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."We have reached the bottom," said the dwarf."Now, you may rest."They collapsed, rolling over on their backs, gasping for breath, stretching,easing cramped and aching muscles.Drugar said nothing else to them.Theymight have thought he'd left them, except that they could hear his stentorianbreathing.At length, rested, they grew more cognizant of their surroundings.Whatever it was on which they were lying was hard and unresiliant, slick andslightly gritty feeling to the touch."What is this stuff?" Roland asked, propping himself up.He dug at a handful,ran it through his fingers."Who cares?" said Rega.Her voice had a shrill edge, she was panting."I can'ttake this! The dark.It's awful.I can't breathe! I'm smothering!"Drugar spoke words in dwarven, that sounded like rocks clashing together.Alight flared, the brilliance painful to the eyes.The dwarf held a torch inhis hand."Is that better, human?""No, not much," said Rega.Sitting up, she looked around fearfully."It justmakes the darkness darker.I hate it down here! I can't stand it!""You want to go back up there?" Drugar pointed.Rega's face paled, her eyes widened."No," she whispered, and slid over to benear Paithan.The elf started to put his arm around her, to comfort her, then he glanced atRoland.His face flushing, Paithan stood up and walked away.Rega stared afterhim."Paithan?"He didn't look around.Burying her face in her hands, Rega began to sobbitterly."What you are sitting on," said Drugar, "is dirt."Roland was at a loss, uncertain what to do.He knew-as her "husband" he shouldgo comfort Rega, but he had a feeling that his presence would only makematters worse.Besides, he felt in need of comforting himself.Looking down athis clothes, he could see, by the torchlight, splotches of red-blood, Andor'sblood."Dirt," said Paithan."Ground.You mean we're actually on ground level?""Where are we?" Roland demanded."We are in a k'tark, meaning 'crossroad' in your language," answered Drugar."Several tunnels come together here.We find it is a good meeting place.Thereis food and water." He pointed to several shadowy shapes barely visible in theflickering torchlight."Help yourself.""I'm not all that hungry," mumbled Roland, rubbing frantically at thebloodstains on his shirt."But I could use some water.""Yes, water!" Rega lifted her head, the tears on her cheeks sparkled in thefirelight."I'll get it," offered the elf.Page 87 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlThe shadowy shapes turned out to be wooden barrels.The elf removed a lid,peered inside, sniffed."Water," he reported.He carried a gourd filled withthe liquid to Rega."Drink this," he said to her gently, his hand touching her shoulder.Rega cupped the gourd in her hands, drank thirstily.Her eyes were on the elf,his were on her.Roland, watching, felt something dark twist inside him.Imade a mistake.They like each other, like each other a lot.And that's not inthe plans.I don't care two sticks if Rega seduces an elf.I'll be damned ifshe's going to fall in love with one."Hey," he said."I could use some of that."Paithan rose to his feet.Rega handed back the empty gourd with a wan smile.The elf headed for the water barrel.Rega flashed Roland a piercing, angryglance.Roland returned it, scowling.Rega flipped her dark hair over hershoulder."I want to leave!" she said."I want out of here!""Certainly," said Drugar."Like I said, crawl back up there.They are waitingfor you."Rega shuddered.Forcing back a cry, she hid her face in her folded arms."There's no need to be so rough on her, dwarf.That was a pretty awfulexperience up there! And if you ask me"-Paithan cast a grim look at theirsurroundings-"things down here don't look much better!""The elf's got a point," struck in Roland."You saved our lives.Why?"Drugar fingered a wooden ax that he wore thrust through his wide belt."Whereare the railbows?""I thought so." Roland nodded."Well, if that was why you saved us, you wastedyour time.You'll have to ask those creatures for them.But maybe you'vealready done that! The SeaKing told me you dwarves worship these monsters.Hesaid you and your people are going to join these tytans and take over thehuman lands.That true, Drugar? Is that why you needed the weapons?"Rega raised her head, stared at the dwarf.Paithan slowly sipped water fromthe gourd, his eyes on Drugar.Roland tensed.He didn't like the glitter inthe dwarf's dark eyes, the chill smile that touched the bearded lips."My people." said Drugar softly, "my people are no more.""What? Make sense, damn it, Blackbeard!""He is," said Rega."Look at him! Blessed Thillia! He means his people are alldead!""Orn's blood," swore Paithan, in elven, with reverence."Is that it?" demanded Roland."Is that the truth? Your people.dead?""Look at him!" Rega cried, almost hysterically.Minds confused, blinded by their own fears, they had none of them really seenthe dwarf.Eyes open, they saw that Drugar's clothes were torn and stainedwith blood.His beard, of which he had always taken great care, was matted andtangled; his hair wild and uncombed.A large and ugly gash had opened the skinon his forearm, blood had dried on his forehead.His large hands fingered theax."If we'd had the weapons," said Drugar, his gaze fixed black and unblinking,on the shadows moving in the tunnels, "we could have fought them
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