Thud

`It's true that the ... creature tends to leave a, a signature on events, but you would have had to touch him! You did not! You did not raise a hand! I think you would have resisted even then! Resisted and won! Do you hear me? Calm down. Calm down. He died of fear and guilt. You must realize that.'

`What reason did he have to feel guilty?'

`Every reason, for a dwarf. That mine bore down so heavily on him.' The grag turned to Angua. `Sergeant, could you get the commander some water? It's as pure in these pools as anywhere in the world. Well, it is if you pick one without a body floating in it.'

'Y'know, you could have avoided that last sentence,' said Vimes. He sat down on a rock. He could feel himself shaking.

`And then I got the damn thing here?' he managed.

`Yes, commander. And it got you here too, I suspect. Cheery says

she saw you drop into churning water half a mile from where we are

now. Even a champion swimmer wouldn't have survived that.' `I woke up on a beach-'

`It got you there. It swam your body for you.' `But I was all knocked about!'

`Oh, it wasn't your friend, commander. It needed to get you here in one piece. It didn't have to be a good-looking piece. And then ... you disappointed it, commander. You disappointed it. Or, perhaps, impressed it. It's hard to tell. You wouldn't strike the helpless, you see. You resisted. I had the sergeant here bring you down because I was frightened that the struggle inside would rip your tendons from your bones.'

`They were just frightened old men. .

`And so it appears to have let you go,' said the dwarf. `I wonder why? Historically, anyone subject to the Summoning Dark dies insane.'

Vimes reached up and took a mug of water from Angua. It was teeth-achingly cold and the best drink he'd ever tasted. And his mind worked fast, flying in emergency supplies of common sense, as human minds do, to construct a huge anchor in sanity and prove that what had happened hadn't really happened and, if it had happened, hadn't happened much.

It was all mystic, that's what it was. Oh, it might all be true, but how could you ever tell? You had to stick to the things you can see. And you had to keep reminding yourself of that, too.

Yeah, that was it. What had really happened, eh? A few signs? Well, anything can look like you want it to if you're wound up enough, yes? A sheep can look like a cow, right? Ha!

As for the rest, well, Bashfullsson seemed a decent lad, but you didn't have to buy into his world view. Same with Mr Shine. That sort of thing could spook you.

He'd been wound up about Young Sam, and when he'd seen those devil guards of course he'd gone for them. He hadn't been getting much sleep lately. It seemed like every hour brought some new problem. The mind played funny tricks. Surviving the underground river? Easy. He must have kept himself afloat. There were a lot of things the body would rather do than die.

There. .. some logical thought, and the mystic becomes ... well, straightforward. You can stop feeling like some puppet and become a man with a purpose once again.

He put down the empty mug and stood up - purposefully.

`I'm going to see how my men are,' he announced.

`I'll come with you,' said Bashfullsson quickly.

`I think I need no assistance,' lied Vimes, as coolly as he could.

`I'm sure you do not,' said the dwarf. `But Captain Gud is a little nervous.'

`He'll be a lot nervous if I don't like what I see,' said Vimes.

`Yes. That's why I'm coming with you,' said Bashfullsson.

Vimes set off across the cavern a little faster than he felt was comfortable. The grag kept up by skipping at every other step.

`Don't think you know me, Mr Bashfullsson,' Vimes growled. `Don't think I took pity on those bastards. Don't think I was merciful. You just don't kill the helpless. You just don't.'

`The dark guards seemed to have no trouble with the prospect,' said Bashfullsson.

`Exactly!' said Vimes. `By the way, Mr Bashfullsson, what kind of dwarf doesn't carry an axe?'

`Well, as a grag, my first resort, of course, is to my voice,' said the grag. `The axe is nothing without the hand, and the hand is nothing without the mind. I've trained myself to think about axes.'

`Sounds mystical to me,' said Vimes.

`I suppose it would,' said Bashfullsson. `Ah, here we are.'

Here was the area that the newly arrived dwarfs had occupied. Very military, Vimes thought. A defensive square. You're not sure who your enemies are. And neither am I.

The nearest dwarf regarded him with that slightly defiant, slightly uneasy look he'd come to recognize. Captain Gud straightened up.

Vimes looked over the dwarf's shoulder, which was not hard to do. There were Nobby and Fred Colon, and both of the trolls, and even Cheery, all sitting in a huddle.

`Are my men under arrest, captain?' he said.

`My orders are to detain everyone found here,' said the captain. Vimes admired the flatness of the response. It meant: I am not interested in a dialogue at this time.

`What is your authority here, captain?' he said.