Trek to Kraggen-Cor (31 page)

sur^c ot power it slouK drew back inward, vet all the malefic energj coiled

within the great ropy arms could draw it hut paitwa) hack through the slot And for the first time within its e\il inemorv. the M.icluk felt something

more powerful than itseM

ir dro\c into its malignant core, and it hanhcallv redoubled its efl But then the dam. unable to withstand the force (A the rush ot the v. broke again Inst on one side of the gap and then on the other And the Krakenward was hurled down the tails still clutching the great slabs that had

been the flanks of the slot. The Monster smashed into the stone basin below; and the creature's pain was great as it was flung into the walls and shoulders of the ravine and boulders ground over it.

The Host had watched the mighty struggle by the light of the waxing Moon, and when the Maduk was carried over the brink to smash into the darkness below, a great shout of victory rose up.

The dark waters of the black mere continued to pour out. Great masses of foetid rot from the lake bottom were borne forth by the roaring flood, and a putrid fetor swept over the vale. The Army reeled back from this foul stink, and many gagged and retched in the charnel rank. More of the dam crumbled. Giant slabs of stone fell to the falls precipice, and the torrent widened and blasted through the huge rocks to rush over the lip and cascade down.

Hours passed. The Moon set. The water level in the lake sank as it emptied, and the strength of the flood ebbed. What had been a torrent became a rush and then a broad outflow; slowly it continued to wane until it reduced to a wide stream runneling between the huge chunks of fragmented dam up on the precipice to fall in several separate streams to the basin below.

It was now dawn, for the breaking of the dam and the Krakenward's struggle and the emptying of the lake had taken all night. The gloom in the vale of the Sentinel Falls was slowly driven back as the day came; but the Sun rose on the east side of the mountains and the vale was on the west side, and thus it stood in the shadow of the range. Yet the dark retreated and the stars winked out as day broke on the land. As the sky lightened, still the Host watched, looking toward the dark ravine down which the water and rocks and creature and the tons of sludge and filth and rot had all disappeared.

Cotton sat leaning back against a rock, his eyes closed, drained of energy. Exhausted, he was drifting off to sleep when he heard a shouting of voices and a clamor of disbelief and fear. The Warrow snapped open his eyes to see what the commotion was about just as a warrior stepped to Durek's side and pointed to the face of the Sentinel Falls precipice. "Sire, the Maduk, it lives," he announced grimly.

Cotton looked and saw in the early morning light first one tentacle and then another groping upward through the falling water along the cliff face, straining to reach the top of the precipice but falling short.

Durek stood and stared, his eyes filled with rage. His teeth ground together and his hands clenched into fists. His face turned black as anger shook his frame, and his voice rose in a hoarse cry—"To me! To me! Chakka to me!"— and he sprang down the hill. Cotton and Rand, Brytta and Bomar, Berez, Tror, Felor, all leapt after him with Drillers and Hammerers and Delvers close behind.

Plunging down the slope, they charged onto the top of the linn, splashing through the flow to come to the head of the falls and look over the lip

through the streams of cascading water and down into the basin below. There in the blackness Cotton could dimly see a huge mass in a bed of runny-sludge and black filth and foetid rot; it flopped and writhed with sucking noises as it heaved and hitched its horrid bulk through the muck and churn at the base of the precipice. Though he could not see it clearly in the darkness, Cotton could discern that the Monster was bloated and blotched, slimy and foul, repulsive and horrifying. Long was its swollen body, and from one end a roiling nest of suckered tendrils writhed. Some of these tentacles had been crushed by rock, and one of the creature's eyes had been torn open; but the other baleful red eye glared malignantly up, and a wave of evil incarnate beat at them. The Maduk could see the people limned against the pale morning sky, and a dozen huge tentacles boiled up out of the blackness and lashed at the wall. A hissing was heard and a great stench rose up. But the Monster could not reach them, and the light of the day bore hurtfully through its one good eye and blazed into its brain. In an earlier age, before the Ban, ere it had been borne here, its own malevolence had driven it even unto the sunlight to wreak havoc upon ships plying the lanes near the Great Maelstrom. But now the coming of the Sun meant that it must hide away, and it was frantic to be back in its dark den at the bottom of the black water; and it clutched and grasped futilely at the linn-wall.

