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.It was like somethingthose two might have done, to carry out such a betrayal."Theiwar!" Slide Tolec shouted."Forward! Prepare to attack!"And just north of the Theiwar, Prince Olim Goldbuckle and his Daewar army heard the call andchecked their weapons.The sound of drums was coming from below Galefang, where the Daewar'ssecret entrance to the subterranean world below Qoudseeker lay.The Hylar had found the way toUrkhan's caverns! They would invade New Daebardin! Olim drew his sword and sliced it forwardin the cold mountain air."Daewar to me!" he roared."Flanks left and right! Double-time!""The Theiwar!" Gem Bluesleeve called, pointing to the left where Theiwar were pouring over a ridge, angling upward toward Galefang."And there! The Daergar are coming!""Shields and blades!" Olim ordered."Get ready to fight!"On rises and ridges all around, bands of fur-clothed Klar heard the drum-call and saw the armies of Daewar, Theiwar, and Daergar heading for the source of it."Rust and rot!" Bole Trune growled."I give my word, I let no one break it.Klar! Fight!"A mile or so away, huddled under an outthrust shelf of stone, small faces turned toward the sound of the drums and one of them asked, "What that noise?""Drum," another said."Like before.""What before?""Before! When we get all surrounded an' say okay we do council.""When all that happen?""While back, Highbulp.You were havin' nap, maybe didn' notice.""Well, what it mean?""Prob'ly mean we s'posed to go where noise is.""Why?"" 'Cause we said okay we would.""Oh."There were other ears, too, that heard the song of the drums.For miles around, in caverns and valley shelters, in fields, mining camps, and snowy pastures, the Einar by the thousands turned to listenand wonder.Unaffiliated with any tribe, though they shared ancestors with all of them, the commonfolk of Kal-Thax heard the call and came out from tiny villages, cave complexes, and remoteshelters to follow the strange, hypnotic sound—the commanding, lovely Call to Balladine.Some of the Klar arrived first at the cliffs below Gale-fang.They howled down the slopes, in Klarfashion, then stopped in confusion as they saw the solid wall of iron shields facing them there.The Daewar came then, pushing up through a snowy draw, bright garments brilliant against thewhite of new winter.In the thousands, they far outnumbered the Hylar foot companies and theeleven mounted Hylar waiting under the cliffs, but Olim Goldbuckle remembered the encirclementof the border camps and the precise, efficient way in which these outland strangers had madethemselves part of Kal-Thax.They hesitated, and when the Hylar line made no move, they pulledback to wait.The Theiwar came cautiously, ready to counterattack invaders in their country, but when they sawthe assembly below the cliffs they were confused.Nobody was attacking anybody.Gathering to oneside of the massed Daewar, they clustered around and behind Slide Tolec, their hands on their darkblades, and waited.By the time the Daergar of Vog Ironface arrived on the scene, others were arriving, too—smallgroups of puzzled, cautious Einar from the nearer slopes, and even a little tribe—or tumble—ofAghar, creeping along a gully to peer out at what was happening beyond.By dusk, thousands and tens of thousands of dwarves waited on the slope of Cloudseeker, below thetowering crag called Galefang, nearest of the Windweavers.It was what Colin Stonetooth hadcounted on.There was such a crowd now, that no one — not even the well-armed Daewar — couldstart trouble without risking a free-for-all in which everyone would be outnumbered.The sheer numbers, and the complexity of the groups, made it simply impractical for anyone toattack anyone.And to most dwarves — even the unpredictable Klar — the primary test of anysituation — the primary test of anything — was its practicality.Mounted on his great horse Schoen, and flanked by the Ten, Colin Stonetooth rode to the top of ashoulder in full view of everyone on the slope.With great ceremony, he removed his helm andshield and handed them across to Jerem Longslate, First of the Ten.Then he drew his sword andhammer and — as he had seen Olim Goldbuckle do to signal a talk — he dropped them on theground.The drums ceased their song, and in the silence Colin Stonetooth said, in a voice that carried to the fringes of the great crowd, "We are the Hylar.We are newly-come, but we are of Kal-Thax now, just as are all of you.So know this: in the spring, or the next spring, these mountains may be overrun by humans.Unless we — all of us, in unison — take measures to prevent it, we will all fall before the tide of human migration, if not this year, then the year after."Olim Goldbuckle stepped to the head of his legions and raised his arms."You speak of measures, Hylar!" he called."What measures?""We will show you," Colin said."Among us, we have the means to create a stronghold which no human horde can penetrate." He pointed."You, Vog Ironface! Your people have the raw materials that will be needed, in your mines.The ores to make the metals for a mighty stronghold.And you,Slide Tolec! Your people know these passes better than any.And you, Bole Trune of the Klar.Organized, your people can save themselves from the humans by helping to save all the rest of us."Olim Goldbuckle cupped his hands to shout, "And the Daewar? What do you think we can offer toyour plan?"Colin Stonetooth gazed at the Daewar prince and suppressed a smile."You, Prince Olim, have the place.""What place?" Olim snapped."He's right!" Slide Tolec yelled."The Daewar have a great, secret cavern somewhere.I have seen it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]