West of Eden

Kerrick waited until they were silent again before he spoke.
    "They will not be back now—but they will be back. They will come back stronger, with better weapons to kill. They always come back. They will return again and again and will not stop until we are all dead.
    That is the truth and must always be remembered. Remember too those of us who have died."
    The silence now was a grim one, Herilak's voice just as grim when he spoke.
    "This is indeed the truth," dark bitterness in his voice. "Kerrick knows because his sammad was the first West of Eden - Harry Harrison
    one the murgu destroyed. He alone lived, he alone was taken by the murgu and was held captive by them, learned to speak with them. He knows their ways so you must listen when he talks of murgu. You must listen also when I talk of death for I am here and Ortnar sits there—and all others in our sammad are dead. Every hunter, every woman and child, every mastodon, slain by the murgu."
    The listeners moved with the pain of his words and Sanone looked up at the mastodon above him and whispered silent prayers to the memory of those great beasts as he listened to Kerrick's quick translation.
    "There is no place to flee to, no hiding place where we cannot be found," Kerrick told them. "The sammads who sit here fought them on the beach of the great ocean, on the plains of the duckbills, and yet again in this valley after crossing the high mountains to escape these murgu. Now the time has come for us to stop running away. We know now that they will always find us. So now I tell you what we must do."
    Kerrick paused for breath, looking out at their expectant faces, then he spoke.
    "We must bring the battle to them, go to their city—and destroy it."
    There were shouts of disbelief at this, mixed with cries of approval. The Sasku called out questioningly and Kerrick translated what he had said into Sesek. Then Har-Havola's voice rose above the others and they grew silent again and listened.
    "How can we do this? How can we fight those armies of murgu? How can we destroy an entire city?
    These are things I do not understand."
    "Then listen," Kerrick said. "Here is how it can be done. Herilak knows all the trails that go to the city of Alpèasak because he has led his hunters there and killed murgu there—and returned alive. He will do that again. Only this time it will not be a handful of hunters he will lead but many hunters. He will lead them by stealth through the jungles so the murgu armies will not find them no matter how they search. He will lead the hunters to Alpèasak and I will then show them the way to destroy that city and every murgu in it.
    I will tell you now how it can be done, I will show you now how it will be done." He turned to the manduktos and repeated what he had said so that they would understand as well.
    The silence was absolute. Not a watcher moved. Every eye was upon him as he stepped forward. A baby cried thinly in the distance and was instantly hushed. One stride, then another, brought Kerrick to the fire.
    He seized up a dry branch and thrust it into the blaze, poked it into the glowing embers until a cloud of sparks rose up. Then he pulled it out, crackling and blazing, and held it high.
    "This is what we will do—we will bring fire to their city of trees where there has never been fire before.
    The murgu do not use fire, do not know of the destruction it can cause. We will now show them. We will set fire to Alpèasak, burn it, raze it, burn every murgu within it and leave nothing but ashes behind!"
    West of Eden - Harry Harrison
    His words were lost in their wild howls of agreement.
    Herilak strode forward to join him, holding up a burning brand as well, shouting his allegiance, his voice unheard in the tumult. The other sammadars did the same while Kerrick was translating for the manuktos.
    When he understood Sanone held back, waiting until the noise died away, before striding to the fire.
    Seizing a burning length of wood and holding it high.
    "It is Kadair who made this valley for us and guided us here when there was just darkness. Then he made the stars for us so the sky would not be empty, then put the moon there to light our way. But it was still too dark for the plants to grow so he put the sun in the sky as well, and that is how the world has been ever since. We live in this valley for we are the children of Kadair." He looked slowly around at the silent audience, filled his lungs—then screeched aloud a single