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Back to the previous chapter: Book II: Fires
First Draft
Bilbus the Great awakened slowly. The stone floor upon which he had slept was uncomfortable, but there had been nowhere to tie his hammock the previous evening.
He opened his eyes, looking around. A world of darkness greeted him, except for the gray-white glow of a single lantern several paces away. The absence of color confused his groggy mind for a moment, until he remembered where he was.
Ah, yes. The Portals. Or whatever this is inside the Portals. Yesterday, while Bilbus's companions and an army of knights and footmen approached the ruins of Camelough, Bilbus had managed to convince the foul orcs defending the ruins of King Uther Paendroeg's Imperial Palace that he was actually one of their agents. When the orcs chose to retreat instead of facing the army of men and women approaching, Bilbus fled with them into the Portals.
The realm inside the Portals was strange, as Bilbus discovered. There was no color inside the Portals. Everything was black, white, or a shade of gray in between. Heat and cold had no meaning -- Bilbus stuck a hand into a campfire on the island and felt nothing more than a thin, wispy breeze. The Portals opened onto mile-diameter round stone islands that were surrounded above and to the sides by a roiling, turbulent fog that never encroached over the island. Islands were connected by tunnels through the fog, ten foot by ten foot square bores through the fog with a continuous stone floor. There were no seams indicating brickwork, no scrapes indicating chiseling or wear, no marks at all on the stone. It was very smooth, but not slippery.
Bilbus sat up on the stone floor of the island and looked around. Near the glow of the single lantern stood the obelisk that Bilbus's orc escort had called a "signpost". At least ten feet tall, with four faces a foot wide apiece, the signpost had letters inscribed on each face. Most of the faces of the signpost pointed at tunnels through the fog, but one face on each signpost pointed towards a Portal.
Movement in the shadows near the signpost drew Bilbus's attention. A tall being -- taller than any men Bilbus had met-- stood and approached. The orc spoke to Bilbus in a snarling, growling tongue.
The Head Mother was right about one thing. They do smell bad. Bilbus consoled himself. Being raised in an orphanage in Brallian, far to the south, had some advantages. The priests and priestesses of the orphanage had tried their best to raise the children well, even though some, Bilbus included, had resisted the righteous path. Hells, I ended up being almost the opposite of what they wanted me to be. I could have been a priest.
Instead, Bilbus had started running with a rougher crowd. He learned the basics of simple thievery, cutting purses, picking pockets, opening locks, and so on, during the nights when he snuck out of the orphanage to run with his friends. He also learned the techniques of conning simpletons out of their hard-earned coin. It was harder than simply stealing coin, but it was more satisfying in some ways when the mark would just hand over his coin.
The orc snarled another string of words at Bilbus. Bilbus started channeling Heka, the magickal energy found in everything, and shaped the flows into a tight weave near his own ears. He then coughed once and spoke to the orc.
"What was that, Sultz? I'm sorry. I slept poorly."
Sultz repeated his comment, but this time the magickal energies of Bilbus's weave gave the noises meaning. "I said, you sleep a long time, human. The army left two hours ago. We need to move now, or the Shadow Kindred will close the Portal and leave us in here."
Bilbus stood and stretched, ignoring the protests of sore muscles. Behind him came a whickering. Bilbus looked over his shoulder at Acquisition 2, his fast horse. The horse still wore hobbles on his front legs, standing where the mountebank had left him before going to sleep.
Bilbus opened the saddle bags on Acquisition's flanks, rummaging around until he found a feedbag. There was only a pound of grain in it, but it was better than nothing. "Here ya go, boy," Bilbus said as he strapped the bag over Acquisition's muzzle. The horse quickly devoured the grain, licking desperately for any kernels he may have missed.
Bilbus turned to face Sultz again. "Do you have any rolls?"
Sultz tossed one of the hard rolls to the thief. Bilbus drew his black-bladed dagger and chiseled the crust until he could peel it open. It had little more flavor than sawdust, but it helped. Bilbus would dig out some dried fruits later to help with the taste.
"Are you ready to go, Lord Hogain?" the orc asked. Bilbus had readily lied when he gave them a name yesterday.
Bilbus nodded. "Lead on, Sultz."
The orc turned and walked past the signpost. He stopped to pick up the lantern, then continued on. Bilbus removed the hobbles on his horse and returned the empty feedbag to a saddle bag, then led Acquisition after Sultz.
