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to the north, but made no attempt to land- King Kragen was
yet too near at hand.
The late afternoon breeze arose. Rude sails were rigged
and the oarsmen rested. At dusk Sklar Hast ordered all the
coracles connected by lines to minimize the risk of separa-
tion. When the breeze died and seas reflected the dazzling
stars, the sails were brought down and alt slept.
The following day was like the first, and also the day after.
On the morning of the fourth day a line of splendid floats
appeared ahead, easily as large and as rich of foliage as those
they had left. Sklar Hast would have preferred to sail on
another week, but the folk among the coracles were fervent in
their rejoicing, and he clearly would have encountered near-
unanimous opposition. So the flotilla landed upon three closely
adjoining floats, drove stakes into the pad surface, tethered
the coracles.
Sklar Hast called an informal convocation. "In a year or
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two," he said, "we can live lives as comfortable as those we
left behind us- But this is not enough. We left our homes
because of King Kragen. who is now our deadly enemy. We
shall never rest secure until we find a means to make our-
selves supreme over all the kragen- To this purpose we must
172
Jack Vance
live different lives ihan we did in the old days until King
Kragen is killed. How to kill King Kragen? I wish 1 knew.
He is a monster, impregnable to any weapon we now can use
against him. So this must be our primary goal: weapons
against King Kragen." Sklar Hast paused, looked around the
somber group. "This is my personal feeling. I have no
authority over any of you, beyond that of the immediate
circumstances, which are transient. You have a right to dis-
credit me, to think differently in which case I will muster
those who feel as I do, and sail on to still another float, where
we can dedicate ourselves to the killing of King Kragen. If
we are all agreed, that our souls are not our own until King
Kragen is dead, then we must formalize this feeling. Author-
ity must be given to some person or group of persons.
Responsibilities must be delegated; work must be organized.
As you see I envision a life different to the old. It will be
harder in some respects, easier in others. First of all, we need
not feed King Kragen. ..."
A committee of seven members was chosen, to serve as a
temporary governing body until the needs of the new commu-
nity required a more elaborate system. As a matter of course
Sklar Hast was named to the committee, as well as Phyral
Berwick, who became the first chairman, and also Mem
Cagno the Scrivener. The captured Intercessors sat aside in a
sullen group and took no part in the proceedings.
The committee met for an hour, and as its first measure,
ordained a census, that each man's caste and craft might be
noted.
After the meeting Meth Cagno took Sklar Hast aside.
"When you captured Barquan Blasdel, you brought his books."
"True."
"I have been examining these books. They are a set of me
Ancient Dicta."
"So I understand."
"This is a source of great satisfaction to me. No one
except the Scrivener reads tile Dicta nowadays, though every-
one professes familiarity. As the generations proceed, the
THE KRAGEN 173
lives of our ancestors and the fantastic environment from
which they came seem more like myth than reality."
"I suppose this is true enough- I am a Hoodwink by trade
and only know Hoodwink configurations. The Dicta are writ-
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ten in ancient calligraph, which puzzles me."
"It is difficult to read, that I grant," said Cagno. "How-
ever, a patient examination of the Dicta can be profitable.
Each volume represents the knowledge of one of our ances-
tors, to the extent that he was able to organize it. There is
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