Looking down, the dwarf noticed some marks in the soft ground where she stood. They were orc tracks. Almost all of them meandered between two of the tunnels. The other three tunnels were joined by only a few footprints, including her own. Rebecca was more interested in the tunnels that were heavily traveled.
Suddenly, the dwarf saw an increase of light in one of the heavily-traveled tunnels. Someone was approaching!
Hiding her light stone and springing back to the tunnel she had come from - it was the only one she knew to be safe - Rebecca ran for cover in a nearby alcove. Poking her nose around the corner, she watched and waited.
An agonizing minute later, the light increased and footsteps could be heard. The light continued to brighten and Rebecca almost had to close her eyes. It was as if whoever was coming had ten torches lit! With a hot rush of wind, a flaming figure burst into the intersection. It spun around, looking at each of the tunnels in turn. When it looked down Rebecca’s tunnel, the dwarf ducked back into the alcove, hoping she hadn’t been spotted. The footsteps could be heard again, and Rebecca immediately realized that the burning figure had not chosen her tunnel.
As the light began to fade, the dwarf left the refuge of the alcove only to dive back into its safety. Yells and stomping feet could be heard originating from the same tunnel as the flaming figure. Before long, Rebecca could smell the unmistakable scent of orcs. Running like a bunch of savages, the orcs piled into the intersection and milled about uncertainly.
“Where is he?” asked one orc.
Another sniffed. “I smell dwarf.”
“That was no dwarf!” retorted another.
“This way!” cried another one. “Burn marks!”
“Let’s go!” cried several orcs in unison. Their trampling feet indicated their departure down the tunnel the flaming figure had chosen.
One orc trailed behind the others. “I smell dwarf!” he lamented.
“Come on!” cried another orc.
The footsteps died away.
Rebecca cautiously exited the alcove. All was quiet once more. She took a moment to consider what she had seen. The orcs were chasing some sort of flaming creature. She didn’t know what it was, but it was in trouble.
She thought briefly of helping the flaming creature, but remembered that she had to rendezvous with Alric. There was plenty of time, but exploring any further alone would be dangerous. She didn’t need the elf to protect her, but she had made an agreement. If she didn’t keep her side of the bargain, how could she expect the elf to keep his? He might even return home to his people and report that dwarves don’t hold to a deal! She would be responsible for making all dwarves look dishonourable!
Rebecca couldn’t let that be on her conscience. She turned to head back when some hollering and yelling echoed through the tunnels. It came from the tunnel the orcs and flaming man had gone down. Had they captured him? If so, should she try to save him? She didn’t know him. The flaming man could be just as evil as the orcs were. But what if he wasn’t?
Rebecca looked uncertainly back the way she had come. Go to the rendezvous or help the flaming man? Honour demanded both. Then again, if she didn’t show up at the rendezvous point, would Alric come searching for her? Or would he just give up on her and go his own way, cursing her for wasting his time? What if he didn’t show up either? Then he wasn’t going back for her, was he? But if he got into trouble, he might be expecting her to come and rescue him.
The dwarf stamped her foot furiously. Then it occurred to her. The elf had made the promise to return to the rendezvous point. She had not. She was not obligated.
More yells emanated from the tunnel. Arming herself, Rebecca ran to the aid of the flaming man.
* * * * *
Tyris the fire elemental searched in vain for an escape route. The passageway behind him was a dead end and he was forced to turn back. One of only a few side passages he had passed was the only other route, but unfortunately the orcs were now in the way. He had to get past them to escape.
At first, when they charged him, he increased his heat level to blind them and force them to step back. It worked, but only temporarily. They overcame the brightness and moved forward again. Then Tyris seared the closest ones with fire and the orcs yelled in pain, pulling back once again.
