Part 7 (1/2)
No It would not do
She sighed She supposed that she should have learned by now not to send a worm to do a witch's job
It had seemed so simple, to merely fetch the man to her-but no, by the De fate wished to cheat her of her just due Perhaps the wizard had a hand in it An unpleasant thought
Chuntha raised her naked forather a collection of certain iteical power Very well She had not always been a stay-at-hoo and fetch the man herself And if Deek lived and hole, he would be made to suffer for her extra labors, too
The blind white thing responded to the Harskeel's questions, speaking in a tongue that sounded like atortured monkey's wails Fortunately, one of the Harskeel's men was fah that some sense could be made of the creature's replies
”I am only interested in the one called 'Conan,' ” the Harskeel said ”Ask it about him”
The pikeman did so
A stream of babble cae man and that he and his brothers were sent to fetch his upon the ear
”He says he works for the one-eyed monster, who in turn works for the wizard of the caves”
The Harskeel shook its head Treading on a wizard was bad business There was no help for it, though
When they had obtained as et fro, it drew its sword and snapped a quick but powerful cut at the creature's neck Razor steel met flesh, and the startled cry died even as it was born The severed head fell, trailing blood, and bounced along the cave floor
Sohis sword and Tull's knife, Conan hewed several shallow compartments and numerous footsteps into the flesh of the dead fish A pair of riblike bones, each fastened to portions of fin with strings cut from his former cape,raft He also cut soh in truth the raw fish held little appeal to his or Elashi+'s appetite
”Here,” Tull said ”Watch”
With that, the ragged man clambered down from the fish's side-now the top of their raft-and splashed onto the nearest shore After a moment he returned with a yellowish mushroom he had found at the base of the cave wall Then he picked up a hand-sized slab of the cut fish and squeezed the fungus over it
Juice frous fell upon the translucent fish, and as it did, the flesh beca to the juice, and he remarked upon it
”Aye,” Tull said ”The juice of this particular toadstool is harmless, but it 'cooks' the fish In a few minutes it'll be like we roasted it in an oven”
Conan was somewhat dubious as to the powers of toadstool liquid, but a taste of the fish when Tull indicated that it was ”done” put an end to his doubts The fish was delicious! Given that it was the first meal he and Elashi+ had enjoyed in so the fish down ingreatsated, Conan said, ”I suppose it would be toothe ould serve as wine?”
Tull chuckled ”Would that it were so, lad, but nay There is a kind of ives visions when eaten, but it has a nasty flavor and is just as apt to make a man puke as dream”
”Thank you, no,” Conan said
Elashi+ had climbed down the steps Conan had carved into theher hands in the water She finished the chore quickly,in the lake
”Well,” she said as she ascended the fish back to the shallow depression where Conan and Tull sat digesting their recent e?”
Conan nodded, stood, and stretched ”Aye, and why not?” Joints and sinews popped as he rolled his shoulders and swung his arms back and forth to loosen them
With that, he fetched one of the paddles Tull took the other, and they es of their fishy boat to stand in the wells they had carved out for support The Cimmerian looked across the fish at Tull, who nodded, and boththeir paddles into the water
Slowly, ponderously, the dead fish began to move
It was not the best of all possible craft, but once h the still water fairly easily
Currents, if there were any, did not see fro after they started, the place froe was lost in the darkness
The cave roof oft dipped lower and raised higher, and the side walls were soround on a reen and no breath of wind nor insect's call disturbed the silence There were only the sounds of their paddles splashi+ng in the water and an occasional intestinal groan fro fish
Conan had been in places he preferred more, but all in all, his fortunes could have been considerably worse He had good companions, a full belly, and control of his movements His blade was sharp in its sheath, and there would certainly be no lack of food in the foreseeable future It was true that Croe, but there was transportation, albeit somewhat slippery, and he and his co to swi the belly of a creature like the one beneath Conan's feet He found that thought pleasing A comfortable heat lubricated his shoulders, and the strain of roas pleasant, raising a legitimate sweat upon his skin A man could do far worse
As to the future? Well, he did not ponder overmuch on that Better to live in the moment and deal with the future when it arrived; elsewise a ht never come to pass Such worries would serve only to spend one's alloted ti a dead fish over a silent lake, lit by glowing fungus and buried under the earth, certainly bettered the alternative he had been facing only a few hours past He still lived, and that was theelse could be worked out as it happened
Sh the still water
”S-s-stand r-r-ready,” Deek scraped softly ”H-here is th-the e-e-entrance t-to the s-s-sea”
Wikkell nodded, assuiant worers and started forward
”B-b-be c-c-cautious,” Deek warned, ”T-th-there s-see was unnecessary Wikkell teetered on the brink but kept his balance as he looked over the quiet water below Quickly he shi+fted his single-eyed gaze back and forth, taking in the beach and shoreline to the side
”I see no sign of them”
”I-i-im-p-possible L-let m-me s-s-see”
Deek undulated to the edge of the tunnel's exit and waved his head back and forth