Chapter 21 - The Great Spiral

'There, high up, hidden by the ends of night, is the hole we spied when last we ventured here,' called Aneurin, as they sailed close beneath the lee of the reared Tumberimber, following the line of cliffs eastward.

'It is possible that there was once some kind of entrance, for the stone appeared worked, though I saw it from afar.'

The sea-elves held the Dolphin Ship steady against the waves, whilst Talba, clearly puzzled, said; 'A strange place for a door.

Where away could that pass from these sheer walls? The drop leads only to the open ocean.'

'Mayhap it was a window looking northward,' hazarded Galidor.

'I may have been mistaken,' granted the Foamhair, 'yet its seems the only place to try on this side of Ravenmoor, other than the tide-holes that Morgan, Silval and Elvra tried; and those will most likely be watched now.'

'As maybe the way above,' answered Silval, coiling loops of finely plaited cord about his shoulders.

'Still, the cliffs must be scaled in order to reach that lofty place. I will try alone. Once there, if there is an entrance, this line will carry you all to me.'

 

Soon after, Silval took to the water in a round coracle, oared by Malva and Mîren.

The brothers handled the tiny craft so well in the tossing sea, that Silval was able to leap across onto the rocks, bearing with him bow and sword, as well as the coiled, silken rope.

Then, he was above the roar of the ocean, climbing easily where men would find no purchase, to be lost from sight amongst the crags and chimneys of the heights.

Grey dawn tinged the sky westward, before Malva and Mîren came paddling back over the choppy waves.

'He is there,' called Malva. 'Here, swiftly, two at a time are all that we can manage. Make haste!'

And so began the arduous task of ferrying Corin and his companions to the waiting rocks below the cliffs.

At the last, Aneurin said; 'We will withdraw seaward, and return each day within sight of this point, where we may come to you at need.

Though once you pass inside the mounts, you shall be beyond my power to aid.

Travel carefully. Watch your backs, and leave a road open to escape.

Fare thee well!'

They assembled on the slippery stones, where water tossed restlessly at their feet, and there parted from the brother elves; once more spinning in their coracle, out into the ocean where awaited the dim outline of the Dolphin Ship.

Thence the little company started to climb, clinging to that slender thread which vanished in mist and spray, far above.

It was no simple matter, though Corin found that his elvish boots gripped, and discovered holds unseen.

Still, the way was difficult, and he wondered at Silval's feat; scrambling upward without aid of rope, in darkness not knowing what might lie before him.

As the sky lightened and a chill wind swept up from the ocean, they toiled; Talba and Elvra, Dalen, Corin with Bim at his neck, and lastly, Galidor, Filma and Falnir; packs of food and weaponry slung upon their backs.

One by one, they hauled themselves across the lip of ledge; Corin worn with fatigue and pain.

For a moment, he lay there recovering; then sat up, as the others gathered about him.

The scene that greeted him was at once desolate and wild.

They were on a balcony, as it first appeared, and the hewn stone seemed both ancient and marked by some mighty disaster.

Rents and deep cracks ran through it in all directions, and rubble lay in scattered heaps, fallen from above.

And there were piles of bones, gnawed and broken, amongst the refuse littering the space before them, that caused the elves and Corin to blench.

Yet after a moment, Corin climbed to his feet and, together with the others, made away through the debris toward a carven arch that stood beneath heavy eaves of naked rock.

The arch itself was scoured and pitted; the wrought blocks of its design were tumbled and tilted aslant, and from either side hung two huge doors, bent outward, rusted to the colour of red ochre.

Between these doors, heaped in confusion, were many more granite stones reaching up so as to almost fill the entrance beyond.

There, they came upon Silval; and he was not alone.

At his feet were two small, dark figures; one bound with elvish rope, the other, still and lifeless.

A short, leaf-bladed spear was propped against the ruined door.

Another, splintered in two, lay on the cold, stone floor.

'What happened?' Asked Corin aghast.

'It was even as I suspected. This pair of Ymps were lookouts, I guess; posted here to watch the sea.

Yet in the night they failed to spy our ship, or me; too intent on tearing something to pieces and stuffing themselves.

Thus I surprised them, though this one attacked and I was forced to slay it.

The other I took alive, since it offered no resistance.

Mayhap it could be useful if we can make it understand us.'

'What ever we do, let us do it elsewhere,' hissed Falnir.

'Throw the dead one into the ocean, along with their weapons, and cover any sign of our presence here, before others come along to seek these two.'

'Aye,' agreed Talba, thoughtfully, 'arm yourselves and smear some of this foul muck on your bodies and gear; the better to confuse the enemy snouts.'

This they duly did, though they were loath to it; especially Bim, who objected to his shiny coat being rubbed with the filth of the place.

'Rerroww! This sticky mess is less tolerable than sea water, and I cannot even lick it off!' he howled.

'Better this, than that,' whispered Elvra, indicating a jumble of bleached bones nearby.

'Well,' shivered Dalen, his little face now covered with grime, 'I have no wish to be something's dinner. Bide with me, dear cat, for as long as is needed.'

The elves slung quivers and bows about their shoulders and girded themselves with bright blades; the exception being Talba, who alone remained silent, standing apart, wrapped in his long cloak; and his eyes were stilled and empty of their usual light.

When their preparations were completed they climbed the barrier before them and passed one by one through a narrow opening, moving with the utmost care, lest another fall of rock seal their escape route.

Scrambling down, they assembled on a stone-flagged floor, dragging the trussed imp with them.

'We had best beware of pits and snares,' murmured Silval, peering into the gloom, where a single torch smoked some way down the vaulted hall.

'Unbind the Ymp's feet that it may lead the way. If there are any traps, let it be the first to find them.'

Filma freed the creature's legs and stepped back, but the imp refused to move, snarling up at them, fangs exposed by the rope that gagged it, eyes bloodshot; filled with fear and hatred.

'Stand!' Commanded Galidor.

The imp did not move.

Falnir prodded it with the point of his knife, and the imp began to whimper.

'Vashti!' Exclaimed Elvra, and the whimpering stilled.

