Free Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings Page B

streambed. About twenty yards above Belgarath, it struck solidly and spun into the air. The old man gestured irritably, grunting with the effort, and the rock sailed out in a long arc, clearing the walls of the ravine and falling out of sight.
    Garion quickly crossed the streambed and went down several yards more, staying close against the rocky wall and peering back to be sure he was concealed from his grandfather.
    When the next rock came bouncing and clashing down toward them, Garion gathered his will. He'd have to time it perfectly, he knew, and he peered around a corner, watching the old man intently. When Belgarath raised his hand, Garion pushed his own will in to join his grandfather's, hoping to slip a bit of unnoticed help to him.
    Belgarath watched the rock go whirling far out over the plain below, then he turned and looked sternly down the ravine. "All right, Garion," he said crisply, "step out where I can see you."
    Somewhat sheepishly Garion went out into the center of the streambed and stood looking up at his grandfather.
    "Why is it that you can never do what you're told to do?" the old man demanded.
    "I just thought I could help, that's all."
    "Did I ask for help? Do I look like an invalid?"
    "There's another rock coming."
    "Don't change the subject. I think you're getting above yourself, young man."
    "Grandfather!" Garion said urgently, staring at the large rock bounding down the ravine directly for the old man's back. He threw his will under the rock and hurled it out of the ravine.
    Belgarath looked up at the stone soaring over his head. "Tacky, Garion," he said disapprovingly, "very tacky. You don't have to throw them all the way to Prolgu, you know. Stop trying to show off."
    "I got excited," Garion apologized. "I pushed a little too hard."
    The old man grunted. "All right," he said a bit ungraciously, "as long as you're here anyway but stick to your own rocks. I can manage mine, and you throw me off balance when you come blundering in like that."
    "I just need a little practice, that's all."
    "You need some instruction in etiquette, too," Belgarath told him, coming on down to where Garion stood. "You don't just jump in with help until you're asked. That's very bad form, Garion."
    "Another rock coming," Garion informed him politely. "Do you want to get it or shall I?"
    "Don't get snippy, young man," Belgarath told him, then turned and flipped the approaching rock out of the ravine.
    They moved on down together, taking turns on the rocks the Murgos were rolling down the ravine. Garion discovered that it grew easier each time he did it, but Belgarath was drenched with sweat by the time they neared the bottom. Garion considered trying once again to slip his grandfather a bit of assistance, but the old sorcerer glared at him so fiercely as he started to gather in his will that he quickly abandoned the idea.
    "I wondered where you'd gone," Aunt Pol said to Garion as the two clambered out over the rocks at the mouth of the ravine to rejoin the rest of the party. She looked closely at Belgarath. "Are you all right?" she asked.
    "I'm just fine," he snapped. "I had all this assistance - unsolicited, of course." He glared at Garion again.
    "When we get a bit of time, we're going to have to give him some lessons in controlling the noise," she observed. "He sounds like a thunderclap."
    "That's not all he has to learn to control." For some reason the old man was behaving as if he'd just been dreadfully insulted.
    "What now?" Barak asked. "Do you want to light signal fires and wait here for Hettar and Cho-Hag?"
    "This isn't a good place, Barak," Silk pointed out. "Half of Murgodom's going to come pouring down that ravine very shortly."
    "The passage is not wide, Prince Kheldar," Mandorallen observed.
    "My Lord Barak and I can hold it for a week or more if need be."
    "You're backsliding again, Mandorallen," Barak told him.
    "Besides, they'd just roll rocks down on you," Silk said. "And they're going to be dropping