Conan the Indomitable Part 3

Four.

The length of their fall was nearly five spans; fortunately, the bottom of the descent was watery. Conan splashed into an icy pool and sank, quickly touching the bottom. He pushed away and broke the surface, realizing that he could easily stand as the depth was equal only to his chest. Elashi's head appeared briefly above the surface as she came up yelling; then she began to sink again. Apparently her rearing in the desert had not included instruction in the art of swimming. Conan grabbed one of Elashi's wildly waving hands and pulled her to him. She immediately clamped her legs around his waist and wound her arms tightly around his neck, sputtering incoherently.

The Cimmerian took stock. The pool was no more than a small pond in size, occupying a portion of what was obviously a tunnel in a cavern. The walls of this rock tube appeared to be as smooth as a child's face, and curved upward in tight arcs that, combined with the lack of projections, offered no means by which to climb. Cimmerians learned to climb almost as soon as they learned to walk, and if one of them could see no way of ascending something, likely it could not be done. Were the ceiling closer, he could perhaps toss Elashi up to the hole there, and she might then dangle knotted clothing or a vine downto Conan for him to climb up. Yes, and were lizards winged, why, then they would be birds.

The thickening night above offered less light with every moment. Best they leave this freezing water as soon as possible, Conan thought, and find another exit before darkness enshrouded them totally. He began to wade from the pool to the nearest sh.o.r.e, Elashi's weight being small burden on his efforts.

"Crom!"

Elashi leaned back from her tight embrace to look at Conan's face. "What it is?"

Conan did not answer but nodded toward the shadows of the cave. Elashi turned slightly to see what had drawn the oath from the Cimmerian.

Moving into the fast-dwindling light from out of the hidden depths of the cave came a double handful of... things. White they were, squat creatures more kin to ape than human. They wore no clothing save their own s.h.a.ggy fur, and while each face showed a nose and mouth, where their eyes would be were only blank flesh and bone. They bore very large ears, however.

"Mitra!" Elashi said.

The water now stood below Conan's knees. He increased his pace, to reach the sh.o.r.e before the eyeless white creatures would arrive. Elashi relaxed her hold upon Conan and reached for her sword.

Conan drew his own weapon as the two of them attained the drier, but still damp stone floor.

"Perhaps they are friendly," Elashi said. She did not sound particularly convinced.

"Perhaps," Conan said. "But let us keep our blades ready in case they are not."

She did not argue with that.

The blind white creatures moved closer.

The Harskeel was enraged: six of its men dead, two more dying, and another three wounded badly enough to require that they quit the chase. Only nine remained uninjured after slaying the h.e.l.lish beast that had attacked them. The barbarian and the woman had escaped; night staked its claim to the day even as the Harskeel had its troops lay a rough camp. d.a.m.nation! The quarry had been within their grasp! Now they would have to wait until first light to proceed-who knew if the slain monster had a mate or kin in the hills?-and the Harskeel would bet gold against goat dung that Conan and the female with him would not dally, awaiting their pursuers. By the Nameless and all of its furry minions! Knowing there was nothing to be done for it decreased the Harskeel's rage not one whit.

Wikkell was weakening the cave roof for yet another pitfall trap when one of the Blind Whites ran into the chamber and skittered to a stop against the heavy ladder upon which the cyclops stood precariously balanced.

"Idiot!" Wikkell yelled as the ladder swayed. The Blind White chittered something in its own language, a tongue that Wikkell had been required to learn in order to perform his duties for Katamay Rey.

"What? What are you babbling about?"

The creature repeated its hastily blurted speech, and this time Wikkell was able to make sense of it. The man, the one they sought, had fallen into the trap below the pa.s.s's summit!

Wikkell hastened to scramble down the ladder. Success, and so soon! The wizard would be pleased.

"Do you have him?"

The Blind White a.s.sured Wikkell that this was so. Ten of his brothers surrounded the trapped man and would doubtless already be bearing him to one of the lock chambers in the Whites' main cave.

"Good, good!" With that, Wikkell shuffled off after the Blind White to fetch his quarry.

Deek heard the tale from a leathery-brown Bloodbat, who swooped down to perch on a stalagmite nearby. Deek did not particularly trust the bats, since they were always willing to switch allegiance to whomever offered the most reward; still, at the moment the monkey-sized bats seemed p.r.o.ne to work for Chuntha... after the generous offer of breeding s.p.a.ce.

Deek dragged that portion of himself that pa.s.sed for a vocal apparatus over the rock. "A-are y-y-you s-sure?"

Certain, the bat affirmed. A pair of blood-filled humans had fallen into One Eye's traps: a large and likely delicious meaty one, and a smaller tidbit.