The others looked at her in surprise, even shock.

'You use the Daræ?' It was Talba who spoke in a hushed tone.

'Yes,' the Huntress returned. 'And I believe that it knows the tongue.'

She bent forward toward the imp, where it lay, breathing frantically through its flat, flared nostrils.

'Soborn ele Elor Daræ?' She asked.

The imp watched her slyly, but made no sign.

'Dorr Etta! Shasti!' She demanded; and at her sharp words, the imp wriggled to its bony knees.

'Free its mouth and let us hear if it will speak,' she asked of Silval.

'Be on guard,' warned Talba. 'First let it know that it will feel the sword, if there is any outcry. '

In haste, Elvra spoke again in the Dhu-Alver language, as Silval and Filma loosed the thong at the imp's jaws.

Almost at once, it thrashed around with sharp fangs that bit the air, and more.

There was a sudden clack-clash, then a yelp; and the imp fell back, a trickle of dark blood oozing from the corner of its mouth.

'When the knife is bitten, the blade bites back,' muttered Galidor grimly.

'I did not tell it other than to be silent,' Elvra answered.

'Then tell it this as well,' returned Galidor, 'the next taste will be death!'

Silval strode forward, an arrow notched to his bow, and as he passed into the dark, said; 'Do what you will, swiftly. I begin not to care much for this silence.'

 

Talba nodded: 'He is right. Filma, Galidor; go and stand with him and keep watch.'

This they did, whilst Elvra whispered again to the imp; and after a little time it squeaked back in a high-pitched gabble.

At length, Elvra arose; 'Cover its squawking. I do not trust it,' she concluded.

'It knows a mite of the Daræ, yet there is another tongue that overrides it, beyond me.

But I have this much; it has a name: Pitrag.

And it says that it will do our bidding, if we allow it to live.'

'For now, that is enough,' agreed Talba.

'March it before us as we go, and we shall see what we shall see.'

 

Then they went on, peering up and around at the wide hall that opened out beyond them.

The roof was lost above; hidden in the dark.

The walls, leaning away, were smeared and caked with muck: the built up rubbish of ages gone by.

At the far end lay another fall of stone, and a great archway supported by mighty corbels; gloomy and still.

To their left were a number of high portals, and all of these were shadowed and doorless, save one.

That door, barely ajar, Corin paused by.

Out of curiosity, he pushed gently at it.

There was a grating sound within, and Galidor who was nearest whispered; 'Hold! Go no further. Bring the Ymp here, and let him enter, if he so dares.'

Falnir, who had charge of the creature, drew it to the opening and gave it a gentle prod.

Without hesitation, it scurried in and vanished.

'Keep hold of the line,' warned Silval.

At once, Falnir jerked it back and the imp emerged.

There was a faint scraping in the dust of the floor at its feet when it appeared, and Dalen, swift as a skua, swooped upon an object dragged between the imp's claw-like toes.

It was a sharp piece of flint, much alike to an arrow-head.

'He knows where things are kept, well enough,' grinned the pixie, flourishing the cutting tool.

'Purrhaps he knows more than that,' growled Bim from Corin's shoulder.

The cat was gazing intently into the darkness beyond the door, and as Corin moved closer, Bim leaned sideways so that he could peer up; his sharp, green eyes probing the inky blackness.

'Marrr! Above are piled blocks, ready to collapse, if the door be opened but a little way furtherr.'

'A trap of which the Ymp was well aware, no doubt,' muttered Falnir, testing Pitrag's binding.

'If he was, he too chanced death,' Corin replied.

'True,' answered Talba. 'And maybe that he would, if it would bring about our downfall.

Still, let us not tarry. We are too vulnerable here.'

No sooner had he thus spoken, than Silval, remaining alert, hushed them. 'Silence! Take to the chamber, but gently.

Something is coming!'

Quickly they hastened within, slipping carefully through the gap so as not to disturb the stone above.

'Take hold of the Ymp and keep it silent,' commanded Talba, whilst he and Silval chanced a glimpse out into the gloom.

For several breaths, nothing stirred. Then a red glare appeared; flickering along the far wall.

'Two Ymps; one carrying a torch, the other a bundle of sorts,' murmured Silval.

Now, the pattering of their feet could be heard as they hurried by.

'It does not seem that they suspect anything,' said Talba.

'They are probably replacements for the other pair.'

Silval raised his bow as they passed.

'I could shoot them both before they knew,' he whispered.

'Nay,' said Talba in his ear. 'Let them go, and let us be gone.

Stay your shafts. It is better we remain a mystery, and kill not when there be no need.'

'We may have to kill many, ere we depart this place,' remarked Galidor, as they went on.

'Even to this one,' added Falnir grimly, hurrying along with Pitrag on rope, in the lead.

 

The party moved swiftly, without naked light, for the sheen of the elvish garments, and their keen sight, were enough to probe the way.

And they had Bim, whose wonderful sense of smell and night-sight, beyond even the elves, found a path, into the ever deepening dark ahead.

Dalen, nimble and eager, raced forward at times, and had to be called back; and at last censured by Talba.

After this, he maintained a place close behind the imp, and scurried along; his curved knife at the ready.

Corin discovered that he could keep pace with the others at his ease; the elvish boots making light of the long passages they trod.

'These halls are ancient, both in design and time,' marvelled Filma, running his hand over the deeply grimed walls as he strode.

'There is something in the stone; in the sound of floor and ceiling, beneath defilement and filth.

There is an echo here, older than elves, or men. It is but a faint breath of a grandeur and knowledge, and high wisdom, past all; and gone.

I feel it bedded around and about me.'

Then he was silent, and spoke no more as they hurried on.

Down gaunt galleries of many fallen pillars, and mazes of rubble-piled vaults, they ventured until they chanced upon a row of standing arches, looming out of the bleak shadows.

And there, crowding together as if to ward off the brooding silence, they glimpsed the shattered edge of what might have been a lofty balustrade, and further, into a hall of immense size.

How vast, how wide and long, could only be guessed; since the greater part was hidden in deep gloom.

