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Back to the previous chapter: Caverns
First Draft
Bilbus led the party back through the ghettos to a bridge across the dark river in its wide culvert. They crossed the bridge, passing the guards who watched over the bridge as well as the shopkeepers who ran the shops on the bridge. Into the more crowded and cacophonous part of Erelhei Cinlu the party trekked, following the twisting, narrow roads that eventually led to the one wide avenue in the city, the road that connected the city's main gate with the gate to the Nobles' Cavern. When Bilbus reached the wide avenue, he turned right.
"I stayed at an inn up here last time I was in town," Bilbus explained, weaving past pasty humans, sullen orcs, and surly drow as he walked.
Bilbus stopped in front of an inn. "Here we are." He stepped through the open front door.
Bilbus ordered rooms for the party. Once stablehands had taken the horses and wagon, the party went inside. Bilbus distributed keys. "Our rooms are on the third floor. They are noisy if you open the windows, but not too bad if you keep the windows closed and locked. And the curtains are heavy, so you can make the room dark." Bilbus tossed his key into the air and caught it. "As for me, I'm heading to the tavern once I drop off my gear. The tavern is attached to the inn, through that door." He pointed to the door.
Kasey looked at his key. "I should go find Broedrick. We may want our guide available when we leave."
"I'll go with you, Kasey," Eric offered. "I don't think any of us need to travel in this town alone."
"I'm going, too," Breanna said abruptly. "I want to check on his injury, to see how well he's healing."
Eric, Breanna, and Kasey dropped off what they did not need to carry with them in their rooms, then went out the front door. They walked towards the city gate and its water clock, a mile from the inn.
After passing numerous side roads, Eric stopped at one. "I think this is the one Bilbus used."
They went down the road. After several twists and turns, they found the right tavern. Inside, they found Broedrick sitting at a table with the two companions who had abandoned him when Broedrick walked into the drow. Broedrick raised his mug in greeting to the three new arrivals, then said something to his companions. They vacated his table.
Kasey, Eric, and Breanna took seats at Broedrick's table.
"You are a merchant escort, right?" Kasey asked. Broedrick nodded. "We need to get something perishable out of the city. How do we do that?"
"You go to the Merchants' Office and have them draw a merchant's exit papers."
To Eric, Kasey asked, "What is perishable that we can get out?"
Eric thought for a moment. Looking at Broedrick, he asked, "Slaves?"
"Slaves are not unusual heading to some of the other cities. Especially human slaves."
Eric nodded to himself. "I do not like the idea of trafficking slaves."
"Me neither," Kasey agreed. "But we need to find a way to get out without drawing attention."
"Can you lead us to the office?" Eric asked Broedrick.
Broedrick finished the mug of mushroom ale. "Let's go."
Once he stood, Breanna walked next to him, poking at his neck. The wound was healed -- magicks had been used on it -- but there would be a scar. Considering what would have happened to him had she not been along, she thought the scar was acceptable.
Broedrick led the three surface dwellers to a building near the water clock. "This is the Merchants' Office."
Eric went inside. A drow behind a desk pointedly ignored him. It gave Eric time to formulate what he wanted to say. I will be the merchant. Bree and Adria will be slaves. Kasey and Sturm will be guards. Bilbus and Rishala will be slaves, as well. And I should include Broedrick as a guard, since he has papers for it. We should carry other cargo, too. I'll list weapons so we can get all of our equipment out of here. Maybe mushrooms, too. That will give us a way to hide some things.
The drow lifted his head to glare at Eric. "What, surface dweller?"
"I need to get merchant's papers."
"What do you need them for?"
"I am taking some goods out of Erelhei Cinlu."
"What goods?"
"I am taking four slaves. Two male, two female; all human. Several crates of fresh mushrooms. Some weapons. There will be myself and three guards."
The drow took some forms from his desk and filled in several lines of information.
"Let me see your papers," the drow demanded.
Eric handed over his papers. The drow inspected them for a minute, then wrote some additional information on the form. When he finished, he gave all the papers to Eric.
"Is there something else you need, human?" the drow asked darkly.
"I do not believe so," Eric replied.
"Then why do you continue to stand there?"
Eric left the office.
Outside, Breanna, Kasey, and Broedrick waited. Eric joined them, then looked at the water clock. "The arm on the clock face turns very slowly. I can't tell how long the cycle is."
Broedrick glanced at the clock. "The gates are open about one and a half hours out of every seven."
"One and a half out of seven," Eric said pensively. "That is a very unusual cycle."
"It is one work period," Broedrick replied. "It does not match your days and nights, I'm sure, but it is the time we keep here."
"Interesting." Eric turned to Broedrick. "We will be leaving town in about a day and a half. We have some business to attend to, but we may need to leave hastily. Will you be able to meet us in a day at the Twisted Cap Inn? We can give you some additional instructions then."
"Very well. The Twisted Cap Inn, you say. It is one of the nicer inns in town, I hear."
Broedrick took his leave of the others. Eric led his companions back down the avenue towards the Twisted Cap Inn.
The rest of the party had congregated in the tavern attached to the Twisted Cap Inn while Eric, Kasey, and Breanna sought Broedrick. Bilbus still wore his fop's garments. He leaned against the bar, his back to it, as he looked at the sparsely-decorated tavern. The barkeeper, a pasty human, approached the mountebank.
"What will you have?" the barkeeper asked.
Once more donning his Fronchan accent, Bilbus requested "Wine."
The barkeeper poured a dark wine into a crystalline goblet.
Bilbus took a sip of the wine. It was sweet, not the familiar bite of the Scowling Knight wines. Bilbus flourished a hand and waxed poetically about the fine qualities of the wine. He set the goblet back on the bar and turned to Adria.
"Fronchan wine," he said with a modicum of disgust. "When we get out of this town, I am going to shred this outfit and burn it."
Adria plucked at the fur trim on Bilbus's gloves. "Keep it. It's good for a laugh. You can put it on and dance around."
"The only dancing I'll do is with a crown on my head. When I find the Sun King's crowns in the ruins of Camelough..."
"I will make you a paper crown," Adria offered.
Bilbus sighed. The feather on his hat was hanging in front of his face again. With a sharp exhalation, he blew it upwards. It settled once more in front of his face.
Eric returned with Breanna and Kasey. "Let's go back to my room," Eric suggested. "So we can discuss the plan for tomorrow."
The party followed him up two flights of stairs to a large corner room, numbered "301". It was the same room Bilbus had stayed in on his first visit to the city. He recognized the spacious bed and the dark curtains.
Once the party was inside and the door was closed, Eric filled his friends in on the plan: "I have a pass that will let us out of town. Bree, Adria, Bilbus, and Rishala will have to pretend to be slaves. Sturm and Kasey are guards. Broedrick will be with us. We will also be carrying mushrooms. We may be able to hide some things in the mushrooms if we are careful. And I said we'd be carrying weapons."
"We should have a forged pass," Adria suggested. "We need to change our passes so we don't look like Sigurd and his servants."
"I know a prayer that will do that," Bilbus said. "If my goddess will listen to me this time. We should change Eric's pass. And Sturm and Kasey's, too. I can make them read that they're a merchant and escorts."
"We will need a distraction, too," Sturm said. "The baroness may not let us walk away with the spear, and she will catch on that she has a fake one sooner or later."
"Maybe we can ask the safehouse to do something," Bilbus said. "I'll find out."
The mountebank left Eric's room.
"I can get some mushrooms," Breanna offered.
"I will go with you, Lady Breanna," Kasey insisted.
Breanna and Kasey left.
Bilbus rapped on the door to the safehouse. Instead of Sir Omyos, Father Ilsinan answered the door. Bilbus repeated the question, and Father Ilsinan replied. The priest let the mountebank into the room.
