Iron Tongue

" I thought that was the only reason," Iron Tongue said haughtily. " We get paid for this."

" Paid? Isn' t your continued futile survival worth the risk?"

" Lords, wait," said Lan, intervening before the two came to blows. To Noratumi he said, " The way is clear, assured by our alliance with Webmaster Murrk. You and your crews can mine the stones and transport it unhindered."

" We take all the risk, even with the spiders docile," complained Noratumi. " He sits on his fat ass inside Wurnna' s walls. He waits for the power stone all snug and safe."

" There are risks all around. Claybore must be kept occupied or he' ll attack the mines. We need that ore. Iron Tongue will maintain Wurnna' s defenses and launch occasional forays to divert Claybore' s more magical attentions."

" He can' t enslave any of us anymore. Not ever, after we' re clear of the greys."

" Iron Tongue? That sounds like a fair deal to me. No more slavery. Noratumi' s people will be risking their very lives for you." Lan saw this argument made little impact on Iron Tongue. The mage had slipped over the thin edge of sanity once more; the glazed eyes and exultant expression worried Lan.

" They are doomed. Haven' t they shown their inadequacy by losing their own city? But very well, those who survive this will be forever free citizens," Iron Tongue replied.

" And our children and their children," Noratumi continued.

" Do be serious. Wurnna needs workers. I' m willing to allow a handful of you to run about as if you were free citizens, but let' s not carry this to ridiculous lengths." The man' s voice changed in timbre. Lan' s fingers wove a complicated pattern in the air to defuse the effects of Iron Tongue' s honeyed words. When the mage saw that his usual persuasiveness wasn' t working, the man finally agreed with ill grace.

" They cannot shoot at us while we hang in the webs," said Murrk. He indicated Noratumi and the bow he carried.

" They won' t. If they do, they answer to me personally." Lan felt a wave of relief as all decided this was as good a deal as could be worked. They parted to separate camps, Noratumi to one side of the ravine and Iron Tongue to the other. Above moved Murrk, on his way to more mundane administrative duties.

Krek, Inyx, and Lan remained in the sandy spit. Inyx was the first to break the silence.

" This isn' t going to work. Someone is going to get mad and start the war up again."

" I hate to admit it, but you' re right," said Lan. " About the only thing we' ve got working for us is that the power stone will have to be mined quickly. Maybe we' ll get it back to Wurnna before some hothead breaks the alliance."

" Maybe all the Lower Places will frost over and the demons wear fur parkas," Inyx mumbled.

" Stranger things have happened around Lan Martak," observed Krek. Both humans glared at him and went to soothe whatever injured vanities the meeting had created.

" Claybore attacks more quickly each time after retreating," said Lan, a distant look on his face. " Iron Tongue is holding him back quite well, however. Purely defensive. It won' t be long before Claybore begins to wonder why we don' t launch an attack since that' s the only way to ever win free of Wurnna' s walls."

" The mining is going well enough," said Inyx. " Jacy' s crew opened the old shaft in less than an hour and found a rich vein of the power stone. It amazes me how quickly they work."

" Fear," said Lan. " They' re driven by fear of the spiders dangling above them as if they' re waiting to pounce."

" Why should a friendly spider engender such a response?" asked Krek. " We mountain arachnids are peaceable enough creatures, unless riled."

" Peaceable? You' re bloodthirsty, amoral, and totally without conscience," said Inyx, laughing.

" Why, thank you, friend Inyx. One does try, but it is so difficult at times to live up to the high ideals of one' s culture."

Lan had long since given up trying to fathom the contradictions in the spider' s brain. Sometimes gentle, other times a veritable death machine, Krek ran the gamut of responses to what appeared to Lan the identical situations. To Krek, however, those battles or retreats carried different moral values. About all Lan could be certain of was Krek' s undying friendship. The two had been through a great deal together and had come to depend on one another.

Even then, there were times:.

" Martak!" came the call from the mine. " A word with you."

Lan went to see what bothered Noratumi.

" We' ve got enough of the rock loaded onto the wagons for Iron Tongue. With this much he can move the moons out of the sky."

The three wagons visibly sagged under their load. The power stone left a cloud of dust hanging about that wouldn' t dissipate, even in a moderate breeze.

" Let' s start moving it out. Time is vital. Iron Tongue holds back Claybore' s assaults by a hair' s breadth."

" Not so fast. I' ve been thinking. About them." The man pointed to one of the spiders hanging a hundred feet above. " I might have misjudged the bugs."

" They' re gaining freedom from intrusion. The privacy of their web is important, as is their safety. For all their size, they are fragile enough beings."

Noratumi waved that away with a nervous gesture. " I want to give them something more. For not bothering us."

" What?"

" In the mine we found some cave mites. I know the spiders eat them but don' t like going after them. Well, we thought we might drag some out for the spiders."

" I' ll ask." Lan turned and quickly conversed with Krek. He saw his friend' s dun- colored eyes glow with the news of the cave mites. The young mage didn' t need Krek' s animated bobbing agreement to know the arachnids would be happy to feast on the mites.

Whatever Lan had expected, he didn' t expect to see the eighty pound eyeless larvae that Noratumi and the other miners dragged forth from the bowels of the shaft. The sickly white creatures thrashed weakly, visibly dying from the weak rays of the mid- morning sun. They weren' t allowed to suffer long; Murrk and the others descended from their webs and began devouring the mites.

" Messy," said Noratumi with some distaste, " but I suppose they think the same about the way we eat."

" How long before we can reach the trail leading into Wurnna?" asked Lan, more important things on his mind. The effort required to sneak in such a large quantity appeared to him insurmountable, but Iron Tongue had assured him and Noratumi that Claybore would never find this path- and that he' d be otherwise occupied when they brought their load in.

" Weeks," came the answer. " The loads are too heavy for us to haul, except one wagon at a time."

" Can' t do it that way. One time we might get through Claybore' s troops. He' ll be alert for a second try." Lan toyed with an idea, then pushed it aside. Using magic would only draw Claybore' s attention. But wasn' t the risk they all took equally as great by not employing certain spells?

" What are you thinking, Lan?" Inyx sidled up to him, her arm pressing close.

Excited, he said, " I haven' t had a chance to look through the grimoire, but one spell sticks in my mind. I haven' t dared try it before. There hasn' t been the time- or the need. Noratumi' s miners can' t get the wagons up the steep roads. They aren' t strong enough to do the pushing, and the horses are hardly better off. But a demon turning at the axle could give enough torque to make it possible."

" A demon?" Inyx warmed to the idea. " Yes, one like I found in Dicca. The one turning the rotor on that fluttercraft. It was tiny, but so strong!"

" I' ll need to conjure at least three of them. Holding them bound for a short while might be possible. It just might be." Lan wandered off, deep in thought. Inyx went to talk with Jacy. The two argued but the miner eventually agreed as Lan wandered back, a broad smile crossing his face. " I know exactly how to do it. It: it seems so simple."