But that which was visible gave some slight indication.

A long, cloistered walk-way ran off down the wall to the right, and at its furthest end, almost shrouded in darkness, mighty piers reared up toward the unseen ceiling.

'Where are we?' Asked Corin, in a tone both awe-struck and hushed.

'A hall important of old,' answered Talba gravely.

'Perhaps a place of great gatherings. There are many rows of torches down there,' he pointed, advancing to the broken railing.

'And there are ewers and stone vessels strewn about; and the bones...'

He drew a deep breath, suddenly staring, as did the others joining him, at the dim piles of grey skeletons that, at first, seemed merely heaps of rubbish and masonry.

Here and there, amongst the bones and skulls, were the remains of fires; long dead and cold.

And the litter and discard of savage creatures.

'Truly a place of evil,' whispered Dalen; his pixie good-nature failing him.

The others could not speak; could find no words to express their horror, until Corin dared break the spell.

'This is a gruesome sight to freeze me; and I am mindful of those I would aid.

Is this them? Am I too late?'

His hands gripped the mute stone as he looked down upon the sea of ruin.

The elves turned to him with sadness in their hearts and eyes; and in the gloom, he seemed to dwindle for a fleeting moment.

'Where, oh where are we?' Silval whispered, repeating Corin's words.

'I came to behold a garden, though I knew we might enter foul places to do such. We must get out. We need seek for the light of day.'

'Yes,' said Elvra, taking his hand, 'this stifles me with the stench of torture and death. Deep and dark can I walk; yet here have I had my fill.'

'Do not despair,' replied Talba in a steadying voice.

'If we are to see the light of day again, we must not quail now.

At need, we know our way back.'

'I cannot go that way,' answered Corin resolutely. 'Not whilst there is a chance of walking forward.'

He took a step toward the filth-covered stairs that led to the floor below.

'I am sorry, my dear friends, if here we must part.

Would that I could come away with you to sunny sky and green sea; but I am driven on.

I must know. I have still an obligation that binds me. I have a hope which will not so easily release me. Forgive me for bringing you to this grim place.'

'Marrster, have you forgotten me-oww,' cried Bim, springing onto the railing by Corin's hand.

'My eyes arre your light upon this rroad. I will stay with you, if you wissh.'

'Wait!' Exclaimed Galidor. 'Let us not forget our errand. We are here to spy these foul places and find what we may; including the strength of our enemies.

Little of that have we thus far accomplished. I am willing to risk further.'

He fingered the hilts of his sword.

'I did not say that I would not go on,' answered Silval.

'It is only that I desire,' and here he drew Elvra to his breast, 'we desire to be free of this, this...'

He left the words unspoken, and Talba nodded; 'Very well, we will venture on.'

Then Bim, arching his back, said, 'Purrhaps neow be the time to tesst our little guide.'

'Aye, speak with the Ymp,' urged Filma. 'Ask him what has become of his loathsome kind, and tell him to show us a way that leads out to the stair upon the mountain side.'

So the others fell silent whilst the thong about the imp's jaws was loosed, and Elvra began to question it.

The scrawny creature squeaked away in reply for a short time, until Elvra said; 'Bind it again and cease its chattering. I still have small trust in its words.

It says that we are doomed, even though most of its own kind, and the bigger ones, have gone away to the outside.

But it will take us to a way of steps, if we do it no harm.

After that, the things it garbled were not within my powers to understand.'

'Do we accept its words, I wonder?' Pondered Galidor.

'And do we follow him?' Talba questioned. ' We might well fall into a trap; though still, his life depends on that. Warn him that if there is treachery, he shall be the first to die, and be on guard as we travel.'

So they began, and soon the party had descended to the floor of that vast hall of horror, and by Pitrag's lead, went picking their path through the bone heaps and roasting spits of the dead.

Then, they stole away beneath the black wings of arches which they now observed to be held aloft by scores of pillars and oval columns, and on passing these, made an awesome discovery; not far off, the floor fell abruptly, like a precipice, into the hidden depths.

To left and right ran that gulf, as if the stone had been rent asunder by some giant axe.

Beyond the gulf, nothing could be seen to indicate either shelf or wall.

'This does not seem like a way out to me,' muttered Dalen; but the elves and Corin, staring down into the hidden depths, said nothing.

Pitrag, however, strained forward, nodding his head and indicating the direction they were to take.

'Watch him carefully, and do not venture near the edge,' warned Talba, as they went on following the imp, and only once did the company halt at a sound; distant and faint, somewhere ahead.

What it was there was no way of knowing, and it did not recur.

After a time, the way began to bend leftwards in a shallow arc and a glimmer of light showed around the projecting buttress of the looming wall.

But it was not the light of the outside world that greeted them.

It came from two enormous iron tripods wherein flames leapt high, and by their dancing glow, between the twin cauldrons, was lit a long bridge that spanned a gap of many paces, and ended at a staircase.

A staircase unlike any the company had ever set eyes upon.

It was hewn as one continuous spiral, without a central column; reaching down into the depths, and upward until it vanished from sight above.

Balustrades ran along the outer and inner edges where three or four might walk abreast, upon those uncountable steps, and rubble littered them.

And there was a certain, faded beauty; a grandeur of design that yet lingered, filling the elves and Corin with wonder.

'Here is our promised stairway,' murmured Filma, 'though not what we expected.'

'Still, it winds where we would go,' said Silval hopefully.

'It must lead to the summit. Of that I am sure.' answered Corin with certainty.

'Then we climb, and best we do so straightway; hands or claws are needed to replenish fires, and the enemy may come at any time.

Hurry, across the bridge with the Ymp!' Commanded Talba, setting his foot to the span.

And even as they prepared to follow, there came the crackling of a voice from the mouth of a passage at their backs; 'Glimbot dravun ichtar, barki!'

'Galidor, Filma, stay with me!' ordered Silval, drawing his bow.

'The rest go on,' he urged, crouching with his two companions at the foot of the bridge.

Without hesitation, the others took to the span and crossed it.