Once Ilsinan had closed the door, Bilbus explained what he needed: "We are going after Rhongomyant. I expect that the drow are going to be very angry when they realize that we have taken that spear. Is there anything you can do to distract them?"
Father Ilsinan went towards his room. "Come with me," he said.
In his room, he opened a chest. Inside were several velvet bags. Father Ilsinan opened one of the bags and pulled out a glass ball, half an inch in diameter. "You remember the casting I taught Breanna and Rishala?"
Bilbus smiled. "I've done something similar. The glass breaks and the casting explodes."
"When do you need it?"
"It will be during the ball. I don't know exactly when. Do you have a way to look for an indication of trouble at the baroness's home?"
Father Ilsinan nodded.
"When things look like they're getting chaotic there, I think it will be a good time to distract the city guards."
"We'll be ready," Father Ilsinan promised.
Bilbus thanked the priest, then left the safehouse.
The party spent a day carousing in and near the Twisted Cap Inn, feigning to be Sigurd and his pirate companions. During one particularly boisterous session, they managed to scare off a half dozen other patrons of the tavern. Kasey had had a few drinks, and he was walking around the tavern, practicing his "Arrr!" shouts. He would approach people in the tavern, growl, then ask "Is that scary?" Patrons soon decided a different bar, without an orc-sized pirate carrying an enormous sword, would be safer.
Broedrick arrived at the inn several hours before the ball. Eric showed Broedrick where the party's horses and wagon were in the stables, then helped Broedrick load the crates of mushrooms onto the wagon. Broedrick suggested that he move the horses and wagon to a nearby dead-end alley. Once Broedrick was busy getting the horses and wagon ready for the escape, Eric rejoined his friends, getting ready for the ball.
An hour before the ball was scheduled to begin, the party was dressed for the ceremony, doing the final few preparations before going. Bilbus was in his fop's outfit, singing praises of himself to himself as he cheerfully flitted from one friend's room to another's.
Rishala adjusted the plain shirt he wore. "I dinna see why you needed me for your 'public relations', Bilbus. You seem to be singing your own praises well enough."
Bilbus stopped singing. "What, this? Well, it was from before I knew you."
Bilbus left Rishala's room and went back to his own. He flung the door open. Adria and Breanna were in the room. It looked like Adria had just finished helping Breanna lace her bodice. Adria shot Bilbus a scowl. Bilbus raised his empty hands defensively before turning to leave.
"Adria? Can you show me how you hide the dagger in your bodice without cutting yourself or your bodice?"
Bilbus turned back around. "I can help you, Bree," he offered, a mischievous grin on his face.
Adria pulled one of her throwing spikes from her hair.
"Or not," Bilbus added hastily. He turned and left the room again.
Bilbus waited in the hallway for a minute before Breanna left. She swayed her hips as she went to her and Eric's room. She tapped on the door and entered, a grin on her face. Bilbus shook his head and went into his own room.
"Bree's come a long way," Bilbus commented.
"She may be a slow learner, but she is learning," Adria agreed.
Bilbus opened his pack and rifled through it. He pulled out his metal vambraces and held one of them experimentally over the loose sleeve covering his forearm. He glanced up at Adria.
She shook her head. "If you have to wear those, put them on under the sleeves."
Bilbus loosened the drawstring on the end of the blousy sleeve. He slid the vambrace into the opening. The shirt was loose enough that it was not noticeable. He pulled the sleeve up. "Help me get these on," he asked Adria.
Breanna knocked on the open door of their room. "I'm going to put some protection on each of us. It will be triggered by a word. If you say 'Kuso', you will have some magickal armor."
Bilbus chuckled as Breanna put the castings on both he and Adria. Breanna went back into the hall.
The party assembled in the hallway, each dressed in finery appropriate for a baronial ball.
Kasey looked at Breanna contemplatively. "You shouldn't carry a rapier, Lady Breanna."
"What?" she asked in alarm. "But I don't want to be defenseless."
"You are supposed to be a concubine," Kasey reminded her. "It would be inappropriate for you to be openly armed."
"You do have a dagger," Adria reminded Breanna.
"Bilbus should have your rapier. It is far more suiting for a fop than that black sword."
"We shouldn't leave this here," Bilbus said as he slowly removed his swordbelt.
"Give it to me, then," Kasey suggested. "I am a guard, right? And, if Breanna needs a sword, I can give it to her."
Bilbus gave Kasey his sword, then took Breanna's rapier and wrapped its belt around his waist. "I'll get a carriage," he said grudgingly.
The party boarded the lizard-drawn carriage a few minutes later. Rishala climbed onto the driver's bench. Kasey joined him on the bench, and the rest of the party climbed into the open carriage.
When they reached the Nobles' Gate, Bilbus stood. The drow guard looked at the party and their carriage, unimpressed. "The Captain Sigurd," Bilbus swept his had towards Sturm, "arrives to attend the Baroness Eclavdra, House Eilservs, and her ball." He held out the invitation the party had confiscated from Sigurd those months prior.
One of the drow inspected the invitation. He looked at Sturm, his eyes narrowed to slits as he looked at the disguised Sun Knight. He spotted the House Eilservs pin on Sturm's jacket, then stepped back. "They may pass," he instructed the other guards.
The gate swung open, admitting the party. Bilbus sat down as the carriage started rolling again.
Adria leaned close to her husband. "Is that the outfit you plan on dying in?"
"No," Bilbus replied emphatically. "Therefore, I am not dying today."
A liveried servant -- a human -- intercepted the carriage. "If m'lords and m'ladies will follow me, I shall lead you to the House Eilservs."
The servant led the party down a worn road in the cave, veering right along the road. To both sides were large, empty expanses of cavern floor, lightly covered with lichens. The insects overhead glowed on the distant ceiling of the cave, strangely colored, steadily glowing stars in the unearthly night of the cavern. Scattered about the enormous cave were clusters of lit buildings, signifying the estates of the highest nobles of the city.
The party followed the servant along the road. Halfway down the length of the cavern, to the right, was a walled, guarded compound.
"The Portal is in there," Bilbus said.
The road continued past the compound. It slowly rose, as did the rest of the cave floor. A bridge ahead spanned a deep ravine. The rush of water echoed up from the ravine floor.
"The river in the city cave flows through here, too," Eric observed.
"We're upstream of the city cave," Bilbus said. "But it might give us another option if things go badly."
There were two estates on the far side of the bridge. The servant led the party towards the one on the left.
Father Ilsinan, Tydanae, and Omyos had finished packing. They had little that they needed to take with them -- all three knew the safehouse would be temporary, at best. That they had avoided detection for this long was nearly miraculous. The drow knew something was going on in the ghettoes, but they had been unable to locate the safehouse. Ilsinan's wards had worked well hiding the place.
Omyos shouldered his saddle bags, then hefted Tydanae's as well. Ilsinan picked up his bags, then glanced around at the safehouse one last time. "Shall we?"
Omyos led the way down the stairs. Outside, he crossed the street to the abandoned building that had become an erstwhile stables. Once they had saddled their horses, Father Ilsinan gathered his two friends close.
"Tydanae, once we're across the bridge, you will take the horses to your mushroom shop. It's close to the city gates, so we will be able to get out of the city quickly if need be. Omyos and I will go on foot once we're past the bridge. Horses draw too much attention."
"I want to go with you two," Tydanae protested.
Ilsinan shook his head emphatically. "This is not your battle. You've been along for too much, as it is. Sir Omyos and I need to make sure that Sturm and his friends make it out of this city, and it may not be very pleasant if the drow catch on too quickly. If something happens to us, you will find a small sack in my saddle bags. It has your name on it. There's enough coin in there to get you back to your home in Londoun. There's also a note that I would like for you to deliver to Sir Mikall Fletcher. He's the knight in command at Castle Treasa in Londoun."
Tydanae nodded. She climbed into her horse's saddle without another word.
