"Don't go, Vorden!" cried Timlin. "You don't even use a sword."
"Just leave it," said Aldreya. "What's wrong with you? The others need our help, and all you can think of is yourself."
Vorden glared at her. "Whatever you think, Aldreya, doesn't concern me, so just shut your mouth. That sword could come in handy."
"You're so incredibly selfish!" she said. "I've never met anyone so self-centered as you in my entire life."
She grabbed his arm. "We're going to help the others."
Vorden shoved her away. "Don't touch me."
Her green eyes burning with anger, Aldreya raised her stone dagger. "I can stop you from going out there, if I want to."
Vorden turned away, ignoring her. He handed his lantern to Lannon and started back across the bridge, his axe held ready.
"Vorden!" Aldreya whispered pleadingly. "Come back here."
While the others watched with pounding hearts, Vorden crept to the edge of the pool and laid hands on the sword hilt. He lifted the weapon silently off the stone, grinning, and held it up for the others to see.
Then he rose and started back. As he did so, the great hand reached forth and hovered menacingly above him.
"Watch out!" the others cried.
Yet even as the hand grabbed for Vorden, the black sword slashed around in an arc and sliced through the tree-trunk sized arm. The hand dropped to the bridge, its fingers still wiggling-like a giant insect lying on its back.
Vorden ran to where the others stood, his eyes blazing in triumph. "There," he said. "I got the sword, and killed the hand."
Lannon nodded. "Let's just hope that's the last hand."
Timlin's eyes were wide with awe. "That sword must be pretty sharp to cut through that thing so easily."
Vorden examined it. It was a straight, double-edged sword of black hue with a hilt that displayed four silver claw-like protrusions on either side. At the center of the hilt was a silver symbol that looked vaguely like a spider, while smaller runes of equal color ran the length of the blade.
"It must be," he agreed. "It kind of felt like…"
"Like what?" said Lannon.
"Like the sword moved on its own," said Vorden.
Aldreya shuddered. "Maybe you shouldn't keep it."
"What are you talking about?" said Vorden. "Of course I'm going to keep it. And you better not tell anyone I found it!"
"But it might be cursed," said Aldreya. "Just be careful, okay?"
"I will," said Vorden. "But it's a good weapon, and right now we need one, since we're on our own. I'll just leave my axe here for now."
"We could go back now and get help," said Aldreya.
Even as she spoke, the pool began to boil. Something was twisting around in the water, perhaps in agony.
"I think it's dying," said Lannon.
"Or healing itself," said Vorden. "Who knows? I'd like to keep going and see if we can locate the others. You could use the Eye of Divinity to help find them. Maybe when we come back later, that thing will be dead."
Lannon nodded. "I don't really want to go past it right now. And the others might need our help right away."
"Let's find our friends," said Timlin. "We can't leave them behind."
***
In the chasm below the bridge, much farther down from where they had first fallen in-though it was impossible to tell exactly how far-Caldrek, Shennen, Taris, Saranna, and Darius dragged themselves out of the water and lay dripping on the riverbank. In the utter darkness of the chasm, they were forced to call out each other's names. Only Furlus failed to answer the call. Taris pulled a Birlote torch from his pack, and the crimson light revealed the swiftly flowing river, from which pointed rocks protruded.
As they watched in tense silence, a thick hand suddenly reached up out of the water and grabbed one of the rocks. Then another hand came up, and Furlus Goblincrusher pulled himself above the surface, gasping for breath. He hung there, in the middle of the river, his chest heaving beneath his plate mail.
"Don't just gawk at me," he muttered to the others. "Help me out. I can't fight the current anymore. This armor is too heavy."
"Can you remove your armor?" said Taris.
Furlus shook his head. "Not while I'm hanging from this rock."
Suddenly, a big shape drifted past in the torchlight. It was an old Cave Troll. Oddly enough, it was almost in a standing position, as if something were weighing down its feet. It bobbed along down the river, its round eyes gazing at them, and disappeared into the dark.
"Did you see that?" said Saranna. "It looked like a Troll!"
No one answered. They just shrugged and shook their heads.
"Was that a Cave Troll that just floated past?" Saranna asked again, her eyes wide in disbelief. "Or am I seeing things?"
Shennen readied his rope. "Tie this around yourself, if you can, Furlus, and we will pull you onto the bank."
"If I let go of this rock," said Furlus, "I'll sink like lead."
"I guess I can swim out and tie it around you," said Taris. "If I must…"
"I'd rather drown," said Furlus.
"I can do it," said Saranna.
"Hurry now!" said Furlus. "I'm losing my grip."
Shennen handed Saranna one end of the rope, and she dove into the river a bit upstream from where Furlus was. The current pulled her along, but she managed to fight her way over to the struggling Dwarf.
"If you weren't so thick in the belly," mocked Taris, "she might actually be able to get that rope around your waist."
Furlus was clinging to the rock with his last bit of strength, but he managed to grunt out a response. "When I get…to shore…watch out…sorcerer!"
"It's done," said Saranna. "You can pull us in."
Shennen, Caldrek, and Taris tugged on the rope. "You can let go now," said Taris, "unless you want us to try to pull that rock along with you."
Furlus let his hands slip from the rock, while Saranna held onto him and the rope. The others dragged them up onto land. Furlus lay coughing and hacking. Then he sat up, his beard dripping, still panting from his exertion.
"Let us hope the Squires returned to Dremlock," sputtered Furlus.
"I doubt they did," said Taris, shaking his head.
Furlus looked surprised. "What makes you say that? Do you actually think they would try to continue on without us?"
"Perhaps," said Taris. "They might try to find us, believing we need their help. And that Vorden fellow… Well, let's just say that I understand his nature."
"They would be fools to try to cross that bridge," said Saranna, wringing out her hair, "after what happened to us."
"Could Squires possess such courage?" said Caldrek.
"Why not?" said Shennen. "When we were young, Caldrek, we might easily have tried it. When it comes down to it, age has less to do with courage than people might think, my friend."
"I think Taris has a good point, for once," said Furlus. "Look at what those Squires have done already-sneaking down to visit the Divine Essence."
"Where Vorden goes," said Taris, "trouble shall follow."
***
In full agreement to continue on, the Squires entered the tunnel. It led them downward at a steep incline and then leveled off. Stone pillars lined the passageway here, grey and smooth in the lantern light, hewn from the mountain's rock. Hanging from the pillars were rusted chains. Still caught in some of these chains was evidence of their grim purpose-a skeletal arm here, a thighbone there. Skulls and other bones lay scattered at the base of the pillars. This was another Olrog punishment hall. The Squires wondered how many such grisly places existed down here.
They left the pillars behind and journeyed for what seemed like hours along the stone passageway, occasionally encountering thick black roots that split the rock here and there (having caused small cave-ins in some areas).
The tunnel gradually began to widen, revealing even more roots, and they had to push their way through fierce tangles of them at times. The gloomy feeling thickened, smothering them, while a sickening stench-reminding Lannon of the Bloodlands-had begun to assail their nostrils. Despair built in their hearts.