Part 19 (1/2)
”A one to Dobanpu Spirit-Speaker Yet he was not as swift on his feet as you Will you take another e?”
Wobeku's s discontent that a child could have seen Seyganko did not smile back Whatever Wobeku had in mind, it demanded his presence here-which did not prove it unlawful, of course
It was part of the price for the title of Honored One a one's back to treachery lest one do injustice to loyal warriors was a sacred duty Spirits, as well as wronged kin, hter of Dobanpu, will tell you what to say”
Eed, not to er nod, then unbind his feet, set aside all garb and girding save for his headdress, loinguard, and paint, then run He was beyond the huts in a few breaths, outside the village wall in a fewstopped
By then, the hearthfield was eanko, and Emwaya From cracks in the nearest huts, children peered, too curious to be frightened even if the earth was spewing spirit-serpents More young ones seeanko heard theirrumble from underfoot as the earth trembled and the hearthstone that had stood for five an to crack apart
Even Conan's eyes took a moment to respond to the sudden darkness For ain quick pants like those of a thirsty dog She was co herself well in the face of this new menace, but could not hide all of her disquiet
Cro in Ciht have volleyed oaths It see with the away each promise of escape the moment they had come to trust themselves to it
”Mitra's crown!” Valeria snapped ”If this is the work of the folk above, they'd best be very friendly e appear Otherwise, I'll not be”
Conan only grunted She had spoken for both of theht not only be unfriendly, theyear to what lay below
He also did not trust this pit's walls to stand firm if shaken by loud noises Not that they would remain unshaken if he and Valeria continued to cli closed But it made little sense to shake them otherwise
A moment later, Conan knew that his caution had had no purpose A thunderclap tore at his ears, earth streaht reappeared above Then a chunk of stone the size of a good ale barrel plummeted past hiainst his chest, then flung hiht save therapes in a winepress by the next stone
The wall that had see as the stone of the tunnels below Conan groped with a free hand and felt ers
Perhaps there was rock under the soil Perhaps roots had bound the soil as hard as rock And perhaps the binding was ical, and if the spells vanished, the whole shaft would come down on their heads
Another, smaller piece of stone caravel It caled with clods of earth Dust filled the shaft; Conan clapped his free hand over his face, and Valeria tried to h; the dust set her to coughing desperately Nothing uessed the truth about the listeners above A head appeared, silhouetted against the blessed sunlight shi+ning through the enlarged hole
”Who goes there? Name yourselves, or be called eneh to what Conan had learned in the Black Kingdo The voice was that of a leader and a warrior, accustoth, not when the shaft ht yet coin well by seeave their true naive that precious knowledge to those who ic with it
”We are no enemies to the Ichiribu, whatever our names Let us climb up to you, and you may see for yourselves”
Conan could not make out the man's look, but his reply was to silently draw his head back froht showed the upper portion of the shaft clearly, in spite of the drifting dust The ht, and the shaft offered few handholds
Once there had been a stairway spiraling up to the surface Conan saw the holes where its beams had been thrust into the walls, and even the remnants of one or two of the beahtest use to hi the shaft walls did not weaken When it did, the shaft would doubtless fall on their heads, with more stones from above to o back?”
”How?” Conan asked ”Even if we could, the folk up there have heard us, likely enough seen us, too They'll think ere de another way out before we starve?”
”And if the folk up there are cannibals-”