Ilsinan turned to Omyos. He offered a pair of velvet bags to Omyos. "These are the glass balls I told you about. The clear ones are not too powerful -- they will work well as distractions. The orange ones are very powerful. Don't be too close to them when they detonate. And don't drop those bags. You still have your sling?"
Sir Omyos nodded.
"Good. We'll split up on the other side. We'll lob as many of these as we can into the Lesser Nobles' District, then get the hells out of this forsaken city. Don't start slinging until you see some exploding -- I'll sling a couple as a signal."
Omyos took the bags, carefully tying each one to his swordbelt.
"Well, let's get going," the priest said.
A low stone wall peppered with mushrooms surrounded the Eilservs compound. A large two-level mansion and a single-story building were near the middle of the grounds. A third low building was placed well away from the other two. In front of the mansion was a temporary corral and stables. Over a dozen of the draft lizards were in the corral, and half a dozen horses had been stabled. Several carriages and wagons were lined along one side of the corral. Servants scurried about the stables, carrying food to the animals or helping arriving guests. Several torches had been set up on posts to brighten the area around the corral, but it was still dark.
Adria leaned close to Bilbus. In a low voice, she asked, "How do we smuggle the fake spear into the house?"
Bilbus glanced at Adria. "You and Bree have skirts. The pieces of the spear shaft are short enough you two can carry them unnoticed. I'll put the spearhead under this poofy shirt."
Breanna and Adria helped one another attach the two parts of the spear shaft to undergarments. As long as they were not sitting, it would not be terribly obvious.
A servant approached the carriage. "I shall take care of the carriage for you, m'lords. Please."
Rishala stopped the carriage. His friends dismounted, then he climbed off of the driver's bench. The servant climbed up and proceeded to park the carriage.
The party walked through an entryway that led to the central courtyard of the mansion. The courtyard was barren rock, devoid of any plant life. On the surface, a small garden would have decorated the ground, but here there was nothing. The main entrance was on the wall ahead of the party, and a side entrance was on each of the side walls. The party approached the main entrance.
Inside the mansion was well-lit, with magickal globes providing ample lighting. A corridor stretched to either side, and stairwells flanked large, open doors ahead. Beyond the open doors was the ballroom. There were many people in the ballroom, and the music of a string quartet wafted out from there. A liveried drow stood at the door, waiting to announce new guests.
Bilbus approached the drow. "Captain Sigurd, his wife, his mistress, and servants are here." He flipped a gold coin to the drow. "Announce us well."
The drow muttered something under his breath in the drow tongue, then called out to the guests in the ballroom. He repeated the announcement in Cinlu-Kelltic for the non-drow in attendance.
As the party entered the ballroom and looked about, Breanna stopped. She wanted to understand the drow if they spoke. With a trickle of Heka, she shaped a magick that would allow her to understand the drow tongue. With alarm, she realized that nearly half of the fifty people in the room turned to look at her. They had sensed her use of magick.
Kasey leaned close to Sturm. "It would be appropriate for you, as our leader, to order us to mingle."
"Go mingle," Sturm said.
Eric stayed close to "Sigurd", as did Kasey. Rishala followed along as well. Breanna kept a few paces back, but also followed that entourage. Adria set out into the crowd, looking about. Bilbus walked towards the dance floor, intent on joining the formal dancing. He looked at the small dais on the far side of the ballroom. Four drow played stringed instruments, performing a haunting melody. Stairs flanked both sides of the entrance, leading to an upper floor landing. Four orcs in ceremonial black armor stood at attention on the stairs, against the wall. Each orc had a black greatsword that was as tall as Bilbus. Over everything was an ornate chandelier. Dozens, if not hundreds, of small glowing lights lit the chandelier, and ornate crystals hung amongst the lights, casting a dazzling array of light throughout the room. Beneath the chandelier were about fifty people. Most were drow, but there were about a dozen humans. Four orcs were hard to miss, towering over the rest of the crowd.
Eric veered away from Sturm towards one of the orcs. If he were going to maintain the guise of being a pirate, he needed to start talking piracy. And orcs would likely appreciate that sort of talk.
One of the orcs stopped to look at Eric when the Azirian approached.
"Arrr," Eric said, mimicking Adria's pirate snarl as best he could. "It is an interesting party. I think I have never been this far from the sea."
"Oh?" the orc asked.
"No. We spend our time out at sea, boarding merchants, raiding fishing villages, and otherwise having fun."
"Interesting," the orc said. "I don't recognize you. You ride the Vasmar?"
"Aye."
"My tribe raids the Brythomar. Tell me, how are defenses on merchant ships in the north..."
Eric was soon lost trading his fabricated stories of piracy with what were likely real stories from the orc with whom he spoke.
Bilbus had joined the dance line. It was a formal dance very similar to some of the court dances he'd seen on the surface, and it was trivial to pick up the patterns. He was currently dancing with a drow woman who wore a dark blue, diaphanous dress. Every now and then, when he made eye contact with her, she had the beginnings of a sinister smile. He avoided making too much eye contact.
Breanna stood to one side of the dance, watching it. She saw Bilbus approaching, dancing with the drow woman. Breanna quickly realized someone was standing close to her side. She turned to face a drow in servant's livery.
"The Baron requires you to hold private audience with him in his chambers. I am to escort you to his chambers immediately to prepare for audience with him."
Breanna glanced around, trying to hide her panic. "I... I must take leave of my master."
Bilbus was just passing Breanna when the dance called for the lead dancer to spin the other dancer around him. He took the drow's hands and turned about, letting her go and reaching for Breanna to pull her into the dance in the drow's stead. He realized, with great chagrin, that he had grabbed the drow servant, instead. The servant scowled at Bilbus and stepped out of the dance line. Bilbus, now devoid of a partner, did likewise. He ignored the drow woman's scowls at being thrown out of the dance line.
The drow servant escorted Breanna to Sturm. "Captain Sigurd, the Baron requires a private audience with this servant of yours. I am to take her to his chambers immediately. This servant needs your leave before she will go."
Sturm stared at the servant, saying nothing.
The drow was visibly irritated. Menace was in his voice as he asked, "Shall I interrupt the Baron to ask him to make his demand of you in person?"
"That will not be needed," Sturm replied. "She has my leave."
Bilbus watched the servant escort Breanna up one of the sweeping stairs to the landing on the second floor. He leaned close to Eric, who had disengaged from the orc pirate. "Eric. Where's he taking her?"
"I don't know," Eric said worriedly.
Another of the Eilservs servants approached the two. He looked at Eric as he said, "The house needs an additional servant for the guests. Come with me."
Eric sighed, but followed the servant without another word. The servant led him out the door through which the party had entered, then across the inner courtyard to the door that was on the right when the party arrived. Inside was utter chaos -- servants carrying bottles of wine, goblets, mugs, platters, plates, bowls, and other assorted items. A drow servant wearing more ornate livery shouted orders. The noise of a busy kitchen came through doors on one end of the room. Several tables were used to place food and drink before it was ferried to the dining hall. A stairway led to the upper floor of the mansion.
The servant led Eric to a closet in the room. From the closet the servant produced a tabard with the Eilservs colors and crest. He gave the tabard to Eric, who pulled it over his shirt.
The drow led Breanna to the landing overlooking the ballroom, then through a pair of doors to a hallway. The drow turned right, following the hallway until it turned left. The left side of the hallway had windows looking over the dimly-lit courtyard. The right side had doors. At the second door, the servant stopped. He opened the door and stood to one side.
Breanna stepped fearfully into the room. There was a large bed, a pair of armoires, a bedside table, a desk, and some ornate, lewd artwork on the walls. There was nobody in the room.
Breanna swallowed hard. "Can... Can you bring me wine?"
The servant nodded, then shut the door behind Breanna, leaving her alone in the room. She walked over to the bed and sat down on the corner of it, clutching her hands in her lap to try to steady them.
