Niall was delighted to see his old home again; but it seemed smaller and somehow different. He had also forgotten how hot and stuffy it could become in the midday heat if the wind was blowing the wrong way. So in spite of his nostalgia, he was not sorry to leave it behind.
They set out while the sun was still hot, because Ulf had decided to take Niall’s advice and climb up onto the plateau. Above the cave, it towered up hundreds of feet in the air; to find a point where they could ascend, they had to walk for ten miles or so.
They reached the dried river bed an hour before dusk. Hot and tired, they decided to rest before attempting the steep climb. When the moon rose, they began to ascend the river bed, which became increasingly steep. Then the track became a goat path that zigzagged up the hill; it was too steep to climb except on all fours. Soon it became so precipitous that it made Niall dizzy to look down; where rocks bulged out, forcing them to press tight against them as they edged round, they were aware of the sheer drop below. Ingeld’s rather large breasts were here a disadvantage, and in one place she refused to go forward until Ulf had tied a rope round her waist. Before they reached the top of the plateau, sometime after midnight, she was stumbling and staggering, obviously wishing that she had decided to stay at home.
The view here was impressive. Behind them stretched the desert, silvery and peaceful. Before them the plateau sloped to the south-east, rocky and covered with shrubs and mats of thorn. It looked unwelcoming, but the white rock was beautiful in the moonlight. They were tempted to rest, but the ground was so uncomfortable that it was simpler to go on. And after stumbling along for half an hour over the uneven, barren ground, they rejoined the bed of the stream, which was made of white shingle and was pleasant to the feet. Suddenly, Ulf gave a cry of satisfaction and pointed. A hundred yards ahead of them the moon was reflected off something that looked like a silver mirror. It was a small pool of water, little more than a yard wide, in a hollow in the shingle. They dropped down with relief and removed their burdens. The water was white in colour, like watered milk, and had a sweet flavour. They had been rationing water since they set out; now it was unimaginably delightful to be able to drink as much as they liked. They ate some cactus fruit and refilled their gourds; then, reluctantly — since their limbs were aching — set out again. The going was unexpectedly smooth, and even when the moon set they were able to march on over the compact pebbles.
At dawn Ingeld wanted to rest, but Ulf refused to allow it. In a few hours, the sun would be directly overhead, and in the meantime they had to look for shelter.
In fact, before the sun was high, they saw a thicket of trees on the southern horizon and cut across towards it. They looked like overgrown bushes, about six feet high, and the lower branches formed a concave arch. They were able to stretch sheets of spider silk over them to form a sunshade, and to use another sheet, pinned to the ground with heavy stones, as a windbrake. It felt almost like being in a cave, and they slept deeply and heavily until the sun was low in the sky. Then, after a light meal, they moved on again.
The track now lay across a lava field covered with large boulders; after a few miles, this became unexpectedly smooth, like hard-packed sand. Ingeld was beginning to complain that her feet were sore; Ulf and Niall glanced at each other, anticipating that her period of good behaviour was finished and that the difficulties of the journey would now be augmented by her complaints. Fortunately, they came upon another pool of water, larger and deeper than the first; after they had drunk their fill and refilled their gourds, Ingeld asked them to look the other way, then stripped off her clothes and plunged in. Standing there, up to her waist, she looked so happy that Niall decided to join her. The water was still warm from the heat of the day, and refreshing to the limbs. When they set out again, he felt as if he had just awakened from a pleasant sleep.
By dawn, the ground was sloping upward again, and since the plateau was basin-shaped, they assumed they were nearing its southern edge. An hour later, they were standing on this edge, looking at the reflection of sunlight on distant water — the salt lake called Thellam. Ingeld was excited; she felt that another day’s march would bring her to her own people; Ulf pointed out that the height made distance deceptive and that they probably had at least another fifty miles ahead of them.
Since there was no sign of shelter at the top of the plateau, there was nothing for it but to look for a way down, and seek a camping place on the plain below. Niall went to the edge and looked over. The drop made him feel dizzy; it must have been a thousand feet. Moreover, the cliff curved back underneath him; it had been sand-blasted into a hollow by the desert winds. If the edge had crumbled, nothing would break his fall straight down to the rocks below.
It was a question of turning either left or right — to the west or east. And since the westward direction would eventually lead them back to the place at which they had ascended, they decided to go east. They also chose to return half a mile inland, since the terrain at the edge of the plateau was rocky and split with rifts; inland the going was smoother. But it was also hotter, the sun reflected back from the white lava underfoot. Glancing at his father out of the corner of his eye, Niall realised with concern that he was very tired. He was not yet recovered from the journey to the delta. He glanced at Ingeld, plodding sullenly along with a martyred expression, and experienced a flash of hatred.
An hour later, he saw a huge shape against the western horizon; it might have been a hill, but it was too irregular.
“That must be the citadel of the warriors,” Ulf said. He was so obviously tired that Niall decided against asking for more information, but as they drew nearer he was amazed by the sheer size of the citadel; it must have been five hundred feet high. He had never seen anything so magnificent and majestic. Now he could see that it had been built on top of a natural hill of rock in such a way that it seemed a continuation of the hill. It was made of great stone blocks, each about six feet long and three feet high. Against the skyline were the remains of rectangular towers, some of them half ruined. These were supported below by immense buttresses. The closer they came, the more obvious was the devastation. There were great rectangular columns, more than ten feet wide, which had once supported a roof; now only two of these were their original height; the others were shattered stumps.
At the foot of the hill they paused to rest and to drink some water. But the heat was now so great, in spite of the wind from the south, that they were in danger of sunstroke. Unwillingly, they dragged themselves to their feet and began to look for the easiest way to ascend.
Halfway round the northern face, they found it; a stairway, scarcely a foot wide, cut into the rock. It seemed to go on forever. But since there was obviously no alternative, they began plodding upward, their suspended baskets dragging on the stair. Its steps were irregular, some narrow, some deep, some badly crumbled or eroded. Ulf went first; Niall followed, with Ingeld in the rear (this being from motives of modesty — her spider-silk dress came only halfway down her thighs). Niall clambered on wearily, keeping his eyes fixed on the next step; when he finally paused to look round, he was surprised to see that they were now high above the plain and that the walls of the citadel were only a few feet above them. A few minutes later they staggered in through an arched doorway into the outer courtyard.
Niall found it all so astonishing that he forgot his weariness. If someone had described such a place to him, he would have assumed they were exaggerating. The courtyard was full of rubble and gigantic tumbled blocks from the walls; yet even so it looked vast and empty. Arches all around led into great halls. Part of the main building had been cut out of the rock itself, and the red and yellow rock gave it the appearance of a castle out of a fairy tale. The summit of the citadel still towered more than a hundred feet above them.