After a quiet ten minute walk -- the only sounds Bilbus heard was the ringing of his horse's hooves on the stone and the rattle of Sultz's plate-and-maille armor -- the edge of the island was visible.
Fog roiled about, forming a dense wall right at the edge of the stone. The endless wall of fog had an opening, right in front of Sultz: a tunnel. Sultz stopped at the edge of the tunnel and, to Bilbus's surprise, relieved himself right into the fog. Feeling the pains of his own bladder, Bilbus did likewise on the other side of the tunnel. It was as if there was nothing keeping the fog at bay. Curiosity now piqued beyond control, Bilbus stuck a hand into the fog.
His hand disappeared in the dense gray fog. He felt odd sensations -- not physical contact, as he would have expected, but terror, revulsion, and fear. He quickly jerked his hand back when he thought something brushed against it.
Sultz looked at Bilbus. "Be careful, human. Orcs have lost their minds trying to understand the fog. I have heard that some have been pulled in when they were careless."
Bilbus nodded, then followed Sultz down the tunnel. The endless repetition of the featureless stone floor and the roiling fog to both sides and above quickly lulled Bilbus.
A thought finally broached the fog he felt within his head. "Sultz? How old are these Portals? There wasn't one in the Imperial Palace when Uther Paendroeg was king, right?"
The orc laughed, a harsh bark. "No. That one is the youngest. It is maybe four hundred years old. Some of them were here before your Sun King fought the Great Lord."
Bilbus continued walking. Some of the Portals are over two thousand years old. How long have they been planning this war?
The endless tunnel emptied at long last onto another island. Bilbus had been fighting an increasingly unhappy horse for the last two hours -- it had barely had anything to eat all day, and it was mad. Sultz at one point had offered to shut it up as he fingered the long-bladed sword strapped to his waist.
Acquisition appeared to have understood the threat. He had become more docile after the orc had eyed him as one would inspect a cow before slaughter.
On the island, Sultz walked straight. He passed the signpost that marked the center of the island, heading straight towards the far side. Ten minutes after he passed the middle, Sultz stopped next to an open Portal.
"Here we are," the orc said. "Portal 'ABE' and Erelhei Cinlu."
The chill that ran up Bilbus's back was sharp. He had heard the name "Erelhei Cinlu" before. The last time he heard it was in the Carved Tusk Wine Club, in Londoun. Bilbus had posed as an agent of the Anlor Balsil Agralem, and he had received a cornucopia of information about the operations of that organization. It was in that meeting that he had heard about the orcs in Camelough, as well as other operations across the continent.
Erelhei Cinlu was a city that backed the sinister Dark Prophecy Warriors. Now, the orc Sultz was walking through an open Portal into just that city.
Bilbus steeled himself and walked through the opening, leading his horse. To his right was a Shadow Kindred, pacing restlessly as it waited for Acquisition to clear the Portal. At this distance, Bilbus could feel the evil emanating from the creature as it watched him walk. The faint scent of brimstone passed through Bilbus's nose. Acquisition smelled it as well; the horse abruptly picked up its pace.
Bilbus looked around to get his bearings.
Whereever he was, it was night. Overhead were odd stars, steadily glowing in alien colors, such as lavender, and puce, and lime, and mauve. Bilbus could pick out occasional sickly-yellow stars that pulsed, getting brighter and dimmer in a steady pattern. There were countless stars, everywhere he looked.
Closer to the ground, Bilbus noticed that he was in a walled area, like the parade grounds of a castle. Lanterns placed sparsely along the wall gave him some idea of the size of the grounds -- perhaps two hundred paces across and roughly semi-circular. There were no buildings within the grounds, but there was an impressive portcullis in the wall directly opposite the Portal. Behind Bilbus was the Portal, once again a solid pink slab of granite now that the Shadow Kindred had released the Heka weave. The Portal was placed against the face of a cliff that disappeared in the darkness above.
Sultz had again walked away, towards the portcullis. Bilbus led Acquisition after the orc.
He looked up again at the stars. Several of them were now circling around one another.
"Where are we again, Sultz?"
"I told you. We're in Erelhei Cinlu. This is the Nobles' Cavern."
"The nobles live in a cavern?" Bilbus looked up at the circling stars. One of them caught another, and a reddish light faded quickly.
"Of course. Erelhei Cinlu is in a cavern. We are currently in the Nobles' Cavern. Erelhei Cinlus is in another cavern, and both caverns also touch the Grand Cavern, where the crops and herds grow."
