Part 7 (2/2)
”Only a fool would try to swim in that,” Wikkell observed ”Could they have a boat?”
”Un-un-unlikely,” Deek replied
”Well, unless they jued some means of trans port
”S-'s-so it ould s-seeeneral direction of where he assu” He sahat appeared to be several lengths of short bone and scraps of cloth littering the beach Hebehind him
The cyclops' examination of the litter proved his assuinous, flexible bone, fresh, likely from a fish, and strands of dark, heavy cloth
”Somehow they have constructed a boat Out of what, I would dearly like to know, by Set's Black Scales!”
Deek moved from the sand and crumbled rock beach to a more solid surface nearby so that he could address the problem ”W-e n-need t-t-transport-t-tation”
”Indeed” Wikkell swept his gaze over the area ”Unfortunately, I see nothing useful for that purpose”
”T-that t-t-tunnel, t-to y-your r-r-right”
”Don't tell e hidden in there, Deek” ”N-n-nay B-but s-some of th-the W-ebspin-ners l-live d-d-down th-that ay”
”How do you know this? And what good does that do us, in any event?”
”I a-aifted ith an ex-excellent sense of s-s-s ith th-their ebbing”
Wikkell blinked What a clever thought Who would have even expected such fro to be acompanion”
Had Deek a proper mouth, he would have smiled True, Wikkell the one-eye was one of the wizard's minions, but the compliment sat well in any event These cyclopes were apparently brighter than they appeared, to so quickly recognize talent in others and to then voice it in such a straightforward manner
Too bad they worked for the wizard Just as it was too bad that he had to work for Chuntha
”Let us go and see if we can bargain with the Webspinners”
”I-i-indeed”
Kataht Aside fro crystals, sleezewart, anthelmintics, sleepdust, and assorted spellbooks-he carried only enough food, clothing, and niceties to sustain a dozen men for six weeks His retinue-a o ast themselves without question Rey had little appreciation for the intelligence of his thralls, feeling certain that seldoht in any of their heads that was not an autochthonous one, so placed there by hihtest aaze upon Wikkell, who, that unworthy soul would find himself sorry to have been born
There was a sedan chair, borne by a pair of stalwarts, but he waved it away He would walk on his own for a ti since he had done any exercise, it would be refreshi+ng
Striding purposefully ahead of the Cyclopes, the wizard marched off to attend to business
Chuntha's saddle was cinched into place on the back of one of the larger wor veriant wor the witch's cos, made fros Her erotics, potions, dreas of hallucinogenic spore powder nestled along the edge of her saddle within easy reach She was ready
”Go!” Chuntha commanded
Here at the exit to her personal cha, and her naked skin, warlowed viridly as she low Chuntha s in what she was certain would turn out to be a ht warmed her even more
Nine
Conan, Elashi+, and Tull floated along the Sunless Sea for the best part of a day without s did so ripples or an occasional splash their way, but Conan's keen eyes found no source for these actions Once so the three riders, but whatever it was, it troubled them only the one time
Perhaps it had taken a mouthful of their boat and been satisfied
Near what Conan judged to be evening-who could tell in this land of eternally gloalls?-they paddled the raft into a quiet cove and wedged it against a rocky shore It was darker here than inrather scantly distributed along the walls of the cove's grotto, and if anybody or anything happened to pass by upon the water, itthe trio and their ers were covered with a sticky and smelly fish effluvia, and none had any desire to sleep upon the dead creature could it be avoided A series of ledges stair-stepped its way up the wall away from the water, and a particularly wide one was an easy two minutes' climb Perched here, the three shared athered some lichen that was edible, if not deliciously so, and they also chewed on that as they rested
”I e could build a fire,” Elashi+ said ”It is so dalanced at the woht as ish for a kingdoht”
”How far do you reckon we coed ”Miles Hard to say on the water”
”Aye Reckon we lost any followers Kinda hard to track in water”
Conan chewed on a e from the fish Earlier in the day the fish had been the best food he had eaten in a long ti the pale, bloodless flesh several times since, it had lost ht about pursuers, but he would sleep with one hand on his sword This place was run by a wizard and a witch, and although his experience with s were dangerous aid unclean Give hied beast to face, or berserker swordsmen, and he could hold his own as well as any ether Honest s, and Conan wanted no truck izards or witches or any of their ilk
”I'll stand the first watch,” Tull said
Conan nodded He looked at Elashi+ ”We have no fire, but we can share our oar
The pair of the Tull sitting near the edge, watching the ice-smooth Sunless Sea
The Webspinner Plants could not move froerous for that The plants, each twice the height of a tall cyclops, with thorny branches surrounding a centralhich they snared their prey Unlike spiders, ht catch a hapless passerby, the Webspinner Plants could throw sticky, ropelike lines for so save the plants' oebbing The victiht would then be hauled inexorably to the plant, where it would be i, then drawn into the waiting maw Around the plants was an arti-ficed floor of shi+ to the cavern's rocky surface The undigested and regurgitated bones of a thousandto speak to the plants stayed outside the range of the prey lines or took his chances on beco dinner
Wikkell and Deek kept well outside the peri to the queen of this particular nest of Webspinners Logic dictated that the Webspinners should have been long extinct since they were immobile, and despite their ability to heave lines; any prey species with half a brain should certainly have learned over the years to stay well away from the plants v However, the Webspinners had another talent, and while both Wikkell and Deek had spoken to theain in full evidence: the voices of the plants were