David Gemmell – Rigante 3 – Ravenheart

As the night wore on Kaelin slowly moved down the rock face, tying ropes to jutting rocks, so that the clansmen could follow. At last he reached the chimney fissure, above the final ledge. Rayster swung down to join him, and stared gloomily down into the pitch darkness of the chimney. ‘It looks worse than it is,’ said Kaelin. ‘There are hand- and footholds aplenty. Then there is one last ledge. After that it is the soft earth of the forest – and the cannons and muskets of the beetlebacks.’

‘I shall never climb again,’ said Rayster. ‘I feel I have used up just

about all of the luck I have.’

Above them the majority of the three hundred and twenty warriors were on the face.

Five hours had passed since the climb began, and Kaelin estimated that at least that much time again would be used up. Carefully he climbed down the chimney, not using the rope. Rayster followed him.

A sound came to them, a crack followed instantly by a wet thud. Then another. Something dark swept past the opening of the chimney. Kaelin could not see what it was. Perhaps someone had dropped a rope, or dislodged a rock. Emerging from the chimney to the ledge he saw a dark stain on the lip of the rock. Then he looked over the edge. Two bodies were lying on the ground, limbs splayed grotesquely.

Kaelin fastened the last rope around a large rock. Rayster emerged. ‘Time to feel solid earth again,’ said Kaelin. Rayster gave a tight smile.

‘Not before time. It will be pleasant to be the first to the forest.’

‘You will not be the first,’ said Kaelin softly. ‘Two men fell.’ Rayster swore.

‘I’ll see you below,’ he said. Swinging his legs out over the edge he disappeared from sight.

Kaelin did not follow him. Instead he scaled the chimney again, climbing swiftly. When he emerged once more into the moonlight he saw that a rope had given way on the ledge above. Clansmen were huddled there unable to descend, while others clung to the rope above, prevented by the mass of bodies from joining their comrades on the ledge. Kaelin untied the rope Rayster had used to descend the chimney, drew it up and coiled it swiftly. Looping it over his shoulder he climbed to the crowded ledge. His limbs were tired when he reached the lip, but the ledge was so packed with men that there was no room for him to clamber over.

He could see the jagged end of the sheared rope. It had rubbed against a sharp edge on the lip and given way. Clinging to the rock face Kaelin thought the problem through. The new rope would also grind against the lip, and with a mass of men filling the ledge he could not seek out any other means of securing it. A man stumbled above him, and for a moment it seemed he would fall. A comrade grabbed him. Kaelin eased himself up until his arms were over the ledge. Then he carefully tied the end of the new rope to the severed section of the first, and dropped the coil down the face. He glanced up at the nearest man. He was short and slim, and his face showed his fear. ‘Pick up the rope and pass it to the man beside you,’ said Kaelin. ‘Carefully now!’ There was no room to bend, and the man slowly went into a squat, retrieving the rope. Slowly and smoothly he rose, passing the rope to a bigger man beside him. ‘Loop it over your right shoulder and down around both hips. Hold it firmly.’ The big man did so, and the rope slid along the lip to a more rounded section of stone. ‘You need to hold it there as the men climb down. Do not allow it to slip left or right. You understand?’

‘Aye,’ said the big man.

‘When you start getting tired, pass on the duty to another.’ Kaelin glanced at the clansman closest to the rope and the edge. ‘You climb down now,’ he said. ‘When you reach the ledge below you will see a fissure. Move into it. There will be no rope, but it is an easy climb. Start now!’

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