Part 20 (1/2)
”Just a small scratch. A little stiff and nothing more. But what a night! Lucky that any of us got through safely. And this one!”He indicated Slanter, who trailed a step behind. ”His escape was nothing short of miraculous! Did he tell you?”
Jair shook his head, and Edain Elessedil promptly informed him of all that had befallen Slanter and Helt during their harrowing walk through the Gnome encampment the previous night. Jair listened with growing astonishment, casting more than one glance back at the Gnome.
Beneath a mask of studied indifference, Slanter was looking a bit embarra.s.sed by all the attention.
”Simplest way out, that's all,” Slanter announced gruffly when the effusive Elf had finished his tale. Jair was smart enough not to make anything more out of it.
Their guide took them up a stairway onto the battlement on the northern watch, then led them through a set of double-doors into an atrium filled with plants and trees, flouris.h.i.+ng in an obviously transplanted bed of black earth beneath gla.s.s and open sky. Even here, within the high mountains, the Dwarves carried with them something of their home, Jair thought in admiration.
Beyond the gardens. lay a terrace occupied by tables and benches.
”Wait here,” the Dwarf ordered and left them.
When he had gone, Jair turned back to Edain. ”Why is there no battle being fought this day, Elven Prince? What of the Gnome armies?”
Edain Elessedil shook his head. ”No one seems certain what has happened. The locks and dams have been under siege for almost a week. Each day, the Gnomes attack both exposures of the fortress. But today, no attack has come. The Gnomes gather at their siege lines and watch us-nothing more. It appears as if they are waiting for something.”
”I don't like the sound of that,” Slanter muttered.
”Nor do the Dwarves,” Edain said quietly. ”Runners have been sent to Culhaven and scouts slip through the underground tunnels to the rear of the Gnome army to keep watch.” He hesitated, then glanced at Jair. ”Garet Jax is out there, too.”
Jair started. ”He is? Why? Where has he gone?”
”I don't know,” the Elf shook his head slowly. ”He said nothing to me. I don't think he's left us. I think he's simply out looking around. He took Helt with him.”
”Scouting on his own, then.” Slanter frowned. ”He would do that.”
”Who can say?” The Elf tried a quick smile. ”The Weapons Master keeps his own counsel, Slanter.”
”Dark reasons and dark purposes drive that one,” the Gnome muttered, almost to himself.
They stood in silence then for a few moments, not looking at each other, lost in their private speculations of the actions of Garet Jax. Jair remembered Slanter telling him that it was the Weapons Master who had possession now of the vision crystal and the Silver Dust. That meant that if anything were to happen to Garet Jax, the magic of the King of the Silver River would be lost. And that meant that Jair's only chance of helping Brin would be lost as well.
The sound of the door opening brought them about, and Foraker appeared from out of the fortress. He came quickly to where they stood and greeted each with a handshake.
”Rested, Ohmsford?” he asked gruffly, and Jair nodded. ”Good. I've asked that dinner be brought to us here on the terrace, so why don't we find a table and sit?”
He motioned to the table closest to them, and the other three joined him there. The trees and shrubs of the gardens darkened further the gray cast of the late afternoon, so candles were lighted against the gloom. Moments later, a meal of beef, cheese, bread, soup, and ale was brought, and they began to eat. Jair was surprised to discover how hungry he was.When the meal was finished, Foraker pushed back from the table and began fis.h.i.+ng through his pockets. ”I have something for you.” He glanced briefly toward Jair. ”Ah-ha, here we are.”
He held in his hand the bag of Silver Dust and the vision crystal on its silver chain. He pushed them across the table to the Valeman. ”Garet said to give these to you. Said to keep them safe until you woke. He had a message for you, too. He said to tell you that you showed courage last night.”
Surprise flashed over the Valeman's face, and he experienced a sudden, intense feeling of pride. He glanced self-consciously at Edain Elessedil and Slanter, then back to the Dwarf.
”Where is he now?” he stammered.
