Part 16 (1/2)
”The queen took him away,” the boy said before Conan could speak ”He won't telltime and-”
”I shall explain it all later;” Conan interrupted hastily ”Noould be best if we departed”
Cheen gave him a doubtful look, then finally nodded ”Aye Tair and the rest continued following the selkies' trail They'll want our help”
”And the lizard ht field pursuit,” Conan said
”We have achieved half our goal,” Cheen said She ruffled Hok's hair ”I alad to see you, little brother”
They started off
Kleg continued ht and it ell that he did so, for he was never more than half an hour in front of his pursuers He could not be certain that they even knew he existed, but a search of the dead selkies would not have revealed the talisman; doubtless the lizardthat sa's step faltered soht had tired hih The stark palisade of the village of Karatas rose to 's mists just ahead
To the east of the settlement stood what appeared to be a rocky hill Upon closer exae chunk of rock, all of a piece, and the rays of the sleepy sun revealed this eainst the greenery of trees and grass, the black rock stood out like a blotch of dark paint on an albino's pale aric phenomenon, for the naue of those who had first settled the area
Kleg hurried toward the towering wall of wood ahead of hiic talisman bumped his waist within the pouch he wore Nearly safe, he was True, one could enter the crater lake anywhere and asso, but the unexplored as fraught with dangers The safest tunnels through the growth began where the village met the water; besides, once inside the city, the lizard le Pili, but certainly not for an armed force of them; the administrators of Karatas wanted no more trouble than already existed within the protective walls The Pili would know as uard postto the village
”Ho, the gate watch!”
A fat, bearded man hel ”Aye, 'tis the watch Who calls?”
”Kleg, Priuardbronze lever that controlled the smaller door creaked in its channel An instant later, the iron-backed door swung outward on its thick, oiled hinges ”Enter, Prie They knew him here, and they wanted no trouble with his master, upon whose sufferance they existed He Who Creates could, if He so desired, e away as easily as a selkie crushi+ng a water bug, and all who resided therein surelyfelt a sense of relief He would find a place to eat and to rest before going into the Sargasso He could afford to spend a day recuperating, now that the end of his quest had drawn so near
There was an oasis in the desert across which Conan, Cheen, and the others trekked, a splash of greenery that edged a spring-fed pond, and it was to this oasis that the group made their way under the oppressive heat of the sun
As the men and women of the Tree Folk's party filled their water skins and rested in the cool shade, Cheen took Conan aside
”Much as I would like to continue, we should rest and wait here until evening,” she said ”The desert drinks the life of those who seek to cross this part of it on foot during the day”
Conan nodded There had been no sign of pursuit from the Pili, and desert travel was best done under the cool moon and not her hotter brother, the sun
”Co the Queen of the Pili,” Cheen said, laying her hand on Conan's arm ”There is a quiet place, just over there, beneath the shade of that flowered bush, where ill not be disturbed”
Conan looked at the swelling of Cheen's breasts under the thin shi+rt she wore, at the tightness of her ave him He became aware that it was very possible his explanation would be accompanied by a demonstration, and despite his resolve about women, at the moment the idea was not unpleasant in the least
”Aye,” he said, returning her smile
Thayla's tracker found the place where Conan and the boy had been joined by others, so that their party now matched the queen's own number The Pili set off to follow, but shortly thereafter, a desert wind began to blow, stirring the sand and dust, and within minutes,
the tracks of the escapees and their new companions were completely obscured