"Aye. After that last episode, our plans changed somewhat."
"They did?" Tull and Elashi said.
Conan continued. "Aye, they did. We now have in mind collecting some of the valuables ama.s.sed by either the witch or the wizard or both, to pay for our troubles here.Then we will leave."
"Are you mad?" Elashi asked.
"Not at all. You will recall Tull telling us that both the witch and the wizard have a.s.sorted jewels and gold, collected in their caves through centuries of robbing pa.s.sersby."
"Aye," Elashi said. "So? You cannot expect to simply stroll into the stronghold of a magician and steal such valuables."
"And why not? The witch and wizard are both out here looking for us, are they not? Recall that worm raft we saw. Think about it-where is the last place you would expect them to look?"
"He is mad," Elashi said to Tull, Lalo laughed. "Perhaps, but there is nothing wrong with his plan, despite the fact that it was hatched by him. When the farmer is in the field, the hens are ripe for the fox."
"You have taken leave of your senses as well," Elashi said.
Lalo nodded. "Doubtless after years of smiling so. As you might suspect, I have little love for wizards, and being compensated by one pleases me greatly. With enough money, one may insult anyone and get away with it. A rich man can buy companions who will withstand much for sufficient payment. Or mayhap even find another mage who can lift the spell. With great wealth comes great respect. I shall be happy to a.s.sist you, you barbarian buffoon." Conan smiled. "Glad to have your help, Lalo."
Elashi and Tull looked at each other.
"Maybe Conan does have something," Tull said.
Elashi said, "Oh, he has something all right-half the wits of a bedbug!"
"I am open to suggestions," Conan said.
Despite herself, Elashi grinned. She shook her head. "All right, I take your point. I have no better idea.
At the moment, anyway."
"Then we shall do it," Conan said. "I think I can direct us back to Tull"s hideaway. Can you lead us to the wizard or the witch"s chambers from there, Tull?"
"Aye."
"Then let us be on our way."
Conan felt good about his plan. He figured that they owed the witch and the wizard much for all the grief those two had caused them. What better blow to strike than one that would provide financial benefit in the process? As Lalo had said, sufficient money would make a soothing balm. A most soothing balm indeed...
Though they had grown used to each other"s company, Wikkell and Deek decided that it would be best to return to their own people as soon as possible. With the witch and the wizard away from their chambers, the time would never be better for the worm and the cyclops to approach their own kind with their plans to depose the evil humans.
So when Chuntha and Katamay Rey went deeper into the far reaches of the Sunless Sea searching for the three humans, Deek and Wikkell turned -their craft homeward.
They sculled the little boat along until both were hungry and tired, then stopped to make a meal upon a.s.sorted fungi and to rest themselves.
"It will not be easy, you realize."
"N-n-no. O-our p-p-people w-w-will b-be a-afraid."
Wikkell nodded and munched upon a brownish mushroom with a slimy cap. "And rightly so. Both the wizard and the witch are powerful. Many of us may die. It will take some convincing. I fear my brothers may feel I am merely trying to save my own hide."
"T-t-true e-enough."
"Certainly. But in the long run, it will be better for us without such tyrants as rulers."
"I-in th-the l-long r-r-run, w-we a-are a-all d-d-dead." "Yes, to be sure. But look at us, for instance. We get along well enough, though I confess I had misgivings early on."
"A-as d-d-did I."
"But there is no reason your people and mine cannot be friends, save for those two who rule."
"A-a-agreed."
"We must convince our brothers and sisters to take the long view, Deek. Why, we might even create some kind of joint council, your folk and mine, with input from the plants and perhaps even the bats and Whites. Bring prosperity to the caves, instead of the boots of Rey and Chuntha upon our throats."
"Am-am-ambitious i-idea."
"True. But united, we could certainly defeat even such powerful beings as those two."
"O-one w-w-would h-hope."
Wikkell smiled and the green light played upon his thick teeth. "Here, have some of this slimeball."
"Th-thank y-you, f-f-friend."
Deek caught the succulent fungus in the gash that served his kind for a mouth. Normally the worms kept their mouths hidden under a flap of tough epidermis, never revealing the orifice except to the most trusted of friends or a mate. At this point Deek felt that if he could not trust Wikkell the one-eye, he likely could not trust anyone.
