noon
_ The cabin heeled wildly as the machine grappled a ledge and , its engine panting at full throttle , levered itself upward a few more feet . He had commanded the spider girl to find the route by which her people had descended . But twice already they had missed the way and had arrived at dead ends beyond which it was impossible to climb higher ; twice they had been forced to descend and search for an easier path . It had been scarcely noon when they started ; now the sun was already sinking low . Dworn could not even be sure that he would find his sworn enemies beyond the Barrier . But the duty of vengeance was all he had left to live for , since what was to have been his triumphal return had ended in bereavement and catastrophe . _ And a dead man _ , thought Dworn bleakly , _ needs something to live for , even more than other people do _ .