[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
keep the animals from stamping their feet, if you can."
Somehow the animals seemed to realize the need for quiet; the entire expedition froze in place, and not
even the mules lifted a hoof. The creature beneath the sand continued on its way, lifting the sand
between them and the rest of the world, then passing on, and out of sight. The sand slowly subsided in
its wake, until it lay flat again, as if it had never been disturbed.
Xylina breathed a sigh of relief, and the men relaxed. All but Faro, who peered off after the creature
with a frown. He was the first to speak.
"We still have to cross that open stretch," Faro pointed out. "There maybe more of those things-
whatever they are. Or that one might come back."
True enough. Xylina nodded, and closed her eyes for a moment, thinking. They had to cross it-but not
necessarily on the sand.
She opened her eyes again, and examined the stretch of empty sand between them and the rocks. It
would be folly to cross on the sand-but there was no reason to. Not while her powers were strong.
She had seen no weakening of them, despite the distance from Mazonia. Ware said that all magics
worked equally well here. Well, now was the time to test that. She pursed her lips thoughtfully, gathered
her powers about her-and raised her hands to conjure.
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Click here to buy
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The mists of her powers gathered out over the sand, taking shape, solidifying in place. Gray mist, which
formed into gray stone, heavy and substantial. First, she created pillars of stone in pairs, rising up from
the sand, pillars that were much wider at the bottom than at the flat tops. Once she had those in place,
she conjured a single slab of material, curving up over the sand, supported by the pillars, running from
just below their feet to the other side of the sandy expanse.
The men murmured to one another as the mist rolled up and over the tops of the pillars, leaving the
bridge in its wake. She made the surface rough, so that the feet of men and beasts would not slip on it.
For safety's sake, she made the material, which was neither wood nor metal nor stone, but an amalgam
of all three that only conjuration could produce, strong enough to bear the weight of all of them at once.
Then she looked at them all, and nodded once. She needed to give them no other orders. Faro pointed to
the men nearest the end of the bridge, and waved at the other side.
Two of the men ran lightly up and over the conjured bridge, and took their places at the other end, bows
out, and arrows nocked and ready. They might have rehearsed this a thousand times, so quickly did they
obey Faro's silent commands.
"Wagons next," said Faro. The men parted, giving the wagons enough room to pass between them, and
the drivers snapped their reins over the mules' backs, rolling out onto the surface of Xylina's creation.
The mules obeyed- but slowly. They did not entirely trust this bridge, and went forward only after they
had tried each foothold carefully.
Xylina kept watch to the right for any more telltale burrows in the sand; Ware watched to the left. Faro
urged the men on in hoarse whispers, as if he feared that the sand-creature might hear a shout. She held
her breath, for she was not as confident of her conjuration as she tried to appear. Her creation might not
stand if one of these unknown creatures burrowed beneath a support, or even struck one.
The sun beat down upon them without mercy; there was no shade, here on this side of the Thorn-Wall.
The air was so dry she had not noticed the heat at first-now it was obvious that they would not have been
able to stay here for very long without serious damage from the heat. Already Xylina felt sweat trickling
down her back, and beading up on her upper lip; she licked her lips and tasted salt-crystals. In just that
short a period of time, the sweat had evaporated, leaving behind the salt. They would need real water,
and lots of it, if the rest of this strange region was as dry and hot as this part.
She glanced back from time to time, keeping track of the expedition's progress. The first wagon made it
across her bridge without incident; as it reached the end, the second was in the middle of the bridge, and
the third just beginning the journey. She couldn't help wondering about the noise of their progress.
Every hoofbeat echoed hollowly upon the material of the bridge, and how far would the sound travel?
Could a creature that lived under the earth hear things above it? Would the vibration travel down the
stone and into the sand?
The second wagon reached its goal, and at that moment the third was halfway there. Nervous now,
Xylina waved orders to the men to begin the climb; she and Faro and Ware would bring up the rear.
Obediently, and nervously, they began to trot up the slope of her creation, crowding behind the wagon.
But the slope was steep; they had to fight their way up it, just as the mules had.
The wheels of the third wagon had touched the earth on the other side, when one of the men on the top
of the bridge cried out wordlessly and pointed in the direction the unknown creature had gone. Whatever
he was pointing at had frightened him witless; he was white and shaking. Xylina looked, but saw
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Click here to buy
Click here to buy
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nothing.
That didn't matter. Xylina did not need to know what he was pointing to: it was trouble and it was
probably one of the sand-creatures. A moment later, before she even had a chance to react, she saw the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl aikidobyd.xlx.pl
keep the animals from stamping their feet, if you can."
