Ebenezer eyed the writhing tentacles with dismay. “When we find the rest of my clan, those dwarves are going to owe me big for this,” he muttered.
Istire took up one of the tentacles, nodding at Bronwyn and Ebenezer to do the same.
The experience was every bit as unpleasant as the dwarf feared. Immediately Ebenezer was enveloped by a cloud of strange sensations. He’d never much thought about evil—other than the natural impulse to pull out his axe and get to work whenever a critter bent on such mischief got in his way—and he’d had no idea that evil had a sound and shape and stench all its own. Linking thoughts with an illithid convinced him of that beyond debate. Even worse was the hunger—the dark, grasping, endless hunger that was the illithid’s power
Fortunately, Bronwyn seemed better able to twist her thinking to the illithid way of doing business. After some brisk bartering, Istire answered Bronwyn’s questions readily enough. Who had dwarf slaves, where they were being kept, what ship they were going out on? Ebenezer suspected that the discussion cost Bronwyn, though, far more than the ridiculous price she’d agreed to pay. Glad though he was for the information the creature sold them, he would rather crawl into a dragon’s gullet than ever again willingly enter an illithid’s head.
On his way out, Ebenezer didn’t bother trying for bravado. Speed seemed more sensible. He practically dragged Bronwyn out of the blue-glowing cavern and into the relative darkness and purity of the tunnels beyond.
“A pouch of silver and a long rope of black pearls,” Ebenezer muttered, marveling at the cost Bronwyn had paid for the information, but not wanting their guide to hear his words. Since it was easier to think ahead, to the settling up of scores and debts, than to ponder the grim reality before them, he added, “The clan will be hard pressed to pay you back the price of that ransom, but we’re good for it. Just might take a little time, is all.”
She cut him off with a scowl. “We’ll talk about that later Right now we’re nowhere close to discussing reimbursement.”
“Yeah,” he admitted with a sigh. “What’s this place we’re bound to, then?”
“The Burning Troll. It’s a tavern frequented by pirates and smugglers. It’s one step up from a midden, but we should be able to get the information we need.”
* * * * *
About an hour later, Ebenezer sat slumped on a high, rickety stool, getting the elbows of his jacket sticky on the unwashed bar in front of him. He sipped gloomily at his ale, too downcast to care overmuch that it had been desecrated by the addition of water
The ship had already sailed. The ship that carried his kin away to slavery had sailed just that day, and they had missed it. No tunnel could reach where they’d gone. Even the cold comfort of vengeance was denied Ebenezer The murderous, thieving humans who had done this were beyond the reach of his avenging axe.
Ebenezer let out another curse and signaled for a third mug.
“Game o’ dice?” suggested a coarse, grating voice beside him.
Ebenezer swiveled on the stool to find himself nearly nose to snout with the ugliest excuse for an orc he’d ever seen. The critter was not much bigger than a dwarf though it was as broad and powerful as most of its kind. It struck Ebenezer that some god with time on his hands and a twisted sense of humor had placed the orc lengthwise between his palms and compacted the critter like a snowball. In Ebenezer’s opinion, the god in question should have kept squlshing until the task was done.
Ebenezer pointed to his chest. “You talking to me?”
“Why not?” The sawed-off orc bared his fangs in a drunken grin and swatted Ebenezer companionably on the shoulder
A satisfying, cleansing flood of dwarven ire swept through Ebenezer. Earlier, he had pitched a kobold through the window of the tavern—not first bothering to unlatch the shutters—for taunting him about his lack of a mustache. That really hadn’t taken the edge off, though. But a friendly orc, now, that was enough to raise a considerable froth.
“Since you asked,” the dwarf growled, “I’ll show you why not.”
His hand flashed out and seized the offered dice from the ore’s palm. He slapped them down on the table and pulled the hammer from his belt. The orc’s roar of protest rattled the mugs on the bar as he understood Ebenezer’s intent. He grabbed for his dice—just in time to get one finger smashed under the descending hammer.
Several patrons, most of them just as ugly as the ore, came over to investigate the disturbance, their faces made memorable by scars and fangs and the uniform expression of menace that they currently wore. Ebenezer acknowledged their approach with a nod.
“Lookit,” he said grimly, pointing to the shattered dice. A small, iridescent blue beetle, sort of a pretty thing that looked like a sapphire with legs, scuttled frantically away. Smart little critters, they could be trained to throw their weight against the colored side of their tiny prison.
A low, angry murmur rose from the cluster of men, orcs, and worse that surrounded Ebenezer and his orcish challenger Using loaded dice didn’t win many friends, Ebenezer noted with satisfaction, not even in a place like this.
The ore’s howl of pain and outrage died suddenly as be realized how the tide of opinion had turned. He backed away a few steps, his piggish eyes wary and his shattered finger clutched close against his chest. Then he turn and ran with the whole pack of his former dice-mates roiling after him. Ebenezer raised his mug in mock salute, then turned back to the bar and his intended goal of waking up to find himself facedown on the bar after a few hours of hard-won oblivion.
An hour or so later, Bronwyn found the dwarf still at the bar. Ebenezer looked so defeated that her own shaky resolve firmed. She had found a solution—one that terrified her, but it was the best she could do. And it was the only chance the dwarf’s lost family had.
She strode over to the bar, slapping away a few grasping hands on the way, and seized the dwarf’s arm as he lifted his mug. Ale splashed over the bar and dampened the dwarf’s beard. He turned a dispirited face to her. “Now why’d you go doing that?”
“I’ve got us a ship,” she said urgently.
His eyes narrowed. “A ship?”
“And a crew. Smugglers waiting for cargo. It’s been delayed, and the captain is losing too many men while he waits. He’s eager for a job and will work cheap.”
“Now hold on there. You’re saying we should go out on the sea?” the dwarf asked. “In a ship?”
“That’s the usual method,” she hissed impatiently. “Now, come on. We haven’t much time to get to the docks.”
The dwarf still looked uncertain, but he hopped off the bar stool and followed her out of the Burning Troll. They wove their way between rows of leaning wooden buildings, taking a confusing maze of narrow alleys that led to the docks.
The prospect of a sea voyage left Bronwyn 80 edgy she felt as though several layers of skin had been peeled off, leaving her incredibly vulnerable. She started to chatter softly, to provide a distraction.
“Getting a ship was easier than I’d dared hope. The captain even took credit against plunder or payment. If you’re a praying dwarf you might want to hope that the ship has some plunder worth keeping, or this could break us both.”
“Clan’s good for it,” Ebenezer repeated.
“I’m sure you are. It seems to me, though, there’s more to the captain’s story than he’s letting on,” she said absently, suddenly aware of a soft, rhythmic sound behind them. In Skullport, sound seemed to be everywhere, echoing through the vast sea cavern and bouncing off stone walls, resounding through tunnels. But this particular cadence was too regular and too constant to ignore.
“We’re being followed,” she murmured. She took a small bronze disk from her bag and cast a quick glance over her shoulder. She caught the reflection of a squat, ugly ore peering around a corner at them.