plunged under'the wall on the left side. The far bank was a narrow ledge of rock, shelving out from a sheer stone wall that ran to the ceiling with no outlet. Though he was desperately thirsty, and water was within reach, Perry flung down his pack and broke into tears of frustration, 'if this doesn't beat all,' he vented bitterly. 'Trapped again. Stone and water before us, and Rucks and fire behind us.'
And then, from far off, faintly echoing down the-cavern, came a discordant horn blare. 'I fear the fire is no longer burning,' declared Lord Kian, 'and the Spaunen are once more in pursuit.''
CHAPTER 4
Two Dwarves, a Warrow, and a Man threaded their way along the Great Loom of Aggarath as they walked toward the pile of.stone covering Dusk-Door. Everywhere they stepped, it seemed, they came to another fallen Dwarf warrior, slain by the monstrous Krakenward during the fearful retreat along the causeway. Durek and Bomar had cast their hoods over their heads, as is the manner of Dwarven grief; tears silently coursed down Cotton's cheeks as the Warrow passed the broken bodies; and Rand's countenance was bleak. But they did not stop to mourn, for as Durek had said, 'There will come a time to lament, but now we must mink of the living. Our companions in the halls of Kraggen-cor depend upon us; we must not fail them,'
Where the lake once stood, a black crater now scarred the tend. Of the Dwarves drawn underwater by the malevolent creature, there was no sign. Along the sundered causeway the four strode, and over the ancient bridge. Far below in the muck-laden bed of the drained lake they could see the ancient stonework of the old Gatemoat at last revealed to the light of day after long, dark ages. With the Troll-dam destroyed, water once again flowed through an unseen fissure under the Loomwall and into the moat, filling it to spill over a formed lip in the massive bulwark, shaping the beginning of a stream. After centuries of silence, the Duskrill once more fell asplash to meander across the upper vale-now a black crater-to come to the linn of the Sentinel Falls and cascade down into the stream bed below to flow onward through the ravine of Ragad Vale.
Onward strode Cotton, Durek, Bomar, and Rand. Now they could see, here and there, the pave of the ancient courtyard before the Dusken Door, a courtyard no longer drowned, yet one burdened with mire and silt. There, too, they could see the ancient remnants of great trees that had once grown before the western portal…' The four finally came to the bank of rubble over the Door; Ijt was immense: the evil creature not only had put back ail the kone removed by the Dwarves; it had heaped even more rock /on the pile.
; Cotton looked at the great mound in dismay, for the bupcan did not see how even a Dwarf army could move this mass of stone in a week-much less in the scant hours remaining before the appointed rendezvous. Rand retrieved Brytta's spear, and picked up his own sword from where he had dropped it and had caught up Durek› axe during the Krakenward's attack. Grey Bomar stood and surveyed the ramped heap. 'King Durek,' rumbled the Masterdelver, 'I know not whether we can move all this stone twixt now and mid of night tomorrow.' Bomar glanced at the forenoon sky. 'Already I judge it to be drawing upon midmorn, and whether there are enough hours for mis labor is questionable. Yet we must try. Berez and I will set the shifts and oversee the work: one of us will guide the delving by day, the other will'lead the toil at night, for we must work nonstop by lantern light throughout the eventide, too, if we are to succeed by tomorrow night.'
Durek nodded, and the foursome turned and walked back along the causeway and around the north end, to come to, the broken dam and the Sentinel Falls.
Still the Dwarf companies were in turn casting stone blocks down on the now-lifeless carcass of the Monster. The mound had grown large in the basin below the precipice, and the Duskrill plunged over the linn to cataract down onto the jagged heap; and only here and there could the'mottled green hide of the hideous creature be discerned. Cotton looked on and shuddered in revulsion, for even though only slight glimpses of the Krakenward were visible, that which could be seen was repulsive to behold.
