The Last Dark: The climax of the entire Thomas Covenant Chronicles (Last Chronicles of Thomas Cove)

were turning away. Nevertheless his gaze followed every shift and flicker of Covenant’s reaction.
    Frowning, Covenant considered Linden’s suggestion. After a moment, he muttered uncomfortably, “We probably should.”
    At once, the Giants gathered around him. Stave remounted Hynyn, and Branl nudged Rallyn closer. In their disparate fashions, they all needed a sense of purpose as badly as Jeremiah did. A chance to live—or to give the end of their days meaning.
    Sitting Mishio Massima in the center of the company, Covenant asked Branl, “How far have we come?”
    The last of the Humbled shifted his grip on Longwrath’s flamberge. “Not less than a score of leagues, ur-Lord, else we would be able to discern the storm of the Worm.”
    “Northwest, right?”
    “Our heading has been chiefly to the west. We stand some small distance from the southmost verge of the Sarangrave. We must pass the wetland to gain Landsdrop and the Upper Land.”
    Covenant nodded. “And how much time did we lose?”
    Branl glanced at Stave. “We gauge that our passage has consumed little more than an hour.”
    “Aye,” Rime Coldspray assented. “So it appears to me also.”
    Linden did not bother to concur. While she listened, she concentrated on shaking out berries from the waterskin and tossing them into her mouth; relishing the abrupt tang of energy and health. The seeds she discarded as she ate.
    Covenant nodded again. “Good. Since the Forestal has held on this long, we can at least hope he won’t fail. The Worm will move on eventually, if it hasn’t already. It’s fast, and it’ll go faster when it gets closer to
Melenkurion
Skyweir. But we can be pretty fast ourselves now. Maybe we can get where we’re going faster than Lord Foul expects.”
    The Giants watched him in silence, waiting for an explanation. Like Jeremiah—like Linden—they had come to the end of what they knew how to do. Now they sailed chartless seas and needed a heading.
    “So.” Covenant seemed to be reasoning aloud, speaking primarily to himself. “Landsdrop. The Upper Land. Mount Thunder. That’s where Lord Foul is. He has to be. He needs to be close enough to She Who Must Not Be Named to take advantage of whatever She does, but not close enough to be in danger himself. And he has to be able to organize his forces, all of which are somewhere inside or near Mount Thunder.” Then he shook his head. “Hell and blood. I think that’s a mistake.”
    Linden agreed. Of course it would be a mistake to approach Mount Thunder. She did not doubt Covenant, and Jeremiah had to be protected.
    But the Giants passed puzzled glances back and forth; and Rime Coldspray held up her hands. “A moment, Timewarden, I implore you. Your thoughts out-pace ours. Are you certain of our destination? Have you determined our purpose?
    “Surely it would be folly to hazard Mount Thunder. You speak of She Who Must Not Be Named and other forces. I must also name your fell son, whose command of the Cavewights appears complete. I deem it unwise to trust that his puissance has been diminished by the severing of Kastenessen’s human hand.
    “Yet these are lesser concerns. Of greater import is the Worm, a threat to pale all other perils. I know not how we may oppose it, but we can accomplish naught if we do not make the attempt. Therefore surely we must follow, hoping to forestall the Worm from
Melenkurion
Skyweir. How otherwise may the Land and the Earth and life be preserved?”
    Her comrades murmured their agreement; but both Stave and Branl frowned as if they wanted to challenge the Ironhand’s assessment. Jeremiah watched Covenant with an intensity that resembled nausea. His mouth shaped words that Linden could not interpret. They may have been protests.
    “Well,” Covenant said gruffly. For a moment, he appeared to wrestle with himself. Then he announced with an air of defiance, “I disagree.
    “I won’t try to make your decisions for you. Even Linden and Jeremiah—you all have to do what you think is right. But
I’m
going to Mount Thunder. I have to try to stop Lord Foul. And I need you with me. I need you all.
    “It’s not just that I have no earthly idea what to do about the Worm. That thing is part of the created world. It’s inherent to the way this world works. There isn’t enough power anywhere to get in its way. But on top of that, I think the Despiser is more important. He’s absolutely more important to
me
.” Passion mounted in him. He did not