The Children of the Sky

After another moment of silence, Chitiratifor changed the subject. “The talking cuttlefish have almost reached the ground.”

“Yup.” In fact, the cuttlefish in the bannerwood kettle were chirping their interest, too. Apparently they could hear their siblings far below.

“Your boss told my boss that this would be the definitive test. If it fails, we can all go home. I count that as very good news—and yet, who but a madpack would bet on speech-mimicking cuttlefish?”

That was a reasonable question, and unfortunately Remasritlfeer didn’t have any answer that would not make Tycoon look like an idiot. “Well, they’re not really cuttlefish.”

“They look delightful. I love cuttlefish.”

“If you took a taste of their water, you wouldn’t be interested in eating these. Their flesh is nearly inedible.” Remasritlfeer had never eaten one of the strange wrigglers, but the South Seas packs who fished the atolls in the far west had learned of the creatures’ intelligence and foul taste almost at the same time. It was Tycoon’s collecting of fantastic rumors that had sent Remasritlfeer halfway around the world to visit those islands, talk to the natives, and bring back a colony of the strange animals. What had seemed as absurd as the present adventure had ended up being the most exciting time of Remasritlfeer’s life. “And these little critters really can talk.”

“But it’s nonsense, like the words of a singleton.”

“No, they’re smarter than that.” Maybe. “They’re so intelligent that Tycoon has conceived the test we do today.”

“Yes, his secret plan. I don’t care what it is, as long as this is the last try.…” Chitiratifor was silent for a moment, presumably watching the trade basket descend the last few feet to the muddy ground. Others were watching. Intently. At the edges of the open space, where the unending mobs swirled and eddied, there were heads turning, thousands of eyes watching the Sea Breeze and the little package that was descending from it. It had taken tendays of dangerous balloon flights—and some truly expensive jewels—to establish this small open space and the erratically obeyed rules for these exchanges.

“Okay, tell me!” Chitiratifor’s curiosity had won out. “What in heaven’s name are you doing with these fish?”

“My boss’s brilliant plan?” Remasritlfeer kept all doubt and sarcasm out of his voice. “Tell me, Chitiratifor, do you realize where we are?”

Chitiratifor emitted a hiss. “We’re stuck just above the heart of the packs-be-damned largest Choir in the world!”

“Precisely. No explorer has ever come so close. Tycoon’s fleet is anchored two thousand feet offshore. That is the closest of all explorations. Over the ages, who knows how many explorers have attempted to reach the heart of the Tropics from the North, either on foot or sailing the River Fell. There’s pestilence and strange beasties on that approach—but those are survivable. I’ve survived them. And yet the explorers who go further south all disappear, or return in pieces, near mindless but for the stories that have made the Tropics legend. And now, you and I are here, just a thousand feet from the center of it all.”

“Your point being?” Chitiratifor tried to make the question sound lofty and impatient, but there was a quaver in his words. Maybe the guy had finally gotten a good view of the creatures below, the unceasing roil of the mob around the clearing. Given the heat, it was no surprise that the creatures wore only random trinkets and splotches of paint. But clothing aside, most of them could never be mistaken for Northern Tines. Tropicals’ pelts were thin. Many had puffs of fur near their paws but were almost hairless on their sides and bellies. There were so many Tines that even up here you could hear some mindsound. That vast chorus was truly the most unnerving thing about this place, and probably what had put Chitiratifor into his near-panic.

Now most of Remasritlfeer’s gaze was on the trade basket below. By protocol, the three Tines should not touch it until the rope went slack, but he was taking things slow and easy. He interrupted their descent and took a very careful look with two of his heads gazing down from opposite sides of the gondola. It looked like the basket was twenty feet up. It was time for touchdown. And then … Remasritlfeer had no idea what would happen then.

“My point?… Um, can you imagine what it would be like to be down on the ground here?”

“Madness,” said Chitiratifor, and it was hard to tell if that was his answer, or his reaction to the question. Then: “A coherent pack down there, surrounded by the unending millions of the Choir? The mind would disintegrate in seconds. It would be like a lump of coal tossed into a vat of molten iron.”