he carried the telescopic rod, and in the other, rolled into its small cylinder, the thin, metallic garment from the white tower.
To leave the canvas bags on the ground would obviously be to invite the attention of marauding animals. They were carefully sealed; then Ulic climbed to the top of a tall tree, carrying a rope, and drew up the bags one by one, tying them securely to the trunk. As a precautionary measure, the folded balloons were also drawn up into the lower branches, to keep them beyond the reach of storms or an exceptionally high tide.
Niall emptied a whole container of grubs into the pool containing the porifids, and was rewarded by a blast of nauseating odour that made him stagger backwards; yet he sensed that this was the porifids’ method of showing appreciation. The sea looked so still and the beach so clean and peaceful that it was hard to believe they were about to venture into the most dangerous place in the world.
The sun was close to its zenith when they set out, and the heat was already becoming oppressive. Simeon led them to the top of the row of sandhills, and they paused while he pointed out the main features of the Delta. Now the sun was high, the central basin was covered with a blanket of misty cloud, and they could see both rivers, descending from the south-east and south-west, although the point where they joined was hidden in the jungle. The low hill between the rivers was also concealed by the mist. In this brilliant light, Niall observed the many different shades of green that formed a kind of patchwork in the basin; by contrast, the forest-covered hills were the same shade of bluey-green.
Simeon pointed to the east.
“What we’re going to do is to try to get up close to the top of the hills, where the trees are less dense. It’s cooler, and it’s also less dangerous.”
Manetho indicated the forest-clad slopes to the west. “That looks easier.”
“Yes, but we’d have to cross the river, and I don’t want to risk that.”
They skirted the clearing with the sword bushes — Simeon explained that he wanted to avoid the cress-like vegetation underfoot, because of its narcotic properties — but before they had travelled another half-mile, they found themselves suddenly confronted by a carpet of the rich, glossy leaves that stretched as far as the lower slopes of the forest. The alternatives were retracting their steps, or making a northward detour towards the sea, back into a terrain of sandy soil and marram grass.
Simeon said: “I think we can risk it, if we hurry. But we’ll try to stick to the northern edge. If anyone feels drowsy, say so right away.”
As they tramped forward through the rich carpet, whose colour resembled that of ivy, they became increasingly aware of the sappy, medicated smell, and their shoes were covered with a white, frothy substance that was exuded from the broken stems.
Expecting to be overcome with drowsiness, Niall was surprised when, on the contrary, he began to experience a tingling feeling of intensified vitality. The smell seemed so delicious that he was tempted to dip his finger into the frothy sap and taste it, but he resisted the impulse.
This feeling, he realised, was of increased control — the feeling he experienced as soon as he turned the thought mirror. His mind felt more powerful and perceptive, and his body seemed stronger, so the weight of the back-pack — with the Reaper tied across its top — no longer made him sweat. The others obviously experienced the same pleasant sensation, and Ulic suddenly became talkative, pointing out the beauty of the flowers that grew among the glossy leaves.
The foothills of the forest slopes were now about a mile away. Milo pointed diagonally to a spot where the trees seemed thinner, and they could see a clearing that might be the beginning of an uphill path.