Eric stood to one side of the chaos, watching servants come and go. A drow servant came down the stairs. He saw Eric standing idly.
"You. Come here."
Eric approached the drow briskly.
"Take that bottle of wine," the drow pointed at one on a nearby rack, "and two goblets to the baron's chambers. Go up these stairs, turn right, follow the hallway. It turns left, crosses behind the upper landing of the ballroom, then turns left again. The second door on the right is the baron's chambers. Knock before entering."
Eric quickly took the wine from the wine rack, then crossed the room to the crystal goblets. He grabbed two with his free hand, then hurried towards the stairs.
At the top of the stairs, to the left, was an orc guarding a closed door. The hallway stretched away from the orc sentry. On the wall next to the stairs was another door.
"Hello," Eric said to the orc. The orc grunted. "What are you doing?" the Azirian asked.
"Guarding this door."
"I can see that. Why do you have to guard the door?"
"Because the baroness told me to guard it during the party."
"It sounds pretty dull."
"It is boring," the orc agreed. "I would rather at least be in the ball room."
"I could bring you something, perhaps," Eric offered. "Food. Maybe some wine?"
The orc shook his head emphatically. "No wine. If the baroness smelled it on me, I would be flogged."
"Well. I will try to find something to bring you, then. I just have to deliver this wine."
The orc shrugged. "Perhaps I shall see you when you return."
Eric turned down the hallway and walked away from the orc.
Bilbus and Adria had been exchanging observations from near one side of the ballroom, watching people talking and dancing.
"Adria, Do you know how much I could get away with if I started slitting purses?"
Adria looked at her husband. The glint in his eyes was unmistakable. "No. We're here for one thing. Once we have it, we will leave. And we do not need to have them worrying about us prematurely."
"Fine," Bilbus sighed heavily. He looked at the four orcs on ceremonial guard duty. The one standing a third of the way up the stairs on the opposite side of the ballroom looked familiar.
"I'll be back," Bilbus said. "I know that orc."
The mountebank circled around the ballroom, staying clear of the dance that took place in the middle. He walked up the stairs towards the nearest orc. He stopped on the step below the orc. The orc glanced down at him.
"Hi, Sultz," Bilbus said in the orcish tongue, smiling.
The orc's eyes flashed recognition. "Lord Hogain! I didn't know you had been invited to the party! I didn't recognize you in that colorful clothing. I thought you wore only black."
"I do," Bilbus said grudgingly. "I was told I had to dress specially for this ball. And I did not get to choose my clothes. What about you?" Bilbus rapped on the black breastplate the orc wore. It was not steel. It had the inflexibility of adamantine. Bilbus's eyes goggled. "They put you in the good armor, then stand you here? What, are the guests going to go crazy?"
"No." Sultz lowered his voice. "The baroness likes to show off how powerful she is. This armor is rare and expensive. And she has four suits of it here, just for decoration. Along with the swords."
Bilbus eyed the greatsword appreciatively. It had the etchings on the blade that the magickal rapier Bilbus wore had, as did the adamantine sword Kasey carried for Bilbus. "All this, just for show?"
"Of course. She wants to remind her guests that she is in control of the most powerful house in the city."
"Who did you upset to get this assignment?" Bilbus asked, changing subjects.
"No one. My commander came by my room in the barracks, and told us we were on ceremonial guard duty for this party."
"I thought you would be out there killing Sun Knights by now," Bilbus said.
"No, we are the reserve. We wait until the other tribes have the humans preoccupied. Then we strike."
Bilbus scanned over the crowd once more from his new vantage point. He spotted a human woman with bright copper hair standing to one side of the dance floor, staring intently to her left. Bilbus followed her gaze. She stared at Kasey, who stood along the wall, several paces from where Sturm talked to a drow. Bilbus looked back at the copper-haired woman. He recognized her sneering face from seven months ago, when the Anlor Balsil Agralem had captured Bilbus and his friends and imprisoned them in a cave beneath the island-town of Suderpol. It was Virona, Lady Eclavdra's personal assistant. And she had recognized Kasey.
Thinking quickly, Bilbus said, "Sultz, I think we may have a spy here."
Eric made the last turn down the hallway and passed the first door. He glanced left out one of the windows to look at the courtyard. Opposite the wing of the mansion in which he was he could see the kitchen and preparation rooms on the ground floor. He could have just cut across the courtyard and found a stairwell up on this side.
He turned to face the door and rapped on it. A familiar voice from the other side called out, "Enter."
Eric opened the door and stepped in. Breanna jumped from the bed and ran towards him, arms stretched out. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed.
"Are you all right?" Eric asked.
"Yes. The baron hasn't come up here yet."
Eric extracted himself from Breanna's embrace. He set the wine bottle and goblets on the desk, then shut the door.
"I found a room being guarded by an orc," Eric said. "I want to find out why it's guarded. Do you have something that will put an orc to sleep?"
Breanna nodded. "I do. We can put it in the wine bottle."
"Won't the baron miss the bottle?" Eric asked.
"No," Breanna replied, shaking her head. "I asked for the wine in the first place."
Eric opened the bottle. He poured wine into both goblets, then set the bottle down. Breanna hiked her skirt up and took a small bag out of a hidden pocket. She dumped half of the powder from the bag into the wine bottle, then picked up the bottle to swish the powder until it dissolved.
Eric took the bottle from her. "I'll be right back," he promised just before he left the room.
"Banquet room," Kasey whispered. He had seen people leave the ball room and return with food and drink. And he was hungry.
Adria stood two paces away, talking to Sturm. She heard the Church Knight whisper once again. To Sturm, she said, "Maybe we should find the banquet room."
"Yes," Kasey whispered.
"Okay," Sturm said. He led Adria to the ball room door, then took a left. Kasey followed behind a few paces, relieved.
The banquet room was a long table piled with food and a second one with drinks and a server. The food table was clearly divided into three sections.
"Guard, you have leave to get food," Adria said imperiously. Kasey hurried towards the table, looking for food he recognized.
"He's tall. Sure he's not an orc?" A drow woman appraised the disguised Church Knight.
"He's no orc," Adria assured the woman. Sturm had walked away to get a drink. "He's much less... rough."
"Oh?" the drow arched her eyebrows.
"My husband does have his playthings, after all. He shouldn't have all the fun."
The drow smiled knowingly.
"He spends so much time out to sea. He never tells me of what's going on in the world. Have you heard anything?"
The drow shrugged. "I've heard that the orcs will be ready to invade Brallian soon. And something is going on in the Middle Ranges. The Sun Knights seem to be in disarray. I'm sure the baroness will have much fresher news for us."
"Mmm." Adria turned to watch Kasey. The Church Knight had dinner rolls jutting from a pocket, and had both arms full of food.
Eric stopped next to the guard. "Anybody attack yet?"
"No," the orc sighed.
"That's too bad. Maybe things will get better later."
"Weren't you delivering that bottle to the baron?" the orc asked.
"I was." Eric set the open bottle down next to the guard. "What a shame that the baron decided he did not want wine after I had already opened the bottle and filled both goblets. It would be a shame for the wine to go to waste. Now he wants some food." Leaving the bottle next to the orc, Eric went down the stairs to the preparation room.
The food had been clearly segregated into three areas in the room. The first area contained what Eric recognized as "human" foods. The other two were less obvious, but he inferred which one was for orcs, and which for drow. The explorer grabbed an empty platter, piled some human food onto it, then grabbed a few interesting morsels from the orcs' food -- mostly strips of dried meat. He went back up the stairs.
The orc still guarded the door, but the wine bottle had been disturbed. It was also about half empty. Eric walked next to the orc, letting the orc see the food tray. As he passed, Eric stopped to place a plate piled with the dried meat on the floor next to the orc. He then kept walking.
A drow entered the banquet room, wearing formal house livery. "The baroness will address her guests soon. All guests must return to the ballroom."
