"Now that is a bright and original question--I didn't pick you for the type who watched historical spaceopera on the TV. I have no idea where we are--but I can give you a brief synopsis of how we arrived here, if you are up to it." "I remember we swam ashore, then something evil came from the darkness, like a demon from hell. We fought...." "And he bashed in your head, one quick blow and that was about all the fight there was. I had a better look at your demon, though I was in no better condition to fight him than you were. He's a man dressed in a weird outfit out of an addict's nightmare and appears to be the boss of this crew of rugged campers. Other than that I have little idea of what is going on--except that he stole my boots and I'm going to get then back if I have to kill him for them." "Do not lust after material things," Mikah intoned seriously. "And do not talk of killing a man for material gain. You are evil, Jason, and.... My boots are gone--and my clothes, too!" Mikah had thrown back his covering skins and made this startling discovery. "Belial!" he roared. "Asmodeus, Abaddon, Apollyon and Baal-zebub!" "Very nice," Jason said admiringly, "you really have been studying up on your demonology. Were you just listing them--or calling on them for aid?" "Silence, blasphemer! I have been robbed!" He rose to his feet and the wind whistling around his almost-bare body quickly gave his skin a light touch of blue. "I am going to find the evil creature that did this and force him to return what is mine." Mikah turned to leave but Jason reached out and grabbed his ankle with a wrestling grip, twisted it and brought the man thudding to the ground. The fall dazed him and Jason pulled the skins back over the raw-boned form. "We're even," Jason said. "You saved my life last night, just now I saved yours. You're bare-handed and wounded--while the old man of the mountain up there is a walking armory, and anyone with the personality to wear that kind of an outfit will kill you as easily as he picks his teeth. So take it easy and try to avoid trouble. There's a way out of this mess--there's a way out of _every_ mess if you look for it--and I'm going to find it. In fact I'm going to take a walk right now and start my research. Agreed?" A groan was his only answer since Mikah was unconscious again, fresh blood seeping from his injured scalp. Jason stood and wrapped his hides about his body as some protection from the wind, tying the loose ends together. Then he kicked through the sand until he found a smooth rock that would fit inside his fist with just the end protruding, and thus armed made his way out through the stirring forms of the sleepers. * * * * *