They emerged in the large basement of another building, probably a warehouse, at the top of a ramp. The ramp switched back twice before opening up into a space large enough to be a throne room but stacked with storage shelves. Little sat on the shelves but a few basic supplies plus several slabs of stone and ingots of metal stacked in a haphazard way, all wreathed in shadow. Several half-built golems lay in a pile in one corner, and along one wall was the half-constructed form of an asura gate. The shelves had been cleared away from the front of the room, the centerpiece of which was a long, circular lab table set at the perfect height for an asura to work at.
Kranxx slapped a small panel as he came into the room, and a flame leaped to life under a pot sitting on a metal surface. "Pardon the mess," he said. "I don't often have guests."
Ember crinkled her snout as she sniffed at the air. "I can see why," she said. "It smells like something died down here."
"No one can prove that," said Kranxx, smiling. "And if they can, I wasn't anywhere near here when it happened."
He turned to Riona. "Are you in charge here, or were you just the only one willing to hold the charr's chain?"
Riona nodded indignantly. "While we appreciate your aid, our business here is our own. We must leave this place as soon as possible, by orders of the queen of Kryta."
"Right," Kranxx said. "And I'm really Master Snaff of Destiny's Edge."
"I assume you are the general's 'man' in Ebonhawke," said Dougal.
Kranxx sneered at that. "She didn't mention me by name? That sounds like Soulkeeper coming and going. She is too clever by half, sometimes. Thinks she's running the Order of Whispers or something."
"The what?" asked Killeen.
"Tactician Kranxx, of the Vigil," said the asura, quickly introducing himself with a small bow. Returning to Riona: "You're a crusader. Almorra recruits people like you."
"We are both crusaders of the Vigil," said Ember. "I am Ember Doomforge. The human female is Riona Grady. And she speaks the truth: our mission is on behalf of the queen of Kryta."
Kranxx nodded. "Soulkeeper warned me you people might not be too sharp, but when I joined the Vigil, I had no idea that it might ever sink this low. Smuggling a charr into Ebonhawke! Has she lost her mind?"
Killeen opened her mouth to point out it had been Dougal's idea, but Dougal raised a hand and silently pleaded with her to keep her helpful truths to herself.
"What did General Soulkeeper say in her message?" said Riona.
"Very little," said Kranxx. "Very need-to-know, she is. 'Expect visitors that will need to leave Ebonhawke quietly. Some may be problematic.' Problematic! She is a master of understatement. And she provided the date and time to reconfigure the gate. That was some mighty arcane kludging, by the way. They're going to have to recalibrate an entire bank of crystals after that one. Don't touch that, either." Gullik had found a pack hanging on a nearby peg intriguing, and looked at the asura sheepishly as he edged away from it.
"Very well," said Riona, "you have gotten us here and past the Ebon Vanguard. Where do we go from here?"
"I have to go out and make a few final arrangements," said Kranxx. "Plant a few false leads and wrap up some personal business. Then we will go out by way of the sewers."
"Sewers?" said Riona.
"We?" said Dougal.
"We," said Kranxx. "After this, I'm burned as an asset. And there will likely be an investigation and some changes regarding using and protecting the asura gate as well. Once Commander Samuelsson gets up and the lieutenant talks to him, I am going to become a person of interest. So, like it or not, I am coming with you. Where are we going?"
"Ascalon City," said Dougal.
Kranxx let out a low whistle. "Almorra," he said, "you never do anything in halves. Very well, then, get a bit of rest-you're going to need it. I will be back. And in the name of the Eternal Alchemy"-he looked at Gullik-"don't touch anything."
Gullik looked disappointed and collapsed onto a pile of sacks in the corner. The sides of one of the sacks split and potatoes rolled out. Killeen lowered herself down next to him and tried to make herself comfortable using the norn's pack as a pillow.
Ember held out her manacled hands and let out a low growl.
"Not yet," said Riona. "We aren't out of Ebonhawke."
"You must be kidding," snarled the charr. "We're in a basement. If the Vanguard finds us, we're better off if I can pull my own weight."
"I don't think-" said Riona.
"Do it," said Dougal sharply. "Ember's right."
"We're taking all sorts of risks-" Riona started again.
"Unlock her," said Dougal, "or I'll fish out my tools and break the locks myself."
Riona shot Dougal a hot flash of anger but pulled the keys from her pouch and tripped the tumblers in Ember's wrist and neck manacles. The charr immediately stretched herself out to her full height, raised her arms, and let out a powerful growl. "You have no idea how good that feels," she said.
"You'd be surprised," said Riona, but Ember ignored her and joined the other two on the pile of potato sacks.
Riona turned to Dougal. Her face was bunched with anger and, Dougal thought, a little confusion. Instead she said, "You going to get some rest? I'll stand watch until Tactician Kranxx gets back."
"You froze," said Dougal. "At the asura gate. You were willing to hand over Ember."
"You would have thought of something," said Riona, but Dougal shook his head.
"You could have handed over your magic purple-stamped letter," Dougal said pointedly. "Orders from the queen of Kryta and Logan Thackeray."
"Thackeray's name doesn't hold the weight around here it once did," she said. "And as for Queen Jennah, you know that most of us here think that she is distant authority at best."
Dougal ignored her and continued, still keeping his voice down. "But instead you would have handed one of your fellow crusaders over."
"A charr crusader," said Riona, her voice low but her face flushed. "And she knew the risks."
"Beside the point," said Dougal.
Riona was angry now. "You remember the other night, when Crusader Doomforge said she would do anything to make sure the mission succeeded-even if it meant the death of one of us?" Dougal nodded, and she continued hotly, "I feel the same way. If we were going to fight and die there at the gate, the mission would have failed. You know that. Ember knew that. She would have sacrificed herself if she had to: that's how the Vigil operates."
"We were lucky," said Dougal.
"You are lucky," said Riona, calming herself. "That's why you've survived long enough to come along. And are you really one to lecture me about sacrificing allies?"
Dougal opened his mouth but nothing came out. Riona nodded in triumph. "Now, if you don't mind, I could use some time away from all of you." And with that, she retreated to the far side of the room and wrapped herself up in her cloak, watching Ember and the others. Gullik was already snoring loudly.
Dougal let out a long breath and looked at the brooding Riona at one side of the room and the three nonhumans on the other side. He walked up to the low asura-height table and tested it. It seemed strong enough to support a full-grown norn. Dougal lay down on the tabletop, wrapped himself in his cloak, and was asleep in moments.
His sleep must have been dreamless, because the next thing he realized, he was being shaken by the shoulders by a small child.
"Wake up, you bookah!" snapped Kranxx, rolling off him as Dougal sat up, blinking back his slumber and wondering if he was ever again going to sleep through an entire night.
As Kranxx's angry face came into focus, he managed a mumbled "What now?"
"Where is she?" said Kranxx, and looked over at the others. Killeen was pulling herself to her feet, and Ember was shaking the norn from his deep slumbers.