Only the imp hung back, until Dalen cuffed it with the flat of his blade, and at once Pitrag fled to the far side with Falnir in tow.

When they were safely over and climbing, Silval and his two friends followed, whilst Elvra knelt on the steps above, her round bow poised.

Talba, leading, had already gained the veil of shadow beyond the light of the fires, and as the others joined him, cautioned them to silence.

'Draw your hoods about you and remain unmoving, and take a goodly hold on that Ymp, lest it scuffle and warn them.'

Corin, steadying his breath, peered down at the opening of the corridor below, as the flame light grew in brightness, until a score of imps burst into view, followed by a slow moving creature, garbed in hoops of iron, mailed together around its barrel-chest and loins.

Its face was a mask of ugliness; thick-lipped, heavy-browed, almost nose and chinless, the hairless head bare, as were its sweating arms.

Before it, scurried the imps, each carrying burning brands and short, leaf-shaped spears.

It, bore a crushing-mace of iron and a huge curved blade.

'That is an old Gark,' whispered Filma. ' See how it limps along on its hairy shanks.'

'Fangless and half-blind too,' returned Dalen, trembling at Corin's elbow.

'Let us pray that it is also deaf,' hissed Talba. 'Silence all!'

At a grunt from the Gark, the imps fanned out along the ledge, prying into every cranny. Some hauled buckets of pitch from holes in the base of the wall and heaved them into the low cauldrons, whilst others fired more torches that hung there in brackets so that they flared up, throwing back the gloom above, perilously near to where the company hid.

'Ashtag, Ashtag; Pitrag, barki!' Bawled the Gark; hammering its iron mail with a filthy claw.

'Glimbot dravun barki!' And it swayed its naked head about, the eyes swivelling in their sockets.

At length, the imps gathered about it and, after some mutterings between them, the Gark and most of its followers moved off down the darkened way that Corin and the elves had come.

But three imps remained, squatting by the fires, pawing at each other and scratching.

One, who sat nearest the bridge, turned its head and then began to crawl about, sniffing at the stone until it found an object; a bone that lay beneath the leg of a tripod, at which it began to gnaw.

A squabble broke out between the creatures and by the cover of their din the company moved upward.

They had not gone far when Pitrag, by accident or design, stumbled and pitched flat on his face.

Below, the imps tore at each other; heedless of any noise.

Falnir stooped and wrenched Pitrag over his shoulder.

The imp grunted in protest, but Falnir paid no heed, lumping it by arms and legs as they went on.

When they had climbed for some long time, they halted to listen a while.

'Those evil creatures were searching for Pitrag,' Elvra said, hushed.

'The Gark, Glimbot I think, called him by name. Ashtag must have been the other one slain. The alarm is raised. We must be prepared anew for danger.'

'I too, thought as much,' answered Talba, grimly. 'and now we must move swift, before they discover our passing.'

As they hurried on, the elves allowed a little of the light of Lumallin to show the way, and Corin relied on this, and Bim's eyes, to guide his feet, whilst the steps wound tortuously upward.

Eventually Talba, who was leading them, called a halt.

'There is a glow above; tread soft. Danger may lie there!'

He motioned Galidor and Silval forward to test the way, and soon they came flying back.

'A deserted landing,' hissed Galidor, 'and another bridge.'

'Much alike as the one we came to below,' added Silval.

'And the stair goes on into darkness.'

With that, the company pressed forward, stealthily coming up from the spiral steps and onto a flat, open platform.

At its edges the parapets had been broken away, so that there was no protection from the gulf beyond.

Within a few moments, the companions crossed, and began again their ascent; yet hardly had they passed from the light of the braziers, when a hoarse, mocking laughter echoed about them.

'Hi-arr, hi-arrr! Umblat plattargan! Hoh. Hoh. Hoh! Web-trap!

Little-Wings caught by Nugobluk spider!'

Corin and the elves turned, aghast, to peer down, and there below, crowded a throng of black figures, mostly of imp-kind; though amongst them were a score or more Gark, one of which was unmistakably Glimbot.

'They hold the way down!' Cried Filma, stringing a feathered shaft to his bow.

And Talba, in annoyance, muttered, 'That cunning old brute must have known, or guessed, that we were on the stairs, and somehow followed, gathering others with him. And now there is no other way but up.'

'And what is hidden there, I wonder,' said Elvra; doubt edging her words.

 

'Too late to wonder that,' answered Talba. ' The enemy is crossing.

Make ready to hold them off, whilst others spy above!'

At once Silval and Galidor sprang away up the darkened stone, as Filma and Elvra awaited the onslaught from below, bows drawn.

Curiously, the enemy there made no effort to follow; but remained, jeering, on the landing; lurking by the shadowy steps.

After a time, which to Corin seemed an age, Galidor reappeared; his face shining in the faint glimmer of Lumallin about his hood.

'Are there more evil folk above,' quavered Dalen, clutching at Corin's hand.

'No,' answered the elf. 'But there are men! And one of them spoke your name, Master Corin. Silval is with them now. Come, see for yourself. Follow me.'

In haste the others did as Galidor bade, Elvra and Filma bringing up the rear, ever watchful for any sign of attack from below.

Soon they reached the next landing where SilvaI awaited them.

'There are prisoners of the Nugobluk here,' he said as they came to his side.

Corin peered into the gloom before him and made out several shadowy figures huddled together near some large basins and iron pots.

'Please sirs; these folk and I are frightened half to death.

You aren't those Gobluk things are you? Tell us who you are?'

Said a voice; a voice that made Corin start forward.

'Finikin!' He exclaimed. 'It is I, Corin. Were you taken prisoner in the forest?'

The Jug and Kettle man stopped, squinting into the growing light of a tiny lamp that Silval produced from a pack and kindled.

'Why, is it really you, master Corin. I called your name, more out of hope than belief. Is Bran my Brother with you?'

'No,' said Corin, throwing back his hood so that the glow shone upon his face.

'But I do have friends here. Be at ease, and tell us what you can.'

'Well I'll be thrashed and winnowed,' muttered Fin, amazed.

