“Maybe someone’s brought them together,” Blorys suggested.
Jerdren laughed shortly. “Why anyone would—”
“Why not, Brother? Some warlord ousted from another land. Maybe even a powerful sorcerer who’s been chased off by others of his kind. Someone who wants to rule the lands hereabout, possibly take over the Keep—maybe eventually rule all the realm.” He looked at Jerdren, who grinned and gestured for him to go on. “It just seems to me that anyone with such ambitions and half a brain wouldn’t flaunt himself right under the castellan’s nose the way those bandits did. You’d want time to build a fighting force, time to acquire funds to buy weapons—all that.”
Jerdren considered this but finally smiled and shook his head.
Blorys sighed gustily. “Don’t discount the idea. Probably it’s wild and foolish both, but I’m just saying it’s possible.”
“I won’t, Brother,” Jerdren assured him. “Not here. Only a fool would do that, and I’m foolhardy—according to you, anyway. But even you wouldn’t say I’m foolish.”
“Things are working out well,” Jerdren told himself as he paced around the camp perimeter and watched his company getting ready for another day of fighting. “Our company,” he added and cast a sidelong look at Eddis, who was some distance away, checking her arrows. “A full day to rest up, thanks to those prisoners we rescued, a good hot soup last night, thanks to the riders, and fresh supplies.” His map was up to date, showing the caves they had cleared thus far, how many monsters they’d killed. He had a separate list he kept deep in his belt pouch of how much trove they’d amassed and where they’d hidden it.
Now the guards were gone again, heading back to the Keep at first light with the four rescued prisoners, and Jerdren—and Eddis—had three more men-at-arms.
He cast Eddis another sidelong glance. Shed recovered nicely from that wounded arm, though shed been cross most of the previous day.
But she’s never been cut like that before, he reminded himself. First one’s always a shock. At the moment, she was talking to the girl Blot. No, Flerys. Funny, insisting on the name change. The kid was used to being called Blot, wasn’t she? Odd, too, the way the swordswoman left the girl in M’Baddah’s charge most of the time. I thought women doted on children.
Mead had stowed his spellbook and was dividing the arrows he’d found in the ogre’s cave, half to his brother, half to M’Baddah.
“Magic arrows—huh,” Jerdren said dubiously. He hadn’t felt anything unusual about them, but since elf and outlander were the best archers, it made sense to give them the extra shafts.
The company was about ready to move out. Time for a last look at the map.
Eddis came over as he unfolded the thing. “I thought we worked everything out last night,” she said. “We’re still going back after the rest of those hobgoblins, right?”
He shrugged. “I was just thinking. Usually, there’s one torture chamber per clan—or so I’ve heard. Sure, we didn’t take out the leaders or finish ’em all off like we did the kobolds, but I’m thinking they’ll keep.”
“The leaders know by now that we’re out here someplace,” Eddis reminded him. “You said only a pack of fools would give them the chance to come at us.”
“Yeah. We killed just about every hobgoblin we found. Why would they come looking for us? Anyway—” he shrugged that aside—“you got me thinking about prisoners. Maybe you’re right, Eddis. Nobody deserves to die like that. Remember that madman’s story about the fellows who rescued him and then got grabbed themselves? Way he described ’em, I’d say it was bugbears.”
“I wouldn’t know, but those men are probably dead by now, Jers. It’s been too long since Zebos got out.” She sighed faintly. “If we aren’t going back to that last cave, what’s your idea?”
“Farther in and up,” Jerdren said promptly. “Something else the madman told Blor—how the creatures close to the road weren’t as deadly as those farther in and higher up? We can waste a lot of time killing kobolds and their kind, Eddis. Creatures that are a nuisance but not deadly, and there’s a lot of ground to cover here—more than I would ever have thought back at the Keep. I’m thinking we get farther back in and up on the ledges, where we can get a better feel for what’s here. Me, I’m all for scouring out these caves entirely, but even I can see that isn’t likely. Snow’ll bury us to our chins before we get that far. Autumn’s well on, and this summery heat can’t last much longer. Besides, say we completely clean out one cave like we did with those kobolds, maybe something else comes along right behind us and fills it up, and there we are again? I say we start picking our fights, get smart about it. We kill off bugbears and others like ’em, maybe the goblins and orcs’ll see the damage we can do, and they’ll up and run for it.”
“Could be. Good point, though—picking our fights.” Eddis took the map from him and eyed it for some moments, finally shrugged and handed it back. “Farther back in it is. Keeping in mind that we’ve got a few new fighters to break in.”
“They’ll do all right, and we still have our priest and our mage,” Jerdren reminded her.
“Yeah, well, whatever else we accomplish here, we can at least leave something of a map for any who follow us.”
“Don’t talk like that, Eddis!” Blorys protested. He’d come up behind them. “You sound like you think we’ll all die here!”
She shook her head, smiled up at him. Her eyes were warm. So were Blorys’. Jerdren blinked and looked away. Eddis and my brother? When did that start? Blor’d never smiled at a woman that way in his young life, and Eddis …
Even more unnerving, he felt disappointed. As if I would have a chance with her… He shook the thought off, let his eyes wander. Man like me hasn’t any business wanting a woman, even a fighter like Eddis.
“I’m not planning on it,” Eddis told him, “but I agree with Jers. Let’s pick our fights from now on. It’s no good battling rats when there’s bear in the woods. Another thing,” she added with a sidelong glance Jerdren’s direction. “We did all right against that ogre, but if we find ourselves in a spot like that again, and it looks like we’re losing—well, that won’t help the Keep or us. At that point, there is nothing wrong with turning tail and running.”
Jerdren stared at her, astonished.
“Dead heroes don’t kill anyone,” she reminded him. “Smart heroes back off and go find another cave to play in.”
Jerdren let his head fall back, and he laughed heartily. “Gods, but you have a tongue on you, woman! Don’t look at me like that, Brother. She’s right, and I’m smart enough to see it.” He folded the map and put it away as he got to his feet. “If everyone’s ready,” he added, “we’d better move out.
* * *
They hadn’t gone far when Willow, who was ahead, stopped and held up a hand for silence. “I hear something overhead,” he said softly. “A droning noise.”
“Stirge,” Jerdren said flatly. “Stay close, all of you, and keep your eyes open. If one lands on you—”
He spun around as Flerys yelped. An insect as long as her upper body was clinging to Eddis’ back, its long proboscis feeling along the side of her face as she swore under her breath and furiously swatted at it.
“Hold still, I’ll get it,” Blorys said, but Eddis spun around and slammed into the nearest tree, squashing the thing between her and the trunk. Green muck and blood splattered. The swordswoman staggered away, nose wrinkling at the foul odor and the mess. M’Baddah was at her side then, rubbing briskly at her neck, armor, and leather cap with the cloth that held his spare bowstrings.
“Get moving, now!” Jerdren ordered. “There’s never just one of those things.”
Eddis nodded, dragged out her own bowstring cloth, and mopped at her face as they started out again.
They heard the deep, whining buzz several times but saw no more of the bloodsuckers. Once within the ravine, they moved north, staying fairly close to the rock wall, moving warily but quickly now, crossing the few open places at a near run.
When the ledge at their right hand began to curve south, Jerdren called a halt so they could get their breath back and study the lay of the land. The trees were very thick here, the air musty and humid. From the little he could see, he thought they might be near the inner curve of the ravine. Good as anywhere for a start. A few moments later, they went on.
The rock face rose steep and crumbly here, but there were plenty of handholds, and Blorys found a way up they could all negotiate. In the thick dust, Jerdren could make out footprints. Lots of them, and very big. A few paces on, Willow found a rough trail that worked its way up the ledge.
The trees came together again, leaving them in a twilightlike gloom. The cave that came into sight among the trees was even darker. There were signs on both sides of the entry, written in several languages, including Common.
“Safety to humanoids,” Eddis read in a low voice. “Welcome!” Her lips twisted. “Someone has a sense of humor.”
“Hope it’s not more hobgoblins,” Jerdren murmured. “Man could get bored, fighting them twice in a row.”
He sent M’Baddah and Mead on ahead, holding back the rest of the party until they could check the opening.
Silence, broken only by the echoing kruk! of a raven, somewhere off to the south. The scouts returned quickly.
“I sense large beings, evil ones,” the mage said, “and the passage smells like wet dogs.”
Jerdren nodded grimly. “Our luck’s holding,” he said quietly. “We’ve got bugbears in there. Watch for traps. They’ll have ’em all over the place. Remember—they’re big and fast but not very bright.”
There was no door on the cavern entry and no guards, though they could hear harsh laughter coming from their left. The passage ended almost at once, joining another that went off right and left. Distant torchlight faintly illuminated the right passage, and Jerdren could make out a room the other direction by the flickering light of a fire. Low voices came from that direction.
The air in this tunnel was cool and unpleasantly moist. It still smelled like wet dog, but he could also make out the savory odor of roasting meat.
“Left,” Jerdren said quietly and stepped back to let M’Baddah and Willow take the lead as he drew his sword.
The passage was quiet and empty. Just short of the room, they passed a flight of stairs going up into gloom on their right. M’Baddah stopped just short of the light, and Jerdren came up behind him. It’s a guard room, he thought. Cots, blankets… and guards.
Two cots piled with filthy looking furs and cushions had been shoved against the far wall, a massive bronze gong suspended from the ceiling between them. Three bugbears, dad in leather armor, sat around a brazier mid-room, keeping a close eye on long spits of meat. Some guards, Jerdren thought.
He beckoned Mead close and murmured against his ear, “Make sure none of ’em get to that gong.”
The mage nodded.
Eddis set an arrow to her bowstring and glanced at Jerdren, nodded once, and moved quietly into the room, back against the wall, M’Baddah right on her heels. Jerdren tapped two of the Keep archers to watch the stairs and the passage behind them. Blorys sheathed his sword and drew a pair of throwing knives.
The three bugbears turned slowly as someone’s foot scraped across the stone floor. Only just aware they’ve been invaded? Jerdren wondered. They didn’t seem too concerned about it. One bared its teeth in what might have been a smile, scooped up the nearest skewer, and bit into the meat, then slowly got to its feet, holding it out to Eddis. The other two followed his lead.
“Don’t trust that, you men,” Eddis warned and leaped aside as one lunged, trying to pin her to the wall. She let go her bowstring, but the arrow merely sliced along the bugbear’s neck. Bleeding but barely damaged, he lunged at her again.
Off to Jerdren’s right, someone yelled in pain, and one of the bugbears snarled triumphantly. Jerdren slashed at the bugbear after Eddis, fell back as the brute swiped at him with the skewer. Eddis’ second arrow clove deep into the bugbear’s arm, but didn’t slow the creature at all. One of the Keep men jammed his spear between flaps of leathers and yelped as the wood was torn from his grasp.
“Get back, Jers!” Eddis yelled, and he realized he was between her and the bugbear. The end of the spear barely missed his head as he ducked and got out of the way, coming up behind the creature and throwing himself on its back. The bugbear swung partway round to deal with this new threat, flailing wildly with the skewer. Chunks of meat went flying, and hot grease burned the back of Jerdren’s hand.
Eddis came around the brute, caught hold of the spear, and shoved with all her strength. Jerdren was slammed into the wall, the breath knocked out of him, but the bugbear slowly sagged at the knees and went over. Eddis ran her sword into its eye, to make sure of it, then came around and hauled her co-captain to his feet.
“What were you doing?” she demanded.
He grinned and forced air into battered lungs. “You said get his back, right?”
A quick glance assured him that the other two bugbears were engaged and that neither was anywhere near that gong. “Come on,” he added. “This is taking too long and making too much noise.”
The second bugbear went down moments later, but three of the Keep men were bloody, and one wasn’t moving. The third bugbear began to back away, then turned and ran for the gong. Jerdren threw himself after, but Mead grabbed his arm.
“Wait,” he said. The bugbear caught hold of the heavy dub used as a striker, but couldn’t seem to lift it. “Enfeeblement,” the mage said.
