Govin led the way into the room, and Shanhaevel called softly, “Careful, Govin. Wizards are known for their fondness for magical traps. Don’t touch anything until I have a chance to examine it first.”
Nodding, the knight continued in, cautiously, followed by the rest of the group. Everyone fanned out, checking for signs of possible danger.
When they were certain that the wizard truly was gone, the members of the Alliance relaxed. Shanhaevel moved to examine the cloak and the parchment with the runes near the door. The cloak seemed plain enough, just elaborately decorated, so he moved over to the parchment.
As the elf read, he heard Govin say, “Remember, Ahleage, the wizard said not to touch—”
At that very instant, Shanhaevel’s eyes roamed over a symbol he immediately realized as magical. Unfortunately, the very act of reading the sigil triggered its effect.
A powerful explosion knocked Shanhaevel backward, engulfing him in a blast of searing flame as he fell to the floor. The explosion was over in an instant, but Shanhaevel was in agony, his face burned and his eyes blinded. He clawed at the burns and realized a heartbeat later that his throat was going hoarse from screaming.
Suddenly, there was cooling relief. The pain faded, and as he pulled his hands back from his eyes, Shanhaevel found that he could see again. The first sight that greeted him was Shirral’s face, creased with worry, looming over his own.
“Are you all right?” she asked, her voice tremulous.
Shanhaevel nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
“I didn’t do it,” Ahleage was saying, somewhere nearby. “I didn’t touch a thing.”
Shanhaevel smiled slightly as he tried to move up into a sitting position. Shirral gave him a hand and rocked back to give the wizard some room. “You didn’t do it, Ahleage,” he said. “I did it myself.”
“See!” Ahleage said adamantly. “I told you!”
“That may be,” Govin replied, “but I saw you about to—”
“All right, all right,” Elmo interrupted. “Shanhaevel seems fine, so let’s quit arguing over who actually triggered it.”
“Hey,” Shanhaevel said, standing. “I said it was me. And I didn’t touch it. Don’t read anything in here. That’s how it was triggered. Don’t even look at that map until I get a chance to check it for more runes.”
“Are you sure you’re whole again?” Govin asked.
“Yes,” Shanhaevel replied. “I’m all right.” He looked at Shirral, who smiled back, but her worry lines were still evident.
“That, however, was the last of my healing power,” Shirral said. “So we must stop and rest, soon, so I can meditate and pray.”
“We should at least check this other door,” Govin argued. “If Falrinth is still around, I’d rather face him now than when he’s had time to heal and regain his spells.”
“I agree,” Shanhaevel added, “and I do want to examine that map, first.”
“Are you kidding?” Ahleage said. “You almost had your head blown off from the last thing you examined.”
“I’ll be all right,” Shanhaevel responded. “I know what to look for, now. I’ll need a mirror. Look around and see if there’s one anywhere in here.”
The group searched the place, but no one could find a reflecting glass anywhere, so Shanhaevel reluctantly agreed to leave the map for later. “I hope it’s still here,” he said wistfully.
Leaving the map behind, the group turned its attention to the door. After allowing Ahleage a chance to examine it for possible traps, Govin opened it. Beyond the portal was a small workroom, obviously the wizard’s laboratory. Beakers, bottles, and tomes covered a table in the center of the room, while more shelves along the walls were filled with wands, staves, and rods of all sizes and shapes. Again, Falrinth himself was nowhere to be found.
Shanhaevel’s eyes almost bulged out of his head. “Boccob!” he muttered, looking around the chamber. “Look at this horde!”
Elmo whistled. “Is all of this magical?” he asked, pointing to the various items on the walls.
Shanhaevel nodded, scarcely able to speak. “I imagine so,” he said, “but there’s no way to tell for sure without some divination, and I just don’t have any more of that spell left. Look around for Falrinth’s spellbooks. They might be here somewhere, too.” The elf’s face felt hot from his excitement. “Remember, just look. Don’t touch anything.”
