Out of the Pit

She lay face down on the floor in such a position that the looped rope passed under her stomach. Then the remaining four ropes were tied around her wrists and ankles. The slack in the ropes was taken up, and then the lifting began. Astra did not know whether horses, mules or oxen were doing the work.

She began very slowly to rise into the air, at a rate of perhaps a foot a minute. She could hear Gloria, still on the floor of the pit, calling out instructions to co-ordinate the lifting teams. It would not do for one team to get too far ahead of the others, as that would put extra strain on that particular rope. Gloria seemed to be doing a good job as Astra's body remained roughly horizontal. The ropes creaked, but seemed to be holding.

The light began to dim a little, and she started to feel a little "fuzzy". She was getting too high to receive the full benefit of Gloria's magical light but was not yet quite high enough to be in full daylight. But then the light began to brighten once more, and a few minutes later she was at the top of the pit. She was being pulled almost onto her side now, something that was inevitable without beams extending over the pit for the ropes attached to her left wrist and left ankle, which were furthest from the edge. But the locals did not have the pulleys that would have been needed for such an arrangement to be practical.

One last pull, and she was lying on her side on the ground, albeit uncomfortably close to the pit's edge. Afraid that the soil might crumble away under her weight and that she might fall back into the pit, without even waiting for the ropes to be untied she scrambled a few feet to a safer position.

1. As the ropes were being untied, she saw that horses had in fact done the lifting. Apparently getting hold of mules or oxen would have delayed things too much.
2. The enforced delay had given enough time for a detachment of Aqualarian cavalry to arrive.
3. The Dunchovians had grown impatient, and most of them had gone on ahead. (The locals had seen to the lifting of Astra out of the pit.)

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree