Part 40 (1/2)

Then Dobanpu turned, and with a speed startling for a e, ran down a side tunnel that no one had noticed before Again asped in horror, but Eone mad?” Valeria snapped Conan shook his head If Emas not afraid, Dobanpu must have some scheme in mind To make it succeed was another irl

”He will lead the creature to a place he has sensed, I think He usedhere, so he will not be able to kill it unaided

But in that place he seeks, he will find a way of ending its life”

Conan cursed hiic-wielder Valeria glared at E down so only to your father's wizardry?”

”Yes”

”Cimmerian-”

”Call er two hairs of your head on our surviving if Dobanpu dies?”

As always, Valeria saw reason She leaped out in front of the warriors and waved her sword ”Cos! It's turned its back to us, and that ht not have understood all of Valeria's words Those who understood ht not have believed that she spoke the truth All understood and believed that they should not let the Blue-Eyed Chief's shi+eld-woe War cries echoed nearly as loud as the thunderclap of Dobanpu's appearance, and the Ichiribu warriors plunged after their foe

Ryku gazed down into the whirlpool of light that was the Living Wind-or at least its outward fore, rather than sitting in the First Speaker's seat

He had never felt at ease in that seat, and noasto ht be only a tale that the Living Wind could sense when those in its presence were afraid, or unsure of themselves, but such tales often held bits of truth

Also, Ryku did not altogether like what he sahen he gazed down into the Living Wind That it was unveiled by the s a tradition in the ritual, mattered little Indeed, he had not called up the s it an outworn custo Wind were still cri in patterns that both held and repelled the eye But the crimson now see steadily paler

Also, there was a distant sound that seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time It was a sound hard to find words to describe To Ryku, it seeht be rather like what he was hearing

Even the s Wind had altered It had always been fresh and cool, in spite of being far below the slopes of Thunder Mountain, with few natural passages for air Now the odor of the jungle see the cave, or at least the odor of some sort of life

Why not? Ryku told hi Wind had earned its name fairly, so why should it not take on soe?

He had to use all of the disciplines he had learned so as not to be uneasy at that thought, nonetheless Yet again, why should it be a surprise? Mighty and ancient ic left untouched for centuries, and the very Gods of Thunder Mountain ht he had calh to sit down in the chair of the First Speaker Let the Gods wake, he told himself Let them wake, and they will see that I am their friend and my enemies are theirs Then I will not even need Dobanpu, not when I have Gods for friends

E to her father without words, and her gestures guided the war band on the trail of the Golden Serpent They uidance, for the creature now hissed alrew thicker as it writhed along

Conan held his tongue He would not allow his own hopes to rise, let alone those of the band False hope made warriors careless, and careless warriors died in the face of less formidable foes than the Golden Serpent

The band certainly ran faster with E them than they would have dared otherwise Indeed, Conan did not kno far they had coer soe were beginning to breathe hard, and soht wounds clearly would need rest before long

Conan did not like to think of dividing the band, leaving the baggage and the lightly wounded behind Once divided in these depths, could the band ever unite again? Also, the Golden Serpentback on its tracks, to fall on such easy prey

A faan to tickle the Cimmerian's nostrils Not one he rei had certainly saved hiround But when one has fed off soers in iant fungi Conan wondered what purpose that ht serve, as the Golden Serpent was plainly awith her father to answer to anything save a shout in her ear, and Conan had no wish to break her bond with Dobanpu

The floor sloped reen blood were not only thicker, but fresher The warriors had to slow their onrush, to avoid stepping in the still-fuony One warrior was unlucky enough to go down nonetheless, but leaped up at once, holding a blistered hand over his head like a trophy