“Maybe we can find a mirror in here,” Shirral suggested.
“Good idea,” Draga replied.
The group spread out and searched the place. Shanhaevel was almost giddy with excitement as he examined in detail the various devices on the shelves and worktable. What a mother lode, he thought. With this kind of magical power, I could be—
“Here’s one,” Ahleage said, pointing to an item on the other end of the table, careful not to touch it.
Shanhaevel hurried to see what he had found. It was a small polished mirror. The elf carefully picked it up, even as Ahleage practically dived under the table to get away from any impending blasts.
“Take it easy!” Shanhaevel chuckled. “No wizard is going to trap a mirror.”
“I don’t care,” Ahleage said as he rose, wide-eyed, from the floor. “Standing too close to you when you mess with things appears to be dangerous.”
Shanhaevel just smiled and pocketed the mirror.
“Why would a wizard keep all of his best magic stored away in here, rather than with him?” Elmo asked, looking around. “You’d think he’d want to use all of this stuff.”
Shanhaevel frowned, for the axeman’s words made sense. If this were mine, the elf thought, I wouldn’t keep it stored away. In fact, if I had been Falrinth, I would have had at least two or three of those wands with me out there in the hallway.
“Good point, Elmo. Very good point.”
“So, what are you saying?” Ahleage asked.
“This place seems to have been a little too easy to find,” Shanhaevel replied. “Maybe we were supposed to find it.” His heart was sinking. Of course Falrinth wouldn’t leave all of his prized possessions just sitting out like this. I’m a fool to think he would. His true treasure trove must be hidden somewhere else. “Come on, let’s at least get that map.”
Shanhaevel led everyone back out into the main room. Standing with his back to the map, he scanned its contents through the mirror, looking for more of the magical sigils that he knew would trigger an explosion. Sure enough, they were there.
Damn, the wizard thought. Falrinth was quite the protective fellow.
Shanhaevel put the mirror away, removed the map from the wall, and rolled it up. As he did so, an oddity in the stonework caught his attention. Looking more closely, he found a continuous crack running up the wall. Following it with his eye, Shanhaevel realized he was looking at another secret door.
“Hey!” he called to his companions, his voice filled with excitement again. “I think I found another hidden portal.”
“That figures,” Draga said as the companions all gathered around. “Shall we push?”
“Let Ahleage do his thing, first,” Govin advised, stepping aside to make room.
Rolling his eyes, Ahleage stepped to the wall and went over it carefully, looking, as usual, for any signs of danger. “Looks clean to me,” he said, stepping away again.
Together, Elmo, Govin, and Draga placed their shoulders against the wall and pushed. Nothing happened. The three men redoubled their efforts, but to no avail. The wall did not swing open.
“Gah!” Draga said at last, easing up from his exertions. “Must have just looked like a secret door, Shanhaevel. That’s nothing but solid wall.”
“Maybe,” Shanhaevel said thoughtfully. He frowned. “Maybe not. There might be some other way of opening it—a trigger of some kind. Look around and see if you can spot a switch, a lever, or something disguised as one of those things anywhere in the room.”
Somewhat reluctantly, the group spread out, checking every item of furniture, eve
ry square foot of wall, every last item in the room carefully. This went on for a number of minutes, until Ahleage sighed and knuckled his back.
“This is getting us nowhere,” Ahleage complained.
“I hate to admit it, but he’s right,” Shirral added. “I think we’ve found everything we’re going to find.”
“Just a few more minutes,” Shanhaevel pleaded. “If we leave, Falrinth could come back and clean the place out.”
“Besides,” Elmo said, “we may not have many other options. That thing that crawled out of Lareth might be waiting on the surface.”
“It’s possible that Falrinth is still around here somewhere,” Govin added. “We hurt him today. If we can catch up to him before he has a chance to seek healing and regain his strength and spells, so much the better.”
“Hey!” Draga said, standing next to a wall and holding a torch cresset in his hand. “Look at this!”
