"Aye, it was, and scantly told, at that. I did not speak of the capture itself, since none of us saw it, only that she was taken. Nor did I speak of the debate when she was found missing, or—"

"Well enough," Amberion interrupted. The dwarf scowled at him. "Paks, has any of that come back to you as he was telling it?"

"It seemed, sir, almost as if something were trying to break into my head. Something I should know. But as I told Master Balkon, what I do recall seems faraway, dreamlike."

"That's not unusual. By Gird, I wish that elf would wake!"

"By his face," said the dwarf sourly, "that one is enjoying some rare dream such as elves delight in, too rare a dream to wake for our need."

"Elf?" asked Paks.

"Ardhiel," said Amberion. "From the embassy to Fintha—"

"Oh!" A live memory flashed into Paks's mind. "I remember him. In Fin Panir, when we—" she looked at Amberion, then went on more slowly, with dawning comprehension. "When we planned this expedition—I remember that now. I was there. I was taking training, and then—" In her excitement, Paks tried to sit up, but could not.

"I'll get another pack for you," said Amberion. He brought a fat blanket roll, and propped her higher on it. For an instant she was dizzy, but recovered.

"I do remember," she said eagerly. "On the caravan, and when we turned off—those canyons with the white stone high above. A black hill with a dip in the top. Is this farther down the canyon we went into, the one Master Balkon said was not as deep as it was meant to be?"

"Yes, Lady," said the dwarf. "This is the canyon choked with sand. I have not yet had the time to look, but I expect something—some rock fall, perchance—has blocked the downward end."

"And at the high end—that's where the cliffs were that the smoke came from?"

"Yes, in a branch canyon to this one. Do you remember the fight?"

"Something of it. One of those black fighters called out, and it was hard to move after that."

Amberion nodded. "It affected most of our party, save Master Balkon and me."

"Then you did something, and it eased; they were shooting arrows down. Ardhiel and Thelon were shooting back—"

"Yes," said Balkon. "And then that black scum who called down the fear on us came down the cliff in the shape of his lady—" the dwarf spat again. "That one."

"Like a spider," said Paks. "I remember. It was horrible—he just came down the rocks, straight down, and then more and more of them swarmed out of holes in the walls, and Ardhiel blew that old hunting horn he carries, only it didn't sound like a hunting horn."

"No," said Amberion. "And after he blew it, its own shape returned. It was under some enchantment. It's an elven horn, the only one I've ever seen, and a rare treasure. Whatever or whoever it was who appeared when the horn sang, I know not, but great goodness and power were allied in him."