"Grand Cavern? How big is this cavern?"
"This one is about three miles long, a little more than a mile wide. We're at the Far End, where the barons live. The other two caverns touch this one at the Near End."
Bilbus realized that the "stars" above did seem closer and larger than those towards the horizon in front of him. "What are the stars, then?"
"Plants, fungus, animals. Sometimes one of them dies, and it falls to the ground. It can cause quite a commotion in the city of it falls in the wrong place."
Bilbus watched a distant pale blue light pulse as it crossed the sky ahead.
Sultz led Bilbus through the portcullis and into the rest of the cavern. As they passed the walls of the compound, Bilbus noticed the drow manning the walls.
Drow were legendary creatures from Phaeree, a parallel world. The drow were the dark kin of the elves, a haughty and arrogant race of fey kind, who were, nonetheless, the most approachable of the beings of Phaeree. Where the elves were fickle, moody, and aloof, the drow were purely evil. They were said to be as black as their hearts, and Bilbus had seen a drow once under good lights. Those races of men in al-Rhayidh who were called "black" were pale in comparison to the drow.
The drow watched Bilbus and Sultz with casual disinterest. None of them said anything to the two as they passed the gates of the walled area.
"Why is the Portal walled off?"
"In case your kind learn to use the Portals, the drow want to be able to stop an invasion."
Bilbus continued to walk with Sultz, looking around at the enormous cavern. All of the glowing creatures and things overhead provided light similar to a quarter moon above ground. In the dark light of the cave, Bilbus saw dozens of tall mushrooms, most as tall as trees, scattered about the gently-rolling plains. Just off of the road they walked on, Bilbus could see the turf was some sort of short fungus. In the light from Sultz's lantern, it appeared as a pale yellow-green.
Farther away, in the mushroom forests, were creatures moving. Bilbus never was able to get a clear view of the things, but none of them had familiar shapes.
Farther away, to one side and ahead of Bilbus, were grand mansions on low hills. Each of the mansions had commanding views of the cavern around it, and warm, almost inviting, lights glowed from many of the windows. Those mansions closest to Bilbus were easily the largest and most ornate.
After nearly forty minutes of walking, the road split. A few hundred paces away, along the right branch, Bilbus could see a wall. The wall blocked the bottom of a large opening in the cavern wall. Beyond, Bilbus could see it was more brightly lit, but he could not see the top of the cavern.
Sultz gestured towards the wall. "That is the gate to the Grand Cavern." He pointed down the left fork as he followed it. "This is the gate to the city."
Ahead, down the left fork, was another stone wall. This one was backlit by the glows of the cavern beyond. The light did not come from the lichens that covered the ceiling of the cavern, but from the ground level, which Bilbus could not see because of the wall.
Sultz spoke as they approached a stout gatehouse heavily manned by drow. "I will get you a pass so you can move freely in Erelhei Cinlu."
He approached a drow sitting at a desk. He spoke quickly with the drow, using what Bilbus guessed was the drow tongue. It sounded like a debased variant of the elven tongue that he had heard on occasion growing up in Brallian.
The drow pointed at Bilbus, then signaled the mountebank to approach. It spoke to Bilbus in the Trade Tongue, a pidgin language that had been used for centuries to allow merchants of different cultures to communicate.
"Nom be what?" it asked in a voice that was simultaneously bored and menacing.
"Lord Hogain," Bilbus lied. He had decided to use the fabricated name when he first was questioned by orcs before his capture.
"Raison be heer?"
"Hide from warmen. Run from warmen."
Sultz supplemented Bilbus's simplistic explanation, again in the drow tongue.
The drow filled out a form, quickly drawing intricate characters on the parchment with a quill pen. He gave Bilbus the form as soon as the ink dried, along with a black medallion on a black, finely-looped chain.
Bilbus had seen the medallion before. He was wearing one, hidden under his shirt. He and his comrades had recovered the medallions from agents of the Dark Prophecy Warriors. The face of the medallion had a horrifying, monstrous face on it. The face had numerous tentacles surrounding a hateful maw, and its eyes bespoke menace beyond compare. Engraved on the medallion was writing that looked similar to the writing on the pass Bilbus held. Sturm had translated it some time ago as "Glorious City".
Sultz escorted Bilbus through the gatehouse.
