mouth.
Archlis looked amused at Sanval's angry eyes glaring at him over the big hand of the half-orc. 'So, was this noble your prisoner, or is he your prisoner now?' Archlis asked Ivy.
'At the moment,' Ivy explained, 'he is our employer. But, as I said, for the right fee, and that fee does not have to be too high, we could terminate that contract. I would rather keep him alive. He is a powerful fighter and we have some… potions… that we can use to keep him under control. And, although from Procampur, his own character is none too noble, if you know what I mean.' Zuzzara smiled her sharp-toothed smile and nodded vigorously in support of Ivy's story. The others were silent-Sanval because he had no choice, and the rest because they trusted her. As always in such moments, she wondered if this were the day that she would be unable to live up to their expectations of her ability to lie her way out of a bad situation.
Having begun her story of how they came to be wandering in Tsurlagol's ruins, Ivy added a few more details for verisimilitude. 'We were scouting for the Thultyrl and, since we did not make it back to the camp by… now, we would be subject to discipline. As would this man, who is already under probation for his gambling in the red-roof district and patronage of undesirable, um, females. He won't want to go rushing back to camp, not if there is a chance of treasure.'
Behind her, Sanval choked, and Zuzzara whispered a hoarse 'hush' in his ear. Ivy paused to see if Archlis was going to balk at any of the lies she was ladling out as fast as she could. The magelord frowned at the word 'treasure,' his eyes narrowing as he scanned the group again. His glance lingered longest on Kid and Mumchance. 'You know how it is,' Ivy concluded hastily. 'Better gold in the purse today than a promise for tomorrow.'
Archlis did not immediately dismiss her offer. In fact, he seemed more amused then doubting after his second careful examination of the group. He even snickered a little-a grating nasal sound-at Sanval still clutched in Zuzzara's protective embrace. 'Armor or no armor, that one is no threat to me. Your offer is interesting. I have fewer servants than I deserve.' Archlis gestured toward the bugbears, one of which was picking his teeth with a looted hobgoblin sword. 'These have proved to be more fragile than I assumed.'
'And the hobgoblins and the orcs?' asked Ivy, waving one hand at the bodies littering the floor, still playing the role of one callous mercenary intent on negotiating a good settlement for herself.
'They had orders to return me to the defenses of Tsurlagol. Which was a waste of my time. Fottergrim never understood. I could have made him a king of the Vast, after I retrieved my treasure,' said Archlis with no lack of self-confidence. The lines running between his nose and mouth became more pronounced as the magelord brooded. 'I persuaded the fool to come to Tsurlagol. Fottergrim was supposed to have made my access to the ruins easier, not more difficult.'
'Except he decided to take the city, rather than just hang around the edges,' guessed Ivy.
'Gruumsh must have driven him mad,' Archlis replied, still obviously peeved. When he named the orc's war god, both the bugbears straightened up and made some gesture, to either appease the angry god or, more likely, to avoid Gruumsh's notice. 'The temptation was too great for Fottergrim. Once he seized the city, he had no idea what to do and refused to listen to my suggestions. Hobgoblins and orcs… Once they drink the taverns dry and eat all the meat in the butcher shops… Do they even pause to consider where the next meal is supposed to come from?'
Ivy asked in a sympathetic tone, 'Down to eating the horses?'
'Yes. And what could be more foolish? How am I supposed to leave the city if they eat my carriage horses? I recommended that they eat their own mounts or, more practically, the citizens.'
'And they refused? How surprising.'
'Fottergrim muttered something about worgs tasting bad and wanting the citizens as hostages in case he needed to negotiate.'
'Obviously, an unreasonable orc.'
'A dim-witted buffoon, all stomach and no brains, like most orcs. He threw away my advice and power.'
'And the treasure beneath Tsurlagol?' She wondered what a magelord of his power could want in these looted ruins.
'I tell you, not even that creature's powers can find the crypt,' said Archlis. Again he gestured toward Kid.
'Actually, we have never heard of…' began Gunderal, but stopped when Mumchance tapped her on the knee.
'Let Ivy do the talking,' whispered the dwarf.
Archlis switched his attention to Mumchance. 'You are a dwarf,' stated the magelord.
'Thought that would be obvious.' Mumchance peered up at Archlis in his usual tilt-headed squint so he could see the magelord clearly out of his one good eye.
'Do not be insolent. What is that?' Wiggles had popped her head out of Mumchance's pocket.
'My dog.' Mumchance could be very taciturn with humans he did not like.
'Ah, your familiar. You are a dwarf wizard, then?'
'Not a wizard.' The dwarf put up one hand to rub his fake eye, as if he were tired or trying to clear some grit out of it. Ivy knew what he was doing-preparing to pop out the gem bomb. She shook her head slightly and got an even slighter nod back from Mumchance. The room was too small, and the chances too great that the rest of them might be hurt by the blast. Besides, given that the magelord could apparently set himself on fire and not be burned, she doubted a gem bomb would cause Archlis any serious damage.
'Then it changes shape? Becomes a creature of unparalleled size and ferocity?' Archlis was still fixated on Wiggles, who was snarling at him with as much ferociousness as she could manage.
'No,' said Mumchance. 'Wiggles stays a dog. A small dog. My dog.'
'Wiggles?'
'That's her name.'
Archlis was clearly baffled by someone wasting pocket space carrying anything as useless as Mumchance's fluffy white dog. It was an emotion that Ivy understood. Archlis abandoned his questions about Wiggles as profitless to himself. 'Well, I may have a use for you-a dwarf in armor should be heavy enough.' With that baffling remark, the magelord turned back to Ivy. 'You will serve me. For now.'
'All a matter of fee.'
'I will decide the appropriate reward.'
Ivy did not argue. Something about the way that Archlis kept fingering his Ankh and the bugbears kept backing up warned her that further discussion would not be beneficial. Pleased by her silence, Archlis continued. 'A section of these ruins contains a simple trap in the floor, but it takes four at least to pass through safely. We made it through once, but we came upon a complication and were driven back. Then we ran into the hobgoblins.'
'And there are only three of you now,' pointed out Ivy, who knew that two bugbears and one magelord did not add up to four.
'There are only three,' admitted Archlis, 'due to the complication. Which I will explain after you take us through the trapped corridor. Four of you are all I need, but I will let the others live as part of your fee.'
Archlis did not look like he was making idle threats. The stench of burned bodies still filled the chamber where they stood. Of course, they could refuse and fight. She knew the others were just waiting for a signal from her. Mumchance had even remembered to get a good grip on his sword instead of his second-best hammer. Zuzzara was swinging her shovel in idle little circles, drawing patterns in the dust as if she were paying no attention at all to what was happening, and she had definitely loosened her grip on Sanval. Gunderal was looking pale but more determined; her good hand had the fingers spread wide to cast some water spell. But Kid was still cringing behind her and pulling on her weapons belt. Three sharp tugs-the little thief's signal for danger.
Ivy knew that they could take the bugbears. But she did not know how fast Archlis could activate that Ankh. He looked just crazy enough to set off a firestorm in a small room, and who knew what protections he had for himself woven into that coat of multiple charms.
'So,' said Ivy, 'how far is the corridor with the funny floor?'
CHAPTER TWELVE
Archlis led them out of the room and into another tunnel that continued to run uphill, much to Mumchance's
