Keep on the Borderlands

her a wink, then went to open the door as someone tapped at the panel. A nearly bald old man in clerk’s robes camein with a small basket containing several dusty scrolls and another containing a stoppered ewer of water and plain wooden cups. The man murmured something rather anxiously. Blorys nodded and took the basket. The clerk scurried off, closing the door behind him.

“Wanted to know if we needed anyone to read Common,” Blorsaid as Jerdren raised an eyebrow. “Said some of these are old, the writing’sbad, and some are fading.”

“I’ll try,” Eddis said. She unrolled the first, shiftingaround until light fell on it, and pored over the contents. “Here,” she said atlast. “This is from when Lord Macsen first began to build the Keep. He sent alarge armed company on a long scouting party up the east road to see how far they could safely journey and what was there. And with orders-” her gaze flickedtoward Jerdren-“to not take serious chances or engage the enemy, if there wasone, because they were there to bring back information.

“Macsen’s men took their lord at his word-particularly thelast words, because most of them returned alive. They’d spoken of orcs in along, deep ravine where the road went northeast, of kobolds and something very large and dark that followed alongside them, back in the trees where all they could make out was the general size and shape and speed of it. It hadn’t comeclose, perhaps fearing their numbers, good arms and armor. They hadn’t goneafter it, nor had they ever strayed from the road. They’d built large fires atnight and kept watches by twos and threes, had heard plenty of wolves and other odd, disturbing cries in the night but saw only a huge flying shadow cross the fire once, nothing else.”

The second scroll yielded nothing but most of the rumors they’d already heard and a few new ones.

“Eater of men?” Jerdren scoffed. “That could be nearlyanything! Orcs, lizardmen, ogres, too, though it’s said they prefer dwarf, and…” He faltered to an embarrassed silence, eyed Willow and Mead from under hisbrows.

“And elves,” Willow said dryly. “We know. Never mind,Jerdren.”

The third scroll was newer than the other two, less dusty. Eddis examined it for some moments, then glanced up. “I think I’ve foundsomething. It’s-let me see-a new copy of a very old scroll, one Lord Macsenbrought with him when he came here. There’s some notes here, see?” She indicatedthe beginning of the neatly written text. “It says, ‘I Veriyan, make this faircopy of a scroll scarce ten years old but damaged by the damp, and it was in turn a copy of one brought to these lands by the Lord Macsen himself. Some say the lord had that scroll from a kinsman who rode these lands and saw in person the wonders written down here. Others say that he bought the scroll or was given it, and this I believe to be true, since it was not ordered to be placed with histories.’”

Jerdren cleared his throat impatiently. Eddis shrugged and began scanning down the document as quickly as she could.

“Ah,” she said finally, “here is the most detailed thing sofar. ‘To me it was told by one who journeyed there, a hero who knew nothing ofthe caverns until he drew near them and was accosted by dire and diverse enemies. Vast they are, with many ways in, and often the passage in is the only way out. Many the sorts of monster which dwelleth there, but like men and monsters, oft the varieties of these do not or cannot live together. For many long, weary days did this man and his followers battle the small dog-men armed with spears who withdrew from bright lights and fled from greater numbers. There they found the hyena who stalks on two legs and bears weaponry. Here were orcs, and traps, and the strange creatures that often inhabit the dark places of the world, and serve no one but themselves and their own hungers.’” Her nosewrinkled. Caves were all right, but nasty creatures lurking in the darkness…“‘And in yet another place, a vast silence and stench and a fear so great eventhe hero himself would not tread the darkness there.

“‘Often he spoke of these matters I here record and oftentold me how he came to believe all the foul creatures had been gathered by one master. Or, perhaps, dwelling there separately, they had come to serve a single master. But of this, he could provide no proof, though he said there were many caves he had not yet entered, or even discovered, when he and his men wearied of the battle.

“‘Here ends the tale of the caverns wherein dwelleth chaos.’”

She read silently and rapidly down the rest of the scroll, but it was short, and she soon rolled it up and laid it back in the basket with the others.

