Shadowland. Spider World 06 by Colin Wilson

But these hollows were not caves. He examined all the faces of the mountain without success, then went lower and looked more closely. Finally, he saw what looked like a cave, half-hidden by bushes, and by a broken thorn tree that leaned across it. Directly above it, extending all the way to the summit, was an unscalable mass of gray rock. The cave faced northeast, so would have been useless as a lookout for the southern approach.

He tried looking inside it, but could see nothing but a mass of dark shadows. He surveyed it for a long time, but saw no sign of movement.

Finally, he yawned, realizing that these mental efforts were more tiring than they seemed. It was probably close to midnight, and he wanted to leave early. So he pushed himself off the crystal seat, jumping the eighteen inches to the ground, and made his way back down the stairs.

The room in which he had eaten was in silence and in semidark-ness; only the trollwife sat close to the light, and sewed some child’s garment — Niall smiled at the thought that all mothers seemed to perform the same tasks.

She asked: “Are you ready to sleep?”

He said gratefully: “Yes, I am.”

Carrying the light, she led him through the arch that led to the kitchen, and down a corridor with uneven granite walls. She paused to show him a toilet behind a door of coarse planks, then led him into his bedroom next door. This was basically a small cave that had been hacked out of the rock; only the floor was relatively smooth, the walls and ceiling showing the marks of tools. Carved wooden toys in a basket revealed that this was a child’s bedroom; its only furniture was a wooden bed, and a chair whose seat was four feet off the ground. His own backpack lay on the chair. In one corner of the room, on a flat circular cushion, the captain was already asleep, his legs bunched underneath him.

The trollwife gave her cheerful, gap-toothed smile, and withdrew softly, leaving him in darkness. Niall guessed she was glad to get to bed. He was also relieved to clamber into the great wooden box of a child’s bed, which was large enough for three persons of his size, and to make himself comfortable on a mattress that seemed to be full of dried beans or peas.

Before pulling the coarse blanket over him, he groped in the dark and removed his watch from the pack; the phosphorescent dial showed that it was a quarter past midnight. He wound it under his blanket, so as not to wake the captain, then placed it on the chair, where its loud tick was oddly comforting. A faint breeze on his cheek made him aware that, far from being airless, the room had some kind of ventilation, which he guessed to be associated with the distant thunder of water from below. He tried to work out what day it must be, but fell asleep before his mind could come to grips with the problem.

He was awakened by the noise of the children, and by thumps that suggested they were having a pillow fight. He looked at his watch and saw that it was half past six. He felt fresh and well rested, which he attributed to the energy of the crystals. The captain was also stirring, and Niall could tell, without having to ask him, that he was also feeling rested and refreshed.

Half an hour later he was seated at the table, eating a section of a massive hot sausage that steamed in a pewter dish; it contained grains of sweet corn and cereal as well as sausage meat that tasted like venison. They drank a creamy warm milk poured from a wooden jug, and Niall guessed that the animal that provided it had been milked within the last half hour. When the trollwife offered him more sausage, Niall had to shake his head and pat his stomach.

The captain ate in the kitchen; he had been given an uncooked sausage and a saucerlike plate of the milk.

The two male trolls applied themselves to their breakfast with serious determination of purpose, consuming most of the remainder of the sausage. The strange beast on the floor lay watching the children, who occasionally threw it tidbits.

Breakfast finally over, the grandfather turned to Niall: “Have you decided on your route?”

“I think so. The river valley seems the best approach.” He tried to convey a mental picture of the valley.

“No. You could be seen for miles. But if you follow this road for half a league, you will find a steep path up to the cliff top. It has been made by cattle. Follow this trail to the top, and you will find a gully that has been made by water. At the end of the summer it will still be dry. If you follow this, you will be able to approach Skollen with less chance of being seen.”

Niall asked: “Are there lookouts on Skollen?”

The old man and his son considered this. The younger man replied: “I do not know. It is many years since I visited Skollen.”

“And even more since I was there,” said the old man.

The trollwife suggested: “Why not send the children to guide them to the cattle trail?”

Her husband shook his head.

“No. The karvasid is vindictive. He cannot do us much harm, but it is well not to risk drawing his attention.”

It made Niall suddenly aware of something that had not struck him before: that in giving him shelter like this, the trolls were exposing themselves to the vengefulness of the Magician.

Another question troubled him, and he addressed it to all three of them: “Do you think I should take the crystal globe with me?”

All shook their heads simultaneously, and the old man said: “If it fell into his hands it would make him invincible. That is why he spent so much effort trying to find it. If he knew you possessed it, he would not rest until he had taken it from you. That is why it would be best to leave it here.”

Niall inclined his head. “If you think so.” But the thought of losing this marvelous tool he had so recently acquired caused a pang of regret.

The trolls sensed this, and the husband remarked: “You are not leaving it behind. It belongs to you, and has now adjusted itself to your vibration.”

The old man added: “Before you leave, I will show you how to maintain contact with it.”

Niall said: “I am afraid I must go soon. We have a long journey ahead, and for the short legs of a human being it is even longer.”

For some reason they found this funny, and all the trolls — including the children — laughed uproariously.

Niall said: “There is another question that I have been thinking about. You say that the karvasid hates spiders. Would the captain be risking his life in coming with me?”

The spider said immediately: “That is my choice. I shall go wherever you go.”

The old man turned to the captain: “He is right. The karvasid is a madman. You are welcome to remain here with us.”

The spider said: “I go with him. If I lose my life, I have lost it in the service of the goddess.”

Niall made a movement that the spider would recognize as a formal act of thanks. “Then I shall be glad of your companionship.” He turned to his hostess. “I thank you for your hospitality,” then to his host: “And you for rescuing us from certain starvation.” The troll smiled his good-natured smile, and shrugged.

“With the help of the goddess, you would have found some way of escape.” His tone made it clear that he meant it.

The grandfather stood up. “First let me show you how to establish contact at a distance. It is very simple.”

Moving with the slowness of a giant statue, he led the way upstairs. This time Niall had plenty of time to scramble up each step.

In the hall of crystal Niall was again lifted into the thronelike chair. He fixed his eyes on the globe, and felt its instant response. It was like switching on a light. Once again the pleasant trickle of vitality flowed through him, filling him with delight.

The older troll nodded approvingly. “You have learned to enter sympathetically into its vibration.”

In fact, Niall found that it came so easily and naturally that it was like recognizing someone you had known for years. It was strange how a piece of inanimate crystal could be so oddly like a person.

The elder troll no longer bothered to transmit thoughts; it was as if his mind had gently taken control of Niall’s will, and was guiding it. First, he urged Niall to enter the world of the globe. But at that point he instructed Niall to withdraw part of his mind, so that he was no longer wholly absorbed in the power of the crystal.