They made it down the long flight without incident. At the base of the stairs, they paused to rest. Lhors took a long drink from his bottle, and let the warm water sit on his tongue for some time before swallowing. He felt dry all the way through, and his lips were cracked.
“This level I know,” Nemis said finally. “The passageeast”-he pointed-“is a dead end. There’s a temple, guest quarters, and trollsthat way-or were. I doubt anything’s changed. It had not in all the yearsEclavdra had come here, and they were many more than all of my years. Still, unexpected guards do patrol at intervals in case someone is mad enough to break into this place. Walk warily.”
“Trolls or somethin’ comin’ this way right now!” Khlenedwhispered tensely. “And we’re in the open. Back up the stairs?”
“No,” Vlandar said as he scrambled to his feet. “Straightacross into the passage.”
They ran for it. Moments later a party of a dozen or more armed creatures clomped by and vanished around the bend, heading east.
“The prison cells are nearby,” Nemis said after the din ofheavy footsteps had faded. “Mal, I hope you will not-”
“I have Agya to protect here, before anyone else,” thepaladin broke in.
“Good,” the mage said gravely. “Remember that.” His lipsmoved silently. “I’ve just set a silence and reveal enemy spell both. We shouldrest here a little. The drow guest chamber is not far away, and we need all our strength against them.”
20
It was very dark in the lower level of the palace-dark, dryand hot. The place they hid was so dark that Lhors couldn’t tell whether it wasa chamber, a passage, or a niche cut in the wall. There seemed to be dead air behind them, and a faint but unpleasant odor like things long dead. Lhors shuddered and forced his attentions elsewhere.
Test your spears. You can do that by feel. Make certain thewood is not cracked or the points loose. He’d learned the trick from hisfather years earlier, how to do that in full dark and not lose a finger. The spears-he had only two left-were still in good shape. So were the expensivedaggers that he’d nearly forgotten about. It took him a moment to rememberPlowys’ name. After all that had happened since the fellow had died on theirfirst foray into the Steading, Lhors was surprised he could remember that much at all. He was astonished when he counted up the long daytime rests that counted as their nights. Plowys had died only six days earlier, but it seemed like a distant memory. Lhors’ life had become little more than running, hiding,killing, and more hiding. In between were times of restless sleep that brought only bad dreams.
He thought Rowan and Maera were also checking their weaponry. Malowan and Nemis sat close together, talking very quietly. The two men were probably going over some magic they would use together. Whatever grievance the paladin might still have toward Nemis, he had set it aside for now.
Lhors sighed and took another sip of tepid water. Drink small amounts, but often when you’ve little to see you through, his fatherhad always told him. The bottle might get him through one full day, but not two. Water in this place…
I’d never trust it, Lhors told himself. Malowan or Nemiscould find water and possibly even cleanse it if there was time. If we dared to go looking for water. Nemis was right, the voice in the back of his mind whispered. This is no place for any of us. We’re all going to die here in thedark.
Lhors pushed the gloomy voice away and wondered how much longer before they would move on and how much longer before they would battle these drow. They sound very dangerous. Perhaps, he thought, we really will all die in here-or all of us except Nemis. Suddenly, Lhors could understand whyKhlened and some of the others didn’t fully trust the mage, especially sinceNemis didn’t often explain himself unless Vlandar insisted.
He gazed into the dimly lit hallway that ran south to north and across it to the stairway they’d come down. It was blessedly quiet up there.He couldn’t imagine that would last for long. Even if that horrid fat giant kingcan’t free himself from the place he hid, he mused. Some guard will come lookingfor him. They’ll see Gerikh’s bar across the way in and then…
Lhors drew back as two brutish trolls suddenly stomped down the hall, hesitating at the staircase. His heart sank, and he feared discovery when the two turned to look his way. But Nemis’ protective spells were as goodas the mage claimed. The two monsters tromped on south, hesitated a moment at the bend in the passage, then trod back north, their footsteps echoing and growing fainter until they ceased entirely.
Vlandar sat next to him, back propped against the stone wall and legs stretched in front of him. He seemed fairly relaxed, content to let Malowan and Nemis work out their plans while he rested. Lhors reminded himself that so far, Vlandar and the others had kept them safe.
And you’ve helped. You’ve killed giants. Father’d be proud,had he lived to see that. Lhors Giant Killer Agya had called him. He smiled to himself. True, others had helped in the killing, but twice now, Lhors had dealt the killing blow-once in pure rage and once in sheer panic, but bothcreatures were equally dead.
Seems ya might not be so useless after all. The wordsechoed in his head.
Lhors settled his shoulders next to Vlandar’s. He was stillafraid, but that was sensible in a place like this. Fear would help to keep him alive. He’d manage.
Some moments later, Vlandar stirred. “Everyone caught theirbreath? Legs rested? Weapons checked?” There were a few quiet murmurs of assent.“Good. Nemis, how much farther and what can we expect when we get there besidesa brutal fight?”
Nemis slid over next to Vlandar. “Not much farther-as long aswe can go straight up this hall and then east. Once we’re there, things will getinteresting. Complicated. There is one main entry blocked by a dreadful trap-atentacle wall. It looks like an ordinary part of the wall until you get close, then the tentacles grab you. I have some spells to use against it, but I doubt they will entirely neutralize it. And if only the tentacles are destroyed, there are other things on the wall-beaks to bite you.”
“What about my arrows from the Steading trove?” Rowan asked.
“They might harm it, but if you touch the wall, it warnsthose inside. An arrow-or any weapon for that matter-might have the sameeffect. The only other way in is through a secret door inside the cells. I suggest we not go that way.”
“Why fight ’em at all?” Agya demanded softly. “Why don’t youand Mal go close by, make a spell t’learn who’s in there, then get away, or putsleep on ’em and search in there?”
“I think it unlikely a sleep spell would work on every drowin there. I am certain it will not work on Eclavdra. But we must get in. If only servants or clerics are there, we can kill or disable them and then search for further proof against Eclavdra-other allies she has, perhaps even more maps. Ifshe returns here to find her sanctuary violated, it won’t stop her, but it maymake her wary for a while. If she is here…” He drew a deep breathand expelled it in a rush. “Then we must kill her.”
“If we can.” Vlandar nodded. “We must go before someone findsour handiwork above.”
“Remember,” Nemis told them as he got to his feet, “the drowdo not expect open attack here. The rooms are guest chambers and placed in the very midst of this palace. King Snurre’s guards patrol frequently, but the drowtake normal precautions only. Also,” he added with an almost cheerful grin, “itis daylight out there. Drow live deep in the ground, but even so, many of them choose to sleep when the sun lights the lands above them and wake when the sky is black. If there is a chance for us to surprise them, this is the hour.”