Conan The Indomitable (20 page)

“I hope the girl and the idiot have had sufficient time,” Tull
said.

“Aye.
They have had all we can supply. Let us
get to the meeting place.”

The main problem for Elashi and Lalo proved to be an embarrassment of
riches: had they a pack animal, they could have loaded it with booty until it
staggered from the weight. The witch’s tenure in the caves had produced quite
an accumulation of precious stones. Though it was difficult to tell precisely
in the greenish light, there appeared to be rubies, emeralds, diamonds,
sapphires, fire agates, opals, and pearls, according to Lalo, who claimed to
have knowledge of such things.

As they gathered the valuable gems, the pair divided them into four leather
sacks for easier distribution and carrying once they rejoined Conan and Tull.

Finally Elashi said, “Enough.”

“But there is so much more!”

“The leather of the bags is soggy and partially rotted,” she said,
“and if we overfill them, we are apt to burst the sacks.”

“A valid point, for a woman.
Let us depart,
then.”

Each of them picked up two head-sized sacks of gems and moved toward the
exit. Not a moment too soon, they discovered, for as they left the witch’s
chambers and hurried along the corridor, a pair of worms approached from the
opposite direction. Fortunately, the worms did not appear to see Elashi and
Lalo as the latter pair ducked around the corner.

“This adventure is turning out much better than I expected,” Lalo
observed.

“Perhaps,” Elashi said, “but we are not finished yet. Best
you save your self-congratulations until they are more justified.”

Lalo looked at Elashi with his ubiquitous smile. “Could it be that you
have been cursed in the same manner as I, lady dear?”

“Listen, fool—wait! What’s that?”

There came the sounds of someone approaching.

“Quick, over there!”
Lalo pointed to a
cleft in the rock, darkened by the lack of glow-fungus. The two of them
scurried to the small opening and squatted to enter it. Once inside, they
turned to observe the corridor.

A moment later a giant worm entered their view, holding by some means a
rope, the other end of which was attached to a cyclops’ wrists. It appeared
that the worm had made a captive of the one-eyed giant.

Elashi watched the odd pair pass, but she kept part of her attention on
Lalo. Sure enough, the smiling man took a deep breath and began to open his
lips as if to call out an insult. Quickly the desert woman dropped one bag and
clamped her hand over Lalo’s mouth. Whatever sound he might have made was lost
in his startlement.

The worm and the cyclops passed and moved out of sight.

Elashi removed her hand from Lalo’s mouth.

“For an incredibly assertive, nay—a
pushy
woman—you have some
virtue,” he said.

That was as close to a compliment as Elashi had ever heard him make. She
grinned in return.

“Come on. We must find Conan and Tull.”

Deek and Wikkell arrived at the entrance to the witch’s chambers to be met
by a pair of very agitated guard worms. Wikkell stood silently by while the
three worms communicated with each other in a language almost inaudible to the
cyclops. After a short while Deek tugged on the rope, and he and Wikkell went
into the chambers.

Once far enough away that the guards could not hear, Wikkell spoke.
“What was that all about?”

“T-t-trouble f-for th-the w-w-witch.
T-two of
th-
the m-m-men ap-appeared h-here.
F-four
g-g-guards g-g-gave ch-chase.”

“Four guards?
I only say the two.”

“Th-the o-others a-are d-d-dead.
Th-the
m-m-men d-dropped r-r-rocks on
th-
them.”

“How grisly.”
Wikkell pondered it for a
moment. “Then again, this serves our purposes. Sorry about your brothers,
but certainly this will not add to the witch’s stature.”

“T-t-true.”

Wikkell looked around. “You know this place better than I. What shall
we steal?”

“O-o-over h-here.”

Wikkell followed the worm toward a chest of drawers. As he did, the cyclops
stepped on an object sharp enough to prick even his calloused foot. He stopped
and kicked the offending item from the floor.
“Hmm.
This is a cut gemstone. Look.” He held the precious rock out for Deek to
see. “Does the witch normally leave such things just
laying
around?”

“N-no.”