“Hah! Well done!” Jerdren pelted across the floor, sword up and out. The bugbear turned and slapped him backhand, throwing him into the wall where he sat, dazed and blinking. He watched the creature go down under the attack of four spearmen and M’Baddah, who finished it off with his sword.
“Brother?” Blorys came running.
“Thought… Mead said he used… Enfeeblement… on it,” Jerdren gasped.
“I did.” The mage laid gentle hands on the man’s head, then helped him to his feet. “That blow would have killed you otherwise. Can you stand?”
“I’ll take care of him,” Blor said. “You deal with our wounded so we can get moving.”
“Good… idea,” Jerdren said. “Don’t… need any more of ’em in here.”
“One man dead, Jers,” Blorys told him. “One of the new fellows got tangled up with someone else, and they both went down. Second man’ll live, though.”
“Which way next?” Eddis asked as Blor helped Jerdren over to join the others. “Up or down?”
“There is great evil up those steps,” Panev said. He was turning one of his short wands in his hands. “Down the passage, I sense pain, but it is too far to tell much else.”
“Masters live up, dungeons are down—usually,” Jerdren said. “If we go after the prisoners right now, we’ll be done fighting for the day, and we’d be fools to leave any bugbears alive here. Those hobgoblins might not come after us, but bugbears would.”
“There can’t be many of them,” Blorys said. “They don’t crowd together like kobolds, but a bugbear chief’ll be as hard to kill as that ogre.”
“I know,” Jerdren replied. “All right, we’re going up first. You wounded, stay back, out of the way, keep watch for us. Mage and Panev, if we find a chief’s quarters up there, we’ll need you to hit them first, hard as you can. Get ’em off balance for us. We’re not going for a fair fight here.”
The steps were very steep, but fortunately there weren’t many of them. A short corridor with a closed door branched off to the left. Jerdren led the way past that and down a right-branching passage, but it ended almost immediately with a padlocked door.
“Nothing to sneak up behind us there,” Jerdren murmured and started for the other door. Panev took up a position near the wooden panel and began to pray. Another of those silence spells, Jerdren hoped. Mead drew a slender wand and pressed past him. At the mage’s gesture, two of the Keep men caught
hold of the latch, ready to pull the door open.
“The rest of you, stay back,” he murmured.
The men yanked hard, and the door slammed into the outer wall. Jerdren was aware of massive clutter and a huge bed. Two bugbears piled out of it, one female, the other a scarred brute with graying fur. The male was reaching for his battle-axe when Mead’s wand spat a gout of flame. Fire roared through the room and as suddenly vanished, but the bedding was smoldering and the female’s fur ablaze. She howled and rolled on the floor. The male caught up his axe, but now the metal handle glowed dull red, and he dropped it with a shout of surprise. Eddis, M’Baddah, and Blorys crowded the entry then fired arrows at the chief, moving into the room so others could deal with his mate. Hit several times but not badly wounded, the chief began backing slowly away. All at once, he turned and vanished. Part of the wall had turned with him, and now clicked back into place. The bugbear was on the far side.
“Don’t let him escape!” Eddis shouted. “He’ll alert the others!”
Panev crossed the chamber to lay his hands on the wall.
The female lay still, blood pooling around her singed body. Blorys was fighting to retrieve his sword from the back of her neck. One of the spearmen had found water to pour on the bedding, and black smoke was suddenly everywhere. Furs smoldered, giving off an awful smell.
“Quick look around in here, folks,” Jerdren ordered. “There’s bound to be wealth here, but no sense getting killed by smoke trying to find it. You, by the door—the smoke may bring guards, so you keep a good watch. Impressive, Mead,” he added.
The elf mage smiled. “You said to slow them. It seems to have worked.”
“I found the mechanism for the secret door,” Panev said. “The passage beyond is dark, and I think it is blocked not too far on by another such door.”
“We better check that,” Jerdren said, and he sent Blorys and two of the armsmen to guard the priest. They were back in short order.
“Beyond the second door is a very evil place,” the priest said. “I sense twisting passages, lost souls, and a reek I only encountered once before. I think there is a minotaur.”
Keep on the Borderlands Page 23