Brief silence. Blorys broke it. “It’s something, Isuppose-let me finish, please, Jers. It seems to match with the other stories,so if it’s simply a tale, it’s consistent. That makes it more likely to havesome basis in fact. We ourselves have seen orcs, and some of the Keep men have seen lizardmen. We have Mead’s word that there’s a strange or possibly mad manout in the north woods, in control of a mountain lion-but he may not beconnected to the caves.”

“Maybe he was,” Mead said. “Maybe he was the one thishero suspected of controlling the caves and their evil occupants.”

“Anything’s possible,” Jerdren said. “To me, this scroll andeverything else we’ve heard tells me we wouldn’t simply be riding out the eastroad to enjoy the falling leaves and the chill nights. And I’ll tell you what-meand my brother, we’ve fought not just orcs but worse monsters, way up on thenorth borders. We were part of an infantry company, sure, but we learned a few things there about fighting the brutes. They can all be killed, if you know what you’re doing.”

“And,” Blorys said, “if you have plenty of luck.”

“Same as for anything else, Brother,” Jerdren said, “but thisI can tell you for fact. Creatures like that kill travelers, villagers, whatever’s handy or whatever they want. And they keep everything thosefolk had. Remember that one cave, Blor? It was the nastiest mess I’d everseen-clothes and mail-shirts piled in heaps, rusted blades and arrows with thepoints all brittle and the feathers long since molted and half-eaten by bugs. Chests, locked ones, full of gold and silver coin, so much of it that it took three of us to carry it back to the commander’s wagon. And two others, filledwith cut gems and jewelry, that made the dimmest man of us want to plunge his hands in it. Those bandits we just took maybe weren’t smart enough to hold ontomuch treasure, but you can trust orcs and the like to do just that.”

Blorys eyed him tiredly. “You’re still as much for it asever, aren’t you?”

“Didn’t listened to what Eddis read just now, did you?”Jerdren countered cheerfully. He settled his shoulders against the mantle and gazed around the room. “Now-ah, Eddis, you’ve your own decision to make on this.And I’m not pushing you for any word tonight. So far’s I’m concerned, it’s thesame deal as we made last time. Equal shares in decisions and responsibility, and equal shares to everyone of whatever treasure we find.”

“If I say yes,” Eddis replied, “and that’s only afterM’Baddah and M’Whan and I have time to talk it over privately. That willonly be after we’ve gathered as much information as we can tomorrow. This-” shetapped the nearest scroll-“is fine, so far as it goes, but it’s still too much‘they say’ for my taste.”

“No need for anyone to decide tonight, then,” Jerdrenreplied. “Sleep on it, all of you. We can meet early tomorrow in the tavern.”

“Preferably,” Eddis said, “after the taverner’s had time tofinish his bread and porridge and properly open the doors.”

“Huh?” Jerden looked at her blankly. “We’ll decide who goeswhere, talks to whom, and once that’s done, we can meet again-late afternoon,maybe. We should know pretty well by then where we stand, I’d say.”

Eddis glanced at Blorys, who gave her a faint smile in reply.

“And then, since Ferec’s being generous with weapons andsupplies again, we can get going on lists of what we’ll need, how many of usthere’ll be, and so on. Only a fool’d go after monsters in caves with one decentsword if someone’d buy him a second to keep it company.”

“We’d want warmer clothing, decent food, plenty of lanterns,charms for making light and making fire,” Blorys said. He sounded resigned.

“Extra water bottles and plenty of travel rations,” one ofthe Keep men put in.

“And plenty more volunteers,” Jerdren finished.

“We could use someone who’s good at planning battles insidecaverns, Jers,” Blorys said. “Last time you and I did that, we were followingsomeone else’s orders, and that’s been a while ago. We have you two, for seeingfar in the dark.” He indicated Mead and Willow with a nod. “If you decide tocome along, of course. I’m thinking back to when we fought up north, and I’msaying dwarves.”

Jerdren frowned. “Dwarves? Why?”

“Because that kind of fighting is what they’re best at.”

“Dwarves,” Jerdren said again, darkly. “Doesn’t matter. Notlikely you’ll find any around here.”