Kasey stuffed a roll into his mouth, freeing one hand of the food he carried. He followed Sturm and Adria back to the ball room.
Eric carried the platter of food down the hallway. He took a left to head past the doors the led to the landing over the ball room. At the far end of the hallway, where it turned left to lead to the baron's chambers, a pair of drow turned the corner. The woman wore a tight black gown that glittered. The man wore a loose-fitting tunic and baggy trousers. The material of the tunic looked like the same material as the dress, but the trousers were a dark violet.
Eric stood against the wall opposite the doors to the ball room. The drow woman stopped in front of the doors, waiting for the man to open them. She stepped through, and he followed her, shutting the doors behind them. Eric continued down the hallway to the chamber where Breanna waited.
Bilbus was still talking to Sultz when the doors at the landing opened. A drow woman stepped onto the landing, her silver hair hanging straight down her back to her waist. She wore a glittery black dress, tailored very well to her figure. Behind her was a drow man who wore a loose-fitting black shirt and baggy violet trousers. The man shut the door behind them, then went to the far stairwell. The woman walked down the stairs on which Sultz and Bilbus stood. All four guard orcs went to stiff attention. Bilbus plastered himself against the wall next to Sultz. When the woman was a few steps up from Bilbus, the mountebank bowed deeply. She paid him no heed.
When she reached the bottom of the stairwell, the musicians on the dais gathered their instruments and stepped down, clearing the way for the baroness and the baron.
Bilbus glanced up the stairs at the landing. He whispered to Sultz, "I need to go to the loo." He stepped slowly up the stairs.
The ball room was quiet. Bilbus glanced over his shoulder to look at the crowd. Most of them stared at the baroness, waiting for her address. The baroness scowled at Bilbus, her purple eyes flaring in anger.
Bilbus turned towards her and tipped his hat. He leaned against the railing, his eyes wide with enthusiasm.
Bilbus scanned across the crowd once more. Kasey stood against the far wall, below the stairs. Kasey was not watching the baroness. Instead, he was staring at someone in the crowd. Bilbus traced the knight's view to the brilliant copper hair on Virona's head. Virona was making her way slowly through the crowd towards another human woman. Bilbus recognized that woman as Lady Edralve, the woman who had ordered the party imprisoned in the caves beneath Suderpol.
Baroness Eclavdra began her speech:
"My allies, my friends. This day we celebrate our victory against the forces of light. For two mils, we have awaited the day when the legacy of the Sun King would be destroyed. That day is soon upon us.
"My comrades in Erelhei Cinlu: House Migoet, House Yothir, and House Silverthorne. Your efforts to weaken the enemies of House Eilservs will not be forgotten. House Silverthorne, in particular, your sacrifice is of note. Lord Silverthorne was lost trying to collect reports from our servants in the Lands Above.
"I must thank our orc allies, as well. Their tireless battles against the surface dwellers have weakened and disarrayed our enemies. Tribal Commander Garkiit-ka, your Dark Cave Tribe is admirable for its service not only here in Erelhei Cinlu, but in its feint at Camelough, as well as the security it provides in the Portals.
"Tribal Commander Ogrit-ka, the Wet Foot Tribe's raids against shipping in the Southern Sea has been unsurpassed. Your tribe's infiltration of Brallian will soon be complete. I am sure you wish to return to your tribe to oversee the invasion. Having been away for weeks has been a challenge.
"It is a shame that our agents from Brallian are not here to update us on the infiltration of that city.
"And Tribal Commander Karik-ka, the brilliant assault on Citadel Altspire was successful beyond our wildest dreams. The Claw Fang Tribe has been granted my permission to keep the dwarven lands as their own.
"Lady Edralve, and Josacal the Younger. You have shown us that not all surface dwellers are worthless. Your excellent management of Suderpol and Griffon's Beak are appreciated. Your continuing supply of darkblades for our Shadow Kindred allies will overwhelm the enemy.
"Our enemies have tried in vain to thwart our plans, but even now we have one of the relics they need to stop us. As long as we hold the Sun King's battle spear, they will not be able to find a way into the Great Lord's palace. Behold Rhongomyant!"
Eclavdra swept a hand towards the landing at the back of the ball room. A drow servant stepped in, holding a spear. Bilbus's eyes flared when he recognized the shape of the spearhead. And I don't have the spear shaft with me! he growled to himself.
The servant walked down the flight of stairs on which Bilbus was. He quickly thought through several plans to get the spear from the servant, most of them ranging on the far side of suicidal. Tripping the servant, grabbing the spear, and running probably would not work very well.
After once again trying to think of a way to get the spear, Bilbus realized the servant was walking right past him. Bilbus gave the spear a close look.
It was not Rhongomyant.
The spear was not the ancient spear that he and his friends were trying to steal from Eclavdra. It was a clever copy, but not even as good as the one Bilbus had had made. Bilbus put a hand to his mouth to hide the smile. Eclavdra did not trust her own closest allies in her own home.
The servant reached the dais and offered the spear to the baroness. She held it exultantly over her head as she finished her speech.
"With the spear safely in my hands, the humans will never be able to stop the decay of the Great Lord's prison.
"We have had our setbacks. Axransa, our agent in the southern Dales, failed to capture the iron mines of Hillsdale. This was unfortunate, since our tests suggest that the fine iron of that vein conceals a concentration of adamantine. Controlling the adamantine in both Clemendeev and the Dales would have reduced our need to purchase it from our distant friends on Phaeree."
The baroness spoke for minutes, listing the accomplishments of her house and her allies, as well as repeating her certainty of victory. At long last, her speech ended. The baroness held the spear out. The servant who delivered it to her took it and carried it back up the stairs, passing Bilbus again. A drow woman led a human man up the stairs on the far side. Considering the placement of her hand on his backside, Bilbus guessed that she was seeking some entertainment somewhere private. Other people in the crowd were starting to disperse, as well. Apparently, the formal group activity was winding down.
Bilbus caught Adria's eye in the crowd. He signed to her, Come here.
When she reached Bilbus on the stairs, he swatted her behind and winked to Sultz. "I'll see you later," he told the orc.
The orc grinned. "Do you remember the inn you stayed at last time? I can meet you there after my shift, if you're not busy."
"I'll try." Switching to Kelltic, he said to Adria, "Come on. Let's find a room."
Up the stairs they went. Bilbus stopped on the landing and glanced back down at the ball room. The musicians were playing once more, and there was still a good-sized crowd in the room. Adria glanced at the chandelier overhead, then followed the rope supporting it to an anchor next to the door on the landing. She briefly considered cutting the rope, but it would do no one any good to get the drow alarmed.
Bilbus led Adria through the doors at the back of the landing. He looked both ways down the hallway, trying to decide which way to go. Around the corner to Bilbus's left came Eric, hurrying, with an empty platter in hand.
"Eric!" Bilbus hissed. "Where's Bree?"
"I'm heading back to her now," Eric replied.
Bilbus and Adria followed Eric down the hall and around the corner. Eric stopped outside a door and glanced up and down the hall. Bilbus swung the door open and stepped in.
Breanna was facing away from Bilbus, by the large bed in the room. She turned, gasping in surprise, and threw a black dagger at Bilbus. It missed by about a pace, sticking in the ornate wooden wall. Bilbus pulled the dagger from the wall and walked across the room to return it to Breanna.
"Nice dagger," he said as he gave it to her. "Where did you find that?"
"It was in here," she said, pointing to a small bedside stand that Bilbus had been unable to see before she moved.
"I want to get the spear reassembled," Bilbus said after Eric closed the door. "The baroness had one during her speech, but it was a fake. And not even a good fake. I need a disguise." He looked at the tabard Eric wore over his clothes. "Eric. Go get me a tabard. No one notices servants."
