A loud crack split the air, and its fingers stopped just short. The grin faded to a puzzled look, as if it did not understand why its hand would not close.
Another resounding crack, and its eyes widened further.
The ogre stumbled forward to its knees, still gripping Avari's sword, its face now the same height as hers. There, protruding from its forehead, were the bent tips of two crossbow bolts. The ogre was, in fact, dead. The huge thing fell forward, its grip finally slack, allowing her to step out of the way.
Avari gasped in relief for a moment before movement caught her eye. Raising her gaze from the ogre, she found herself staring straight into the icy blue eyes of a dwarf.
"So ye be havin' a spot o' trouble then, are ye, lass?"
His voice was mellow and reassuring, and his face reminded her more of a leprechaun than a dwarf, with rosy red cheeks and a bulbous sunburned nose above a braided beard the color of red potter's clay. He held an ornate crossbow, and was dressed in dark leathers and a plain iron helm.
Avari's noted the diminutive figure's appearance even as she realized that the danger had ended; all her foes were either dead or mired in Shay's conjured goo. As this observation coaxed its way into her consciousness, the adrenalin rush of battle faded and she started to shake. Her sword suddenly weighed tons and her knees melted to jelly, forcing her to sit or fall down; she chose the former. She watched the dwarf as he moved to help Jundag, who had regained consciousness and was warily eyeing the newcomer.
"Got the wind knocked out o' ye, eh?" the dwarf said, levering the big man to his feet and patting off some of the dust covering Jundag's clothing. "Nothin' worse'n a cracked rib I'll wager. Be as good as new in a day er two. Now let's go see how yer elf friend is farin'."
"Shay!" Avari gasped, lurching to her feet. "Gods, I'd almost forgotten." She knelt beside her friend, checking for injuries. The spear had struck him just above the lowest rib and had pierced a few links of his mail, but overall the armor had held. The mysterious dwarf knelt across from Avari and ran deft fingers over the elf's head.
"Aye, there be a nasty lump on the back o' his skull here. He must o' cracked it on this here bone. He should be wakin' in an hour er two, but he'll have a headache ta rival the pits o' the Nine Hells."
"We don't have an hour or two," Jundag protested as he joined them. "We must move right away. There are sure to be more of those scum nearby and we are in no shape to fight."
"Oh, don't be in such a hurry, lad," the enigmatic dwarf said, pushing himself to his feet and dusting off his knees. "It took a load of talkin' for the big fella ta get this bunch o' beasties in here. If we're quiet, this might be the safest place in the whole keep ta set and rest a bit. And these ones're tied up nice and neat like right here, ready fer a quick crack on the noggin, if ye understand me thinkin'."
With a smile and a wink, the dwarf hefted Shay's hammer and proceeded to methodically dispatch the hapless pile of entangled orcs, goblins and wagloks, all the while humming a jaunty tune that kept perfect time with the steady crack of the war hammer as it shattered bone.
Jundag's face mirrored Avari's confusion. The dwarf was obviously on their side, but why? And who was he? And where had he come from? The questions begged for answers, but were ignored as Shay moaned and the two warriors returned their attention to the prostrate half-elf.
"Ah, yes." Lysethra sighed, leaning back in the dark leather daybed, her silks rustling like autumn leaves. "Nothing more relaxing than curling up with a good book."
The atmosphere of her private study oozed relaxation. Detailed silk tapestries decorated the walls, sequential scenes of Xakra the Tangler in all her splendor, feeding on the torn bodies of lesser demons, draining their life essence, and finally descending to Discord, her own plane of the Nine Hells, to take her rightful place among the Dark Gods. It was such a cozy place, so restful. The book she was reading was also a favorite, an old rendering of the sacrificial practices of Clan Darkmist before the Dark Union. She chuckled at one of the passages, so quaint, yet intriguing in its attention to detail.
Her peace evaporated as Calmarel burst into the room, grinning from ear to ear.
"I have found the spy!" she announced, thrusting the evidence of her claim out for her sister's inspection.
"Congratulations, sister younger. But you appear to have damaged him. Is he still any good?"
"Oh, I think I can still squeeze some information out of him. These things take time, you know. The more time the better in some cases." Jewelry, bone trinkets and talismans clattered and jingled as she whirled and strode back down the corridor, leaving the door agape. Her sing-song call trilled back over her shoulder. "I will tell you when I am finished!"
