The Brega path

CHAPTER 1

Perry was awakened at dawn by Delk, who had the last watch. Before joining the others for breakfast, the Warrow retrieved Bane from the log beside him; the Elven-blade had been embedded in the bark point down, the long-knife left standing upright through the night as a silent sentinel for all the company to see. And as each member of the Squad had taken his ward tour, he had kept a close eye on the sword, watching for the flickering blue flame that would gleam from the blade-jewel if Spaunen drew near.

Shannon Silverleaf, whose turn at guard had come after Perry's, had been especially interested in the blade, and had plucked it out and held it with reverence. "This was crafted long ago in the Realm of Duellin, a bygone Land of Atala," the Elf had said to Perry after long study, "and the way of its making is lost. This blade speaks of the Elden Days, when it was one of many weapons fashioned to engage the evil forces of the Great Enemy, Gyphon-the High Vulk. In a way, we are fighting Him still, for it is He who bred the Rucha, Loka, and Ogruthi-as well as other evil beings-in Neddra, in the Untargarda. My forefathers in the House of Aurinor made these blades to fight that spawn.

"Alas, though many of these poniards were forged in those Elden Days, few remain in Mithgar, and fewer still are yet in use-most lie in rest in ancient graves or upon dusty tombs." Silverleaf had then flourished the blade. "But this pick still serves. I think the name for this edge, Bane, is. well chosen, and one which imparts honor to the weapon. This is a great token to carry into Black Drimmen-deeve, and it bodes well for our mission." The Elf then had plunged its point back into the log and replaced Perry at guard.

But now it was dawn, and any maggot-folk abroad would have taken cover from the coming Sun, so Perry sheathed Bane and hunkered down for the morning meal.

"Enjoy your hot tea," said Kian, "for there'll be no fires after this one until our mission is done; this is the last pot we'll brew til then. But we'll not be without tea for long: Today we start overland. At sunrise on the sixth day hence we should be entering Dawn-Gate. At midnight of the ninth day we should see Durek with Cotton and my brother. Rand, enter the Dusk-Door with the Army right behind. Then, after another day or three and many dead Spawn, we will at last build us a fire and enjoy some more hot brew."

"It will give me much pleasure removing the uninvited Wrg 'guests' from our upcoming tea party," grunted giant Ursor, and the others nodded and smiled grimly.

Soon breakfast was finished, and all the spare supplies were cached. The Sun had risen, and it was time to go. Delk quenched the fire, and all shouldered their packs. Perry took one last look at the Great River Argon in the direction the blazing funeral raft had swept. "Farewell, Barak," he whispered, and turned to join the others.

They started west over the land, walking in single file: Lord Kian led the way, the young Man armored in mail and a plain iron-and-leather helm, and armed with his silver-handled bow and arrows, and a sword and dagger, behind Kian marched Anval, the Dwarf warrior mail-shirted, iron-helmed, axe-armed; Ursor the Baeran came next, wearing a dark-brown boiled-leather breastplate and carrying his great black mace; Perry was silveron-mailed under his shirt, with Bane and a dagger at his belt, and on his head he wore a simple steel-and-leather helmet; lithe Shannon Silverleaf strode next, without armor but armed with a longbow and arrows and a knife the length of Bane; Borin and Delk brought up the rear, these two Dwarves each armed and armored like Anval, with axes and helms and black-iron mail. AH wore green or grey or brown travelling clothes that blended with earth and stone, leaf and branch; and they bore packs containing the needed tools, food, and other supplies for their mission; each carried a leather water bottle at his hip. Their bedrolls and cloaks were fastened in rolls on top of the packs. Thus did they trek in file toward Kraggen-cor, leaving the Argon behind.

Soon the Seven emerged from the river-border forest and came to the wold, a treeless rolling plain that slowly rose up toward the far mountains. Occasionally a thicket stood barren in the winter Sun, and heather and gorse grew on the land. The slopes were gentle and the growth was low, and so they walked in a line straight to the west; only now and then would they make a detour to pass around an outcropping or a tangle of briars or other minor hindrance. Only twice did they come to major obstructions: The first was a deep, wide ravine across their path, running out of the northwest and down to the southeast. They clambered down one steep side and into the wooded bottom where a wide stream bubbled and danced through mossy rocks; the company took the opportunity to replenish their canteens in its clear, sparkling depths. Crossing over, they scrambled up the other side and back out onto the wold. The second obstacle was a minor bluff that jumped up out of the land to steeply bar the way. They walked north three miles before finding a cut that they could walk up through to pass beyond this high rampart.

The second day was much like the first: Even though it was mid-November, the day stayed mild and the air was calm, and so the trek was made in good weather. The course the comrades took was over gentle land, and they made good time. The wold continued to rise slowly as they marched westward toward the mountains.

That evening the Seven bedded down on the lee slope of a hill, sheltered from the light vesper breeze by a massive rock outcropping. Perry sorely missed the cheery campfire, though the Moon waxed overhead, shedding enough light to see out upon the open wold.

That night Perry was awakened by Anval, who pressed a finger to the Warrow's lips and whispered, "Bane glimmers." Perry looked in silence and saw that the guardian blade had a faint blue glint that dimly flickered deep within the rune-jewel.

The company was now awake, crouched in the shadows of the outcropping, each facing outward, scanning the moonlit land, weapons drawn, senses alert. Shannon Silverleaf

whispered to Kian and then silently withdrew and made his way noiselessly to the crest of the hill, where his keener sight and sharper hearing could be used to advantage.

Perry knelt without breathing for long intervals, straining his own hearing to detect the enemy, but he neither heard nor saw movement. Bane had been resheathed so that its werelight would not shine across the wold to give them away, but occasionally Perry would carefully draw it but a small way-an inch or so-cupping his hand to shield the glimmer, checking the faint blue flame. The flicker persisted for about an hour but slowly died away until once more Bane shone only with pale moonlight, the distant danger past.

And then Shannon came back down. "Though I saw nothing," he said quietly, "I felt the presence of evil to the south, toward Darda Galion. Mayhap my kindred will soon engage the foul despoilers on the borders of that abandoned forest."

