Old Mars

“Shouldn’t we head west, then circle around, in case we’re being watched?” asked the Martian.

Scorpio shook his head. “You’ve come three hundred miles east from New Brussels. Why would you go right back to it? I hope the opposition’s that stupid, but let’s assume they’re not.”

“I defer to your experience.”

“Okay,” said Scorpio. “Let me put this thing on autopilot and cruise at nine thousand feet while you show me the map again.”

Quedipai pulled the map out of his shoulder bag and opened it. “Here is the Crater of Dreams,” he said, pointing to the area. “There are no cities in it, no outposts, nothing.”

“It looks like there’s a city not five miles to the north of it,” noted Scorpio.

“A deserted ruin,” answered the Martian.

“Let’s hope so. Are there any water sources below the ground?”

“In the Crater?”

“The Crater, the city, anywhere in the area.”

“I don’t believe so.”

“So if someone is waiting in the city, they probably figured out that you were coming to the Crater of Dreams,” said Scorpio. “As opposed to waiting indefinitely for someone to come.”

“It is deserted,” said Quedipai with conviction.

“If it isn’t, we’ll find out soon enough,” said Scorpio grimly. “Okay, the Crater’s, what, three miles in diameter?”

“It is thirteen borstas,” replied the Martian.

Merlin?

It comes to about two and three-quarters of a mile.

“It looks flat as a board. Surely if this tomb exists, it’s not thirteen borstas across, so where would you start digging?”

“I cannot tell you yet.”

“If you don’t trust me, we might as well call this whole thing off,” said Scorpio.

The Martian shook his head. “You misunderstand. I cannot tell you because I do not yet know.”

“When will you know?”

“Some of the ancient writings that I have uncovered describe certain landmarks.”

“Cutie Pie, this is going to come as a shock to you, but landmarks change over twenty or thirty millennia,” said Scorpio.

“Not these,” said Quedipai confidently.

Does he know what he’s talking about? Scorpio asked Merlin.

Probably.

What do you mean, probably? He does or he doesn’t.

Probably these landmarks still exist.

You’d better be right. I don’t relish spending the next seven weeks digging holes in the damned Crater.

“Tell me more about this deserted city,” said Scorpio.

“Its ancient name was Melafona, but it has had five other names since then. It played host to every Martian civilization except the current one.”

“Good.”

“Good?” repeated Quedipai.

Scorpio nodded. “That means there should be water there, unless that’s why no one lives there anymore. And if there’s water, and it’s deserted, we’ll make it our headquarters.”

“But it’s more than twenty borstas from where I believe the tomb to be!”

Scorpio looked at the Martian and sighed. “There have been two attempts on your life. Unless you were dallying with the wrong Martian ladies, we can assume those attacks were either to prevent you or anyone else from finding the tomb, or because the attackers know what you know and want to get there first. Either way, do you think it’s a good idea to camp out, unprotected, on the featureless floor of the Crater of Dreams?”

“I see,” said Quedipai. “Of course, we shall do what you suggest.”

“We probably won’t have to walk to the site every day,” said Scorpion. “The flyer’s too small to carry any ground transportation in the cargo hold, but since the city’s been used in the past, we should be able to find or rig some kind of wagon and harness. Merlin likes to feel useful; I’m sure he’ll enjoy pulling us.”

I think I’ve put off killing and eating you long enough.

Fine. You and Cutie Pie can sleep out in the middle of the Crater. I’ll walk out from the city every morning and visit your remains.

“Whatever you say,” agreed Quedipai.

When they hit the outskirts of the Balthial sea bottom, which marked the halfway point, Scorpio decided to set the flyer down next to the ruins of a deserted village.

“Why have we landed?” asked the Martian. “We’re still hundreds of miles away.”

“Remember, I told you we’d waste a day out here in case anyone’s tracking us,” said Scorpio. “We’ll stretch our legs, relax, and grab some lunch.”

It may not be that easy, warned Merlin.

Why not?

There’s a family of carnivores living in the village.

Big ones?

I can’t tell. But they’re hungry ones.

Scorpio climbed down from the flyer, then helped Quedipai out. Merlin leaped lightly to the ground on his own.