Ch. 10: Paths Leading Nowhere but Down

Back to Arheled

''             Under   the   earth,   in   the   bones   of   darkness,   all   ignorant   of   the   autumn   world   on   the   skin   of   the   earth,   they   still   journeyed,   those   six   most   perilous   newly   risen,   the   Children   of   the   Road   by   Arheled   summoned. ''   Forest   heard   it   constantly,   words   like   this   continuously   reshaping   themselves,   beating   in   his   head   like   the   chant   of   ancient   voices   too   dim   to   hear   with   ears.

             “We   can   halt.”   Ronnie   Wendy   said   tersely. The   others   sat   down   heavily   on   the   ground. The   rock   was   not   at   all   cold;   in   fact,   it   was   beginning   to   be   disturbingly   warm.

''             Forth   they   started,   fell   feet   falling,   down   stairs   enchanted   at   world’s   ending… ''

             Forest   let   the   voices   chant   without   paying   them   much   heed. He   was   tired. All   of   them   were. Images   of   the   ways   they   had   trodden   pounded   slowly   through   his   head. He   closed   his   eyes. Sleep   eluded   him;   his   mind   was   too   wide   awake,   though   his   eyes   were   exhausted.

             The   thunder   of   the   rising   of   the   Gates   of   the   North   beat   through   him   again,   the   memory   sharp   as   a   movie   in   his   bone-weary   state. He   slumped   against   the   warm   wall   and   let   the   memory   warp   reality.





<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   sizzling   hiss   of   the   gateway   stopped   quite   suddenly. They   walked   down   the   stairs   of   stone   single   file. Hollow   footsteps   echoed   around   them. It   was   uncomfortable:   the   cheerless   air   felt   dim   and   healthless,   dank,   cold,   oppressive. The   stone   stairs   curved   downward. Forest   shivered. Behind   them   Lara   shed   a   faint   light   from   head   and   hands,   illumining   the   shaft   with   a   dim   cold   whiteness. It   was   fluted   and   irregular,   queer   dripstone   formations   oozing   over   every   knob   and   ledge. Ronnie   was   in   front:   the   clump-slop   of   his   hiking   boots   was   distinct   even   when   concealed   by   a   curve. Lara   brought   up   the   rear.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             They   had   descended   like   this   for   hours   upon   hours. Knees   grew   tired. Conversation,   which   had   been   sporadic   at   best,   flagged   into   silence;   even   Bell   stopped   commenting   to   Forest   and   simply   plodded   on   down. The   shaft   changed   constantly,   with   bewildering   variations   of   striations   in   the   walls   and   grotesque   dripping   shapes   pendant   from   them,   until   the   very   changefulness   became   a   constant,   and   amazed   no   longer.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             At   long   last   Brooke   asked   somebody   what   the   time   was. Travel   pulled out   her   cell   phone   and   turned   it   on   with   the   typical   Verizon   gling   ding   gong   doonk   chimes. Ronnie   turned   and   gave   her   a   really   odd   look.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You   took   your   cell   phone   down   here??”   he   said. “What’re   you   going   to   do,   call   911   if   we   get   hurt? Or   google   a   GPS?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “The   sarcasm   is   not   called   for,   Mr. Boss.”   she   said   a   little   stiffly. “I   didn’t   know   we   were   going   underground.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Don’t   give   me   that. I   was   perfectly   clear   about   it   when   I   called.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Well,   I   don’t   have   service   anyway   down   here,   so   that’s   kind   of   a   null   issue.”   snapped   Travel. “And   I   don’t   see   why   you’re   so   sore   about   it.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “They   can   track   you   by   a   cell   phone,   unless   the   battery’s   out.”   retorted   Ronnie. “And   in   case   you   didn’t   know,   our   friend   Cornello   has   control   of   all   the   police   technology   and   tracking   systems. I   don’t   know   how   far   underground   you   have   to   be   for   a   GPS   to   stop   working,   but   I’ve   heard   phones   can   be   hacked   to   make   listening   devices   or   even   cameras. I’ll   bet   the   hacking   devices   would   still   work   down   here,   service   or   no   service,   even   without   a   GPS.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Oh.”   said   Travel,   chastened. She   unplugged   her   battery   and   put   it   in   her   pocket. “And   here   I   thought   you   the   techno-idiot   of   the   group.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Comes   from   watching   Jason   Bourne    and   Abduction.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Are   we   going   to   have   to   sleep    on   this   stair?”   complained   Bell.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Unless   some   of   us   have   bed-making   powers,   it   certainly   looks   like   it.”   said   Ronnie,   looking   at   his   watch. “We’ve   been   underway   for   seven   hours. I   think   we’ll   rest   here,   then   keep   on   for   a   while.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Until   we   drop.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “We   have   four   thousand   miles   to   go,”   he   retorted. “I   do   want   to   actually   get   there   by   Halloween.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “And   the   forecast   was   for   80s   this   weekend.”   moaned   Brooke. “I   wanted   to   go   swimming.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “So,   if   we   get   to   a   flat   cave,   fill   it   up   and   jump   in.”   remarked   Travel.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Ha   ha.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “On   the   bright   side,   if   we   get   to   a   straightaway,   I   can   teleport   us   as   far   as   I   can   see.”   Travel   added.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             They   fell   still   after   that. In   the   great   silence   of   the   endless   tube   of   stone,   the   throat   of   some   horrible   beast,   any   joke   seemed   feeble,   an   attempt   at   unfitting   behavior,   which   the   cold   stare   of   the   cave   withered   as   soon   as   it   was   made. Some   nodded   and   slept,   or   tried   to,   knowing   rest   was   needed. Forest   found   himself   holding   his   breath   so   as   to   make   no   sound.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             All   too   soon   Ronnie   roused   them   and   nagged   them   until   they   were   up   and   moving. “I   swear,   he’s   as   bad   as   a   drill   sergeant.”   grumbled   Lara.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Well,   somebody   has   to   get   us   going.”   said   Bell.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Still,   who   put   him   in   charge?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Will   you   just   shut   up   and   start   glowing   so   we   can   actually   see   something?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hey,   snip,   I’m   how   many   years   older   than   you?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “If   age   is   the   question,”   cut   in   Ronnie,   “I   outrank   you   all. I’m   31. Now   fowaaard-maaarrch!”   and   he   began   acting   so   annoyingly   military   on   purpose   he   made   even   Lara   start   laughing,   then   joined   in   and   went   back   to   normal.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Down   and   down   and   ever   down   the   stairs   twisted,   now   bending   left,   now   right. The   stalactites   were   bigger   now,   and more   numerous,   and   even   the   previously   clear   steps   became   bumpy   with   dripstone,   like   ice   in   winter,   but   brown   rock   ice. And   the   stone   icicles   grew   long,   hanging   so   low   the   company   often   grazed   their   heads;   and   lower   still,   until   they   nearly   touched   the   stairs   and   passing   them   was   like   squeezing   through   a   forest   of   stone   trees.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “This’ll   take   us   forever!”   fumed   Lara.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Using   her   Cold   powers,   she   broke   a   way   down,   and   they   spiraled   on   for   some   distance. Then   the   pillars   thinned,   and   light   grew   in   the   cave,   and   Lara   no   longer   needed   to   glow. A   luminous   waterfall   roared   out   of   a   hole   in   the   floor.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   waterfall   was   falling   up.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What   the   heck….”   whispered   Travel.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “A   fountain,   of   course.”   Ronnie   answered. “There   must   be   some   pretty   intense   pressure   here. Brooke,   ask   it   the   way   down.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             They   were   in   a   level   chamber. Brooke’s   eyes   flickered   sea-green   and   then   brown. “He   says   the   way   is   over   there. He   says   our   path   lies   through   the   buried   city.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “He?”   said   Lara.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “That’s   what   it   feels   like.”   said   Brooke   helplessly.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   mouth   of   the   stair   thus   indicated   was   a   wavery   opening   in   the   left   wall. It   grew   dimmer   as   they   left   the   fountain   farther   behind,   and   Lara   had   to   shine   again. The   second   stair   was   so   steep   they   almost   fell   down   it. Here   the   air   was   dry,   the   dust   on   the   floor   dry   also,   though   it   had   lain   so   long   it   was   more   like   carpet   than   powder   and   little   rose   at   their   tread. Very   old   were   these   stairs,   hewn   into   the   living   rock   so   long   ago   they   now   were   fractured   and   fissured,   and   the   company   stepped   down   them   with   care. Balustrades   had   once   been   carved   out   of   the   sides   of   the   narrow   passage,   but   much   of   them   had   long   since   broken   off   and   fallen.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             These   stairs   did   not   twist   and   wind   everlastingly   as   the   others   had. They   dropped   in   straight   flights,   interrupted   by   landings. Sometimes   doorways   yawned   at   these,   blocked   some   way   within   by   earth   and   stones.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Soil?”   exclaimed   Brooke. “I   thought   we   were   miles   down!”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Perhaps   this   fell   down   by   a   chasm   or   stream.”   said   Ronnie. “But   I   think   not. I   think   this   place   was   once   far   nearer   the   surface.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             They   began   finding   more   and   more   evidence   that   he   was   right. The   sunken   halls   became   successively   more   ruinous,   great   cracks   and   webbed   fissures   in   the   carven   walls   opening   up. In   one   place   the   angle   of   descent   suddenly   changed,   the   stairs   down-slanting   and   far   steeper. They   halted   in   dismay.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   can   get   down   that,”   said   Ronnie,   “but   what   about   the   rest   of   you?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Don’t   worry   about   us.”   said   Lara. Ice   built   up   on   every   stair   as   a   silver-white   glow   flashed   in   her   eyes. Rough   ice   at   that,   so   that   if   they   were   careful   they   would   not   slip.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             When   they   came   at   last   to   the   bottom,   they   gazed   blankly. Cracked   stairs   and   chunks   of   dislocated   hall   led   up,   or   down,   or   sideways,   in   a   disordered   chaos. To   left   and   right   were   doors,   and   level   stone   halls,   straight   but   narrow   and   littered   with   dusty   rubble. It   was   faintly   warmer. The   carvings   however   had   lasted   better,   and   both   doors   were   bordered   with   elaborate   vertical   flutings,   from   which   whorled   hooks   curled   out. Their   arched   lintels,   however,   bore   odd   decorations   like   chicken-scratches   in   the   stone.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Brooke!”   said   Ronnie   suddenly   and   sharply. “Hose   these   doorposts   clean! Those   are   inscriptions!”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Brooke   shot   a   jet   of   water   from   one   finger,   spraywashing   the   dust   and   coated   grim   of   countless   ages   from   the   dry   stone. When   wet   it   gleamed   with   queer   and   lovely   colors,   hues   only   Forest   knew   names   for:   saffron   and   vermillion,   and   mauve,   and   cerulean   blue. The   scratches   proved   to   be   graven   deeply,   queer   angular   symbols   like   an   archaic   Norse   border.