The following day they marched swiftly across the uplands, and the wold continued to rise. They could now see the mountains, and before them was the Quadran, four peaks taller than the rest; and one of the four towered above the other three. "That is mighty RaVenor," answered Borin to a question from Perry, "the greatest Mountain in the known ranges. Even from here you can see that it looms over the Others. My people call it the Hammer because of the sudden storms that maul its slopes, to the ill of those caught in its blasts." Borin gazed with admiration at its dull red sides. "Even though it now houses Squam, still I am eager to walk the halls and chambers within. And when we have routed the foul foe, and cleaned their stench from the stone, we shall make it into a mighty homeland as of old."

The next day the companions entered a low range of foothills that jutted out across the way. In the lead, Lord Kian struck for an old footway in the north of the spur, and soon they were on a narrow path wending up through the hill-chain. As they climbed to the ridge, low on the horizon far to the south they could see a darkling green. "Look," said Perry, pointing, an unspoken question in his eyes.

"That is Darda Galion, the Larkenwald," Shannon informed die buccan, "the last true home of the Lian here in Mithgar. Most have now ridden the Twilight Ride, but a few of us remain, scattered to the four winds, living in other forests with our kindred, the Dylvana, while Darda Gallon lies empty."

"Lord Kian told us he thought the Larkenwald was deserted," said Perry, looking southward at the shaded green far away.

"Yes, it is so," responded Shannon with regret, "we no longer dwell there. Many left in the ancient days when the Vani-lerihha~- amp;ie Silverlarks-disappeared. Others fled when once more the power of Gron arose and the Draedan-the Gargon-was loosed. Still more went when the Mistress- Dara Faeon-rode the Twilight Path to plead with Adon for succor. And when she was gone, the light seemed to go out of the forest. After the Winter War, many followed her to Adonar, while others lingered in Mithgar, not ready to ride to the High One's Lands. Even Coron Eiron was unready to follow her, and dwelt yet a while in Mithgar among the mortal Lands. But he grew weary of living without her brightness and now is gone too. And when all the Lian had gone from the Eldwood forest, the Dylvana, too, went away, crossing the Argon to come into Darda Erynian and the Greatwood to live with their brethren. And then Darda Galion stood empty."

Perry stopped, pausing a moment, gazing in sadness at the now-empty realm. Then he turned and hurried to catch up with Shannon. As they tramped onward, Perry remarked, "Lord Kian said that travellers at times catch a glimpse of movement in the forest-as if Elves were still there. And I see that the green holds dusk, as of a Land in twilight, though ahe Sun yet rides the day."

"Ah yes, the trees do now hold the foredark, for again my kindred are there. We learned that Rucha and Loka-Gyphon Spaunen-were stirring in Black Drimmen-deeve," said Shannon grimly, "and raiding south through the Larkenwald. A company of us returned, to bar the way and stop their passage through Darda Galion. But there are many companies of mem, and we are but one, and thus the foul despoilers yet win through, though now we give them pause."

"How came Ursor, a Man, to be with a company of Elves?" asked Perry.

"Ah," replied Shannon, "that is a mystery: One night, we beset a company of Rupt, and in the midst of battle, there he appeared, swinging that black iron mace with great effect. He has been with us ever since; his woodcraft nearly equals an Elf s. He talks seldom of his past, but this we now know: He was hunting Spaunen alone, wreaking vengeance for his wife and child, slain on a journey to far Vaion. Before joining us he would lie in wait for a Ruch or three to become separated from their bands, and then he would strike. He also set snares and deadfalls and spiked pits on the paths Rucha and Loka alone travelled. Now that he is with us, he need no longer wait for mischance on the part of just one or two Rupt, as you have seen, he attacks with us in fury to lay many victims by the heels. He says his revenge now goes swifter."

Perry looked ahead at the big Mart and almost pitied the maggot-folk. Then something that had been nagging at the back of his mind sprang to the fore, and Perry called, "Ursor, wait!" And the Warrow rushed to catch up with the Baeran. As the two of them strode side by side, Perry said, "Ursor, I just now remembered, your kinsman Baru, warden of the Crestan Pass, and his three sons send greetings. Baru says that all is well at home. He also trusts that your vengeance against the 'Wrg' goes to your satisfaction.*'

The Squad tramped onward in silence, two of the buccan's strides matching one of the Baeran's. Finally Ursor replied, "Thank you, Wee One. Long has it been since I've had word from my kith."

The Seven marched swiftly along the path and came through the hillpass and started down the far slopes. Spread out before them was a great tilt of land trapped between the eastern spur they had just crossed and the Grimwall Mountains on the western side. The slope rose up to the west and into the flanks of the Quadran: Rdvenor, Aggarath, Ghatan, and Uchan. These four mountains were known to Man as Stormhelm, Grimspire, Loftcrag, and Greytower, and to Elves as Coron, Aevor, Chagor, and Gralon. Each held stone of a different hue: ruddy Stormhelm, sable Grimspire, azurine Loftcrag, ashen Greytower. Beneath this quartet of mighty peaks was delved Kraggen-cor, and cupped within their embrace was a wide, cambered valley: the Pitch. When the slant came into view, the company paused, and

the Dwarves eagerly crowded forward- to see down into the land. With a wide sweep of hand, Lord Kian gestured at the great acclivity hemmed by the mountains. "There lies the land the Dwarves call Baralan," he said to Perry, "and the Elves name Falanith; it is the Pitch." Kian then pointed toward the upward end of the long slant. "And up there at the far brim and looking down upon this slope is our next goal: Dawn-Gate. On the morrow we march to the portal, in sunlight. But now evening draws nigh, and we must camp away from this path, for its sign shows that heavy-shod feet have marched by recently: Yrm boot, I think. It would not do to be discovered by a chance patrol."

The Seven moved out of the path and to the cover of a thicket in a swale on the slope. The Sun had dropped beyond the mountains, and they made camp in the deep shadows of the peaks.

That night, early in Kian's watch. Perry was awakened by Delk to see Bane's blade-jewel flickering again with a cobalt gleam. As before, Perry slipped the blade into its sheath so that the blue light would not be seen by the enemy. Periodically he would shield it with a cupped hand and draw it an inch or two, then slide it back into the scabbard to hide its luminance. This time the light slowly grew to a strong blue flame that ran along the blade, and they heard heavy boots stamping up the path, and armor jingling. The waxing Moon was over half full, and the companions watched as a large company of maggot-folk tramped up the path and passed in the night. And within his bosom Perry's heart hammered as if it were a caged bird wild to escape.