'I never thought to see you again. I guessed that if you weren't up here with this lot, you'd be amongst the bones below.'

He halted then, perhaps thinking on his brother's fate.

At once Corin went to his side, staring into Fin's haggard face.

'What has happened? You must tell me swiftly. The enemy is on the stair beneath. Has Ravenmoor been overrun?'

'Now that's a long tale,' replied Fin. 'And I cannot say as to the fate of our land. I was caught a time ago, I do not know how long, not in this wretched dark.

But they were astirring then, coming out of these mounts like ants, and maybe things have fallen badly for the folk of the realm.

Plain it was that war had come; yet I know no more of it than that.'

Corin laid a steadying hand to Fin's arm. 'Well come, at least tell us of these folk with you. Later will be time enough to hear more.'

'We are the last left alive I fear,' said one of the shadowy figures, coming forward into the light.

'Are you the fellow we chased all the way from Penda to this black hole?'

'I am,' Corin replied, 'and a sorry plight you are in for it.

I wish that things could have been otherwise.

I blame myself for that, in part. Yet there was no other choice for me; I was a fugitive. Now you have my name, and we have not yours.

You are a man of the King's?'

'That I am,' answered the other. 'My name is Bromwell, of Mydarrow.

And he,' Bromwell pointed to the third of the trio, hanging back in the dark, 'is Bona; both of us in the service of King Erryldene and Captain Quillet.

We are the last of the captives taken. The others are gone; down to torture and death, we guess; or up into something more horrible: something unknown, dreadful as the dark that holds us!'

For a moment, Bromwell seemed to falter; he stumbled a pace, lifting his hand across a twisted brow, his eyes bewildered and wide.

'We cannot go down,' he cried, 'and we dare not go up. The Saroyids are there!'

'What are the Saroyids?' Exclaimed Dalen, peeping round Corin's leg.

'They are the unknown,' shivered Bona, emerging into the hazy light.

'We were warned not to take the steps higher, by those gobluk things.

They can speak a little of our tongue. They laughed when they told us. It must be a great joke to them. And when a few or our number risked it, clinging together into the blackness, there was a time of silence; and then screams. Those screams; how can we ever forget?

Whatever the Saroyids are, it is better that we go down.

Give us weapons that we may die fighting what we can see.'

'We have some light,' said Talba, 'and beneath, foe gather. If we are to find the way out of night we must walk on, and up.

We cannot hope to win through below, and the enemy know full well.

We must dare these Saroyids, no matter what the danger.'

'My friends are wise in many ways,' said Corin. 'All is not lost yet.

Trust them; for they are of a people far and beyond men, and I have learned much in their company. Now we are together, let us not be parted; for still there is hope.'

He drew the sword of Bel-Thalion, and it glimmered faintly in the dim lamp-light.

'Death awaits down there, and it is useless to tarry here.

Silval, will you not lead the way with me?'

 

The elf nodded; 'Aye, I will come with you. Though beware, Master Corin, for who of us can know when our time has come?

Tread with stealth into peril.'

 

So they began, winding their way upward around the great spiral that seemed endless.

Behind, last of all, came Elvra and Filma, lightly flitting step by step, listening intently for any sound of pursuit.

They were thirteen now, moving slowly but steadily into the gloom that their pitiful light pierced as they passed.

Yet at their backs, was the ever present danger of the enemy; and above, the unknown dark within the mountain.

Silval and Corin, Bim padding at his side, led.

Next came Dalen and Falnir, Pitrag bound and tossed over the elf's shoulder; thence ever-watchful Galidor.

After them followed Talba and the men; Fin, Bromwell and Bona: and then Elvra and Filma; bows poised, eyes twinkling.

A long and wearisome time went by, whilst they toiled over the hard road of stone; up, up; up into the circled void: and only the anguish of their breath, drawn in great gulps, broke the silence, and told of their struggle.

Over steps countless, the outer walls narrowed, pressing inwards, almost near enough to touch; but these were smooth and offered no purchase, and later broadened, stretching away into the black beyond.

And not long thereafter, Silval called them to a halt.

'There is something above; a shadow. See, there where the light reaches. It swoops! It is coming for us!' He cried, loosing an arrow at the bloated form that seemed to float down, monstrous and menacing.

In the glow of the elves' lamp, Corin had a fleeting glimpse of the thing; eyeless, maybe, it was, yet it knew of them certainly as it hovered nearer, opening a pulsing, slime-filled orifice to engulf and devour.

Then there was a sound like a giant clap of thunder as Silval's shaft pierced it, and a foul stench, and grey liquid that spouted and spurted over the steps above.

'So that is a Saroyid,' muttered Silval, stringing another feathered shaft to his bow and picking his path between the ooze that lay in puddles on the stair.

'They are like slugs,' shivered Bona. 'Giant slugs. What a horrible fate those others must have suffered, here in the dark.'

 

'But they can be destroyed,' said Talba. ' That much we know.

Look to the lantern now, for whilst we have that, we have some

advantage.'

 

'How long will it burn?' Asked Bromwell.

'Let us hope long enough for us to find the way out,' answered Galidor grimly.

'Yes, swiftly; time and light are running away. Onward,' commanded Talba, 'our lives depend on these two things.'

Higher the company crept, encountering more of the dreadful creatures where they lurked; descending out of the blackness.

Filma shot two as they floated near; one burst open, showering the climbers in a putrid substance, the other rose again hovering, before sinking into the depths beneath, its vile mouth sucking and slobbering as it passed.

They pressed on, forcing the way with light and their bows; for now the Saroyids bobbled at almost every turn, whilst others slid in out of the flickering shadows, above and below.

The air filled with a terrifying sound that surrounded and overwhelmed them; a sucking, grinding, crushing sound that caused even the elves to flinch in loathing and dread.

And still the awful monsters of the gloom came.

Elvra, kindling a shaft from the flame of their lamp, sent it winging at one nudging the stair beyond Corin.

There was a great rush and a brilliant flash of fire; tatters of flame spun by or sputtered out on the steps about them.

Then, a trumpeting squeal echoed the hollows, and a roar and blast.

