The Delving: Chapter 11

Don't cry!1

Laugh!2

If you take
Life
Too seriously,3

You'll never
Get out of it
Alive!4

-- a saying of the dwarfs of Na Alto5

6


Chapter 11: Mustering the Troops7

The rest of the day at Annalyn's Tree was spent in various kinds of preparation. Sustenance, carried about by Montford, was provided to the members of the Quest in small groups, as Annalyn gave them individual instructions on their tasks; she remained so busy that by sunset it seemed to her that she had been too busy to eat anything herself. A heavy breakfast for beginning the trek was planned for the predawn darkness before their departure.8

With Arkh's able assistance, a small tree-house (or nest, as he called it) had been set up in a tree next to Annalyn's. "It will give you a better chance to escape should anyone meddle with the main trunk. You are welcome to make yourself at home in my place--cook to your heart's content, but you should be in the lookout by nightfall." Montford did not wholly agree with this, but he had to concede that he would be a sitting duck if he were discovered at the top. Most of the hammocks would be rolled up or otherwise secured for their owner's planned absence. A few of the largest hammocks were made with sewn-in roofs to protect their contents from the elements.9

The dwarf-maidens were very curious about their role. They were accustomed to wandering about Earthwithin, helping those who were in distress in various ways, and since they were dwarfs, most of them had visited the Delving at one time or another. There would still be a number of other Dwarf-maidens working above ground, but these six had a special task. Briska was very excited about her part--although she had been given special leadership training for some time, this was her first chance to put it to use. When she had heard of the danger involved, she had hesitated, so the Eian sought someone who could accompany the Maidens and deal with unpleasant surprises. But that was still not enough for Briska. "Will I have to use a sword? I'm so short!" she complained. But when told that she would be given a short dagger, she was still not satisfied. "I wanted to learn to use a sword!" Annalyn did not even reply to that comment. Much to her discomfort, she was taking her own sword. She greatly preferred to use the hatchets, but despite her prowess in using them on Igullus Nequam, she had to admit that the lizard-men had very long arms, and that facing large numbers of them in a field indicated the use of a blade.10

The other Dwarf-maidens were issued knives of a cunning design. The handle appeared to be merely an innocent corkscrew--ordinary-looking wood, with a steel spiral which folded to one side. But pressing a button where the tip of the screw came to rest caused a sharp, sturdy, double-edged blade to extend from the opposite end of the handle. Bervill's son had made them specifically for this quest. Despite their unusual design, they were perfectly balanced, and Annalyn spent several hours showing the Maidens how to throw, using a battered target affixed to a nearby tree. "You must allow the knife to leave your hand cleanly," she kept reminding them. Weska, who was stouter than the rest of the Maidens, was having the most trouble. Somehow, every time she threw, the handle would bounce off her thumb, and the knife struck the tree well below the target, if it hit the tree at all, and only one time did the tip even enter the trunk. "Use it in the best way you can, then," said her instructor. "If you are cornered, especially by a Nequam, do not expect to do them much injury. Jab the knife with all your strength into some part of the foot--the big toe is best--and then run fast as your legs may carry you. Escape, not victory, is your plan. And that goes for all of you."11

Briska was not ready to heed this advice. "If I see a Nequam," she boasted, "I'm gonna bury this dagger in his stomach!" Some of the Dwarf-maidens laughed at this, but a withering glance from Annalyn silenced them.12

Jake demonstrated to Annalyn the operation of his two air pistols, and she conceded that he was indeed well-armed, after all, but she was not above gentle teasing. "And you wanted to use my sword!" The World-man just smiled a bit, deciding not to say anything more. She was curious about how they worked. "What makes these little... these metal stones fly out?" she wondered aloud.13

"It is these cylinders with the teardrop ends," he explained. "They contain a kind of air--a whole lot squeezed into a small space. But this kind of air is not any good to breathe--they use it to put out fires in my world."14

Annalyn frowned. "What if you run out of this kind of air--all used up?"15

Jake unfolded a special lever from the body of the long-barreled pistol. "This can be used to pump up the pressure with regular air--takes longer, but it still works." He thought a moment. "But I could run out of pellets, too. Hmm... Could your smiths maybe make some more? You do have lead in this world, right?"16

"Well... I don't know--about making them, I mean... we do have lead...." The warrior-woman was not accustomed to being at a loss.17

"I'm sorry--I don't really expect to run out."18

"One never knows with Scratch and the Nequam, Jake Daly. And we have not yet discussed Flimb."19