Slowly the flame subsided as the danger marched away, until it was but a faint glimmer. Slowly, too, did Perry return to calmness, and then only by pushing aside all thought of maggot-folk and sinking deep within his memories of Woody Hollow and The Root and the sound of Holly quietly humming as she tended her flower garden.

Twice more that night the flame flickered lightly within the jewel of the Elven-blade, but the Seven saw no other Spawn.

The next morning, in early sunlight, the Squad started on the last leg of their overland journey. They came down out of the hillspur and headed west up the long Pitch. As the Seven

moved onto the slope, the margins became steeper on the sides of the valley, and here and there they were covered with runs of birch and fir trees; and heather and furze grew on the land. Down below, the comrades could see a sparkling stream dashing down out of the vale: it was the Quadrill, a river fed by many mountain streams to grow wide on its run through Darda Gallon, where it was joined by the Cellener and the Rothro to flow onward and come at last to the Argon.

In the early afternoon the Seven moved deeply into the Pitch, flanked on three sides by mountains. Perry could see to the north end, where a glittering rill cascaded in many falls down from the snows of Stormhelm. The stream and the path it fell beside were named the Quadran Run; the pathway led up over Quadran Pass to come down in the land called Rell. "How close are we to Durek's Army and Cotton and your brother Rand?'' Perry asked Lord Kian, peering at the snowbound pass.

"If my reckoning is right and nothing has delayed their course, the Army should now be coming to the Dusk-Door. And we are two days of swift march from here to that portal-if we could cross through yon blocked gap and then follow the Old Way. But, Perry, could you fly like an eagle, you are but forty miles, or so, over the mountain from there." Lord Kian looked down at the Waerling. "Of course, we cannot soar like the hawk, but must instead go to ground tike the badger, for the route we follow is under the mountain, with many twists and turns-six and forty miles by your Brega Path."

On they marched until they came to the Quadmere, a clear, blue lakelet less than a mile from the east portal, Dawn-Gate. They went down the sward to the cold water to replenish their canteens. Anval, Bonn, and Delk looked upon the still mere with a sense of wonder, for there began the realm of Kraggen-cor. On the far side of the azure pool a stone embankment fell sheer into the water; up on the level top of that shore stood a broken pillar, like a maimed finger pointing at the sky: it was a Realmstone, marking this place as being a Dwarvenholt. And runes upon the stone bade all who desired, to drink deep of the pure cold water from the depths of ChSk-alon, the Dwarves' name for this quiet tarn. Lord Kian's eyes swept the flanks of the mountain, and men his look became fell. "There, I think. There lies the Dawn-Gate," he said in a grim voice, and he pointed up the slope.

Perry's heart jumped to his mouth, for there, before him, high up on the west wing of the Pitch, stood their destination: like a gaping black wound, the east entrance intoJCraggen-cor yawned mute, a dark and forbidding portal into a Spawn-filled maze. His heart thudded and his hands shook, and a thrill of fear coursed through him, for with the coming of the early morning Sun on the morrow, they would begin their desperate dash through this black hole to the far Dusk-Door. And he would be their guide, for it was his task to lead them without flaw on the tortuous way to that distant goal; and the full responsibility of his role now began to crush down on him.

Perry tore his eyes away from the black hole and let his gaze follow the broken stonework of an ancient wide roadway winding down from the entrance and into the valley below, where it was lost among the heather and gorse on the west side of the lake. But try as he might to not look, his vision was drawn again and again to that jet-black slot, and each time he looked his heart flopped over and he drew in his breath.

Ursor leaned down and said in a low voice that only Perry could hear, "Don't worry, Wee One; once we start we'll be too busy to think about it." Perry gave the large, understanding Man a flicker of a smite but said nought in return.

Lord Kian chose a thick grove of pine trees for the Squad to camp in that night. The wood stood high on the slope a mile north of the Dawn-Gate. He reasoned that Yrm forces would issue out of the gate and go east and south toward Darda Gallon-away from the chosen coppice-and that any returning forces would come from that way too. Hence, well before daylight faded, the Seven were comfortably ensconced among the whin and pine, hidden from prying eyes..

As they lay in the evergreens, Perry became aware of the distant gurge of a great churn of tumbling water, and when he asked about it, Delk replied, "It is Durek's Wheel, the Vorvor." But the Dwarf did not say on, for night had fallen upon the Spawn-laden land, and they spoke no more.

Darkness overspread the valley, and shortly they saw H16k-~ led Rucks, bearing torches, issue out of the gate. And once again Perry's heart quickened its pace. Amid the clangor of armor and weaponry, a force was assembled, and then it marched away to the east along the old, broken road. Sentries were left guarding the portai, and guttering torchlight shone forth out of the cavern. And for an hour or two the only movement was that of Ruck guards shuffling around or slouching beside the entrance.

The silvery Moon overhead cast a pale radiance down into the valley and upon the mountainsides. By its light the companions continued to watch the entrance.

A time passed, and then, tramping up out of the vale, came a company of Spaunen bearing bales of unknown goods; whether they carried meat, grain, bolts of cloth, or other kinds of loot and plunder, the Seven could not tell, for they were too far removed from the Gate to see the nature of the freight. The Rucken company bore the burdens into the cavern, disappearing from view.

Another long while passed, and Perry fell asleep watching. When he was awakened, several hours had elapsed, for the Moon had set beyond the mountains. The buccan had been roused by Ursor and cautioned to quietness; a squad of torch-bearing maggot-folk had marched out of the gate and had turned north! They were coming toward the hiding place!

In ragged ranks, the maggot-folk tramped right at the pine grove; and the Seven flattened themselves, peering from concealment, hardly daring to breathe. Carefully, quietly, all but Perry took a weapon in hand, preparing for battle. The Warrow found his palms were wet with tension, and he wiped his hand on his breeks ere taking hold of his sword. But though Perry grasped Bane's hilt, he did not draw the long-knife, for he knew its werelight blazed, hidden by the scabbard. And the comrades lay in wait as the Spawn came onward.

Closer drew the maggot-foik, and now Perry could hear them speaking, but he could not make out what was being said; they were still too far away. As they came on, he found that although he could discern the individual voices and words, he could not understand their meaning at all; the words were harsh, somehow foul-sounding, as if made up of acrimonious snarls and discordant curses and grating oaths.

There were guttural growls and slobbering drool sounds. The Spawn were speaking in Siuk, an argot first spoken by the Hloks; but long ago in Neddra, Gyphon had declared it a common language for ail of Spawndom.

