Terry Brooks - The Sword of Shannara

Dayel’s bleak report brought an immediate reaction. Menion leaped to his feet, reaching for his sword and threatening to fight his way out or die in the attempt. Balinor tried to restrain him, or at least to quiet him, but there was complete bedlam for several minutes as the others joined the shouting highlander in his vow. Hendel questioned the somewhat shaken Dayel about what he had seen at the entrance to the pass, and after a few brief questions loudly ordered everyone to be silent.

«The Gnome chieftains are out there,” he informed Balinor, who had finally managed to restrain Menion long enough to listen to the Dwarf. «They have all the high priests and, members of surrounding villages here for a special ceremony that takes place once each month. They come at sunset and sing praises to their gods for protecting them from the evils of the taboo land, the Wolfsktaag. It will last all night, and by morning we can forget about helping our young friends.»

«Wonderful people, the Gnomes!» exploded Menion. «They fear the evils of this place, but they align themselves with the Skull Kingdom! I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m not giving up because of a few half–wit Gnomes chanting useless spells!»

«No one is giving up, Menion,” Balinor said quickly. «We’re getting out of these mountains tonight. Right now.»

«How do you propose to do that?» demanded Hendel. «Walk right through half the Gnome nation? Or perhaps we’ll fly out?»

«Wait a minute!» Menion exclaimed suddenly and leaned over the unconscious Shea, searching eagerly through his clothing until he produced the small leather pouch containing the powerful Elfstones.

«The Elfstones will get us out of here,” he announced to the others, grasping the pouch.

«Has he lost his mind?» asked Hendel, incredulous at the sight of the highlander eagerly waving the leather pouch.

«It won’t work, Menion,” declared Balinor quietly. «The only one with the power to use the stones is Shea. Besides, Allanon once told me they could only be used against things whose power lies beyond substance, dangers that confuse the mind. Those Gnomes are mortal flesh and blood, not creatures of the spirit world or the imagination.»

«I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I do know that these stones worked against that creature from the Mist Marsh, and I saw it work…» Menion trailed off despondently, reflecting on what he was saying, and finally lowered the pouch and its precious contents. «What’s the use? You must be right. I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore.»

«There has to be a way!» Durin came forward, casting about for suggestions. «All we need is a plan to draw attention away from us for about five minutes and we could slip by them.»

Menion perked up at the suggestion, apparently finding some merit in the idea, but unable to think of a way to distract the attention of several thousand Gnomes. Balinor paced about for a few minutes, lost in thought while the others threw out random suggestions. Hendel suggested in bitter humor that he walk into their midst and let himself be captured. The Gnomes would be so overjoyed at getting their hands on him, the man they had tried so hard to destroy all these years, that they would forget about anything else. Menion thought little of the joke and was all for allowing him to do what he suggested.

«Enough talk!» roared the Prince of Leah finally, losing his temper altogether. «What we need now is a plan, one that will get us out of here right away, before the Valemen are completely beyond help. Now what do we do?»

«How wide is the pass?» asked Balinor absently, still pacing.

«About two hundred yards at the point the Gnomes are gathered,” Dayel replied, avoiding a confrontation with Menion. He thought a minute longer, and then snapped his fingers in recollection. «The right side of the pass is completely open, but on the left side there are small trees and scrub brush growing along the cliff face. They would give us some cover.»

«Not enough,” interrupted Hendel. «The Pass of Jade is wide enough to march an army through, but trying to get past with the little cover offered would be suicidal. I’ve seen it from the other side, and any Gnome looking would spot you in a minute!»

«Then they’ll have to be looking somewhere else,” Balinor growled as the faint glimmer of a plan began to form in his mind. He stopped suddenly, and kneeling on the forest floor drew a crude diagram of the pass entrance, looking to Dayel and Hendel for approval. Menion had stopped complaining long enough to join them.

«From the drawing, it appears that we can stay under cover and out of the light until we reach here,” Balinor explained, indicating a point of ground near the line representing the left cliff face. «The slope is gentle enough to allow us to remain above the Gnomes and within the cover of the brush. Then there is an open space for about twenty–five or thirty yards until the forests begin against the steeper cliff face beyond. That is the point of diversion, the point where the light will show us clearly to anyone looking. The Gnomes will have to be turned another way when we cross that open space.»

He paused and looked at the four anxious faces, wishing fervently that he had a better plan, but knowing there was no time to come up with another if they were to preserve any chance of recovering the Sword of Shannara. Whatever else was at stake now, nothing was of such paramount importance as the life of the frail–looking Valeman who was heir to the Sword’s power and the one chance left to the people of the four lands to avoid a conflict that would consume them all. Their own lives could be sold comparatively cheaply to preserve that single hope.

«It will take the best bowman in the Southland,” the tall borderman announced quietly. «That man will have to be Menion Leah.» The highlander looked up in surprise at the unexpected declaration, unable to hide the sense of pride he felt. «There will be only one shot,” continued the Prince of Callahorn. «If it is not exactly on target, we will be lost.»

«What is your plan?» interrupted Durin curiously.

«When we reach the end of our cover at the open space, Menion will locate one of the Gnome chieftains to the far side of the pass. He will have one shot with the bow to kill him, and in the confusion that follows, we can slip by.»

«It won’t work, my friend,” growled Hendel. «The minute they see their leader struck by the arrow, they’ll be all over that pass entrance. You’ll be found in minutes.»

Balinor shook his head and smiled faintly, but unconvincingly.

«No, we won’t, because they will be after someone else. The minute the Gnome chieftain falls, one of us will show himself back in the pass. The Gnomes will be so incensed and so eager to get their hands on him, that they won’t take the time to search for anyone else, and we can slip by in the confusion.»

Silence greeted his appraisal of the situation, and the anxious faces looked from one person to the next, the same thought in every mind.

«It sounds just fine for everyone but the man who stays behind to show himself,” broke in Menion in disbelief. «Who gets that suicidal chore?»

«It was my plan,” declared Balinor. «It will be my duty to stay behind and lead the Gnomes into the Wolfsktaag, until I can circle back and join you later at the edge of the Anar.»

«You must be insane if you think I’m letting you stay behind and claim all the credit,” Menion declared. «If I make the shot, I stay to take the bows, and if I miss…»

He trailed off and smiled, shrugging casually, clapping Durin on the shoulder as the other looked on incredulously. Balinor was about to object further when Hendel stepped forward shaking his broad head in disagreement.