My headache had gone by the time we reached the upper levels of the palace and walked through the great hall out into the city. At the bottom of the wide, white steps two strange beasts were waiting.

They were about the same size as Shire horses— the famous English Great Horse which had once borne knights into battle. But horses they were not. Their origin seemed to stem from the same basic root as Man! They were ape-like creatures with wide kangaroo tails, their hind legs larger than the forelegs. They were on all fours now and saddles were on their backs. Their great heads, placid and intelligent, turned to look at us as we came down the steps.

I had a few qualms about mounting mine, since it did bear certain affinities to my own race, but once aboard it seemed natural that I should ride it. Its back was wider than that of a horse and involved stretching one's legs out in front, and cupping the feet in the stirrups attached to another part of the harness up ahead. The saddle had a solid support allowing the rider to stretch backwards at ease. It was rather like being seated in a sports car, and was very comfortable.

In a kind of holster on my right were several lances, though I had no idea of their purpose. I found that by gentle tugs on the reins, the dahara would respond quickly to any command I made.

With Shizala leading the way, we trotted off through the plaza and down the main street of Varnal.

The city was as exquisite as ever under the deep yellow sun. The sky was cloudless and I began to relax, feeling that I could spend the rest of my life in Varnal and its surrounds. Here a dome caught the light and flashed brightly; there a little white house nestled between an impressive ziggurat on one side and a slender tower on the other. People moved about in a leisurely yet purposeful way. A fruit market was busy, but there was none of the noise and bustle of a similar Earthly market-place. As we rode around the city, Shizala told me much about it.

The Karnala as a race had always been primarily traders. Their origins were the same as many races—they had started off as barbarian raiders and finally settled on one part of the country they had liked. But instead of turning to farming they had continued to travel as traders instead of raiders. Because of daring expeditions to far parts of Vashu, they had become very rich, trading southern artifacts for northern precious metals, and so on.