Durek glowered down in hatred at the malignant creature, then he turned and gritted, "We shall slay it with stone."

He called Dwarves to him, and with Cotton and Rand and broken-hand Brytta helping, they struggled and strained, pushing and pulling, as from the shattered dam they levered a massive granite block that ground and grated and slowly slid to the lip of the precipice. Gradually it edged out above the Monster, to tip and balance on the rim. Then with a final heave it was prized up to ponderously slide with a rush over the edge to fall silently, slowly turning, to come down upon the Monster and land with a great squashing splat/ —smashing into and through the bulk. Many of the huge tentacles fell lifeless, and others plucked feebly at the massive stone.

A triumphant shout burst forth from the Host, and Durek looked down and grunted in grim satisfaction. Then he stepped back and raised up a clenched fist and hoarsely called out in a loud voice, "Let all the Companies each in turn cast a block down upon this spawn of evil so that every Chak in the Legion can share in this revenge." And as one body the Dwarf Army wrathfully surged forward, silent and grim, each warrior chafing to extract personal retribution for his fallen brethren.

And Brytta of Yalon stood fast and raised his great black-oxen horn to his lips and winded it, summoning the company of the Vanadurm to him to avenge their slain allies, as Durek, Cotton, Rand, and Bomar turned and walked back up the hill in the morning light of a new day

"Bomar," rasped Durek, "we must go sec how much is to be done—how much rubble is to be removed from over the Door—for the Maduk heaped

more on. I fear we may now have more work to do than there is time to do it. Tomorrow is the day set for the rendezvous, and the Seven are now within the caverns and may already be at work on the hinges. We cannot fail them; we must succeed."

And as the four walked around the foetid rotting black crater where once stood the lake, the Host of Dwarves of Kraggen-cor dragged great slabs of rock from the broken dam to the precipice and cast them down to crush the Monster. They had fought the Maduk with axe and sword and Atalar blade, and hammer and tong and wedge and drill, and fire and water, and at last they slew it with stone. They had finally won, but barely.

Here ends the first part of the tale of The Silver Call.

The second part is called The Brega Path. It concludes the stories of Perry and Cotton and their allies in the quest of the Dwarves to wrest Kraggon-cor from the clutches of the evil Spawn.

..a, Bekki's son, strode into legend along a steadfast course of honor. May the span of our strides match his—for that is the true Brega path."

Seventh Duiek November 3, 5E231

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dennis L. McKiernan was born April 4, 1932, in Moberly, Missouri, where he lived until age eighteen when he joined the U.S. Air Force, serving four years spanning the Korean War. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri in 1958, and, similarly, an M.S. from Duke University in 1964. Employed by a leading research and development laboratory, he resides with his family in Westerville, Ohio. His debut novel was the critically acclaimed trilogy of The Iron Tower. His second novel, The Silver Call duology, continues the Mithgarian saga.

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ited by the

of slashing steel on

steel, Lord Kian leads his forces in a bold and brilliant attack against the dreaded pretenders to the throne. But even with an army of mighty warriors at his side, Kian knows it will take more than sheer strength to overcome the messengers of evil awaiting him...

A heroic quest for vengeance and justice, Trek to Kraggen-Cor constitutes the first part of Dennis L. McKiernans exciting new Silver Call Duology. Watch for the powerful conclusion, The Brega Path, coming soon.

Dennis L. McKiernan is the author of three previous novels, The Dark Tide. Shadows of Doom, and The Darkest Day. He lives in Westerville, Ohio.

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