Beyond it was utter chaos. The cavern was smaller than the Nobles' Cavern, but it was packed. Every inch that Bilbus could see was covered with a warren of roads and buildings, some of which were over five stories tall. Lights of every sort seemed to be everywhere he looked, from torches to lanterns to what had to be glowing bulbs of Heka. An assault of noise as varied as the lights greeted the mountebank as well. Shouts of men and women hawking wares, squeals, creaks, brays, and other noises beyond description all created a continual din.
Sultz grinned at the slackjawed expression on Bilbus's face. "Never been to Erelhei Cinlu before?" He did not wait for Bilbus to answer. "I will give you a couple of pointers so you can survive here. See that tavern?" He pointed to one a hundred paces away. Bilbus nodded. "See the red lanterns on it by the door? The red lanterns mean that the tavern specializes in drow interests. The brothel over there, near it? Where the naked orc woman stands by the naked human woman?" Bilbus felt his face flush when he noticed the nude woman. "That yellow light next to the door means that it is meant for orcs. The green light, on that inn down the street, means it is meant for humans. If there is no light, then the business will serve anyone equally. But remember, red is drow, green is human."
Bilbus nodded as he looked around the avenue ahead of him, taking note of the lanterns next to doorways.
"Good luck, Lord Hogain." Sultz turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" the mountebank asked, startled.
"I have to report in to my commander, then see where my next assignment is."
"Oh."
Bilbus watched the orc leave through the gates into the Nobles' Cavern. Acquisition 2 pulled at his reins for a moment. Bilbus turned to the horse. "I guess it's just you and me, Acquisition. Let's find an inn."
Bilbus led Acquisition through the jumbled avenue, avoiding pedestrians of every type, riders, and wagons. He passed the orc brothel, pointedly looking away when the nude human woman started groping at the front of a passing orc's pantalons. Where his eyes settled was no better, for it was an alleyway where a pair of male drow were licking at one another's slit wrists.
And I thought Arabel Cinlu was ... exciting, Bilbus groaned to himself.
Arabel Cinlu was a free city in the Middle Ranges that was the ultimate market. Anything that could be bought or sold was available in Arabel Cinlu. Some rumors included slaves in the list of anything, and Bilbus had little doubt that there were reasons why the guard refused to visit certain marketplaces after the sun set. But Erelhei Cinlu made Arabel Cinlu appear to be little more than a child's playpen.
Bilbus spotted another alley -- a mercifully empty one -- and ducked into it. Dropping Acquisition's reins to the ground, Bilbus rummaged through his saddle bags. He found his armor -- comfortable, well-worn, black leather with metallic studs and bands to reinforce it -- that he normally wore all the time. He had changed into rumpled, dirty noble's clothing before he had approached the orcs. The clothing was now almost beyond salvage, soiled from two straight days of wear while traveling the Portals.
He quickly stripped the jacket and shirt off, then pulled on a softer cotton undershirt. He stripped the soft-soled shoes off, dropping them against the building, then peeled the silk trousers off of his legs. He pulled on the thick leather pants, adjusting the straps on the waist, and shrugged into the jacket. A minute later, he was finishing adjusting the over-the-shoulder scabbard with its adamantine sword and his waist belt, with its adamantine dagger. Both the sword and dagger were spoils of the fight he and his companions had waged against the Anlor Balsil Agralem. The sword was magickal -- Bilbus had discovered that after wielding it in battle a few times.
Now dressed, Bilbus picked up Acquisition's reins and led the horse back onto the streets. He located an inn attached to a tavern. Both had green lanterns glowing outside the doors. Bilbus walked towards the door of the inn. He stepped through the opening, still holding Acquisition's reins.
A man -- human, pale with a dark mop of hair -- approached Bilbus, wringing his hands. "M'Lord?" he asked.
"I require a room, and feed and care for my horse."
"Of course, m'Lord. Room, board, and care for both you and the horse is three Shekal, m'Lord."
Mimicking the noble airs that Eric occasionally used when dealing with difficult people, Bilbus sighed loudly. "I do not carry local currency. What is equivalent?"
"Of course, m'Lord. Silver coins from the surface are acceptable."
Bilbus fished three Kingdom Crowns from his coin purse and tossed them to the innkeeper. The innkeeper inspected the coins -- Bilbus thought he felt a small burst of Heka being channeled -- then shouted for a stablehand. Bilbus removed his saddle bags before the hand arrived. The boy ran from a back room, then took Acquisition's reins. He led the horse back out the front door and around to the back of the inn.
