Flerys clearly didn’t understand a word of the weak joke, but the smile did seem to reassure her, a little. She retrieved the spear and scrambled to her feet to guard the swordwoman. Though I don’t know what she can do against one of those, Eddis thought. Or what more I can do. Her left arm hung limp, and the fingers of her right still smarted, but they’d hung onto Blorys’ spear, somehow. She tightened her grip and watched the fray.
The fight was nearly over. The last two hobgoblins were tottering, and as she watched, they fell, one to a Keep man’s spear, the other to a joint attack by Blorys and M’Baddah.
Jerdren had already sent Willow over to listen at the far door. “Bless me if the entire cave shouldn’t be down around our ears by now, all the noise we made in here. Maybe we’re still in luck, and that door’s as thick as the one we just came through.”
He eyed the cowering huddle of females and young. “And bless me if I don’t want to run ’em through. I’ve had enough of killing beast babies and their cowering mothers. Suggestions, Mead? Panev?”
The priest came forward, mace in hand and his eyes glittering. “If you cannot kill them, I shall. The females of their kind often fight and kill as well as the males. The young will grow up to become fighters. But—” he shrugged. “If you choose to bind them instead, I will strengthen your ropes with a charm I have that will keep them enthralled for several hours.”
“All we need is enough time to see what’s beyond that door and get back out this way, if we need to.” Jerdren’s brooding eyes fixed on one of the fallen hobgoblins.
Blorys picked his way across the room, his eyes dark with anger.
“Beyond? Are you mad, Brother? We have injuries here, and Eddis is bleeding! And all you can think of is—?”
Jerdren’s head came up at that, his color high. Eddis dragged herself to her feet and stepped between the two men.
“Let’s not waste time arguing. Blor, I’ll be fine, M’Baddah will tend this. Blor, remember the description Zebos gave of the way to that torture chamber, where he was chained to the wall? I think this is it, and I still say we are bound by honor to free prisoners. This is a cut, nothing more. It’s not—” She became aware of Flerys right behind her and shook her head, her eyes warning Blorys. “It’s nothing. Let’s finish up here and go.”
“She’s right, Brother,” Jerdren said. “There’s the least chance new guards will find that dead ogre or the dead guards just back there—or this room. We’re leaving a trail, and I wager they’d be ready and waiting for us if we came back tomorrow. With things like hobgoblins, I’d rather have surprise on my side when I attack.”
“Never mind that,” Eddis said. She bit her lip as M’Baddah began working on her arm. “These creatures might simply kill prisoners, once they realize we’re here. I’d hate that.”
“If there are any prisoners alive,” Blorys said as he retrieved her sword and wiped it clean.
“We won’t know until we look,” Eddis told him.
The rest of the party members were tending wounds or working their way around the chamber, looking for coins and other wealth. Panev watched two of the Keep men tie the unresisting females and young. When they were all knotted together, the priest waved a short black wand over them and spoke under his breath. Moments later they all slept, and when Jerdren nudged the nearest female with his foot, she didn’t move.
“Good work, man,” he said and headed toward the far door. Willow had it open and was already out of sight. “Good work, all of you. Eddis?”
She nodded. Her arm still throbbed, and she might be weak for a while, but her fingers and elbow were working once more. Blorys patted her shoulder awkwardly and went after his brother. Eddis stayed back with Flerys and Mead as the brothers strode through the door.
14
A long, shadowy corridor, cut into the rock, meandered ahead of them, fire or torchlight turning the stone ruddy some distance away. No sound, except for their own breathing. Eddis listened intently. No good. She wondered where the goblin had got to. If it had gone on this way, it could be anywhere by now. They could be heading for an ambush.
They were moving slowly, making as little noise as they could, but the passage was dark, the floor uneven, and complete silence impossible. Eddis’ boots shuffled aside a spill of gravel. Someone else’s foot scraped across stone. Each sound seemed loud in the narrow place.
When they halted so Mead, Willow, and Kadymus could check ahead for side passages, Eddis leaned against the wall. Her arm throbbed despite the thick stuff M’Baddah had rubbed across the cut, and she felt lightheaded. She dredged up a smile as Flerys tugged on her sleeve. The child looked worried, and not much reassured when the woman breathed against her ear, “I’m fine.” She took a sip from the water bottle the girl held out to her. Beyond Flerys, M’Whan looked no less concerned.
The passage seemed to go on forever, but Eddis felt a little better for the water, and her sword hand no longer tingled. A short jog right, then immediately left, another right a short distance beyond that—places where a small group of enemies might lie in wait, but each was deserted. All at once there was enough light from well-spaced torches that they could make out the hallway for quite some distance ahead.
They paused again while Mead, Willow, and Jerdren scouted. The three were back in short order, and Jerdren beckoned the party close.
“A tunnel cuts off to the left, just short of that second torch. No guards near, Mead says, but there’s hobgoblins down there, he thinks. Willow could hear someone wailing. I think you’re right, Eddis. This might be where Zebos was held.”
Blorys leaned forward. “What Zebos told me—if that’s where we are—is that there’s only one way into that chamber and only a couple guards. But if you keep straight on this way, you’ll come to a guard room beyond that last torch somewhere. Hebold and his men were taking him that way, said it was how they’d come in, when they were attacked. The guards came from their left, I think, but he could see daylight at that point.”
Jerdren nodded. “Good, but one thing at a time. We’ll be able to tell if it is a prison cell, once we get closer. If it is, we hit it hard, fast, and quiet as we can. Grab any prisoners. Kadymus, that’ll be your task. Once we distract the guards, you find keys for the cells or manacles, and be ready to use ’em once we’ve killed the guards.” He met Eddis’ eyes. “You all right?”
She nodded.
“Good. In and out as quick as we can, kill the guards fast and quiet. Prisoners will be our only concern here. If there aren’t any, we kill the hobgoblins and make sure we find any wealth they’ve got on ’em. Let’s go.”
Eddis stayed with Flerys as M’Baddah went ahead with Willow. The child clutched a spear nearly as long as she was tall in her right hand—one she’d picked up during that last fight. She gave the swordswoman a round-eyed look and a faint smile that was gone as quickly as it came, but she seemed merely awed by the strangeness of her surroundings and not afraid of them. She’ll probably have nightmares for the rest of her life if she survives this, Eddis thought.
And if we’re headed into a dungeon, a prisoner’s cell? She’d seen what was left of tortured, dead men just once, and it had sickened her to her very soul. Better if Flerys didn’t see. How to shield her, though?
They reached the branching of ways without incident. Once they stopped, Eddis thought she could hear faint noises down the left passage. Mead went on ahead but came back almost at once, shaking his head. No one that way—at least close by. Jerdren indicated the left way with a jerk of his head, and started off at a ground-eating long stride. As he fetched up against the first bend, he set his back to the rough stone and listened intently. Eddis could now see her companions clearly. There was plenty of light ahead. Someone down there moaned non-stop, and someone or something else was jabbering in what sounded like Orc or Goblin to her. A deep voice snarled threateningly, and the shrill one was momentarily still.