A mongrelman, beneath our city!” Gheevy was gasping. “He’ll bring others of his kind. They’ll eat me! Raiders are sure to follow! We must”
Pryce shook him firmly. “We must stop talking about things we know nothing about,” he said pointedly.
The halfling blinked, then looked directly at Covington, but the terror didn’t leave his face. “But theythey speak a debased language. They can communicate with other beasts!”
“I know,” Pryce said intently. “Are you familiar with this so-called debased language?”
That drew Gheevy up short. “Well, no…”
“Then stop talking your own debased language for a moment, would you? Listen to me, Gheevy. They saved me. They won’t hurt you!”
The halfling looked up at Pryce hopefully… until one word Covington had said echoed in Wotfirr’s mind.” They’?”
He peered out from behind Dearlyn’s legs. There, with his halfling vision, he saw in the gloom the hulking mongrelman… and behind it, a creature that was bird, part vole, and part human cadaver. To complete the picture, the tattered traveler who had rendered him unconscious on the road loomed behind them.
He jerked back to face Pryce, shaking uncontrollably. “All I want is the comfort of home!” he cried. “Is that so much to ask?”
“Wotfirr!” Pryce snapped, hitting him on the arm. “And all I want is a cushy job for life!”
The halfling grabbed his arm in pain and looked up at Covington, his eyes narrowing. “Ouch,” he said with resentment, rubbing his upper arm.
Pryce sighed. “Gheevy, I’ve discovered that in Lallor you can’t always get what you want. Sometimes you have to fight for it.”
“Okay, okay,” the halfling complained, still massaging his bruised limb. “Why did you hit me so hard?”
“Sorry,” Pryce apologized, handing him the illumination orb. “Here, you’ll need this.” He started to turn around, but Gheevy urgently gripped his cloak. Pryce turned back with concern.
Wotfirr smiled wanly. “We halflings like our creature comforts and pride ourselves on our honesty,” he said quietly, apology evident in his tone. “But we are esteemed for our honor even more.”
Pryce put his hand on his friend’s shoulder and smiled. “And deservedly so,” he replied. “Now take care of that illumination orb, would you?”
Gheevy purposefully thrust the orb out before him. It illuminated the mongrelman, his huge, rag-covered body shielding the cowering form of the broken one behind him.
“It’s all right, Geoffrey,” Pryce said reassuringly. “I didn’t have time to tell them about you.”
The mongrelman gibbered and nodded, saliva coursing down his distended, scaly jaw.
Pryce nodded back, then stepped over to take Dearlyn’s arm. He almost did a double take when he saw the look of admiration on the woman’s face. “You… befriended these creatures?” she asked.
Pryce was pleased at her reaction and turned to smile at his irregular trio of assistants. “It is a distinct privilege for me to introduce you to Geoffrey…” The mongrelman lowered his head sadly, his eyes closing. “Devolawk…” The broken one raised his beak and waved with what served as its arms. “And, of course, Cunningham.” The jackalwere, in complete human form, bowed graciously. “Of the three, trust the latter the least.” Cunningham snapped back up, a look of exaggerated hurt on his face.
“Blade?” Gheevy said tightly, still holding the orb stiffly out in front of him. “Do we have time for this?”
“I think so,” Pryce replied. ‘You see, they are my guards. Fullmer, or anyone else, I imagine, couldn’t get close to the workshop with them on duty.”
“They protected my father?” Dearlyn asked hopefully.
Pryce felt a pang of guilt. “I don’t truthfully know, Miss Ambersong. We will have to see. But what I can tell you,” he said, and he felt relief to finally get some of the truth off his chest, “is that Cunningham the jackalwere was lured here by the broken one, who is a prime example of magic gone wrong. Once here, the jackalwere was asked in turn by a magical communication to lure a mongrelman who was well versed in concealment.”
Dearlyn looked at the trio in confusion. “But why? To conceal what?”
‘Your father’s workshop, I’m afraid.”
She looked at Pryce, her eyes accusatory. “Are you saying my father did this?”
“I don’t know,” Pryce said quickly.
“You don’t know!” she flared. “If not you, who?”
“Dearlyn!” he interrupted sharply. ‘This isn’t easy for any of us, least of all them.” He pointed purposefully at the cursed trio. “We have to get into the workshop,” he stressed, “and then maybe we’ll discover the truth.”
The proud woman stiffened. “Are you telling me you cannot gain entrance by yourself?”
“Yes,” he admitted without shame. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you. Now you tell me. Is it possible that your father would simply give me the keys to his workshop… or give a key to us both… that can only be used if we work together?”
Her rising anger suddenly stilled. The realization of her father’s true naturethe one she always knew was there and desperately wanted to believe inoverwhelmed her ire and started to bring tears to her eyes.
Pryce turned away from her and gave the mongrelman a simple instruction.
“Lead us to the workshop.”
Soon the six of them stood before the concealing wall. To Gheevy and Dearlyn’s eyes, it looked like any other section of the cave, but the others knew of the hidden tube through the rock.
Pryce turned to the misshapen ones. “We’re going to open the compartment now,” he told them. “Hide yourselves. If anything bad happens, I wish you a peaceful, long life.”
Dearlyn and Gheevy looked at each other with concern and a little confusion. The mongrelman babbled incoherently, and the broken one pushed his head over the other’s shoulder. “Weeeee willll protect you, Blade!” he whistled and burbled. “Weeeee don’t wish… to looooose you.”
“You cannotyou must nottry to protect me,” Pryce told them with honest appreciation. His Covington side felt a pang of missed opportunity, but his Blade side knew it had to be this way. Besides, any revelation of his Covington nature would put his absolutely vital impersonation at risk. He might gain protection for a few moments, but if any of them even suspected that he wasn’t who they said he was, he would be dissected almost immediately. “This road I must walk alone, with only the Ambersong daughter and the primary mage’s friend by my side. Our road together wherever it leadsmust take a different route.”
The mongrelman made crying sounds and shook, but eventually he shambled away, taking the crestfallen broken one with him. Only Cunningham remained. Pryce stared bravely at him until he realized the jackalwere’s expression was not one of respect or admiration, but of hope and hunger.
“Cunningham…” he said warningly.
The jackalwere looked suddenly wounded. “Sir, I assure you… how could you think…?”
“Cunningham!” Pryce snapped. Then he leaned in and spoke carefully. “No… after… assault… snacks. You hear me?”
“Quite distinctly, sir.” He drew himself up, and Pryce could see that he was essentially dusting off his pride. “Shall I go see to it that the others are safe and well hidden?”
‘You shall,” Pryce commanded flatly.
“Very good, sir.” He leaned to one side and called to the others. “Best of luck, diminutive sir. You too, milady. Enjoy the opening!”
“Get out of here!” But by the time the last word was out of Pryce’s mouth, the jackalwere had disappeared into the darkness.
Only then did Gheevy lower the illumination orb from in front of his face. “So,” he said with relief. “Where is it?”
“There,” said Pryce, motioning with his head toward the wall. He swung his cloak off and started examining how the clasp was attached. “I’ll need the clasp from your cloak as well, Dearlyn.”
She looked puzzled and began fingering the circular clasp at her neck.
“The clasps serve as individual keys to the Ambersong lodging. I think they are also the keys to the workshop as well, but only if they are used in combination.” He looked at her, his expression revealing no chagrin or regret. “When your father left you, he left me as well. I don’t know where he is, but I believe that he wanted us to cooperate.” At that moment, as if on cue, the clasp popped off into his hand.
“Yes,” Dearlyn said quietly, nodding. “That makes sense. It sounds like something Father would do.” Then
