Descent into the Depths of the Earth

“I knew you could all handle it. Just needed the rightcoaching. A prod. A push toward glory!” The little man crowed in triumph,puffing out his meager pigeon chest. “That’s what Good does. It overcomes! Ittriumphs in adversity! The more the obstacles, the greater the victory.”

“Yeah right.” Escalla was almost asleep, butnevertheless managed to look up at the Justicar. “Hey, Jus? He thought weweren’t coming to rescue you, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“Polk, say, ‘I have just been rescued by a teenaged boy and afaerie’!”

Annoyed, Polk sniffed through his great hatchet nose. “I havejust been rescued by a teenaged boy and a faerie.”

“Good!” Rolling over, Escalla held up on self-righteouslittle finger. “Now say ‘I, Polk, hereby declare that I owe the faerie a totalof seven hours of foot rubs, to be delivered at the rate of one half-hour per evening for the next two weeks.’” The faerie hovered overhead as Polk irritablymuttered the promise. “Good! And Private Henry hereby requires a really bigchapter in your chronicles, all about how he blitzed a beholder and became a total hero.” The girl rubbed her eyes, more than ready for sleep. “Are we allhappy?”

The sword Benelux snorted. No.

“Is everyone important happy?” Escalla gave a titanicyawn. “Then let’s get some sleep.” The girl rolled herself up in silks andnuzzled happily down into Cinders’ soft black fur. “You guys had a hard day.I’ll take first watch.”

She was asleep in moments. Jus tucked her in, patted Cinders on the head and served out dinner to his companions. He popped a coal into Cinders’ mouth, put Henry in a comfortable position away from the fire, thenwatched as the adventurers slowly drifted off to sleep.

Escalla rolled over in her bed, fast asleep, and quietly murmured Jus’ name. The big man sat beside her, looking down at the little formwith its strangely innocent little smile.

Jus quietly bent over and kissed Escalla in her sleep. He stroked her hair then sat down to keep watch over his friends.

Behind him, Cinders grinned his piranha grin and quietly thumped his tail.

“You!”

Lord Ushan burst into the pearlwood chambers, his robes swirling with illusory flame. He pointed one finger in accusation at Lord Faen. “Clan Nightshade kills a scion of the Seelie Court, and yet you elect to sithere as their guest!”

Closing one of Clan Nightshade’s books, Lord Faen raised hisbrows and replied, “This is common enough knowledge. I have no reason todepart.” Lord Faen tilted his head to gaze at Lord Ushan thoughtfully. “You seemto have been sadly out of touch.”

“I have estates to govern! Bifrost, Beastlands, Elysium! Girlor no girl, some of us still have to rule!”

“Estates. How interesting.” Lord Faen arose and walkedquietly over to the windows, looking out across Lord Charn’s lake. It all had awonderfully rustic appeal. “Nightshades invitation to us all is still in force.I would consider it rude to reject them at this time.”

Furious, Lord Ushan paced back and forth. His orc servants waited with eyes downcast in the corridors beyond. He took his staff of office from one girl’s hand then whirled on Faen in a rage.

“This is collusion! By staying in this… this primal filth,you give royal approval of assassination! Does the Erlking not care that Cavalier Tarquil is dead?”

“Yes. Poor Tarquil.” Faen stroked his goatee. “Still, atleast his problems with vendettas are now over. It must have eased life in Clan Sable to have the boy turn up his toes.”

Turning stiff, Ushan coldly glared at the other lord and whispered, “Have a care, Faen. Tarquil was not the only duelist in Clan Sable.”

“I’m sure of it.” Unconcerned, Lord Faen sat down. “Still, weare all touched by your loss. Is there to be a service in Tarquil’s memory? Ireally should attend. Tell me, will you reincarnate the boy?”

“We will take a clone from his remains.”

“Ah. Of course.”

Faen returned to his book. Ushan watched him, flexing his hands indecisively about his staff, then turned back to his serving girls.

“Find the murderer, Faen.”

“It is a very large universe, Ushan.” Lord Faen fluffed outthe pages of his book again. “Still, I am continually amazed at the things thatturn up when you least expect them.”

18

The underdark was unpleasant-wet, stinking, mold encrusted,and the phosphorescent light tended to make peoples teeth look violet. The sorry thing to say was that after a few days, Jus almost felt used to it. From time to time, noises far ahead gave warning hints of danger. The party hid themselves in side caves, screened by one of Escalla’s illusions as slow moving drow caravansplodded past. There were occasional monster tracks and occasional patches of deadly molds that Jus simply spotted and avoided. If one moved carefully and cleverly, it was quite possible to survive.

For a while. A very little while. Some of the monster tracks were… impressive.

For her part, Escalla seemed relatively unconcerned. Dressed in her latest attempt to make proper clothing out of black drow silks, she sat cross legged atop Jus’ head making herself a pair of long, fingerless gloves.

“Look, guys! When it gets warm, drow silk actually stretches!This stuff fits sheer.” The girl leaned over to look joyously into Jus’ face.“Isn’t that hoopy?”

“Yup.”

New clothes had kept Escalla fascinated for at least half an hour-half an hour that would have been better spent scouting for danger upahead.

“Don’t you think it’s hoopy?”

“It’s hoopy.” The Justicar managed to reach a finger up andplace it on the girl’s lips. “Now shush.”

After long miles of travel, the tunnels had suddenly become more chill. The scent of fresh water filled the air-a strangely clean,refreshing scent. With the tunnels echoing more and more loudly to the rush of a nearby stream, Jus shrugged the girl off and loosed the sword Benelux in its sheath.

The sword cleared its voice in prim suspicion. What is it?

“A river.” Jus found the sword vaguely annoying, but thenagain, he found a lot of things vaguely annoying. “Fresh water, fairly clean.”

Excellent! Brimming with satisfaction, the sword seemedto glow. Perhaps we might find a trading establishment-a tavern, a town, evena small port-where more suitable garments might be purchased, something fittingyour new status as companions of the magic sword.

“Is she still blathering?” Escalla flew over to slap thesword’s sheath. “You know, for someone who tolerates unicorn art, you sure arefree in handing out fashion advice!”

Young lady-Benelux gave a cool sniff-there is acertain element of the common about you.

“Oh, ain’t too much about me you could call common!” SomehowEscalla managed to strike a sultry pose whilst in flight.

Polk rummaged around in his belt pouch for something to eat. “Yep! The girl’s got class!”

“Class!” Escalla pinged her finger against the sword. Thegirl patted the scroll case that now hung between her wings. “Spells and wings,and a figure that sings. No one touches the faerie!”

Jus planted himself flat against an outcrop of rock, cautiously peering around a corner toward the unseen