Cenotaph Road

Lan turned to find Krek towering behind him. The spider asked in a mild voice, " Why did they run like that? Did they remember an appointment? It was one like them who died in my hunting web. I feared they would inquire about that misfortune, as the others have done in the past. Perhaps they are willing to live and let live."

" Something like that, Krek. Let' s get moving to that cemetery. I think this world is getting too hot for us."

" Too hot? It seems the right temperature to me. A bit moist, perhaps. I hate water, you understand. But:"

Lan shut out the rest of Krek' s likes and dislikes. As long as the spider continued frightening patrol officers, all was fine.

" I feel stronger, friend Lan Martak, much stronger now that we head for the sorry mountains this world offers. Having you along to fend off some of the minor a

Lan snorted. Minor a

Still, minor variances in the terrain became apparent after another long day' s walk, and by the end of the third tiring day, small, rocky hills sprang up in front of them, hardly mountains but promising relief from the slop caking Lan' s boots and making each foot weigh half again what it should.

" Krek? How well do you know these hills? I feel the need of a spot to stop."

" In midafternoon?" Krek' s ungainly bulk swayed from side to side as he lumbered alongside Lan. " I know little of this area. It seems no different from any other span of lumpy hills. Do you feel danger?"

" Nothing positive, but I' m uneasy. We haven' t seen any of those grey- clads for some time now, and they didn' t appear the type to forget even a passing insult, much less a rout like we staged. And there' s still the matter of the soldier who was hanged in your web. Does that crevice yonder appeal to you for a resting spot?" He had come to find that Krek had odd instincts concerning his resting places. If any hint of ru

The spider accomplished the reco

" Let me explore the depths of the cave. Best to stand back," he cautioned. Lan had also learned that fire wasn' t merely something the spider disliked- his fear was a mighty phobia. For a self- proclaimed fearless warrior, Krek exhibited strange weaknesses.

Lan soon found a small opening outlined by the flare of his torch. The valley opening on the other side, of the hill stretched deep, peaceful and deserted. Satisfied he wouldn' t be boxed in, he returned to his spider companion with the good news.

" Looks secure," he said. " Now all we need is some food. Maybe a nice squarrat, basted in its own juices and- Krek! What' s wrong?"

The giant spider hadn' t moved a hair since Lan' s return. All eight legs stretched wide, claws digging into solid rock in a ma

" Lan Martak! They come! I can feel the vibrations of many men. They come to kill me for that accident with the commander' s hatchling!"

" What do you mean?"

" The one caught in my hunting web was the hatchling of the greyclad' s commander. Oh, woe! I am to die this day!"

Lan' s mind raced. To be trapped in this small chamber was out of the question. No doubt existed in his mind that these were from the company of grey- clad soldiers Krek had so ably frightened off earlier. If a more bold officer rode with them this time, a second such scare tactic would fail. They had evinced such a proprietary interest in this dismal country that Lan feared they would kill any traveller, not merely him and Krek. If Krek were right about the youth he' d accidentally killed, no escape at all was possible. The commander would track them to the ends of this world.

" Pull in your legs and get that hairy carcass of yours moving. We can be through this passage and down the valley on the other side before they discover us. Hurry, curse you, hurry!"

" It is no use, friend Lan Martak. I am too weak. Once I could have fought them all and laughed while doing it. Now I am nothing. Riven from my web, an outcast, unable to mate, what is left for me? Go. Save yourself from my sorry fate."

Lan surprised himself by going to the prostrate spider and kicking him hard in the spot where a human' s ribs would be.

" On your feet. All eight of them. I' ve nursemaided you this far, and I' ll be dragged naked through all the Lower Places if I' m going to give up on you now. No fatalistic spider is going to keep me from my reward."

" Go to my web," said Krek, " and tell them I grant you your prize. Now, leave me be. My death is imminent. I feel it."

A shuddering sigh wracked the spider' s body. Lan was torn by indecision. He could run and save himself. That was the only sensible thing to do. His life had to be worth more than any stack of gold coins, no matter how high. But something rooted him to the spot. He couldn' t leave Krek to the fate decreed by the soldiers.

More than simple oath backed his resolve. The arrogance of the soldiers and what others of their kind had done back on his home world goaded him.

Grabbing a convenient hairy leg, he began tugging. The spider' s bulkiness surprised him. He' d thought it mostly illusion caused by the eight long legs. For the first time, he realized how massive the creature was.

" Move, you lovelorn pile of legs. Come along or I' ll have to try to hold them off here. That' s a damned messy way of dying, too, since I' ll be outnumbered dozens to one."

" You would do such a thing for me? Oh, well, maybe I should prolong my dreary life a while longer if it means so much to you."

They stumbled along the dark passageway until they burst into the secluded valley, the harsh glare of the overcast causing Lan to squint. Krek hesitated, spreading his legs wide and digging into the soft dirt. Though he lacked a sense of taste or smell, his tactile senses were vastly more refined than those of a human. They had to be, in order to feel the lightest of twitches in a monstrous web.

" They come," was all Krek said.

" So be it. Let' s move before they can close in on us. The only chance I see is that they' ll have to leave their mounts outside the cave. On foot, an armored soldier will be slower than we are."

The words cheered Lan more than Krek. The spider plunged into a fit of depression, and nothing Lan said brought back the bright sunlight of cheerfulness. They hurried along in stoic silence, legs straining to cover as much land as possible with each stride.

When they came to the cul- de- sac, Lan felt his own cheeriness drain. The sheer walls of the canyon rose to a height that would require a half- day' s climb. The only escape was back down the valley in the direction of the pursuing soldiers.

Lan looked at Krek. The spider collapsed into a heap of hairy legs.

" I knew such a thing would happen," he lamented. " My life is fated. Never will I know the loving caresses of my Klawn- rik' wiktorn- kyt. Her mating web will fall to sticky strands and never will our joys be as one. Never!"

Lan had to admit things looked as bleak as his friend predicted. His hand strayed to the dagger at his side. A pitiful weapon against a trained soldier. If only they were in a forest, that dagger would be more effective than a dozen great swords. What he lacked in armament, he made up for in stealth and cu