The innkeeper gave Bilbus a key. "Room 301, sire. Front of the building. Nice view into the Grand Cavern. Is there anything else you require? A woman? Man? Child? The bed is roomy."
Bilbus glared at him. "A tavern."
"Right this way, sire," the innkeeper said as he led Bilbus to the adjoining tavern. "Anything you want, we will find."
Bilbus waited for the innkeeper to leave, then found the stairwell. He climbed up the stairs to the third floor. There were six rooms on the floor, but his was the closest to the stairs. The key turned smoothly, and the door opened with ease.
The room was spacious. The bed was larger than any bed he had seen in an inn to date, large enough for four people to sleep comfortably. The windows were wide, and there was a small balcony outside the front window. A large brass bathtub rested on six feet by one wall of the room, and plush furnishings filled the rest of the place.
Bilbus dumped his saddlebags on the bed, then walked back out of the room. He locked the door, checking twice that it was secure, before he returned to the tavern.
The tavern was partially filled -- perhaps a dozen people were in it, drinking. Bilbus walked to the bar and sat down, keeping an eye on the other customers in the tavern as if he expected trouble.
The barkeep approached Bilbus. A rotund man, as pale as the innkeeper, approached Bilbus from behind the bar.
Bilbus said to the barkeep, "Scowling Knight Red Wine. A bottle." Sir Sturm Sunblade owned a vineyard somewhere, and he had his own small supply of unique wines. Most of the wines were bitter because -- from what Sturm said -- willowbark was a key ingredient. In spite of the taste, there was a market for the wine, since it helped with headaches and the other aftereffects of a hangover.
The barkeeper returned with a bottle of red wine. The Scowling Knight label, with an accurate drawing of Sturm scowling next to some vines, was on it. The barkeep opened the bottle and placed it in front of Bilbus with a glass. Bilbus poured himself a small quantity of the wine and sipped at it. The distinctive bitter flavor was a shock, as always, but it was comfortingly familiar.
Bilbus surveyed the other bottles behind the bar. He recognized many of them as various Kelltic vintages.
"So," Bilbus began before the barkeep walked away. "Where do you get the Scowling Knight wines?"
"Supplies from the surface."
"I just transfered here. Where the Hells are we?"
The barkeep looked at Bilbus as he would a moron. "You are in Erelhei Cinlu."
Bilbus sighed. "I know that. What, do I look like a Sun Knight? Where in Avillonia am I?"
"You didn't take the route down from Arabel Cinlu?"
"No, I was transferred with the orcs through the back way."
"Oh, okay."
The barkeep started to leave again. "What is on the surface? I heard a lot of troops are coming into Erelhei Cinlu. Have you heard anything about when we're going to be shipped out to beat the surface dwellers?"
"What is above us? Arabel Cinlu. It's about a day and a half ride, out through the Grand Cavern. As far as the troops, you should realize by now that the drow do not tell us about their plans."
"We're under Arabel Cinlu?" Bilbus leaned forward towards the barkeep and lowered his voice. "I have some friends upstairs who can get you some nice prices on your wines."
The barkeep walked away, uninterested. Bilbus took a long draw from his glass, finishing what wine he had poured. His face paled briefly, but he smiled and said, "Mmmmm. Bitter."
He put the cork back in the bottle and took it with him back to his room. A lantern hung on a hook outside his doorway, glowing steadily. Bilbus took the lantern and walked back into his room.
The lantern contributed little to the light within the room, since the heavy curtains were open. The mountebank carefully latched all three locks on the inside of the door, then set the lantern on a table. He pulled out his pass and unrolled it. As he studied the writing, Bilbus directed a weave of Heka into the paper.
The words gained meaning: "Lord Hogain, a human male, has permission to visit Erelhei Cinlu."
Bilbus rolled the pass up once more and tucked it into his leather jacket. He then walked out onto the balcony in front of his room to watch the traffic on foot. He wanted to get an idea of what sort of military was in the city, but it was difficult to get a good count from here. He was able to watch the gates to the Nobles' Cavern from here, and the Grand Cavern gates -- there were two -- were visible from his third-story vantage point.
The surveillance continued for a few hours before exhaustion caught up with the thief. He returned to his room, carefully locking the large windows closed. Bilbus drew the curtains on both windows, amazed at how dark the room suddenly was when only the lantern lit it. He undressed and crawled into the large, soft bed, taking care to leave his sword leaning against the headboards and his dagger under a pillow. He quickly fell asleep.
