Part 2 (1/2)
”Master,” the hunchbacked Cyclops said It had a voice like sail canvas being torn
”Go to the Northern Chambers,” Ray said, ”and prepare a reception for anyone who ventures to cross the land above I will have any who dare the forbidden paths brought beforehis hands to scrape the floor, and turned to leave
”Alive,” Rey said to the retreating form ”I want them alive”
Chuntha the witch fondled the carved baculuantus lay before her, flattened on its bottoht It looked as if someone had taken an ordinary redearthworm, increased its size by hostly white There were no features recognizable as a face-one end seemed much like the other-but a series of discolorations did indicate that the head of the giant worht and easily as thick as a wine barrel, the worm twitched as it listened to its mistress
”Go, Deek,” she said, ”to the Northern Chaer to us will manifest itself there, and soon
We must control it to survive and triumph over That bastard who opposes us You are authorized to create an alliance with any ould aid us: the bats, the Whites, the Webspinners, any or all of them
Promise them what they ask, but do not allow the forces of That bastard to obtain that which I seek Do you understand?”
The wor its body in certain ways over the stone beneath it, the creature could manufacture a kind of counterfeit voice ”Y-y-yes-s”
When her servant had left, undulating its torpid body over the sli She had not envisioned such a powerful dreale er In the diarded the baculuh in this instance Mayhap she needed to try the dreaical force, and there was some risk involved in its use, but this was no tierous times required riskyjewel and see what insight it offered
In the oat, the Harskeel regarded itself in a floor-to-ceilingfor the first tih road could he be the one? Surely he was brave; he had faced six-to-one odds, even though his confederate had aided him And the latest story, of how he had slain another in the village tavern with nosheep surely that added to his bravery?
The Harskeel in the mirror nodded Aye, it seeht well be the final key we have been awaiting these last fifteen years If this barbar-na to its spies in the tavern-is the one, then we can be as ere before
Yes A pleasant thought
Soon we shall have him, the Harskeel told itself Already a score of our men prepare to ride No matter how many must die, ill have that blade and the blood of its bearer! Certainly a pleasant thought
The newly fallen snow enfolded the village like a white shroud,a pristine blanket that sparkled under an icy-blue sky The stor peace in its wake
The sun had already co's journey when Conan and Elashi+ eed from the inn They had breakfasted well; additionally, the innkeeper had supplied theht more easily traverse the knee-deep snows that had covered the road
”We shall take the shorter route mentioned by the innkeeper,” Conan said Elashi+ shook her head ”Did not you hear also the tale of the watchbeast that sometimes prowls that shorter path?”
”Aye And Conan of Cimmeria is not preparedto march for an additional five daysthat sometimes prowls' a path” He patted his sword ”A blade that has slain a dire-ill certainly serve to dispatch soy cur should it trouble us”
”I did not hear the innkeeper say that the beast was a dog”
”What else? Perhaps the watchbeast is instead a goose So h style-should it honk threateningly at us” He laughed, ae
For once Elashi+ was quiet Conan silently thanked Crom for not-so-small a favor
So the pairon their bentwood-and-gut snowshoes, hearing the dry powder beneath their feet squeak with each step The day was bracing, if cold, and Conan felt rested from his sleep and belly-ith his breakfast Another two days would see them clear of the Karpash mountains and out of Corinthia, onto the Zamoran plateau It was but another half-moon's walk to Shadizar, so he had been told Less if he could steal a pair of horses Once there, Elashi+ would continue southward and he could be about the business of enriching hih serious thievery He looked forward to that with interest
The twenty riders struggled to control theirair as the horses shi+fted nervously about
Then the Harskeel itself entered the courtyard astride its stallion Froathered riders ”I want the old coins to the one who delivers theether And a swift and painful death to any man who is the cause of their loss Is that perfectly clear?”
There came a murmur of assent froe Now!”
The thunder of hooves shook theas the Harskeel and its minions departed the e, Conan and Elashi+ paused to lunch upon strips of lamb jerky purchased at the inn The meat was dry and chewy, but fortunately the innkeeper had also supplied the couple with a leather flask of mild wine, and they used this to wash down the jerky Later, when they catails, which they could roast over the evening's fire With luck, they could be through the pass and over the hest elevation by darkfall
Wikkell, the hunchbacked cyclops,through puddles of limed water that sometimes bubbled with inner effervescence There were a dozen ways toreach the Northern Cha one of the wider ones, albeit not the shortest It would not do to be stuck in one of the narrow tubes whilst on Katamay Rey's business The entle with those who failed hiered the wizard, and as a result, had spent his finalinto a puddle of putrid ooze upon Rey's chamber floor Wikkell's first chore as new assistant had been to clean up the remains of his predecessor, an unpleasant task that ever cautioned hi with the wizard who ruled half of the cave syste that incident served to hurry Wikkell's splayed feet as he ned task, 'twould be better not to return to these parts at all; certainly it was an option he would keep in mind, but one he would rather not exercise He increased his pace yetquite fast for a being without appendages The belly plates upon which he traveled had evolved to suit rock, and he slid forwardfrohtly raised above the sli, Deek formulated his plans for communication with the other sentient species that inhabited the Grotteriurotus The Blood-bats lived to eat and procreate, and they always needed iant caverns to the west of the cave coround Chuntha had kept the to occupy such a vast space
The Webspinners, on the other coil, were perrown thin from lack of proper food Could Deek assure the to aid the witch in any way they could
And the Blind Whites? Well, they were quite another matter Those obscene, apelike creatures were friendly with the cyclopes and unlikely to want anything Chuntha could supply Like as not, they would pull rock daggers on any wor each other stupid questions as they ingested the reether
Deek had not seen Chuntha so agitated since the worht her that man traveler a few months past She had practically danced then; unfortunately, the poor traveler had not lasted very long under the witch's h to finish him But the remains had been quite tasty, as Deek recalled Perhaps the witch would allow theain once this new traveler had served his purpose But first they had to catch hi faster It would not do to miss this person Not at all Deek had no desire to serve as fodder for the li to please Chuntha
Conan and Elashi+ rounded the trail's turning as the sun began to sink behind the tallest peak to the west
The trek had been monotonous thus far They had seen no one save an occasional curiousdown at theht, Conan figured
Then, just ahead, froed spire of rock, a monster stepped into their path
Conan and Elashi+ stopped and stared at the beast Big it was, as large as a draft horse, but save that itstood on four legs, altogether unlike any horse they had ever seen The beast looked to have been asse, cat, and rat The head was mostly canine but with catlike jowls and teeth; the body wore striped fur, much like a do hound The tail was long and pink, naked of hair, and properly belonged on a giant rat The feet were also ratlike, with four toes on each foot, and each toe was tipped with a black claw
The thing growled and erizzled bear
Without taking her startled gaze fro, you said? Or perhaps a fat goose upon which we could dine, eh? Once again you astound me with your predictive powers, Conan”
”Better you should use your blade than yourto reach for his oord
The thing gave another bearlike bark and sniffed the air Conan froze, leaving his sword in place The as at the watchbeast's back, as the outlander could tell fro his nostrils
Perhaps it could not see particularly well, for it made no move toward them