Perry shuddered at the sound of this festering tongue, but otherwise lay still as the Rucks tramped along an unseen path, only to turn and march past the grove and away to the north, toward the Quadran Run.

About an hour before dawn, the Spaunen patrol returned from the north, scuttling in haste to be in the Gate before the Sun rose. This time, though, there were more maggot-folk in the- group. When they scurried near the grove, Perry was surprised to realize that he could now understand what was being said: they were no longer using the Sluk but instead were mouthing words hi a polyglot akin to Pellarion, the Common Tongue of Mithgar, a polyglot often used by Hloks when they did not want their words to be well understood by their underlings, the Rucks:

"Gorbash's scummy company brought in a lot of loot tonight," whined one of the Hloks as they scrambled across the slope. "Maybe Gnar'll be pleased and lay off the whip."

"Not rat-mouth Gnar," snarled another. "That big pusbag ain't pleased with nothin' these nights. Ever since them bloody-handed Elves started cuttin' down his Nibs's minions, he ain't been pleased."

"1 hear there's another whole company missing, overdue by three days-Gushdug's bunch."

"Blast that rotskull Gushdug! If you ain't lyin' that means stinkthroat Gnar'll be layin' about with his cat-o'-tails more than ever; I'll ram this iron bar up his snot if he cracks those thongs my way. It's bad enough he had me and my bunch guarding this side of that stupid path over the scabby mountain, when he knows that slime-nose Sloog's gang alone is plenty; and they can watch from shelter, whereas we can't, bum their gob-covered hides. And Gnar deliberately left me there in the cold two extra weeks after the snows closed the way. I'll rip his throat out if he even looks sideways at me."

"You, Crotbone? Ha! You've got a big mouth, maggot brain. I know you: you'll be groveling in the dirt at his stinkin' feet like the rest of us when we report in, lickin' his boots and calling him*O Mighty One,' and all the time, just like the rest of us, you'll be wishing you could catch him from behind down in a dark hole alone, without Goth and Mog watchdogging him, then…" Perry heard no more, for they had moved beyond earshot..

As the rising Sun glanced over the horizon, Delk rubbed face blackener on Perry's cheeks and forehead and directed him to put some on his hands. The other members of the company were also darkening their hands and faees and checking each other for light spots. "Remember," Delk warned Perry, "when we are hiding, do not look directly at a Grg- your eyes will catch the torchlight and shine at him like two hot coals, and we will be discovered. Look to one side, or shield your eyes tightly with your hand and look through the cracks of your fingers; especially keep those jewel-like Utruni eyes of yours covered, Waeran, for they will glow like sapphires. Also, lest its light give us away, it would be better to keep Bane sheathed unless there is no other choice."

Perry nodded and rubbed a bit more of the sooty salve on Delk's exposed cheek. Satisfied, Perry stepped back and looked around at the others, seeing darkened faces and smudged hands. "My, what a ragtag bunch," Jie declared. "I'd always envisioned warriors as being bright and shining, but here we stand, the 'Secret Seven,' as motley a crowd as you'd ever ask to see." Perry at first just smiled, but the more he gazed at his companions the funnier it seemed. And suddenly he broke out in quiet laughter, and he could not seem to stop. And the others stared at him amazed, and still he laughed. And then its infectious quality caught Shannon, and he began chuckling too. Soon all had joined in, looking at each other's besmudged features and finding them comical.

"Well, my wee Waldan," growled Ursor with a grin,**I hope you don't get to giggling down in the Wrg pits; we'll be dis-covered for certes, all of us sitting around in a circle laughing our fool heads off." Again the company broke into hushed laughter.

"I never thought I would set forth on a sneak mission with a group of court jesters," growled Delk. "Yet, mayhap it is a new way of outwitting the foul Grg: I doubt that japes and buffoonery have ever been used against thieving Squam before. If we meet any, we will just fall on our prats, and while they'are screaming in merriment, blinded with tears of joy, we will slip away and pop open the Dusken Door and bring in the Army for an encore."

Lord Kian laughed quietly with the others, but he knew that their fey mood concealed a tension within, for they were about to set forth on a dire mission, and as is the wont of warriors everywhere in every age, rude jests are bandied about before sallying into an ordeal. Aye, Kian laughed too, yet a grim look crept o'er his features… and then: "Let us go now," he said, squinting at the half-risen Sun, and all smiles vanished. "By the time we get there the light will be shining full into the East Hall."

They started off down the slope and toward the gate. Perry's heart was racing, for they were about to step out of the kettle and into the coals. He mentally reviewed what he had told the others countless times during the overland journey about what to expect in the way of halls and chambers, especially on their initial penetration through Dawn-Gate. They had closely studied the map and reviewed every applicable bit of knowledge and lore known to Perry, Anval, Bonn, and Delk. And now the Warrow nearly had to bite his tongue to keep from repeating it aloud as an outlet to relieve the enormous pressure growing within him as they strode cross-slope toward the Gate.

And then they were mere.

Cautiously, bow fitted with arrow, Kian peered around one of the great gateposts and down the sunlit hall: it was empty. At the young Lord's signal, each of the comrades in turn stepped across the entryway and crept in past the great doors, torn from their hinges ages agone and flung down ori the stone floor, where they still lay. Standing in the shadows, the Seven could see before them a huge room delved out of the stone, with a single outlet two hundred yards away leading down a corridor. The direct rays of the Sun shone through the Gate and struck the farthermost wall just to the right of that distant portal yawning darkly at the remote end of the chamber, that corridor which led down into the interior of Kraggen-cor. In rapid file, the Squad hastened across the room-the Easi Hall-keeping to the south side and out of the direct sunlight so that their own shadows were not cast down the far passageway to betray them.

The Dwarves looked around in wonder, for at last they had come into their ancient homeland. Perry saw little, for he was busy counting paces, and when they reached the distant outlet and the broad road that led down toward the Great Deep, he was relieved to find that his measure reasonably agreed with that of Brega's of long ago.

They entered the corridor and sidled along the south wall, which was deepest in shadow. The farther they went, the darker it got, but their eyes adjusted to the dim light reaching down the passageway. Down a gentle slope they crept, another furlong or so, stepping quietly, down from Gate Level toward First Neath. And the light continued to fade as they went, but ahead there began to glimmer the dim flicker of far-off torchlight. The Seven edged to the limit of the corridor and paused ere creeping out upon a landing at the top of a short flight of wide stairs; the steps led down to the Broad Shelf.

