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He judged himself to be in a cave, vaster but lower than the ho off in every direction but up Always there were the little channels of cave ht where the water still flowed There were a goodhad been fixed there with spikes, like the dwarves had used for their water-diversion apparatus, but the work had long since been abandoned and thearound he found a broken bit of spike and sed it

He heard a flutter off in a corner and saw the big blood-drinking bats yeeking in voices pitched so high he could hardly hear the froht, so he ignored the co was that he felt relieved when he saw them It was nice to have someone speak pleasantly to you, praise you, even if it was only for the nu to your scale-roots And their chatter distracted hi in histo strut like a proud young dragon, but feeling a little off balance, thanks to his stiff tail

"You, there Excuseat each other Both licked their gripping digits and straightened up the fur on their ears and chins

"Sir a’needing soether under his chin

"What is this place?"

"Dwarf er abandoned," Thernadad said "Inon draft horses and goats, but now there’s nothing but mushroom-fed rats andour poor young"

"What were you fighting about?"

"Nothing of import to sir"

"Faaaa! E’be a heartless brute, to a’be telling the truth," Ma my sister to starve! Ooo, ooo, ooo!"

"Sir doesn’t want to be a’hearing our troubles"

"Why will she starve?"

"The dwarves just closed off the old air shaft to a stock paddock and she’s--"

"Shut it, you," Thernadad made a swipe at her ears, but she ducked over it

"M’answering the nice young dragon’s question! So now e’be starving and yeee-eyee-yeee…" Her story trailed off into high-pitched wailing

"Oh, you should just bring her to this cavern I’ Maybe I’ll pick up another set of cave nits"

Ma "Oh, sir--"

Thernadad snapped his teeth at hisand boxing again, though Thernadad flapped his wings halfheartedly, as a veteran caner who knew a battle lost when he saw one

This cavern was very different from the home cave The dwarves had carved it almost wholly from rock, smoothed the floors, and laid the saa-width water channels where the ht

Deep pocks like spear wounds--no, like rat holes--could be found in profusion around rougher areas where they’d extracted their minerals He sniffed one and smelled rat There were damps and trickles, and these supported more colonies of cave moss and mushroo to the bat cave and river outlet, he found a few soil beds where the rewin the soil other thanbut a few dead, tough vines rean to hunt by nose He caught a flash of white skin and bit quickly and instinctively, cutting it in unequal halves Legless--a snake! The back end had a big bulge--it had obviously just eaten a rat and couldn’t creep away as he approached It took a moment for the front end to twitch out

He carried both halves back to the bats Ma the front end up where Thernadad could easily reach it, and sed the back half in one long inhale--with a little gulp at the thickening where the half-digested rat lay

Thernadad nibbled and sucked "Not to be a’criticizing, sir, but if y’leaves ’eood shake and a crack against a rock, is how an experienced snake killer goes about it They stay juicier that way"

"I wasn’t hunting with you in mind"