Unfortunately, Tyris had used much of his energy earlier, and he was in a severely weakened state. Not long ago, he had been cornered by some lizardmen who had been trying to use summoning magic to capture him. He had used a great deal of energy to try to withstand the magic. They would have succeeded, had a legion of orcs not stormed the cavern at that moment. The orcs had killed most of the surprised lizardmen before turning their attention to the fire elemental. Tyris had used the diversion to reach an unguarded tunnel and make his escape, but some of the orcs had pursued him. That led to his present predicament. Now he was cornered again. Ordinarily, he would have easily escaped by creating a firestorm and blasting a path through his pursuers, but his powers eluded him.
“Surrender!” cried one orc. “You can’t escape!”
Tyris looked helplessly at the side passage just beyond the orcs. So near yet so far. If he charged the orcs, some of them would get injured or killed, but Tyris would likely die in the attempt, being returned to his element. As soon as he recovered, he was sure the lizardmen would succeed in summoning him from his realm. He would then be forced to do their bidding, something he did not want to happen. He needed to stay alive and free in the mortal plane for now, because he could elude their magic by staying out of their sight.
“Give up!” cried an orc. It stepped forward, menacingly waving a meat cleaver.
“Precisely!” called a strong female voice behind the group of orcs.
The orcs spun around to face the speaker.
“A dwarf!” growled one orc.
Tyris used the opening he was given and barged into the throng of orcs. Screams rent the air as orc flesh burned on contact with the fire elemental. Steel clashed against steel as the battle commenced between the dwarf and a few of the orcs.
Tyris dove into the side passage and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He ran long after the sounds of the battle died away. No one pursued him. He slowed to a walk and thought about the dwarf who had created a diversion for him to escape. Was she alone? Could she hold off the orcs by herself? Not likely, he thought. The fire elemental stopped walking. The dwarf needed help and here he was, running away. Some gratitude! For the first time in his new existence, Tyris had a purpose. Resolutely, he turned and started back. The more he thought about it, the more urgent was his desire to help the dwarf. Despite his weakened state, the elemental ran. His purpose was clear.
* * * * *
Rebecca took down three orcs and was battling a fourth one whose arm was still smoking from contact with the burning man when she heard a sound behind her. A moment later everything went black.
“I told you I smelled a dwarf!” said an orc armed with a club. He waved the weapon at the other orcs. “You didn’t listen.”
The other orcs simply growled.
“Let’s check the pack for water!” cried one orc, grabbing Rebecca’s pack and almost ripping it open while it was still around her waist. He reached inside and started to rifle through it when his hand came in contact with the dagger. The resulting flash of light and sizzling noise made all the other orcs jump back in alarm. In a matter of seconds, the orc who had his hand in the pack was turned into a pile of ashes. Only some of his clothing remained intact.
“The pack’s enchanted!” cried one orc hoarsely. “Don’t touch it!”
After an uncertain pause, the orc who had clobbered the dwarf said, “Let’s take the dwarf to the dungeon. We’ll deal with her after the lizardmen are rounded up.”
Two orcs picked up the dwarf, making sure not to come into contact with Rebecca’s pack, and followed their injured companions back to the dungeon. As they departed, their torchlight lessened and the tunnel became dark and quiet.
/> Sometime later, the tunnel began to light up again as the fire elemental returned. He paused to inspect the dead bodies, and was surprised to see one of them burned to ashes. It was not magic of his doing, he was sure.
Satisfied that the dwarf was not among the dead, he rose and started walking back to the five-way intersection. Already, he could feel his strength returning.
* * * * *
“You shouldn’t have come after me,” stated Cyril.
Vera paused and turned to look at the cyclops, who turned away his gaze.
“And quit looking at me,” continued Cyril. “Do you want to become paralyzed again?”
“We’ve been through this already,” said Vera coldly. “I came after you to tell you to come back to your friends.”
“What friends?” asked Cyril. “Who on earth would want to call me their friend?”
“I would,” said Vera. “I wouldn’t have come after you if I wasn’t your friend.”
“O.K.” said Cyril. “So you’re my friend. I defy you to name someone else. I’ll bet you can’t think of anyone else, can you?”