Somehow the animals seemed to realize the need for quiet; the entire expedition froze in place, and not
even the mules lifted a hoof. The creature beneath the sand continued on its way, lifting the sand
between them and the rest of the world, then passing on, and out of sight. The sand slowly subsided in
its wake, until it lay flat again, as if it had never been disturbed.
Xylina breathed a sigh of relief, and the men relaxed. All but Faro, who peered off after the creature
with a frown. He was the first to speak.
"We still have to cross that open stretch," Faro pointed out. "There maybe more of those things-
whatever they are. Or that one might come back."
True enough. Xylina nodded, and closed her eyes for a moment, thinking. They had to cross it-but not
necessarily on the sand.
She opened her eyes again, and examined the stretch of empty sand between them and the rocks. It
would be folly to cross on the sand-but there was no reason to. Not while her powers were strong.
She had seen no weakening of them, despite the distance from Mazonia. Ware said that all magics
worked equally well here. Well, now was the time to test that. She pursed her lips thoughtfully, gathered
her powers about her-and raised her hands to conjure.
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
The mists of her powers gathered out over the sand, taking shape, solidifying in place. Gray mist, which
formed into gray stone, heavy and substantial. First, she created pillars of stone in pairs, rising up from
the sand, pillars that were much wider at the bottom than at the flat tops. Once she had those in place,
she conjured a single slab of material, curving up over the sand, supported by the pillars, running from
just below their feet to the other side of the sandy expanse.
The men murmured to one another as the mist rolled up and over the tops of the pillars, leaving the
bridge in its wake. She made the surface rough, so that the feet of men and beasts would not slip on it.
For safety's sake, she made the material, which was neither wood nor metal nor stone, but an amalgam
of all three that only conjuration could produce, strong enough to bear the weight of all of them at once.
Then she looked at them all, and nodded once. She needed to give them no other orders. Faro pointed to
the men nearest the end of the bridge, and waved at the other side.
Two of the men ran lightly up and over the conjured bridge, and took their places at the other end, bows
out, and arrows nocked and ready. They might have rehearsed this a thousand times, so quickly did they
obey Faro's silent commands.
"Wagons next," said Faro. The men parted, giving the wagons enough room to pass between them, and
the drivers snapped their reins over the mules' backs, rolling out onto the surface of Xylina's creation.
The mules obeyed- but slowly. They did not entirely trust this bridge, and went forward only after they
had tried each foothold carefully.
Xylina kept watch to the right for any more telltale burrows in the sand; Ware watched to the left. Faro
urged the men on in hoarse whispers, as if he feared that the sand-creature might hear a shout. She held
her breath, for she was not as confident of her conjuration as she tried to appear. Her creation might not
stand if one of these unknown creatures burrowed beneath a support, or even struck one.
The sun beat down upon them without mercy; there was no shade, here on this side of the Thorn-Wall.
The air was so dry she had not noticed the heat at first-now it was obvious that they would not have been
able to stay here for very long without serious damage from the heat. Already Xylina felt sweat trickling
down her back, and beading up on her upper lip; she licked her lips and tasted salt-crystals. In just that
short a period of time, the sweat had evaporated, leaving behind the salt. They would need real water,
and lots of it, if the rest of this strange region was as dry and hot as this part.
She glanced back from time to time, keeping track of the expedition's progress. The first wagon made it
across her bridge without incident; as it reached the end, the second was in the middle of the bridge, and
the third just beginning the journey. She couldn't help wondering about the noise of their progress.
Every hoofbeat echoed hollowly upon the material of the bridge, and how far would the sound travel?
Could a creature that lived under the earth hear things above it? Would the vibration travel down the
stone and into the sand?
The second wagon reached its goal, and at that moment the third was halfway there. Nervous now,
Xylina waved orders to the men to begin the climb; she and Faro and Ware would bring up the rear.
Obediently, and nervously, they began to trot up the slope of her creation, crowding behind the wagon.
But the slope was steep; they had to fight their way up it, just as the mules had.
The wheels of the third wagon had touched the earth on the other side, when one of the men on the top
of the bridge cried out wordlessly and pointed in the direction the unknown creature had gone. Whatever
he was pointing at had frightened him witless; he was white and shaking. Xylina looked, but saw
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
nothing.
That didn't matter. Xylina did not need to know what he was pointing to: it was trouble and it was
probably one of the sand-creatures. A moment later, before she even had a chance to react, she saw the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]