The Fate of the Dwarves - By Markus Heitz Page 0,48

on the walls. A single iron plate was four paces wide and one pace thick. Ten of these placed side by side formed one wall, and hefty steel girders braced them diagonally. Algae and barnacles covered the outside and there was a metallic smell.

“But it’s…” Rodario was at a loss for words to describe this impressive structure.

“It goes down two hundred paces below the keel of our boat,” said Coïra, amused at the man’s childlike enthusiasm. She took her scarf and tied it round her hair to keep it back. “That’s how deep those metal walls go. At the bottom you can walk about without getting your feet wet, but I shan’t take you with me when I go down, so you won’t be able to see.”

He turned to her. “Go down? You’re going down there? What for?”

“Have a think and see if you can work it out for yourself.” She raised her hand in greeting to a helmeted figure and called out three words that Rodario could not understand, an answer coming back in return. “I was giving the password. If they don’t hear it the guards will sink any ship that approaches,” she told him.

“So there’s something down there that’s very precious, very valuable to you…” He paused. “But of course! A magic source!”

“The last magic source in Girdlegard that can still be accessed,” Loytan corrected. “Most of the others have dried up and only a few new ones have formed. There’s one in the land of the älfar, and one in the Blue Mountains, of course, where Lot-Ionan has set up his realm and is training his famuli.”

“As if I didn’t know that,” snapped Rodario.

Loytan grinned maliciously. “Obviously not. Or you wouldn’t have had to ask.”

The boat went round to the side of the shaft and moored at a floating landing stage where four guards stood waiting. They wore only light armor, in case they fell in and had to swim.

Coïra and her companions disembarked and climbed the iron steps to the narrow door at the top. Behind it was a walkway. Huts stood at the four corners of the shaft so that the guards could rest, or shelter in inclement weather.

Rodario could see a number of plaited wire ropes going from here to the top of the island, with cage-like gondolas attached. That would be how the guards, and their food and weapons, would be transported.

“There’s a second level beneath the walkway,” said Loytan, taking off his cap. “They’ve got catapults down there. No ship can withstand their fire.”

“You’re really prepared for anything.” Rodario ventured closer to the inner parapet to take a look down. The wind tugged at his clothing, blowing it this way and that.

The shaft was a vast black hole down to nowhere. A damp moldy smell rose up from the depths, a bit like a cellar where metal had been stored.

“Not quite the type of accommodation for a princess, though, is it?” he said, holding tight to the edge. “Couldn’t they have made it… a little more attractive?”

“That’s never been a priority,” laughed Coïra as she greeted the commander, who bowed to her. “Get the gondola ready to go down,” she told him and the armored man hurried off. “It’s kept over there in the eastern corner,” she told Rodario. “You and Loytan will wait for me there.”

“I’d love to see the magic wonder with my own eyes,” he confessed. “Couldn’t I watch?”

“It’s quite unspectacular. Just a few sparks.” Coïra went ahead. “Nothing worth seeing.”

“You didn’t tell him you bathe in the source naked,” interjected Loytan, eyeing Rodario.

“Naked?” The actor blushed. “Oh, now I understand why I can’t go with you. Though I envy whoever accompanies you.”

“You don’t know what is concealed under my clothes,” she replied, embarrassed in her turn. “Your compliment is somewhat premature.”

“It wasn’t a compliment. I was talking about being able to see the source…” he went on, but noted that Coïra’s expression had turned icy.

Loytan laughed out loud. “Oh, a true descendant of the Incredible Rodario. You certainly know how to charm a woman and wrap her round your little finger.”

“Hold your tongues,” she said sharply. “You’re both making me very uncomfortable.” She entered the little hut, where a gondola with a wire cage stood at the back. It was secured by two ropes through a loop at the top.

Coïra went over, stepped in and closed the door behind her, nodding to the guard. She moved a lever and the cabin dropped quickly down through a hole