"Yes!" Rand gritted angrily through clenched teeth at Perry, for the Warrow had not yet admitted to the reality of their strait plight. And the Prince sprang to his feet and paced to and fro in agitation. "Yes!" he spat, "all for a needless mission! But one that had to be assayed at all costs, for we knew it not that the Dusk-Door had survived the wrenching of that dire creature. The Door was not broken, but we were ignorant of that knowledge. It is ever so in warfare that needless missions are undertaken in ignorance.
"Ignorance! Pah! That, too, is one of the conditions of War. And good Men and Dwarves and others die because of it. This time our ignorance may have cost me my brother; but worse yet, it may have cost my people a King! So prate not to me about needless missions, Waerlmg, for it is time you realized to the uttermost what being a warrior means, and the necessity of the cruel decisions of War, for you seem to think that we do not grasp the fullness of our course.
"But we do know! Yes, it is abandonment! Yes, it spells doom! Yes, we know! But it is you who does not seem to grasp what it means to do otherwise! This Army must be held together to meet the strength of the Yrm, and must not be fragmented into splinter parties searching for a mere three; for in that foolish action lies the seeds of the destruction of our quest-and the needs of the quest gainsay all else, no matter who is abandoned."
Like crystal shards, the jagged truth of Rand's angry words tore at Perry's heart, and the Warrow paled with their import. "Hold on there, now!" Cotton protested sharply, starting to rise to defend his master, upset not by the meaning of Rand's words but rather at the angry manner in which Rand had spat them at Perry, "there's no cause to-" but Cotton's words were cut short by a curt gesture from Borin. And Cotton reluctantly fell silent, unsaid words battering at his grimly clamped lips as he tensely settled back, ready to speak up for Perry if need be.
But then the Prince halted his caged pacing and for the first time looked and saw how utterly stunned Perry was. And Rand's own heart softened, and his voice lost its edge of wrath as he turned and reached out to the buccan. "Ah, needless missions, times of no choice. There is no choice, Perry, no choice; and in that I grieve with you, for it is my brother we abandon to War's lot. I would that it were otherwise, yet we can do nought but hope, for instead we must set forth at once to array the Host against the foul Spawn."
Anval had listened to the Prince speak sharply to Perry, but in spite of the harshness, the Dwarf was in accord with Rand's meaning; yet at the same time Anval also had seen the anguish in the Waeran's eyes. The Dwarf leaned forward and gently placed a gnarled hand upon Perry's forearm and spoke: "Aye, Friend Perry, you, I-the Squad-we all went on a necessary yet needless mission; and now you despair, for our staunch companions are missing, facing dangers unknown, fates dire; and you have said that their sacrifice has gone for nought, for it claws at you that we did not even reach the unbroken Dusken Door, the sought-for goal, our mission's end. Yet, take heed: missions fail! Only in the faery-scapes of children's hearthtales do all goodly quests succeed. But in this world many a desperate undertaking has fallen full victim to dark evil, or has been thwarted: turned back or shunted aside or delayed, not reaching the planned end, costing the coursing lifeblood of steadfast comrades. Such thwart fell upon our mission. Yet heed me again: all warriors who encounter such calamities and who live on must learn to accept these truths and go forth in spite of unforeseen setbacks.
"Once I said unto you mat you must become a warrior; and you have. But times as these test a warrior's very mettle,' and he must be as stern as hammered iron. We live, and so might our lost comrades; but in any case, we must now go forth and war upon the thieving Grg, for that is our prime reason for being here ready for battle." Anval fell silent and turned and looked expectantly at his King.
With effort, Diirek cast his hood back and reluctantly agreed: "Though I am loath to abandon our comrades to the Grg's hunt, Prince Rand is correct, and so too is Anvaclass="underline" we must hasten to the War Hall at the Great Deep to meet the Squam Swarm. Gnar soon will know that we are within the corridors, and he will muster to meet us. We must needs be arrayed in our strength, for the numbers of his force may be great indeed. But hearken to me, Friend Perry: after our victory, I will send search parties for any of the three who still may live. Yet now the Host must hie forth to the War Hall and array in our strongest formation."
And Perry's heart at last admitted to the grim truth, and he nodded bleakly as Durek issued the commands; and once again the Army began to move deeper into Kraggen-cor, striding to the northeast at a forced-march pace.
Borin led the way back toward the Bottom Chamber. Once more, when they came to the Drawing Dark-the eight-foot-wide crack in the tunnel floor-Perry overcame his fear and made the running leap over the fissure, this time with less hesitation; but Cotton delayed long, while others passed over, mustering his courage for the hurdle above the sucking depths, the leap a long one for a Warrow. At last the buccan stepped into the line of warriors and took his turn, and cleared the wide crack easily; Perry had waited for him, and together they ran to catch up with the head of the column.
At the Ova! Chamber, as signalled by Bane's jewel-flame, a force of Rucks was arrayed to meet the Dwarves: some of the enemy who earlier had escaped had told of the Dwarves' coming, and the Spawn did not yet know that it was an entire army they faced, believing instead that they were meeting, at most, a company-sized troop. And so, once again the Dwarves issued against the maggot-folk in overwhelming force, and the skirmish was short and decisive.
Durek had ordered Cotton and Perry to remain out of the fray, saying that although Anval and Bonn knew most of the Pain now, he wanted to hold the Waerans in reserve, at least until the Great Deop was reached-then he would have an entire legion of guides. And so Cotton and Perry remained back in the corridor until the engagement was over.
The march toward the Mustering Chamber continued, and as they tramped, Cotton, who was happy simply to be reunited with Perry, chatted about the Army's trek from Landover Road Ford to Dusk-Door. In spite of his low spirits, Perry soon found himself becoming more and more interested in Cotton's venture; and Perry was slowly drawn out of his black mood by the tale he was told. Cotton spoke of: the shrieking, clawing wind at the Crestan Pass; Waroo the Blizzard and the blind guides and lost Dwarves; being snowbound and the great dig-out; the forced march down the Old Rell Way, and the mud mires; the arrival at Dusk-Door; the battle with the Krakenward and the breaking of the dam and slaying of the Monster of the Dark Mere; the discovery of the Host by the Rucken spies and Brytta's troop riding from the valley to intercept them; and the removal of the mountain of rubble and the opening of the Door at midnight.
Perry was fascinated by the story. "Why, Cotton," he declared when the other finished, "you have lived an epic adventure, one as exciting as even some of the old tales."
"Wult, I don't know about that, Mister Perry." Cotton shrugged doubtfully. "It seems to me that most of it was just a bother, if you catch my meaning."
"Oh, it's an adventure, alright," assured Perry, "and when we're through with all this, I'll want to set it down in a journal for others to see." He began asking questions, seeking more detail about Cotton's venture, and Perry's Weak mood ebbed as he and the other Warrow marched north and
east with the Host.
And both Warrows soon fell to speculating as to the outcome of Brytta's mission. Each worried that the Harlingar had met up with a Swarm; yet Cotton surmised, "Oh, I believe the Valonners did their job, Sir, 'cause Gnar's army wasn't waiting at the Dusk-Door when it opened. In fact, nobody was. Not even you. But I knew you'd be alright. And since the maggot-folk weren't there, well, that means Gnar hadn't got the word, so as the Valonners must have succeeded in stopping the Rucken spies."