A long roaring darkness. Then new movement around where he lay: and a sudden voice that he dimly recognized as his father's.
"Stop! What is that tool in your hand?"
"A new device for extracting teeth," came Bidagha's calm, resonant voice: "with which we may save your son's life."
Shocked murmurs all over the hall, topped by his father's shout of outrage, "In Cave—in hands of Healer?"
Bidagha relied, "What Immortals want new, they make new! Here and now, in my hands, they end our years of darkness! Let Immortals confound me if I lie!"
The multitude in Cave roared their approval, and Premier Karn hesitated. He appeared to be struggling within himself. As the echoes died away, a pebble rolled from a ledge, dislodged by the sound, and fell at Bidagha's feet. A second pebble fell, and a boulder which had rested above the hearth for untold centuries shifted its position.
With a shout, Bidagha flung himself over Pehn's body as the boulder trembled and fell, crushing the life from the bodies of both men.
Dust rose, and a rumble began near the ceiling.
"Run!" cried Premier Karn. "Run for your lives!"