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<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “These   are   runes.”   said   Ronnie   in   an   awed   voice.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Well,   for   all   the   help   they   are,   they   might   as   well   be   in   Chinese.”   snorted   Lara.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Aren’t runes   Teutonic?”   asked   Brooke.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Not   these.”   said   Ronnie,   eyes   gleaming. “These   aren’t   Germanic. These   are   Angerthas.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Either   way,   it   won’t   help   if   you   can’t   read   them.”   commented   Lara. “Unless   you   packed   a   Runic   ABC!”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   don’t   need   one.”   said   Ronnie. His   eyes   shed   a   faint   red   reflection   on   the   wet   stone. He   began   to   puzzle   them   out,   slowly,   haltingly.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Anyone   got   a   pencil?”   he   asked.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             A   chorous   of   “no”,   “nope,”   “what   do   we   look   like,   writers?”   and   so   on   followed   this   request.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Forest   produced   the   paintbrush.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Handy   thing,   that.”   commented   Ronnie. “Let’s   see…”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Forest   painted   on   the   stone   of   the   wall   the   values   of   the   runes   as   fast   as   Ronnie   read   them   out. They   all   stared   at   the   final   result   in   mounting   dismay:

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<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">ornavanaldarsilalungaarraaka   andovanolweanarkiarraak   kuluwenyalasseesilapollontuntillo   veiniquesemtintillyema ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             That   doesn’t   even   make   sense!”   wailed   Travel.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “It’s   all   run   together,   silly.”   said   Lara   impatiently. “But   it’s   still   in   some   unknown   language. Not   Spanish,   of   course…a   little   like   Latin,   but   too   flowery   somehow…”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Elvish.”   said   Ronnie   wearily.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You   mean   that   made-up   language   from   Lord   of   the   Rings? But   how’d   it   get   all   the   way   down…?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Tall   fair   trees   shall   bend   and   break ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Long   fair   limbs   will   rend   and   snap ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Gold-green   leaves   shall   limply   tumble ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">As   the   snow   upon   them   trembles.” ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Ronnie   said   in   a   strange   dreamy   voice.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “That’s   what   it   means?”   said   Bell.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Do   you   actually    speak   Elvish?”   Brooke   exclaimed.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “That’s   all?”   exploded   Lara. “All   that,   and   it’s   just    poetry??”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Did   you   expect   it   to   say,   ‘To   go   below   take   a   L   and   2nd   passage?”   Ronnie   said   with   heavy   irony. “Of   course    it’s   poetry. But   you   can   bet   they   carved   it   there   for   a   reason.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Yes,   but   is   it   any   help   to   us?”   pressed   Lara.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Ronnie   rubbed   his   forehead. “It’s   about   time   to   camp. We’ll   spend   the   night   here. Do   you   want   to   open   Arheled’s   food,   or   use   up   our   normal   human   food   first?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You’re   the   only   one   who   packed   anything   extensive.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Forest   wasn’t   listening   to   the   others. He   had   already   begun   digging   into   his   pack. The   first   day   they   had   all   discovered   their   packs   contained,   as   Arheled   promised,   an   old   tin   pail   and   a   sloshy   waterskin-bag. His   had   held   peanut-butter-and-jelly   sandwiches   at   lunch,   but   a   cheeseburger   at   supper,   with   banana   for   dessert. Now   when   he   opened   it   there   was   a   steaming   Styrofoam   cup   (and   fork)   full   of   beef   stew,   and   all   the   space   around   was   packed   with   cookies.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You   too?”   said   Bell. “Mine   had   cake. Trade   frosting   for   a   cookie?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Ronnie   called   him   over   after   they   had   eaten. The   second   door   was   still   untranslated. As   before,   Brooke   hosed   it   clean   and   Forest   painted   Ronnie’s   translation. He   wasn’t   surprised   when   the   result   was   another   mishmashed   jumble,   but   Ronnie   did   surprise   him   by   saying   it   was   not   Elvish.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What   is   it,   then?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   don’t   know.”   Ronnie   grumbled. “Could   be   Westron   or   Aduniac—it   has   that   harsh   slashing   feel. But   I   can   tell   you   what   it   means.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You—“   ''Translate   by   your   revealing-power? Cool! ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “It   is,   sometimes.”   Ronnie   agreed. “This   is   what   it   says:

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Of   old   was   an   age            when   was   emptiness ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">there   was   sand   nor   sea      nor   surging   waves ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">unwrought   was   Earth,      unroofed   was   Heaven ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">an   abyss   yawning,        an   ancient   chaos.” ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “This   is   the   way   that   we   must   go.”   said   Forest.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Yes,   the   mention   of   chaos—clear   enough,   I   should   think. Sounds   similar   to   the   Voluspa. But   I   doubt   they   read   it,   the   ones   who   carved   this.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Sleep   came   slowly. The   stone   was   hard   and   soon   Forest   ached   all   over,   but   he   was   tired,   and   at   last   his   body   let   go   of   the   living   world. He   walked   down   endless   gleaming   caves,   and   around   every   corner   he   kept   catching   a   glimpse   of   a   sedate   slow-pacing   queen   in   pearl-white,   long   luminous   hair   gleaming   gold   behind   her. But   he   never   caught   up.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             He   sat   up,   stiff   and   deadly   cold. Ronnie   was   shaking   the   others. The   cave   looked   unchanged,   the   deserted   halls   still   deserted. Then   he   realized   there   was   a   difference:   he   could   see   everything   around   him,   yet   everything   was   dark.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You   mind   giving   us   some   light,   Lara?”   said   Ronnie.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Then   it   actually   did   get   light   in   there—brighter,   that   is. I   can   see   in   the   dark,   Forest   realized. The   others   gathered   their   things,   grumbling   and   groaning,   but   oddly   their   shoes   spread   a   steady   strength   up   their   legs   as   they   walked. Nobody   was   hungry   right   then. Ronnie   took   them   under   the   second   arch   and   they   left   the   hall   behind.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             They   hadn’t   gone   far   before   they   came   to   a   fissure   that   split   the   floor. Forest   could   see   the   sides   going   down   for   an   eternity. Across   the   gap   was   a   dead-end:   the   roof   had   collapsed,   and   the   stone   had   buckled   inward.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “This   is   gonna   be   a   good   one.”   said   Ronnie.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “How   on   earth   are   we   getting   down   that?”   “I   don’t   suppose   anyone   brought   a   rope?”   Does   that   thing   even   have   a   bottom?”   the   others   were   all   saying   at   once.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Silence!”   Ronnie   shouted. “How   many   superpowers   do   we   have   here,   anyway? I   should   think   we   can   handle   it.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Oh,   please,   gimme   a   break.”   “Here   he   goes   again   with   the   boss   mode.”   “Silence.’   What   does   he   think   this   is,   a   movie?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Ronnie’s   eyes   glittered   dangerously. “Somebody   has   to   be   in   charge,   guys.”   he   protested. “We   can’t   just   keep   blundering   along   in   a   group.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “He’s   right.”   said   Forest. The   girls   all   turned   and   stared   at   him. “You   have   to   have   a   leader.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Oh,   and   I   suppose   you   want   an   election!”   said   Lara   sarcastically. “Boys.”   said   Travel. “Always   want   to   be   bossy.”   said   Brooke.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hey,   he’s   my   brother,   quit   picking   on   him.”   said   Bell.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Okay,   are   there   any   candidates?”   said   Ronnie,   talking   very   loud.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Will   you   stop   being   so   bossy?!”   Brooke   exclaimed.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Yeah,   it’s   not like   Arheled   made   you   king   or   something.”   Travel   said   irritably.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Really,   Ronnie,   you   have   got   to   stop   being   so   controlling.”   said   Lara   in   a   lofty   voice,   as   if   she   was   fifty   years   his   senior.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Rude.”   said   Bell.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Forest’s   eyes   glittered   with   a   brilliant   green   light. “Quit   picking   on   him!”   he   roared. “Who   put   you   girls   in   charge,   might   I   ask?! What   gives   you   the   right   to   put   us   down?!”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             There   was   dead   silence   for   about   five   seconds. Then   the   older   girls   were   shouting   at   Forest,   and   Brooke   was   being   condescending,   and   Bell   was   looking   from   one   to   another   with   a   flabbergasted   expression,   while   both   boys   stood   half-crouched,   fists   clenched,   red   and   green   fire   burning   in   their   eyes.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “If   that’s   the   way   you   want   to   do   it…!”   “You   boys   should   just   shut   up. Okay? It’s   not   like   you   have   any   real   powers.”   “Is   everybody   going   insane?! What   is   wrong   with   you?!”   “Hey,   unless   you   jerks   have   more   power   than   we   do,   just   tag   along   and   don’t   boss   us!”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “If   you   want   to   settle   it   this   way,   then….so….be…it.”   hissed   Ronnie   Wendy.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “But   Ronnie—you   don’t   have   any   powers—“   whispered   Forest. Lara   was   turning   blue. Green   and   blue   light   built   up   in   the   eyes   of   Brooke   and   Travel.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Red   lightning   sparked   about   the   head   of   Ronnie.    “I   am   Ronmond   Wendtho.”    he   said   in   a   voice   suddenly   as   deep   and   powerful   as   the   stone   on   which   they   stood. ''   “I   am   the   Hill   of   the   Road. If   you   think   you   are   stronger   than   me,   come   then   and   face   me!” ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Lara   said   no   word. From   her   hands   blazed   a   beam   of   intense   white,   cold   mingled   with   the   power   of   light   itself. Ronnie’s   hand   lifted,   palm   open   against   her. And   the   beam   of   her   power   died   and   expired on   his   hand.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You   are   the   Star. There   is   a   power   in   the   earth   that   the   Stars   cannot   touch. That   is   my   power. I   am   the   Hill,   and   the   hills   answer   to   me!”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   blue   light   of   Travel’s   power   encompassed   Ronnie. Suddenly   it   broke   as   she   reeled,   screaming. Green   mist   was   coming   from   Forest’s   mouth,   a   steady   wind   forcing   her   back. Tears   poured   from   her   eyes:   he   was   summoning   the   essence   of   onion. The   pale   boy   summoned   up   choloform   powers   from   sea   algae,   and   Travel   Lane   collapsed,   unconscious. Instantly   Forest   cleared   the   air:   too   much   exposure   had   been   known   to   be   fatal. Brooke   sent   water   fountaining   at   him,   but   he   vanished   and   she   could   not   find   him. Bell   was   screaming   at   everyone. Brooke   lent   her   power   to   Lara’s,   and   it   too   expired,   the   water   having   no   more   effect   on   Ronnie   than   the   Cold-power.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">   “Don’t   you   know   that   water   comes   out   of   the   earth?”   he   roared.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Forest,   invisible,   sent   the   green   mist   around   their   heads. Both   girls   crumpled. Breathing   hard,   Bell,   Forest   and   Ronnie   stared   at   one   another.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “That   was   creepy.”   moaned   Bell. “What   got   into   you   guys?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Whose   side   are   you   on,   Bell?”   said   Ronnie. “Must   we   fight   you,   too?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Oh,   right,   like   I   have   any   powers.”   she   retorted. “I   didn’t   start   this,   I’ll   have   you   know.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “We   really   need   a   leader.”   muttered   Forest.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Even   if   we   had   one,   this   sort   of   thing   would   still   happen.”   said   Ronnie. “A   leader   cannot   lead   the   rebellious. Forest,   wake   them   up. It   is   time   for   them   to   choose.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Are   you   sure   you   want   me   to?”   the   boy   said   dubiously.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “The   risk   has   to   be   run. They   are   our   sisters   of   the   Road,   after   all. Bring   them   round.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Forest   pulled   out   his   paintbrush.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What   are   you   doing?”   exclaimed   Ronnie.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Painting   a   way   down.”   the   boy   answered.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             His   brush   moved   and   swirled   through   the   air. A   hovering   platform   appeared   above   the   abyss,   with   seats   and   handles. Upon   it   he   painted   images   of   the   girls,   buckled   in. They   vanished,   reappearing   tied   in   place. Greeny-white   mist   floated   around   their   heads.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “They’ll   wake   up   slowly.”   he   said.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   remaining   three   stepped   onto   the   platform. It   began   to   sink   rapidly   into   the   depths   of   the   chasm. The   eddying   mists   of   light   from   the   battle   fell   behind   and   it   grew   completely   dark. Forest   waved   his   paintbrush   and   a   lantern   appeared. By   its’   light   they   could   see   rock   walls,   pale   pink   and   yellow,   flashing   by   like   a   river.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Uuhnng.”   groaned   Lara.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   feel   terrible.”   said   Brooke.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “My   head   hurts.”   complained   Travel.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “How   are   you   feeling?”   said   Ronnie   gravely.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Just   awful. What   happened?”   said   Brooke.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   have   the   strangest   impression   we   were   trying   to   kill   Ronnie. Was   I   dreaming?”   asked   Lara.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “No.”   said   Ronnie   very   quietly   and   grimly.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Oh   gosh.”   said   Lara.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Oh   my   goodness,   I’m   so   sorry!”   said   Travel,   alarmed. “We   didn’t,   like,   hurt   you,   did   we?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “The   Hill   of   the   Road   is   not   easy   to   kill.”   he   said. “In   case   you’re   wondering,   the   contrivance   is   Forest’s   work.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Um…thanks,   Forest.”   said   Lara   meekly.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Forest   made   no   sign   of   acknowledgement. He   and   Ronnie   stared   grimly   at   the   girls.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “There’s   still   an   issue   to   decide.”   said   Ronnie. “Who   is   in   charge? If   you   girls   are   in   a   rational   state   of   mind,   we’d   best   settle   that   now.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   still   don’t   like   being   bossed.”   muttered   Lara.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “It   is   a   good   point,   though.”   said   Travel. “I   mean,   say   we’re   attacked. Who   does   what? We’d   end   up   haywire.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   nominate   Lara.”   said   Brooke.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             You   would,   thought   Forest. “I   nominate   Ronnie.”   he   said   aloud.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Anyone   else   running? Or   is   this   going   to    be   a   Pirate   King   sort   of   vote?”   said   Brooke.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “A   what?”   said   Lara.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Y’see,”   said   Ronnie   in   a   Captain   Barbossa   voice,   “election   must   be   by   majority   vote,   and   every   pirate   votes   only   for   himself.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Is   that   out   of   some   movie   I   never   heard   of?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Your   fault,   you   should   watch   more   of   them.”   ribbed   Brooke. “That   was   Pirates   of   the   Caribbean.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Well,   I’m   not   out   for   leader.”   said   Travel.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Me   either.”   said   Bell. She   shot   a   mischievous   look   at   her   brother   “I   think   Forest   should   lead.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What??”   he   exclaimed,   appalled.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “He’d   be   great! He’d   just   say   nothing   and   we   can   do   whatever!”   crowed   Bell. Forest   waggled   his   paintbrush   at   her.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   vote   for   Forest.”   said   Ronnie,   grinning.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Traitor.”   Forest   muttered.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Okay,   seriously:   All   in   favor   of   Forest?”   said   Ronnie,   and   raised   his   hand. So   did   Bell. Nobody   else.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “All   in   favor   of   Lara?”   The   three   older   girls   shot   up   their   hands. Bell   sat   on   hers. Forest   and   Ronnie   made   no   sign.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   know   how   this   is   gonna   go.”   Ronnie   muttered. “All   in   favor   of   me?”   He   raised   his   own   hand   and   grinned.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Forest’s   hand   went   up.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Bell’s   hand   went   up.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Traitor!”   Brooke   accused.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hey,   I   wasn’t   trying   to   kill   Ronnie,   okay? We   owe   him   something.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Travel   shrugged.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “All   right,”   said   Ronnie,   “we   have   a   tie   between   me   and   Lara. What   should   we   do?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Fight   it   out?”   giggled   Brooke.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “We   tried   that.”   said   Lara.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Yeah,   who   won   in   that,   anyway?”   Travel   wanted   to   know.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Forest   did.”   said   Ronnie. “He   gassed   you   with   plant-essence.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   guess   we’ll   just   have   to   revote.”   said   Brooke.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “There’s   no   need.”   said   Travel   shyly. I   change   my   vote. I’ll   vote   for   Ronnie.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hey!”   growled   Lara.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   figure   he’s   just   going   to   boss   us   around   anyway,   he   might   as   well   do   it   legit.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “No   hard   feelings,   all   right,   Lara?”   said   Ronnie,   holding   out   his   hand.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             For   a   moment   Lara   looked   like   she   might   refuse. Finally,   and   reluctantly,   she   gave   Ronnie   her   hand,   not   meeting   his   eyes.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   platform   slowed   and   came   to   a   stop. “Looks   like   we’re   at   the   bottom.”   said   Ronnie.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             They   unbuckled   the   straps   and   jumped   down   lightly. It   felt   warmer   here. They   stood   in   utter   darkness,   but   when   Lara   tried   to   glow,   she   illumined   nothing. Behind   them   Forest   unpainted   the   hovering   platform.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Forest,   what   do   you   see?”   said   Ronnie.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   see   a   high   hall,”   Forest   said   slowly,   “wrought   with   power,   the   stone   walls   spelled,   though   with   pressure   they   buckle. Groins   rise   to   great   stone   knots   upholding   the   roof. The   stone   is   carved   like   curling   leaves,   detailed,   folding. On   the   far   wall   runes   are   written.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “He   can   see   in   the   dark??”   said   Lara   incredulously.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I’m   not   surprised.”   said   Bell.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             They   walked   through   the   strange   unseen   hall. Their   feet   raised   booming   echoes   that   rolled   away   muttering   in   the   roof. At   the   far   wall   Ronnie   halted. Lara   was   able   to   illumine   the   inscription,   but   to   everyone’s   surprise   Ronnie   no   longer   had   Forest   paint   the   translation   on   the   wall,   instead   reading   straight   from   the   runes:

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“The   leaden   clouds   did   the   earth   enshroud ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">And   rain   fell   raw   and   grey ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The   sere   sad   leaves   on   the   malvorn   trees ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Bereft   of   red   were   they. ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">A   crusted   yellow   and   a   bronze   unmellow ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">And   a   green   fading   away ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">And   the   swollen   streams   did   shake   bridge   beams ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">With   sullen   flood   all grey.” ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             A   curious   chill   fell   upon   them   at   those   strange   sad   words,   so   befitting   the   autumn   this   year   had   brought. Travel   was   shivering   as   they   pressed   on.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             This   led   them   to   the   mouth   of   a   grey   tunnel,   the   rock   of   which   smelled   queer   and   vinegary   like   the   Lost   Caves. It   slanted   sharply   downward,   the   broken   floor   bereft   of   dripstone:   granite   reigned   here. The   walls   were   visible   in   their   own   light,   but   it   was   not   a   pleasant   light:   a   pale   blueish   purple,   it   reminded   them   of   the   queer   dots   of   evil   light   from   phosphorescent   decaying   things   they   had   sometimes   seen   in   night   forests. A   sad   and   faintly   fetid   air   rose   up   from   the   pale   depths. As   they   went   farther   the   floor   became   less   broken,   until   they   were   upon   an   ancient   stair,   many   steps   still   shattered   or   dislocated,   but   still   steps.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Hours   passed   again   as   they   wended   down. Ever   the   rancid   coolness   of   the   air   pressed   on   them. The   passage   was   higher   now. Sometimes   they   passed   through   great   sunken   rooms   long   since   fallen   under   the   earth,   and   at   other   times   would   find   themselves   on   a   fragment   of   cobbled   street,   soon   buried   or   broken   off. Other   ruins   Forest   saw   in   the   shadows   of   the   great   rents   in   the   wall;   as   if   entire   cities   had   sunk   beneath   the   earth,   broken,   buried   yet   still   whole   and   hollow.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Awake,   fear,   fire,   foes,   awake.”   Ronnie’s   voice   teased. Forest   slowly   became   aware   of   his   surroundings. The   others   were   wearily   getting   to   their   feet. All   of   them   jaded   and   tired;   if   not   in   body   exactly,   due   to   the   magic   shoes   of   Arheled,   certainly   in   mind. Ronnie   was   as   tired   as   any   of   them,   to   judge   from   the   lines   under   his   eyes,   but   he   still   got   them   up   and   going.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What   day   is   it?”   Forest   said.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “The   17th   of   October,   as   best   I   can   figure   it.”   Ronnie   answered. “I   have   no   idea   how   far   we   are,   either.”   Miles   were   hard   to   estimate   when   Travel   teleported   everyone   whenever   she   could   see   ahead. It   was   several   days   since   they   had   begun   encountering   the   ruins,   that   much   Forest   was   certain.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             He   plodded   on,   the   strange   inscription   they   had   translated   yesterday—or   was   it   the   day   before?—still   throbbing   in   his   head.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">From   the   South   shall   come   the   giant   of   old ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">and   shield   of   stone   before   him   hold; ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">the   Serpent   that   the   world   doth   bind ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">in   towering   wrath   shall   him   unwind ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">and   move   the   Circled   Seas   profound ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">till   all   is   loosed   that   once   was   bound. ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Then   Surtar   from   the   South   shall   fare ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">and   tree-devouring   fire   shall   bear; ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">the   hills   of   stone   shall   bend   their   heads ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">all   men   the   paths   of   death   shall   tread, ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">and   from   the   cloven   heavens   all ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">the   gleaming   stars   shall   flee   and   fall ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             He   knew   these   inscriptions   were   not   random. Whoever   had   carved   them   in   various   ages   of   the   past,   some   hand   had   guided   them,   some   one   had   whispered   to   them:   they   were   left   there   as   signs,   as   warnings   and   as   guides   for   the   Children   of   the   Road.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             As   they   marched   on,   down   the   sloping   street   with   the   petrified   houses   emerging   from   the   walls,   Forest   was   aware   that   at   last   there   was   a   change. Air   was   moving. They   rounded   a   curve   and   found   themselves   on   the   edge   of   a   great   rambling   chamber.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Huge   roots   of   stone   upheld   the   distant   roof. Piers   of   rugged   shape   split   up   the   cave   into   long   winding   sections. A   faint   sad   light   filled   the   air. And   upon   the   cavern   floor   was   a   city   built   of   stone.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             As   if   it   had   slid   down   for   fathomless   miles,   shedding   parts   along   the   way,   before   finally   resting   here,   that   city   seemed. Angular   houses,   with   triangular   peaked   roofs   and   columned   porches,   houses   whose   very   beams   were   long   cut   stones,   filled   the   silent   streets. There   was   a   sad   and   awful   grandeur   about   them   that   seemed   somehow   both   lofty   and   harsh,   like   a   city   of   cold   kings   who   had   fallen   into   dark   ways. It   mounted   steeply   up   the   walls,   houses   tilted   perpendicular   to   the   ground,   till   they   fell   in   and   only   foundations   mounted   the   walls. The   very   sight   of   it   filled   all   six   of   them   with   dread.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Do   we   have   to   go   through   that?”   said   Lara.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Unless   you   want   to   bore   a   shaft   straight   down,   yes.”   Ronnie   answered.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   don’t   like   it.”   said   Forest. It   has   an   evil   look.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Down   the   shattered   streets   they   picked   their   way. Travel   offered   to   teleport   them   but   Ronnie   shook   his   head. “Remember   that   dream   Forest   had.”   he   said.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Forest   winced;   he   had   almost   forgotten   it. He   wished   everyone   else   would,   too,   but   Ronnie   had   read   it   in   his   mind   and   judged   it   important   enough   to   tell   the   others   about.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             He   had   been   standing   on   a   high   shelf   above   a   bowl-shaped   land. Below   him   a   ruined   city   lay,   like   a   pancake   dropped   into   a   bowl,   silent   and   dead;   but   above   it   was   a   curious   sky   of   tossing   streaming   red,   equally   quiet. He   knew   he   had   to   go   down   there,   but   he   stood   on   the   shelf,   delaying   as   long   as   possible. In   the   very   middle   of   the   stone   city,   the   lowest   point,   lay   the   passage   he   had   to   take;   but   like   ghosts   and   ancient   shadows,   he   felt   rather   than   saw   that   the   old   houses   were   haunted   by   things   for   which   he   had   no   name:   creeping   shapes   of   formless   fear.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   city   below   was   not   much   like   the   one   in   his   dream. The   odd   high-pointed   shapes   of   the   once-beautiful   houses   and   the   curving   spires   of   innumerable   turrets,   as   well   as   great   palaces   and   mansions   more   or   less   collapsed,   were   pale   and   silent,   but   not   brooding   with   dead   malevolence. The   broken   walls   they   passed   concealed   no   shadows   of   dread. And   yet   he   felt,   and   knew   the   others   felt,   that   the   place   was   somehow   essentially   wrong. A   clattering   sound   from   the   streets   below   made   them   all   jump:   but   it   was   only   some   crumbling   outwork,   no   longer   able   to   sustain   its’   own   weight,   perhaps,   now   fallen   to   pieces.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Ronnie   came   to   a   sudden   halt. Scrawled,   as   it   were,   on   one   of   the   rough   faces   of   decaying   masonry   from   which   all   polish   had   long   since   crumbled   away,   were   scratched   letters   in   the   stone. Curling   letters   that   formed   a   beautiful   yet   archaic   script.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   know   those!”   exclaimed   Brooke.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Yes,”   said   Ronnie,   “they   are   tengwar,   the   Elf-letters   in   the   Feanorean   script. Primitive   graffiti,   perhaps? I   doubt   it. These   were   traced   here   long   after   the   city’s   sinking,   or   they   would   have   crumbled   with   the   polish.”   He   rubbed   the   stone   surface   with   his   hand;   round   grains   fell   away   like   sand. “Marble,   I’m   guessing. I’ve   seen   them   go   to   sugar   like   this   in   old   cemetaries   after   acid   rain   got   at   them. Was   it   abandoned   before   it   sunk   below? Or   was   it   merely   falling   to   ruin?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   thought   acid   rain   was   caused   by   pollution.”   said   Brooke.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Do   you   seriously   think   we’re   the   first   civilization   to   invent   poisoned   smoke?”   said   Ronnie   dryly. “Even   in   the   Third   Age   Saruman   was   doing   it. How   do   we   know   what   ancient   peoples   might   have   burned?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “But   what   does   it   say?”   said   Brooke.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Shehánotís   dhormí   dormbo   antha   Senyartha ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Esnon   vendon   nemh   vind   verlengenaes   sentha ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Porthou   ponsen   nemh   ens   enhí   olms   tívinda ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Enhye   inthintan   fark   nemhí   olmes   enarmbaen ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Enardgrogenes   flithen   enhar   thes   daon ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Emta   Londo   dachaldesûs   tíar   land   hye.” <span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">   Ronnie   murmered.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “That   does   not   sound   like   Elvish.”   said   Bell.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Nor   is   it.”   said   Ronnie. “It’s   Arheled’s   tongue. The   one   that   the   Password   of   the   Doors   of   Night   used. You   know,   venda   and   Arheledenvendonwendo? This   is   what   it   says,   as   best   I   can   fit   it   into   English.”   He   began   to   recite   in   a   mournful   dreamy   voice:

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Unhappy   is   men’s   lot   in   Middle-earth ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Who   never   can   they   see   the   seasons   pass ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Save   when   they   lift   their   heads   to   look   around ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">And   rest   a   moment   from   their   toil   long ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Before   they   bow   their   heads   and   labor   on 

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">And   the   years   flicker   on   and   are   then   gone ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Until   God   takes   us   to   our   long   and   lonely   rest.” ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “That   is   so…pensive.”   said   Brooke. “So   melancholoy. It’s   almost   like   a   dying   man’s   lament.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “More   of   the   moan   of   the   man   who   has   to   work   and   has   no   time   to   appreciate   or   notice   the   season   around   him.”   murmered   Ronnie. “I   have   felt   it   too,   that   wistful   sorrow. Who   wrote   it   here,   I   wonder,   in   the   long   and   distant   days   before   the   city   sunk   into   the   earth?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             They   proceeded   on   downhill   in   silence. Around   them   the   dead   city   was   utterly   quiet. Not   even   the   trickle   of   water   came   to   their   ears,   and   their   shuffling   footsteps   on   the   earthen   dust   of   the   sloping   streets   made   harsh   loud   echoes   in   the   walls. As   they   went   farther   down   the   slope   lessened,   until   the   houses   no   longer   looked   like   dislocated   growths   jutting   at   an   angle   from   the   ground   but   merely   tilted. What   bizarre geologic   phenomenon   had   caused   the   city   to   slid   intact   this   far   down   was   something   nobody   could   explain.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Unless   it   never   slid.”   speculated   Bell. “Maybe   the   earth   folded   upward   around   it. Like   when   you   close   a   book.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             In   the   dim   twilight   that   lit   the   broken   city,   the   windows   of   the   cracked   houses   with   their   round   arches   looked   like   mournful   eyes. There   were   no   doors;   either   they   had   fallen   out   or   had   long   since   rotted   away. Inside   it   was   utterly   black   to   the   others,   but   to   Forest   it   was   merely   dim.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Forest,   what   do   you   see?”   Ronnie   said.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Motionless   shapes,   hard   to   label;   figures   they   might   be,   or   household   idols—they   have   a   hostile   look. They   do   not   move. But   something   about   them   feels.” ''   Feels   unright. Feels   bad. ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Unright   and   bad.”   Ronnie   finished   for   him. “I   felt   it   too. We   should   avoid   making   noise.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             So   they   advanced   through   the   silent   city. High   proud   houses   filed   past   them. Dark-eyed   doorways   and   windows   watched   them. The   air   was   probably   warm   enough,   but   it   felt   cold;   a   cold   more   of   the   heart   than   the   flesh. It   smelled   dusty   and   stony,   somehow. The   sharp   turrets   and   broader   towers   stood   wan   against   the   lead-blue,   overhanging   shapes   of   the   far   stone   roof,   like   a   hovering   unmoving   sky.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Here.”   Ronnie   said   softly,   pointing   to   a   huge   shard   of   tumbled   masonry,   lying   intact   upon   the   road:   more   Elven   letters   could   be   seen,   these   ones   not   scratched   but   graven   deeply,   showing   no   erosion:   this   must   have   been   an   interior   wall. Above   them   was   a   tottering   palace:   the   buildings   had   grown   grander   and   more   magnificent   the   farther   down   they   went,   and   the   street   was   broad   and   paved   with   flat   square   slabs   set   as   skillfully,   once,   as   if   they   were   poured   concrete;   though   sadly   broken   and   tilted   now. Nothing   grew   in   the   cracks,   not   even   litchen   or   the   sunless   fungi   of   underground. Ronnie   read   aloud,'' ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“The   Great   Gods   then    began   their   toil, ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">the   wondrous   world   they   well   builded. ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">They   hall   and   hallow   high   uptowering, ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">gleaming-gabled,   golden-posted, ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">rock-hewn   ramparts   reared   in   splendor, ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">forge   and   fortress   framed   immortal. ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Unmarred   their   mirth   in   many   a   court, ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">where   men   they   made   of   their   mind’s   cunning; ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">under   hills   of   Heaven   on   high   builded ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">they   lived   in   laughter   long   years   hence. ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Dread   shapes   arose   from   the   dim   spaces ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">over   sheer   mountains   by   the   Shoreless   Sea: ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Friends   of   darkness,   foes   immortal, ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">old,   unbegotten,   out   of   ancient   void. ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">To   the   world   came   war;   the   walls   of   Gods ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">by   giants   beleaguered;   joy   was   ended.” ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Forest   as   he   listened   caught   a   faint   motion   in   the   corner   of   his   eye. He   did   not   turn. He   knew   perfectly   well   that   if   he   did   he   would   see   nothing. The   stir   in   the   darkness   ended   even   as   Ronnie   ceased   speaking.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I like   that.”   said   Bell. “Old,   unbegotten…ooh,   gives   me   shivers. What   was   it   about?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “In   the   Norse,”   said   Ronnie,   “the   void   begot   everything. The   river   that   flows   in   an   endless   circle   around   the   flat   world   piled   layers   of   rime   at   its’   edges;   and   the   rime   blinked,   and   rose   to   its’   unimaginable   feet,   Ymir   the   first   of   the   Frost-giants. The   Gods   he   budded   off   of   his   feet,   and   the   Giants   from   his   hands;   and   he   hated   the   Gods   for   their   perfection   of   being   while   he   was   monstrous,   and   when   he   came   against   them,   they   overthrew   him.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “From   his   bones   of   rock   they   forged   the   earth;   from   his   crystal   skull   they   built   the   Sky;   from   his   water-blood   they   poured   the   Seas. I   can’t   remember   how   they   were   supposed   to   have   made   the   Sun,   or   the   Moon   for   that   matter;   they   just   refer   to   the   heavenly   bodies   as   being   adrift,   likely   as   old   as   the   world. But   I   do   know   that   from   the   leftover   material,   in   answer   to   the   Giants,   they   forged   the   Dwarves,   Durin   chief,   and   gave   to   them   runes   of   power   to   fight   with   the   giants.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “So   the   giants…”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “The   Gods   are   wise   and   take   thought   for   men;   the   Giants   hate,   seek   to   hoard   and   all   else   destroy,   and   if   ever   they   build   a   dire   price   drive   they. Yet   in   the   end   the   Giants   will   be   aided   by   the   Damned   and   by   the   various   Monsters   of   evil:   the   Wolf   Gram   and   the   Midgard   Serpent,   and   will   amass   such   power   as   to   cast   down   the   Gods   themselves. Against   this   day   the   Gods   hoard   heros,   that   somehow   by   some   chance   they   may   yet   bring   something   out   of   the   doom   that   is   certain   to   befall   them. Though   the    Voluspa   does   look   beyond   the   end   of   the   world,   to   a   day   of   remaking,   it   may   well   be   inferred   that   this   is   a   later   development   in   Norse   thought,   influenced   by   rumors   of   the   new   creed   in   the   south,   and   not   part   of   the   old   tales   at   all.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Those   Gods   sound   like   Arheled.”   said   Bell.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Oh,   they   weren’t   much   alike,   no.”   said   Ronnie. “More   like   a   cross   with   the   Wild   Man. Rough,   almost   barbaric,   wise   but   brutal,   often   faithless:   not   a   canny   bunch   by   any   means. I   prefer   Tolkien’s   version.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   streets   by   now   were   completely   level. The   stone   buildings   tilted   no   longer. Majestic   they   were,   towering   hundreds   of   feet,   airy   and   graceful. Many   of   them   stood   above   the   streets   on   vast   curving   pylons,   arched like   the   roots   of   some   formalized   tree,   extending   beyond   the   base. Crystal   panes—not   glass,   even   Travel   could   tell   that—glinted   sadly   in   their   numerous   windows. But   all   the   carvings   were   gargoylic   in   nature;   well   done   but   grotesque,   expressions   of   woe   or   evil   glee   or   a   vast   unfathomed   sadness   dominating   their   trollish   faces. Every   door   was   so   framed   by   countless   curving   patterns   as   to   resemble   ancient   mouths,   frozen   open. And   in   the   depths   of   those   rooms   the   darkness   was   unstill.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “How   are   we   going   to   know   which   way   is   down?”   said   Lara. An   undertone   of   brittle   anxiety   belied   her   snappishness.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “It’ll   be   the   one   place   they   try   to   stop   us   from   reaching.”   said   Ronnie   grimly.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “They?”   quavered   Travel.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Can’t   you   feel   them?”   murmered   Ronnie. “They   do   not   move,   but   they   are   there,   and   they   know   that   we   are   aware.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   girls   said   nothing,   but   pressed   closer   together   the   farther   they   walked. Ahead   the   straight   street   divided   around   a   dark   edifice:   a   triumphral   arch,   two   massive   posts   of   masonry   and   a   single   high   arch,   turrets   crowning   it. But   where   that   arch   should   have   shown   through   it   the   silent   street   running   beyond,   there   was   an   opaque   shadow. And   in   that   shadow   reflections   flickered,   as   if   a   subterran   fire   was   reflecting   off   the   very   darkness   itself.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “That   is   the   way.”   said   Ronnie   in   a   heavy   voice.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Yes,”   said   Forest   faintly,   “that’s   the   opening   I   felt   in   my   dream.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Lara’s   flesh   began   to   turn   blue   and   her   eyes   gleamed   like   diamond   flames. In   the   eyes   of   the   others   light   began   to   glimmer   in many   hues,   red   and   violet,   green   and   blue.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Forest   and   Lara,   face   the   rear.”   ordered   Ronnie   in   the   cold   voice   of   one   preparing   for   battle. “Brooke,   keep   your   eyes   on   the   left. Travel,   the   right. We’ll   skirt   the   buildings. Beware   the   doorways.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   could   just   teleport   us.”   she   said.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Before   Ronnie   could   answer,   a   blinding   light   erupted   in   front,   between   them   and   the   arch. Brooke   and   Bell   and   Travel   howled   and   covered   their   eyes;   and   their   hands   became   transparent,   and   their   lids   became   trans[aren’t   for   the   sheer   brilliance   of   the   glare. Ronnie   alone   did   not   flinch,   did   not   even   blink. His   revealing-power   would   no   longer   permit   anything   to   obscure   his   eyes,   save   only   darkness. And   giving   off   that   light   he   beheld   a   yellow   dragon.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Light-dragon!” <span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">   his   voice,   swelling   suddenly   to   a   titanic   boom,   rang   in   that   silent   tomb   like   the   end   of   the   world. ''“I   can   see   you. Your   glare   cannot   hide   you.” ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   glare   was   switched   off. Forest   had   painted   welding-goggle   visors   around   all   their   heads,   save   Ronnie’s;   and   the   girls   were   recovering. Between   them   and   the   gate,   shockingly   brilliant   in   that   dim   blue   and   grey   place,   coiled   a   gigantic   dragon   all   bright   yellow   and   gold. Its’   features   were   feminine   and   intelligent. When   it   spoke,   Brooke   gave   a   little   gasp:   the   voice   was   a   girl’s,   though   with   an   overpowering   brilliance   of   tone.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You   have   good   eyes,   kiddo. But   not   good   enough   to   save   you.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   world   was   swallowed   in   blinding   whirling   light. It   sliced   down   upon   them   like   blades   of   burning   steel,   both   solid,   sharp   and   hot. The   wrists   of   all   six   Children   lifted   of   themselves. Upon   their   hands   the   queer   tattoo-like   stains   glowed   white. Shields   of   white   energy   broke   every   blade,   and   stabbing   lances   of   white   pierced   through   the   whirling   blades   of   light. Back   and   ever   back   they   pressed   the   Light-dragon.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What   sort   of   f-ing   weapons   are   those?”   she   yelped,   trying   to   put   up   shields   of   solid   light. It   was   horribly   jolting   to   hear   such   modern   obscenities   from   a   fantastic   and   even   medieval   creature.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Weapons   forged   by   the   Stars,   wedded   to   their   users.”   said   Ronnie.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   Light-dragon   moved   at   the   speed   of   light. The   Children   were   sent   flying   as   by   a   thunderbolt;   only   the   reflexes   of   their   weapons   protected   them   from   her   claws   and   blades.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Forest   lifted   his   paintbrush   and   began   to   paint.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   Light   Dragon   slammed   into   view,   painted   motionless. Her   mouth   tried   to   work. Her   eyes   tried   to   twitch.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Vanessa!”   the   voice   of   Ronnie   roared. “Look   upon   my   eyes,   and   gaze   into   their   depths!”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   dragon’s   eyes   met   those   of   Ronnie   Wendy. So   bright   burned   the   red   flame   in   them   it   lit   the   leaden   town   a   ghastly   scarlet. Dragon-spell   strove   against   the   revealing   power. Slowly   her   eyes   wavered,   horror   mounting   in   them. She   shrank. Her   tail   and   limbs   writhed   and   retracted. A   girl   stood   there,   gold   hair   lank   and   filthy   her   only   covering. Forest   looked   away. The   girls   stared   in   horror   and   pity. Ronnie   didn’t   notice:   all   his   will   was   bent   upon   her   eyes. She   began   to   scream. Torment   distorted   her   face   like   the   faces   of   the   damned. And   she   fell   down   dead   upon   the   stones.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Someone   cover   her.”   said   Ronnie,   his   voice   hoarse   with   exhaustion. Lara   drew   a   sheet   of   opaque   ice   over   the   pitiful   body.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   knew   her.”   Brooke   was   saying   blankly. “She   was   my   friend. I   knew   her.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What   on   earth    did   you    do   to   her?”   Lara   wanted   to   know.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Ronnie’s   eyes,   bleared   and   bruised   with   tiny   flecks   of   red   dotting   the   bagged   skin   beneath   them,   looked   into   hers. “I   revealed   her   to   herself.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Oh   my   God.”   whispered   Travel.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “She   had   no   God   in   her.”   Ronnie   croaked. “She   could   not   bear   it. The   knowledge   killed   her.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Ronnie,   you   are   a…very   terrible   person,   did   you   know   that?”   said   Lara   tartly.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Travel,   take   us   into   the   arch.”   said   Ronnie.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             All   around   them   the   darkness   was   stirring. They   no   longer   needed   the   corners   of   their   eyes   to   see   them. Shapes   dimly   guessed   at,   the   very   guessing   of   which   made   their   blood   go   cold,   moved   in   the   shadows. Outlines   of   houses   began   to   fluctuate.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Quickly.”   he   added.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Blue   shadows   flashed   in   their   eyes,   and   then   they   stood   just   before   the   arch. Like   a   pit   yawned   the   head   of   the   great   winding   slope   of   jagged   rubble,   lit   from   underneath   with   an   eerie   orange   light. The   air   rising   from   it   was   perceptibly   warmer,   and   it   bore   a   weird   pungency,   like   hot   metal   and   burnt   hair. Down   the   stones   they   sprang. The   wan   opening   behind   them   swarmed   with   shadowy   shapes. Lara   whirled   and   sealed   it   with   a   blast   of   icy   lightning. Entombed   in   the   huge   spiky   iceball   were   shapes   out   of   nightmares,   which   were   too   queer   to   identify   yet   froze   the   heart   to   glimpse. Then   Travel   had   teleported   them   to   the   bottom   of   the   rockslope,   and   the   hideous   forms   could   no   longer   be   seen.