Vera’s mind raced. “Well, there’s High Cleric Malachi. He’s your friend.”
“How so?” demanded Cyril. “I hardly ever saw him!”
“He supported you by getting you a job at the tower,” argued Vera. “He thought you were good with the herb and flower gardens. He knew you preferred the solitude that comes along with a job like that. Didn’t you enjoy that job?”
“Sure, I guess,” conceded Cyril. He spread his hands. “But if Malachi were my friend, wouldn’t he have sent someone to come and look for me?”
“How do you know he hasn’t?” countered Vera.
“I don’t know,” said Cyril, subdued.
“Besides,” continued Vera, “Malachi and the clerics have their hands full with this disease and the poisoned water.”
Cyril reflected on his journey to the mountains. “It does look pretty bad, doesn’t it? Even livestock were dying.”
“It’s the water,” said Vera. “Anyone or anything that drinks the poisoned water gets sick. Only a few of the wells and springs that I encountered were still O.K. Most of them were no good.”
“I hope I didn’t drink any bad water,” said Cyril. He withdrew his wineskin, which appeared to be mostly full.
“Let me check it,” said Vera. She opened the lid and chanted a simple spell. After a moment she relaxed. “It’s fine.”
“I filled it at a spring not long after I entered the mountains,” said Cyril.
“You were fortunate,” said Vera. “You found a good spring.”
“I hope the water I had before that was good,” Cyril stated.
“I’m sure you would have gotten sick by now if it wasn’t,” said the cleric reassuringly.
Cyril relaxed. “Did you pass your test?” he asked suddenly.
“Yes!” smiled Vera. She held out her hand containing the magical healing ring. “Now I’m a level one cleric.” Her smile faded. “Not that it does much good.”
“What do you mean?” asked the cyclops.
“I tried healing people while I searched for you,” said Vera, “but my healing magic was useless. People chased me off when I couldn’t heal them. I guess I’m not much of a cleric after all.”
“Don’t say that!” said Cyril sternly. “Healing magic is not a skill that can be learned overnight! You may be a level one cleric, but your skills will take time to master!”
“You have more faith in my skill than I do,” Vera lamented.
“You have more faith in my gift than I do,” countered Cyril.
Vera could find no words to argue Cyril’s point. He was right. One had to have faith in oneself. There was no middle ground. She turned and started walking again. “So what are we going to do now? Are we going back?”
Cyril sighed. He didn’t really want to go back. “What do you think we should do?”
“Don’t you think wandering these tunnels is a bit boring?” asked the cleric in return.
“Actually, I don’t,” said Cyril. “I’m starting to enjoy it.”
“So you want to stay?” asked Vera.
Cyril did not answer.
“Then I’ll stay too,” Vera stated. “Sooner or later I’ll convince you to come home.”
Cyril knew what she meant. The only problem was, he already was at home, right here in these mountains. He decided to change the topic. “Vera, do you think the ogres are fighting with the lizardmen over clean water? It looks like the ogres blame the lizardmen for the problem.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Vera slowly. “It sounds like something the lizardmen would do.”
“We should see if we can find out what or who is responsible for the poisoned water,” suggested Cyril. “If you want to, that is,” he added carefully.
“Sure,” said Vera. Originally, she would not have dreamed of attempting such a thing, but the cyclops’ presence made her feel safe and secure. She was no longer a little girl. She was a level one cleric. If she wanted to become confident in herself, she had to take the initiative. The cleric pointed ahead to a side passageway. “This looks like it might lead somewhere. Let’s go down here.”
“Lead the way,” ordered Cyril.
Chapter 15
Rebecca woke with a start. She tried to sit up, but the sudden pain in the back of her head forced her to fall back with a groan. A nearby hissing noise forced her to open her eyes.