The Shelf in turn came to an abrupt end, scissured by the Great Deep, black and yawning, the ebon gape splitting out of the high rock walls to jag across the expansive stone floor and bar the way. Beyond the mighty fissure the wide stone floor continued, lit by guttering torches, and on farther the Squad could see the beginnings of the vast Mustering Chamber-the War Hall-receding beyond the flickering light into impenetrable blackness, the distant ceiling supported by four rows of giant Dragon Pillars marching away into the vast dark. Across the Great Deep a spidery rope bridge with wooden footboards was suspended. The span was narrow; those using it would have to cross the wide gulf in single file. It was anchored on the near side by two huge iron rings on iron posts driven into the stone; and it was held on the far side by a winch set far back from the!ip of the rift-the winch a remnant of the ancient drawbridge destroyed in the Winter War. Guarding the hoist on the distant side were two Rucks, squatting on the stone floor, casting knucklebones and muttering curses at each other.

Lord Kian motioned Shannon Silverleaf forward. "Can you fell the Rukh on the left with an arrow from here?" Kian whispered.

Shannon eyed the distance; it was a far shot. "It would be surer from the bottom of the steps.*' He motioned downward into the shadows.

Lord Kian gave a curt nod, and signalling the others to remain, the Man and the Elf crept down the broad stairway. At the bottom, Kian knelt to one knee while Shannon stood straight, and each drew his bow to the full. The Rucks continued their quarrel, unaware of their danger; one, enraged at the turn of the dice, jumped up with a snarling oath and clouted the other behind the ear. The second Ruck kicked out at the first and with a curse sprang to his feet, and they both drew their scimitars, bent on murder. But before they could close with one another in battle, Th-thunn! two arrows were loosed and sped hissing through the air to lodge deeply into the Rucks. One fell instantly dead, pierced through the heart. The other stared in astonishment at the point emerging from his stomach, but ere he could draw breath to scream, Th-thock! two more arrows thudded into him, and he pitched forward on his face, dead before striking the stone floor.

Perry and Delk dashed down the steps, with Anval, Bonn, and Ursor right behind. "Now!" barked Kian. "Across the bridge. Hurry!" But Shannon, in the lead, had just stepped onto the span when out of the first side tunnel on the left came tramping a H!6k-led company of Rucks. It was the change of the guard.

For an instant in time, the Rucks stopped, frozen in amazement at the sight of these intruders. Then, with snarls of rage, the maggot-folk leapt forward, scimitars raised.

"Wait!" Kian called to his companions. "There are too many of them to meet on the open floor. We'll make our stand on this side of the bridge where they can only come at us one at a time. Ursor, to the bridge. Anval, Bonn, flank Ursor. Shannon, with your bow stand thwartwise to the span from me; we'll catch them in our cross-fire. Perry, Delk, take those who get past the first rank. Yield no quarter."

Across the bridge charged the maggot-folk, the span bouncing and swaying under their rushing feet. On they came, right into Ursor's devastating mace, and Anval's and Bonn's lethal axes, and the first to fall was the Hlok leader.

His heart hammering, Perry had drawn Bane, and its blue flame blazed; the Warrow and Delk stood ready, but as of yet no Spawn had won past the front rank. Kian's bow hummed as arrow after arrow hissed into the Rucks at the rear, and Shannon's aim was just as deadly, the bolts slashing into the foe from right and left.

The Rucks were single file on the narrow bridge and jammed closely together; those in the fore fell screeching into the Deep, hurled there by mace or axe, while those in the rear plummeted into the black depths with quarrels through them. Many in the span center turned to flee, elbowing, pushing, wildly clawing, jolting into each other and shoving one another off in their mad bid to escape; yet some at the distant end regained the far side only to be dropped by deadly arrows before they could reach the sanctuary of the far tunnels.

But one fleeing Ruck ran to the windlass, where he grabbed up a mallet and with a wild swing knocked the brake-wedge loose just as an arrow sprang full from his chest and he feir dead. Yet the winch was free and spinning as the anchor ropes ran loose. And the bridge, now held only at one end by the large iron rings, rucketted down to crash into the side of the abyss, and the remaining Spawn fell screaming to their doom. And Perry's blood ran chill as he unwillingly listened in frozen horror to the shrieks and wails of the plunging Rucks-screams that dwindled and faded, to be tost at last in the black silence as the maggot-folk plummeted beyond hearing down into the dreadful depths.

A quick check showed that none of the Seven had received so much as a minor wound, though there was a long scimitar scar on Ursor's learner breastplate. Albeit free from injury and successful in battle, still the Squad may have lost the campaign, for they had yet to cross the gulf; and the span was down, dangling from the iron rings on the near side, creaking and swinging slowly like a great long pendulum as it hung down the sheer undercut wall of the Deep.

"Did any of the Rutcha escape to warn the others?" asked Ursor. "I could not tell, for I was busy at the fore."

"I think not," answered Shannon, gesturing toward the many dead on the far shelf. "Our arrows dropped all who tried to flee."

"Though none escaped," declared Kian, "we must be across and gone ere any more come. If that was the changing of the guard, we have at most six or eight hours-likely less-Before others arrive."

They went to the lip of the gulf and searched for a way across. The chasm was wide: the far rim at the narrowest point was some fifty feet away, and in many places the width exceeded one hundred feet.

Anval, Bonn, and Delk unhooded three Dwarf-lanterns, and with Perry they lay on their stomachs on the lip of the rift and examined the depths for as far as the light shone. They could see the bridge dangling down the wall, swaying slowly, but they found no way to span the abyss, for below the undercut the sides were smooth and sheer, dropping straight for as far as the eye could see, vanishing into the unguessable depths beyond. Perry quailed at the sight of the endless-fall, and pushed back from the rim.

Finding no way to cross down below, the buccan and the Dwarves strode out to the sides where the great ebon crack disappeared into the stone walls of the mountain, but the rift was even wider at those points. Lord Kian, Shannon, and Ursor spoke quietly together and eyed the distance to the winch; they saw that it was covered with a grapnel-shelter, whose rounded edges and tumed-under sides were cunningly contrived to resist hooks; in any event, the cast was a long one to carry a rope of any consequence The rest of the far-side shelf was barren and smooth, flattened ages agone by Dwarven adze and stone chisel to resist invaders' grapnels.

