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Authors: Gordon R. Dickson
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far off over a bad telephone connection came to Jim's ears.
"Gone to the Loathly Tower. Gone to the Loathly Tower. Gone to the Loathly Tower."
The watchbeetle stopped abruptly, popped back out of sight and began churning away inside the hole, filling it in.
"Not so fast!" Carolinus snapped. "Did I give you leave to go? There're other things than being a watchbeetle, you know. There're blindworms. Come back at once, sir!"
The sand spouted into the air once more. The watchbeetle reappeared, its front limbs waving agitatedly.
"Well, wellâspeak up!" said Carolinus. "What about our young friend here?"
" "Companions !" creaked the watchbeetle. " Companions! Companions !"
It ducked out of sight again. The sand began to work itself smooth once more; and in a couple of seconds the ground looked as if it had never been disturbed.
"Hmm," Carolinus murmured thoughtfully. "It's the Loathly Tower then, that this Bryagh of yours has taken the maiden to."
Smrgol cleared his throat noisily.
"That's that ruined tower to the west, in the fens, isn't it, Mage?" he asked. "Why, that's the place the mother of my Gormely Keep ogre came from, as the stories go. The same place that loosed the blight on the mere-dragons nearly five hundred years ago."
Carolinus nodded, his eyes hooded under his thick white brows.
"It's a place of old magic," he answered. "Dark magic. These places are like ancient sores on the land, scabbed over for a while but always breaking out with new evil whenever the balance of Chance and History becomes upset."
He went on musingly, speaking almost more to himself than to Jim and the older dragon.
"Just as I feared," he said, "the Dark Powers haven't been slow to move. Your Bryagh belongs to them, nowâeven if he didn't, before. It'll be they who caused him to take the maiden there, to become a hostage and weapon against Gorbash here. It's a good thing I took a stern line with that watchbeetle just now and got the full message."
"Full message?" Jim echoed, puzzled.
"That's rightâthe full message." Carolinus turned commandingly upon him. "Now that you know your lady's been taken there, no doubt you're all ready to go to her rescue, aren't you?"
"Of course," said Jim.
"Of course not!" snapped Carolinus. "Didn't you hear the second part of the watchbeetle's message? 'Companions!' You'll have to have companions before you dare venture close to the tower. Otherwise your Angela and you are both doomed."
"Who is this Angela?" Smrgol asked, puzzled.
"The Lady Angela, dragon," said Carolinus. "The female george Bryagh took to the tower."
"Ah," said Smrgol, a little sadly. "Not a princess then, after all. Well, you can't have everything. But why does Gorbash here want to rescue her? Let the other georges do whatever rescuing there has to beâ"
"I love her," said Jim, fiercely.
"Love her? My boy," Smrgol scowled, aghast, "I've put up with a good deal of your strange associates in the pastâthat wolf and so forth. But falling in love with a george! There's a limit to what any decent dragonâ"
"Come, come, Smrgol," said Carolinus, impatiently. "There are wheels within wheels in this matter."
"Wheels⦠? I don't understand, Mage."
"It's a complex situation, derivative from a great many factors, unobvious as well as obvious. Just as in any concatenation of events, no matter how immediate, the apparent is not always the real. In short, your grand-nephew Gorbash is also, in another sense, a gentleman named Sir James of Riveroak, obligated to rescue his lady from the Dark Powers now controlling Bryagh, the Loathly Tower, and the Powers-know-what-else. In words of one syllable, therefore, he whom you know as Gorbash must now embark on a quest to restore the balance between Chance and History; and it is not for you to criticize or object."
"Or understand either, I suppose," Smrgol said, humbly.
"One might say that," barked Carolinus. "In fact, I do!" His voice softened somewhat. "We're all
"Gone to the Loathly Tower. Gone to the Loathly Tower. Gone to the Loathly Tower."
The watchbeetle stopped abruptly, popped back out of sight and began churning away inside the hole, filling it in.
"Not so fast!" Carolinus snapped. "Did I give you leave to go? There're other things than being a watchbeetle, you know. There're blindworms. Come back at once, sir!"
The sand spouted into the air once more. The watchbeetle reappeared, its front limbs waving agitatedly.
"Well, wellâspeak up!" said Carolinus. "What about our young friend here?"
" "Companions !" creaked the watchbeetle. " Companions! Companions !"
It ducked out of sight again. The sand began to work itself smooth once more; and in a couple of seconds the ground looked as if it had never been disturbed.
"Hmm," Carolinus murmured thoughtfully. "It's the Loathly Tower then, that this Bryagh of yours has taken the maiden to."
Smrgol cleared his throat noisily.
"That's that ruined tower to the west, in the fens, isn't it, Mage?" he asked. "Why, that's the place the mother of my Gormely Keep ogre came from, as the stories go. The same place that loosed the blight on the mere-dragons nearly five hundred years ago."
Carolinus nodded, his eyes hooded under his thick white brows.
"It's a place of old magic," he answered. "Dark magic. These places are like ancient sores on the land, scabbed over for a while but always breaking out with new evil whenever the balance of Chance and History becomes upset."
He went on musingly, speaking almost more to himself than to Jim and the older dragon.
"Just as I feared," he said, "the Dark Powers haven't been slow to move. Your Bryagh belongs to them, nowâeven if he didn't, before. It'll be they who caused him to take the maiden there, to become a hostage and weapon against Gorbash here. It's a good thing I took a stern line with that watchbeetle just now and got the full message."
"Full message?" Jim echoed, puzzled.
"That's rightâthe full message." Carolinus turned commandingly upon him. "Now that you know your lady's been taken there, no doubt you're all ready to go to her rescue, aren't you?"
"Of course," said Jim.
"Of course not!" snapped Carolinus. "Didn't you hear the second part of the watchbeetle's message? 'Companions!' You'll have to have companions before you dare venture close to the tower. Otherwise your Angela and you are both doomed."
"Who is this Angela?" Smrgol asked, puzzled.
"The Lady Angela, dragon," said Carolinus. "The female george Bryagh took to the tower."
"Ah," said Smrgol, a little sadly. "Not a princess then, after all. Well, you can't have everything. But why does Gorbash here want to rescue her? Let the other georges do whatever rescuing there has to beâ"
"I love her," said Jim, fiercely.
"Love her? My boy," Smrgol scowled, aghast, "I've put up with a good deal of your strange associates in the pastâthat wolf and so forth. But falling in love with a george! There's a limit to what any decent dragonâ"
"Come, come, Smrgol," said Carolinus, impatiently. "There are wheels within wheels in this matter."
"Wheels⦠? I don't understand, Mage."
"It's a complex situation, derivative from a great many factors, unobvious as well as obvious. Just as in any concatenation of events, no matter how immediate, the apparent is not always the real. In short, your grand-nephew Gorbash is also, in another sense, a gentleman named Sir James of Riveroak, obligated to rescue his lady from the Dark Powers now controlling Bryagh, the Loathly Tower, and the Powers-know-what-else. In words of one syllable, therefore, he whom you know as Gorbash must now embark on a quest to restore the balance between Chance and History; and it is not for you to criticize or object."
"Or understand either, I suppose," Smrgol said, humbly.
"One might say that," barked Carolinus. "In fact, I do!" His voice softened somewhat. "We're all
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