Read Online The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Terry Pratchett
Tags: SF
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children," said Brocando. "Nothing to be frightened of down there."
He trotted down the steps. Bane went to follow him, and then looked back at the Munrungs.
"What's the matter?" he said.
"Well ... " said Snibril. What shall I say? Creatures from ancient tales live down there: thunorgs, the horrible delvers, and shadows without number or names. Strange things gnawing at the roots of the Carpet. The souls of the dead. Everything bad. Everything you get ... frightened by, when you're small.
He looked around at the other tribesmen. They had moved closer together.
He thought: at times like this, we all have to forget old things.
"Nothing's the matter," he said, in what he hoped was a voice full of leadership. "Come on, lads. Last one in's a-"
"Never mind about the last one," muttered a voice somewhere towards the back of the group. "We want to see what happens to the first one."
Snibril tripped at the bottom of the stairs and landed on a pile of soft dust. Brocando was lighting a torch, taken from a rack of them on one wall of the little cave. One by one the band shuffled down. Brocando moved another lever and the statue trundled back over the hole, leaving them crowded shoulder to shoulder in the red-lit cave.
"All here?" said Brocando, and without waiting for a reply he ducked into a tiny crevice and was gone.
Nearly as bad as discovering all your worst fears are coming true, Snibril thought, is finding out that they're not.
The walls showed up brown in the torchlight, and were covered with tiny hairs that glittered as the light passed them. Sometimes they crossed the entrances to other tunnels. But there were no monsters, no sudden teeth ...
The path began to slope down and suddenly the light from Brocando's torch dimmed. Snibril started before he realized that they were entering a cavern under the Carpet, with walls so far away that the light was not reflected from them. They passed through many great caverns, the path narrowing and spiralling up around great columns of hair, so that they had to cling to stay on it. Sometimes the light sparkled on a distant wall. While they were edging along one place where the path narrowed almost to nothingness, and cold air rushed up from the depths below, Snibril slipped. Bane, who was next in line, reached out with great presence of mind and grabbed him by the hair just as he was about to totter into the darkness. But the torch slipped from his hands. They peered over the edge to watch it become a spark, then a speck and finally wink out. Something shifted in the dark depths of Underlay, and they heard it scuttle heavily away.
"What was that?" said Snibril.
"Probably a silverfish," said Brocando. "They've got teeth bigger than a man, you know. And dozens of legs."
"I thought you said there was nothing to be afraid of down here!" shouted Glurk.
"Well?", said Brocando, looking surprised. "Who's afraid of them?"
Anything else in the depths below would hardly have seen them, little specks inching along the roots of the hairs. Eventually Brocando called a halt on the edge of another abyss. There was a narrow bridge stretching across it, and Snibril could just make out a door on the far side.
The king held up the torch and said: "We are right underneath the rock now."
The roof of the cavern was gently curved towards its centre, bowed under the great weight above it.
"You are the only people apart from the kings of Jeopard to see this," Brocando went on. "After the secret passage was dug, Broc had all the workers personally put to death to stop the secret escaping."
"Oh? That's part of kinging, too, is it?" said Glurk.
"It used to be," said Brocando. "Not any more, of course."
"Hah!" said Bane.
When they had crossed the bridge Brocando pushed the little wooden door open, revealing a spiral staircase lit by green light filtering down from a tiny circle of light. It was a long climb up the winding staircase, which was so narrow that the boots of the ones in front tangled
He trotted down the steps. Bane went to follow him, and then looked back at the Munrungs.
"What's the matter?" he said.
"Well ... " said Snibril. What shall I say? Creatures from ancient tales live down there: thunorgs, the horrible delvers, and shadows without number or names. Strange things gnawing at the roots of the Carpet. The souls of the dead. Everything bad. Everything you get ... frightened by, when you're small.
He looked around at the other tribesmen. They had moved closer together.
He thought: at times like this, we all have to forget old things.
"Nothing's the matter," he said, in what he hoped was a voice full of leadership. "Come on, lads. Last one in's a-"
"Never mind about the last one," muttered a voice somewhere towards the back of the group. "We want to see what happens to the first one."
Snibril tripped at the bottom of the stairs and landed on a pile of soft dust. Brocando was lighting a torch, taken from a rack of them on one wall of the little cave. One by one the band shuffled down. Brocando moved another lever and the statue trundled back over the hole, leaving them crowded shoulder to shoulder in the red-lit cave.
"All here?" said Brocando, and without waiting for a reply he ducked into a tiny crevice and was gone.
Nearly as bad as discovering all your worst fears are coming true, Snibril thought, is finding out that they're not.
The walls showed up brown in the torchlight, and were covered with tiny hairs that glittered as the light passed them. Sometimes they crossed the entrances to other tunnels. But there were no monsters, no sudden teeth ...
The path began to slope down and suddenly the light from Brocando's torch dimmed. Snibril started before he realized that they were entering a cavern under the Carpet, with walls so far away that the light was not reflected from them. They passed through many great caverns, the path narrowing and spiralling up around great columns of hair, so that they had to cling to stay on it. Sometimes the light sparkled on a distant wall. While they were edging along one place where the path narrowed almost to nothingness, and cold air rushed up from the depths below, Snibril slipped. Bane, who was next in line, reached out with great presence of mind and grabbed him by the hair just as he was about to totter into the darkness. But the torch slipped from his hands. They peered over the edge to watch it become a spark, then a speck and finally wink out. Something shifted in the dark depths of Underlay, and they heard it scuttle heavily away.
"What was that?" said Snibril.
"Probably a silverfish," said Brocando. "They've got teeth bigger than a man, you know. And dozens of legs."
"I thought you said there was nothing to be afraid of down here!" shouted Glurk.
"Well?", said Brocando, looking surprised. "Who's afraid of them?"
Anything else in the depths below would hardly have seen them, little specks inching along the roots of the hairs. Eventually Brocando called a halt on the edge of another abyss. There was a narrow bridge stretching across it, and Snibril could just make out a door on the far side.
The king held up the torch and said: "We are right underneath the rock now."
The roof of the cavern was gently curved towards its centre, bowed under the great weight above it.
"You are the only people apart from the kings of Jeopard to see this," Brocando went on. "After the secret passage was dug, Broc had all the workers personally put to death to stop the secret escaping."
"Oh? That's part of kinging, too, is it?" said Glurk.
"It used to be," said Brocando. "Not any more, of course."
"Hah!" said Bane.
When they had crossed the bridge Brocando pushed the little wooden door open, revealing a spiral staircase lit by green light filtering down from a tiny circle of light. It was a long climb up the winding staircase, which was so narrow that the boots of the ones in front tangled
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