[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

over those dreadful depths, well, it was all quite beyond Perry's courage and
skill to do.
24 DEMNI5 L McKlERMAM
And now he was having trouble just putting one foot in front of another on a
bouncing, swaying, narrow rope-and-board span above an endless fall into a
gaping, black depth; and in his mind's eye he once again saw the Rucks
plunging to their doom. Hey! This won't do, he thought, now don't you freeze
in fear out here; after what all the others did, you've just got to cross over
this awful black pit. And cross it he did, trembling and clutching, but moving
ahead all the time. He was greatly relieved when he stumbled onto the other
side, nearly falling to his knees when his feet came off the bounding span and
met the hard, unyielding stone.
Last to cross was Delk, who strolled over as if the narrow bridge were a broad
highway.
After retrieving the arrows from the dead Rucks, the Seven dragged the corpses
to the lip and flung them into the Deep, pitching the Ruck weapons after.
Perry threw a fallen torch into the gulf, and as it fell, a smoldering spark
caught, and it burst into flame; and Perry watched its guttering light as it
tumbled end over end. His sight followed it for what seemed to be an endless
time as it slowly became a tiny speck, of luminance plummeting down and down,
untjl it disappeared; whether it plunged beyond an outcropping to be seen no
more, or fell at last into a stream at the bottom, or blew out, or simply
became too small to see, Perry could not tell. He shuddered at the awful
depths involved, unable to imagine their limits and not wanting to know. Again
he drew back from the edge in fear.
With one last sweeping look. Lord Kian saw that all overt" evidence of the
battle was gone. "I think no one will discover that we were here. Even the
blood is cleaned up well enough so that only close inspection wilt show that
any was spilled. The Spawn simply will be presented with the mystery of a
missing company, and some guards that disappeared. Gnar may think that they
deserted. The main evidence of our passage lies in the unguessed depths of the
Great Deep."
"Not all," grunted Borin. "The rock-nails and jams are in
place on the wall and roof. But they are small and dark and
should go unnoticed. Even if discovered, mayhap the Squam
will think them an old dead end, for they go nowhere."
"Let us be gone, then," declared Lord Kian, "for we can
THE BRCGA PATN
25
do no more here, and we must away ere we are discovered.  Perry."
With the Warrow in the lead next to Anval, they started at a jog trot toward
the black gape of the second tunnel on the right. Dwarf-lanterns were slightly
unhooded and cast narrow phosphorescent beams to dimly light the way. The
Seven entered the dark passage and started up the first of several flights of
stairs that would lead to the Hall of the Gravenarch. Suddenly Shannon hissed,
"Quiet! Shield the lights. Rupt below." The Elf s sharper hearing had detected
the tramp of Rucken boots.
The lanterns were hooded and the company stood quietly, poised on the steps.
Down at the entrance of the corridor, they saw reflected torchlight flicker
by, and they heard the heavy tread of Spawn heading for the bridge. The
companions had started just in time; it had taken seven full hours to get from
Dawn-Gate to these steps, but fortunately for the Squad die band of
maggot-folk now tramping to the bridge had come too late to thwart this
initial thrust.
After the Spaunen passed, the companions started up the stairway once again,
coming quickly to the top and continuing down the passageway. They ignored the
side corridors and went on for nearly a mile and a half, climbing six flights
of steps separated by long stretches of level cavern. They came to the base of
the seventh flight, but the way was barred by large blocks of broken stone
amid piles of rubble. " It is as I feared," said Perry. "The Raven Book teils
that the roof collapsed when Brega sundered the keystone of the Gravenarch and
nearly lost his life. We must now attempt to find a way up to the Sixth Rise
above Gate 1-evel and come to a place where ! again recognize the way. In this
search a Dwarf should lead."
Delk Steelshank was chosen to go first, for in his youth he had apprenticed to
a Tunnelmaster before he finally turned to the craft of gatemaking. He studied
Perry's map with Anval and Borin, and then led them down two flights of steps
to the first westbound tunnel; they strode along it for a half mile, coming to
a corridor to the right with steps bearing upward. They climbed up the flight,
and a level cross-passage bored away in both directions. Ahead they could see [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]