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   orange   glow   beat   up   from   a   fountain   of   water   in   the   center   of   a   great   ledge   under   the   city. Beyond   it,   lit   for   a   great   distance,   were   falling   abysses,   cliffs   and   ledges,   possibly   vast   drops   such   as   would   overthrow   the   mind   that gazed   too   long   down   into   them. It   was   very   queer   water,   for   besides   its’   bright   orange   luminosity   it   seemed   somehow   thicker   than   water   ought   to   be.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Twenty   dragons   that   were   gazing   into   its’   depths   looked   up,   in   time   to    be   sliced    into   pieces   by   ice   and   blades   of   water   and   teleported   asunder. Travel   transported   them   to   the   brink.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Ooh…”   she   moaned   at   the   first   glimpse. She   swayed. Quickly   the   others   grabbed   her   and   helped   her   to   a   seat. “I’m   sorry,”   she   kept   saying   over   and   over,   “I   don’t   know   what   came   over   me. I’m   not   usually   scared   of   heights.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Ronnie   and   Forest   whirled,   scanning   the   stark   orange   recesses   of   the   chasm. Above   their   heads   was   the   floor   of   the   city,   a   great   jagged   roof   of   several   immense   hills   of   cracked   rock   leaning   on   each   other.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “There!”   Ronnie’s   voice   cracked. His   eyes   were   still   puffy,   but   his   energy   seemed   to   have   returned.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   see   him.”   said   Forest.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Coiling   serpents   of   flame-colored   vines   leaped   out   of   the   stones,   dragging   into   view   a   large   struggling   dragon. It   had   blue   scales,   with   a   belly   of   gold,   and   paler   bands   of   blue   upon   its’   legs;   its’   wings,   beating   uselessly,   were   gold   and   red.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Dragon-spell.”   said   Ronnie. “You’ll   be   all   right   in   a   few   minutes.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   dragon   glowed   blue   and   vanished.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “There!”   shouted   Travel,   pointing. All   of   them   whirled   to   face   it. The   dragon   had   appeared   behind   the   fountain. It   froze,   dashing   against   them   like   a   shower   of   knives. Every   shard   turned   to   vapor   as   Lara   acted. Out   of   the   dragon   a   steady   blast   of   blue   light   was   coming:   ice-power. But   Lara   was   catching   the   power-beam   with   one   hand,   absorbing   it   into   herself.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Nice   trick,   little   girl.”   the   dragon’s   voice   mocked. It   was   cocky   and   boastful,   a   human   voice   save   for   the   frozen   edge   to   it. “But   I   am   too   strong   for   such   things. That   bolt   was   aimed   for   Ronnie.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   know   you,   Dave,   though   I   never   saw   your   face.”   said   Ronnie.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Yeah,   you   walked   off   with    my   girl,   didn’t   you,   got   her   to   dump   me,   gave   her   a   little   magic   umbrella   to   keep   her   safe. Wouldn’t   you   like   to   know   how   that   worked   out?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What   did   you   do   to   her?”   said   Ronnie,   his   voice   ominously   quiet.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “That   umbrella   wasn’t   enough,   loser-face.”   the   dragon   Dave   sneered. “I   took   her. I   [at   this   point   he   grew   so   explicit   and   crude   the   words   refused   to   register   in   their   heads,   cutting   like   barbed   knives]. Oh,   she   can   be   such   a   little   whore   when   she   gets   hot.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Don’t   Ronnie.”   said   Lara. “Even   the   earth   is   vulnerable   to   frost. And   he   is   not   of   the   Stars.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   dragon   laughed   as   he   breathed   ice   again,   greater   than   before. But   it   swerved   as   Lara   drew   it   into   herself. Greater   and   greater   grew   the   ice-blast,   but   still   it   vanished   into   Lara’s   hand   without   effect.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Keep   breathing,   Ice   Dragon.”   she   said   in   a   passionless   voice. “I   am   greater   than   you. You   generate   cold…but   I   am   the   cold.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   dragon   was   beginning   to   look   alarmed. He   was   unable   to   stop   breathing   ice. Lara   was   sucking   it   out   of   him   faster   than   his   icy   body   could   produce   it,   drawing   it   from   his   bones   and   his   blood. He   gave   a   gargled   cry;   he   began   to   shrink   and   change,   until   he   was   no   longer   a   dragon,   but   a   man   on   all   fours,   and   he   was   naked. The   girls   grimaced   and   looked   away;   so   did   the   boys. It   was   not   just   his   exposure   that   nauseated   them;   it   was   the   sight   of   what   was   happening   to   him.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Lara   was   withdrawing   all   cold   from   his   body. His   skin   flushed   red. His   eyes   bulged. His   breath   came   short   and   gasping. Sweat   poured   from   him   like   rain,   and   the   sour   steamy   smell   made   the   girls   cough. Then   the   sweat   slowed. Patches   of   white   began   to   appear,   and   spread,   until   he   was   as   pale   as   a   sheet   and   every   breath   was   a   struggle. He   writhed   on   his   belly. His   tongue,   swollen   and   dark   red,   slowly   crept   from   his   open   mouth. Then   with   a   sudden    whomp   he   spontaneously   combusted,   and   burned   like   a   torch;   he   could   not   cry,   for   he   had   breathed   in   flame. A   queer   half-pleasant   odor   of   cooked   human   meat,   not   unlike   steak,   rose   to   their   nostrils;   quickly   followed   by   an   overwhelming   stench   of   burnt   meat   and   melting   animal   fat. Travel   seized   them   in   her   power   and   they   teleported   to   the   bottom   of   the   abyss.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Lara.”   said   Ronnie   dryly   as   they   reappeared,   “you   are   a   very   terrible   person.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Why,   thank   you   so   much.”   she   said   sweetly. “You   ought   to   be   grateful.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Yes,   I   daresay   having   to   do   another   Stare   so   soon   might   be   a   bit   much.”   he   agreed.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Oh,   shut   up,   you   know   you   wanted   to   kill   him   yourself.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Ronnie   nodded   gravely. “I   did.”   he   said. “Thank   you,   Lara.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   bottom   of   the   abyss   was   filled   with   a   cold   blue   light,   making   the   white   rock   rising   up   on   every   hand   to   the   feet   of   the   vast   ragged   cliffs,   look   like   they   were   in   a   cave   of   ice. No   gleam   of   the   fountain   reached   this   far   down. In   one   slope   was   a   gap   between   two   huge   toes   of   rising   cliff;   and   up   from   it   breathed   a   stronger   and   steamier   smell. No   other   opening   was   visible.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Lara   shed   a   beam   of   light   into   it. It   struck   nothing. Forest   leaned   in   and   reported   that   it   opened   on   a   vast   nothingness.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “All   right,   Mr.   Leader,”   said   Lara   brightly,   “what   should   we   do   now?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Time   for   Forest’s   magical   hovering   platform   rides,   two   dollars   a   ticket,   step   right   up.”   said   Ronnie   with   a   half   smile.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Wait.”   said   Forest. “There’s   something…carved   over   the   mouth.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “It   must   be   spell-concealed.”   muttered   Ronnie. “Even   I   cannot   see   it. Paint   it   for   me.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Doing   so,   they   realized   at   once   that   these   were   different   letters   entirely. Not   runes,   nor   Elf-letters,   but   a   harsh   angular   alphabet   that   looked   vaguely   like   Greek.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Phoenician…or   even   older.”   Ronnie   mused. A   red   light   flickered   in   his   eyes. “It   reads:

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">A   house   there   is   that   sees   no   sun ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">dark-builded   on   the   beaches   dun ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">where   cold   waves   wash   the   Deadly   Shore ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">and   northward   looks   its’   shadowy   door; ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">the   louver   poisoned   rain   lets   fall ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">of   woven   serpents   in   the   wall.” ''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Is   that   what   lies   within   there?”   quavered   Bell.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Perhaps…perhaps   not.”   said   Ronnie. “Still,   it   won’t   hurt   to   be   on   guard.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Forest   painted   another   platform   and   they   strapped   themselves   in. They   floated   down   through   the   mouth   and   into   the   black   cavern   underneath. Lara   shed   a   mightier light   than   before,   till   she   looked   as   radiant   as   a   star.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             It   lit   up   a   land   of   bones.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Far,   far   beneath   them,   white   bones   of   gigantic   creatures   lay   in   ordered   rows. Some   were   mostly   manlike,   bipedal,   with   one   or   more   arms;   but   others   were   monstrous,   legs   and   arms   in   insane   positions   like   the   anatomy   of   a   nightmare;   some   with   no   heads   but   a   mouth   of   teeth   between   long   arms,   some   with   only   one   eye-socket   in   their   deformed   skulls;   some   had   several   faces   at   mutated   angles,   some   had   plural   heads,   and   worst   of   all   one   had   his   head   growing   from   his   pelvic   cage,   like   an   obscene   growth. They   must   have   been   like   walking   cliffs   when   they   stood   erect.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What   on   earth…”   whispered   Lara.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Oh   no.”   muttered   Ronnie. “Oh   no.   Now   I   know   where   we   are.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Where?”   said   Bell.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Tartarus.”   he   whispered. “This   is   the   prison   of   the   Titans. We   have   to   get   through   here   fast.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What’s   the   hurry?”   said   Lara,   craning   over   the   side. “They’re   all   dead.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “No,”   said   Ronnie. “They   are   not.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   hovering   platform,   which   could   only   move   up   or   down,   stopped. The   light   of   Lara   filled   the   immense   chamber   from   end to   end. “Yes,   in   my   book   bones   are   usually   dead.”   she   retorted.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Look   closer.”   said   Ronnie. “There,   on   that   one-eyed   skull. Do   you   see   it?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             All   of   them   peered   down   at   the   skull   directly   under   them. “Do   you   see   that   red   fuzz,   like   an   eerie   mold? It   is   growing. Flesh   is   bubbling   out   of   their   bones,   growing   thicker,   spreading   like   fungus. The   nearness   of   their   Lord   is   bringing   the   Frost-giants   back   to   life.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Can   we   stop   them?”   said   Lara.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “No.”   said   Ronnie. “Their   life   is   part   of   the   bones   of   the   Earth. Unless   the   very   Earth   were   to   be   destroyed,   not   even   your   Cold   could   retard   their   growth.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Shivering,   Lara   illumined   the   miles   of   Tartarus,   seeking   for   a   way   past. Far   below   them   the   red   flesh   like   fungus   spread   over   the   bones   of   the   giants,   slow   but   inevitable. She   made   out   at   last   a   deeper   pit   within   the   pit,   and   there   Travel   took   them. As   they   had   hoped   it   was   a   vertical   shaft,   winding   like   a   drain   down   into   the   depths   of   the   world.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

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