"We might well go down in history," the cyclops said, reaching for another slimeball.
"O-or i-into th-the l-l-lime pits," Deek said.
Yes. There was that, too.
Katamay Rey"s anger flowed through him, tempered somewhat by fear. The stranger in the caves-Conan, he had heard the female call him-ran loose once again. A bad sign, considering the crystal"s prophesy. Of course it was the Witch"s fault. Somehow she had caused the ceiling to fall in almost upon them, and her construct or thrall, whichever it had been, had very nearly hit its target, save for Rey"s quick warding action. The following attack, with its blasted fog and his counter, had depleted the magical flux "so that he had been unable to deal the witch the crushing blow she so justly deserved. In fact, had a bit more of the mantalogical energies been drained, the very dock upon which he stood would have dissolved, and that would have been a fine predicament to have faced.
When at last the fog had cleared, both witch and quarry where nowhere to be seen. There was barely enough flux left to construct the never-ending dock to chase them. The going was slow at first, until the wizard and his cyclopes departed from the defluxed region, back into the farther reaches of the Sunless Sea. Oh, she was going to pay, Chuntha was, and twist properly in the doing of it.
Chuntha"s raft had very nearly come apart while battling the wizard. The magical glue had softened and the entire construct had shifted and wobbled before she had enough sense to turn her craft and beat a fast retreat from the immediate area close to Rey. Fortunately, she emerged from the s.p.a.ce where the magic had been drained before her raft became a collection of worms once again. The glue solidified and Chuntha sparked the magicked screw to higher rotation. The beautiful barbarian had escaped, and no doubt he and his party would be running for all they were worth, away from the wizard. Chuntha merely had to retrace her earlier course along the waterway until she spotted them, or some trace of them.
She had the advantage of the wizard now, and she meant to utilize it fully. She wondered what that apparition had been falling from the ceiling, but did not worry overmuch about it. Probably some spell Rey had cast incorrectly, and it served him right to have it backfire so. That was not her concern; the man she sought was, and she intended to bring all her energies to bear upon his retrieval.
Having abandoned the raft and taken the route along the sh.o.r.e, the Harskeel arrived at the end of the confrontation between witch and wizard. As the magical fog still enshrouded the scene, the Harskeel realized that there was perhaps more than a bit of danger here for itself and its quest. Quickly the Harskeel ordered the bats dispersed, to return later. It found a large, horseshoe-shaped rock to crawl under and conceal itself.
From out of the fog a raft of giant white worms appeared, bearing a beautiful, naked woman. This craft went back the way the Harskeel had just come.
Moments later the fog dissipated and the wizard was revealed, ranting upon a dock in the middle of the waterway.
Of Conan and his companions there was no sign.
After a moment the wizard began walking upon his dock and a new section of it appeared in front of the marching cyclopes. They followed the path of the witch"s worm raft.
Interesting, the Harskeel thought. It had been beyond the edges of the fog, and Conan had not come this way. Since the barbarian was not held captive by either witch or wizard, he must then have gone in the opposite direction. Aha! The witch and the wizard moved in the wrong direction; too bad for them, but not for the Harskeel.
As soon as the wizard moved from view, it would summon those stupid Bloodbats and resume its quest.
With luck, it might be some time before wizard or witch realized their error; with more luck, perhaps they would destroy each other, although the Harskeel thought it best not to depend greatly upon that.
The wizard and his cyclopes marched along the magical dock and out of sight. Now, where were those moronic bats?
Sixteen.
With his uncanny sense of direction fully operative, Conan managed to lead the party of four through twists and turns that eventually ended at the hideaway Tull had constructed. Oddly enough, the bat cave, which had to be traversed again, was empty of those winged creatures.
Not that Conan particularly cared where they had gotten to, as long as that place lay far away.
"My," Lalo said as he observed Tull"s hidden alcove, "quite the nest-maker, are you not? Pity you aren"t female, you"d make some man a fine wife."
Tull"s smile was obviously forced, and he kept toying with the handle of his dagger.
