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 darkness ahead. Without looking back, he forestalled an angry retort from the magic sword.
“What was on those scrolls you found back where you caughtthat beholder?”
The girl beamed as she patted the scroll tube that hung between her wings. “A few cool spells! Earthy kinda ones. Flesh to stone. Stoneto mud. Pass wall. All pretty hoopy, huh?”
“Are they useful?”
“More or less. I’m gonna copy some of them into my spellbook,so I need to make ink. Can you let me know next time we find a trickle of water or something?”
Jus nodded his chin forward at the underdark. “How aboutthat one?”
The passageway had grown more dank, and clean moisture had cleared away much of the phosphorescent moss. Before the party ran a vast, dark rushing river that filled the caverns with a glorious surge of sound.
At the far side of the river, perhaps a hundred feet away, the passageway continued on toward the drow city-and according to the locatorneedle, toward Escalla’s slowglass bauble.
The river flowed powerfully, icy cold and pitch black. It blocked all possible progress. Escalla simply hovered and stared. Polk blinked, and Private Henry edged fearfully closer to the water until physically yanked back from the edge by Jus’ powerful hand.
Escalla blew out an annoyed breath and planted her fists upon her little hips.
“Well poo!” The girl shook her head. “You know, I have gotto find a way to make you people fly.”
There was no bridge, and the powerful current meant that there was no way to simply swim across. Escalla unshipped her wand, checked the charge and made a dissatisfied little noise.
“No way I can make an ice bridge all the way across. I’veonly got two more shots with this thing if I’m lucky. Remind me to recharge itwhen we get home.” She whirred upward, deliberately keeping well above thewater. “I’ll go over the other side and just take a look. Maybe there’s a reallybig drawbridge or something.”
The faerie disappeared in the dark. Anxious about letting the girl go alone, Jus kept a grip on the hilt of his sword and paced the banks. In the river, a fin briefly broke the surface-a fin from a fish that must have beenat least thirty feet long.
After a while, drifting faintly above the roar of the water, Escalla’s distant voice came from the dark. “Hey, guys! There’s some kinda giantfish man over here!”
Jus surged forward to the edge of the riverbank in alarm. “Ishe attacking you?”
“No!”
“What’s he doing?”
“Knitting lace. He’s pretty good!” Escalla’s voice couldbarely be heard over the rush of water “All right, he’s seen me. He looks likehe wants me to talk to him!”
Pacing, the Justicar bellowed hard to make himself heard. “Don’t get too close!”
“Jus, he’s a fish. I don’t really think I want to swapaddresses or anything.”
While they waited, Polk finished gnawing on a spider leg and Cinders sucked loudly on a piece of old coal.
Finally Escalla called over to them from the other bank, “He’s saying something! I can’t figure it out.”
“What?” Jus pushed Cinders’ back from his helm, trying tohear the girl properly. “Don’t you have a spell for translating languages?”
“Well duh! Be handy if I’d bothered to memorize it!”
“Why didn’t you memorize it?”
“Well, excuse me!” True to form, Escalla lost hertemper. “Since everything we’ve met so far has tried to eat us or enslave us, Ikinda thought spells for blowing things up might be a bit more useful!” After amoment, the girl called back again. “All right, he’s offering to ferry you guysover if you pay him.”
Jus gave a puzzled frown. “How do you know that?”
“Because he’s standing in a big boat and shaking a money boxat me!” The faerie’s temper was never good when she was being harassed. “Justget some money out and get to the damned shore!”
Polk looked at Jus, who looked at Henry. Cinders looked happy, and the sword lacked the ability to show much of an expression at all. With a mutual shrug, the party walked down the harsh gravel beach and waited by the shore.
A shape swiftly materialized out of the gloom. A large, flat barge drifted across the current. Standing at the rear and plying a single oar loomed a titanic, vicious looking creature that set the whole party on guard.
Fully eight feet tall, the creature was a monstrous humanoid fish. A huge jaw crammed with fangs gleamed sickly yellow in the light. The creature stared at its passengers out of eyes the size of dinner plates. The scaled horror was powerful enough to shove its boat across the river without the slightest show of strain.
