The beast shambled toward them on all fours. It looked awkward but moved at astonishing speed. Malowan brought up his sword to slash at it. Khlened and Bleryn braced, back to back, the barbarian with his morning star and the dwarf with a massive axe in one hand and a thick-shafted pike in the other.
Lhors drew a spear, but both enemies were out of range. He’dnever get enough arc to his throw.
“Clear the center!” Rowan shouted. “Arrow, mid-hall!”
“You two, hug that wall!” Malowan gestured with his sword forthe pair of fighters to go south. He leaped for the north wall just as the ranger’s arrows zinged between them. Two hit the ape. It yammered in pain, thenswiped the shafts free. An instant later, Maera ran forward and threw a javelin deep into the creature’s shoulder.
The ape charged once more, eyes red with hate and pain, its mouth wide and foamy slaver dripping from horrid fangs.
“Lhors, you and Agya behind me!” Rowan said as she steadiedanother arrow on her string.
“Watch that giant!” Malowan ordered Khlened as he turnedback.
“We’ve got it!” Vlandar said. “Stay there!” He drew Lhorswith him, putting Rowan and Maera behind a second line of defense. Agya came behind them close to Nemis.
Lhors clutched a boar spear with two hands. He could hear the brute panting, slowing now and looking surprised at the number of them-ordeciding which of them to kill first. He could hear Nemis behind him, talking in chant that meant a spell. The stones seemed to shift slightly beneath his feet. Khlened shouted a wordless warning as the giant came toward them, swinging his axe. Lhors saw Bleryn and Khlened jump back as the weapon bit into the stone floor, then brought his attention back to the ape.
“Bleryn!” the paladin shouted. “Does the creature speakCommon?”
“Not as I know, why?” the dwarf responded.
“Good!” Malowan shouted back. “You two get as far along hisblind side as you can. He can’t judge distance with only one eye!”
“He’s got enough reach, ’e don’t need to see so good!”the barbarian gritted.
Rowan shot another arrow, and Maera threw one of her spears. The ape yelled and plucked both free, then backed away from them-perhaps to fleeor in response to whatever his keeper was shouting.
Lhors glanced at Malowan, who had his back against the wall so he could keep an eye on both giant and ape.
Khlened was now mid-passage, swinging the morning star furiously over his head. He suddenly released it, staggering back into the south wall as the spiked ball slammed into the giant’s chest and stuck there. Themonster wailed much like the ape had and pawed at the weapon to no effect. Blood stained the mail-but not enough of it to cause him lasting damage.
“Damn all! Most of it was took by ’is mail!” Khlened shookout his numbed arm.
The dwarf snarled and ran forward, pike back and ready to strike.
“Get his other eye!” Khlened called out. The giant left offtrying to pull the morning star free and swatted at the pike. More by luck or skill than good vision, he succeeded. The point bounced off the wall, and Bleryn went down. Khlened ran to help him up, and Malowan came after. The ape snarled low in its throat, then to Lhors’ astonishment, seemed to freeze in place.
“He will not come after us now.” Nemis’ voice reached Lhors.A moment later, the mage came around him, his hands moving. “Mal, Khlened! Downflat, all three of you! I’ve spelled the brute! The jailer is now his monster!”
“Are ye mad?” Khlened demanded. He’d hauled Bleryn out of thegiant’s reach and had drawn another blade.
Malowan slashed at the giant, who was trying to free the morning star with one hand and swiping at the paladin with the other. The man’sblade slammed into the giant’s leg, bounced off bone or hidden armor, and flewbehind him to hit the north wall. The creature clamped his teeth together and gripped the spiked ball with both hands.
Malowan backed away to scoop up his blade. “I know what he’sdone, Khlened! Both of you, over here, now!”
The barbarian swore but grabbed Bleryn and hauled him over as the paladin threw himself flat. Lhors stared as the ape suddenly came to life and shook itself. Khlened dragged the dwarf down under him moments before the ape thundered past them. The giant stared dumbfounded as the ape threw itself on him. Both went down.
Before Malowan could get back to his feet, the rangers darted past him, weapons ready to take on the survivor. When Lhors would have followed, Vlandar held him back.
“There may be guards back that way,” he said. “Watch forthem.”
“There are, but they heard nothing,” Nemis said. “I blockedthe corridor on all ends with a spell of silence before I bespelled that ape.”
“Watch anyway,” Vlandar ordered the youth. “The rangers andMal have matters in hand up there.”
Lhors glanced that way briefly as the giant grappled with his ape. The creature was much smaller, but it seemed far stronger. With a final, hellish shriek, the giant went limp and blood poured over the stone floor. The ape rose high on his legs, beating his lest, hissing and grinning before he crouched to feed. The youth turned away again and bit his lower lip.
“He won’t notice us,” Nemis reassured them. “That spell willhold him as long as-”
Maera snorted. “What? Until he runs out of meat? I’m notleaving that thing alive, mage.”
“Nor I,” Rowan said grimly.
“Kill it now,” Vlandar ordered.
Lhors stole a glance at him, then down the hall-carefully notlooking at the ape. Rowan approached the creature cautiously, bow fully drawn. She took careful aim and launched an arrow deep into the creature’s back, thenbacked quickly away, dragging Maera with her. The creature spun to search for the source of the arrow, and Khlened brought his sword down across the ape’sneck.
“Good,” Vlandar said.
Lhors looked, but all he could see now was the motionless ape sprawled across the body of its master.
Malowan stole down the hall to peer up into the north passage that led back to the destroyed stairs. Agya came up behind Lhors and swore under her breath as the paladin vanished that way, but he was back almost at once, signing that the passage and the vast chamber beyond were quiet.
In a few heartbeats, the party was moving again. Fires still burned high in the torture chamber. Lhors thought he could hear snoring but nothing else. He wondered if the dwarves had made it beyond the rock wall.
No one emerged from the prison hallway. If there were prisoners and guards that way, they wouldn’t come out unless it was time for achange of guard or if a prisoner was being moved.
“No one outside this corridor can hear anything,” Nemis said.
“But someone might come out and see us,” said Vlandar. “Weneed to go. The giants were digging down through that stairwell when we left, and that was some time ago.”
He sent Agya ahead to join Malowan and Bleryn, put Khlened and Nemis at the rear, and stayed in the middle between the rangers and Lhors.
“Sir,” Lhors asked as they skirted the dead giant and hisfallen ape, “are we just leaving them? Is that wise?”
“Rowan took her arrows, and Khlened has that oversizedmorning star back. We shouldn’t waste the time moving them, even though thisseems to be an hour when not much moves around down here. We don’t need anotherfight just now. But look at them, lad. Wouldn’t it seem to you that the twofought, the ape killed his master, then died of his own wounds? Keep things simple, when you can.”
They made it up the broad passage and into the open roomwithout seeing or hearing anything. Once up against the south wall of the chamber, Lhors could hear someone quarreling on the other side-but at adistance, as if another closed door or another wall was between him and the fighters.