“What?” Vlandar demanded as he came up.
“I just used a reveal spell. There are guards on the otherside of those doors, giants and more hobgoblins-or worse, norkers.”
“Norkers,” Vlandar muttered. “Hobgoblins are dangerous enoughfighters, but norkers are vicious-worse than a pack of dire wolves.” An echoingyell brought him around, and Rowan came running.
“Let’s get out of here. Those young ones are coming thisway!”
“Too late,” Maera said as she hefted a spear. Someone wasbellowing back the way they’d come. “They’ve seen us!”
“West door!” Vlandar ordered, “There’s another way out upthere.”
Maera and her sister ran for the doors, then took up positions next to them. Khlened was right on their heels. He dragged at the door and nearly fell when it opened more easily than he’d expected. Vlandar sentMalowan in first. Agya as usual stuck close to him, and Khlened followed. There was kitchen noise, but not as much, Lhors thought. He went next, followed by Nemis, who was already working some kind of spell. Vlandar and the rangers joined them, and the warrior dragged the door shut as the rest of them moved up the hall far enough that they wouldn’t be immediately seen by anyone in thekitchen.
Lhors caught a glimpse of two of the little lizardlike creatures-kobolds, he remembered-who were facing an enormous fireplace in thewest wall, stacking greasy bowls and platters on a table. Someone else in the room was screaming at them, but Lhors didn’t take the time to investigate.
Vlandar drew them farther up the hall and whispered, “Theydidn’t see us. One of their elders was cursing them for interrupting his sleep,and they were arguing with him. Let’s go.”
Just then, a bald hill giant came out of the kitchen, yawning and stretching. His eye lit on the party, and he ducked back the way he’d come,yelling a warning. Khlened and Malowan ran after him, the rest following. Vlandar tapped Lhors on the shoulder as they ran. “Stay with me. Rowan, you andMaera keep an eye on the way we just came!”
The smells in the kitchen were dreadful. Three spits hung empty over a fading fire in the back wall. The two kobolds stared at the bald giant fearfully as he snagged one of the spits and brandished it like a sword. They backed against the near wall, obviously afraid that the giant was about to strike them. Then they saw the armed humans and fled, scurrying past the giant and around the corner. The giant ignored them. With a grin that bared rotting teeth, he bellowed in Giantish. Half a dozen tall, gangly brutes poured into the chamber from the north, bearing kitchen knives and a few long pikes for weapons.
“Ogres,” Vlandar told Lhors. “They’re stupid but dangerous,and they eat people. Stay close!”
Rowan came up beside them, arrow drawn. “Mal, stay back!”
The paladin nodded to indicate he’d heard, but there was notime. The ogres were upon them. Malowan slashed at the first that came near him, then ran past the brute, leaving him for someone else to finish.
Lhors launched one of his spears at the lead ogre. It quivered in the creature’s gut for an instant before Maera’s own spear broughthim down. Rowan killed two more while Khlened fought another.
The ogres must be stupid, Lhors thought. They seemed to have no plan other than to rush in and kill. When the last one fell with Vlandar’s spear in its belly, Khlened brought his sword down two-handed acrossthe back of its neck. Malowan threw himself at the giant, who stood dumbfounded that the party had dealt with the slaves so quickly.
The fat giant never had a chance, even with his longer reach. Malowan gave him first thrust, leaped aside, and then swung his blade with both hands. It sliced through the creatures pants, cutting deeply into his leg just below the knee. Malowan came back around, this time stabbing deeply into the side of the brutes leg and severing at least one tendon. The giant went down heavily on his side, the spit clattering free. Before the giant could react, Malowan drove his blade deep into the brute’s eye, killing him.
In the momentary silence, Rowan hissed a warning. “Someonecoming!”
A leather and sheep-skin-clad giant came wandering into sight from the south passage, yawning cavernously. He blinked, enormous hands kneading the small of his back as he turned toward the kitchen.
Vlandar gestured urgently for his people to retreat past the fireplace, but it was too late. The monster blinked at the dead ogres, bristling with spears and long-shafted arrows, then at the fallen giant. He looked uncomprehendingly straight at Lhors, then his eyes flashed and he drew a single-edged axe.
“Deke n’thull?” he demanded. It sounded to Lhors morelike spitting than words.
Malowan stepped forward, blades at the ready, and countered, “Emrischgu’vrugnikh, zhegna!”
Lhors stared as the two slowly paced toward each other. “Whatdid they say?” he asked Vlandar, but Vlandar was already moving to Malowan’sside and gesturing for Khlened to get behind the creature.
Agya growled. “Means, ‘Your fate, dead and damned one!’”
The youth gave her a look of disbelief.
She shrugged. “’Tis the only Giantish I know, and that’cause I asked what he’d say if he went against any of ’em.” She sighed heavily.“Get ’imself killed, saying bits like that.”
Nemis stood nearby, speaking to himself, and the doorway briefly glowed a faint blue. “Good,” the mage said. “There won’t be anyone elseto hear this. Maybe.”
The giant threw himself at Vlandar. Malowan stabbed at the back of the creature’s knee, but the blade hit something-armor, Lhorsassumed-and the paladin nearly fell. Agya took a step forward then stopped.
“Get ’im killed, girl, you go to help,” she mumbled under herbreath.
Malowan recovered his balance and tried again, lower this time, and Vlandar slashed up at the same time. Both blows connected, spraying blood over the combatants. The giant abandoned his axe and pulled a dagger nearly the size of the paladin’s sword. Malowan parried as Khlened got behindthe massive brute and cut low. The armor didn’t reach his ankles. Thebarbarian’s sword cut deep through the tendon, the giant went down. Giving himno chance to recover, Vlandar stabbed him through the throat.
Lhors grabbed Agya’s arm and hauled her back nearly to theentry as blood sprayed everywhere, coating the stack of platters and hissing into the fire. Malowan, who’d managed to avoid the arc of blood by some fastfootwork, leaned against the fireplace stones, gasping for air. Agya pulled free and ran to Malowan.
“Not hurt, are you?” she demanded.
He shook his head, too winded to speak.
She glared up at him. “Lucky you’re not dead,” she snapped,turning on her heel, and stalking back over to Lhors.
“All right,” Vlandar announced quietly. “Mal, catch yourbreath. Rowan, can you see anyone else out there? What happened to those young ones who spied us? Khlened, you and Maera go where those kobolds went and the ogres came from. See what’s there.”
“Quietly,” Maera warned the barbarian.
“Huh,” he growled as he wiped his sword and hands on the deadgiant’s sheepskin vest. “Like we were just now?”
“I’ve blocked the sound,” Nemis said impatiently.
Khlened cast up his eyes but followed Maera. The two were back in a matter of moments.
“There’s a bigger room-empty now-and an alcove, two doors.One smells like it might be a pantry. The other doesn’t close tight. It comesout on that hallway. No one’s in sight, including those kobolds.”
“If they went for help-” Khlened began.
“They’d be back by now,” Malowan said flatly. He stillsounded short of breath and was shaking his hands out.
“Can we go before more come?” Agya asked.
Vlandar got everyone into the large room north of the kitchen. It was empty except for a cold fireplace and a large table. He and Khlened shifted the one door, and Vlandar went in. He returned at once. “As Ithought. There is a pantry, but the second set of stairs is just beyond the cabbages.”