Wikkell considered that for a moment. “You said the worms saw two of
the men. There were others, as I recall.”

“A-at l-least o-one.”

“I should not wonder that while the guards chased those two, the witch
might have had another visitor.”

“Th-the g-g-guards a-a-re s-s-stupid.
Wh-why,
th-
this c-c-cave is f-full o-of th-thieves!”

Wikkell laughed, and had to stop himself from becoming too loud. “Let
us be about our business, Deek old slug. Find us something we can use to keep
our necks—you do have a neck?—safe.”

The Harskeel arrived near the witch’s quarters in time to see a giant worm
leading a cyclops bound at the wrists from the chamber, past two larger worms
apparently standing guard. Moving back out of sight, the Harskeel called to Red
for an explanation.

“You walk too slowly,” Red said. “The men have gone.”

The Harskeel ground its teeth together.
“Where?”

“Not far. Two of them move to an apparent rendezvous with the two
others. According to my scouts, the first pair led the guard worms away while
the second pair entered the witch’s chambers and later emerged carrying several
bags.”

The Harskeel shook its head.
Thieves, and bold ones, to
risk the witch’s domain.
Not that it mattered. It would have whatever
had been stolen after it had the four slain. Which ought to happen soon, could the
bats be believed.

“Which way?” the Harskeel inquired.

“Follow me,” Red said.

Conan and Tull had been waiting at the rendevouz point but a few moments
when Elashi and Lalo arrived, each bearing two bulging sacks.

“Amazing,” Lalo said. “I thought it certain you two would
have become lost and never found this spot.”

Tull ground his teeth, but Conan only smiled. “I see your venture was
successful.”

“Enough gems to buy a kingdom,” Elashi said. “And I shall
allow you to carry my share.” She thrust the two leather sacks at Conan.

The big Cimmerian smiled and shook his head. “I would rather keep my
sword arm free,” he said. “Just perchance I should need it.” He
took one of the sacks from her and hefted it. Unfortunately, the rotted
leather, unable to withstand this movement, chose that moment to burst
, spilling
jewels in a glittering torrent upon the rocky
floor.

“Now look what you have done!” Elashi said.

Conan did not bother to respond verbally. He merely squatted and gathered up
a large handful of the fallen stones and tucked them into his belt pouch. Then
he stood.

“What of the rest?” Tull asked, gesturing at the valuable gems
strewn over the floor.

“I have all I can comfortably carry,” Conan said.

“As Elashi has pointed out to me endlessly, there is no point in being
greedy, if such makes one stupid.”

“But all that wealth—”

“—will be worthless unless we escape these caves. Should I be attacked,
I would not have my abilities impeded by wealth or anything else.”

“Look,” Lalo said, pointing.
“One of the
bats.”

Conan glanced at the creature which quickly flitted back the way it had come
and out of sight. “One is no threat but there may be others,” he
said. “Best we depart.” With that, he turned and started off.

Tull, Elashi, and Lalo stared at the fallen gems for a moment,
then
reluctantly followed the outlander. Elashi bent and
retrieved a particularly large emerald-cut stone that glittered up at her.
Catching up to Conan, she offered him the gem. “This one seemed too good to
leave,” she said.

Conan looked at the stone. Aye, it was a fine specimen. He took the jewel
from her. For a moment it seemed to tingle in his fingers with a kind of subtle
vibration. He tucked it into his pbuch and thought no more about it.

The witch’s ensorceled insect returned to her, bearing the news that the
wizard moved in the opposite direction and at a goodly speed. This did not
appeal to Chuntha in the least. Blast him! Both he and her prey seemed to have
a head start that might well prove too great for her to make up, given the top
speed of her worm raft.

Well, no problem was insurmountable. In this case, there was a way, albeit a
somewhat dangerous one, to gain an advantage. Chuntha had held back on
utilizing the method earlier, since the risk to her was considerable, but now
it seemed the time had come for different measures. Already more dangerous
conditions had arisen in the caves than ever she had faced before, and she
might as well try something risky to salvage whatever she could ere there was
nothing left to save.

