The Changing Land Page 5

  They were drifting toward their right. The features of the landscape immediately before them also seemed to be drifting toward the right, and those more distant appeared to be moving faster. At a greater distance, however, bright rocks and sparkling glassy trees were racing leftward.

  "I don't understand…" Black began.

  The land had acquired ripples. The area where they rested, which had been low, was now rising. Dilvish, at a higher eye level than Black, was first to see and understand.

  "Gods!" he exclaimed.

  Far below and ahead was an enormous circular opening in a depressed area. The landscape was winding itself about it, spiraling inward; possessed of an abnormal plasticity, rocks and shrubs, logs and litter were all drawn toward that great dark hole and swirled about it, to vanish over its edges, along with the entire surface layer of soil upon which they rested.

  "It's like a whirlpool…" Dilvish said, turning his head to look behind him.

  In that distance also, things were moving in the opposite direction. Only…

  "At least we are nearer the outer edge than the center," he said. "We had better get away quickly, though."

  Black reared and remained upright for long seconds. Then he dropped heavily to the ground and turned to face the north. He began to move, breaking the circle which guarded them.

  "This may work to our advantage," he offered. "We are being borne westward as we head toward the turning edge. By the time we depart the disturbed area, it will have carried us nearer to our goal."

  He increased his pace.

  "It sounds good, said Dilvish, "but I wonder… ?"

  "What?"

  "When we get to the edge—the place where this land platform ends and the stable ground begins…"

  "Yes. I see what you mean."

  Black moved even faster.

  "That dark, curving line farther ahead…" Black said as he half rose again. "The ground does seem to be in turmoil there."

  They raced on toward the dark band. Stray wisps of fog were blown past them. A low, growling sound now reached their ears.

  "It does seem fairly wide."

  "Yes."

  The vibrations came to them. Ahead, a river of grinding rocks and soil seethed, crunching, like a boiling moat. As they drew nearer, the sounds grew louder. The ground began to dip and rock beneath Black's hoofs, and he slowed, finally halting perhaps fifteen paces from the place where the turmoil began.

  Dilvish dismounted and moved slowly forward. A sudden dropping and recovery of the land threw him to one side, but his elfbooted feet moved with uncanny precision to preserve his balance. A log flashed by within the area of turbulence, moving as though it rode atop a horizontal avalanche. It struck a slower-moving stone with a dull sound, upended, and was ground to splinters before his eyes. Stooping, Dilvish seized a head-sized stone and raised it to shoulder level. This he cast out before him. It skipped several times before it was borne away atop the rush to his right. Dilvish stood waiting for a time, adjusting his footing in response to the landswells; then he took hold of another stone and repeated the performance, with the same results. He took a step forward. Several larger stones passed. He looked up and to his left, to where the castle seemed to be inching from left to right along the horizon. He took two more steps, then halted again.

  "You might be able to," Black called, "if you time it just right. I'll keep watch for the proper steppingstones and call out to you. The elfboots should carry you."

  Dilvish shook his head and turned back.

  "No," he said, mounting again. "We have to go together."

  "It is too far for me to leap."

  "Then we wait until something large comes along."

  "Risky. But it would seem to be the only way. All right."

  Black reared again and peered upstream.

  "Nothing suitable in sight."

  He turned on his hind legs until he was facing back in the direction from which he had come.

  "I can see the area we left. It's a lot nearer the hole."

  "I can see a big rock coming."

  Black turned and dropped almost immediately. The castle was now directly ahead and drifting to the right.

  "Hold very tightly," Black said. "If I fall, try to spring from my body and keep going."

  Black moved into a new position facing the dark and grumbling river of debris. The ground beneath them was raised, lowered, raised again. Dilvish leaned forward and squeezed until his legs ached. He turned his head to the left. He heard a distant booming sound, almost like a giant's laugh. He saw a sheet of flame fall from the heavens, disappearing at some point far ahead. Castle Timeless glistened like an amethyst now. The ground rocked gently, and there came a sound as of a massive gong being repeatedly struck, followed by a shattering noise, as if an entire wall of windows had suddenly given way somewhere. The dark river continued its crashing, its rumbling.

