Winter in Eden

sixteen years since his capture by the Yilanè. That night he slept more soundly and more deeply than he had in a very long time.
    There was a thin mist above the stream when he awoke in the morning. Ortnar touched his shoulder and motioned him to silence as he slowly lifted and aimed his hèsotsan. The small buck, knee-deep in the water, raised its head at some sudden warning—but fell forward when the dart imbedded itself in his side.
    The rich flesh was a change from the preserved murgu meat and they ate their fill, drying and preserving the rest in the ashes.
    "Tell me of the Paramutan," Kerrick said, muffled through a mouthful of meat. "I know only the name, that they live in the north."
    "I saw one once, our sammad traded with him. He had fur all over his face, not a real beard like ours, but all covered with hair like a longtooth. And he was short, only a little taller than I was and I was still young. 1 have heard that they live on the shore far to the north where the sea ice never melts. They fish in the sea. They have boats."
    "How will we find them? Do they have different sammads?"
    Ortnar patted his cheeks in the gesture meaning he did not know. "If they do, I was never told. But I listened when they spoke and they are too stupid to talk Marbak. A hunter in our sammad had a few of their words and they talked. I think that all we can do is go north, stay on the shore, look for their tracks."
    "It will be winter before we get there."
    "It is always winter there. We have furs, we will bring dried meat. If we stay on this path we will meet the sammads on their way south. We will get ekkotaz from them. That is what we must do."
    "Dried hardalt as well—they will surely have some."
    Many days later they smelt smoke under the trees, carried to them by the rain-filled wind. They followed it to the meadow where the dark tents of the sammad of Sorli were staked out, half-seen in the downpour.
    The mastodon trumpeted as they passed and they were grateful for the welcome and the chance to eat until they could eat no more, then sleep dry and out of the rain. They went their separate ways in the morning: these were the last Tanu that they met.
    They walked north, out of summer and into the colors of autumn. Drifted leaves lay heavy across the trail and the rabbit that Kerrick shot—with his bow, his aim was improving steadily—was already showing Winter in Eden - Harry Harrison
    white in its fur.
    "Very early winter," Ortnar said, his face grim.
    "The winters are all early now, we know that. All we can do is keep on, keep moving north as fast as we can."
    The sky was gray and they could smell snow in the air when they reached the camping place by the river.
    Kerrick recognized it at once as he stood on the rise above the beach, standing among the few bits of ancient leather and crumbled bones that was all that was left of his father's sammad. Herilak had found Amahast's knife of sky metal here, among his father's bones. He touched it where it hung about his neck.
    The Yilanè had come out of the ocean there, had destroyed the sammad here. It had been very long ago and he had only memories of memories now. His sammad was now to the north with Armun—and that is where they must go. He turned away at Ortnar's call and they moved west along the riverbank.
    It wasn't until late the next day that they found a dead tree caught on the riverbank, one large enough to support them both, yet still not so big they could not cut it free from the tangled undergrowth. They worked it clear that night, finishing well after dark.
    The water was as freezing as fresh-melted snow when they waded out into it in the morning—calling out loudly in protest. With their packs and weapons tied securely to the projecting roots they pushed the tree free of the shore, hung onto it and kicked out, slowly working the clumsy bulk of the thing across the fast-flowing river. By the time they had reached the far bank they were numb, blue with cold, their teeth chattering uncontrollably. While Kerrick dragged their possessions ashore Ortnar built a roaring blaze.
    They stayed only as long as it took to dry themselves and warm their clothing through, pulled the still-wet skins on and went north again. They would not get chilled again if they kept walking fast; there was little or no time to spare—for the first flakes of snow were already drifting down under the trees.
    The days were growing shorter now and they were up before dawn every morning,