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Draffut willed to achieve healing, but this time his powers could not heal.
The damage to the small body was too great, death was a finality.
He, Draffut, had killed a human being.
He let the limp and bloody body fall. Then, shrieking out one horrible
doglike growl after another, Draffut dragged himself somehow over the castle
wall, and fled into the darkness of the lake.
CHAPTER 22
ARNFINN was the first to hear the thudding sound. About two hours had passed
since he had entered the hidden rooms at the top of the tower, and an hour
since Ninazu had joined him there. Full daylight had long since come outside.
Their conversation had taken an increasingly tender turn, and they were in one
of the upper rooms, making their way with many sweet pauses toward the bed,
when the Sword Arnfinn was wearing began to make a muffled pounding noise.
Listening carefully, he needed only a moment to determine that this sound was
proceeding in sympathy with a similar pounding that seemed to be coming in
through the high windows from outside.
Putting Ninazu gently aside, Arnfinn drew his weapon and stood looking at it
in puzzlement. Ninazu's surprise as she gazed at the Sword was even greater.
It was as if she had not known until now that her companion was carrying
anything like it, but now she was ready to accept the weapon's presence as one
more indication of his superlative wizardry.
Then suddenly a man's voice, unnaturally loud, came blasting in through the
high windows. "Ho, on the roof!"
"On the roof?" Arnfinn whispered, looking up.
"Ho, there!" The voice blasted in at them again. "This is the master of the
castle speaking! Let your ladder down for us at once! You are trapped, and I
will show you mercy if you come down now!"
Arnfinn felt himself able to make at least a fair guess as to who those people
on the roof were.
"But who is that shouting?" he whispered to Ninazu, perturbed. "Where is he?"
"There is a stair outside, going up the outside of the tower to the roof. But
no one out there can see in here." Ninazu frowned. "It sounds like your
voice, shouting."
What further comment she might have had on that point Arnfinn never learned.
There was a violent explosion somewhere very close outside the windows,
followed by a muted outcry. Hardly had Arnfinn's ears ceased ringing from
that blast when he could hear whoever was on the stairs quietly retreating.
He went on listening, in fear and total bewilderment, without any idea of what
was happening now. He could only hope that his fear was not evident to this
lady he wanted to help and protect.
This time it was Lady Ninazu who asked the question. "What was that?"
"An event of magic," said Arnfinn, swallowing. "Don't worry, I will protect
you.
Are you all right now?"
"Yes, great lord." She sounded confident in his protection.
"I have decided," he said, and had to pause to swallow again, "decided that it
would be well for us to make contact with those people on the roof, whoever
they may be."
"Do you think, lord, they will be ready to surrender to you now?"
"Actually it is not surrendering that I had in mind particularly. But I would
like to talk to them at least."
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Standing on the foot of one of the beds, Arnfinn located the trapdoor in the
roof-
there was a false panel concealing it, as Ninazu showed him. Arnfinn unlocked
the trap, and tried to raise it.
He strained, pushing upward with all his force, but nothing happened. Some
weight above was holding the door immobile.
At last, determined to make contact now, he called out. "This is Arnfinn
here! I
have the Sword of Stealth!" And he hammered on the trapdoor with the pommel of
his Sword.
"Arnfinn?" Lady Ninazu questioned gently. "If that is one of your names of
power, lord, it will be safe with me."
Arnfinn gave her a sickly smile, knowing that she doubtless saw the cowardly
grimace as something else entirely.
Presently there were sounds from overhead as of heavy weights being moved.
At last, when he pushed on the trap again, it swung up.
Gray daylight flooded down into the bedroom. Arnfinn, looking up at three
people who were standing on the roof, found himself, with some relief,
confronting huge Ben and gray Lady Yambu. Zoltan, who had been with them in
the grotto, was gone; Arnfinn remembered he had seen him getting ready to row
the boat away. But Arnfinn could not recognize the tall, brown-haired man who
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