  "Here it comes," Black announced.

  Dilvish saw the half-submerged boulder again, rounding the bend with some difficulty, pushing toward them…

  He tried to judge its pace. He closed his eyes and opened them again. A streamer of fog wound its way past.

  "Now!" Black cried.

  Suddenly they were moving. Dilvish thought it was too soon. The rock appeared as if it were caught for a moment and sinking further. Its surface seemed to offer no purchase for even the most careful feet…

  They were in the air.

  Involuntarily, Dilvish closed his eyes again. His teeth were jolted by the force of the contact. Black's body twisted beneath him, and he thought that they were slipping, falling.

  He opened his eyes to find them rising through the air once again. He clenched his jaw.

  They struck solid ground and kept moving. Dilvish straightened and exhaled, realizing he had been holding his breath. They were southwest of the castle and racing across a rocky plain, among fuming holes.

  Black paused for a moment when they had mounted a pebbly hillock and looked back.

  "Not bad," he said. "I wasn't sure."

  Then he started down the farther slopes, bearing to the right.

  "I wonder where it all goes," Dilvish said.

  "What?"

  "The stuff being drawn into that hole."

  "I believe it will be spit out again somewhere else," said Black, increasing his pace as they approached a sandy field.

  "Comforting thought."

  There came a rustling sound as they struck the sandy stretch. Small, dark, moving things began to appear below, Dilvish noted almost subliminally, growing like rapid weeds about them. The sand was then disturbed before them, and larger, faster versions of the same broke the surface, wriggling upward.

  "Fingers!" Dilvish exclaimed, almost to himself.

  Black did not reply, but raced on as large purple hands came up to clutch at them, waving and grasping, higher now. He trod upon them and his metal limbs tore free of them. Ahead, they rose to even greater heights, long, hairy arms like stalks in their way. Dilvish felt something brush against his right foot, and his blade came into his hand. He began swinging it downward, lopping grasping fingers which came too near. Black lowered his head and breathed flames to scorch the ground before him.

  Mist rose in depressed areas about them, but this stayed at ground level, the air itself remaining clear beneath a bright blue sky with but a few puffs of cloud to the west. The castle, only slightly nearer now, glittered as if fire from the sunlight reflected upon its many panes of glass.

  Dilvish began to perspire as he swung his blade on both sides at the hands, which continued to rise in profusion. They neared the far end of the field, where the land dropped downward out of sight beyond a low, dunelike ridge. As they approached it, the ground heaved and the most massive hand yet began to work its way free of the earth. Dilvish felt Black's strides lengthening, and bones crunched and snapped beneath them as they almost flew the final distance. Black's head was raised and his fires had been remitted. The palm of his huge hand
was rising directly in their path.

  Dilvish knew what was about to follow even before they left the ground, arcing through the air. The hand was reaching, still rising, as Black sprang. Dilvish struck outward and down at the nearest finger, feeling his blade strike and cut deeply. The hand suddenly clenched into a tight fist, completely clearing their way. A bleeding log of a finger struck the ground and rolled back down the dune.

  Then they were descending. The slope was steeper than anticipated, but it was its hard, sleek, shiny quality which caused Dilvish to stiffen the moment before Black's hoofs struck. It was a side of a large, bowl-shaped depression, at the bottom of which lay a still, steaming pool. Sulfurous fumes filled the air here, and something suspiciously like a partly decomposed human torso floated in the yellow waters, along with smaller, possibly once-living objects.

  As they struck the glistening surface, Black's hoofs immediately went out from under him and he toppled to the left. Dilvish sprang free so as not to be crushed, casting himself backward and to the side, rolling, blade still in hand.