Lysethra smiled as she watched Calmarel's swaggering form recede down the hallway, the spy's severed head bouncing along at her shapely hip. When her sister was finished tormenting the man's spirit, he would have divulged everything he knew, pleading to remain dead. The last intruder Calmarel caught had been brought back from beyond and tortured to death three times before she finally lost interest.
CHAPTER 21
The Great Hall was silent. The eccentric dwarf had finished his gruesome task and his musical accompaniment. Avari watched as he rifled though the pockets of the deceased, then sauntered back to where she sat next to Shay.
"Some nice baubles here," he said, dumping his tiny trove onto a spread cloak, one bushy eyebrow arching like a puff of crimson flame. "'Tis a lot mor'n I would've expected that rabble ta have." He picked out a fair-sized garnet and a less-impressive tourmaline. "I'll just take these two fer meself, fer services rendered, ye understand. The rest are yers. How fares the elf?"
"Oh! Well, he seems all right," Avari said with a twinge of guild; she had been more fascinated with their new acquaintance than Shay's condition. She quickly checked him. "His breathing is steady, but he hasn't shown any sign of waking."
"Head wounds can be hard to read," Jundag said as he stood and gathered his weapons. "Watch him closely. I will keep a lookout so that we are not surprised as before." He stalked off and crouched in the shadows like a great sulking beast.
"Yer friend's a bit moody, ain't he?" the dwarf noted, flashing a grin at Avari and a quick glance at Jundag. "Is he not partial ta the shorter races then, bein' the giant that he is?"
Despite their odd situation and Shay's condition, Avari found herself returning the newcomer's smile. The fellow was like no other dwarf she had ever heard of. His smile was quick, his temper mellow. She wondered if he might actually be an unusually large gnome.
"He's doesn't take quickly to strange people. Not that you're... I mean..." She recovered. "I haven't thanked you for saving my life."
"Nay, lass. I didn't do such a thing as that. Jist put in wi' a spot o' help. I'm sure ye would've come out alright even wi'out me help, bein' the strong young lass ye are." His grin faded as he examined Shay then turned to rummage though one of the two large satchels slung over his shoulders. "Now let's see what we got ta put the color back in the cheeks o' yer friend there."
The dwarf's bag disgorged a number of intriguing items. A jeweled dagger and several small glittering trinkets flashed by, followed by an ivory map case and a silver hair brush. They seemed strange provisions for a wandering dwarf, considering the practical rope and jerky that filled Avari's own parcels.
"Here we are, just the thing." His nimble fingers withdrew a flask the size of a small apple. Graceful gold lettering scripted the green ceramic sides, and the stopper looked like crystal.
"What's that?" Avari asked, suddenly suspicious.
"Oh, just a brew me old gran-mammy cooked up. One swig an' he'll be as right as rain." The dwarf poured a measure into Shay's open mouth, then held the priest's nose and rubbed his throat to help the liquid down. Color flushed into the half-elf's pale cheeks, and Shay's eyes flew open.
"What? Look out! Who?" The half-elf started in horror as his vision cleared to behold the dwarf's red-bearded visage at close range.
The priest's usually good judgment failed him, and he jumped to the only likely conclusion.
"Holy Tem, I'm in the Hells!" Shay struggled to get up, recoiling from the fiery locks and ruddy features. "I should never have stuck my nose into those books!"
"Nay, I'm no daemon, ye blasted fool elf!" the dwarf countered, trying to restrain the ranting priest. "And yer not dead, ye pointy-eared buffoon. Here's yer friend, here, right by yer side. See?"
Shay's hysteria waned at Avari's smiling face, although he stared at her as she tried to suppress laughter. It took her a few minutes to convince him that he had not been banished to the lower realms.
"Well, if I am not in the Nine Hells, then who the hell are you?" he demanded of the dwarf as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. "And what the devil... I mean, what in the name of the Balancer happened?"
"Well ain't that just like an elf," the dwarf snorted, vaulting to his feet. "Here I bring 'im back from the very brink o' death, an' he's nothin' but questions an' accusations. N'er even the slightest breath o' a thank you..."
