He decided not to stay and find out.
Moving on heels, fingertips and shoulder muscles, Rincewind wriggled sideways until foliage masked the oak and its occupants. Then he scrambled to his feet and hared off between the trees.
He had no destination in mind, no provisions, and no horse’. But while he still had legs he could run. Ferns and brambles whipped at him, but he didn’t feel them at all.
When ,he had put about a mile between him and the dragon he Stopped and collapsed against a tree, which then spoke to him.
“PSst,’ it said.
Dreading what he might see, Rincewind let his gaze slide upwards. It tried to fasten on innocuous bits of bark and leaf, but the scourge of curiosity forced it to leave them behind. Finally it fixed on a black sword thrust straight through the branch above Rincewind’s head.
“Don’t just Stand there,’ said the sword (in a voice like the sound of a finger dragged around the rim of a large empty wine glass). “Pull me out.’
“What?’ said Rincewind, his chest still heaving.
“Pull me out,’ repeated Kring. “It’s either that or I’ll be spending the next million years in a coal measure. Did I ever tell you about the time I was thrown into a lake up in th-‘
“What happened to the others?’ said Rincewind, still clutching the tree desperately.
“Oh, the dragons got them. And the horses. And that box thing. Me too, except that Hrun dropped me. What a stroke of luck for you.’
“Well-‘ began Rincewind. Kring ignored him.
“I expect you’ll be in a hurry to rescue them, it added.
“Yes, well-‘
“So if you’ll just pull me out we can be off.’
Rincewind squinted up at the sword. A rescue attempt had hitherto been so far at the back of his mind that, if some advanced speculations on the nature and shape of the many-dimensioned multiplexity of the universe were correct, it was right at the front; but a magic sword was a valuable item . . .
And it would be a long trek back home, wherever Side 71
Pratchett, Terry – Discworld 01 – The Colour of Magic that was . . .
He scrambled up the tree and inched along the branch. Kring was buried very firmly in the wood.
He gripped the pommel and heaved until lights flashed in front of his eyes.
“Try again,’ said the sword encouragingly.
Rincewind groaned and gritted his teeth.
‘Could be worse,’ said Kring. “This could have been an anvil.’
“Yaargh,’ hissed the wizard, fearing for the future of his groin.
‘I have had a multidimensional existence,’ said the sword.
“Ungh?’
“I have had many names, you know.’
“Amazing,’ said Rincewind. He swayed backwards as the blade slid free. It felt strangely light.
back on the ground again he decided to break the news. “I really don’t think rescue is a good idea,’ he said. “I think we’d better head back to a city, you know. To raise a search party.’
“The dragons headed hubwards,’ said Kring.
“However, I Suggest we start with the one in the trees over there.’
.Sorry, but-‘
“You can’t leave them to their fate!’
Rincewind looked surprised. “I can’t?’ he said.
“No. You can’t. Look, I’ll be frank. ‘i’ve worked with better material than you, but it’s either that or have you ever spent a million years in a coal meaSUre?’
‘Look,I-‘”So if you don’t stop arguing I’ll chop your head off.
Rincewind saw his own arm snap up until the shimmering blade was humming a mere inch from his throat. He tried to force his fingers to let go.
They wouldn’t.
“I don’t know how to be a hero!’ he shouted
“I propose to teach you.’
Bronze Psepha rumbled deep in his throat.
Kfedra the dragonrider leaned forward andsquinted across the clearing.
“I see him,’ he Said. He swung himself down easily from branch to branch and landed lightly on the tusSocky grass, drawing his sword.
He took a long look at the approaching man, who waS obviously not keen on leaving the shelter of the trees. He was armed, but the dragonrider observed with some interest the strange way in which the man held the sword in front of him at arm’s length, as though embarrassed to be seen in itS company.
Kfedra hefted his own sword and grinned expansively as the wizard shuffled towards him. Then he
leapt.
Later, he remembered only two things about the fight. He recalled the uncanny way in which the wizard’s sword curved up and caught his own blade with a shock that jerked it out of his grip.