The boat grounded against the gravel with a crash. Hovering well out of reach of the fish man, Escalla gave her friends a gleeful wave.
“Guys, this is Thoopshib the ferryman!” The faerie gave anamazingly false smile. “Thoopshib, these are the guys. Guys, keep smiling andjust start putting money in the box until he looks happy.” The faerie wavered.“Well, happier, at least.”
A money box was presented. Digging into the loot gathered from the lich, Polk produced a handful of money. The fish man walked awkwardly over to the shore, its whole massive frame alive with an impression of carnivorous strength. A clawed hand held out a money box, and Polk fussily counted platinum coins into the box one by one until the monster seemed satisfied.
The sum offered was probably sufficient to buy a boat of their own. Thankfully, no one saw fit to mention the fact. Jus stepped onto the barge-watched closely by the creature, who recognized a being at least as deadlyas itself-then helped Polk and Henry climb aboard.
Cinders sniffed the reek of fish and seemed gloriously happy.Kuo-toa fish! The dog’s manic grin gleamed as little flames wisped fromhis nose. Big stink! Very tasty! Fish scream when burn!
There had been very little arson in Cinders’ life of late.He wagged his tail in anticipation. Fish live in school. One fish, two fish, red fish, burn fish! Burn-burn-burn-burn-burn!
“Let’s not burn any boats while we’re still on them.” Juskept his voice low, his face calm and his hand near his sword. “Just get readyto blast it if it tries to rock the boat.”
With Escalla flying cover overhead, the ferryman would hardly dare. Henry shot a glance at the faerie, then looked back at the savage ferryman and tried not to stare.
“What is it?” the boy asked.
“Cinders says it’s a kuo-toa,” Jus replied.
“A kuo-toa?” The boy swallowed. “How does he know?”
“Cinders is a hell hound. He’s been around.”
Private Henry shot a nervous glance toward the grinning Cinders. “I thought hell hounds were evil?”
“He’s not evil. He just needed a good home.” Jus gave one ofCinders’ forelegs a pat. “But he’s right. Fish fear creatures that use flame.”
The barge surged forward through the water, heading toward the far bank.
Private Henry looked about nervously and cleared his throat. “Sir?”
“Yes.”
“What’s a kuo-toa?”
The Justicar carefully avoided looking at the ferryman, while keeping the creature very clearly in the corner of his eye. “That is.They’re often assassins-very, very dangerous.”
From above the boat, Escalla gave a snort. “Assassins, huh?Masters of poison? Like cone shells?”
Jus looked up at Escalla with a shared smile. “Exactly.”
The barge grounded at the far bank, and the passengers hastily removed themselves onto the shore. Escalla thoughtfully watched the kuo-toa and raised her hand to give it a friendly wave. The creature actually seemed to like her. It spoke-its voice huge and guttural-and nodded its head ather in apparent approval.
Jus was kneeling in the river gravel, looking at a broad swathe of footprints trailing up from the ferry and into the tunnel mouth. Escalla, Polk, and Henry immediately came over to watch the ranger at his work.
“Tracks?”
“Human-two hundred or more, probably chained at the ankles.See the short steps?” Jus touched the gravel and watched it slide. “This is onlyabout three hours old.”
Trying to emulate the Justicar, Henry inspected a footprint of his own-this time the mark of a slim drow boot. “Is it the hostages from SourPatch?”
“Has to be.” Moving two hundred captives along the maintunnels had left constant spoor. “No troglodytes with them anymore. They’rebeing driven by drow.”
Escalla knelt beside Jus and pulled out the locator needle, which still pointed resolutely to the northwest. The girl shrugged then put the magic trinket away.
“Well, I gather there’s more like Mister Thoopshib here justa ways along the tunnel.” The girl returned another wave from the ferryman. “Youknow, he seems pretty happy for a carnivorous assassin.”
“He likes you.”
“Yeah. How about that?” Escalla frowned. “Matter of fact, Ithink he thinks he knows me.”
The party turned and regarded the kuo-toa, who stood staring at them with his unwinking fish eyes.
