Slungandi now knew how long Hugturágis took to fly from Kapgar Kûm to Dagnat Thorodas. He wasted little time over his painful head and wounded pride, but instead kept a careful reckoning of the time since Prámiz had departed. It had been nearly dawn, and the brief snowstorm had cleared away, so he guessed that the journey would be no slower than his own had been. In the meantime he entered the small house and searched its single room thoroughly. First he found some food. He partook of this with satisfaction. Then he examined the cupboard, the table, the bed, the chair. Though Prámiz had taken with him everything of importance, there were nonetheless items left behind that could be useful, and he placed them in his capacious wallet.
Finally he noticed a floorboard that was loose. He pulled it up. In the hollow beneath it lay a small leather bag. He took out the thing that was inside. It looked like a piece of broken glass, yet the edges were not jagged. It could have been a diamond, but it was not regularly shaped. But it was as clear as crystal and when he held it up to the light it cast pure rays all around it. Slungandi the inquisitive recognized it and blessed his luck. He stowed it away safely inside his dragonhide garment.
When the hour came at which he thought Hugturágis would be nearing Kapgar Kûm, he took Sporni and cast it, point downwards, into the ground at the place where Hugturágis had landed. Then he took out the great drum, Brandubur; he seated himself and began to chant a rune that he himself had made, one that no other being between the Seas knew, a Rune of Returning, ûthéat atasovanedh. While he chanted, he beat powerfully on Brandubur.
Dûmba dabun dabundu bâbinda
Dabun dabundu bâbinda dûmbâ
Dabundu bâbinda dûmbâ dabun
Bâbinda dûmbâ dabun dabundu
For hours the beat and the rune went on and on. And he thought to himself:
‘Slungandi is the Drumster of the High Places as well as the Deep!’
A thousand miles away, Prámiz, seated on Hugturágis, was descending to the earth in front of the upper gates of Kapgar Kûm. His arrival was accompanied by the acclaim of the Hawk-headed guards and the festive chanting of the runewives assembled there. But as Prámiz began to dismount, and had only one foot upon the ground, Hugturágis suddenly stiffened, raised his head, looked back eastward, and beating his wings, began to rise upwards again. Caught by surprise, Prámiz tumbled to the ground at the feet of the Kúmi Netári, a thing that had never happened to him before. And even as Angash hastened to help Prámiz to his feet, the monster swept into the air and flew back the way he had come.
When evening came, Slungandi looking up saw Hugturágis circling above the peak of Thorodas and descending to him. A morsel of purûfrédhi was his reward. Then the Drumster mounted once more and this time set his course southwards, towards the eastern part of the Berugwanna.
Some hours before this, the ill-starred Entelláka guardians from Thorodas had reached the lowlands. To their surprise and consternation, they saw, hastening towards them, Velkasígo, whom they believed they had met on the mountainside the day before, and Herudalgas, who had been supposed to lie sick by the highway. After a hasty conference, all four, as fast as they could, climbed the mountain to the tilvagil enclosure, spoke the words of entrance, and ran inside, two to the house, two to the edges of the garth. But all that they encountered was a powerful, sickening stench; and none knew how Prámiz had escaped or that Slungandi had been there too.
Their return voyage to the realm of Hyilavúna was a very anxious one. But when they knelt before Olverúno, wisest and most merciful of kings, they received pardon. The King said:
‘For it was fated that when the power of the Gangri over Tesdámo ended, that proud one should become free again; and may Émarul Sápha defend the Hyûvandri.’
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