“Are you all right?” he asked Laurana.
“Yes,” she managed faintly.
“Good.” Riverwind was brisk, matter-of-fact. “We have to get them started now. No time to waste. The draconians will attack the caves, but it won’t take them long to figure out we’re gone. Then they’ll come looking for us.”
“Will we be safe in the pass?” Laurana asked.
“I hope so,” Riverwind replied, trying to reassure himself as much as her. “We did not know the pass was there, and we have lived here for months. With luck and help from the gods, the draconians will not find us. If they do, we can defend ourselves against attack.” He stopped talking, sucked in a breath. He saw in dazzling brilliance, as though lightning had streaked across his mind, the pick-axe lying beneath the striped rock that did not belong there.
“Make haste!” he told Laurana. “Keep them moving. Don’t let anyone stop.” He turned away, then turned back. “If anyone balks, he must remain behind. We don’t have time to mollycoddle people. Keep everyone moving!”
He made his own way back across the treacherous trail, thinking, as he did so, that it was actually easier to cross in the darkness. He couldn’t see how far he had to fall or the sharp rocks waiting to break his body. The men who had done this same task today took up their places again, standing at intervals, ready to assist those who were already beginning to cross. Elistan remained at the start, saying reassuring words and giving Paladine’s blessing to all. Gags bound around their mouths, the people began to edge their way along the path.
Riverwind paused to glance back in the direction of the camp. Some of the draconians were now running toward the caves. Once they reached the living area, they would be thrown into confusion when they found their victims were gone. They would think the people had retreated deeper into the caves, and they would search the tunnels and passages. Eventually, the draconians would realize the truth. The caves had been abandoned. Verminaard knew the refugees could not go north. The most logical route lay to the south. That’s where he would look first.
Riverwind glanced to the east, wondering how many hours they had until daylight. He did not think he had many…
“Come with me,” he said to his warriors. “You won’t need your weapons. You need pick-axes! And bring me some of the men who worked in the mines!”
The first wave of draconians broke on the cliffs where the refugees had once dwelt. Howls meant to strike fear into the hearts of their victims changed to curses as they entered cave after cave and found crude furniture, toys, and clothes, and stores of food and water the refugees had been forced to leave behind.
Riverwind took the miners to where Flint had left the pick-axe. He showed them the axe and the striped rock, explaining to them what he thought the dwarf was trying to tell them. The miners examined the area as best they could by moonlight and starlight, agreeing that this rock was a keystone. But whether it would work or not, they could not say.
The crossing proceeded, though with agonizing slowness. Riverwind kept watch on the sky. There was as yet no light visible, but the stars were starting to fade.
The last few people were creeping across. One, a young woman, staggered and fell to the ground. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she was shaking, but she had not made a sound. Goldmoon took hold of her and led her away.
Laurana came next to last. Gilthanas, one of those doing duty on the cliff face, spoke to her in elven as he helped her across. She clasped his hand and kissed him.
Elistan came across last. He carried a child on his back, the little boy’s hands clasped around his neck. The cleric’s steps were firm. He did not falter. The little boy’s mother, waiting on the other side, hid her face in her hands, unable to watch.
“That was fun, Elistan,” said the little boy, pulling the gag off his mouth when they reached safety. “Can we do it again?”
People laughed, though their laughter was shaky. The men left the trail, and everyone started to move into the pass.
Back in the camp, the draconians emerged from the caves. The sky was light enough now that Riverwind could easily see what was transpiring. Verminaard’s dragon landed on the ground. Draconians swarmed around the Highlord. He leaned over the neck, conferring with his officers. At his command, the other three red dragons flew across the valley. One headed east. One flew west.
One flew south, straight toward them.
The dragon was not looking in their direction, however. The beast stared down below, searching the floor of the valley.
“Quickly, quickly!” Riverwind urged in soft tones, herding the people as he had once herded his sheep. “Take shelter in the pass. Move as far back as you can.”
The people hurried. There was no panic, and Riverwind was just thinking they might actually succeed in escaping, when a cry pierced the air, “Wait! Don’t leave me! Don’t leave me!” The dragon heard the voice. The beast lifted its head, shifted its gaze.
Cursing, Riverwind turned around.
Hederick was running along the trail, his flabby gut bobbing up and down as he ran, his face blotchy, his mouth gaping wide. His cronies trailed behind him, pushing and shoving each other in their panicked haste.
Hederick came to the precipice. He looked at Riverwind, looked down, and his face paled.
“I can’t cross that!”
“The rest of us did,” said Riverwind coldly, and he pointed at the dragon, who had changed direction and was now flying toward them.
Hederick’s friends shoved him aside, stepped onto the trail, and hurried across. Hederick, quivering in fear, crept along after them.
He made it safely, and once on the other side, he came storming up to Riverwind, about to launch into demands. Riverwind seized hold of the man and gave him a shove into the arms of several Plainsmen, who caught hold of the High Theocrat and hustled him off into the pass. The dragon lifted its head and gave a great bellow.
Riverwind ran for the place where the dwarf had left the pick-axe. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the dragon’s call had alerted Lord Verminaard. His dragon leapt off the ground and took to the skies. The draconians were starting to run in this direction as well. They could move faster over the ground than humans, for they used their wings to aid them. Hopping and leaping, they flowed over the trail like a scaly river.
Verminaard’s dragon bore him swiftly toward the pass. The draconians were closing on the pass much faster than Riverwind could have believed possible.
Riverwind seized hold of the pick-axe. He looked to see that the last few stragglers were safely inside the pass.
“Paladine, be with us!” Riverwind prayed then, in a nod to Flint, he added, “Reorx, guide my hand.”
Riverwind struck the striped rock with the pick-axe, hitting it at the place where the point had rested. The rock went bounding down the mountainside, and Riverwind scrambled backward. At first, nothing happened, and his heart sank. He looked to see the dragon swooping toward them. Verminaard had his hand outstretched, pointing at the pass, guiding the beast. Then the earth shuddered. There was a rending, grinding sound and it seemed to Riverwind’s astonished gaze as if the side of the mountain was on the move, rushing down on top of him. He turned and ran for the safety of the pass. Boulders bounded off other boulders and went sailing over his head. With a sound like rumbling thunder, the rock slide cascaded down the mountain side, taking with it the trail the refugees had just walked. The opening to the pass began to fill with chunks of stone.
Riverwind flattened himself on the ground, his arms protecting his head. He could not see the dragon, but he could hear its frustrated roars. The rock slide continued for several more moments, then ended in sudden silence, broken only by a few rocks shifting or settling into place.
Riverwind cautiously raised up to look. The face of the landscape had changed. The entrance to the pass was choked with enormous boulders. He heard the dragon’s wings flapping on the other side of the newly made stone wall. The dragon could not land. The rock slide had taken what level ground there was down the mountainside. He heard sounds as though the beast was making some attempt to claw its way through the debris into the pass. This must have proven ineffectual, for the dragon soon ceased its efforts.