The light dawned somewhere deep inside Polk’s skull.
“You mean he’s seen another faerie? He’s met the murderer ashe passed this way?”
“Got it, Polk!” Escalla tapped her chin in thought. “Heobviously thinks we’re one and the same.”
“Guess you all look the same to him, huh?”
“No accounting for eyesight.” Escalla brushed back hershimmering blonde hair. “This is getting interesting. Come on. Let’s see if I’vegot any other friends just down the lane.”
The long passageway continued, now chilled by the breeze thatflowed from the icy river. Other paths joined the main tunnel, and the air took on a distinctly fishy smell. Only Cinders seemed pleased. The rest of the party wrinkled their noses and tried not to gag as the reek thickened until it almost brought tears to the eyes.
Flying cautiously beside Jus, Escalla’s tall ears pricked upat the same moment that Cinders gave a warning growl. Far down the passageway, lurching shapes began to appear. Escalla turned invisible as the remainder of the party faded into hiding against the tunnel walls. Looking over her companions, the faerie moved carefully down the tunnel to investigate the oncoming shadows.
A dozen fish men walked along the passageway in a weird hopping gait. They were led by a vast, powerful kuo-toa, its skin a ghastly white, and its hide covered in thousands of knotted scars. The creatures’ hugeeyes flickered to stare at the invisible faerie, and the fish creatures instantly readied their harpoons.
With her cover somehow blown, Escalla dropped her invisibility. Hiding behind a stalactite, she poked her head out and examined the kuo-toa, then cautiously waved her hand.
“Um, hello.”
She had a fireball spell ready to make instant fish fry, but much to her surprise, the kuo-toa leader gave a croak of something almost like relief. The creature lowered its weapon-almost certainly defusing a spell of itsown-and lifted a hand toward Escalla in a grave gesture. The beast held out itshand with its middle fingers separated into a v-shape.
Always affable when allowed, Escalla copied the gesture with her own small fingers and repeated, “Hello.”
Eight feet tall, fanged and clawed, an eater of human flesh and a drinker of blood, the kuo-toa leader bobbed its head in deference. The girl tried to make a placatory gesture, and the other fish men sank down in ritual obeisance.
From the corridor behind Escalla, Jus’ voice called outcalmly and quietly, “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. It’s more kuo-toa.” Escalla kept her face affable,motioning to the fish creatures in what she hoped was a friendly way. “There’sabout a dozen of them, and they’re getting along with me just dandy. Everyonecome out and be perfectly calm.”
The kuo-toa leader gurgled something to its followers, and the fish men resumed their ungainly march down the passageway. On seeing Escalla’s companions, the creatures saluted casually with the middle fingers oftheir hands spread wide, a salute both uncomfortable and strangely silly. Jus gravely returned the gesture. Polk and Henry did the same, and the creatures continued on their way toward the river and the ferryman.
Jerking with ill temper, the sword Benelux gave a cold growl. Kuo-toa. Assassins! Murderers! We should find their nest and eliminate them all!
“We have a prior task.” Jus settled the sword through hisbelt. “Racial genocide is not my mission.”
Do you call yourself a warrior for law?
“No. I’m only interested in Justice.” The Justicar tookEscalla onto his shoulder as he spoke. “These fish men have done nothing worthyof my attention.”
From Jus’ shoulder, Escalla stretched and yawned.
“Hey, Spiky! Ease up!” Escalla peered down at the sword.“You’ll get wrinkles. You have to expand your emotional horizons. Make a promiseto tell yourself a few jokes in between kills. It worked for me!”
Benelux merely seethed.
Jus tugged at Escalla’s foot, quietening her down as thetunnel opened out into a titanic, echoing cave. An open space more than a hundred yards wide yawned in the gloom. A weird blue light swam like reflections in an ancient sea, and an alien world took hold upon the underdark.
A sinister, stepped pyramid arose at the center of the cavern. The mound served to raise a horrible idol high above the cavern floor-ablood spattered thing shaped like a naked woman with the head and pincers of a lobster. The claws were opened in the same gaping salute used by the kuo-toa in the halls. A still-bleeding human heart was wedged into one of the claws, and an ocean of blood seemed to have poured down the pyramid. Guarding the approaches to the idol were kuo-toa priests and warriors, creatures who even now tore the eyes and organs out of human victims who had slid lifeless down the blood-soaked stairs.
