Before the illumination could attract the attention of predators or enemies nearby, Vambran ducked down and sized up the gap. The passage was wider and the way was easier than he had imagined. He slipped through the opening and found himself in a narrow gash in the rock. He disturbed a few fish and some crabs, which scuttled away at his approach.
The slit opened downward to the edge of his light and beyond and was so narrow that Vambran would not be able to maneuver much as he descended. He considered giving up and returning to the surface to wait for Serille and Arbeenok to find him, but his curiosity won out. The mercenary allowed himself to drift down through the crevice.
The rock became smoother as Vambran swam farther down, for no plant or coral could grow upon it without at least feeble light to feed on. The passage he was traversing eventually widened enough to become recognizable as a hallway or tunnel, and the thought sent chills down his spine. He was moving through a corridor that humans had walked hundreds of years earlier.
After descending into the unadorned passage for a few more moments, Vambran's light suddenly illuminated a dead end. Silt and mud filled the bottom of the shaft and no other passage was visible. Disappointed, Vambran probed the silt with the butt end of the trident, hoping to find an opening, or some clue or secret, that would let him explore farther.
The lieutenant was on the verge of turning back when something caught his eye. A tiny plume of bubbles streamed forth from the stone wall of the shaft. Vambran got close to the trail of bubbles and peered at the stonework. He wasn't certain, but a very small, very straight crack seemed to run the length of the rock.
A hidden passage? he wondered.
Vambran spent several minutes searching and discovered a barely discernable seam that looked like the outline of a hidden door. He tried pushing on the stone in various locations and examined other sections of the wall to locate a lever, stud, or other release mechanism, but his search was in vain.
Only mildly discouraged, the mercenary again considered returning to the open water to wait for his companions, but then he felt the familiar tingle of magic. Inspiration flowed through him and an understanding he couldn't explain washed through his mind. The lieutenant believed he had the workings of a new arcane power at his fingertips. He simply knew, and though the feeling was startling, it wasn't as unnerving as it had been the first time he had discovered the innate ability.
Thanking Waukeen for whatever role she had played in the manifestation of his power, Vambran placed his hands on the concealed portal once more and spoke a phrase that simply came to his mind. A low, deep click sounded and the stone shifted beneath his touch, settling slightly. Elated, Vambran started to push against the door to see if it would open, but before he could react, a second click became audible and the door sank away, releasing a great burst of air that buffeted the mercenary.
At the same moment, a sudden suction took hold of the man, drawing him inextricably downward, into the hole he had created. As his body slid through the ever-widening gap in the stone, his trident wedged across the opening. He dangled for a moment, his iron-tight grip on the haft of the weapon keeping him from being sucked away by the force of the water. Huge bubbles surged upward out of the void beyond the doorway, slamming into Vambran and tossing him about.
The lieutenant tried to pull himself out, tried to remember a spell that might rescue him, but the pain in his arm and shoulder became too great. With a frantic cry of fear, Vambran lost his grip on his weapon and shot downward into the darkness below.
For several long moments, no one moved.
Pilos had trouble believing what he had heard. Arrested?
Then chaos erupted in the halls of the temple of Waukeen as everyone began talking at once. The Abreeant heard someone shouting behind him, but all he could focus on were the doors to the council chamber, only steps away.
Arrested?
"Edilus, no!" Horial shouted, and Pilos whirled around to witness the growing commotion.
The druid had jerked his scimitar free and was menacing a tightening circle of temple guards, all of whom had a distinct advantage with the longer reach of their half-spears. Horial was trying to push past one of the guards, to stop Edilus before he drew blood. Somehow, he managed to convince the druid to lower his weapon. Adyan stood with his hands up, unthreatening, but Pilos could see that the sergeant's jaw was clenched, for the scar along his chin was flexing. Grolo stood beside Adyan, jabbing his stubby finger into the chest of another guard, who was arguing right back.
Pilos had never seen so much uproar within the confines of the temple, then he realized that it had begun prior to their arrival.
A guard attempted to take hold of the young priest by both arms and Pilos spun around, jerking his hands free. "No!" he said, shouting to be heard. "I must see the high priests, immediately!"
The guard was shaking his head and held one hand on his weapon as he advanced toward Pilos again. "They are in emergency session and are not to be disturbed," the soldier said. "Now don't make this harder than it already is."
Emergency session? Pilos wondered, his mind awhirl with confusion and fear. "Why?" he asked the man, even as he relented and allowed the guard to begin locking manacles onto his wrists.
"Trying to decide what to do about the plague, of course," the guard answered, sounding surprised.
Pilos's mind reeled. "Plague?" he blurted out. "When? Where?"
The guard spun the priest around and stared at him. "You haven't heard? There's a plague in Reth. Zombies are walking the streets. The Generon is calling for immediate troop relocations. The temple's sending every last able-bodied mercenary and priest it can spare."
"No," Pilos said, piecing it together. Lavant is behind this. He can't truly mean to… "No!" he shouted. "I demand the right of immediate sentencing!" The din was too loud, though. The hall was packed with priests and soldiers and each one was shouting, arguing. No one could hear him. He screamed at the top of his lungs. "I demand right of immediate sentencing! I want to be heard in a Truth Inquiry!"
The guard facing the Abreeant stared, awestruck.
The sounds of arguing faded, replaced by urgent shushing noises and whispered explanations, until everyone had gone so still that Pilos imagined he might have been able to hear a mouse squeak. Everyone looked at him.
"I demand right of immediate sentencing," the Abreeant repeated, "to be heard in a Truth Inquiry!"
"Pilos," Horial said behind him. "Are you sure?"
Pilos nodded. "The truth will come out," he said. "I have faith in the will of Waukeen."
Several people began to talk again, but in muted voices. What the young priest had demanded had not been requested in many years. For Pilos, should the Inquiry find him guilty, the sentence would be immediate death.
Shrugging as if absolving himself of the foolishness of his prisoner, the guard who had restrained Pilos turned and opened the twin doors into the council chamber. He strode forward and Pilos followed. The high priests nearest the door turned and looked, many of them visibly annoyed.
"We gave strict instructions not to be disturbed," one of them said. "What is the meaning of this intrusion?"
The guard bowed. "My apologies, Grand Trabbar Perolin, but this priest has demanded right of immediate sentencing in accordance with a Truth Inquiry."