have been a bit gentler yesterday when I told her she couldn't come with us this morning.'
'She certainly has a mind of her own,' Calan agreed. As the younger dwarf had done before, he glanced at the eastern sky. Patterns of dawn light painted the distant clouds. The sun would be up soon. 'It's full dawn,' he noted. 'Time to go calling.'
Hammerhand nodded. Raising his hammer, he delivered a single, imperious blow to the time-darkened surface of the huge gate, then stepped back. Several seconds passed, then the gate grated in its frame and slid slowly inward, backing away from those waiting on the ledge. It cleared several feet of steel framing, then receded a few inches farther and stopped. From both sides, eyes peered through the crack. A suspicious voice called, 'Identify yourself!'
Without looking aside, the red-cloak stepped forward and struck the stopped gate another ringing blow. 'I'm Hammerhand!' he stated, his voice deep, commanding, and loud enough to be heard by anyone in the gatehouse beyond. 'I come to meet with the Council of Thanes. Open up!'
'How do we know you're him?' the same voice queried, sounding argumentative.
The old, one-armed dwarf stepped up beside Hammer-hand to growl, 'Open this gate or we'll make a new gate of our own! We're coming in.'
From the crack at the other side of the gate, another voice-a voice of authority-commanded, 'Open the berusted gate, you imbeciles! We've got our orders, and that's the one we're supposed to let in.'
'The rest of 'em, too?' the first voice asked suspiciously.
'Stop arguing and open the gate! It's all right!'
There was muttering from the cracks, then the huge gate began moving again, receding into its shadowed gatehouse. The dwarves on the ledge waited in stony silence until it was fully open, withdrawn twenty feet into its housing. Then the one with the scarlet cloak put away his hammer, growled an ironic 'Thank you,' and stepped forward, followed by his escorts.
Within the gatehouse, they filed around the massive gate, some of them pausing momentarily to gape at the sheer size of the steel-sheathed stone plug and the huge, milled auger behind it. But the one called Hammerhand and the old one-arm barely glanced at the huge mechanics of the gatehouse and strode on, while the rest hurried to follow. Gatekeepers and surly-looking guards stepped back as they passed, and a gold-bearded young Daewar with the insignia of a Home Guards officer fell into step beside Hammerhand. 'I'm Luster,' he said amiably. 'Luster Redleather. I'll show you the way to the Great Hall.'
'I know the way,' Hammerhand rasped, then eased his tone slightly as he glanced at the Daewar. 'Luster Red-leather? Are you Jeron Redleather's son?'
'You know my father?' The Daewar brightened.
'They call me Hammerhand,' the red-cloak said, ignoring the question. Indicating the old dwarf with the reed basket, he added, 'This is Calan Silvertoe.'
Luster nodded at Calan and glanced around at the ten heavily armed warriors flanking and following them. 'And these?'
'The Ten,' Hammerhand said. 'The one with the crested helm is Tap Tolec. He's First of the Ten. Are you the only escort they sent? One alone, to keep all of us out of mischief?'
'Hardly.' Luster chuckled. 'I have a full hundred waiting just beyond Anvil's Echo. For your protection, of course. We have a long walk ahead, and the ways can be, ah… hazardous at times. My father wouldn't want anything to happen to you… at least until he satisfies his curiosity about you.'
'What's he curious about?'
'Just about everything,' the Daewar said. 'Who you are, where you came from, what your purposes are.'
'He knows that,' Hammerhand rasped. 'We came to trade goods for steel.'
'Of course.' The young Daewar nodded. 'Steel armor, steel weapons…'
'The best smelters and forges in the world are in Thor-bardin,' the red-cloak said. 'Where else would we go?'
'But after you have your, ah… steel goods,' Luster pressed, 'what then? You must have a specific use in mind for all those weapons.'
'And curiosity must run in your family,' Hammerhand noted.
They passed between long rows of closed passages, lining both sides of the big, sky-lighted tunnel. Broad delv-ings beyond had once been a construction camp for Northgate and were now used as warehouses. Abruptly the tunnel opened out in all directions, and the path became a suspended bridge-a catwalk leading from end to end of a great cavern lined above and on both sides with small, dark openings.
Neither Hammerhand nor Calan Silvertoe more than glanced at the murderous ports and the vertiginous path as they strode out into the opening, but Luster heard whispers among the ten who followed: 'So this is Anvil's Echo. I've heard about it.' 'I guess you have to see this to really believe it.' 'Look at those murder-holes! Do you suppose we're being watched from those things?'
On impulse, Luster said, over his shoulder, 'There are probably a hundred watchers at those ports right now, maybe more. But don't worry. They're all Dunbarth Iron-thumb's people. Nobody gets into the defense lairs without his approval.'
'It's a shame the rest of Thorbardin doesn't have the discipline of its defenses,' Hammerhand muttered.
'The Hylar would agree with you on that score.' Luster grinned. 'You look like a Hylar, yourself. Are you?'
'I'm Hammerhand,' the red-cloak rumbled. 'Thaf s all I am, at least for now.'
Unabashed, the young Daewar said, 'Chane Lowen says you look like Colin Stonetooth.'
'He probably does,' Calan Silvertoe rasped, then went silent at a glance from his leader.
The catwalk ended, the sun-tunnel-lighted way began again, and the party marched between the waiting ranks of a hundred dwarven soldiers, standing at attention. As they passed, the guards fell in around and behind them, ringing them closely. With a suspicious glare at the soldiers, Tap Tolec muttered orders, and the Ten closed ranks around their leader and the two walking with him. Their frowns made it clear to the guards that they were to keep their distance from Hammerhand. Responding to their glares, some of the Thorbardin guards pressed closer, tauntingly. Then one of them yelped and backed off, stooping to rub his ankle.
'What happened?' one of his companions asked.
'One of these outsiders kicked me on the shin,' the injured one snapped.
Hammerhand swung around, stopping the procession. He glanced at Tap Tolec, then from face to face of his other nine bodyguards. All of them shook their heads. 'Nobody kicked your soldier,' Hammerhand told Luster. 'If any of them had, he'd be more than just bruised.' Imperiously, he turned again and strode on, the double ring of escorts reforming around him.
Luster Redleather's eyes twinkled with amusement. 'Your people look after you,' he noted.
Hammerhand didn't respond, but Calan Silvertoe said, 'The Ten are the chosen of the Chosen Ones. Your soldiers would be well advised to treat them with respect.'
'My soldiers-a hundred of Thorbardin's best?' Luster asked, grinning.
'If they're your best, then you don't want to lose them,' Hammerhand said quietly. 'If they crowd my people, what happens to them is their fault. The Ten don't like being crowded.'
With a wave of his hand, Luster Redleather signaled his hundred, who eased away from the compact group of warriors, giving them respect and a bit more room. From somewhere on the left flank came an angry whisper: 'One of them
After a half-hour's walk, the big tunnel they were following-called the Second Road-bent sharply to the left, and carved runes in the stone wall said that Theibardin- first of the Theiwar cities-lay ahead. The Thorbardin guards had now formed a complete circle around the visitors, and marched with eyes alert and shields high. A hundred yards past the turn, several dozen shadowy figures suddenly darted from a side-delve, shouting a babble of taunts and insults. Several of them hurled stones at the approaching company. The leading Thorbardin guards deflected the stones casually with their shields and drew hand weapons. With more taunts and insults, the mob of attackers turned and ran, disappearing around a bend in the distance.
'Somebody doesn't like us here,' Calan Silvertoe drawled.
'It isn't you,' Luster Redleather assured his guests. 'It's us. A lot of people here don't like the Home Guards.
