“Nothing in sight,” Willow said quietly. “We’ve come abouthalfway down this passage. There’s a chamber down there. I could see light, andthere are kobolds down there. I don’t think the guards went that way. It’s toocalm.”
“We don’t go on and leave anything behind to set an ambushfor us when we’re going back out,” Eddis said.
“Let’s go,” Jerdren said shortly and slipped past thecurtain. The others followed.
The passage itself was gloomy, but Eddis could make out what seemed to be a large chamber. The air was still and smelled of damp dirt, sweat, poorly cooked food, and something long dead. The last fortunately could not have been close by. Willow took back the lead, and the men carrying lanterns had them shuttered once more.
Eddis glanced at the priest, who now walked next to her. The man carried a mace, and his face was grim. Odd, she thought. He’d been so quietand placid all the way to the Keep, shed once thought him half-witted.
Flerys was right at M’Baddah’s side, bow slung over hershoulder and a long knife in her hand.
Gods, I must have been half-witted myself, bringing a child here, the swordswoman thought. At least the child didn’t seem to think it odd.Eddis made sure her own bow was secure and drew her sword.
Panev suddenly eased to the fore and pointed.
“Evil is there, hiding,” the priest whispered, then yelled awarning as a dozen or more kobolds erupted from the chamber beyond. Most were armed with dagger-sized swords and long, slender metal pikes. A few wore bits of armor, but many-likely females-wore only ragged tunics and clung to even smallercreatures. Perhaps they were merely seeking a way of escape, but most of those with young held knives or daggers. Eddis blocked a long, wild swing and countered with a pivot and stab. The kobold howled in pain and tore itself from her blade, but staggered into the wall and fell. She brought the blade down across the back of its neck and swung at the next. Four long steps-and two moredead-brought her into the chamber itself, her back against the wall, bloodysword in one hand, long-bladed dagger in the other.
This chamber was wide and deep, the ceiling vaulted, and only a few tallow candles burned here, the smoke thick and cloying. Eddis was grateful when one of the Keep men opened his lantern, illuminating the place in all its dreadful fouled state. A few kobolds-smaller and half-naked-kneltmid-chamber, clinging to each other, and these were guarded by females.
Many of the fighters were still trying to cut their way through the company-seeking simply to flee or perhaps hoping to escape with thefemales and young. Several of the Keep men, like M’Baddah, were using bows tobring the creatures down from a distance. Eddis decided to stay where she was, in the doorway, sword ready to bring down any who made it past the archers. As she freed up a throwing knife, Blorys came over to set himself at her left shoulder. Three of the Keep men ran into the chamber, boar spears ready to throw.
“Arrow!” M’Baddah’s voice rose above the noise, and thespearmen ducked, staying low as the outlander, his son, and Flerys shot together. One arrow buried itself to the fletchings in the nearest kobold, and the other two wounded their targets, though not badly. The other kobolds abandoned their fallen comrades and retreated toward the far wall.
One of the spearmen yelled in pain and fell, two black arrows in his shoulder, another wobbling back and forth in his hardened leather armor.
Eddis glanced at Blorys. “They aren’t trying to run, but theycan pick us off from across the chamber,” she said.
“Two can play that game,” Blorys said and drew her across theopening and along the wall, so they had a clear view of the enemy. “Watch out,”he added. “If those are females, they aren’t exactly helpless!”
“Got it!” she replied.
The smaller, unarmored females had put aside their young and were now retrieving bows and spears from the messy pile of things littering the floor around them. She drew down on the nearest, dispatched the creature, and began firing arrows as quickly as she could. Blorys’ bowstring sang non-stop.Seven of the armed kobolds and at least as many of the others fell dead or dying. Four went down squealing and bleeding heavily. The remaining young and females ran wildly for the passage, and many of the armed creatures threw aside their weapons to follow, but others seemed grimly willing to cut their way through the tall invaders blocking the way out.
But the invaders were no longer there. As the kobolds came running, Jerdren drew his men aside and let them pass. The men who’d been left tokeep watch at the joining of passageways were ready for that. By the time Eddis and Blorys came to where they could see the corridor, Keep men holding swords blocked the way. The startled kobolds milled in panic and were cut down.
M’Whan came back to illuminate the cavern with one of thelanterns. The chamber had been fetid with body odors, rancid food, and less pleasant things. Now it reeked of blood. Blorys gripped her forearm and gave her a reassuring, if faint, smile. She nodded and drew her sword as she followed him back into the passage. Flerys joined her at once, with M’Whan at her side.
“Nothing in there worth having, I’d say,” Jerdren remarked.“Those entry guards weren’t in here, so we still have to face whatever they’vegone to warn. Let’s go.”
Mead, who had taken a few steps up the short side passage, came back to say, “We go back the way we came in. There is no way out up there.There are enemies, but I cannot tell how many or exactly where they are.”
“One way to find out,” Eddis replied.
The lanterns were again mostly shuttered, only a dim light from one showing that the way was clear. Just ahead, another hewn corridor crossed this one at right angles. Eddis could make out flickering lantern light on the far wall.
“We might as well yell out, ‘Here we come!’” she murmuredcrossly.
“Well, but they know we’re here anyway,” Blorys replied. “Why
“Where’ll they run, if there’s no way out up there?” shecountered.
He laid warning fingers on her arm as they reached the passage end. Jerdren had somehow got himself ahead of Willow here. He leaned into the open, yelped in surprise, and jerked back. A crossbow quarrel vibrated in the shoulder of his chain mail. He yanked the deadly little bolt free with an effort, then threw it aside.
“Three, I think,” he said softly.
Three guards, but there might be more, and the creatures were either trapped or safe behind some barricade because they weren’t giving up ortrying to run.
She heard a sharp
“Lousy shots!” he mouthed and crooked a finger for them tojoin him.
Mead moved to the fore and gestured for the others to stay put as his lips began moving in a spell. Willow was right behind him, and he murmured something in Jerdren’s ear that Eddis couldn’t hear. Jers nodded, andhe and the elves suddenly leaped into the corridor, yelling loudly. The irregular volley of quarrels ceased. Jerdren turned to loose several quick arrows, then threw himself after the elves, down the right-hand passage and into darkness.
Mead followed. “Fire spell!” he yelled, and got an answering,distant reply from his brother. A fireball crackled to life between his outspread fingers and launched itself along the west passage. The mage threw himself after it.
“Wait.” Mead had stopped just short of a left bend in thepassage a long way on. He had to raise his voice to be heard, when the rest of the company would have surged past him and around the corner. “Only threekobolds there, and my spell has neutralized them, but Jerdren and my brother would doubtless have killed all three by now anyway.”
Eddis flinched aside as the whine of a sword cut the air, ahead in the gloom. Then two kobolds made bulky by chain mail came running up the passage straight toward her, throwing aside their crossbows as they ran. The sight of Eddis, Blorys, and Mead blocking the way stopped them short, and they spun around and ran back the way they’d come. There was another, very brief,clash of metal on metal, and Jers’ triumphant yell. Blorys, sword in one handand spear in the other, sprinted down the passage, but Jerdren came back into sight, a small cut on his ear bleeding freely. Willow followed, his nose wrinkling in distaste.