  The elfboots touched the surface and held. Dilvish threw his left arm crossbody and rolled to his right, catching hold of Black's right flank. As Black continued to slide, Dilvish's shinbones felt as if they were about to snap as the elfboots maintained their purchase. He shuffled his feet, breaking the contact, sheathed his blade, rolled onto his stomach and caught hold of Black with both hands, to be dragged forward, sprawled behind his mount.

  He moved his feet again, gaining traction, rose into a crouched position, still holding on to Black. In the meantime, Black's front hoofs continued to flail, striking deep gouges as he slid head-foremost toward the pool.

  Dilvish began moving his grip, one hand at a time, working his way forward along Black's left side, his back, until he caught hold of his neck. He moved until he was in advance of his sliding mount, the elfboots locking with each step as he began pushing upward. His shoulders and thighs strained, his joints creaked, but Black began slowing and the movements of his forelimbs became more deliberate, the force of each thrust better directed.

  The smell of the pool grew heavier, irritating his nostrils; and looking past Black, Dilvish could see that they had descended a major portion of the slope. He did not look behind him, but redoubled his efforts at stabilization.

  Black's right forefoot struck and held, scoring the slick surface deeply, sending up a great shower of glassy particles. Then his left foot caught and Dilvish heaved with all of his strength. Black rose on both legs, his hindquarters still depressed, legs shuffling, digging. Dilvish caught hold of him about the neck and locked his legs, straining forward, upward.

  Black halted, reared his hindquarters, stood immobile. Dilvish relaxed gradually, took a deep breath, began coughing as the noxious fumes entered his lungs.

  "Don't," said Black, "take even another step backward."

  Dilvish looked behind him.

  The scummy waters lapped gently at a place less than a pace away. Dilvish shuddered. Looking further, he saw that it was indeed the remains of a human body drifting near the pool's center, bones exposed in places. The water was darker about it. He could almost see the decomposition continuing. He looked away.

  "What now?" Black asked. "I know of no spell sufficiently specialized to cover situations such as this."

  Dilvish smiled faintly and looked back up along the way they had descended.

  "Offhand, I'd say we must do it the hard way," he remarked. "Let me test this slick stuff."

  He removed his hand slowly from Black's neck, straightened and drew his blade. He took several paces to his left, raised the weapon, and brought it crashing down upon the smooth, sloping surface. The blade smashed its way through several inches of the material, and fracture lines spread about it for a full handspan in every direction.

  "It can be done," Dilvish announced. "If I chop a series of holds along here, we can get you turned around and headed back up."

  "Do that," said Black, "and I'll be able to make my own holds going up. I feel rather delicately poised at the moment, though."

  "Yes," said Dilvish, coughing. "Don't do anything that requires movement."

  He turned and assailed the slope once again. Chips flew.

  After several minutes, he had hacked out a set of parallel tracks over eight feet in length, heading off to Black's right.

  "How does that look?" he asked.

  "Once I'm onto them, I'll feel uplifted in spirit as well as in body," Black replied. "Then I suppose it will be best to proceed in a straight line, right on up that side."

  "I'd think it would," Dilvish said, sheathing his blade and moving back to a position to the left of Black's head. "I'm going to be pushing up against you as you move across. Right foot first, I'd say." He took hold and braced his shoulder against Black's neck. "Any time you're ready."

  Gingerly, Black raised his right forefoot and extended it, turning his body slowly. He placed the foot upon the far track, then shifted his weight further in that direction.

  "The next one should be the real test."

  He raised his left forefoot. Immediately, Dilvish felt increased pressure. He strained upward as Black moved the foot. His breath burned in his nostrils. Slowly, the foot came to rest upon the nearer track. The weight did not lift, however. Black was now moving his left hind leg into the niche just vacated. When he had achieved this, he brought the right hind leg forward.

  "Two more steps…" he said softly, then quickly transferred the right hind leg to the farther track.

  "Now…"

  Dilvish continued the pressure as Black slid by, moving the first leg up to the track. Then he took several steps forward and Dilvish sighed, coughed, and stretched.

