away from the White River.
Eventually Corum spoke to Noreg-Dan. “Have you heard of this place before, King Noreg-Dan?”
He shook his head. “I never knew what really lay beyond the Blood Plain, but I did not expect this. Perhaps it is new…”
“New?” Rhalina looked curiously at him. “What do you mean?”
“Chaos is forever altering the landscape, playing new tricks with it—playing new jokes. Perhaps Queen Xiombarg knows that we are here. Perhaps she is playing a game with us…”
Jhary stroked his cat between its ears. “It would be like a Queen of Chaos to do such a thing, yet I suspect she would have planned worse than this for the destroyer of her brother.”
“This could be just the beginning,” Rhalina pointed out. “She could be building up to her true vengeance…”
“But I think not,” Jhary insisted. “I have fought against Chaos in many worlds and in many guises and one thing that they are is impetuous. I think she would have acknowledged what she was doing by now if she knew who Prince Corum was. No, she still concentrates on the events taking place in the realm we have left. That is not to say we are not in danger,” he added with a faint smile.
“In danger of starving again,” Corum said. “If nothing else. This place is the most barren of all—and there is no way down, no way across, no way back…”
“We must keep moving until we do find a way down or a way across,” Rhalina told him. “Surely the abyss must end somewhere?”
“Possibly,” said Noreg-Dan, rubbing at his gaunt face, “but I remind you again that this is a realm completely ruled by Chaos. From what you have told me of Arioch’s realm, he never wielded the power which Xiombarg wields—he was the least of the Sword Rulers. It is said that Mabelode, the King of the Swords, is even more powerful than she—that he has created of his realm a constantly shifting substance which changes shape more swiftly than thought…”
“Then I pray we are never forced to visit Mabelode,” Jhary murmured. “This situation is sufficiently terrifying for me. I have witnessed Total Chaos and I like it not at all.”
They tramped on beside the unchanging edge of the abyss.
Lost in a daze of weariness and monotony Corum only gradually began to realize that the sky was darkening. He looked up. Was the sun moving?
But the sun seemed to be in the same position. Instead, an eddy of black cloud had risen from somewhere and was streaming across the sky, heading towards the far side of the abyss. He had no means of knowing whether this were some sorcerous manifestation or if it were natural. He stopped. It had grown colder. Now the others noticed the clouds.
Noreg-Dan’s eyes held trepidation. He drew his cracked leather coat about him and licked his bearded lips.
Suddenly, from Jhary’s shoulder the little black-and-white cat leapt into the air and sped away on its black, white-tipped wings. It began to circle over the gorge, almost out of their range of vision. Jhary, too, looked perturbed, for the cat was behaving uncharacteristically.
Rhalina drew closer to Corum and put one hand on his arm. He hugged her shoulders and stared skyward at the black streamers of cloud as they dashed from nowhere to nowhere.
“Have you seen such a sight before, King Noreg-Dan?” Corum called through the gloom. “Has it significance for you?”
Noreg-Dan shook his head. “No, I have not seen this before, but it has significance—it is an omen, I fear, of some danger from Chaos. I have seen similar sights.”
“We had best be ready for what comes.” Corum drew his long Vadhagh sword and threw back his scarlet robe to expose his silver byrnie. The others drew their own blades and stood there on the edge of that vast pit, waiting for whatever might come to threaten them.
Whiskers the cat was flying back. It was miaowing shrilly, urgently. It had seen something in the abyss. They stepped to the brink and peered over.
A reddish
Eventually Corum spoke to Noreg-Dan. “Have you heard of this place before, King Noreg-Dan?”
He shook his head. “I never knew what really lay beyond the Blood Plain, but I did not expect this. Perhaps it is new…”
“New?” Rhalina looked curiously at him. “What do you mean?”
“Chaos is forever altering the landscape, playing new tricks with it—playing new jokes. Perhaps Queen Xiombarg knows that we are here. Perhaps she is playing a game with us…”
Jhary stroked his cat between its ears. “It would be like a Queen of Chaos to do such a thing, yet I suspect she would have planned worse than this for the destroyer of her brother.”
“This could be just the beginning,” Rhalina pointed out. “She could be building up to her true vengeance…”
“But I think not,” Jhary insisted. “I have fought against Chaos in many worlds and in many guises and one thing that they are is impetuous. I think she would have acknowledged what she was doing by now if she knew who Prince Corum was. No, she still concentrates on the events taking place in the realm we have left. That is not to say we are not in danger,” he added with a faint smile.
“In danger of starving again,” Corum said. “If nothing else. This place is the most barren of all—and there is no way down, no way across, no way back…”
“We must keep moving until we do find a way down or a way across,” Rhalina told him. “Surely the abyss must end somewhere?”
“Possibly,” said Noreg-Dan, rubbing at his gaunt face, “but I remind you again that this is a realm completely ruled by Chaos. From what you have told me of Arioch’s realm, he never wielded the power which Xiombarg wields—he was the least of the Sword Rulers. It is said that Mabelode, the King of the Swords, is even more powerful than she—that he has created of his realm a constantly shifting substance which changes shape more swiftly than thought…”
“Then I pray we are never forced to visit Mabelode,” Jhary murmured. “This situation is sufficiently terrifying for me. I have witnessed Total Chaos and I like it not at all.”
They tramped on beside the unchanging edge of the abyss.
Lost in a daze of weariness and monotony Corum only gradually began to realize that the sky was darkening. He looked up. Was the sun moving?
But the sun seemed to be in the same position. Instead, an eddy of black cloud had risen from somewhere and was streaming across the sky, heading towards the far side of the abyss. He had no means of knowing whether this were some sorcerous manifestation or if it were natural. He stopped. It had grown colder. Now the others noticed the clouds.
Noreg-Dan’s eyes held trepidation. He drew his cracked leather coat about him and licked his bearded lips.
Suddenly, from Jhary’s shoulder the little black-and-white cat leapt into the air and sped away on its black, white-tipped wings. It began to circle over the gorge, almost out of their range of vision. Jhary, too, looked perturbed, for the cat was behaving uncharacteristically.
Rhalina drew closer to Corum and put one hand on his arm. He hugged her shoulders and stared skyward at the black streamers of cloud as they dashed from nowhere to nowhere.
“Have you seen such a sight before, King Noreg-Dan?” Corum called through the gloom. “Has it significance for you?”
Noreg-Dan shook his head. “No, I have not seen this before, but it has significance—it is an omen, I fear, of some danger from Chaos. I have seen similar sights.”
“We had best be ready for what comes.” Corum drew his long Vadhagh sword and threw back his scarlet robe to expose his silver byrnie. The others drew their own blades and stood there on the edge of that vast pit, waiting for whatever might come to threaten them.
Whiskers the cat was flying back. It was miaowing shrilly, urgently. It had seen something in the abyss. They stepped to the brink and peered over.
A reddish
Similar Books