The bowman pulled the cresset free of the wall, but where a normal hole should have been, a tiny lever projected instead.
“How does that work?” Ahleage asked, puzzled, as everyone crowded around Draga’s discovery. Carefully, he reached out and touched the metal protrusion.
“Try to turn it,” Elmo suggested.
Ahleage twisted, pushed, pulled, and generally fussed with the metal rod for half a minute or so before giving up.
“If it’s supposed to do anything, it’s too hard for me to move.”
“Wait!” Shirral exclaimed. “Use the cresset!”
“Ah!” Shanhaevel said, nodding eagerly in agreement with the druid. “Put the cresset back on and then try it.”
Draga handed the cresset to Ahleage, who slipped the thing back on the rod. There was a tiny click, and then Ahleage twisted the device. It rotated easily this time, and behind them, the section of wall that had held fast before swung free.
“That did it,” Ahleage said.
“You were right, after all,” Draga told Shanhaevel as he drew his sword.
The space beyond the hidden portal turned out to be exactly what Shanhaevel had been hoping: a second laboratory. This one looked far more lived in, and there was an amazing amount of clutter everywhere. However, the thing that drew everyone’s attention was a small iron box sitting in the middle of the table. It made all the companions uneasy, and Govin refused to touch the thing. Carefully, Ahleage examined it from the outside, and when he found nothing to indicate mundane traps, Shanhaevel took a turn. Satisfied that nothing untoward would happen, the elf flipped the lid open.
Inside was a small golden skull with no jaw. It had four empty sockets at the compass points of the crown line that appeared to be designed to hold gems.
“Boccob!” Shanhaevel breathed. “The key. We have the key!”
“Don’t touch it!” Govin hissed, jerking the elf away from the box. “I can feel its wickedness from here.”
Shanhaevel nodded, carefully shutting the lid once more and picking up the box.
“Let’s get out of here,” Govin pleaded. “I am suddenly overwhelmed with dread at the thought of staying.”
“The knight is right,” Ahleage added as the group began to depart. “We have what we came for. It’s long past time to go.”
The Alliance made its way out of the wizard’s chambers and back into the T-shaped intersection. Just as they were about to head back out through the tunnel that led to the tower and well, a forlorn keening faintly drifted down from that direction.
Shanhaevel shivered at the sound.
“It’s Lareth,” Ahleage breathed, “or the thing he has become.”
Hedrack paced back and forth, his steps hammering on the stone floor of the meeting chamber. The high priest was angry, truly angry. And, he had to admit, more than a little afraid. Every careful plan he had made of late had gone awry. Underlings had failed in their duties, and those damned meddlers had caused him untold amounts of trouble.
He was seething, ready to have Falrinth cast into one of the elemental nodes for this latest disappointment. To have lost the key—the very golden key that would free Zuggtmoy!—was unforgivable. And to those interlopers …!
Hedrack wondered just how much longer Iuz would be willing to put up with such blunders. The high priest knew that, regardless of whose fault it was that these mishaps continued to occur, Hedrack himself would be held responsible.
Lord Iuz will not tolerate such incompetence, he thought, just as I do not. It is the way of the world.
Falrinth shifted in his uncomfortable position, kneeling as he was with his hands and feet manacled behind his back. He remained silent, however, dutifully waiting for his superior to speak again.
Good, thought Hedrack. He must fear for his very life, now, for I will not be a patient man any longer.
“So, you are certain this will free her? Even without the key?” He hotly emphasized the last word, making it clear that Falrinth’s new proposal for freeing the demoness would not alleviate his extreme displeasure at the wizard’s foolishness.
“Yes, my lord. I had been studying this for a while, even before we knew of the existence of the key. The wards on the doors will be of no consequence to my servants. They can place the items and ignite them at the proper moment while we watch from a safe distance. I am certain it will work.”
“Never mind that. What I want to know is, are you certain this will free her? There is no danger to her well being?”
