Chapter 36
In all it took five more days to off-load the horses and ponies and warriors and wains and supplies from the ships. And all the time the chill wind blew from Garia, yet no snow flew on its wings, though the sky was laden with heavy clouds and a foul stench rode on the air, smelling of sulfer and slag and bearing an iron tang like that of fresh-spilled blood.
" Tis the smell of H?l's Crucible, or so I am told," said Talar on the morn of the first day, the Elf standing at the ship's taffrail and watching the off-loading.
"No wonder the foe facing King Blaine refuse to retreat any farther," said Dinly, his nose wrinkled in disgust, "what with that reek awaiting them."
" 'Tis more than just a mere reek, wee one," said Riatha, leaning on the railing at her brother's side.
"More than a reek?"
"Aye. 'Tis the smell of death shouldst thou become ensnared within those foul vapors with no clean air to breathe."
"Oh my," said Dinly, turning to Rynna. As she nodded in agreement, Dinly added, "I must have fallen asleep when you told us of that."
"Come on, bucco," said Nix, gesturing at a nearby great coil of rope, "sit with me and I'll tell you again what Ryn said, but you must promise me you'll remain awake this time."
As the two buccen moved away, the others turned to watch as another huge, weltering craft was maneuvered to the crumbling stone dock.
Finally all the ships were unladed, but even so each horse or pony had to wait a full day after reaching dry land to overcome the effects of the wallowing ships, for as Wag-onleader Bwen amid her curses said, "There is something about boats which steeds do not like, and a day or so is needed for them to regain the touch of their hooves."
It was on the morn of this sixth day of the new year as the last of the off-loaded horses and ponies rested and regained their hooves that Aravan and an escort took up mounts unladed in the days before and rode away. Northwesterly up the Sea Road they went along the banks of the Ironwater and toward the High King's camp some thirty leagues hence. There they would tell King Blaine that all was ready for the plan to go forth.
And still the Fjordlander and Jutlander Dragonships rode at anchor, their platforms yet mounted thwartwise wale to wale. Yet on the morrow the swift craft would weigh anchor and sail a half mile north to the mouth of the river and turn northwesterly and in, heading upstream for the chosen place.
On the morrow as well, would Silverleaf's legion ride along the Sea Road to the rendezvous point.
But this night in the abandoned port city of Adeo would Silverleaf's legion wait.
In the middle of the night Beau startled awake, sitting up with a jolt. Beside him Linnet stirred and opened her eyes. "What is it, love?" she asked.
"I dunno," said Beau, looking about the encampment, with its low-banked fires and shadowy shapes scattered among the abandoned structures. "I thought I heard…"
Beau lay back down. "Hullo, there it is again."
"What?"
"Put your ear to the earth, love."
Linnet's eyes widened as she laid her head down and listened to the ground. From within there came a faint, deep knelling, rhythmic, patterned, as if someone were delving… or signalling.
Beau raised up on one elbow. "Do you know if there are any Groaning Stones about?"
Without taking her ear from the ground, Linnet said, "This is not a Stone talking. It sounds more like- Oh my, it's gone."
Beau pressed his own ear to the earth and listened a moment to the uneasy silence of the land, then said, "Well, it wasn't the drum of running hooves either, for I've heard them in the ground, and they sound more like a thudding than this did." Beau frowned and then cocked an eyebrow. "I say, you don't suppose someone's digging a tunnel, do you?"
Linnet stood. "Let's get Rynna and go talk with Delf-Lord Volki. He would know the sound of delving."
"It had a cadence, you say?"
"Yes, DelfLord," replied Linnet.
"And it was a deep knelling and not a tapping?"
Linnet nodded.
Volki turned to Bragga and Helki, two of his Chakka counsellors and said, "Utruni," his word a statement, not a question.
They both nodded in agreement.
Linnet looked at Beau, her eyes wide. "Stone Giants?"
Volki grunted. "Aye, Stone Giants… for what you have described is what we call Utruni signalling. It is much like hammer-signalling through stone-"
"Hammer-signalling?" asked Rynna, Tip at her side.
"Aye. We Chakka often signal each other by hammer tapping on stone, though in this case I deem it to be Stone Giants sending the messages. We at times hear the knells sounding within the stone of our Chakkaholts."
"Can you read these signals of theirs?" asked Tipperton.
Regretfully, Volki shook his head.
"But why are they here?" asked Linnet.
"There is no guarantee they are nearby," said Bragga, running a hand through his black hair. "Utruni signals can come from afar, carried league upon league by the living stone below."
Volki nodded, his dark eyes casting back gleams in the firelight. "Some tell that the knells of Stone Giants can sound across the whole of the world."
Tip sighed and looked at Beau. "I was hoping that they'd come to help."
Helki stroked his grey beard. "Ah, would that it were, for it is said that evil flees when the Earthmasters are nigh."
Beau frowned. "Earthmasters? Utruni? Stone Giants?"
Helki nodded.
"Let's hope that evil does flee, then," said Beau.
Helki shrugged. "It may be nought but an eld Chakias' tale."
Rynna frowned and glanced at Tip. "Old wives' tale," he supplied.
Rynna's eyes flashed with ire and she turned on Helki. "Eld Chakias' tale, indeed. Hear the words of this old wife, Lord Helki, and heed: many a tale has a basis in fact, told by old wives or not."
Helki held up his hands in surrender as Volki broke out in loud laughter. Finally, Volki mastered his humor and said to Rynna, "Ah, commander, are you certain you are not a Chakian in disguise?"
Of a sudden the storm left her eyes, and Rynna grinned. "From what Tip tells me, I'm too short, though perhaps not by much."
"Ah, but just as wonderfully beautiful," said Tip.
Volki started, as did Helki and Bragga, and a stern look came over Volki's face and he said, "Chak-Sol Tipperton, we do not speak of such."
Tipperton frowned in puzzlement and glanced at Rynna, but nodded in assent.
A momentary uncomfortable silence followed, broken by Beau, who yawned, then said, "Well, Stone Giants or not, for me it's bed."
Volki nodded. "Indeed, we all need rest, for we ride on the morrow at dawn."
"But what about the Utruni?" asked Linnet.
Volki turned up his hands. "What would you have us do, Lady Linnet?"
Linnet looked at Beau and then Rynna and Tip. "Well… uh… hmm. I suppose there is nothing we can do one way or another."
Volki grinned. "Exactly so."
At last dawn came on this the seventh day of the new year, and the Dragonships raised sails and set out for the mouth of the Ironwater, and the column of warriors mounted up to ride, Dwarves and Warrows on their ponies, Elves on fiery steeds, and Baeron on their massive horses of war, Bwen and her wagons coming last of all.
Northwesterly they fared up the tradeway known as the Sea Road, a route with one end anchored at the harbor of Adeo and the other terminus at Dael in Riamon, with the city of Rhondor at the far end of H?l's Crucible nought but the first port of call.
Northwesterly they went and northwesterly, at a leisurely gait, the fleet of Dragonships now riding upstream alongside, keeping pace, Elven scouts on their fiery steeds riding far to the flank and fore and rear. And although Commander Rynna had objected, saying that her Warrow scouts should be out as well, Silverleaf had pointed out that- unlike the hill country of the opposite shore-the terrain on this side of the river was relatively flat, where fleet horses would serve best. And so the Warrows rode their ponies among the Dwarven host.