"Our mission has failed before it ever got properly under way," groaned Perry in despair. "We are stopped here at the Great Deep. All of our hopes and plans have fallen into its black depths just as the burning Gargon fell long ago."

"Speak not the name of the Dread needlessly"-Shannon's voice held a sharp edge-"for it portends evil in Black Drimmen-deeve. And do not despair too soon, for I believe our Drimm friends will yet show us the way."

"Kruk!" spat Anval. "We cannot throw a hook to cross over, and we cannot go around the ends, and we cannot climb down and across. Bonn, it will be slow, yet all that is left to us is a climb up and over on the roof."

"Roof? Climb?" asked Perry, looking upward, dumfounded. "How can we cross over on the roof? It must be eighty or a hundred feet up to there, and we are not flies to walk upside

down on that stone ceiling. Do you propose an enchantment, a miracle?"

"Nay," growled Bonn, rummaging in his pack, "not a miracle, nor spell, but this instead." From his pack Bonn extracted a leather harness laden with crafted metal snap-rings and thin-bladed spikes, each spike with an eyelet on the side of the thick end; also affixed to the belting were many different-sized, small, irregular iron cubes, each hollowed out by a hole through the center.

"What is that?" asked Perry, puzzled.

"A climbing harness," replied Bonn.

"And what are those things fastened to it?" Perry pointed to the metal objects.

"Rock-nails. Rings. Jams," answered Bonn, unfastening one each of the three types of devices and handing them to the Warrow, who held them in the lantern light to examine them closely. Bonn spoke on: "Heed: with the nail, you drive the spike into a thin crevice in the stone, then snap a ring through the eyelet; one of several leather straps is then clipped between the climbing harness and the ring. You haul yourself up and along as you go, suspended by strap on a trail of driven rock-nails and attached rings. When you come to a place where the crevices are wider, you wedge a proper-sized jam in place, slipping a snap-ring through the hole, using it instead of a nail."

Borin turned to Lord Kian. "I will make the climb, and once across I will let myself down; and then we will fix a rope over the Great Deop for the rest to use; or we will haul the bridge back up, and all can stride above the dark depths on its broad span."

Perry examined the devices while Borin prepared himself for the climb, putting on the. tackle, buckling the cross straps of the harness and cinching tight the wide belt burdened with the rings, nails, and jams. The Dwarf also attached hanks of rope to the belt; and he tied a small hammer by a thong to his wrist.

"Here," rasped Anval, fastening a thick leather pad to the hammer face, "it will deaden the sound of each strike." Borin nodded but said nought, for his gaze was sweeping up and across the roof.

"It is a long reach," growled Borin to his brother as they

surveyed the intended route. "Should I need more climbware, I will drop a line to you." Anval merely grunted in reply.

The Ironfists selected a place to start, and Perry gave Bonn back the nail, jam, and ring. The Dwarf reached up high on die wall beside the stairs and with muffled blows drove the rock-nail into a thin crack; then began the perilous climb.

Quickly, Borin drove nail after nail into the stone, clipping and adjusting an appropriate harness anchor strap to each new nail as he went, unclipping the hindmost strap and retrieving the free snap-ring as he left each embedded nail behind; and up like a fly he clambered. At times there were handholds, and he did not use the rock-nails as he ascended. At other times, however, long still study was needed before he drove a nail or wedged a jam and moved onward. At last he topped the wall and started across the ceiling, the Dwarf now totally dependent upon the leather belting, rings, nails, jams, and harness. Perry was glad that it was not he who had to climb so high and dangle like a Yule decoration, and he was amazed by Borin's ability. "How surely he goes," breathed the Warrow, looking up, knowing that were their places exchanged he would be frozen with fear.

"Aye," answered Delk. "Borin is accounted a master stone climber-even among the CMkka."

"You speak as if all Dwarves climb like that," said Perry.

"Aye," responded Delk, "for the inside of a Mountain needs climbing more than its outside ever does. And the Chilkka have been climbing Mountains since we and they were created-yet we more often climb within the living stone than without. Even so, mayhap Borin is the best of us all."

Once again Perry turned his sight toward the Dwarf above. Yet Borin's progress had slowed markedly, for he was now on the most difficult, the most hazardous reach.

Bit by bit, the Dwarf inched across the ceiling as precious time eked beyond recall into the past. And Perry fretted that the climb had already taken too long, and that more time would be spent ere the task came to an end; for the buccan knew that at any moment a Rucken band could swarm into the War Hall. These thoughts were on Lord Kian's mind too, for the young Man said to Shannon, "It is now that Borin is most vulnerable to Yrm arrow; if Spaunen come, we must slay any archers first." Perry's heart sank at these dismaying words, and his eyes once again turned to the exposed climber. And up above, the Dwarf crept onward as the sands of time ran swiftly down.

Hours later, it seemed, Borin, now well out over the chasm, called down to the companions below, pitching his voice so that it would not carry into the caverns to be heard by hostile ears: "Ziggurt!"

"What did he say?" asked Perry.

"Ziggurt," replied Delk. "It is one of the many ChSk words describing the condition of rock. Borin says the roof stone where he is, is ziggurt. That means it is not completely sound; perhaps when the Great Deop first split upward, reaching into the Mountain from below, the stone was stressed so.";

"Does that mean it's going to fall?" asked the Warrow, yielding back.

"Nay," Delk assured him. "Ziggurt is not rotten stone, yet it may give way, but only if stressed more. Ziggurt means that the rock is crazed, that it has many small cracks and large, and fissures running widely through it. The rock is untrustworthy for bearing weight: small chunks may fall if pulled upon; large slabs can shatter down if stressed just so. No, ziggurt does not mean weak stone; it can be very strong and stand forever. But long careful study is necessary beforehand when working the stone, to prevent mishap. Yet ziggurt is more than I have just told you. Pah! The Common Tongue is not suited to any better description than that; it is not capable of shading the meanings of stone as is the Chak Speech."

"Time, Delk?" asked Kian. "There is the rub: you have said that time is needed to work ziggurt rock to prevent mishap; yet I deem that our time is nigh gone. Other Yrm patrols will come, and we must be away ere then with no trace of our passage remaining. If Gnar suspects that his enemies are within these caverns, he will turn out all of his forces to search for us. And we do not want a Spaunen Swarm hunting through the halls, seeking our party. No, our only hope to help Durek is to win through without alerting the entire Yrm army." In a muted voice, Kian called up to Borin, "Can you go on?"