Foraker shrugged. ”He's gone with the Borderman to explore a pa.s.sage that will take us out from the fortress behind the Gnome siege lines north. He wants to be certain it's safe before we all go. And we go at nightfall tomorrow. Can't wait any longer on the siege; it may go on for months. We've been shut away too long already for his taste.”
”Some of us have been more shut away than others,” Slanter grumbled pointedly.
Foraker faced him, brows knitting fiercely. ”We have vouched for you, Gnome-all those who came with you from Culhaven. Radhomm, who commands this garrison, feels that our word is enough. But there are some within these walls who feel much differently-some who have lost friends and loved ones to the Gnomes who lay siege without. For them, our a.s.surance may not be enough. You have been kept under guard not as a prisoner, but as a charge. Your safety is of some concern, believe it or not-particularly to Ohmsford here.”
”I can look after myself,” Slanter muttered darkly. ”And I don't need anyone's concern-especially this boy's!”
Foraker stiffened. ”That ought to come as good news to him!” he snapped.
Slanter lapsed into silence. He withdraws into himself again, thought Jair; he s.h.i.+elds himself from everything happening about him. It is only when he is alone with me that he seems to be willing to come out of that protective sh.e.l.l. It is only then that he seems to recover even a bit of the old Slanter he showed when we first met. The balance of the time he is an outsider, a self-proclaimed loner, unaccepting of his role as a member of our little company.
”Did our message get through?” Edain Elessedil was asking Foraker. ”About the destruction of the bridge at the Wedge?”
”It did.” The Dwarf removed his dark gaze from Slanter. ”Your plan was well conceived, Elven Prince. Had we known better the extent of this siege and the army that mounts it, we might have escaped in the bargain.”
”Are we in danger here, then?”
”No, the fortress is secure. Stores are plentiful enough to withstand a siege of months if need be. And no army can bring the whole of its strength to bear with the mountains so close.
Any danger to us will be found outside these walls when we resume our journey north.”
At his elbow, Slanter muttered something unintelligible and drained the remainder of his ale. Foraker glanced at the Gnome and his bearded face tightened. ”In the meantime, there is something that must be done-and you and I, Gnome, must do it.”
Slanter's eyes lifted guardedly. ”What is it we must do-Dwarf?”
Foraker's face darkened further, but his voice stayed calm. ”There is someone within these walls who claims to know well the castle of the Mord Wraiths-someone who claims to know it better than anyone. If true, that knowledge could be of great use to us.””If true, then you have no further use for me!” Slanter snapped. ”What have I to do with this?”
”The knowledge is of use only if it is true,” Foraker continued carefully. ”The only one who can tell us that is you.”
”Me?” The Gnome laughed mirthlessly. ”You would trust me to tell you whether or not what you are being told is the truth? Why should you do that? Or do you think to test me? That seems more likely, I think. You would test what I tell you against what another says!”
”Slanter!” Jair admonished the Gnome, a flush of anger and disappointment stealing through him.
”You are the one who mistrusts,” Edain Elessedil added firmly.
Slanter started to respond, then thought better of it and went still.
It was Foraker who spoke then, low and pointed. ”If I thought to test you, it would not be against this one.”
The table was silent. ”Who is it?” Slanter asked finally.
The Dwarf s fierce brows knitted. ”A Mwellret.”
Slanter went rigid. ”A Mwellret?” he growled. ”A lizard?”
He said it with such loathing that Jair Ohmsford and Edain Elessedil looked at each other in astonishment. Neither had ever seen a Mwellret. Neither had even heard of one until now, and both, having witnessed the Gnome's reaction to the mention of one, wondered if perhaps they would have been better off remaining ignorant.
”One of Radhomm's patrols found him washed up at the edge of the lake a day or two before the siege,” Foraker went on, his eyes holding Slanter's. ”More dead than alive when they pulled him out. Mumbled something about being driven from the Ravenshorn by the black walkers. Said that he knew ways in which they could be destroyed. The patrol brought him here.
Didn't have time to get him out before the siege.” He paused. ”Until now, there had been no way to test the truth of what he has to say.”
”The truth!” Slanter spit. ”There is no truth in the lizards!”