"Is he the one who betrayed your... groom?"20

"Yes."21

"I'm very sorry. I didn't expect for the conversation to turn this way."22

"That is... how do you say... okay. You need to learn about Flimb, anyway. But here--give me one of your pellets. I'll show it to Bervill's son the next time I see him."23

"Okay." Jake unscrewed the lid from a tin of pellets and dropped one into Annalyn's outstretched hand. She reached into a pouch on her belt and withdrew a small square of cloth. Carefully wrapping the pellet in the cloth, she stowed it in an inner compartment of the pouch.24

"What about Flimb?"25

Annalyn grimaced, but she began speaking. "From a distance, he appears much like Scratch--a ragged black robe with a cowl. But he is not so large, and his flesh appears more wholesome. But... His face...." She shuddered, and her own face contorted. "His nose is like an elephant's trunk, although not so long. He speaks through it. His manner of speech is calm--too calm for my taste--and all with a very strange sound as it comes out of that trunk. He appears to speak reasonably, but then you look behind yourself, and there are the Nequam. I do not know why, but their loyalty to him is far greater than to Scratch. Scratch rants and bullies, but all Flimb has to do is crook his little finger. No, Jake Daly, do not let Flimb deceive you."26

Daly sat in silence, absorbing this information. But Annalyn soon spoke up again. "We must march at dawn, and day is nearly spent. See to the preparations." With that, she turned and went a distance into the forest. She needed to spend some time collecting her thoughts before nightfall. The Quest was indeed not going as planned, although she did not want to admit such to Daly. And she was having her doubts about the wisdom of including the Dwarf-maidens in this venture. They were willing servants of all--of that she had no doubt--but the concept of danger seemed to escape them, and Briska was no help--to Briska, so often, everything was a joke.27

After a considerable time, Annalyn went to find Arkh. As she did so, the sun was just dropping below the horizon.28

The bird-man was roosting on a low-hanging limb near the main trunk. Annalyn's approach appeared to startle him, but he recovered his composure quickly. "Brooding, I suppose--I think it's a habit I learned from Tam Lin."29

"Yes--I'm sure minstrels must brood in order to compose their songs." She paused a moment. "Do you think he will still be there when we arrive?"30

"Well, yes... I've wondered about that myself. He has spoken of fleeing into the West, but as long as there is any hope that the Fair Hen is alive, I think he will wait."31

"Do you think she still lives?"32

Arkh was silent for a moment. "It is likely. She is of no use to Scratch dead."33

"And Ithamar?"34

"That is less likely, although he once spoke of disguising himself as a Nequam, and blending in with them."35

"He has no wings."36

Arkh laughed--a strange, bird-like cackle. "I told him that, but he just smiled."37

Darkness was nearly upon the forest, in the fast-fading twilight. Arkh's dark blue skin made him invisible in the shadows under the trees. The warrior-woman spoke. "If Tam Lin is still at Firefly Landing, see that he stays. Tell him that Annalyn needs his aid. Tell him that Scratch will never be defeated unless we all work against him. The Creator grieves again over His troubled world." Stopping to take a breath, she continued. "I am sure that Scratch could do Ithuriel great harm, but in convincing us of that, he has focused our attention where he wants it--using her as a hostage of sorts. For now, he may be content to rule the Delving, if indeed he achieves that end, but once he has reached that goal, know that as surely as the Delving underlies so much of Earthwithin, he will spring from its depths to conquer us all."38

"I think you are right," agreed Arkh.39

"Then rest well this night, that you may fly swiftly on the morrow."40

"May you also rest well, and may the Creator's peace be with you."41

"And with you, my friend."42

Annalyn turned and headed into the branches of her tree, for her last night in its shelter for many a moon.43

Jake turned and tossed in his side of the double hammock; sleep was not coming easily. At intervals he checked his pack in the other side, to see if he had forgotten this or that. At length he lay on his back and tried to count the stars, but few were visible through the branches overhead; clouds had begun to roll in, and it was a new moon. Suddenly he tensed--he could feel someone stealthily stepping into the other side of the hammock. Holding perfectly still, he tried to see who it might be, but the darkness was near total, and the best he could do was to see stars in the back of his eyes. When he had almost decided that the sensation was imaginary, warm lips pressed gently and swiftly into his. Nearly without any sensation of motion, the giver was gone, although a scent of autumn leaves lingered. And Jake was at peace, quickly falling asleep.