Deek agitated his sc.r.a.per back and forth rapidly. "Wh-what h-h-happened to th-the m-m-men?"

As to that, the bat did not know for certain. The report from the overflier was that the two succulent morsels had been surrounded by a large group of the Blind Whites, intent on their capture.

"D-d.a.m.n!"

Deek twisted his bulk and began undulating along the floor. If One Eye had the men, Deek was a prime candidate for the lime pit. Not a pleasant fate. He had to do something, and quickly! The Webspinner Plants were thick in this portion of the cave system. Perhaps he could enlist their aid. He must do something, in order to continue his existence. Without the one the witch sought, Deek's life was worth less than the guano beneath that wretched and stupid bat!

The first of the eyeless white things sprang, less carefully than it should have. They were definitely not friendly, Conan decided as he sidestepped and swung his sword in a flat horizonal arc. The end of the blade tore through the creature's side, cutting it very nearly in twain. It continued its leap past Conan and fell into the pool behind the man. The blood was red enough, even in the dying light; ruby stained the cold ripples. The rest of the attackers moved more cautiously.

When Conan edged forward, they gave ground, spreading out to try and surround the Cimmerian and Elashi.

Then Conan noticed an odd thing. As the light from above faded, he saw an eerie greenish glow coming from the walls and ceiling of the chamber; it was a ghostly pale luminescence, but sufficient for the Cimmerian's sharp eyes to see clearly.

The surrounding creatures seemed in no hurry to move, and Conan decided that 'twould be better if he and Elashi departed. He said so.

"And how are we to accomplish that? Fly over them?"

"Nay," Conan said, taking a firmer grip on his sword's haft. "Not over, but through. There are only three of them blocking the way. You take the one on the right and I shall clear the other two from the path. On my signal."

Elashi sighed, licked her lips, and nodded.

"Now!"

With that, the two of them leaped at the three startled creatures. Elashi's target simply turned and ran, while Conan's both emitted startled growls and crashed into each other in their efforts to get out of his way. There came the sound of bone meeting bone as their skulls connected. They fell, and Conan sprang over them and found himself running next to Elashi.

"That was not so difficult," Elashi said.

Conan managed a grunt but saved the rest of his breath for running.

Into the depths of the glowing tunnel they fled, pursued by the rest of the chittering creatures.

Wikkell stood over the floating corpse of the Blind White, staring at it. He blinked his single pink eye, then turned to the two Blind Whites who sat on the cold floor rubbing at lumps on their heads.

"What happened to the men?" Wikkell finally asked.

The two Whites babbled. The things were monsters, they said. They chopped down one of the brothers with giant claws-you could hear the whistle as they swung their weapons!-and sought to rend us likewise! We stood in their path and they hurled us aside like you would brush a spider away! We fought valiantly but were overcome by the power of the monsters...

"Enough," Wikkell said. "You let them escape."

But our brothers pursue, the two said.

"You had better pray they catch them," Wikkell said. "If those humans escape, it will be my life. Before Igo, I will take you and as many of your brothers as I can with me!"

Upon them the curses of ten thousand demons! Wikkell moved down the tunnel into which the men had fled. He already knew that the witch had sent one of her fat worms wiggling this way to fetch his quarry.

If she got it, he would spend the rest of his life waiting for the wizard's curse that would convert him to melting ooze. Not that the wait would be all that long. He had to capture the man Rey desired, no two ways about it.

Deek emerged into the wide section of the tunnel and observed with his hidden eyes the form of a dead Blind White bobbing in the pool beneath the opening to the sky.

The bat who had spoken to him earlier spiraled down and landed upon the corpse, which promptly sank. The bat squawked and lifted, to alight once again on the edge of the pond.

"D-d-don't b-b-bother," Deek said. "Th-that o-one's b-blood is m-m-mostly g-gone."

Well, something was better than nothing, the bat said. If the mighty Deek would help fetch the tidbit in the water, why, then the bat would tell him something interesting.

The mighty Deek's anger flared, and for a moment he considered dropping a coil onto the bat and reducing it to a mashed blood spot upon the floor. The image of the lime pit intruded, and he thought better of it. Raising his tail and snapping it down sharply, Deek slapped the water behind the dead Blind White. The splash hurled the body and half of the pond's water into the air. When the dead creature landed, the Bloodbat was on it in an instant, stabbing the pointed tube through which it fed into the cooling corpse.

"Y-y-you h-had s-s-something t-to t-tell m-me?" Deek sc.r.a.ped from the rock as he loomed over the bat.

The creature jerked its feeding tube from the body; blood dripped from the angled tip. Oh, yes, it said.

