In the small grotto, hidden from prying eyes, Deek arrived to find Wikkell already waiting. Too bad. Ah, well, there was no help for it. He had to tell his one-eyed friend the bad news.

They exchanged greetings, and Deek settled himself upon a particularly resonate patch of rock.

"M-m-my b-b-brothers th-th-think I a-am m-mad."

"Oh, no. I was hoping-" Wikkell stopped.

"H-h-hoping wh-what?"

"That you would have better success than I. My fellows also think me less than sane."

"Th-they w-w-won't h-help?"

"I'm afraid not. And from your comments, I a.s.sume the same is true of your folk?"

"S-s-sad, b-but t-t-true."

"d.a.m.n them all to Gehanna. Now what are we going to do?"

Deek had pondered that thought long and hard, and his conclusion involved more than a little personal risk. He said, "W-w-we h-h-have t-to sh-show th-them."

Wikkell nodded. "My thoughts as well. Can we but demonstrate that the witch and the wizard are not all-powerful, we have a chance."

"G-g-got a-any i-ideas?"

"Plenty, though I suspect most are apt to get us killed. I should like to avoid such a thing if at all possible."

"I-I-I t-too w-would a-avoid s-s-such an e-ending."

"Well, then, let me put forth my thoughts and then listen to yours. We are resourceful, after all. Surely we can come up with something."

Deek nodded. Indeed, he thought. High time to either defecate or slide out of the scat trench. No two ways about it. "Here is my first idea..."

The blasted bats took their time returning to where the Harskeel lay in hiding. Travels would have to be on foot or in the air. The Harskeel did not trust itself to the bats' ability to safely carry it, so that meant it would have to walk.

Being enraged seemed to have become the Harskeel's permanent mental state, and it feared that its anger might cause it to do something foolish. The Harskeel made an effort to calm itself. All right. The quarry had escaped once again; at least its two compet.i.tors for Conan had been put off the scent. Its men were all dead, true, but there were the b.u.mbling bats to replace them. That might be rather like exchanging a half-wit for an idiot, but one had to make do as best one could. All in all, the Harskeel reflected, things were no worse than ever they had been. No better perhaps, but no worse. When at last it captured its prey, the end would justify all of these rigorous means, certainly. With those thoughts trying and mostly failing to calm its anger, the Harskeel set off after Conan and his friends.

Urging the worm raft to its utmost speed, Chuntha scanned the banks of the Sunless Sea, searching for signs of her elusive quarry. She knew not how far the waterway extended, never having followed it to its end in all the years she had resided below the ground. She often thought of the sunlit world above, and how happy she had been there, plundering the bodies of willing men for their carnal spirits. Unfortunately, she could not run around naked up there any longer, civilization having curtailed that option, and worse, too many bodies aroused suspicion. More than once she had fled from a city or a village with the local folk chasing her, hot for her death.

The underground had disadvantages, to be sure, but once she managed to wrest total control of it from the wizard, she could arrange to have a steadier supply of bedmates than before. Few men would risk the caves to retrieve a lost traveler, and Chuntha knew she could snag the odd one now and again without arousing much suspicion. After all, dangerous animals lived up there, and brigands, too; one had to expect that they would take their toll...

A dark opening appeared on the cave wall to her right, just ahead. Since her quarry now traveled on foot, such an exit might well appeal to them. The problem was that she could not explore every tunnel along the way; there were far too many of them. Fortunately, Chuntha had exactly the thing she needed.

From her supplies she took a tall, black jar and a pair of tweezers. She opened the jar's lid and with the tweezers removed a speck of red the size of a pin's head. She quickly closed the jar and set the red speck upon the deck of her living raft. Uttering a few mystical phrases, Chuntha waved her hands at the speck. In a twinkling it expanded into a red hornet the size of a sparrow. The creature fluttered its wings, buzzing.

"Go," Chuntha commanded. "Explore that tunnel and return to me if you find any human within."

Obediently the giant hornet rose from the raft and jetted away, zipping toward the tunnel in an arrow-straight line. The magicked hornets were of limited value, but useful within those limits. They could be directed for simple tasks such as an in-and-out search of a tunnel. More complex things were beyond their capacity; still, if her beautiful barbarian were in that tunnel, the insect would find him and return to tell the tale. She had dozens of the creatures within her jar, and she would dispatch as many as it took to locate her quarry. She had obtained the magical beasts after a liaison with a self-styled wizard who had, in bed, sought to match her powers of Sensha. He lost, naturally, and those magics of his she could operate became hers by default. It had been a long time ago, but Chuntha still remembered the man fondly. He had lasted the better part of an hour before dying.

Being that the escapees were on foot, they could not have gone far. They were either in a tunnel close to the place where the wizard had lost them or not far ahead and still fleeing onsh.o.r.e. Either way, Chuntha should be able to find them soon.

She smiled at that thought. She had planned to take the captives back to her chamber, to enjoy them at her leisure, but perhaps not. Perhaps she would take them to the nearest flat spot and have them there.

