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The homunculus felt its brim. “It’s a very special hat,” he said.
“The way you two fooled Nettlebrand was something special, too,” said Burr-Burr-Chan. “Shiitake and matsutake, not bad at all. And now you’ve caught his spy, too!”
Flattered, Lola smoothed her ears. “Oh, it was nothing,” she said.
“Nothing or not, I’ll carry him back. The rest of you can bring the other things,” said Burr-Burr-Chan, looking down into the valley. The mist was slowly lifting. Black birds were circling among the white wisps of vapor — countless black birds. Whole flocks of them emerged from the mist and then disappeared into it again. “That’s odd,” muttered Burr-Burr-Chan. “I never saw black birds like those before. Where did they spring from?”
Sorrel and Twigleg were beside him in a twinkling.
“The ravens!” growled Sorrel. “I knew they’d turn up again.”
“He’s summoned them all!” groaned Twigleg, taking shelter behind her. “Oh, no! Now we’re done for. They’ll see us! They’ll pick us off the rocks, one by one.”
“What are you carrying on about?” The rat joined him and suddenly gave such a shrill whistle that it made Twigleg jump. “Goodness, you’re right! Ravens, any number of them. My uncle told me about some rather nasty specimens of his acquaintance. Are those down there the same kind?”
Twigleg nodded. “Enchanted ravens. And this time there are too many for Sorrel to drive them off with a few well-aimed stones.”
“We’d better get out of here before they spot us,” said Sorrel, pulling Burr-Burr-Chan back from the edge of the abyss.
“Nettlebrand the Golden One will gobble up the whole blasted bunch of you!” croaked Gravelbeard, trying to bite Burr-Burr-Chan’s furry foot. But the Dubidai brownie only chuckled.
“He’ll have to drag his heavy armor all the way up here first,” he said, throwing the dwarf over his shoulder like a sack.
“And your clever master doesn’t know where the secret entrance is, either,” added Sorrel.
“He’ll find out!” bellowed the mountain dwarf, kicking and struggling. “He’ll squash you like cockroaches. He’ll —”
Burr-Burr-Chan gagged the dwarf by stuffing his beard into his mouth. Then, carrying their prisoner, he disappeared down the passage along which he had just come.
“Come on, titch!” said Sorrel, picking up Twigleg. “Or the ravens really will get you.”
Lola put out the fire, handed the tiny pan of soup to Sorrel, and packed the rest of her things into the plane. “You can fly with me, hommelcuss!” she said, climbing into the cockpit and starting the engine.
“No thanks,” said Twigleg, clutching Sorrel’s arm tightly. “One flight with you will do me for the rest of my life.”
“Just as you like!” The rat closed the cockpit and flew the whirring little aircraft over their heads and into the passage.
Sorrel cast a final anxious glance at the circling ravens. Then she, too, stepped into the passage, pushed the stone slab across the entrance, and now there was nothing of the Dubidai tunnel to be seen from the outside.
49. Making Plans
Burr-Burr-Chan took Gravelbeard, still well and truly trussed up, to a small cave so far from the dragons’ huge cavern that even a dwarf wouldn’t be able to overhear the plans they were hatching to outwit his master. When he was dumped alone there, Gravelbeard soon spat his beard out of his mouth and shouted loud insults after the retreating brownie, but Burr-Burr-Chan only chuckled.
On returning to the great cavern he found the others sitting in a circle, silent and obviously at a loss. Burr-Burr-Chan sat down beside Sorrel.
“Well?” he whispered to her. “Looks as if you haven’t yet thought up a good plan, right?”
Sorrel shook her head.
“We can’t attack him down in the valley,” said Lola Graytail. “He can disappear into the lake at any time.”
“Maybe we could try tackling him on the mountainside,” suggested Twigleg. “His armor would be a drawback there.”
But Firedrake shook his head. “The approach flight would be tricky,” he said. “We could crash among the rocks.”
Sorrel sighed.
“Then we must lure him to a valley where there isn’t any water!” said Burr-Burr-Chan.
