[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
them by a thousand pounds, a vicious creature that an eagle cannot possibly kill or, if it could, would not
be able to carry off to some surface island."
The wind carried to the abuta the gabble of hundreds of voices and the trumpeting of hundreds of
proboscises. Suddenly, there was a silence. Dugarnn froze, but his eyes were busy. Slowly, he raised his
hand. A warrior standing near him held a bladder in his hand. By him was a bowl-shaped stone with
some hot coals. He held his gaze upon his chief.
The silence was broken with the united scream of Nichiddor through their snaky noses. There was a
clap as of thunder as they launched themselves from the nests and brought their wings together in the first
beat. Dugarnn dropped his hand. The warrior dipped the short fuse of the bladder into the fire and then
released it. It soared upwards to fifty feet and exploded.
The gliders dropped from their lifts, each towards the nest ap-pointed to it. Wolff looked at the dark
hordes advancing and lost some of his confidence in his beamer. Yet, the Ilmawir had beaten off attacks
by the Nichiddor before-although with great loss. But never before had eight nests ringed the abuta.
A great-winged white bird passed overhead. Its cry came down to him, and he wondered if this could
be an eye of Urizen. Was his fa-ther watching through the eyes and brains of these birds? If so, he was
going to see a spectacle that would delight his bloody heart.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
The Nichiddor, so thick they were a brown and black cloud, sur-rounded the island. Just out of
bowrange, they stopped advancing and began to fly around the island. Around and around they flew, in
an ever-diminishing circle. The Ilmawir archers, all males, waited for their chief to signal to fire. The
women were armed with slings and stones, and they also waited.
Dugarnn, knowing that it would weaken them to spread out his people along the top of the walls, had
concentrated them at the prow. There was nothing to prevent the Nichiddor from landing at the far end.
However, they did not settle down there. They hated to walk on their weak legs.
Wolff looked out at the gliders. Some had dropped below his line of vision to attack the two nests
below the underside. The others were coming down swiftly in a steep glide. A number of Nichiddor rose
from the nest to meet them.
Two fliers passed over the nearest nest. Small objects, trailing smoke, dropped from them and fell on the
nests. Females, flapping their wings, scrambled towards them. Then, there was an explosion. Smoke and
fire billowed out. Another explosion followed.
The two gliders pulled up sharply. Carried upward by the momen-tum of their steep dives, they turned
and came back for another and final pass. Again, their bombs hit. Fire spread through the dry plants and
caught and enfolded some of the giant gas-cells. The females screamed so loudly they could be heard
even above the wing-beatings and trumpetings of the circling horde. They rose from the burning nest,
their infants clutched in their toes. The entire nest blew apart, catching some of the females, burning them
in flight or hurling them head over heels. Infants dropped towards the sea below, their short wings
ineffectively flapping.
Wolff saw one mother fold her wings and drop like a fish-hawk to-wards her infant. She caught it, beat
her wings, and lifted slowly to-wards an untouched nest.
Two nests, burning and exploding, spun towards the ocean. By then several hundreds of males had
detached themselves from the ring around the island. They flew after the gliders, which by now were far
down, headed towards a landing on the waves.
The nests on a level with the island were out of range of his beamer. It was possible the two below might
not be. Wolff told Dugarnn what he meant to do and went down a fifty-foot winding staircase to a hatch
at its bottom. The nests there had risen close, and he caught both of them with a sweep of the full power
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
of the beamer. They blew up with such violence that he was lifted and al-most knocked off the platform.
Smoke poured up through the hatch. Then, as it cleared away, he saw the flaming pieces of vegetation
fall-ing. The bodies of the children and females plummeted into the sea.
The male warriors from the nests were trying to get through the bottom hatches. Wolff put the beamer
on half-power and cleared the area. Then he ran along the gangplank, stopping at every hatch to fire
again. He accounted for at least a hundred attackers. Some had gotten through the defending abutal at
the hatches at the far end. It took him a while to kill these, since he had to be careful not to touch the
many great bladders. Even though he slew thirty, he could not get them all. The island was too large for
him to cover all the bottom area.
By the time he climbed back up to the hatch, he found that the Nichiddor had launched their mass
attack. This end of the island was a swirling, screeching, shouting, screaming mob. There were bodies
everywhere.
The archers and slingers had taken a heavy toll of the first wave and a lighter toll of the second. Then the
Nichiddor were upon them, and the battle became a melee. Although the winged men had no weapons
other than their wings and feet, these were powerful. With a sweep of a wing, a Nichiddor could knock
down an Ilmawir. He could then leap upon his stunned and bruised foe and tear at him with the heavy
hooked clawlike toenails. The abutal defended them-selves with spears, swords which were flat blades [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl karpacz24.htw.pl
them by a thousand pounds, a vicious creature that an eagle cannot possibly kill or, if it could, would not
be able to carry off to some surface island."