"I thank you," Avari said, pushing Shay back down. "Perhaps if we knew each other's names, for a start. Mine is Avari, this is Shay and our other companion is called Jundag."
"Well, I'll be. Finally, someone with manners about 'em." The cheery dwarf grinned once again, a calloused hand snatching up Avari's and pumping it, the previous affront forgotten. "The name's DoHeney, and I be very glad ta make yer acquaintance, Miss Avari. And you, too!" he quickly added as Jundag stomped over to see what the commotion was all about. "That was a quick bit o' thinkin' ye did when ye threw yerself bodily at that ogre. Ye probably saved the woman's life."
Jundag closed his mouth, taken aback by the complement. He grimaced when the accompanying handshake sent twinges of pain lancing through his ribs. She tried to keep Shay quiet, but he brushed off her protesting hands and sat up, beckoning to Jundag to sit beside him. The priest pulled forth the silver balance of Tem and looked up, but the tribesman backed off.
"I am fine," Jundag insisted, "and you are yet weak. You have not the strength to heal me."
"I can and will heal you," the priest countered. "My own wounds have been mended by our new friend's potion; I merely need some rest. If we are attacked again, you will you're your strength."
"He's right, Jundag," Avari said. With DoHeney's help, she wrestled Jundag to Shay's side. "Now sit still and let him work!"
DoHeney watched curiously as Shay's prayers healed Jundag's wounds; useful, but not as efficient as his own little brew. The big man smiled despite his protests, and soon was up and stretching. Shay slumped to the floor to rest, and Avari began checking her weapons for damage. Restless, the dwarf mounted the dais to take in the view of the carnage.
His foot slipped into a hole where the throne had previously been mounted. His toe hit something hard, and he looked down into the hole to see a small iron box.
"Well I'll be! Would ye lookie here what I found."
DoHeney bounced down the stair to where the lighted dagger shed its glow. The others gathered close.
"It was wedged in a hollow under that throne. Fer certain it be somethin' o' value ta be hidden away like that."
At his pronouncement, the companions crowded close. DoHeney examined the box, turning it this way and that, as his curiosity mounted. His enthusiasm was infectious, and soon all were speculating on the contents.
"Open it!" Avari begged him as she pushed back at Jundag, who was leaning over her to get a better look.
"I'm gonna open it," DoHeney said in exasperation, "if it's not trapped, o' course!" He chuckled as warriors backed up a step. "Actually, I already checked fer nasty little surprises, but yer gonna have ta gimmie some room, yer blockin' me light."
Avari retrieved the dagger from its perch before the last word was out of his mouth, thrusting it so close under the dwarf's nose that she nearly drew blood. DoHeney looked more closely at the box. Under the bright light, it looked to be made not of iron, but of a lustrous black metal, its surface inlaid with dwarven script.
"What to these markings say?" Avari asked, looking first to Shay then to the dwarf for an answer.
"Oh, it's just a list, lass," DoHeney answered evasively. These folk seemed to be trustworthy, but having just met them, he was not willing to divulge all. "A list o' previous owners, all long dead by now ta be sure."
"Can you open it, or are we going to have to smash the thing?" Jundag asked a little too loudly. He cringed at the echo, glancing over his shoulder into the darkness.
"Well, now I don't rightly know," DoHeney replied. "Ye see how it takes two keys ta work the lock? Well, it's a cinch that both need ta be turned at the same time ta open it proper. And since we have neither key, well, it could be a bit difficult. But I'd rather not smash the thing, if ye follow me thinkin'. Why, it could be filled with precious potions or the like, and as sure as orcs stink, one good whack with a hammer would ruin the lot. No, I'd much rather try ta—"
"So, open it!" Jundag and Avari said simultaneously, startling each other as much as the dwarf.
"Very well. As ye wish," the dwarf answered, irritated at their impatience. "But I may need a spot o' help here." From an inside pocket of his vest he withdrew a small leather pouch that held several thin metal tools, some curved, some straight and some notched or grooved. With infinite precision he inserted two of the tools into a lock and probed gently. After a moment he felt the tumblers catch, and twisted the tools simultaneously; there was a soft click.
"There now, that's one," he said, holding the picks perfectly still. "And if Mister Elf would hold these while I attend to the other, we'll soon see what secrets this thing holds."
