They had not gone far, however, when Edain Elessedil brought them to a halt. «Listen!» he cautioned sharply. «Do you hear it?»
They stood silently upon the open slope, heads turned eastward toward the peaks as the Elven Prince pointed. Wind blew fiercely from out of the rocks, and there was no sound save its mournful howl.
«I hear nothing,” Foraker murmured softly, but no one moved. The Elf’s sense of hearing was much sharper than their own.
Then abruptly the wind seemed to shift and die, and a deep, steady booming came from far in the distance. It sounded faint and muffled, lost in the myriad twists and turns of the rock.
Foraker’s black–bearded face went dark. «Gnome drums!»
They went forward again, more cautiously now, eyes scanning the cliffs and drops ahead. The pounding drums grew deeper and harder, throbbing against the rush of the wind, rumbling ominously through the earth.
Then, as the afternoon lengthened and the shadow of the peaks stretched farther down to where the six climbed, a new sound reached their ears. It was a strange sound, a kind of chilling howl that seemed almost a part of the wind at first, then grew distinct in its pitch and fury. Lifting out of the distant heights, it rolled down across the mountain slopes and gathered them in. Faces glanced one from the other, and at last it was Garet Jax who spoke, a hint of surprise in his voice.
«There is a battle being fought.»
Foraker nodded and started ahead once again. «They’ve attacked Capaal!»
They climbed into the mountains, working their way through an increasingly jumbled maze of fragmented boulders, crevices, drops, and slides. The sunlight fell away as the afternoon died into dusk, and shadows lengthened over the whole of the southern exposure. The wind faded as well, and the chill it carried lost its edge. Silence descended across the land, its empty corners reverberating with the harsh echo of drums and battle cries. Far beyond where they climbed, through gaps in the barren peaks, great birds of prey circled in lazy sweeps — scavengers that watched and waited.
Then at last the company was atop the ridgeline of the nearest peak, turning into a deep and shadowed defile that ran through the rock into coming night. Cliff walls hemmed them in on all sides, and they squinted sharply through the half–light for signs of movement. But the way forward lay open, and all of the life among these rocks seemed to have been drawn to where the battle ahead was being fought.
Moments later they emerged from the defile and drew to a sudden halt. The cliff face dropped away before them and the whole of what lay beyond stood revealed.
«Shades!» Foraker whispered harshly.
Across a narrows, high within the peaks through which the waters of the Silver River flowed, stretched the locks and dams of Capaal. Huge, rough, and startlingly white against the dark rock, they rose high within the gathering of the mountains and cupped the waters of the Cillidellan in giant’s hands. Atop their broad, flat crest, extending through three levels, was the fortress that served as protection, a sprawling mass of towers, walls and battlements. The greater portion of the citadel was settled upon the northern edge of this complex and faced onto a plain that ran back at a gentle slope into the sheltering peaks beyond. A smaller watch stood sentinel at the near end where the peaks ran down to the banks of the reservoir and only a series of narrow trails gave access to her walls.
It was here that the battle had been joined. The army of the Gnomes stretched all across the broad expanse of the far shelf and the slopes beyond, and all along the trails and rock slides running down. Huge and massive, it surged against the stone battlements of Capaal in a dark wave of armored bodies and thrusting weapons, seeking to breach the fortifications that held it out. Catapults flung huge boulders through the fading light, which smashed with crushing force into the armor and flesh of the Dwarf defenders. Screams and howls rose up through the ringing clash of iron, and men died all across the length and breadth of the fortress. Tiny, faceless beings, they struggled before the battlements, Dwarves and Gnomes alike, and were swept away in the carnage that resulted.
«So this is what the Gnomes have chosen for Capaal!» Foraker cried. «They have put her under siege! No wonder they were so bold in seizing the Wedge!»
Jair pushed forward for a better look. «Are the Dwarves trapped?» he asked anxiously. «Can’t they escape?»
«Oh, they can escape easily enough — but they won’t.» Elb Foraker’s dark eyes found the Valeman’s. «Tunnels bore underground to the mountains on either side, secret passages built for escape should the fortress fall. But no army can breach the walls of Capaal, Ohmsford, and so the Dwarves within will stay and defend.»
«But why?»
Foraker pointed. «The locks and dams. See the waters of the Cillidellan? The poison of the Mord Wraiths has blackened and fouled them. The dams hold back those waters from the lands west; the locks control the flow. Should the fortress be abandoned, the locks and dams would fall into the hands of the enemy. The Gnomes would open the gates and drain through the whole of the Cillidellan. They would flood the lands west with the fouled waters, poison as much of the land as they could, and kill as much of its life as they were able. The Wraiths would see to it. Even Culhaven would be lost.» He shook his bearded face somberly. «The Dwarves will never permit that.»
Jair stared down once more at the battle below, appalled by the ferociousness of the struggle. So many Gnomes besieged the defenders of the fortress; was it possible for the Dwarves to withstand them all?
«How do we get past this mess?» Garet Jax was studying the drop.
The Dwarf seemed lost in thought. «When it’s dark, work your way east along the heights. That should keep you above the Gnome encampment. Once past the Cillidellan, come down to the river and cross. Then turn north. You should be safe enough then.» He straightened and extended his hand. «Luck to you, Garet.»
The Weapons Master stiffened. «Luck? You’re not thinking of staying, are you?»
The other shrugged. «I’m not thinking of anything. It’s decided.»
Garet Jax stared. «You can’t do any good here, Elb.»
Fraker shook his head slowly. «Someone has to warn the garrison that the bridge at the Wedge has been dropped. Otherwise, if the worst happens and Capaal falls, they might try to escape back through the mountains and be trapped there.» He shrugged. «Besides, Helt can lead you in the dark better than I. And after Capaal, I don’t know the country anyway. The Gnome will have to guide you.»
«We made a pact — the six of us.» The voice of the Weapons Master had gone cold. «No one goes his own way. We need you.»
The Dwarf’s jaw tightened stubbornly. «They need me, too.»
An unpleasant silence descended over the group as the two faced each other. Neither showed any intention of backing away.
«Let him go,” Helt rumbled softly. «He has a right to choose.»
«The choice was made at Culhaven.» Garet Jax gave the Borderman an icy stare.
Jair’s throat tightened. He wanted to say something — anything — to break the tension between the Dwarf and the Weapons Master, but he couldn’t think of what it should be. He glanced at Slanter to see. what the Gnome was thinking, but Slanter was ignoring them all.
«I have an idea.» It was Edain Elessedil who spoke. All eyes shifted toward him. «Maybe this won’t work, but it might be worth a try.» He bent forward. «If I could get close enough to the fortress, I could tie a message to an arrow and shoot it in. That would let the defenders know about the Wedge.»
Garet Jax turned to Foraker. «What do you think?»
The Dwarf frowned. «It will be dangerous. You’ll have to get much closer than you’d like. Much.»
«Then I’ll go,” Helt announced.
«It was my idea,” Edain Elessedil insisted. «I’ll go.»
Garet Jax held up his hands. «If one goes, we all go. If we become separated in these mountains, we’ll never find each other again.» He glanced at Jair. «Agreed?»
Jair nodded at once. «Agreed.»
«And you, Elb?» The Weapons Master faced the Dwarf once more.
Elb Foraker nodded slowly. «Agreed.»
«And if we can get the message to the garrison?»
The other nodded again. «We go north.»
Garet Jax took a final look down at the battle between Gnome and Dwarf armies, then motioned for the