The squealing rose to a frenzied wind as the Saroyids blew upward, consuming each other in tongues of livid, licking yellow that blazed far above.

Fetid smoke swirled in clouds that made those upon the stairway retch with the stench.

'Do not halt!' gasped Talba. 'Go on, go on. Remember the day under clear sky!'

'Have the monsters gone?' Panted Fin, struggling through the slush that trickled over the spiral stair.

'If they have,' hissed Bim, so that the three men started in shock, 'the Nugobluk may purrrsue us neow. Purrhaps they will rrisk the things that prrowl here, if it meanss ourr deaths.'

'The cat at your neck,' gasped Finikin in amazement, 'it can talk!'

'Never mind that now,' said Corin. 'The cat is right enough.

Once the enemy guesses that we have not been slaughtered, they will follow.'

And to that, Talba added; 'You are a wise one, Bim son of Mem.

It will be well to keep a watch at our backs as before.

Also, I think the Ymp should be freed, that it can run upon its own legs, rather than burden Falnir any larger. But keep a halter about its neck so that it cannot escape.'

To this, Falnir gladly did as was bid, unbinding the imp and setting it on its feet; pleased to be unburdened of his noisome charge.

With his elvish knife, Falnir gestured the way, and Pitrag, cowering and flinching, scrambled past snuffling at the slimed stone.

 

 

Whilst they laboured on, Corin began counting the steps that his weary legs plodded; then ceased after beginning many times over.

The tiny flame of the elven lamp flickered bravely in the empty void.

Nothing changed.

Nothing more arose to challenge them.

They simply went on, up and up, around, around, around again.

The elves halted at whiles, listening into the blackness, above and below; allowing the folk of Ravenmoor to rest, for they were weak and dazed.

And too, none knew what the next turn, the next pace, might reveal.

Then, someone fell!

There was a shriek, cut short; leaving only the shock of silence.

Turning about, Corin caught sight of shadows struggling at the edge of the winding way beneath.

On the instant, Silval bounded past him, bearing the lantern down to where several figures, linked like chain, lay sprawled across the stairs.

'Elvra!' Cried Silval, leaping to her aid.

'Quickly,' she gasped, her fingers sliding from the grip she held on Bromwell's legs, 'two of the men are dangling below!'

With a strength that seemed impossible in such a slender form, Silval began to haul at the hapless figures, as Filma and Corin reached them.

One by one, first Bromwell, then Finikin, clutching Bona by the wrist, were drawn up over the brink, where they lay for some moments, panting and white-faced in the pale light of the lamp.

At last, Bromwell managed, 'Bona must have tripped and Fin here grabbed at him as he went.'

'He didn't trip,' said the Jug and Kettle man. 'He just walked straight. You can't go round bends if you walk straight.

Look at him. He's near done in; must have forgotten where he was.'

Bona indeed seemed dazed; his face held a vacant look, the eyes glazed and staring.

'We can't go on,' said Fin, downcast. 'Not without food and rest.

Who can?'

He looked up into the shining eyes of Talba, now bending over them in concern, and then at Corin, kneeling at his side.

'Why, Master Corin, these folk with you seem not a bit tired out.

Who are they anyway?'

The Jug and Kettle man peered about at the others, and finally his gaze came to rest on Elvra's face, and suddenly, through the grime besoiling it, beheld the fairness of her.

'Why...Why, you're beautiful,' he gulped.

'This is not the time or the place to tell all that you would know of us,' said Elvra gently.

'However, we do carry some light food and elvish wine with us.

Rest awhile, eat and drink a little; that your strength and resolve return. Then we will go on.'

 

They had been resting thus for a time beyond reckoning, when Bim, who had followed Silval and Filma a short way below, scurried up out of the darkness on silent pads.

'They come!' He mewed. 'Garrk and many Yimpss with them. They arre still farrr beneathh, but they come. My nose and earrs do not lie.'

'We must move or fight then,' said Falnir from the steps above, where he held Pitrag at his leash.

'Both, if need be,' returned Talba. Two good archers could hold them off for a time.'

'Only as long as their supply of arrows,' answered Elvra, looking to her depleted quiver.

'Swords must do the work after that,' murmured Silval, appearing from below, with Filma on his heels.

'Still, there is no need to risk that yet. Make ready to move.

Maybe we are nearer to road's end than we know.'

'And maybe we are for the chop, or drop,' muttered Fin, helping Bona along as the party set off.

 

Now they went as best they could, though that was slow going; the men hobbling up over the rubble-strewn steps, stumbling at whiles, and heaving with pained lungs.

'I wish I had a weapon of some kind,' wheezed Finikin.

'Bromwell and I might be of some use then, if it comes to a fight.'

'Take my knife,' answered Elvra.

'And mine,' whispered Filma, at the men's backs, where the two elves and Bim hovered, listening for sounds of pursuit.

'Well,' chuckled Fin, hefting the light elvish blade, 'at least I feel some comfort in this...'

His words were cut short by a cry from above, where Silval and Galidor were scouting; and Falnir, with the imp, had gone beyond sight.

Talba and Corin, together, began to climb in haste, but Filma sprang between them, dashing around the spiralling way until he reached another platform, and there halted, horrified.

As the others followed, and the lamplight grew, he saw with elvish eyes, a sight that made him step back in terror and disgust.

Upon that flat place, where the balustrades had been broken away, curled a Saroyid so immense that it seemed a mountain of malice; seething and palpitating.

Then, deep within the shadow of its towering bulk, he spied the kneeling figure of Silval, shooting arrows into the creature's slug-like mass.

Galidor lay between the elf and the creature, amid seeping slime; his arms weakly flailing.

Filma loosed a useless shaft and ran forward, yet as he so did, he saw a further movement on the far side of the monster, and heard a frantic squealing: it was Pitrag the imp, choking and tearing at the marline noose about his neck, and the taut line of it that vanished over the broken rim beyond.

'Falnir is over the edge!' He shouted, racing to Silval's aid.

'My shafts have no effect on the horror,' cried Silval.

