Shadowleague 02 - Spirit of the Stone by Maggie Furey

Author:Maggie Furey [Furey, Maggie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sci Fi & Fantasy
Publisher: Bantam Books
Published: 2002-06-01T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15 - Conflicts

Scall was awakened by the sound of voices, calling his name with increasing urgency. It was the most wonderful sound he had heard in his entire life. “Tormon!” He scrambled to his feet. “I’m here! I’m up here!”

A moment later a welcome blaze of torchlight came round the curve of the lower tunnel. Clumsy with excitement, Scall scrambled down the ladder and back onto the treacherous metal strut that ran from wall to wall. As he did so, he noticed that the floodwater had gone down while he had slept.

“Scall? Scall, is that you?” The trader and Lady Seriema appeared, their eyes widening as they looked up and saw him clinging to his precarious perch. “How in Myrial’s name did you get up there?” Tormon gasped. Then suddenly, he burst out laughing. “Bless me, but it’s good to see you, lad. I thought you were gone for sure.”

Lady Seriema, looking much less distant and far more friendly than usual, nodded agreement. “When we didn’t see you anywhere on the walkway, I wouldn’t have given a brass farthing for your chances. I’m very glad that I was wrong.”

To his horror, Scall found his throat going tight. Never before had anyone been so glad to see him. He was suddenly warmed by a glow of belonging that made him forget his damp clothes, his shivering body, and his ravenous hunger.

“Come on, lad,” Tormon said. “Time you came back down to earth.” Handing his torch to Seriema, he lifted his arms to help Scall down. Scall unlocked his death grip around the strut, and the trader helped steady him as he dropped. “Right,” he said. “Let’s get moving. You can walk off your stiffness as we go, but we can’t afford to loiter around in here. We should have started sooner, but I must confess we fell asleep while we were waiting for the waters to go down.”

“Tormon?” Seriema’s voice came from the shadows behind them. “I think you’d better have a look at this.” She was standing below the circular aperture in the ceiling, looking up by the light of a torch held high.

Tormon gaped at the opening. “If I had a gold piece for every time I’ve been through this tunnel, I’d be as rich as you are—and I’d swear on my life that this was never here before!”

“It’s a perfect curve,” Seriema marveled, “and the inside is perfectly smooth. How ever did they make it like that?”

“I’ve been up there,” Scall told them proudly. “Tormon, it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen! It goes right into the mountain, and there’s this great big chamber, full of the most unbelievably weird stuff. You ought to see it, you really should.”

For a moment the trader hesitated, torn between curiosity and common sense. Then he shook his head. “We have enough to worry about without mysteries,” he said. “Leave it, Scall.”

“But you might find something up there that will help us, something that I missed ...”

“Look,” said Tormon flatly, “you saw what happened yesterday.

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