Escalla stared, quite ashen, and felt her skin turn strangely numb. “Now they may have just crossed the line.”
Private Henry crept forward, staring at the shrine-thecorpses and the fish men feeding wetly on their prey. The boy’s hands grippedmore tightly at his crossbow.
“Human sacrifice…?”
“Human sacrifice.” Jus seemed to swell, his huge, bristlingframe turning carnivorous and savage. To the Justicar, no crime was worse than preying on the weak. The kuo-toa suddenly seemed in need of Judgment.
Escalla saw Jus’ stance and felt a cold chill of panic asshe expected him to begin slaughtering the kuo-toa. There were a dozen in sight, but countless carved doorways opened onto temples, barracks rooms, and even palaces.
“Jus! Deep breath! Don’t go all apocalyptic on me!” Thefaerie whacked Jus across the helmet. “I need to clear my name here! This is aprime place for evidence collection!”
“I know.”
“Kill fish later. Help disturbingly attractive yet strangelyinnocent faerie now.” Hastily ushering the group into cover behind an outcrop offungi, Escalla gathered Henry by her side. “Henry, Spiky, brief recap. Yourstruly here has been wrongfully framed and accused of a crime. We’re here toprevent a miscarriage of justice and protect one of the world’s most pricelessbeings from harm-namely me!”
Do tell. Benelux seemed to glow with pure sarcasm. Whowould ever have placed you as a criminal?
“Hey! This is serious!” Escalla whacked at the swords sheath.“A faerie cavalier has been offed, and whoever did it is a faerie who likesusing the underdark as a private holiday home. Whoever murdered Cavalier Tarquil used a marine cone shell. If these fish men down here are an assassin cult, this is probably the place the cone shell came from.”
Brilliant. The magic sword gave a sniff. With wisdomlike that, you should bottle it.
“I’m warning you!” The faerie faced the sword, her antennaestiff and her little fists balled. “I can still find a rust monster! So justshut up and keep your eyes open for evidence. We’re looking for clues-anythingto show that someone’s been getting his murder equipment from the kuo-toa!”
Hmph! The sword gave a droll little sneer. Such as asigned receipt in triplicate? “One cone shell, please return by Godsday.”
“Sounds ideal.” Escalla gave a snort, then hitched up thebelt of her little black dress. “Jus, if you had a lending library for coneshells, where would it be?”
“Somewhere near where assassins are trained.” The Justicarloomed in the tunnel like a feral nightmare. “Look for a marine water pool. Allthe other water here is fresh.”
“Hoopy.” The faerie briskly clapped her hands and rose upinto the air. “Well, let’s just go into the shrine and act like we’re here asguests. No one has seemed interested in stopping us so far.”
Private Henry gave a nervous blink. “The fish seem to likeyou.”
“Just as long as that doesn’t involve feeding on myintestines, I’m happy.” Escalla led the way into the terrifying cavern. “Followme, people, and try to look like we see human sacrifices twice a day. Jus, no sword stuff until we get some evidence in my hot little hands.”
From a side passage, more kuo-toa appeared. The creatures approached the guards at the pyramid’s base, exchanged the strange salute,tossed money into a giant clam shell, then removed little tokens that were hung about their necks with string. One of the visitors moved to a second shell and seemed to pay far more money. The guards hooted in approval and hung the donor with a somewhat flashier token-a bright red crab claw. The visitors immediatelyproceeded to climb the pyramid to pay homage to the idol.
The guards looked over at Escalla, Jus, Polk, and Henry, fixing them with their huge, emotionless eyes. The fish men made no immediate move to sound an alarm. Girding her narrow waist and hoisting her rather understated bosom, Escalla steeled herself for the ordeal to come.
“Here goes.”
She flew over to the kuo-toa, opening her hand in the local salute. The kuo-toa responded, and one guard addressed her in a language made mostly up out of jaw clicks and gashing teeth. Escalla kept her smile and gave an easy wave of her hand.