'Here, quickly, take up Galidor before this Mother of Slug-Spawn devours him and us. I will do my best to hold it at bay!'

Without delay Filma waded into the slime and gathered Galidor into his arms, as Silval spent more arrows to little avail.

Meanwhile, Corin and EIvra dashed forward toward Pitrag, where he struggled and fell, sliding closer to the brink.

Together they caught at the elvish line, heaving desperately, so that the imp, gasping and thrashing, was relieved of strangulation, and lay, pawing the tightened coil about its throat in utter panic.

Whether the Saroyid, in some blind way, knew what was happening none could guess, but with one dreadfully purposeful movement, it slithered back and floated around the stairway, down again onto the platform, part of the mammoth bag of its bulk overhanging; buoyed up.

There came a rasping as its bristling mass jerked forward, and from the orifice of its mouth there exuded a reeking ooze that glittered, green and yellow.

As Corin and Elvra caught at Falnir's hands and dragged him over the lip of stone, the putrid slime swirled about the wretched imp, so that Pitrag, enveloped, gave a single bleat of terror.

'Falnir, get Pitrag away. I will hold the thing off!'

Shouted Corin, almost unaware of the words, as he unsheathed the blade of Bel-Thalion and stumbled past the hapless imp.

Right to the very maw of the Saroyid came Corin, hacking at the pulsing edges of its jaws.

The blade bit deeply.

Ribbons and shreds of mucus pulp spurted into the air, clinging to his face and raiment; almost smothering him whilst he bore toward the gaping hole that threatened to engorge him.

And yet the Saroyid drew back, slowly giving ground, for the sting of the blade at the entrance to its gullet gave pain somewhere within its dull, gluttonous, eyeless depths.

On struggled Corin, harking the squelching at his ankles as he wielded the blade in both hands; almost blinded in the flurry of spume.

A sound emanated from it; a grinding rumble where toothless gums of vivid red ground together, row upon row, as the sucking lips sought to ensnare him.

Slashing forward, Corin drove the creature before him; and in so doing, almost fell, for the monster, far from defeated, had enticed him to the edge.

At that, Corin threw himself backwards, feeling empty space beneath his feet, and landed amidst the mire of slime.

A wheeze of something akin to malicious mirth sprayed from the dribble of the Saroyid's lips.

But even as it slithered forward in all its gross monstrosity, and Silval darted to Corin's aid, he found his legs and stood, defiant, before the oncoming abomination.

The sound of its grinding gums and the sucking of its flowing lips surrounded both Corin and the elf, so that they were scooped in.

Then lo! A great arrow, raging and searing with a strange, blue fire, hurtled past them where they struggled; entering deep, roaring into the hideous being's bowels.

Together, Corin and Silval tumbled from that cavernous hole as the creature closed fast its vast orifice-mouth; the bristles of its sticky hide brushing Silval so that he fell into the plopping slime of its excrement.

Bending, Corin attempted to drag the elf free, and in so doing, was saved.

The Saroyid recoiled a little, and for a moment, a heart-beat, nothing happened.

Then a tongue of bright orange flame rent its hulking side asunder; followed by an enormous explosion that filled all the hollow vastness of the mountain.

The monster blew apart; vanquished in fire.

Unsteadily, Corin drew himself to his knees, the air about him fouled with the smell of rotting flesh.

Silval lay at his right hand, unmoving; his fair hair washing about his pale face.

With a last, weary effort, Corin began to drag the elf backward toward Elvra and Dalen and the others.

'What happened?' He asked, as they came to him.

'Talba Brighteyes used the Bow!' Cried Dalen the pixie, in high excitement. 'The Bow of the Æsires.'

'Yes I did,' said Talba, leaning heavily upon a curious, curled bow, wrought of strange material.

'I kept it hidden beneath my cloak, lest it be needed.'

For a wink of time, Talba seemed to falter, as if worn by some mighty trial; then he went on, 'It was well for all that I chose to bring such with me, otherwise things may have come out against us.'

'But what of the others; Galidor, and Silval here?' Asked Corin, still somewhat confused.

'Galidor was no more than stunned,' answered Filma.

'See, here he is; alive and well. And Falnir too. The Ymp held him long enough for Elvra and yourself to save.'

'Aye,' said Falnir, leading Pitrag; chafed and shaking, to where the others stood and knelt.

'I was thrown over the edge, and but for this prisoner of ours, would have fallen. It appears the Ymp is not so evil that it could have jumped off and laughed at me all the way down.'

'Maybe it desires life too much, so that yours might be spared only to save its own,' muttered Filma, suspiciously.

'As for Silval,' whispered Talba lowly, watching Elvra weeping and wiping his cold, pale face, 'I fear he has suffered a hurt too hard. And we can do little to help him now, since danger still lurks everywhere.

Bear him with us Filma, Galidor; we cannot tarry longer.

There is nought more to do than climb...'

Thus they went; Talba wearied by the weight of the Great Bow: each pull of it a fearsome effort; the men stumbling; Elvra, Corin and the others, heartsick for Silval, whose deathly pallor seemed to bruise blacker; spreading over his body like a portent of doom.

A glow of light; flickering, uneven, rising, told of the enemy's pursuit.

They knew, or guessed, of the destruction of the Saroyids, and fearlessly followed into the heights, after their prey.

Once, as the company struggled up, a single Saroyid swept out of the gloom, like an enormous hunting bat; but Elvra, trembling with grief and rage, shot it through, so that the creature sank, belching, into the void.

Higher still, ran the unbanistered spiral; now cracked and broken in places, now ice-smooth and treacherous.

The company continued to climb, though their pace was slowed by Bona's stumbling legs and the burden of Silval.

At Talba's word they halted whilst Elvra and Filma stationed themselves a little below, watching for sign of their pursuers.

As the party slumped or stood; the men exhausted, the elves alert, Corin thought he felt a faint movement of the stair; a tremble, a ripple: as if the stone itself was coming alive!

They were on their feet again when Elvra called softly; 'The Nugobluk are very close. Only a few turns beneath and coming swift!'