The other thing – and it was this, he averred, that led to his downfall – was that the wizard was covering his eyes with one hand.
Side 72
Pratchett, Terry – Discworld 01 – The Colour of Magic Ksedra jumped back to avoid another thrust and fell ‘full length on the turf.
With a snarl Psepha
unfolded his great wings and launched himself from his tree.
A moment later the wizard was standing over him, shouting, “Tell it that if it singes me I’ll let the sword go. I will. I’ll let it go! So tell it! ‘ the tip of the black sword was hovering over Kisdra’s throat, What was odd was that the wizard was obviously struggling with it, and it appeared to be singing to itself.
“Psepha!’ K’sdra shouted.
The dragon roared in defiance, but pulled out of the dive that would have removed Rincewind’s head, and flapped ponderously back to the tree.
“Talk!’ screamed Rincewind.
Ksdra squinted at him up the length of the sword.
“What would you like me to say?’ he asked.
‘What?’
“I said what would you like me to say?’
“Where are my friends? The barbarian and the little man is what I mean.’
“I expect they have been taken back to the Wyrmberg.’
Rincewind tugged desperately against the surge of the sword, trying to shut his mind to Kring’s
%bloodthirsty humming.
r~k st’8 e Wy
home. “And I suppose you were waiting to take me there, eh? Ktsdra
gulped involuntarily as the tip of the sword pued a bead of blood from his adam’s apple. “Don’t want people to know you’ve got dragons here, eh? snarled Rincewind. The dragonrider forgot himself enough to nod, and came within a quarter-inch of cutting his own throat.
Rincewind looked around desperately, and realized that this was Something he was really going to have to go through with.
‘Right then,’ he said as diffidently as he could manage.
“you’d better take me to this Wyrmberg of yours, hadn’t you?’
‘I was supposed to take you in dead,’ muttered Ksdra sullenly.
‘Rincewind looked down at him and grinned slowly. It was a wide, manic and utterly humourless rictus that was the sort of grin that is normally accompanied by small riverside birds wandering in and out picking scraps out of the teeth.
“Alive will do,’ said Rincewind. “if we’re talking about anyone being dead, remember whose sword iS in which hand.’
“If you kill me nothing will prevent Psepha killing you Shouted the prone dragonrider.
“So what I’ll do is, I’ll chop bits off,’ agreed the wizard. He tried the effect of the grin again.
“Oh, all right,’ said K’sdra sulkily. “Do you think I’ve got an imagination?’
He wrigled out from under the sword and waved at the dragon, which took wing again and glided in towards them. Rincewind swallowed.
‘You mean we’ve got to go on that?’ he said.
Wyrmberg?’ he said.
mberg. There is only one. It is
Side 73
Pratchett, Terry – Discworld 01 – The Colour of Magic DragonK! sdra looked at him scornfully, the point of Kring still aimed at his neck.
“How else would anyone get to the Wyrmberg?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Rincewind. “How else?’
“I mean, there is no other way. It’s flying or nothing.’
Rincewind looked again at the dragon before him. He could quite clearly see through it to the crushed grass on which it lay but, when he gingerly touched a scale that was a mere golden sheen on thin air, it felt solid enough. Either dragons should exist’ completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.
“i didn’t know dragons could be seen through,’ he said.
He swung himself astride the dragon awkwardly, K!sdra shrugged. “Didn’t you?’ he said.
because Rincewind was hanging on to his belt.
Once uncomfortably aboard the wizard moved his white-knuckle grip to a convenient piece of harness and prodded k’sdra lightly with the sword.
“Have you ever flown before?’ said the dragonrider, without looking round.
“Not as such, no.’
“Would you like something to suck?’
Rincewind gazed at the back of the man’s head, then dropped to the bag of red and yellow sweets that was being proffered.
“Is it necessary?’ he asked.
“it is traditional,’ said K!sdra. “Please yourself.’