Part 39 (2/2)

Enj laughed.

'There be no other dun or settlement round here for miles and miles. But Haen Marn won't be in any danger.'

'Are you sure? These enemies are utterly ruthless, not human nor dwarven, either.'

'Any enemy has to find a dun before they can be taking it, human or not.'

'Well, true spoken, but they'll have powerful dweomer of their own on their side, powerful beyond anything I've ever seen before, certainly '

Enj considered. Rhodry could just see him frowning down at the sand.

'I'll just be going to say a goodnight to my sister,' he said at last. 'And I'll tell my mam what you've just told me.'

Some time later, Rhodry was sitting drinking with the dwarves when Angmar appeared at the door of the great hall. At her beckon he left them and joined her outside in the flickering spill of candle light. By then the night wind had come up, sighing and snuffling round like some gigantic hound between the crooked trees.

'Rori, I would not have you worry about me and mine.'

'How can I not? I'd rather turn myself over to my enemies and be done with it than bring the slightest harm to you.'

'And would I not do the same for you?'

For a moment they stared at each other on the edge of anger. It was the closest they had ever come to admitting that their mutual comfort had turned to love. All at once she shook her head and smiled with a wry twist of her mouth.

'Haen Marn protects its own,' she said. 'I mayn't say how, because in part I know not how, but have no fear of it.'

'Well, then, that gladdens my heart.'

'I suppose it gladdens mine, but -'

'But what? These are evil times, my lady, and you need a s.h.i.+eld over you.'

'No doubt.' Her voice shook. 'But it be a baleful thing, the hefting of this s.h.i.+eld. Pray, Rori, pray that never it be needful.'

Angmar turned and strode off, heading back to the tower. Later, when they were together in their bedchamber, neither mentioned his leaving at all.

At the morrow dawn Garin, Mic and Otho carried their gear down to the boathouse. While the boatmen fussed round, preparing for the effort of not so much getting them out as getting back in again themselves, Rhodry stood on the jetty with the three dwarves from Lin Serr. Although a feeble wind blew, the day promised suffocating heat.

'You won't be able to travel far today,' Rhodry remarked.

'Not if it's like this outside.' Garin said drily. 'Who knows if it will be or not?'

'Well, truly. At least most of your way will be downhill.'

'Just so, just so.'

Leaving Mic and Otho to load their gear into the boat, Garin led Rhodry out to the end of the jetty. For a moment they stood watching the waves lapping round the pilings.

'I'll wish you the best luck in the world, Ron',' Garin said at last 'I wish I could believe that you won't need it.'

'My thanks. And I'll wish you a goodly share of the same, my friend. In fact, I've been thinking. I should do more for you than wish luck.'

'If the Horsekin are on the move, we'll all need a fair bit more than luck.' Garin glanced at the sky. 'I wouldn't mind having more faith in those G.o.ds you people are always swearing by.'

'Neither would I.' Rhodry reached into his s.h.i.+rt and pulled Othara's talisman free. Take this, will you?'

'What? And leave you exposed to enemy eyes? We don't even need the thing!'

'You do, at that. Weren't you the one who pa.s.sed an axe through Alshandra's back on the road to Lin Serr?'

Garin whistled sharply under his breath.

'I'd put that out of my mind, like,' Garin said. 'Stupid of me.'

'For Othara's sake alone, I'd have you take this stone.'

Garin hesitated, and it seemed for a moment that he was about to reach for the chunk of blue; then he shook his head no.

'From everything that Jill said back in Cengarn, and the loremasters said in Lin Serr, it's on the important side, for all of us, like, to get this dragon found. There are other envoys, if worse come to worst.'

'But I -'

'n.o.ble gestures are all very well, but it's the winning of this war that's important.' Garin paused for a grin. 'Silver dagger.'

Rhodry smiled, more than a little ruefully, and settled the talisman back inside his s.h.i.+rt again.

'Besides,' Garin went on. 'Without you along, we dwarves can travel fast, and we can travel sneaky, like, too. I've been warned, and for that I thank you, so fear not. This hag of an Alshandra will have a good job of it, finding us, dweomer or no. Even Otho would wager a nice bit of coin on her failing.'

'Well and good, then.'

'Now as for you, will you be leaving today?'

'We won't, though as soon as we can. We need to ask Avain's help, and there's no rus.h.i.+ng the la.s.s.'

Behind them the helmsman sang out in Dwarvish. When Garin held out his hand, Rhodry clasped it.

'May we meet again,' Rhodry said. 'But don't wager coin on that.'

Garin merely nodded in a grim sort of way and strode off down the jetty to board. Rhodry waved as the boat pulled away, then turned and walked back to the island rather than watch them go.

Over the next few days Rhodry and Enj spent much time working over their gear, testing ropes, greasing canvas, drying beef and suchlike, and even more sitting with Avain in her tower room. She would fold Rhodry's ring in one hand as she peered into her basin, and judging From her flood of words, she found the dragon easily so long as she was clutching its name. As she talked, Enj would write the occasional word on a waxed tablet - landmarks, he told Rhodry, some he knew, some he didn't.

'You can't expect her to judge the directions things lie, nor the distances between them, but when she speaks of a rock face that looks like grains of wheat, I do know that place. There be others, like this valley she calls the ”G.o.ds' soup bowl”, that never have I seen in my horn days. But at least I know which way to head, and bit by bit we'll piece out our route in our going.'

'With more than a little luck?'

'Just so.'

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