Niall asked Hamna: “How can you tell what time it is when you live underground?”
“We have clocks.”
“What is a clock?”
“A bucket of water, with a small hole in the bottom. It takes exactly half a day for the bucket to empty.”
Now, suddenly, Niall understood the purpose of the bucket in Dona’s house, suspended from the ceiling and dripping incessantly into another; he marvelled at the ingenuity of Kazak’s people and again longed to be one of them.
Hamna said: “Are you tired?”
“No, wide awake.”
“Would you like to go out with the herdsmen?”
“Very much.”
“I will have to ask the king for permission. No one is allowed out without a pass.” He went and bowed before Kazak, who looked annoyed to be interrupted, nodded his head and gestured impatiently. Hamna came back looking pleased with himself.
“Let’s go before he changes his mind.”
They left by an exit at the far end of the palace; Hamna had to assure the sentry that they had Kazak’s permission to leave, and he handed them both a small wooden tally. Hamna placed these in a leathern wallet he carried at his waist. “If we lose these, we shan’t be allowed in again.”
Niall was puzzled. “Why are they so strict?”
“Safety. Only the king is allowed in and out without formal permission. You see, with so many of us in the shelter, it would be a disaster if someone went out without permission and was seen by a spider patrol. We have to be strict.”
“But why does that apply to you?”
“Why not?”
“You’re the king’s son.”
Hamna shrugged. “We are all the king’s sons.”
It was a clear, starry night, and dawn was showing in the eastern sky. A cool breeze blew from the lake. Niall was surprised how glad he was to feel the wind on his face again.
Ahead of them, a herdsman was walking, half a dozen ants following at his heels like dogs. Hamna fell in step beside him and they began to talk about the aphids, which were exceptionally abundant this year. Niall was glad to be left to his own thoughts; he was dreaming about Merlew, and about the songs and stories he had been listening to. They filled him with an almost painful excitement. As the sky gradually grew paler, and the grey light was reflected in the waters of the lake, he tried to imagine what the world would be like without the menace of the spiders — a world in which men could live openly above ground and travel anywhere they liked. When the herdsman had turned off down a path into the bushes by the stream, Niall asked Hamna:
“What do you think would happen if the spiders found out about your shelter?”
“Life would become very dangerous. But we’d put up a good fight.”
“But could you win?”
“I think we might. You see, we’ve tried to make the shelter impregnable. There are only two entrances, and they’re so narrow they could each be defended by one man. So they’d have to besiege us and hope to starve us into surrender. But we’ve got stocks of food to last for six months — perhaps more. I’m told the spiders don’t like the heat, and this place becomes a furnace in the summer. So I think we’d stand a good chance.”
“So you’re not afraid of the spiders?”
“Oh no. We’re not afraid of them.” His voice sounded so confident that Niall believed him.
They had reached the shore of the lake. On the far side, directly opposite, there were low hills rising to mountains as high as the plateau. At this point, the lake was about ten miles wide; Niall found its silver-grey expanse disturbingly beautiful. But as usual, his eyes scanned the eastern sky for spider balloons; he had come to associate beauty with danger. The sky was clear, already turning blue.
Hamna said: “Aha!” and quickly stripped off his tunic. In three steps, he was swimming in the lake. A moment later, he returned to the shore holding a large fish.
“These swim down the river, but they can’t live in the salt water. The birds usually eat them, unless we can get there first.”
Hamna made a cairn of stones and hid the fish underneath it. Then he ran back towards the water.
“Come on.”
“I can’t swim.”
“Yes you can. Anybody can swim in this water.”
And, to Niall’s astonishment, this proved to be true. When he advanced into the lake up to his chest, he felt himself being lifted off the bottom. A moment later, he was propelling himself forward with his shoulders out of the water. Hamna taught him how to move his arms and legs in rhythm, and he was soon gliding through the water. It had an unpleasant taste, like the water in the depths of the burrow, but stronger. He bumped into something and cried out in alarm. Hamna swam alongside him, reached down and found another fish. During the next half hour, they found half a dozen.
Then they waded ashore, wrapped all the fishes in a piece of cloth Hamna carried in his wallet and walked along the sandy beach to the point where the river flowed into the lake. By that time, the water had dried on them, and Niall found that it left an unpleasant stickiness behind. But this was soon washed away in the river. After that, they lay down on the sand in the shade of a palm tree and dozed in the warm air.
Niall was still full of questions. “Why did you say that you are all the king’s sons?”
“Because in our city, we all have equal rights. Besides, the king has many children.”
“How many?”
“Perhaps. . . oh, fifty.”
“But how many wives does he have?”
Hamna thought carefully. “About a hundred and eighty.”
Niall was bewildered. “And where do they all live?”
“With their husbands, mostly.”
“But you said the king was their husband. . .”
Hamna said patiently, as if explaining to a child: “They have husbands, of course. But they are also the king’s property — just as we all are. He can choose anyone he likes.”
This idea astounded Niall. “But don’t the husbands object?”
“Of course not. If they wanted to, they could leave us and go and live elsewhere. But they prefer to stay.”
Niall thought about this. “And if we came to live with you, would my mother also become the king’s wife?”
“I suppose so. If he liked her.”
Niall’s heart sank. He suddenly knew, beyond all shadow of doubt, that his father would never agree to live here. He asked the question that had been troubling him since they arrived.
“Does the princess Merlew have a husband?”
“Not yet. She’s only seventeen. Besides, she’s too busy. Since her mother died, she’s been mistress of the royal household.”
That, at any rate, was a relief.
Hamna sat up, yawning. “We’d better get back. The spiders should be over soon.”
“Do they come every day?”
“Oh no — particularly at this time of the year. This is the season for sandstorms.”
Back in the shelter, it seemed very dark. In the corridors, only a few lamps were lit — Niall learned that this was the usual state of affairs. Yesterday, the king had ordered all the lamps to be lit in honour of the guests; now things were back to normal.
In Sefna’s dwelling, Dona was sewing by the light of a single lamp. Sefna, apparently, was at work in the weaving sheds. Everyone above the age of twelve had to work for a few hours every day. When Dona saw Niall, she brightened and asked him if he felt like playing a game.
“What is a game?”
She took out a pot containing a number of coloured stones and demonstrated various games of skill — resting the stones on the palm of the hand, tossing them into the air and trying to catch them all on the back of the hand, then introducing many additional complications. After this they played guessing games, each trying to outguess the other about the number of stones they kept concealed in the hand. Then Dona glanced at the water clock and asked: “Would you like to go and play with the others in the big hall?”
Niall was feeling sleepy. “I think I’d like to rest. What do you do?”
“The children play games after the tenth hour — hide and seek, blind man’s buff, wrestling. . .”
“Wouldn’t I be too old?”
“Oh no. Merlew often joins in, and she’s seventeen.”
“All right.” He managed to sound so casual that he surprised himself.
There were thirty or forty children in the big hall, their ages ranging from about ten to fifteen. To Niall’s disappointment, the princess was not among them. A mischievous-looking lad called Eirek seemed to be in charge, and since he looked only about eleven, Niall found this puzzling, until Dona explained that they chose a different play-group leader every week. It was an attempt to develop leadership qualities. When they were introduced, Eirek clasped Niall’s forearm and asked: “How old are you?”