Conan The Indomitable Read Online Free PDF Page A

innkeeper had also supplied the couple with a leather flask of mild wine,
and they used this to wash down the jerky. Later, when they camped for the
night, Conan could set snares for rabbits or ringtails, which they could roast
over the evening’s fire. With luck, they could be through the pass and over the
mountain road’s highest elevation by darkfall.
     
    Wikkell, the hunchbacked cyclops, moved through narrow corridors of wet
stone, splashing through puddles of limed water that sometimes bubbled with
inner effervescence. There were a dozen ways to reach the Northern Chambers,
this tunnel being one of the wider ones, albeit not the shortest. It would not
do to be stuck in one of the narrow tubes whilst on Katamay Rey’s business. The
master held no interest in excuses, and he was not gentle with those who failed
him. Wikkell’s predecessor as first assistant had angered the wizard, and as a
result, had spent his final moment of life turning into a puddle of putrid ooze
upon Rey’s chamber floor. Wikkell’s first chore as new assistant had been to
clean up the remains of his predecessor, an unpleasant task that ever cautioned
him to take extreme care in dealing with the wizard who ruled half of the cave
system.
    Recalling that incident served to hurry Wikkell’s splayed feet as he moved
toward his goal. Should he fail in his assigned task, ‘twould be better not to
return to these parts at all; certainly it was an option he would keep in mind,
but one he would rather not exercise. He increased his pace yet more.
     
    Deek slithered along a twisting tunnel, moving quite fast for a being
without appendages. The belly plates upon which he traveled had evolved to suit
rock, and he slid forward more like a snake than a worm, winding from side to
side, head slightly raised above the slimed floor of the cave.
    As he crawled along, Deek formulated his plans for communication with the
other sentient species that inhabited the Grotterium Negrotus. The Blood-bats
lived to eat and procreate, and they always needed more room. He could offer
them one of the giant caverns to the west of the cave complex as a breeding
ground. Chuntha had kept them empty for reasons of her own, and the bats would
do anything to occupy such a vast space.
    The Webspinners, on the other coil, were permanently stationary, and grown thin from lack of proper food. Could Deek assure them of a steady
food supply, they would be more than willing to aid the witch in any way they
could.
    And the Blind Whites? Well, they were quite another
matter. Those obscene, apelike creatures were friendly with the cyclopes and unlikely to want anything Chuntha could supply.
Like as not, they would pull rock daggers on any worm foolish enough to
approach them, stabbing first and asking each other stupid questions as they
ingested the remains. Best to avoid those vermin altogether.
    Deek had not seen Chuntha so agitated since the worms had brought her that
man traveler a few months past. She had practically danced then; unfortunately,
the poor traveler had not lasted very long under the witch’s ministrations, a
single episode in her bed being enough to finish him. But the remains had been
quite tasty, as Deek recalled. Perhaps the witch would allow them to have her
leavings again once this new traveler had served his purpose. But first they
had to catch him. Deek increased his coiling, moving faster. It would not do to
miss this person. Not at all. Deek had no desire to
serve as fodder for the lime pits, a fate very likely to be the result of
failing to please Chuntha.
     
    Conan and Elashi rounded the trail’s turning as the sun began to sink behind
the tallest peak to the west. The trek had been monotonous thus far. They had
seen no one save an occasional curious mountain goat peering down at them.
Another hour or so and they could stop for the night, Conan figured.
    Then, just ahead, from the hard shadow of a sharp-edged spire of rock, a monster
stepped into their