Eric left to fetch the tabard as Bilbus reassembled the ringer spear. Once it was complete, Bilbus went through a few slow practice moves with it. In spite of its ease to break down, it might be a serviceable weapon.
Eric rapped on the door before opening it. He had a tabard in one hand. He tossed the tabard to Bilbus, who pulled it on over his gaudy costume.
"There is a door at the other end of the hall," Eric said. "It is guarded by an orc. Perhaps the real spear is in there?"
"We should take a look and find out," Bilbus said. "Just one orc?"
Eric nodded. "And he's been drinking some drugged wine. He should pass out any time, now."
"Okay. We'll leave Adria and Bree here to handle the baron when he shows up. We'll go check out this door."
Eric turned to leave. He looked back at Breanna. "Bree, can you handle the baron?"
Breanna glanced at Adria, confused. "Adria is here. We'll be..."
Eric cut her off. Gently, he asked, "No, Bree. Can you handle the baron?"
Breanna thought for a moment. "Yes," she answered quietly. Her voice was shaky, but determined.
Eric nodded to himself, then went into the hallway. Bilbus hefted the spear, then followed Eric into the hallway. Eric took a left, went to the end of the hall, turned right, passed the landing to the ball room, then right again. Ahead, at the end of the hallway, was an orc leaning against a door. An empty bottle of wine was on the ground by the orc's feet, as was an empty plate.
"I left him some snacks," Eric explained.
The two approached the orc carefully. Its eyes were closed, and it breathed slowly.
"Must have been some good wine," Bilbus commented flippantly.
"Breanna put a lot of sleeping powder into it," Eric replied.
Bilbus pointed the spear at the orc. He cautiously approached, until he could touch the orc with the tip of the spear. Several careful pokes yielded nothing. Bilbus jabbed once more, slightly harder -- not hard enough to wound the orc, but enough to get its attention. Still nothing.
Adria waited until the men had left. "Let's use the bed linens to make a rope."
The two women threw the bed covers aside and stripped the linens from the bed. They quickly had assembled a makeshift rope that was of ample length to get them to the ground.
Adria stopped and looked at Breanna. Breanna looked at her with a mildly confused expression.
"Why are we waiting for the baron?" Adria asked abruptly.
Breanna shrugged. "Let's go," she said.
They started for the door.
"Wait," Breanna said. She went back to one of the windows and opened it. She tied the linen rope to the bed, then threw the end of it out the window. "In case the baron shows up. Let's go find the boys."
Adria and Breanna left the room. Down at the end of the hallway, back towards the ball room, a pair of drow were making out, ignoring everything around them. Adria walked towards them, quickly. Breanna followed, loosening her dress's belt so she could slip the adamantine dagger's scabbard onto it.
They passed the two drow, turned, and followed the hallway around towards the servants' side of the house. Breanna had taken the lead, hurrying to catch up with Bilbus and Eric.
When she reached the next turn, she realized that Adria was not right behind her. She glanced back and saw that Adria had stopped at the door to the balcony.
Adria opened the door and opened it just enough for her to slip onto the landing. The dancing was once more under full swing. She took a step closer to the railing of the landing, looking for Sturm, Kasey, and Rishala. They were against one wall, watching the dancing. Sturm glanced up and spotted the blonde assassin. Adria looked towards the chandelier, then made a slow cutting motion. She then pushed her hands towards the wall, wanting Sturm to stay clear of the falling chandelier. The Sun Knight nodded.
Adria drew one of her concealed knives and quickly sawed through the stout rope. It snapped loudly, and the chandelier fell. Adria darted out the door, shutting it in time to hear the horrendous crash in the ball room. People screamed, in panic and in pain.
Some other guests were in the hallway with Adria. They ran for a stairwell on the side of the hallway that led down to the atrium outside the ball room. Adria joined them, feigning panic. She ran into the ball room with the other guests.
The ball room was utter chaos. The enormous chandelier had fallen on the dancers, hurting or killing a number of them. The crystal had scattered across the room, breaking as it hit the dance floor. A number of people were already climbing into twisted metal that had been the chandelier, trying to help those trapped beneath it.
Adria's friends were safe, well away from the mess. Rishala looked startled. Kasey had a hand on his sword, looking for additional danger. Sturm had a darkly bemused expression. The Sun Knight spotted Adria. She hurried towards them, still feigning surprise: "Are you all right, my husband?"
When she was close, she lowered her voice so only her three friends would hear her. "Bilbus says the spear they brought down here was a fake. Eric found a room guarded by orcs. Those two and Bree are trying to find out if the spear is in there."
"We should get the carriage ready," Rishala said.
"I'll help," Kasey offered. He and Rishala went towards the door.
"We should help Bilbus," Adria said to Sturm. She led him up the stairs to the landing over the ball room, then on towards where the rest of the party was.
Bilbus leaned the spear against the wall. He and Eric stood to either side of the orc and grabbed it by the shoulders. They dragged the orc over to one side of the door and leaned it against the wall. The unconscious monstrosity tumbled and hit the ground. Bilbus grabbed the spear and held it over the orc's throat, but the orc did not wake. After waiting a few seconds to be sure, Bilbus leaned the spear against the wall again.
Bilbus loosened his shirt sleeves. He reached underneath the right one to pull his lockpicks from their pouch beneath the vambrace. He quickly picked the lock. He put his picks away and turned the door knob. Nothing happened, so he pushed the door open.
There was a thunderous explosion. Bilbus was thrown onto his back a couple of paces from the door. He checked himself, but found no injury. The magickal protective necklace he wore absorbed the blast. The mountebank cursed to himself. It was the same magickal trap that the Company of Unusual Headgear had used on the door to his old apartment in Londoun, and it was the same trap he had used to create magickal, explosive arrowheads.
Bilbus picked himself up, dusted himself off, and looked into the room. The room was nearly devoid of furnishings -- there was an empty table on the far side of the room, and a pair of tapestries on the wall, one to the left of the door, and the other on the wall ahead. There was a second door on the far right side of the room, past the second tapestry. The windows were all shuttered from the outside. And there were strange things coming out of the floor and ceiling.
The things were tentacles about as thick as a thin wrist, with a lobster's claw on the end. They were entirely black, pulsing with sinister energies, and they undulated slowly, as if they were a field of flowers blowing gently in the breeze.
In the middle of the field of hellish flowers stood a Shadow Kindred, facing the door. Bilbus grabbed the ringer spear.
"I'm returning the spear."
The Shadow Kindred approached, appearing to float through the dark flowers. It drew its darkblade.
Bilbus cursed under his breath and backpedaled. He drew his rapier as the Shadow Kindred reached the doorway. To his side, Eric kneeled to grab the unconscious orc's hand-and-a-half sword. Bilbus felt a surge of Heka nearby, and the world around him slowed. He glanced over his shoulder to see Breanna slowly moving towards Eric. She was starting to draw more Heka for a second casting.
The hastened Bilbus closed with the Shadow Kindred, darting the rapier quickly past the Shadow Kindred's darkblade, using the tip of the thrusting sword to tear and cut the Shadow Kindred's lightly-armored arms.
Eric stopped moving so slowly. He engaged the Shadow Kindred as well. The two hastened fighters quickly dispatched the Shadow Kindred, never giving it a chance to bring its accursed sword to bear against them.
Adria approached the fight scene. Sturm was just behind her. She could see that Breanna, Bilbus, and Eric were moving unnaturally fast. An orc lay on the ground to one side of them, and a Shadow Kindred lay ahead of them. Adria looked at the orc. Hanging from its belt were a pair of curved metal blades, each just over a foot long. She remembered an orc throwing one at her months ago, in a smuggler's cave near Saltcliffs. She kneeled next to the orc and unfastened the two throwing blades.
"Eric, give me a hand," Bilbus said. He kneeled next to the orc and lifted. With Eric's help, they had the orc upright again. Bilbus heaved the orc into the room.