When Bilbus awoke, he dressed again and opened the front curtains. Outside, Erelhei Cinlu looked the same. No sun rose or set in the cavern, and the constant dim glow of light from the lichens and other things above was still overwhelmed by the glare of all sorts of artificial illumination at street level.
With a chance to watch the city-cavern once more, Bilbus stepped out onto his balcony. As he looked about, he realized the lights from the city illuminated enough of the cavern that he could see a few hundred paces up the walls curving away from the floor of the cavern. Some buildings had actually been built on the walls of the cavern in those places where it was not too steep to support them. Those structures had commanding views of the city from their positions well above the ground level.
Closer at hand, foot traffic of every description continued to walk along the road in front of the inn. Bilbus scrutinized the traffic, looking for any groups of organized personnel, such as city watch or footmen. The more information he could collect here, the more useful this sojourn into the heart of the enemy's territory would be.
It was not easy keeping track of the military traffic in the city. The streets were often crowded enough that any organized group of people quickly lost cohesion -- except for Drow soldiers. They marched through the area regularly, wearing distinctive bright red sashes over their armor. Most of the crowd parted immediately before the watch, and the few people who were unaware of the watch received a harsh verbal rebuke that encouraged them to move out of the way quickly.
Some of the patrols continued through the Nobles' Gate. For them, the guards at the gate opened it before the patrol arrived, letting the guard walk through without slowing. With the exception of occasional small groups of drow or orcs, no one else passed through the gate while Bilbus watched.
Getting back to the Portal might be a challenge, the mountebank decided. There is no sense waiting here any longer.
Bilbus went back into his room. He gathered the few belongings he had left scattered about his room, stuffed them into his saddle bags, then finished getting dressed in his armor. Slinging the saddle bags over one shoulder, Bilbus left the room and descended the two stories of stairs to the inn's lobby.
The same man greeted him. "Your stay was well? Will you stay another night with us?"
"The room was fine. I am leaving now."
The man's phony grin slipped a little. "Very well, m'Lord."
Acquisition 2 was brought around the inn a few minutes later, already saddled. The horse looked much happier after a night of rest and plentiful feed. The stableboy gave Bilbus the reins.
Bilbus regarded the pale young man for a second. "Boy, fetch me a bag of grain."
The stableboy stared dully at Bilbus without moving.
"Now," Bilbus growled.
The stableboy disappeared behind the inn. He returned a minute later, carrying a bag with several pounds of grain in it. Bilbus took the bag and dropped it into one of Acquisition's saddle bags. He directed a haughty glare -- one that Adria had used on him countless times -- at the stableboy, who disappeared quickly into the inn.
Bilbus climbed onto the saddle and, clucking at Acquisition 2, rode towards the Nobles' Gate.
It took Bilbus several minutes to work his way through the crowds on the street. The traffic density quickly dropped once Bilbus passed one last intersection -- no one got close to the Nobles' Gate without reason.
A pair of dark elves guarded the closed gates. Bilbus looked at the wall. He had passed from the far side of it when Sultz escorted him through it, but it was hard to see any detail on the other side -- the Nobles' Cavern was dark compared to the city's cavern.
On this side of the wall, Bilbus could see the individual stones, all dark gray or black in color. The smallest was about as big as Bilbus's torso. The largest was longer than Bilbus was tall. There were no towers, but the wall was thick. More drow patrolled along the top of the wall, watching the city's side of it from the shadowy dark above the city.
Bilbus swung his leg over Acquisition's back and dropped to the ground. One of the drow watched the mountebank approach. Bilbus smiled and walked smartly towards the drow.
Quickly flashing his city pass, Bilbus nodded towards the drow. "I must make a report to House Eilservs from Ezeka in Caledonia. The matter is urgent to the Anlor Balsil Agralem." He turned slightly so he would walk past the drow and directly towards the closed gate. At this distance he saw that the gate was made of some sort of greenish wood, dulled with countless years of aging.
The drow who was watching him took a step to block Bilbus's way. "That is too bad."
Bilbus stopped a pace in front of the drow, studying the pitch black skin of his face, the metallic silver of the drow's hair, and the shocking purple of his eyes.
Bilbus dropped his voice. "What will it take for me to get through this gate?" He pointedly hefted one of his coin purses.