"It is ziggurt for as far as the eye can see," Borin called back down, waving a hand across the gulf and toward the Mustering Chamber. "But I must try, though it will be a gamble, for the way is obscured by soot from the time the ancient bridge burned, and long study is needed, yet we have not the lime. I must chance a hasty crossing."

"Wait!" softly called Shannon, cupping his hands about his mouth so that his voice would reach the Dwarf above. "There is this: if you can lower a rope to me, I can swing across-if the stone and iron rock-nails will bear my weight." The Elf looked at Lord Kian. "Except for Perry, I am the least heavy, and you cannot risk him on this scheme." Lord Kian nodded his assent.

Borin hammered in another rock-nail, and then like a swaying spider strand a thin, strong line came snaking and swinging down out of the overhead gloom. Borin had tied his hammer to the end to give the rope a pendulum weight, and he swung it as he payed it out. Shannon nimbly caught the line on one of the long arcs, and as soon as Borin called down that all was ready, the Elf gave the company a rakish grin and sprang off the edge of the Deep.

Shannon's first long swing was not far enough, and he rose to the end of his arc, seemed to pause, and then hurtled back across the yawning gulf. On the second swing he pumped hard over the bottomless pit and carried farther still, though it was not yet enough. On the third pass he almost gained the far lip of the chasm, but not quite.

Only Borin, clenched against the ceiling by the short anchor straps, did not see the Elf come closer and closer with each plunge; instead, the Dwarf kept his eye riveted to the rock-nail. The swings were placing heavy stress on the eyeletted spike, and Borin intensely watched the crevice the nail blade was driven into. On the third arc, a stone chip flaked from the crack: the nail was coming loose! Quickly, Borin jammed his right forearm up into a large ziggurt cleft and made a fist, wedging his clenched hand tightly in the rift; he wrapped the loose end of the pendulum rope around his left arm and forcefully gripped it. No sooner had the Dwarf caught hold than the nail tore loose, and the weight of the plummeting Elf jolted through Bonn's arms and shoulders.

Silverleaf was swinging back from the far lip when he felt the rope give then catch again, and the jar nearly shook his grip loose, the line slipping in his grasp ere he caught tight. His grip firm again, he continued his arc and pumped hard on the next plunge across.

Borin strained desperately to hold on, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes with the effort, his great arm and shoulder muscles cracking with the stress, for he was the anchoring link between the stone overhead and the taut rope to the Elf hurtling the abyss below. The greatest strain came when Shannon hurtled through the bottom of the arc, and Borin strove to hold on: his right fist, jammed in the crack, felt as if the bones in his hand were breaking, and the rope wrapped around his left arm seemed as if it were cutting through the elbow, and his shoulders felt as if his arms were being plucked from the sockets. Yet grimly he held on as Shannon hurled up in a rising arc out of the depths and to the far lip. The Elf cast loose from the line and plunged forward to the stone, falling with a roll and then springing nimbly to his feet.

Aloft, Borin gave a grunt of relief, and, dangling by the leather straps between his climbing harness and the embedded rock-nails, he extracted his skinned-knuckled hand from the jam-crack and massaged his shoulders, neck, and arms. After a moment, he began coiling the pendulum rope, drawing it upward into the shadows, preparatory to starting back th amp; way he had come.

Shannon called for a hammer and a rock-nail, and they were tossed over the abyss to him; the Elf drove the spike into a thin chink in the floor. At Silverleaf s command. Perry attached his soft and pliable ancient Elven-rope to a grapnel and threw it across to the Elf, who then wedged a tine of the hook into the eyelet of the nail, while the other end of the line was anchored to one of the iron post rings. At a gesture from Shannon, huge Ursor swung hand over hand and joined the Elf; though he was a giant, the Baerart was deft and graceful. Perry gasped at Ursor's deed, for the line was so slender and the Man so huge, and the Warrow feared that the rope would snap; but it was Elven-made, and Silverleaf had known that it would hold ten like Ursor.

Again Perry caught his breath and gritted his teem in fear for a companion's safety, for Lord Kian clambered down into the black abyss on the dangling bridge; while it swayed and jolted against the sheer wall, the Man hauled the far loose ends of the anchor ropes up out of the darkness and secured a light line to them. That done, he then climbed back up and out, bringing the line with him. Once oat, he used another of their grapnels to pitch the slender cord over to Ursor, who fetched the heavy anchor ropes up to the far side where he and Shannon ran them onto the ancient winch. Then, with a grinding claner of gears, Ursor began hoisting the bridge up out of the chasm, back toward its original position.

Up on the ceiling, Borin had worked his way to a place where, once again, he was above the Broad Shelf. Fixing a jam and ring in a crack, the Dwarf payed out a line; and slipping it through the snap-ring, he used the rope to free-rappel to the wide stone floor. With a flip of the wrist, he pulled the free end of the line through the ring above to come piling down. And as Anval coiled the rope, Borin removed the tackle with the remainder of the rock-nails and jams and snap rings and restored them all to his pack along with his ropes. As Borin closed his backpack, Ursor finished his task at the hoist: the bridge was once again in position, with the brake wedge in place. All the extra lines were untied and repacked. Then the rest of the Seven queued up to cross the gulf.

When Perry's turn came he clutched the hand ropes with all his might, for the Great Deep fell sheer and bottomless below him, and a cold chill rose up around him from out of its depths. He felt that the bouncing bridge would collapse again, and its swaying frightened him. He had been amazed at how casually Lord Kian had climbed down the bridge when it was dangling free and swinging beneath the undercut. He also felt that Ursor's hand-over-hand trip above the yawning chasm had taken unimaginable bravery and dexterity. And Borin up on the ceiling, hanging by narrow straps from small iron cubes or thin iron blades driven into crevices, or Shannon swinging by a slender line over those dreadful depths, well, it was all quite beyond Perry's courage and skill to do.

And now he was having trouble just putting one foot in front of another on a bouncing, swaying, narrow rope-and-board span above an endless fall into a gaping, black depth; and in his mind's eye he once again saw the Rucks plunging to their doom. Hey! This won't do, he thought, now don't you freeze in fear out here; after what all the others did, you've just got to cross over this awful black pit. And cross it he did, trembling and clutching, but moving ahead all the time. He was greatly relieved when he stumbled onto the other side, nearly falling to his knees when his feet came off the bounding span and met the hard, unyielding stone.