The black things curled towards the orc, grabbing and biting the unconscious being.
"Interesting," Eric mumbled. He walked down the hall a short distance to grab a chair. He threw the chair into the room. The chair sailed through several of the clawed flowers, and none of the flowers reacted to the chair.
Bilbus leaned into the doorway, holding himself up by holding on to the door frame. Past the desk was a square pattern on the floor. Bilbus squinted, then realized there was a metal ring on the square. It was a trapdoor.
The tapestry two paces to his left rustled. Bilbus snapped his head towards it. There was a passage behind the tapestry.
He relayed his observations to his friends. He added, "I want to check the trapdoor from underneath. We may be able to get into the room from there, and the spear could be on that desk, invisible."
The room went dark. Bilbus stumbled backwards in the absolute darkness and tripped. He bumped into someone, then tumbled down the stairs that led to the servants' preparation room on the main floor. On the stairwell, the darkness ended. He, Adria, and Eric were falling down the stairs. Breanna and Sturm walked down the stairs a moment later.
The servants ignored the party. Most of them were hurrying to the ball room, carrying towels and water.
"Well, let's check for the trapdoor," Bilbus said as he picked himself up from the ground.
They walked down a hallway beneath the room. It emptied through a door into a small stable. Bilbus went to the corner of the stable and found a small hay loft with a ladder. He gave the spear to Sturm and climbed the ladder. At the top, past the empty loft, was a trapdoor.
"Hand up the spear," he said as he held out a hand.
Sturm passed the spear up to the mountebank, who used it to lift the trapdoor up a few inches. He peered in. "Dark here, too."
He handed the spear back down to Sturm and descended the ladder. The party went back inside and up to the door.
"There's a second door into the room," Bilbus said. "Let's see if we can get anywhere going that way."
He led the party down the hallway, past the door to the ball room landing. The noises of the chaos in the ball room had subsided a little, but it was still present. There were shouts of orders in the drow tongue in there, as well. Ahead, at the corner of the hall where it led to the nobles' rooms, one of the ceremonial orc guards held the two drow who had been making out at sword point. There were some snarled accusations of sabotage coming from the orc, and the drow were enraged at being treated so poorly by a lesser being.
Bilbus and his companions passed the detained drow, turning up the hallway. They passed the baron's chambers and several other doors before the hallway once more turned left. This wing of the house crossed over the entry passage to the courtyard, and it should have completed a circuit around the entire upper floor. However, there was another closed door, again with an orc guard, ahead, at the end of the hallway. Four doors were to the left, evenly spaced along the hallway, and windows looking out from the front of the mansion were to the right.
Bilbus listened at the first door. He could hear noises coming from the room, and, judging from the types of noises, he did not want to stick his head in there. He went on to the second door and opened it a crack. Inside, he saw the drow woman and human man who had left the ball room just before he did, engaged in some sort of bedroom activity. He closed the door quietly, before either noticed. The third door led to an empty bedroom. The fourth led to another occupied bedroom. An orc male and female were in the room. Bilbus shut the door hastily.
"I just saw two orcs..." Bilbus's voice trailed off.
"Ewwwwww," Adria said sympathetically.
Bilbus approached the orc guard, who had watched him peering into bedrooms with bemused interest.
"Have you seen any saboteurs," Bilbus asked in orc, speaking slowly in the hopes that the pitch of his hasted voice would be close to normal.
"Any what?"
"Someone cut the rope holding the chandelier in the ball room. We are trying to find the person who did it."
The orc had started to shake his head when Bilbus rapidly drew the adamantine rapier. With his magickally enhanced speed, Bilbus dispatched the orc quickly, before it could even draw its sword out of the scabbard.
Out in the darkness of the cavern, Rishala and Kasey prepared their carriage and the draft lizard that pulled it. Servants had tried several times to take care of it for the two, but Kasey quickly made them back down. Now that other people were hurrying out of the mansion, the servants were harried trying to get the other carriages prepared.
Kasey glanced towards the mansion. On the second floor, he saw the party walking along the hallway, stopping at doors. They got to the end of the hallway, and Bilbus rapidly drew his rapier and attacked an orc.
"Hey, there's everyone," Kasey said.
Rishala glanced past the lizard to look where Kasey pointed. He saw Adria kneeling in the hallway. When she stood, she had two of the orc throwing weapons.
"Come on," Kasey urged. "The carriage is ready. Let's help them."
Kasey led Rishala to the front of the mansion. He looked around on the cave floor for a pebble. When he found one, he picked it up and pitched it at the window. Adria looked out the window to see Kasey waving. She opened the window.
"I don't have a rope," she said.
"We don't need one," Rishala said. With a quick application of Heka, he and Kasey were able to crawl up the face of the building.
Once the party was together again, Bilbus filled them in on what was going on.
"This door is probably trapped, too," Bilbus guessed. "Since the other one is open, we should head back to it."
When the party turned to go, Bilbus lingered behind. He turned back to the door and braced himself. He turned the knob and shoved the door. It exploded like the first, and, like the last time, Bilbus's magickal protections absorbed the damage from the blast. Bilbus picked himself up and went to where the door used to be. From here, too, the room beyond was utterly black.
Bilbus turned when the door to the orcs' room opened. The male orc stuck his head out, angry.
"They went in there!" Bilbus shouted in orcish. He pointed at the dark room.
The orc's door shut for a moment. When it flew open again, both orcs ran out. Both carried swords, and neither wore a single stitch of clothing. The two orcs charged into the darkness.
That will scar my mind, Bilbus decided. He shook his head in the hopes of dislodging the mental image.
Orc cursing roared from the dark room as the magickal tentacular claws grabbed and tore at the two orcs. The male came back out, several harsh bite marks on his body. As soon as he spotted Bilbus, he charged.
Bilbus turned and ran, hearing the thundering feet of the orc echoing in the hallway. Bilbus darted around the corner, racing past the nobles' chambers. Ahead, at the turn that led to the ball room landing, the ceremonial guard still held the two drow prisoner.
"Get him!" the orc behind Bilbus shouted.
The orc in front of Bilbus turned and charged straight at Bilbus.
The mountebank glanced to his right. The windows looked over the inner court yard of the mansion, and an ornate door opened onto a balcony. Bilbus slammed into the door, causing it to violently swing open. He darted through the door and threw it shut.
The balcony was small, barely two paces deep and three wide. Bilbus swung a leg over the low balcony wall and dropped to the ground. He hit the ground at the same time that one of the orcs smashed the door open. Bilbus scrambled across the court yard.
The nude orc hurdled the balcony, landing hard on the stone ground of the court yard, and raced after Bilbus. The guard swung his leg over the balcony and dropped to the ground.
Bilbus ran into the ground-floor door to the servants' prep room. He stumbled up the stairs to join the rest of the party by the first door to the blacked out room.
Sturm and Kasey met the first orc at the top of the stairs. The two knights quickly eliminated the orc. The second orc started up the stairs towards Kasey, but Sturm jumped over the railing to land on the stairs in front of it. The Sun Knight quickly pushed the orc back down the stairs and away from the stairwell, giving Kasey room to join the fight. The severely wounded orc was slain with a decapitating blow from Caladbolg. The body, with a cauterized stump of a neck, fell to the ground.
Sturm and Kasey dragged the body in its adamantine plate armor back up the stairs. They dropped the body in the hallway, where Eric kneeled to remove the armor. Adria stood near Eric, watching down the hallway for additional troops. Rishala watched the staircase.
"There was a passage behind one of the tapestries. It might go into this room." Bilbus pointed to the intact door on the left side of the hallway.
The mountebank carefully opened the door. The room was a small bedroom, and it was empty. Bilbus tapped on the wall a few times.
"There must be a room right here," he said. "I can weaken the mortar in this wall, but we'll still have to knock a hole through it."
