Part 5 (1/2)

With that, the three departed Tull's grotto

Wikkell stood staring at the waterfall ”Are you certain they went this way?” The Blind Whites affirmed that this was so

The cyclops brooded for a o thus He began to wade into the icy water It deepened quickly, rising as he stepped into it Three paces and the water level was nearly at his chin Too deep for the hue it was shallower?

Indeed As Wikkell sidestepped, the pool!s floor angled upward In a , with that rushi+ng cascade right next to him He moved his splayed feet over the slippery botto like this until they were past the waterfall

Wikkell slipped on a protruding bottom stone He would have fallen into the depths of the pool, but he waved his ar waterfall He fell into it- And through it

Ho-ho! he thought as he drew himself to his feet and stood erect The water hid another chah the waterfall, now seen to be littlesheet

”This way, blind fools,” he said ”They went this way”

From a shallow crevasse in the stone floor, Deek watched as One Eye first disappeared into the waterfall, then pushed his head through it and called to the Blind Whites

When the creatures had allwater, the bat flitted down and alighted next to Deek

”D-d-did y-y-ou k-know of t-this?”

The bat affirmed that it did The other end of the tunnel entered into one of the Bloodbats' breeding chambers, in point of fact

”I-is t-there a-a-another ay to the c-c-cham-ber?”

Certainly, the bat said You do not think that we fly through that water whenever ish to leave, do you?

”T-t-takebored by it all

Deek felt a se of happiness as he slithered off after the supercilious bat The prey would not be co egress If he could get to the other end in time, he could be there to capture the cave full of bats, it should be easy enough

”What lies at the ends of this tunnel?” Conan asked

Tull pointed ”That way is the bat cave, where they breed The other way you already know about; it's the waterfall”

”Is it possible to slip past the bats?” Elashi+ asked

”Aye, lady, if one is careful and quiet Mostly they sleep, when they ain't breeding”

”Then let us go that way,” Conan said As young as he was, his voice carried a tone of coood to joke with Elashi+ when they were aer threatened, Conan's instincts would not be thwarted by words He would play her ga as it suited him

Conan took the lead, with Elashi+ and Tull following

The journey to the breeding cavern took less than an hour As they neared their destination, Tull halted thean to whisper

”The bats do not see well,” Tull said ”But they sense ister If you think one sees you, hold still, and like as not it'll drift back to sleep without bothering you”

Conan nodded, noting that Elashi+ did the sah,” Tull said ”They can set a scrape or cut, they'll be on you like flies on offal-no offense, lady-and there'll be hell to pay Four or five of 'em can drain a White dry in afroainst a sharp rock”

Conan drew his sword

”That won't do you no good,” Tull said ”Not if you face a hundred of 'em”

”Perhaps not,” Conan said ”But if they come to drink my blood, they will pay dearly with their own”

Tull chose not to speak to this, and with Conan still in the lead, they moved off

Wikkell asked, ”Do you knohere this tunnel leads?” and realized the futility of the question before the chattering Whites could frame a reply Of course they did not know; until he had shown theeway even existed Well, he would find out soon enough

”H-h-how l-long?”

Soon, the bat said Can you not s chamber's lovely essence?

Deek did notice a foul,down the hallway, but fortunately, had not cooes this way,that whatever had made that track would lead them to Conan

”Stay with it,” the Harskeel ordered

The bats were larger than Conan had anticipated They hung upside down from protrusions on the roof and walls of the chaiant flat-faced, tailess rats ether, but for thebats were still and quiet

Slowly, carefully, the trio moved across the cave There were rocks strewn all over, which , and spires of rock jutted up fro an unwary victis led away froher up along the glowing green walls There were three such exits directly across from where the trio had entered, and it was for the center opening that Conan, Tull, and Elashi+ est and largest of the local hallways, with abundant hiding places should so

They were halfway across the large cavern, the bats overhead sleeping peacefully, when trouble arrived

And as trouble ont to do, it arrived in droves