Queen of the Demonweb Pits

sticks for Escalla.

Intrigued, Henry asked, 'Hey, Escalla? Um, what are you doing?'

'Trying to teach the pooch to fetch!' Recording the moment on her slowglass gem, the little faerie happily tossed another stick for Cinders, full of boundless enthusiasm. 'Come on Cinders! Fetch!'

'Oh.' Henry struggled to set his crossbow properly in the crook of his arm. He leaned close to Escalla and whispered. 'Um, isn't that difficult when he's… you know, an empty skin?'

Escalla shot a glance at Cinders, and then drifted Henry out of earshot of the hound.

'It's my plan to get him mobile.'

'Mobile?'

'Look: the pooch can wag his tail, he can lift his ears… I think getting him moving is just a case of mind over matter.'

Escalla slapped a new throw-stick into her little palm. 'That's why we're going to basics here! If we make instinct work for us, we can set over the mental barrier he has!'

'By fetching a stick?'

'Hey!' The faerie waved her hands. 'Dogs fetch sticks! All the books say they do!'

'Really?' Henry peered thoughtfully over at Cinders's big teeth. 'He's a hell hound. Maybe they fetch bones or skulls or something?'

With a heavy sigh, the Justicar looked at Escalla. 'Escalla, I don't think Cinders is quite up to fetching any sticks.'

'Ha! What you people need to learn is perseverance! You need some self discipline!' Escalla tossed a stick up the road. 'Cinders! Fetch!'

There were at least two hundred sticks littered in the party's wake. Undefeated, Escalla eagerly made fetch motions at Cinders, who merely grinned. A tad annoyed, the girl speared him with a thoughtful glare.

'Are you really trying, or aren't you?'

Fun! The hell hound wagged his tail. Good exercise for funny faerie!

Escalla went into a sulk.

'Aw, come on, pooch! This is a serious experiment here!'

Long day. Cinders tired.

'Well, all right.' Escalla tossed a final stick aside. 'We'll give it a rest for a while. We don't want to strain your, um… whatever muscle things it is that let you move. But tonight, you practice for another hour! And you get a coal lump for each stick you snatch!'

The Justicar gave a patient arch of his brow.

'Escalla, the day he catches his first stick, I'll give him a whole wagon load.'

'Hey, pooch! You hear that?' Escalla landed on Jus's shoulder and ruffled the ears of both man and beast. 'See! He believes in you!'

Cinders happy!

'Good.' The Justicar readied up to pat the hell hound's skull. 'Good boy.'

The path led through deserted forests, past the ruins of an ancient tower, and into lovely quiet hills. This empty country separated the civilized kingdoms of the south from the savage kingdoms of the north where the minions of Iuz lurked. Even this far south, the lands had been depopulated by the Greyhawk Wars. War bands had swept through years ago, done their damage, then disappeared. Now the hills were quiet, and old bones crumbled softly into dust.

There was no game. No deer started out of the forest. No hares or doves fled as the adventurers moved along the old deserted road. After a while, it became uncanny. The Justicar walked slightly off the trail and ran his hands over a disturbed patch of grass, looking down at a pile of deer droppings that had turned white with sun and rain. Henry immediately sank into cover, cocking the magic crossbow. Jus let the boy do his work and began sifting through the forest's sights and smells.

'Cinders?'

No animal smell. No deer trail. No animals. Only bugs! Cinders sampled the world with sharper senses than a man's, scenting magic on the wind. Bad things were here. Now bad things gone.

'Bad things?'

Maybe troll. Maybe goblin. Maybe spider. Day-old smell.

Escalla hovered overhead, invisible up in the trees, covering Jus and Cinders as they worked. The faerie faded slowly back into sight and drifted downward, her eyes on the forest eaves.

'Trouble?'

'Trouble.' Jus swept his fingers through the grass. 'There's no wild game. No animals bigger than a mouse. Cinders smells troll and goblin.'

'Troll?' Escalla unslung her ice wand and readied for trouble. 'Oh, that's fun.'

'They can't be native. Not in this area.'

Escalla fanned them both with her wings and asked, 'So where did they come from?'

'Yes-' the Justicar looked out across the quiet hills-'where did they come from?'

From back on the trail, Polk's voice brayed into the silence. 'What's up, boy? We're waiting! You're too slow. Unhardened to the trail. Sign of a sloppy life, boy! Slack! Undisciplined! You need to crave the open trail, son. Become a true rugged outdoorsman just like me!' Polk grandly puffed his chest. 'You can use me as a role model, son. I don't mind. That's what I'm for! An example to the needy! A figure of inspiration!' The badger waved a paw. 'Come on, son! We need speed! Need to find civilization, get some dungeoneering equipment, and then get you on a proper adventure!'

Jus and Escalla shot a dire glance at the badger. Jus rose up from the grass.

'Polk, we need food. We need beer. We need ingredients for Escalla's spells. If you buy any more damned rope-'

'Oh, yes!' Enid radiated good cheer. 'And Escalla wants ingredients for lots more potions of giant size!'

Jus scratched his head. 'What?'

'Shhh! Nothing!' Escalla jabbed Enid's ribs with her elbow and bit her lip. Flying backward, dressed in elbow gloves, leggings and skirt apparently sprayed directly onto her skin, she suddenly became aware of all eyes upon her. She blushed, tugged her skirt straight and glared at Polk, who was watching her expectantly. 'What?'

'Are you deaf?' The badger was making a shopping list. 'I asked if we need growth potions as adventure equipment?'

'Well, I sure hope it'll be an adventure!' The faerie whirred busily up into the air. 'Polk! No adventure equipment! We are not buying holy water, wolfsbane, silver mirrors, or pack mules. And the only garlic buds I want are ones sizzling in olive oil with bay leaves and diced lamb!'

'We already have wolfsbane.' Polk gave a sniff. 'It's in with my scrolls. And garlic always gives me gas.'

'We tried to warn you about that.' Escalla hovered beside the badger and tapped her chin. 'If the priests reincarnated you as a badger, shouldn't you be eating badgery things?'

'What? Bugs and bark and week-old rabbits?' Polk gave a superior little sniff. 'I may be furry, but I ain't stupid! Now come on. Let's find a town. I want a steak, frog-apple pie, and a cold beer-and not necessarily in that order!'

'Hen?' Escalla waved Henry out of his hiding place. 'Come on, hon! Time to get walking.'

The road dipped into a valley, then swept up over a hill, finally looking down upon a shabby town on the plains below. A nearby river had broken its banks with the springtime floods, turning the lowlands into a morass. Floods lapped at the city walls. Refugees from drowned villages had flocked into the city, and the smell of the place was enough to draw flies from hundreds of miles around.

From the hills above, the adventurers looked down at the region's first, best claim to civilization. Enid wore a look of shock and waved her tail to clear the flies from her flanks. Escalla looked at the mess and gave an irritated sigh.

'So much for spending a night on the town!'

The only happy person was Polk. He unruffled a huge map and spread it out over Enid's bottom, his snout beaming full of smiles.