Durek summoned Berez and called his Captains together, and the Dwarves gathered in a great circle, along with Cotton the Warrow and two Men: Prince' Rand and Reachmarshal Brytta. As soon as the Council was seated, the Dwarf King spoke: 'The broken stones over the Door are piled yet higher. The task of uncovering the portal by midnight tomorrow may prove impossible, but Bomar has a plan for working day and darktide, too. But ere he speaks, I would say this:
'First, there are many fallen kindred on the sundered causeway. We cannot stop to mourn the slain, although they deserve the honor. Even though we shall not mourn, let those who sorrow work with hooded heads, and use stone from over the Door to build cairns against the Great Loom for the dead to rest within. After we have defeated the Squam, we shall decide whether to let the cairns stand for all time, or instead to delve stone tombs or set funeral pyres for all those the Maduk slew.
'Second, there are those among the Host wounded by the Monster of the Dark Mere. The injured will not issue into the caverns to fight the Grg, but will stay behind. Those among them who can, will help the healers with the more severely afflicted and prepare them for a short waggon trip south; all wounded will go with the Vanadurin when they drive the horses to better pasturage.
'Third, as Bomar will explain, we will toil in shifts. But only those removing the rubble will be working; all others must rest until it is their turn at the labor. The one exception to this rule of rest will be you, the Captains: Friend Cotton will meet with you on the morrow to describe the major features of the Brega Path, so that we will be better prepared for the War. The Chief Captains will gather here midmorning tomorrow, and all other Captains as their work shift permits that same afternoon.
'Finally, I have faith that the Host shall succeed in mis task of removing the stone, for they are staunch and have the will to overcome even this. And remember, at this very moment seven of our comrades and kindred are within, and they depend upon us. We must not fail!' Durek then gave the Council over to Bomar, who began outlining the shifts and the way of working.
Cotton tried to pay heed, but his mind simply could not concentrate upon Bomar's words. Had the Dwarf been speaking of growing a garden, or of shaping wood, or of treating an animal or a bird, then the buccan's attention would have been riveted to every syllable Bomar uttered. But the Masterdelver was speaking of stone and levers, of slings and prybars, of work shifts and duties; and even though these words were vital to the mission and vital to the rescue of Mister Perry and the others, Cotton's thoughts purely would not stay focused upon Bomar's work plan.
Instead, the Warrow again fretted about Mister Perry, wondering where the Squad was, and whether they had met with mischief: how had they fared? And his thoughts scurried along these endless paths to nowhere, for how long he did not know.
But suddenly, he became aware that he was listening intently, not to Bomar, but to the valley, for it seemed as if, above the shush of Sentinel Falls, he had heard a fainf cry; yet it was so dim, so far away-just on the edge of perception- that he wasn't at all certain whether he had actually heard.it, or had merely imagined it.
The Warrow swept his emeraldtne eyes around the circle; no Dwarf there appeared to have noted anything other than Bomar's words; yet both Rand and Brytta seemed to be listening intently for a distant call-especially Brytta, who had risen to his knees and turned his face toward the west.
There! It came again! To Cotton the call had the sound of a far-off horncry. Brytta cocked his head and held Up his broken hand. 'Quiet!' he barked. A hush fell upon the Council, and only the cascade of the falling water failed to heed Brytta's sharp command,
Once more! Again! It was a homcall! Now all heard it, and it grew stronger:
A-raw, a-rahn! A-raw, a-rahn! A-raw, a-rahn! Over and again it belled, growing louder, and Marshal Brytta leapt to his feet. 'A foe! Alert!' he cried, his good left hand gripping his spear as he sprang to the rock in circle center, his sharp gaze piercing the length of the valley to the'west.
'A horseman comes!' cried down a Dwarf lookout from atop the Sentinel Stand.
A-raw, a-rahn! came the call again; and at last bursting into sight along the valley floor came a rider flying at full gallop; clots of flood-dampened earth were flung.behind from plunging hooves as the horse thundered down the vale and toward the Host along the Old Rell Spur. 'It's Arl!' cried Brytta. 'From Redguard Mountain! From Quadran Gap!'