The wind carried to the abuta the gabble of hundreds of voices and the trumpeting of hundreds of
proboscises. Suddenly, there was a silence. Dugarnn froze, but his eyes were busy. Slowly, he raised his
hand. A warrior standing near him held a bladder in his hand. By him was a bowl-shaped stone with
some hot coals. He held his gaze upon his chief.
The silence was broken with the united scream of Nichiddor through their snaky noses. There was a
clap as of thunder as they launched themselves from the nests and brought their wings together in the first
beat. Dugarnn dropped his hand. The warrior dipped the short fuse of the bladder into the fire and then
released it. It soared upwards to fifty feet and exploded.
The gliders dropped from their lifts, each towards the nest ap-pointed to it. Wolff looked at the dark
hordes advancing and lost some of his confidence in his beamer. Yet, the Ilmawir had beaten off attacks
by the Nichiddor before-although with great loss. But never before had eight nests ringed the abuta.
A great-winged white bird passed overhead. Its cry came down to him, and he wondered if this could
be an eye of Urizen. Was his fa-ther watching through the eyes and brains of these birds? If so, he was
going to see a spectacle that would delight his bloody heart.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
The Nichiddor, so thick they were a brown and black cloud, sur-rounded the island. Just out of
bowrange, they stopped advancing and began to fly around the island. Around and around they flew, in
an ever-diminishing circle. The Ilmawir archers, all males, waited for their chief to signal to fire. The
women were armed with slings and stones, and they also waited.
Dugarnn, knowing that it would weaken them to spread out his people along the top of the walls, had
concentrated them at the prow. There was nothing to prevent the Nichiddor from landing at the far end.
However, they did not settle down there. They hated to walk on their weak legs.
Wolff looked out at the gliders. Some had dropped below his line of vision to attack the two nests
below the underside. The others were coming down swiftly in a steep glide. A number of Nichiddor rose
from the nest to meet them.
Two fliers passed over the nearest nest. Small objects, trailing smoke, dropped from them and fell on the
nests. Females, flapping their wings, scrambled towards them. Then, there was an explosion. Smoke and
fire billowed out. Another explosion followed.
The two gliders pulled up sharply. Carried upward by the momen-tum of their steep dives, they turned
and came back for another and final pass. Again, their bombs hit. Fire spread through the dry plants and
caught and enfolded some of the giant gas-cells. The females screamed so loudly they could be heard
even above the wing-beatings and trumpetings of the circling horde. They rose from the burning nest,
their infants clutched in their toes. The entire nest blew apart, catching some of the females, burning them
in flight or hurling them head over heels. Infants dropped towards the sea below, their short wings
ineffectively flapping.
Wolff saw one mother fold her wings and drop like a fish-hawk to-wards her infant. She caught it, beat
her wings, and lifted slowly to-wards an untouched nest.
Two nests, burning and exploding, spun towards the ocean. By then several hundreds of males had
detached themselves from the ring around the island. They flew after the gliders, which by now were far
down, headed towards a landing on the waves.
The nests on a level with the island were out of range of his beamer. It was possible the two below might
not be. Wolff told Dugarnn what he meant to do and went down a fifty-foot winding staircase to a hatch
at its bottom. The nests there had risen close, and he caught both of them with a sweep of the full power
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
of the beamer. They blew up with such violence that he was lifted and al-most knocked off the platform.
Smoke poured up through the hatch. Then, as it cleared away, he saw the flaming pieces of vegetation
fall-ing. The bodies of the children and females plummeted into the sea.
The male warriors from the nests were trying to get through the bottom hatches. Wolff put the beamer
on half-power and cleared the area. Then he ran along the gangplank, stopping at every hatch to fire
again. He accounted for at least a hundred attackers. Some had gotten through the defending abutal at
the hatches at the far end. It took him a while to kill these, since he had to be careful not to touch the
many great bladders. Even though he slew thirty, he could not get them all. The island was too large for
him to cover all the bottom area.
By the time he climbed back up to the hatch, he found that the Nichiddor had launched their mass
attack. This end of the island was a swirling, screeching, shouting, screaming mob. There were bodies
everywhere.
The archers and slingers had taken a heavy toll of the first wave and a lighter toll of the second. Then the
Nichiddor were upon them, and the battle became a melee. Although the winged men had no weapons
other than their wings and feet, these were powerful. With a sweep of a wing, a Nichiddor could knock
down an Ilmawir. He could then leap upon his stunned and bruised foe and tear at him with the heavy
hooked clawlike toenails. The abutal defended them-selves with spears, swords which were flat blades [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]