Those two humans Deek wanted? Well, they had escaped from the Blind Whites and One Eye. They went that way.

Deek could not believe his good fortune. Escaped? That meant there was still a chance that he could capture them! Filled with sudden hope, Deek slid away at full crawl. Mayhap he could escape the lime pit after all!

In his chamber, Katamay Rey waited for word of the man's capture. He had thought to have Wikkell dispatch the man immediately, but on rethinking it, decided that perhaps it would be wiser to question the captive. Likely as not, a single person could not cause all the grief the wizard had foreseen in his crystal.

More likely the man represented another magician, or perhaps some army; better to keep him alive long enough to ascertain the truth. Then he could kill him. And there were some spells that called for human blood and body parts, of course; so he would not be wasted. The wizard smiled at his cleverness. Soon this little incident would be finished and he could get back to the business of grinding That b.i.t.c.h into well-deserved oblivion.

Chuntha touched the dreaming jewel, a fire-filled ruby, to various parts of her body, groaning with the pleasure it gave. The gem did not tell her when Deek would return with the captives, but it did say that there would be more than one involved in this matter. Chuntha beheld blurry images of another; perhaps two or three more. That boded ill. One was bad enough. She must take care to be certain that the wizard did not come by this knowledge.

She smiled into the putrid phosphor enveloping her. The one central to this business was a man of great physical power, the jewel told her. Young and strong and vibrant, alive with raw male energy, he would be a welcome treat after the recent months of drought. To lie with one such as the jewel bespoke would add greatly to her power. The Sensha would wrap them in its embrace, and the man's being would flow into hers, physically and spiritually. It promised to be the most exciting encounter in quite some time.

Chuntha could hardly wait!

Meanwhile, along corridors lined with rocky teeth above and below, Conan and Elashi sprinted, trying to lose their pursuers. As they ran, they descended deeper into the earth; around them, the air grew colder.

High above, night draped its ebon cloak over the land, but it mattered not the least in the fungus-lined depths of the cave that seemed to have no end.

Five.

The morning sun cast its light over the mountain trail, the beams bright but offering little heat in the clear wintry air. The Harskeel watched from horseback as one of its men leaned over the hole in the ground.

Two other men held the first's feet as he dangled into the pit. After a moment the two supporters pulled the man up. He stood and faced the Harskeel.

"There be a cave under the trail, m'lord. Big 'un. The tracks end at the edge, so it looks like the two of 'em fell in. Pretty long drop down there. There be water at the bottom."

The Harskeel shifted on its saddle, eliciting a creak from the stiff leather. "No sign of them?"

"Nay, m'lord."

"Could they have survived the drop? Is the water deep enough to ensure that?"

The man shook his head. "Can't say, m'lord."

The Harskeel nodded at the two men behind the speaker, gesturing with a small jerk of its head, pointing into the pit with its nose. They understood. Before the speaker could gather his wits, the other two stepped forward and shoved him. He stumbled and pitched over the edge of the pit, screaming. Came a splash; then, after a moment, a curse.

"Hmm," the Harskeel said. "It seems as if they could have survived such a fall. Very well. They are likely alive then. We shall construct ladders and torches. They are down there, and so shall we go likewise." The men looked nervous at this suggestion, but the Harskeel did not care. It felt certain. This Conan was the one to supply the ingredient to lift the spell. Oh, to be two again!

"Be quick about it," the Harskeel ordered.

An hour later a makeshift ladder was lowered into the cave. Leaving a single man to watch the horses, the Harskeel and its remaining troops descended into the pit.

The blind followers were persistent but not nearly as fleet of foot as Conan and Elashi. While the Cimmerian and the desert woman had not lost their pursuers, they had gained a considerable lead as they ran through the twists and turns of the cavern's corridors. Thus far they had been fortunate not to have fled down a dead end or into a tube that narrowed so much as to forbid pa.s.sage.

With the last turning, however, their luck seemed to expire. At the end of the corridor were two pa.s.sages; the one on the right narrowed almost immediately, so that they would have to crawl down it.

The pa.s.sage to the left was larger, but a thundering waterfall obscured one wall of that tunnel, and the water gathered in what appeared to be deep pools beneath the cascade, blocking the path. Recalling Elashi's swimming abilities, it did not look to be a promising route.

"We had better go back to the last turning," Elashi said, voicing Conan's thought.

"Too late," he said. "Even now the floor vibrates with their footsteps." He unsheathed his sword. "It appears we must take our stand here."

Elashi nodded and drew her sword. She and Conan stood side by side, waiting for the white beasts.

"This way," came a man's voice over the sound of the cataract.

Conan spun around. He saw no one.