  "Fine," Black said. "Fine."

  Dilvish tied his scarf about his nose and mouth, then moved up beside Black once again, remaining between him and the pool. Black proceeded to the ends of the tracks.

  "Now what?" Dilvish asked.

  "No problem. Watch."

  Black's right forefoot flashed forward, smashing a large hole within the glossy surface. It remained there as his left struck another, higher. He drew himself up and the right moved again. Soon his hind feet were moving into the spaces vacated.

  "By the way, thanks," he said, driving another cloven hoof forward.

  Dilvish rested his right hand upon Black's back and matched his slow pace.

  "The sky seems to have darkened during our sojourn below," he observed.

  "The emanations are very strong," Black said. "But I do not feel any change waves moving this way."

  "What does that mean?"

  "Almost anything."

  The sky continued to darken to an almost twilit depth as they made their way upward. After several minutes they heard a short, sharp shriek from above, and a dark form slid over the rim, high to their left.

  "It's a man!" Black cried.

  Dilvish's hands flew to his waist as he moved to the left and called out: "Here!"

  His belt came free in his hands and he cast it out before him, the weight of the heavy buckle bearing it directly into the sliding man's path. A long stick came bouncing past, almost striking Dilvish on the shoulder.

  "Catch hold!" he cried.

  The man twisted and grasped, his left hand seizing hold of the belt just above the buckle. Dilvish braced himself and turned as the other slid past.

  "Don't let go!" the man cried, his right hand catching hold of the belt above the left as his body slued sideways.

  "I wouldn't lose a good belt just for the pleasure of seeing a man in an acid pit," Dilvish answered through clenched teeth, feeling the full weight of the other now. "And it's getting too dark to enjoy the spectacle properly," he continued, drawing the other upward until he could catch hold of his hand.

  A greenish glow began in the pool below, and moments later a blinding fountain of sparks rose above it.

  "My staff!" the man cried, glancing back over his shoulder. "My staff! You've no idea
what went into its crafting—what powers were stored within it!"

  "I'll bet your life's worth more," Dilvish said, looping his belt over his neck and catching hold of the man's other hand.

  An enormous bubbling began within the now-green pool, and the fumes rose more noxious than before.

  The man managed a smile.

  "Of course you're right," he said, his boot slipping out from beneath him as he attempted to gain footing. He immediately commenced an almost profound stream of profanity. Dilvish listened with admiration, for even in his military days he would have been hard put to find its equal.

  "You managed to blaspheme gods even the priests have forgotten," he said with awe in his voice when the other paused for breath and began coughing. "I owe it to the Art now to drag you out of here. Don't try to stand up. Just let me pull you along to where my mount waits."

  Dilvish drew the man up and across the slope, finally raising one of his yellow-tunicked arms and drawing it over his shoulders, assisting him to throw the other across Black's back. Behind them, a series of small explosions began within the roiling pool.

  "Don't try to keep your footing," Dilvish said. "Just lean and let us carry you. Let your feet drag."

  The man stared at Black for a moment and then nodded.

  Dilvish and Black resumed their upward progress. Tendrils of fog slid across the darkened sky. The slope shuddered slightly beneath their feet, following another disruption within the pool. Black paused in mid-stride and waited until it had passed.

  "That's quite a staff you had there," Dilvish commented.

  The man gnashed his teeth and growled. Black's hoofs crunched through the glossy surface.

  "It was like an account with an honest banker," the man said finally. "I had invested it with power over the years, against a time of need. Claiming the castle is going to be more difficult without it."

  "Sad," said Dilvish. "Why do you want the castle so badly?"

  The man only looked at him.

  They neared the rim, pausing several more times to allow the passage of intermittent shudders emanating from below. When Dilvish looked back, all that he could see was a welling of greenish foam which now reached fully a third of the way up the sides of the depression. The air was clearer here, however, where a light breeze from the northwest reached them.