Chuntha caused her living raft to move to a gently sloping shore with such
speed that it partially beached itself. Utilizing her magic, she dissolved the
spell holding the worm assemblage together, freeing her thralls into individuals
once again.

“Return to my chambers as best and as quickly as you can,” she
ordered them.

When the worms had moved off, searching for connective tunnels that might
lead them home, the witch removed from her packet of spells one she had used
but once in the last two hundred years. The parchment upon which the spell was
inked had been made from the scaled skin of a flying reptile thought long
extinct from the world of men. This creature had been one of the last of its
kind, discovered in a hidden valley deep in the fetid jungles east of Xuchotl,
in the Black Kingdoms far to the south. The wingspan of such a beast dwarfed
that of the largest known bird, save that of the roc; the toothed head
resembled that of a crocodile; and the curved, black talons on its feet were
like unto knife blades.

When the spell’s words were properly uttered, the parchment would become a
cloak; this cloak, when wrapped around one, metamorphically changed the wearer
into a near-exact replica of that toothed and winged reptile. Fearsome and
fierce, this soaring monster need fear no earthly nemesis; unfortunately, the
spell had a major flaw that was its danger: one could not know how long the
magical cloak would remain in effect. It might stay complete until the wearer
shrugged it off hours, or even days, later; too, the cloak could fail abruptly
after a few minutes and its hapless occupant might find him- or herself high
above the ground, but suddenly having lost the ability to fly. Such a hazard
required judicious use of the spell; failure at a sufficient height would occur
but once.

Despite her varied repertoire of magics, Chuntha had only this one spell
that would allow her to fly. She could not
effect
a
means of slowing her descent should the cloak suddenly lose its effectiveness.
There was one rather complex conjuration that would lighten her body to
featherweight, but by the time she could intone the first few words of it, she
would likely be a bloody mush upon the ground. Still, it was better to die
trying as not.

The witch selected a high, rocky spire and began to climb it, carrying only
the reptilian parchment with her. The ancient beings had flown and soared
beyond compare, they had not done so well on ascent from the ground, so Chuntha
deemed it best that she begin her flight from a high glide.

At the top of the spire she squatted and unrolled the scaled parchment, then
began to read aloud the magic words.

Katamay Rey could not say that he was totally pleased with his situation,
but he felt a certain confidence. A report from one of his search wasps had
given him the knowledge that the witch floated on her worm raft far behind him.
By the time she understood her error, both Rey and their mutual quarry should
be far outside her grasp.

Only moments later, however, a strange shadow passed over the wizard. He
glanced up, but the air under the high ceiling appeared empty. No, wait… there,
ahead… what was that? Before he could do more than wonder, the shadowy figure
was gone, leaving the wizard to surmise.

“What was that?” he said aloud.

The nearest cyclops, who had noted his master’s attention and looked up,
shrugged.
“A bat, perhaps?”

“‘Twould be the largest one ever,” Rey said. “I think
not.” But, he thought to himself, if not a bat, then what?

Perhaps the apparition meant nothing. Perhaps it held no threat to him. Or
perhaps it was merely a figment of his imagination. But deep in his black
heart, Rey felt another dagger-stab of worry.

Deek and Wikkell were feeling very pleased with themselves. The first part
of the plan had gone as smoothly as a baby worm’s topside. The two of them now
had tucked away in Wikkell’s belt a magical implement from the witch’s armory.
At the first clear patch of rock far enough from Chuntha’s quarters to avoid
arousing undue interest, the pair halted and Deek explained its operation.

The device looked like nothing so much as a thick chunk of wood the size of
a human’s playing card with a tiny hole in one end and a small lever on its
side.

“P-p-point i-it a-at
th-
the w-w-wall o-over
th-there and p-p-push th-the l-lever,” Deek said.

Wikkell did so, and the thing spat a fine strand of white thread into the
still air. The thread’s end touched the wall, and more and more of the silky
line followed, assembling itself into a bizarre tangle that formed a cobwebby
net. Wikkell moved the lever back to its original position and the flow ceased
abruptly, breaking contact with the magical object.