He dispatched the fish and cleaned it neatly, tossing the offal
back into the water, where some shadowy things arose to tear at the
unusual bounty.
"This is not hunting ground." His message formed in Dalgard's mind.
"That finned one had no fear of me."
"We were right then in heading north; this is new land." Dalgard got
to his feet.
On either side, the cliffs, with their alternate bands of red, blue,
yellow, and white strata, walled in this pocket. They would make far
better time keeping to the sea lanes, where it was not necessary to
climb. And it was Dalgard's cherished plan to add more than just an
inch or two to the explorers' map in the Council Hall.
Each of the colony males was expected to make his man-journey of
discovery sometimes between his eighteenth and twentieth year. He went
alone or, if he formed an attachment with one of the mermen near his
own age, accompanied only by his knife brother. And from knowledge so
gained the still-small group of exiles added to and expanded their
information about their new home.
Caution was drilled into them. For they were not the first masters of
Astra, nor were they the masters now.
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