Conan could well see how it would be necessary for Lalo to be an adept in some form of combat. Even when you knew about the curse, Lalo tended to grate upon the nerves in a hurry. To break the tension, Conan asked, "Which is the closer-the witch"s abode or that of the wizard?"
"Each is about the same distance from here, I reckon," Tull said.
"Hmm. Then which would likely hold the most booty?"
Tull scratched at his bearded chin, considering the question. "Depends on what you"re looking for. The wizard, he has a fondness for gold. It don"t tarnish like silver nor rust like iron, and the caves are some damp, as you no doubt have noticed."
"Ah, that sounds promising," Lalo said.
Both Conan and Tull held their silence for a moment, waiting for Lalo to add an insult, but none was forthcoming. That was almost irritating in itself.
"Then again," Tull finally continued, "the witch, she has a liking for precious stones. Rubies, emeralds, fire-rocks, like that."
Conan considered that. Such a choice was most interesting. Gold? Or gems? A dilemma. "Can we perhaps raid both chambers?"
"Madness," Elashi said to Lalo. "Whatever wits he may ever have possessed, they are gone now. Greed makes you stupid, Conan."
Conan ignored her, but Tull"s next comment scotched the idea of a dual robbery.
"Not likely," Tull said. "They are maybe the same distance from here, but in different directions. It"s two days" march between "em, easy."
"Too bad," Conan said. "Well, the witch"s chambers, then."
Elashi raised one eyebrow at Conan. "Why so?"
It lay upon the top of Conan"s tongue to answer that he thought dealing with a witch-a woman-would be easier than dealing with a wizard-a man-should anything go wrong. Recalling his travels with Elashi so far, however, he realized that to speak such reasoning aloud would only irritate her arid bring forth an undammed flow of invective. For some reason, Elashi seemed convinced that women were the equal of men in practically all things, and Conan had no desire to listen to another of her tirades. Perhaps, he thought, he was learning to deal with women after all. "Well?" she said.
Conan thought quickly. "Well-cut jewels are more valuable than gold, and much lighter. We can carry more gems than coin."
That made sense, and Elashi nodded.
Conan kept his face an expressionless mask, though he was smiling inside. There was nothing wrong with the way his mind functioned, Lalo and Elashi"s carping to the contrary.
"Then let us wait no longer," Conan said. "Lead on, Tull."
Wikkell"s labors among his fellow cyclopes had not been spectacularly successful. Their resistance had been somewhat more than he had antic.i.p.ated.
As he trudged along a back tunnelway to meet Deek, he recalled one of many similar conversations: "Attack the wizard?And the witch? Are you daft?"
"Certainly there is some risk," Wikkell began.
"Somerisk? By all the demons in Gehanna, Wikkell, those two will certainly turn us into ooze if we dare oppose their will."
"They are but two, and we are many."
"So said the slug about the pair of falling boulders, brother. There is much room upon the floors of these caves for puddles that once were such as we."
It pained Wikkell to hear this, the more so because the speaker was in fact his true brother, born of the same mother only a year after Wikkell himself had been born.
"We shall have aid from the worms."
"Ah, well, that is different, then. You have been eating the black-spoored mushrooms again, haven"t you? I trust the worms almost as far as I do the wizard."
In the end Wikkell realized that he was wasting his breath. If he could not convince his own brother of the lightness of his cause, what chance did he have of enrolling others in his plan? And perhaps "plan"
was too strong a term. "Vague leaning" might be more appropriate at this stage of the revolution.
He needed some kind of demonstration, something to show the cyclopes that the wizard and the witch were not invulnerable. Could he but demonstrate the smallest crack in their magical armor, it would be enough. No one liked being ruled by the magical iron hand, and if they truly thought a real chance existed to overthrow the tyrant, Wikkell was certain he could convince them.
Well, perhaps Deek had fared better. It would be galling to admit that the worms were more reasonablethan his own kind, but he had to admit that such a thing might be possible. He could swallow his pride, he supposed, if Deek could generate more fire among his fellows. It was the end that mattered, after all.
Not long now, Wikkell thought. The prearranged meeting place lay only a few minutes ahead. It was an out-of-the-way spot, unlikely that anyone would accidentally happen upon them, which is why they had chosen it.
Wikkell sighed and tried to think of the best way to break his bad news to the worm.