At first everything was blurry, but as her eyes began to focus, Rebecca saw something that made her sit up despite the pain. Staring at her was a number of lizardmen. It took a moment for her to realize that she was separated from them by a set of bars. Looking around, she discovered that she was in a crude holding cell. The lizardmen were in an adjoining cell.
The lizardmen hissed when they saw her sit up. Rebecca folded her arms across her chest and stared back at them. She hadn’t expected to find lizardmen like this, but it was a start. It never occurred to her before how ugly these creatures looked. Their lizard-like faces and beady eyes made them look as devious as they were said to be.
One lizardman was staring at the dwarf as he spoke. “You should have waited for Brind, Lynch.”
The lizardman called Lynch spun on the leering one and hissed. “And let that elemental escape? Not on your life!”
“You let it escape anyway,” countered the leering one.
“That’s because the orcs interrupted our spell, you idiot!” snapped Lynch. “We would have had him!”
“Perhaps,” admitted the leering one, “but without the proper magical skill level, I doubt we could have held it for long.”
“Long enough for Brind to take over,” argued Lynch.
“Of course. Then Brind would get all the credit for capturing the fire elemental,” added the leering one.
“Shut up, Lyrr!” growled Lynch. He stomped to a corner of the cell and sat down. It was then that Rebecca noticed the shackles the lizardmen wore. Their hands were shackled behind their backs to prevent them from casting spells.
An orc guard came up just then and checked on the prisoners. After a moment’s surveillance, he departed. A few of the lizardmen hissed as he left but he appeared not to notice.
Rebecca looked around at her cell. The cell had two solid rock walls. The other sides were made of thick, rusty bars of dwarven origin. One side joined to the cell of the other prisoners. The other side looked out across the walkway. In the corner was a short keg of water. The dwarf doubted it was suitable for drinking. The bed she was sitting on was a crude slab of rock. Beside her, the dwarf was amazed to find her pack. One strap appeared to have come undone when she was put into the cell. Why the orcs hadn’t taken it away was a mystery to her.
She picked up the pack and carefully went through its contents. Everything was there, including her maps and dagger. She grinned. Any orc who touched the dagger was in for a big surprise. The dwarf wondered how many had tried to steal it while she w
as unconscious. The only things missing were her hand axe and crossbow.
Opening up her map, Rebecca traced out where she had last been. Unfortunately, she had no idea where she was now. She had to start a new map with her present location as the reference point. Surveying the surroundings beyond her cell, the dwarf studied each detail and jotted it down on her new map. Adjacent to the cells was a walkway that curved away on both sides. It disappeared from view in either direction. The walkway was several feet wide and beyond that the floor dropped away. On the far side of the drop, somewhat lower in elevation, a large area almost circular in shape was lit by numerous torches around its circumference. Four walkways led onto the platform at ninety degree angles. The orc cavern was quite large, the ceiling almost endless in height. By comparison, the platform was almost tiny. Several orcs were on the platform talking and gesturing with each other. Occasionally a couple of orcs got into an argument, resulting in some pushing and shoving. This disorganized form of communication continued for some time.
Above all this, several caves were visible, with their openings overlooking the scene below. Most of the larger and more used caves had sentries posted at the openings. The smaller ones remained dark and empty. In one such opening, far above the others, Rebecca thought she caught sight of a light. But when she looked in that direction, the light was gone.
The dwarf carefully jotted down the locations of each cave opening, making sure to note elevation in their coordinates.
“It won’t do you much good,” said a lizardman suddenly.
Rebecca looked up at the speaker but said nothing.
“They’ll kill you and eat you,” continued the lizardman.
“That’s probably better than what you’re in for,” said Rebecca.
“How so?” asked the lizardman.
Rebecca decided to follow through on a hunch. “The orcs blame you for the poisoned water. They’ll kill you if you don’t give them clean water. You’ve created a problem and now you have to fix it.”
“Oh, we will!” sneered the lizardman, “once the humans - and dwarves for that matter - have been eliminated!”
Cloak & Dagger: Book II of The Dragon Mage Trilogy Page 14