The thought of it warmed her loins. Yes. Why wait? Better to enjoy them before that stupid wizard perhaps mucked things up again. Afterward her powers would be increased, and she would deal with the hapless Rey.

The worm raft continued along, Chuntha smiling upon its back as she moved over the waters.

Katamay Rey sat in his sedan chair, borne at a fast trot by his cyclopes. He had yet to catch sight of Conan and the others but, he reflected, it should be only a short while before he did so. Of course they could have easily darted into one of the myriad openings along the way. Quite probably they had done so, had they any sense, but that did not worry him. The wizard was not without certain spells to ascertain such things...

From his pack of magical impedimenta, Rey withdrew a leather bottle of no small age. He shook the bottle, and a faint buzzing began within. He removed the cork from the narrow-necked vessel and shook it again. A small insect, gnat-sized, emerged from the bottle, which the wizard quickly recorked. Rey spoke a tongue-twisting phrase in a gutteral language and the gnat-sized creature blossomed into a blue wasp the size of a small bird. The giant insect buzzed back and forth, awaiting Rey's command, which was not long in coming.

"Go and explore the first tunnel you find that is large enough to admit a man. Finding any men, return and report it to me immediately."

The blue wasp buzzed and took off, heading toward the sh.o.r.e. Rey smiled at its departure. He had once had another investigatory insect species, a jar of magical red hornets, but he had traded them to a c.o.c.ks-wizard above ground long ago. The hornets and wasps were antipathetical, and it was possible to use one or the other, but not both simultaneously. The red and the blue insects hated each other and would fight to the death upon meeting. Rey had thought it an unnecessary duplication to have both.

Of course the witch was somewhere in the vicinity, and she would have to be dealt with in the not-too-distant future. He would be better prepared the next time, and she would rue the day she had sought to challenge Katamay Rey!

The Cyclopes trotted along the never-ending dock, oblivious to their master's contemplations. For his part, the wizard felt that his quest would be ended shortly. It could not happen soon enough to suit him, either. Seventeen Conan's plan was simple, and he saw no need to complicate it. They would travel to the witch's quarters, bypa.s.s or dispatch any guards left there, and load their purses and pouches with loot. Having done that, they would depart rapidly and find a place where the roof of some cavern was accessible from below. Here they would dig their way through the roof, which should prove to be the ground above, clamber out, and be gone.

Naturally Elashi had her doubts, and she voiced them quickly, as was her wont. "First, what makes you think we can dispatch any guards so easily? What if this witch has left one or more of those giant worms standing ready to intercept would-be visitors?"

"Recall the giant fish?" Conan said. "If my blade could slay him, it can slay a much smaller legless grub."

"All right, a.s.suming this is so, then there is the matter of our escape. Do you think it so easy to simply dig through the roof and depart these caves? Tull here has been underground for five years. Think you not that he has tried such a maneuver before?"

Conan looked at Tull. "Have you, then?"

"Sort of," Tull answered. "The places where the roof is reachable are few, and while I tried digging in a couple, I could never finish before either a worm or a cyclops came along. Spotting holes, they usually patch 'em, save the ones they make themselves for trapping travelers. Those are always too high to reach, or guarded."

Conan turned back to Elashi. "There are four of us; we can dig much faster than one. Besides, the odd worm or cyclops happening by will pose less of a threat to four."

"You have all the answers, do you?" Elashi was angry.

Conan nodded. As a matter of fact, he did."Aye, leastways the ones we need, save one: how much farther is our objective, Tull?"

"A few hours' walk."

"Then let us save our breath for walking instead of spending it talking," Conan said.

Elashi frowned at this; Lalo's face kept its perpetual smile, and he said nothing.

Through rocky chambers they traveled, pa.s.sing under great pointed stalagt.i.tes that dripped tiny drops of mineralized water, past walls so thickly covered with glowing fungus that the bright green light generated gave them views clearer than the shining of the full moon.

Once the four pa.s.sed within a few spans of a solitary Webspinner Plant. Conan heard the seductive but faint call of the carnivorous plant:Mighty warrior! Come to me and be pleasured beyond belief ! But his earlier experiences made him immune to its beckonings, as were Tull and Elashi.

They warned Lalo but need not have bothered. Lalo paused and appeared to listen for a moment, then answered the mindspeech of the plant aloud: "I have seen better leaves on overripe turnips," he said. "If ever there was an uglier bit of flora, doubtless men would be struck blind upon viewing it."

Lalo's insults sparked an angry response from the Webspinner, and its siren's song became one of outrage:I shall eat your liver, foul one !

Apparently no one under Lalo's particular curse had pa.s.sed this way before. Conan suspected that should the plant be so foolish as to snare Lalo, likely it would choke upon him.

Tull's years of experience in the caverns had given him some knowledge of little-used pa.s.sages, and the four kept to these, avoiding contact with any of the giant worms. Once they spotted one of the creatures pa.s.sing by in a cross tunnel, but it did not appear to notice them, intent as it seemed on some destination of its own.

