t poisoned, it's perfectly edible, or at least as edible as
these things ever are."

Fasimba laughed. "You pretty funny, Ch'aka. I give you one arrow for
poisoned _krenoj_."

"You're on," Jason said throwing the _krenoj_ to the ground between
them. "But I tell you it is perfectly good."

"That's what I tell man I give it to. I got good use for a poisoned
_krenoj_." He threw an arrow into the sand away from them and grabbed
up the vegetable as he left.

When Jason picked up the arrow it bent, and he saw that it was rusted
almost completely in two and that the break had been craftily covered
by clay. "That's all right," he called after the retreating slaver,
"just wait until your friend eats the _krenoj_."

* * * * *

The march continued, first back to the boundary cairn with the
suspicious Fasimba dogging their steps. Only after Jason and his band
had passed the border did the others return to their normal foraging.
Then began the long walk to the borders of the inland desert. Since
they had to search for _krenoj_ as they went it took them the better
part of three days to reach their destination. Jason merely started
the line in the correct direction, but as soon as he was out of sight
of the sea he had only a rough idea of the correct course, however he
did not confide his ignorance to the slaves and they marched steadily
on, along what was obviously a well-known route to them. Along the way
they collected and consumed a good number of _krenoj_, found two wells
from which they refilled the skin bags, and pointed out a huddled
animal sitting by a hole that Jason, to their un-voiced disgust,
managed to miss completely with a bolt from the crossbow.

On the morning of the third day Jason saw a line of demarcation on the
flattened horizon and before the midday meal they came to a sea of
billowing, bluish-gray sand. The ending of what he had been accustomed
to thinking of as the desert was startling. Beneath their feet were
yellow sand and gravel, while occasional shrubs managed a sickly
existence as did some grass and the life-giving _krenoj_. Animals as
well as men lived here and, ruthless though survival was, they were at
least alive. In the wastes ahead no life was possible or visible,
though there seemed to be no doubt that the D'zertanoj lived there.
This must mean that though it looked unlimited--as Ijale believed it
to be--there were probably arable lands on the other side. Moun