Author's note:
At the end of chapter 11, Ezra and the Salvage Party were on their way to the Mariner Settlement, with the plan to salvage his ship at last, while most of the other women were going to the Cloner Fair.
Events on Samothea now continue.
*****
1 Ezra and his party stay with the Mariners
A happy bunch of Woodlanders and Mariners embarked on the two-hour trudge across the sweltering plain from the forest to the settlement by the sea, gossiping and joking. Tamar, especially, didn't stop speaking unless she was directly addressed, but she skipped along regaling her friends from the Mariner tribe with the adventure of the trip to the mountains and everything Wildchild, Carlin and she had done there.
The other Woodlander members of the salvage party were Dagma and Ezra, though Ezra was technically a Mariner this month, according to the treaty of the three tribes (which was a formality only Mirselene much bothered with).
They carried the salvage equipment between them on their shoulders. Knowing Dagma was pregnant and had already carried her burden four hours from the Forest Camp, Kalyndra offered to take her place but Dagma refused. She was a strong woman and quite able to manage, even though her shoulders and back ached and her legs were beginning to feel numb.
Dagma told herself it was only pride that made her refuse. The fight with Kalyndra many months ago, in which Urulla was badly injured, had long since been forgiven on both sides and she was sure there was no lingering resentment. The two women had worked well together in the Woodlander Camp, where Kalyndra had served as a meek and obedient hostage.
It could be jealousy, of course, Dagma admitted to herself. She was plump and plain, while Kalyndra was a Mediterranean sex-goddess. Tall and curvy, her olive skin was deeply tanned by working naked in the sun and her jet-black hair fell in thick shiny waves to her waist. She had high cheek-bones, an elegant jaw, a wide mouth and sculpted nostrils.
From her elegant neck to her jutting-out breasts, now confined by a short jacket; from her flat stomach with a long slit of a belly button, to her long long legs with powerful thighs, Kalyndra exuded pneumatic sexual perfection. She gave Dagma more than a twinge of envy; yet it was Dagma who was pregnant, carrying Ezra's child, not Kalyndra.
She was nudged out of her self-justifying reverie by a shift in weight on the bamboo poles. Dagma's psychic ability told her exactly what Ezra was thinking, that she was foolish to refuse help. It wasn't a real psychic ability, of course, just the sense of body-language that women seem to have more strongly than men. Ezra must have shrugged or stepped a little faster in unconscious disapproval. She took the hint.
"Kalyndra," she called out. "I've changed my mind. Please will you take over from me?"
The tall girl happily did so and Dagma carried Kalyndra's shoulder basket instead. She walked beside Ezra and, in an unexpectedly girlish act, held his hand. He smiled at her and put both their hands briefly on her belly. Then they walked hand in hand, until Dagma decided she didn't want the other women looking at her and dropped his hand.
Tamar skipped up, still full of bright chatter, which gradually ran down. In the pause, Ezra asked her to describe her early life among the Herders. He'd heard most of the story before but he loved the girl and liked to hear her talk almost as much as she liked talking. So, entertained by Tamar's descant rendering of her exciting autobiography, the party trudged through the searing windless heat to the shelter of the Mariner Settlement and its relieving ocean-breeze.
At the settlement, the trade goods were stored and the guests assigned to huts. To save squabbles, Calliope, the Mariner chief, put Ezra in with Kalyndra and Devon. If one counted on from the end of his previous visit to the Mariners, then it would be their turn to be his bedmates. The other Woodlanders were given their own hut to share.
After they'd settled in, the tribe gathered in front of Calliope's boat for more introductions. The Mariner children were keen to meet the Woodlander girls. It also had to be decided who among the Mariners would go with the salvage party.
"How many divers do you need, Ezra, and whom do you prefer?" Calliope enquired.
"Kalyndra and Devon have already volunteered to be divers, so I'd like two more who can also dive well."
Here was a dilemma. All the Mariners yearned for the excitement of the Cloner Fair, compared to which the salvage operation just seemed like hard work. It was also a yearly treat for their children. Some women not already pregnant (or who just liked sex with a man) might have the compensation of sleeping with Ezra; but this was clearly not compensation enough. No one volunteered; so Calliope made a choice for them:
"Thalassa," she addressed her daughter, "I'd like you to go with the salvage party: your medical skills might be useful."
The sweet-natured girl agreed without protest, which pricked the conscience of Cressi, the fun-loving blonde.
"I'll go as well," she volunteered.
Now that the salvage party had a full complement, they went to look at the raft the Mariners had prepared. Pulled up on a bank of the muddy estuary from where it could be easily launched, it was a strong fishing raft about twelve feet along each edge, its seasoned timbers tied together with vines.
There were sturdy canoe-like out-riggers. A dozen or so empty baskets were on-board and two full of vegetables and dried fish. Water bladders and empty leather bags were held safely on the raft under rope-netting. Paddles of odd shapes and sizes were tied on with long ropes.
Ezra and Kalyndra went to fetch the apparatus he made to supply air underwater. They stowed it under the rope netting, though the ends of the longer bamboo poles stuck out.
Ezra judged it a very fine raft, exactly what he hoped for, and suggested the party gather together at Calliope's table to learn their jobs. There were four main tasks: to pump air down to the divers outside the ship; to ferry the air in bags to the divers in the ship; to carry out the salvage goods; and to haul them up in baskets to the raft.
The discussion continued until dinner time and was resolved harmoniously, with the agreement that those on the rafts who couldn't swim would be under the care of nearby swimmers and that those diving into the ship would not risk staying down too long.
Dinner was high-spirited: the Mariner women were always thrilled to have visitors. Kalyndra and Devon were subjected to some fond ribbing about being Ezra's bedmates and for missing out on the Cloner Fair. They answered back in a lively manner but Ezra smiled to himself.
As usual, ten-year-old Juniel requested his laser pen-knife. She made pretty colours and shapes to dazzle and excite the smaller children. Odette, the fourteen-year-old sculptress, brought out her latest works for general admiration. Wildchild and Thalassa, seventeen and eighteen respectively, got to know each other: the patient and gentle Mariner girl with the calm beautiful face and chestnut hair quickly picked up Wildchild's method of communicating with signs and grunts.