The hours pa.s.sed, and eventually the four arrived in the vicinity of the witch's personal chambers.

Cautiously Conan and Tull crept forward until they could see the entrance to the main chamber.

From behind the cover of a series of large rocks, the pair viewed the scene.

A quad of giant worms lay just outside the entrance.

Conan and Tull slid back and rejoined Elashi and Lalo. These two whispered between themselves, stopping when Conan arrived.

"Well?" Elashi and Lalo said together.

"There are four worms guarding the entrance," Conan said.

"Aha!" Elashi said.

"I foresee no problem," Conan said, somewhat sharply. "The solution is simple. Two of us will draw the worms' attention, allowing the other two to slip inside and plunder the chamber. Tull tells me the worms cannot move so fast as can a running man. After the theft, we shall all rejoin at a prearranged place."

Elashi merely shook her head, while Lalo said, "Conan, you would make the task of marching into Gehanna and slaying the King of the Demons sound like a routine visit to the night chamber."

Elashi found her tongue and managed to get it working. "And who, pray tell, is to lead the worms upon this merry chase? I played fish bait once; and I have no intention of repeating such a performance."

"Tull and I will draw the worms away," Conan said. "I can lead the pair of us to our meeting place later, and surely you and Lalo can manage to pocket a few lightweight stones?"

Lalo chuckled. "I called you a barbarian fool before, but I stand corrected. You are worse, Conan. You are a politician. You should be a king somewhere."

That did not sound much like an insult to Conan, but knowing Lalo, he was certain it must be. He ignored it.

Tull said, "Aye. Twould best be done quickly, too. Sooner or later the witch will realize that she has lost our track and turn her attentions this way. Best we be gone 'fore she returns." n.o.body argued with that.

"Let us make ready, then," Conan said.

The Harskeel was no tracker, but it knew that the bats could fly faster than either it or its quarry could move on foot, so it dispatched them forward to search, keeping only Red as a guide.

Red, by this time, chaffed at the Harskeel's commands, and so the Harskeel tried to mollify him.

"I begin to wonder if this blood spell is worth all our efforts," the Bloodbat said.

"You recall the taste. What more can I say?"

"I had not intended to spend the rest of my life on your quest."

"Ah. Well, I can understand that. As a token of my esteem for your a.s.sistance, I shall supply you personally with an extra incentive. Naturally I was only joking about turning you into an insect."

"Oh, naturally." The bat's voice held some disbelief.

"I have a small spell.you might find amusing. It will make you irresistible to the females of your species."

Red made a noise that the Harskeel took for a laugh. "A waste of your spell," he said, "for I am already irresistible to all females I desire."

The Harskeel suppressed its own laugh. "Ah, of course. But there is an added effect to the magic: it allows the user to... ah... maintain a certain... potency. Indefinitely."

"Indefinitely, you say?"

"Practically."

Red stared at the Harskeel. "Ah. I see. Well, certainly I have never had any problems in this regard, but I can see where that might be useful."

This time the Harskeel allowed itself to laugh.

Just then one of the other bats returned, jabbering at them in the bat's speech.

"What has it said?"

"Apparently your quarry-your pardon,our quarry-stands near the entrance to the witch's chambers."

"What are they doing there?"

"Who knows? We are not mind readers. It is sufficient that they are."

"How much farther is it?"

"Mot far. If we hurry, we can be there within the hour." "Then let us hurry!"

Wikkell and Deek had settled upon a plan that, while risky, carried with it a fair chance of success. They moved along one of the main corridors toward the chambers of the witch, already implementing their idea. Wikkell had wrapped around his wrists-rather loosely, but not obviously so-a length of rope that trailed off into a long leash. The end of this tether lay clamped tightly in Deek's mouth, and from external appearances, it seemed that Deek held Wikkell in thrall.

The plan was simple enough. They would arrive at the witch's chambers, Wikkell ostensibly a captive.

The guard worms knew Deek as a confidant to Chuntha and would normally have little hesitation about admitting him to her sanctum. Deek would indicate that he was supposed to bring his captive to the witch for questioning. Of course, since Chuntha was not inside, he would need to wait for a time.

Once inside the chambers, Deek and Wikkell would steal one of the witch's more prized possessions-some spell or talisman-and then leave, offering the guard worms a story about Chuntha's having summoned them elsewhere. Guard worms were picked for their size and fighting skills, not for their brains, and Deek had little worry that they would impede the plan in either direction.

Then, to finish the plan, they would reverse roles-Wikkell playing captor and Deek captive-and repeat the operation at the chambers of the wizard. It would take another two days at their best speed, but when it was done, each would have a magical talisman from the inner chambers of the ruler opposite.

With such devices in hand, convincing their people that they stood a chance against witch and wizard should be much easier. Both Deek and Wikkell had rehea.r.s.ed their speeches: "If the wizard/witch is so powerful," they would say, "then how is it that I was able to enter his/her chambers and take this magical implement so easily? He/she is more bl.u.s.ter than bite. We can prevail!"