The drow smiled, a sinister, foul curl of his lips into a sneer. "I can cut you into little bits and take you in as an hors d'oeuvre for the orcs."
Bilbus ignored the threat. "While effective, that would not be good for the messenger. I must report to an officer of authority. It is of urgent matter."
"I will fetch an officer."
"Thank you." I think, he did not add.
The drow spoke to his fellow gate guard. The other guard went back to the door, channeled a small burst of dark Heka at the door, then walked through. Bilbus looked around casually, avoiding showing too much interest in the guards on the wall or the drow a pace away from him who continued to smile menacingly.
The other guard returned a few minutes later with a third drow. The third drow did not wear armor, but instead looked like a minor noble in fine silks. This drow approached to stand in front of Bilbus.
Looking down at the shorter human, the drow asked, "What do you want?"
Bilbus straightened and replied to the drow as a lord would address an equal. "I was sent from Ezeka to report to Lord Silverthorn in Londoun about our progress in Caledonia. Silverthorn is dead. I found out about an attack on the orcs in Camelough, and I was able to warn them shortly before the attack. When the orcs retreated into the Portals, I went with them. I was left in the city with no further instructions." Bilbus paused for a moment, trying to read the expressionless face of the drow. "To whom do I report, and how do I get back to the Portal so I can return to Caledonia."
The officer considered Bilbus's story. "I will relay your report." He turned to leave.
To the drow's back, Bilbus demanded, "I must return to Caledonia to help Ezeka."
The drow stopped and half-turned towards Bilbus. "Can you use a Portal, human?" The drow's smile was more menacing than his subordinates.
"Yes."
"I will escort you to the Portal. For your sake, I hope you can use it. Follow me."
The drow again walked towards the gate. Bilbus followed him, leading Acquisition 2. He walked through the gatehouse, paying close attention as he did. The wall between the Nobles' Cavern and Erelhei Cinlu was easily ten paces thick, and the wooden doors were a pace thick themselves. The entire wall was stout, and could easily hold an invading force for hours, if not days.
The walk through the Nobles' Cavern was quiet, save for the plodding of Acquisition 2 as the horse followed Bilbus. The drow said nary a word as he led Bilbus back down the road towards the walled Portal compound on the far end of the cavern. The cavern still was dark, like a bright night, but still far dimmer than the light of a full moon.
Things half unseen still moved around just far enough away that Bilbus could not identify them. Sometimes the things seemed bipedal, like hunched people. Other times, they seemed to be four legged. Others seemed to be even more legged, and on occasion something seemed to float.
One of the denser thickets of taller mushrooms caught Bilbus's attention. Something pulsated in the mushrooms, a greenish glow that grew stronger and weaker in a slow, steady rhythm. After a moment, it started to move through the stalks of the mushroom forest, two paces above the lichen-covered ground. It drifted slowly higher, until Bilbus lost it in the thick caps of the mushrooms.
Some time later, Bilbus realized he was at the gates of the Portals compound. Drow guarding the doors to the compound had opened it as the dark elf escorting Bilbus approached. The drow officer continued through, with Bilbus leading Acquisition 2 close behind.
Once they were across the compound, against the cliff-like wall of the cavern, was the Portal. In the dark light of the Nobles' Cavern, the pink granite slab of stone was lighter than the stone of the cavern, creating a sharp-edged square on the face of the cliff.
The drow stopped next to the Portal and looked at Bilbus.
Bilbus walked up to the Portal casually and grabbed onto the strands of Heka he felt in the environment. Forcefully directing the energies into the Portal, Bilbus shaped them as he thought he saw the Shadow Kindred do several days ago in Camelough. He completed the weave and watched the pink stone.
Nothing happened.
Bilbus felt sweat start to bead on his forehead.
Just as he glanced towards the drow captain, the middle of the Portal stone faded away, creating a black passage.
Without a glance, Bilbus walked past the drow and into the Portal.
Once his horse was through the door, Bilbus turned and quickly directed some sharp charges of energy into the Portal weave. The stone once more was a solid slab.
In the absolute darkness of the island, Bilbus drew his adamantine dagger. He directed Heka into the blade, which soon glowed with a cool grayish-white light. It was weaker than a lantern, but it was better than nothing.
"Come on, Acquisition," Bilbus said as he walked towards what he hoped was the middle of the island.
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Original Draft 8 October 2001
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