Last to cross was Delk, who strolled over as if the narrow bridge were a broad highway.

After retrieving the arrows from the dead Rucks, the Seven dragged the corpses to the lip and flung them into the Deep, pitching the Ruck weapons after. Perry threw a fallen torch into the gulf, and as it fell, a smoldering spark caught, and it burst into flame; and Perry watched its guttering light as it tumbled end over end. His sight followed it for what seemed to be an endless time as it slowly became a tiny speck, of luminance plummeting down and down, untjl it disappeared; whether it plunged beyond an outcropping to be seen no more, or fell at last into a stream at the bottom, or blew out, or simply became too small to see, Perry could not tell. He shuddered at the awful depths involved, unable to imagine their limits and not wanting to know. Again he drew back from the edge in fear.

With one last sweeping look. Lord Kian saw that all overt" evidence of the battle was gone. "I think no one will discover that we were here. Even the blood is cleaned up well enough so that only close inspection wilt show that any was spilled. The Spawn simply will be presented with the mystery of a missing company, and some guards that disappeared. Gnar may think that they deserted. The main evidence of our passage lies in the unguessed depths of the Great Deep."

"Not all," grunted Borin. "The rock-nails and jams are in

place on the wall and roof. But they are small and dark and

should go unnoticed. Even if discovered, mayhap the Squam

will think them an old dead end, for they go nowhere."

"Let us be gone, then," declared Lord Kian, "for we can do no more here, and we must away ere we are discovered. — Perry."

With the Warrow in the lead next to Anval, they started at a jog trot toward the black gape of the second tunnel on the right. Dwarf-lanterns were slightly unhooded and cast narrow phosphorescent beams to dimly light the way. The Seven entered the dark passage and started up the first of several flights of stairs that would lead to the Hall of the Gravenarch. Suddenly Shannon hissed, "Quiet! Shield the lights. Rupt below." The Elf s sharper hearing had detected the tramp of Rucken boots.

The lanterns were hooded and the company stood quietly, poised on the steps. Down at the entrance of the corridor, they saw reflected torchlight flicker by, and they heard the heavy tread of Spawn heading for the bridge. The companions had started just in time; it had taken seven full hours to get from Dawn-Gate to these steps, but fortunately for the Squad die band of maggot-folk now tramping to the bridge had come too late to thwart this initial thrust.

After the Spaunen passed, the companions started up the stairway once again, coming quickly to the top and continuing down the passageway. They ignored the side corridors and went on for nearly a mile and a half, climbing six flights of steps separated by long stretches of level cavern. They came to the base of the seventh flight, but the way was barred by large blocks of broken stone amid piles of rubble. " It is as I feared," said Perry. "The Raven Book teils that the roof collapsed when Brega sundered the keystone of the Gravenarch and nearly lost his life. We must now attempt to find a way up to the Sixth Rise above Gate 1-evel and come to a place where! again recognize the way. In this search a Dwarf should lead."

Delk Steelshank was chosen to go first, for in his youth he had apprenticed to a Tunnelmaster before he finally turned to the craft of gatemaking. He studied Perry's map with Anval and Borin, and then led them down two flights of steps to the first westbound tunnel; they strode along it for a half mile, coming to a corridor to the right with steps bearing upward. They climbed up the flight, and a level cross-passage bored away in both directions. Ahead they could see another flight of stairs going on up. They mounted these, then went ahead and up another flight. "Here, we are on the Sixth Rise, and near to the point where we were blocked," announced Delk, and Anval and Borin grunted in agreement. "Now it is merely a matter of closing the course to come to the other side of the blockage-or of coming upon something Friend Perry can reconcile with the Brega Path."

Hsst!" shushed Shannon, whose keen hearing again proved sharper than that of Dwarf, Man, or Warrow. "I hear another company of Rupt. They tramp nigh."

The comrades looked back down the way they had come and couid see the faint flicker of far-off torchlight bearing in their direction.

"This way-quickly," whispered Delk, and they bolted down a side corridor curving 'round to the east and south. Quietly they went, as swiftly as they could, the faint glow of their lanterns showing the way. They came to an opening on their left. They were about to pass it by.when more torchlight could be seen ahead of them. "We have no choice," hissed Delk. "There are Squam before us and Squam behind. Into this room."

Hurriedly, they stepped into a narrow, long chamber. A great pile of fallen stone blocked most of the room, ramping upward from the center to the unseen, distant wall, and there was no way out except the one door they had come through. They were trapped!

The Seven ranged themselves along the near wall.as the boots tramped closer. The Dwarf-lanterns were closed and the room plunged into darkness. All weapons save Bane were drawn and readied. They could now see the torchlight flickering up the passage and through the broken door.

Tramp! Tramp! The Spawn came onward.

Perry's heart thudded, and he grasped Bane's hilt, preparing to draw the blade should the maggot-folk come through the door.

Tramp! Tramp! They were now close enough for the Seven to hear the snarling and cursing in the Rucken ranks.

Tramp! Tramp! Perry steeled himself.

And then the Spaunen marched by the door and headed on up the passage.

Perry discovered that he had been holding his breath, and he let it out in a sigh of relief. But in alarm he immediately

caught it again as from the corridor there came a great cursing and shouting: the Rucken band going up the passage had met the band coming down, and they jostled and jolted and elbowed one another as they passed. Then the second band, still grumbling, marched past the room where the Seven were hiding.

When the tramp of Spaunen boot became but a faint echo, Perry slid shakily down the wall and sat on the floor. That had been entirely too close. They had narrowly escaped being caught between Rucken forces, and their mission had nearly ended after it had just begun. Perry's hands trembled and his breath seemed to whistle hoarsely in and out of his throat. But none of the others said anything and did not seem to notice.

Soon Delk cracked die hood of his lantern, and a faint glow lit up the ruined room. They sat awhile without speaking.

Perry was taking a careful sip of water when he noted a portion of a dark rune-mark on the side wall, hidden by rubble. Picking up the lantern, he stepped over to look at the ebon glyph. It was neither Common nor Elvish but, rather, it was Dwarvish. The buccan pushed some of the shattered rubble away from the top of the pile, revealing the whole of the runes written in some black ichor, now dried: TPVB2I

Perry looked on for a moment, puzzled. These glyphs were familiar. They were in The Raven Book somewhere. The Warrow frowned in concentration. It was… it was… "Hoy!" Perry exclaimed, "This is Braggi's Rune! I know where we are!"