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.You ve made your point.What 1 don tunderstand is why you let me come this far south.I could have gone north toAndurya Durat and been on my way by now. Durat? Don t be an idiot, Kori.It d take you a year and a small fortune toget a pass to the SilkRoad.No.Jade Halimm is the place to start if you need to travel the Road.You take a riverboat up theWansheeri to Kapi Yuntipek; you get what you need there and take the Road toJorpashil.It s too late for caravans; you ll have to travel by yourself.Youcan handle that, Kori; you know you can. What if the passes are closed? They aren t.Not yet. How do you know? Trust me.I know.There s been one storm in the moun-tains, it laid downthree, four inches, but they ve had rain since, so most of that snow is gone.You ve got around a month before you ll have trouble getting through. So now you re Kiykoyl tosNiak, weather wizard? I see what I see. That s the fact, huh? That s the fact, yeh. You weren t around on the Mountain.I needed to talk to you, Tit.He didn t answer.As he hadn t answered then.She straight-ened. It ssuppertime.catch Our Host, see what river-boats are in and when they rePage 124ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlleaving.With a little luck, I ll be out of here tomorrow.2The Miyachungay cast off and started upriver an hour after dawn, herslatted sails clacking and booming in the wind that came sweeping onshoremost mornings as if it had dragons on its tail.After counting and recountingher coins, Korimenei had paid the premium that bought her a tiny cabinfor herself; it wasn t much larger than a footlocker, but it had a bar on thenarrow door so she d sleep in peace and comparative comfort.As a cabinpassenger she took her meals at the Captain s table, which meant she d eatwell and since the cost was included in the price of her cabin, she felt she dmade herself a satisfactory deal.She stayed in the cabin as long as she could that first morning.She wasuneasy; she didn t know how to behave as a traveler; she didn t know what therules were.Settsimaksimin had translated her directly from Cheonea to theschool in Silili.And she hadn t traveled after she d got to school, ShahntienShere kept a thumb firmly planted on her stu-dents.She d gone from one tightsupportive society to an-other.She didn t want to make mistakes.The shorttrip downcoast on the Merchanter hadn t helped, she d stayed in her cabinthe whole way.She was scared to stick her nose out now.It was funny.Shecould see that.She could even laugh at herself.It didn t help.She sat onthe bunk withAiliki on her lap, singing nursery songs to her, trying to convinceherself she didn t mind the stuffy darkness of the room.The walls closed in on her; the cabin was turning into a coffin. I ve got to do it sometime, Aili my Liki.And you have to stay here, my Lili.Watch my things for me, hmm? She tapped Ailiki on her tailbone. Shiftyourself, luv.I ve got to unpack my meeting-people suit,She d bought Temueng traveling gear, a padded jacket and loose trousersgathered at the ankle over knee-length leather boots, a veil that went overher head and extended in two broad panels that hung before and behind,brushing against her knees.The veil had embroidered eyeholes, a knottedfringe on the edges; it was heavy cotton, a dusty black, and she hated it.Bumping elbows, knees, buttocks every time she had to shift her body, shechanged to her new clothes and pulled the veil over her head.She coughed; shecouldn t breathe.She knew that was stupid, she was doing it to herself.Shereached under the veil and pushed the cloth away from her face, groped for thedoor and went out.When she climbed onto the deck the wind took hold of her; it nearly ripped theveil off her and used the loose cloth of her trousers as a sail.Blinded and more than a little frightened, she clung to the doorjamband struggled to get control of her clothing.Hands closed on her arms;someone large and strong lifted her, carried her down the ladder and set heron her feet in the companionway. Get rid of that damn veil, woman; it s a deathtrap.You re no Temueng; whatare you doing dressed up like one?Korimenei dragged the veil off and glared at the man.He was a big man, broadrather than tall, his eyes on a level with hers.His shoulders were wideenough for two, his bare arms heavily muscled, his hands large and square; shere-membered the strength in them.A Panday sailor.His ear dangle had threeanchoring posts it was that heavy; it was ovals of beaten gold set withpearcut emeralds; it swayed with every movement of his head, the emeraldscatching the light, winking at her.He was grinning at her, his green eyesglinting with an amusement that infuriated her even more. Who do you thinkyou are and why s it any business of yours what I do? I think I m Karoumang, Captain and Owner of this vessel and it makes allkinds of trouble for me when passenger falls overboard because she s toolamebrained to know what the hell she s doing.aPage 125ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Oh. She passed her hand from her brow to her nape, feeling the straggles andbunches dragged into her hair.A mess.She must look terrible. Here.Let me have that thing. He took the veil from her, hung it over alamp hook. You can retrieve it later.You still want to go on deck?Hands pressing her hair down, she nodded.It seemed safest not to sayanything.He followed her up the ladder, grabbed a handful of her jacket as the windcaught her again. Been on a riverboat before?She hesitated, then shook her head. First thing to remember, when we re moving there s wind, no wind, we stop.She snorted, tried to pull away. I m not a child.He ignored that, kept his hold on the back of her jacket and moved her along,threading through the bales and bar-rels piled about the deck, roped in placeor confined by heavy nets. Second thing, wind takes us upriver.Down, theriver takes us and we fight the wind.One way or another there s always wind.He piloted her past the main-mast, the noise of the sails and the singing ofwhat seemed hundreds of ropes was all around her; it was like air, alwaysthere, so much so that in minutes she scarcely heard it, underscoring whathe d just said to her. Third thing, this is a cargo boat.We take passengers,but not many of them.The cargo comes first.Passengers, even cabinpassengers, should stay put when we re moving.If they think they need air,they should get air when we re tied up at one of our calls.Or they shouldjoin the deckers in the cage and stay there.He stopped her by a heavy ladder with a hand rail; it led to a raised platformin the bow. Up, he said.She glared at him, considered telling him what she thought of him; she wasn tquite sure what she did think of him, so she kept silent, caught hold of therail as he took his hand away.She went up those steps quickly; in spite ofher irritation she was enjoying the brisk scour of the wind, the soundsand sights around her, everything new, everything strange and exciting.EvenKaroumang, or perhaps espe-ciallyKaroumang.Her body responded to him even as her mind said be careful, woman
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