From much experience with these plants, the humans knew what the exact range of the darts were. They stayed just outside it, the riders upwind closer than those on the downwind side.
She deduced that they knew what the ammunition count for a tree was. They were shouting short words-undoubtedly numbers-as they rode by. Then the chief, who’d been sitting to one side and listening, yelled an order. This was passed on around the circle so that those out of hearing of his voice could be informed. The riders nearest him turned their beasts and headed toward the perimeter. Meanwhile, as if the plants were a well-trained army, those who’d discharged their missiles stepped backward into spaces afforded by the moving aside of the second rank.
It was evident that those behind them would take their places. But the riders stormed in, swung, and cast their lariats. Some of them missed. The majority caught and tightened around a branch or a tentacle. The mounts wheeled, the ropes stretched, the nooses closed, and the unlucky plants were jerked off their feet. The riders urged their beasts on until the trees had been dragged out of range of the missiles. The other end of the lariats were fastened to pegs stuck into the rear of the saddles. All but one held. This snapped, and the plant was left only ten feet from the square. No matter. It couldn’t get up again.
The mounts halted, the riders jumped down and approached the fallen plants. Taking care to keep out of the way of the waving tentacles, they loosened the lariats and returned to their saddles.
Once more, the procedure was repeated. After that the riders ignored the upright trees. They took their flint or chert tools and chopped off the tentacles. Their animals, now safe from the darts-which she presumed were poisoned-attacked the helpless plants. They grabbed the tentacles between their teeth and jerked them loose. After this, while the moosoids were stripping a branch, their owners chopped away branches with flint or chert tools.
The entire tribe, men, women, children, swarmed around the victims and piled the severed branches upon travois or tied bundles of them to the backs of the beasts.
Later, when she’d learned some vocabulary, Anana asked the youth, Nurgo, if the missiles were poisoned. He nodded and grinned and said, “Yu, messt gwonaw dendert assessampt.”
She wasn’t sure whether the least word meant deadly or poison. But there was no doubt that it would be better not to be struck by the darts. After the plants had been stripped, the men carefully picked up the missiles. They were about four inches long, slim-bodied, with feathery construction of vegetable origin at one end and a needdle-point at the other. The point was smeared with a blue-greenish substance.
These were put into a rawhide bag or fixed at the ends of spearshafts.
After the work was done, the caravan resumed marching. Anana, looking back, saw half of the surviving plants ranged alongside the channel. From the bottom of each a thick greenish tube was extended into the water, which was being sucked up into these. The other half stood guard.
“You must have had a lot of fun designing those,” Anana said to Urthona.
“It was more amusing designing them than watching them in action,” her uncle said. “In fact, designing this world entertained me more than living on it. I got bored in less than four years and left it. But I have been back now and then during the past ten thousand years to renew my acquaintance with it.”
“When was the last time?”
“Oh, about five hundred years ago, I think.”
“Then you must have made another world for your headquarters. One more diversified, more beautiful, I’d imagine.”
Urthona smiled. “Of course. Then I also am Lord of three more, worlds which I took over after I’d killed their owners. You remember your cousin Bromion, that bitch Ethinthus, and Antamon? They’re dead now, and I, I rule their worlds!”
“Do you indeed now?” Anana said. “I wouldn’t say you were sitting on any thrones now. Unless you call captivity, the immediate danger of death and torture, thrones.”
Urthona snarled, and said, “I’ll do you as I did them, my leblabbiy-loving niece! And I’ll come back here and wipe out these miserable scum! In fact, I may just wipe out this whole world! Cancel it!”