Bilbus grabbed the dark magickal energies he could feel and forced them into the wall. The mortar between the stones weakened, leaving a grayish dust. Kasey and Sturm started shoving and hammering on the wall, but the stones did not give.
"What about a battering ram?" Rishala suggested. "There is a good headboard on this bed."
Sturm and Kasey broke the headboard free of the bed frame. With Rishala's and Bilbus's help, they slammed the headboard into the wall. Stones gave way this time. With a second bash, the wall faltered. A section of wall big enough to walk through had collapsed. Kasey drew Caladbolg and rushed into the blackness beyond the ragged hole in the wall.
Things grabbed at his legs, arms, and head. He could feel the grabs, but did not feel any pain. The medallion Meridaun had given him was absorbing the injuries. But the unseen claws still could hold the Church Knight. He could hear something ahead of him in the darkness. Kasey violently tore free of the claws, pushing his way through as if he were slogging through a deep, thick mud.
Something brushed against his face. With one hand, Kasey grabbed and ripped it. The tapestry that hid the niche fell from its wall mounts.
In the hallway, Bilbus concentrated on another shaping of Heka. He focused it into the dark room, feeling out the residue of the casting that had blacked out the room. Instantly, the darkness was gone.
Kasey saw his foe. It looked like a man in rotting finery, except the hands and head were withered and dried. Glowing blue points of light were in both eye sockets. It made a hissing noise and raised a hand to point at Kasey.
Kasey had heard of liches during his training to become a Shield of the Church. Liches were powerful, evil men who had used dark magicks to cheat death. The magicks in question could sustain a soul in its body, but the dead body would rot over time. Why anyone would want to endure such a non-life was a mystery to Kasey. But he was sure that this thing facing him was a lich.
Sturm charged into the room, tearing through the black clawed things as quickly as he could. By the far door was the orc woman, still tearing her way free of the magickal protections in the room. She ignored the intruders and the occupant of the room.
Kasey managed to avoid the tentacles for several paces, charging halfway across the room. Sturm realized that it would be slow going to cross the room to help Kasey, and started looking for a way to avoid the defenses.
To his left, in the niche, was a spear that looked a lot like the one Bilbus held back in the bedroom. The Sun Knight grabbed the spear and half turned.
"Bilbus!" he shouted.
Bilbus looked at the spear Sturm held. The Sun Knight tossed it to Bilbus, spearhead up. Bilbus tossed the fake spear to Sturm, then caught Rhongomyant. He looked at the oddly familiar etchings in the spearhead and the fine, ancient wood of the shaft.
In the niche, Sturm leaned the ringer spear against the niche wall where Rhongomyant had been.
Rishala and Breanna watched Kasey struggling to charge the undead menace.
Rishala said, "Lass, I think it's time to try out some of what Father Ilsinan taught us. Maybe that lich is flammable."
"I think you're right," Breanna agreed.
Two surges of Heka resulted in a pair of flaming streaks flying past Kasey. The double explosion of fire and light in the room was incredible.
Father Ilsinan had found a quiet alleyway near the main avenue of Erelhei Cinlu. The far end of the alleyway pointed towards the Lesser Nobles' District of the city, where the homes of petty nobles' crowded near the wall of the cavern, opposite the main avenue from the masses of the city, and far from the ghettoes of the non-drow races. A disruption in the Lesser Nobles' District would draw enormous attention, and the confusion of random explosions in that area would likely buy Sturm and his colleagues the distraction they needed to secret Rhongomyant from the drows' clutches.
Father Ilsinan concentrated on a bundle of Heka he had weaved. Through the invisible magickal orb, he was able to watch the front of the mansion of House Eilservs. He had tried to move the orb into the house, but the drow had placed wards on the house to prevent scrying within it.
Something was happening. Father Ilsinan had seen a few people streaming from the house, including Rishala and Kasey. Those two had returned to the house after readying a carriage, brazenly climbing up the exterior wall to reenter the house through a second-floor window, at which point they had disappeared.
A couple of minutes had passed since Rishala and Kasey had gone back inside. Father Ilsinan wondered whether he should start lobbing the explosive marbles at the nobles' homes yet, or wait a little longer for the party to leave. He was about to receive his answer.
On the front face of the house, there were windows across the second floor. Due to the protections, Father Ilsinan could not see into any of them -- the magick that blocked his view allowed him only to see the windows, with blackness beyond them. However, on the right side of the second floor, the windows were shuttered on the exterior. Father Ilsinan wondered about that room, since those windows were the only ones with exterior covers.
Those shutters exploded violently outwards, followed by flame. Those people outside the mansion, near the temporary stables, turned to look at the blinding blast. Father Ilsinan grinned to himself, recognizing the explosive pattern of the casting he had taught Rishala and Breanna. Either one of them was far more powerful than he had realized, or they had managed to simultaneous trigger their spells.
Father Ilsinan stopped concentrating on the scrying orb. He glanced around once to make sure no one else was in the alley, then pulled his sling out of a bag tied to his belt. He reached into the bag and drew a clear glass marble. He placed the marble on his sling. With a quick turn, he flung the marble into the sooty haze overhead, arcing it towards the homes of the nobles. The marble landed somewhere in the nobles' district and shattered, releasing the pent up magicks. The explosion reflected off of the overhead haze, followed moments later by the rolling thunder of the blast.
From another alleyway, half a mile from Father Ilsinan, Sir Omyos saw the flash of the explosion. The thunder of the explosion was the cue for which he was waiting. Omyos plucked several clear marbles from his own bag and began slinging them towards the homes of the cruel rulers of Erelhei Cinlu. Explosions rumbled throughout the noble section of town as both he and Ilsinan unleashed a barrage of randomly-flung exploding marbles.
Time to move, Omyos told himself after he had flung all six of the marbles he had allotted for himself. Before the patrols start hunting for us.
Kasey had been on the periphery of the double explosion. The magickal shields that Breanna had placed on him had absorbed the supernatural fire, but the shields had been expended to provide that protection. Kasey charged towards the now-smoldering creature. Its clothes burned, and the dried flesh on it was blackened and crumbling.
In the hallway, Rishala was shaping Heka for another casting. In seconds, he held a bow and three arrows. He fired an arrow past Kasey at the undead monster.
The thing unleashed a casting at Sturm. The Sun Knight felt odd pangs as the magick washed through him. It had caused no physical harm, but Sturm felt a wave of hopelessness wash through him, leaving him uncertain.
Kasey was within striking distance of the menace. With a swing of his sword, he chopped through the dried body. As the still-moving former human fell, split in two, it released a final casting, this time at Kasey.
The Church Knight sneezed.
In the hallway, Eric had stopped trying to remove the orc's armor. Instead, he had joined Adria in the bedroom to make a rope of the bed linens. They tied the rope to the bed, then threw it out the window. Eric went back for the orc's body. He dragged it into the bedroom, then, with Adria's help, pushed it out the window. It fell to the ground with a metallic crash. Eric slid rapidly down the rope, with Adria close above him.
Still in the bedroom, Bilbus pushed some Heka into the spear. He could feel the harmonics of his magick reacting to some strong and ancient magicks in the spear. This one was not a fake. He went towards the window, where Breanna was climbing out onto the rope.
Rishala took his bow and two remaining arrows and went towards the window as well. Sturm had turned and was breaking free of the still-active defenses in the room, and Kasey had turned from the destroyed lich.
"Hey, Rishala!" Kasey shouted from the lich's room. "What do you do when you kill a lich to make sure its dead?"
Rishala went back to the room and looked in. Kasey had industriously used his sword to demolish the skull, so there was nothing left but bone fragments."
"It's dead, Kasey. Come on," the Caledonian said.
Kasey turned and fought his way through the magickal clawed tentacles to get to the hole in the wall. Sturm was just clearing the room's defenses.
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Original Draft 4 May 2003
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