“The second door,” the elf said quietly, “or what once was.”
“We only felt two blasts,” Elmo said.
“Then the third must not be far beyond,” Govin said, motioning for Ahleage to push on.
Beyond the blasted remains of the second portal was a patch of earthen floor—what once might have been a large area. Now a large portion of the room had collapsed, and a great wall of rubble blocked their way.
“Damnation!” cursed Govin, smacking his hands together.
“So, now what?” Shirral asked. “One of those other ways down?”
Govin, his mouth twisted in a snarl of frustration, nodded and headed back up the stairs as the rest of the group followed him. He stopped at the pit he had been examining earlier. “We try this next. We must find another way down, get to the next door, and stop them. Look there, about fifteen feet down. There is a ledge and, if I’m not seeing things, a set of stairs that spirals down from it.” The knight pointed down into the shaft.
Ahleage, who had lain down on his stomach to peer over the edge of the pit, turned his head sideways and stared at Govin. “You just got through saying that you hope we never meet this ‘Nameless One’, and now you want to go straight down a gaping shaft that probably leads to one of the nine hells itself.”
“I think I can see light from the very bottom,” Shirral said, hunched over and peering down, herself. “It’s just a faint white glow, but I’m almost certain something is lit down there.”
“I could be in Hommlet right now,” Ahleage muttered, even as he uncoiled some rope and tied one end to a post of the railing. He tossed the other end over the side of the pit and continued his tirade. “Leah could be on my lap. I could be eating some of Glora’s fine roast chicken, but nooooo, I’m here, about to go down a hole with a crazy knight and you four, all insane enough to follow him.”
“Are you finished?” Elmo asked.
Ahleage pursed his lips, as if thinking. Finally, he replied, “For now. Give me a few moments though….”
“Well then,” Govin said as he sheathed his sword. “Let’s get moving.”
“Let me go first,” Ahleage suggested. “I can check to make sure the ledge is solid and safe enough to stand on. Hold tight until I get down there.”
Ahleage sat down and dangled his legs over the side. He took hold of the rope, twisted around, and lowered his body so that he was hanging freely in the shaft with only his head above the surface of the floor.
“Don’t wait too long, though. If some demon tries to grab me, I sure want the rest of you to be there, too.”
With that, Ahleage lowered himself.
Once he had determined the safety of the ledge, the rest of the group descended into the shaft. Shanhaevel swallowed nervously as he peered between his feet over the edge of the narrow ledge. The drop made him sweat. Far, far below, he could see the faint glow of light that told him how far he would fall, should he slip. Ahead, Ahleage moved along, following the ledge around to the stairs that descended lower into that shaft. Behind the wizard, Elmo held a lantern high, helping everyone to see.
As the group descended the stairs, moving single file, Shanhaevel used his staff to make sure his footing was sound. The steps spiraled downward, but fortunately, they seemed to be stout and intact. The group took a couple of turns around the perimeter of the shaft, and then the steps just ended at a small platform hanging from the side.
“Great,” Ahleage said. “Good idea, Govin. Let’s head back up and try those doors, I guess.”
It was then that Shanhaevel felt a strange, cool breeze against his cheek. “Hold a minute!” the elf said just as everyone was about to reverse direction. “I think there’s something here.”
“What? Did you find another secret passage?” Ahleage asked, having turned to face Shanhaevel as the elf examined the wall.
“Actually,” the wizard replied as he pushed a section of wall so that it suddenly slid downward, “yes.”
“Istus’ mother!” Ahleage breathed. “You give me the creeps, the way you always find those things. Elmo, shine your light down in here.”
The huge man held the lantern forward as Ahleage squeezed past Shanhaevel and moved through the portal opening. He stopped halfway through.
“What is it?” Shanhaevel asked, peering past the man into the area beyond. The floor immediately before Ahleage was covered in bones. Skulls mingled with femurs, and rib cages tumbled together with fibulas in a jumble of remains. Many of the skeletons were roughly intact, still wearing armor of some sort in several cases.
“A great battle was fought here,” Shanhaevel surmised. “Maybe when the temple fell.”
“So that’s supposed to make me feel better?” Ahleage said, still frozen in his spot. “I don’t want to go in there.”
“Wait a moment,” Shanhaevel said, then turned and looked back along the line of companions strung out on the stairs. “We’ve found a secret way into some tunnels, but it’s full of bones.”
“What’s beyond the bones?” Shirral asked.
“It looks like a hallway, but I can’t tell for sure.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Govin said. “Keep moving.”
“All right,” Shanhaevel said, then turned back and relayed the answer to Ahleage.
“Did you tell them about the bones?” Ahleage asked testily.
“Yes.”
“Lots of bones?”
“Yes.”
“Was this Sir Govin Dahna’s, Sir We-must-stop-them-at-all-cost idea?”
“Ahleage,” Shanhaevel replied, sounding each word slowly and distinctly to drive home his urgency. “Go inside the door. Now.”
Ahleage sighed and skulked into the chamber. Shanhaevel followed close behind. The area was indeed a hallway, or rather, a T-shaped junction of two hallways, each several paces wide. The covering of bones stretched beyond the lantern light in both directions. The passageway straight ahead went about that distance before it ended, a door to either side.
As the last of the members of the Alliance filed through the secret door, it abruptly slid upward, closing. Ahleage lunged at the portal, trying to stop it from completely sealing shut, but he was not quite in time. With a solid thunk, the door slammed shut.
The echo of the door had scarcely faded when there was a clattering at each end of the hallway. In horror, the companions watched as several intact skeletons arose from the heaps. Wearing armor from their days among the living and brandishing weapons in their bony fingers, a half dozen or more of the undead charged the group from both sides.
“This way!” yelled Elmo as he cut across the corridor into the central part of the intersection. The others followed him, all except Ahleage, who was clawing frantically at the door. When he realized that his friends had left him there, he turned and sprinted into the safety of the side hall.
Elmo, his axe held ready, motioned for Shanhaevel and Shirral to get behind him and the more battle-capable members of the group. Draga, Govin, and finally Ahleage took up positions across the mouth of the hall, ready for the onslaught. The first of the animated horrors turned the corner, their bony grins silently laughing as they clattered down the hall toward the waiting defenders.
It was at that moment that the door beside Shanhaevel and Govin opened. An ogre stood there, a club raised in its hand, ready to bring its weapon down upon the head of some enemy. Behind it, a second ogre waited with a feral grin on its ugly, wart-covered face.
Shanhaevel was too surprised to move when the ogre’s club came crashing down on him. The elf was only able to twist his body out of the way enough to avoid being brained. The weapon caught him across the back of the neck and shoulder and drove him straight to the ground. All of the elf’s extremities went numb, and he could scarcely breathe. He lay on the floor, his mind unable to register what had happened. The ogre stepped into the corridor where the members of the Alliance were already battling a line of skeletons. The creature raised its weapon to strike the wizard again, and behind it, the second ogre waited eagerly to get into the fray.