throat.
Amak the efreeti half-turned and gave a glance at his tormentor. When he saw Vhok, he seemed to start the slightest bit, but he did not otherwise acknowledge the cambion. 'This way,' he said simply, and motioned toward an opening in the floor leading to a set of stairs. 'I will take you to the overseer.'
Vhok went down first, in order to keep Amak between himself and Zasian, who brought up the rear. They followed the staircase down, which wound around the hollow inside of the tower for several turns. The walls of the tower were pierced with narrow openings that permitted light to enter the vertical chamber, though it was dim. At the bottom of the stairs, Amak motioned that they should pass through a large door set into the wall. The door appeared made of thick brass set into an equally stout frame.
When Vhok pulled on the door, it wouldn't budge. He gave the efreeti an accusing look.
Amak frowned, seemingly puzzled. 'Pull harder,' he urged.
The cambion slipped his sword into its sheath and took hold of the handle with both hands. He gave the door a hard yank but it would not open. 'All right,' he said, turning to chastise the efreeti. 'What's going o-'
The creature jerked a single fist forward and smacked it hard into Vhok's face. The cambion grunted in pain as he recoiled from the punch. His head bounced hard against the door, sending stabbing pain through his skull and sparks crackling through his vision.
Amak lashed out with his foot, driving the heel of it into Zasian's chest. The priest staggered backward, almost losing his balance. Rather than pursuing them, the efreeti faded from view.
'Zasian!' the half-fiend croaked, dizzy. He fumbled for his blade. 'He's escaping!' Vhok shouted.
Burnblood didn't seem to want to work properly, and the cambion slid to the floor as his balance left him. Settling on his backside, Vhok cursed his complacency. He knew the magic the efreeti was employing all too well; he and Zasian had used it to gain access to the tower and surprise the creature. The efreeti was turning the tables on them.
Insubstantial, his physical body a roiling cloud of vapor, Amak settled to the floor like a puddle and slid underneath the door. Vhok reached for his wand as the gaseous figure slipped away bit by bit. The half-fiend leveled the magical device in the direction of their quarry and grunted the command word. Four sparks darted from the tip and crackled as they snapped into the misty form. The attack didn't have a noticeable effect, but Vhok knew that such magical darts could hurt even vaporous creatures.
He readied the wand to fire off more missiles, but the last of the efreeti's form slipped beneath the door and escaped.
'Damn it to the Nine Hells!' Vhok swore. He slumped against the wall and closed his eyes to try to get the chamber to stop spinning.
'Here,' Zasian said, stepping over to the cambion. 'A little healing. Sorry I wasn't faster,' he added. He placed his hands upon Vhok's head and said a prayer.
Vhok felt the soothing magic flow into him and dissolve the pain pounding behind his eyes. When Zasian finished the ritual, Vhok waved the priest's apology away. 'We both let down our guard. He'll pay,' the half-fiend promised, rising to his feet. 'But we've got to catch up to him, first.'
Zasian grabbed the handle of the door and yanked hard. 'Definitely locked,' he said.
'Fortunately,' the cambion said, 'I have just the magic to solve this little problem.' He muttered an arcane word, and the bolt in the lock clicked.
The Banite pulled on the handle and the door swung open easily. The duo braced themselves for an attack, but none came.
As Zasian swung the door wider, they could see a massive, smoke- and flame-filled warehouse beyond. The doorway led onto a rocky platform near the ceiling of a vast, open space. Vhok realized that the room before them was cut into the mountain, beneath the tower. Instead of brass construction, everything was glowing, popping stone. Fumaroles along the sides of the chamber vented hissing, foul-smelling gases. Jets of fire spewed from cracks and holes like the magical flames from a wizard's hands. The entire warehouse chamber shimmered from the undulating heat and rising smoke.
A caravan of great bronze-colored wagons filled most of the floor of the warehouse. Wide and flat, the wagons held stacked molds filled with still-cooling glass items. Vhok realized the efreet would not unpack the molds until the wagons reached their destination, in order to minimize breakage. Large beasts of burden, vaguely similar to blazing rothe, were hitched to the wagons. It appeared as though the caravan would be departing soon.
'There,' Zasian said, pointing.
Vhok peered in the direction the priest indicated and spotted a wispy vapor moving against the updrafts in the room. It was headed toward a congregation of efreet who had gathered near a pair of huge bronze doors at the front of the chamber. They seemed to be in the midst of a jovial discussion. They loomed over the handful of manacled azer working at their feet, but one stood a head above the rest.
The cloud of wispy white swirled close and transformed. Vhok recognized Amak the moment he materialized. The efreeti bowed low to his imposing counterpart and began animatedly talking and pointing toward the door where Vhok and Zasian stood.
The larger efreeti, whom Vhok suspected was Hafiz the overseer, looked up and spotted the two interlopers. Anger contorted his expression. The cambion saw him reach for the massive falchion tucked into his sash as the others around him did the same. The overseer pointed and gave harsh commands, and the rest of the efreet spread out, moving toward the duo. A few remained behind, cracking whips at the azer to keep the slaves working.
On impulse, Vhok raised his arm and gave a friendly wave. Then he turned to Zasian. 'Let's go meet him,' he said. 'Win him over. That's why we're here, right?'
The priest gave Vhok a bemused smile, mildly surprised at the suggestion. 'All right,' he said at last. 'It just might work.'
Vhok slipped Burnblood into its sheath and considered how best to reach the floor of the warehouse. A narrow set of steep steps cut into the natural stone wall descended toward the ground level. The staircase and the wall next to it cooked the air with their heat and fire.
'Meet you at the bottom,' the cambion said, and leaped over the end of the rocky platform. He channeled his innate magic, floating down to the floor at a casual pace. When he settled his feet on the ground, he strolled toward the efreet, who were stalking toward him menacingly.
Hafiz led the pack. Bare-chested, he looked fierce and angry. He had adorned himself with brass jewelry, necklaces and earrings, and a set of bracers on his thick, muscular wrists. The horns jutting from his furrowed, demonic forehead were slightly lighter in color than his deep red skin, as were the tusks protruding from his mouth. He did not look in a mood to parley, but Vhok maintained his air of calm and casual friendliness.
'Greetings, O exalted Hafiz!' he called out, waving again. 'My companion and I'-and the cambion jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward Zasian, who had taken the stairs-'come before you today as weary travelers seeking your aid. I pray we can offer you some mutual benefit in exchange, hmm?'
Hafiz, taken aback slightly by Vhok's disarming smile and words, drew up a few paces from the cambion. He turned his falchion point down and leaned against the pommel as he studied the half-fiend. The other efreet fanned out to form a semicircle around Vhok. Zasian joined his companion and offered a bow before the overseer.
'Who sent you here?' Hafiz demanded, his voice even deeper and more rumbling than Amak's had been.
'No one,' Vhok said. 'Well, that's not entirely true. A foolish azer clan lord showed us where this magnificent mine was, and asked us to rid it of your presence, but we thought better of such nonsense and came instead to pay homage and negotiate some assistance.'
At the mention of the azer, Hafiz bristled. A deep growl issued from him and his eyes glittered. The other efreet reacted similarly. 'You are pawns of the azer?' the overseer said. 'They think they can send two puny outlanders to slay us? That is rich!' The efreeti laughed, a thunderous, echoing sound. He leaned back, guffawing heartily.
Vhok maintained his smile, but he seethed at such disrespect. Puny, indeed, he thought.
When Hafiz regained his composure, Vhok continued. 'Our thoughts exactly,' he said. 'Obviously, we offer you notice of their presence in the mountains overlooking this mine. If you wish to capture them, that is your
