Part 4 (1/2)
The old hair and on his upper arold whose mate Garin had once seen in atraced with a crooked finger the archaic lettering carved upon the stone base of the couch
”Lovers in the Light sleep sweetly The Light returns on the appointed day”
”Who lies there?” Garin motioned to the dais
”The first Ancient Ones Come, look upon those who ed in ts and between thele couch raised above the others Fiftyfor the hour, smiles on their peaceful faces but weary shadows beneath their eyes There was an un-hu in their descendents
Urg advanced to the high couch and beckoned Garin to join him A man and a woman lay there, the woman's head upon the man's breast There was that in their faces which hly where no ht, first Lord of the Caverns, and his lady Thrala, Dweller in the Light So have they lain a thousand thousand years, and so will they lie until this planet rots to dust beneath them
They led the Folk out of the sliain”
They passed silently down the aisles of the dead Once Garin caught sight of another fair-haired man, perhaps another outlander, since the Ancient Ones were all dark of hair Urg paused once more before they left the hall He stood by the couch of a ed with le name: ”Thran”
So this was the last Lord of the Caverns Garin leaned closer to study the dead face but Urg seee on to a panel door
”This is the southern portal of the Caverns,” he explained ”Trust to the Ana to guide you and beware of the boiling els scent you, kill quickly, they are the servants of the Black Ones May fortune favor you, outlander”
The door was open and Garin looked out upon Tav The soft blue light was as strong as it had been when he had first seen it With the Ana perched on his shoulder, the green rod and the bag of food in his hands, he stepped out onto theraised his hand in salute and the door clicked into place Garin stood alone, pledged to bring the Daughter out of the Caves of Darkness
There is no night or day in Tav since the blue light is steady But the Folk divide their ti newly coue As he hesitated, the Ana chattered and pointed confidently ahead
Before them was a dense wood of fern trees It was quiet in the forest as Garin loom and for the first time he noted a peculiarity of Tav There were no birds
The portion of the woodland they had to traverse was but a spur of the forest to the west After an hour of travel they caish river The turbid waters of the streaht Garin, must be the River of Gold, the boundary of the lands of the Black Ones
He rounded a bend to coe, so old that tiave on a wide plain where tall grass grew sere and yellow To the left was a hissing and bubbling, and a huge wave of boiling mud arose in the air Garin choked in a wind, thick with chemicals, which blew from it He smelled and tasted the sulphur-tainted air all across the plain
And he was glad enough to plunge into a s There he bathed his head and arether they ate the cakes of grain and the dried fruit When they were done the Ana tugged at Garin's hand and pointed on
Cautiously Garin worh the thick underbrush until, at last, he looked out into a clearing and at its edge the entrance of the Black Ones' Caves Two tall pillars, carved into the likeness of foul reenish mist whirled and danced in its mouth
The flyer studied the entrance There was no life to be seen He gripped the destroying rod and inched forward Before the green mist he braced himself and then stepped within
_CHAPTER SIX_