Falrinth attempted to shrug, but having very little mobility due to his bindings, it was barely more than a flinch. “I cannot say without any doubt at all, my—”
“That is not the answer I want!” screamed Hedrack, crossing the distance between them in a single step and slapping the wizard across the mouth.
Falrinth grunted in pain as his head whipped to the side, the fierceness of the blow causing him to lose his balance and topple over onto his side.
The two attendants—tall, mangy bugbears with matted fur and sour-smelling leather armor—immediately reached down and righted Falrinth once more. The wizard stared at the floor, a trickle of blood running down his chin. He worked his jaw slowly before speaking.
“I am convinced that it will free her unharmed, my lord,” the wizard said at last, forcing the words through clenched teeth.
Hedrack smiled, bending slightly at the waist to stare straight into Falrinth’s eyes. “That’s much more satisfying to hear.” His visage sobered again. “For your sake, you had better be right. If even the slightest harm comes to her as a result of this, I will not be tossing you into one of our private little sanctuaries below. Instead, I will offer you directly to Iuz, as a toy, a plaything, and I will make mention that you have been secretly consorting with the spider bitch behind my back.”
Falrinth’s eyes bulged at this revelation.
“Oh, yes,” Hedrack continued, his voice dripping with honeyed acid. “You did not think I knew, did you? I am aware of much. You and Lareth both have been inviting trouble, playing lackey to others besides he who will trample the Flanaess beneath his feet. Perhaps, if I mention that fact, he will not be so quick to blame me for all the trouble your incompetence has caused.”
Falrinth was shivering slightly, as evidenced by the faint clinking of the chains that bound him.
Excellent, Hedrack thought, smiling. Now, I have his attention.
With a nod from the high priest, the bugbears moved to flank the prisoner, lifting him between them and bearing him away to his cell once more.
Once alone, Hedrack let out a deep and mournful sigh, for he did not relish his next task. Making his way down to the central temple, he passed beyond the writhing purple curtain and prepared to contact his lord and master. Dropping to his knees, he prayed.
Almost immediately, he felt the presence of his god in his mind. “My lord Iuz,” he intoned, “I am your Mouth, I pronounce—”
What news? the presence demanded, its evil washing over him, mingling with impatient anger.
Hedrack flinched, knowing this was
going to be most unpleasant. “My lord,” he began, looking for the right words, the best way to honey-coat the news. “We have encountered more setbacks, and I am afraid I have unfortunate news.”
I grow tired of your excuses, priest. Perhaps it is time I find another, someone more capable of carrying out my wishes.
“This humble servant begs your indulgence for a moment longer, master,” Hedrack pleaded, truly groveling now. “I also have encouraging news that I pray will offset the unpleasantness of the other.”
Iuz’s malevolent displeasure washed over Hedrack, sickening the high priest in the core of his stomach and making his limbs weak and numb. But after a moment, the sensations of ill ease subsided. Very well, speak.
Sighing in relief, Hedrack began. “My lord, the golden key has been lost. To the meddlers, unfortunately.”
You incompetent idiot! Iuz cried, his gravelly voice grinding into Hedrack’s brain and driving him hard to the floor. The one thing that would free her, you have lost!
His head pounding from the pain of Iuz’s wrath, Hedrack struggled to speak. “N-No, my L-Lord,” he managed to utter through clenched teeth. “There is another way.”
The waves of hatred crashing over the high priest subsided once more. Go on, Iuz insisted.
Catching his breath, Hedrack continued. “Falrinth believes he knows where she is, and he thinks he has a way to free her without the golden orb. He thinks we can free her from her bindings.”
Iuz was silent, as though considering for a moment. Interesting. Tell me more.
“If you recall, my lord, he was a part of the company that planned to destroy her ten years ago, before his capture and conversion to the beliefs of the temple. He believes he knows how the bindings work. He thinks he knows a way to circumvent and destroy them. I have but to give the order, and he will try.”
The Temple of Elemental Evil Page 18