Shay complied and DoHeney made short work of the other lock. The lid lifted to reveal...
"A book?" Avari exclaimed in disappointment.
"A book. And in dwarvish, it would seem," Shay added, running his fingers over the silver script that overlaid the cover.
"And what would ye expect? Somethin' in high elvish, perhaps?" DoHeney snorted then chuckled at the crestfallen looks. "Don't look so glum. After all, this may have somethin' ta clue us in on how ta get ta the lower levels."
"Lower levels?" the others asked in perfect unison.
"I've seen the doors that I'm sure open ta the stairs headin' down, but I've never been able ta get 'em open," DoHeney continued as if he had never been interrupted, removing the ancient tome from its resting place. "They've got no handles, ye see, and no type o' lock or key hole, so I really—"
"What lower levels?" Jundag asked. DoHeney felt the big man's hand fall heavily, and not in an entirely friendly manner, on his shoulder.
"Why, the lower levels that honeycomb this whole mountain, that's what lower levels!" DoHeney answered, exasperated by their ignorance. He shrugged off the hand. "What kind o' dwarf would build a keep wi' only one level? Would ye' build a ten story buildin' with only a top floor, and nothin' a'tween that and the ground but stilts? Now, o' course ye wouldn't. So why would ye waste a whole mountain on only one level, and leave a bunch o' empty minin' tunnels sittin' goin' to waste while yer all cramped up inta the very tip top only?"
He welcomed the silence as the others tried to find fault with his flawless logic, turning the book over to examine it more closely, fingering the fine leather cover. Shay finally cleared his throat.
"Excuse me if I am being too inquisitive, but how do you know so much about this keep?"
"How do I know so much about the keep?" DoHeney repeated. He looked from face to blank face in amazement. For all their skills, these folks didn't seem able to put two and two together. He shook his head and gave them a simple answer. "Why, I was born here, o' course."
DoHeney was delighted to see the result of his pronouncement as three jaws dropped in unison. But when a flood of exclamations and questions crashed over him, he waved his arms in an attempt to quiet them, and finally resorted to threats.
"Hush, ye fools! Are ye yearnin' for another attack?"
This was rewarded with immediate silence. "If you'll jist let me, I'll explain. I was only a tyke when we left Zellohar, and me only memories are o' the long, cold journey." DoHeney leaned back on a pack and gazed into the distance at nothing in particular. It had been a long time since he had had a captive audience, and he intended to enjoy this.
"Me very first memory of this place was of leavin' it," he began. "Me ma and da were standin' on them foyer steps, armed to the teeth and garbed fer war. The only thing they ever told me was that somethin' had attacked from below, some evil.
"The king had ordered an evacuation of anyone who couldn't fight, sendin' some of his stoutest soldiers along to protect us. We walked for what seemed to me was weeks, but I know now it couldn't'a been more'n a few days.
"After some weeks, one of the king's men went to see what had happened here. He returned ta say only that the king of Zellohar had fallen, and there would be no goin' back." He remembered hearing that news from his uncle and his grandmother, but he didn't think these folk would understand what he had felt, knowing his parents had died here.
"And your mother and father?" Avari asked, her voice cracking. She wiped a tear away and sniffed.
"I dunno, lass." He gave a noncommittal shrug. "I suspect they were lost with the king, but I never found any trace of 'em, as many times as I been here. Not a one of me kin didn't lose at least one close relative. Dwarves mourn a long time..." He shook himself to break the somber mood
"Not much fun growin' up after that, let me tell ye. But the legend only made me want to come back here and see fer meself." DoHeney looked back down at the ancient book and flipped through the pages, stopping to scan a passage.
"And when was that?" Shay asked.
"Ah, well that was, let me see... uh... maybe... no... well, it must have been about fifty-two years ago that I first came here." DoHeney thrilled to the gasps of astonishment from Avari and Jundag, but stuck his tongue out at Shay when the priest rolled his eyes and sighed at the theatrics. "The elders wouldn't speak o' it, so I decided ta come see fer meself. All I found was a deserted keep. I hunted around most o' it, out o' curiosity ye understand, but could never find a way down ta the lower levels. I didn't plan on enterin' the keep this time, there bein' so many beasties about, but then ye came along, so I just followed ye in."
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