Horizon Storms - Kevin J. Anderson [165]
Looking down, she saw Yarrod climbing the wide trunk up to the high fungus reef. He scrambled as swiftly as a gecko, linked with the worldforest mind and moving with complete ease. When he reached the network of struts and braces beneath the main structure, he swung around them and climbed up to greet the three people on the balcony.
The green priest was nearly as old as his sister Alexa, his face marked with tattooed symbols of the skills he had acquired in the service of the worldtrees; he had looked deeply weary and broken upon his return to the burned forest, but seemed invigorated now.
“I bring a message from the worldforest, a mutually beneficial suggestion for Cesca Peroni and her Roamers. Would you like to salvage any of this fallen wood? Take it away? Much usable lumber remains, and this wood has remarkable properties.”
“It is a great gift, Speaker Peroni,” Idriss said. “A magnificent one.”
“But not at all sufficient to repay you for everything you have done for us,” Alexa added.
Cesca tried not to look too overjoyed. Nowhere else in the Spiral Arm did people have access to worldtree wood for construction or even ornamental purposes. “I am…intrigued. Since leaving Earth, our clans have lived inside asteroids, on ships, and on inhospitable planets. We’ve rarely had the luxury of wood—and now you are offering much more than we could use for our own purposes.”
“Well, you are merchants,” Yarrod pointed out. “Could you use it as a commercial commodity?”
“Perhaps.” Cesca remained frustrated that they had received no response whatsoever from the Hansa to their demands, and she feared that Chairman Wenceslas was planning something. “Even if we refuse trade with the Hansa, we could send wood products to the Ildirans, or to some of the distant colonies with tenuous ties to the Big Goose.”
Knowing how much income they were likely to derive from the sale of the remarkable and rare worldtree wood, Cesca made an immediate decision. “And we will share a portion of the profits with you. The Theron economy has suffered greatly in this attack, too.”
Idriss said, “The forest already provides everything we need.”
Alexa placed a hand on her husband’s arm. “Things are different now, Idriss. Our people face many hardships. With additional funds, we could purchase materials and hire extra labor to speed the forest’s recovery.”
Idriss scratched his square black beard. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Are you certain the worldforest is willing to let us take away so much fallen wood? These were worldtrees, dead brothers of the forest.”
Yarrod’s expression was stoic. “Cesca Peroni, you will help us carry away our dead and give their sacrifice additional meaning. Only then can the site of this massacre give birth to new life.”
In the distance, a heavy lifter hauled an enormous charred trunk as large as a spaceship. Cesca nodded. “Worldtree wood will certainly enrich our colonies in space, just as Roamer work has helped to rebuild your cities here. Let this be a symbol of the cooperation and friendship between Roamers and Therons.”
Mother Alexa squeezed her husband’s large hand. “That’s what Reynald would have wanted.”
Chapter 83 — SAREIN
The flight from Earth to Theroc was not long, but Sarein’s reluctance to return home made the journey stretch out interminably. She felt like a woman going to visit a horrifically wounded loved one in a hospital. She had to do this because of personal and political obligations, but in her heart Sarein wished she could just keep Theroc in her memories the way it was and not see the disaster.
Yet Basil had insisted. “As the new Mother of Theroc, think of the advantages you could offer the Hansa from inside. Once we’ve brought the Therons into the fold and made the traitorous Roamers toe the line, it’ll be a great day