He could see it from here; it was only 20 kilometres from Rocchodain to the entrance to Marbletop gate according to Furry, and he estimated they had already done about half of that, figuring on a walking pace of about 4 klicks an hour.He could see it from here; it was only 20 kilometres from Rocchodain to the entrance to Marbletop gate according to Furry, and he estimated they had already done about half of that, figuring on a walking pace of about 4 klicks an hour. The road was, as far as he could see, perfectly flat. He knew that there was a curvature to the land, but he couldn't perceive it at 20 km, and that was all the distance he had to go on. "Furry?" he asked, "What's the point of this trip?" "Well, it'll make you the first Terran in decades to visit Shardik Castle." "Really?" "Uh-huh." "Is there a problem with my going to Shardik Castle? I mean, we both know how Shardik feels about Terrans." "Do you?" "We know that he has never forgiven the Terrans who killed Donna Lewis." "But those were those Terrans. Look, if it's a problem, I'm taking responsibility for it. I want to visit Shardik Castle, and I want you to come with me." "You're sure?" "It's a little late to turn around now." "Not really," Nickolai said. "It only a few hours back to Rocchodain." "How would you get the SDisk back?" "I guess I'd ask someone." "But would that help?" she ask. "Come on. Please?" He thought for a second, adjusted his pack and said, "Okay." "Good!" she smiled. They kept walking. Two hours later they came to the gateway to Marbletop, a forbidding tunnel entrance cut into the mountainside. "Ready?" she asked as they approached. Nickolai glanced around quickly, then said "Ready." They walked into the tunnel. Lights overhead came on as they walked, going out behind them progessively as they left the area illuminated. |