And as she so spoke, the light of torches blazed up, rushing back the shadows, and the din of grunting foe, weapons rattling, reached their ears.

'Quickly. Go on!' Ordered Talba. 'Falnir, take the Ymp and lead.

Master Corin and Bromwell next. I will bear the lamp.

Elvra, Filma; guard the low way.'

Again they ascended; Bim perched at Corin's shoulder, the tiny glow of lamp-light flickering behind, so that those below could find their footing.

But it was only through the eyes of the cat that the leaders were warned in time.

'Rerowww!' Screamed Bim, arching his back and digging claws into Corin's cloak; 'Stop! We are going over the edge!'

In the midst of their rush, Falnir and the imp heeded Bim's cry and halted.

Three steps above, the great spiral ended; shattered and broken away.

Beyond that, was a gulf.

They stood, heaving, upon the pinnacle; for their pathway was no more.

Corin, through the soles of his elven shoes, felt the movement; a faint sway.

And it came to him that all the towering spiral groaned at the intrusion on its summit.

Wherever the great steps had once led, was lost.

Above, there was only emptiness.

 

Below, came the sounds of conflict, as Filma and Elvra engaged the oncoming foe.

Talba, on arrival, muttered, 'I will see what might be seen,' and took the last steps up to the edge.

There, he threaded a shaft from a quiver under his gown, and bending his back in a fearsome arching effort, drew the bow of the Æsires.

With a resonant twang, the arrow passed from his hand, speeding upward; the pale, blue glow of it cleaving the night.

'Up there!' He gasped. 'Descry it?'

The shaft reached its zenith and began to fall; yet by its faint glow, was made out a far ceiling, and a dark circle; rimmed about in strange patterns.

'There lies the only way! Bring me marline,' muttered Talba; and it seemed to Corin that the elf was wearied much by his work.

So much indeed that he sank to his knees, whilst Falnir, still holding Pitrag, ventured down to Filma, and brought up the precious line.

Galidor ascended with them, saying; 'The way is held still, but not for much longer, I guess. What is happening?'

'I must find the strength to wield the Bow,' said Talba, in a whisper, winding the marline about a slender shaft of white-tipped metal.

He bent his back again, his tensed arms straining, whilst those with him watched with widening eyes.

At length, in those fleeting moments, the bow sang.

The arrow fled into the night above; coils of elven line looped from the stone.

They heard no strike; but the line vanished until, abruptly, what remained, dangled by Falnir's fingers; suspended.

Daring, Galidor tested it; heaving, and finally swinging free from the steps.

Talba sagged upon the stone; borne down, it appeared to Corin, and drained of strength.

'Can you go on?' he asked.

'Yes, for a while longer,' nodded Talba. 'The Bow of the Æsires drains, the more the quiver is emptied.'

The Fane-elf raised his eyes to Corin; 'Give me your arm,' he whispered, as the stair trembled ominously beneath them.

Gently, Corin eased Talba to his feet, where he stood, swaying with the motion.

'Quickly now, there is no time to waste. No matter what lurks above, we must climb the marline!'

As the others gathered on the lower steps, the sounds of conflict grew greater with every passing moment.

Galidor hastened back to where Elvra and Filma held off the advancing foe, and lifting Silval, bore him to the summit.

'Lash him to my back, that I may have free hands,' he cried over the growing tumult.

Already, Dalen had begun to shin up the line, swinging and spinning, the lamp hooked to his tunic.

'May that line not fail him,' muttered Talba, watching as the pixie scurried further aloft, eventually to reach the rim of the circle and clamber over.

A moment later, those below saw him lean out waving the light.

'It must be safe enough,' said Corin, relieved.

'Yet will it hold the weight of two?' Galidor pondered, taking to the line with Silval at his back.

'The men must go next,' commanded Talba, 'then Falnir and the Ymp.

Hurry, Elvra and Filma are just below. Their quivers will be nigh to empty.'

'Give me your quiver Falnir,' cried Corin. 'I will take it to them.'

He made off with the precious shafts, Bim clinging to his shoulder, as the great spiral pitched with every step he took.

Behind, Finikin and Bona were already climbing, shaking with fear.

A turn below, Corin found the elves; the glare of torches lighting their faces.

'The Nugobluk are there, beyond the bend,' said Elvra, taking the quiver from Corin's hand.

'It is well you came with these, we have but three barbs left us.'

'We have killed many of them, Ymp mostly. The Gark send them first to do their foul work,' murmured Filma, his eyes fixed to the steps below.

'You must hold them off a little while yet, if you can,' said Corin.

'The others are climbing now.'

'That we will,' returned Filma, loosing a feathered shaft that caught an imp, throwing it screaming over the edge.

Suddenly, the great spiral began to violently sway; the stairs at their feet cracked asunder. Chunks of stone tore loose and fell into the depths.

'Back! We must climb now,' cried Corin. 'All this movement is too much for the stair to take!'

Together, the companions withdrew, finding their footing on that slanting way.

Beneath, the imps and goblins charged recklessly; some jostled to their deaths, plummeting into the blackness.

Upon reaching the summit, Corin saw that Falnir, bearing Pitrag trussed across his shoulder, was already half way up.

Only Talba awaited them, gathering his strength for this last effort.

'You go first, Master Corin. Let me rest a moment more, and I will follow.'

Corin hesitated for a fleeting instant, then he and Bim swung away; he hauling with all his might.

Below him the spiral, ablaze with firelight, tossed and buckled wildly.

Talba, almost fell, caught at the line and sailed out into space.

 

Only Elvra and Filma remained, shooting at the foe as they came on, regardless of their screaming companions and the screeching, splintering stairs.

The darts and barbs of the enemy rained about the two elves as Elvra took to the line and started up.

Guttural voices arose in confusion as a tremendous rending and groaning announced what was to come.

The stair, the Great Spiral, began to topple; striking the walls, overthrown by the movements at the summit; tumbling, block upon block, and bearing all into the void far below.

 

As the fires of the enemy were carried away, Corin caught a glimpse of a figure clinging to the line.

It was Filma, twirling and tossing; but safe.