“Sure!”
The kuo-toa spoke again, and Escalla fluttered over to the big clamshell basins.
“I totally agree! But it might rain on Moonday. Best cover uponce that bad weather sets in!” The girl waved a rather nervous, reluctant Polkforward. The teamster was looking up at a seven-foot tall kuo-toa that was eating wet chunks of a human liver. “Polk! Get your shanks over here and get thepurse open!”
“Portable hole.”
“Whatever! Just get us some cash!”
Escalla peered into the more expensive of the two offering basins, then stuck her head into the portable hole after Polk had partly unfolded it. She flew inside, entirely disappearing from the outside world as she entered a weird little space about ten feet square. Sure enough, rolling about in one corner of the hole there were a few small gems and baubles. Escalla grabbed a few of the less impressive items and popped back out into the light. She dropped a pair of little pearls into the basin, trying to indicate that she was paying for her entire group. The kuo-toa gave the same savage hoots of approval, then proceeded to hang stinking crab claws about the necks of everyone present. Escalla took one sniff of the partly mummified claw and a pained expression crept onto her face.
“Why, thank you.” She gave a watery smile. “I’lltreasure it always.”
The guards opened the way to the pyramid and idol. There seemed to be no way to avoid it. Mincing past a collection of human remains, Escalla slowly flew out over a moat filled with giant leeches that were kept at bay only by a narrow little wire mesh fence. Jus glanced at the leeches, dragged a protesting Polk into the water with him, and waded toward the pyramid with Private Henry splashing clumsily at his heels. Revolting leeches fully three feet long reared from the water outside the fence, their sucker mouths probing and puckering, sending Escalla whizzing high above Jus with her legs tucked up out of harm’s way. She flew backward, her eyes on the leeches, and so managed tobump her backside into something sticky, hot and wet.
She had reached the pyramid. Escalla stared rigidly ahead of herself, reaching behind her rear. Something wet, congealing and hot clung to her bottom-and a big, dripping, solid something was right at her back.
“Jus, it’s a corpse, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” The sound of his voice revealed that his fury wasbarely in check.
“I think I just shoved my bum into its chest cavity.”
“Yup.” Jus climbed slowly and steadily up the pyramid. “Lookslike it.”
“I’m gonna puke!”
“Don’t.” His face savage and his black hell hound skinbristling, Jus clambered heavily up to join his friend. “Do nothing suspicious,not until it’s time to fight.”
The pyramid steps were awash with blood. A foul cascade had poured down from the base of the huge idol above, dripping over the steps and oozing slowly into the moat below.
At the upper platform of the pyramid, the lobster-headed idol loomed. Blood had been smeared over its claws and breasts, and a heart had been placed in each open claw. A clamshell at the monstrous image’s feet held votiveofferings. There were shells and basalt figurines, images carved from bone or chunks of brilliant coral. Hanging upside down on the edge of the platform was a sprawling corpse, a figure whose whole chest had been torn open to feed the monstrous goddess above.
The last group of kuo-toa pilgrims had already departed, heading down the far side of the pyramid. Jus swiftly knelt beside the corpse, wiped blood from its still-warm face, and stared at it in thought.
Escalla had painfully levered herself free, fighting an urge to scream.
“You, ah, you found… found something?”
“It’s one of the half-orcs from Sour Patch.” Jus turned thedead creature’s face. “Still bruised from where I hit him.”
“Oh.” Escalla had worries of her own but felt somehow vaguelyresponsible for Sour Patch. “Do you think the slaves all ended up here?”
“Doubtful. The drow are in charge of them.” Jus let thehalf-orc’s head slump back onto the cold stone steps. “They may have given someof the captives as a bribe to the kuo-toa.”
“So some might still be alive here?”
“Perhaps.” The Justicar could hardly hold out much hope.“Cinders?”
Smell kuo-toa. The hell hound’s eyes seemed more cunning,more feral when he hunted prey. Smell drow. Human smell a bit. Little bit smell.
Standing to look out across the cavern below, Escalla watched the guards at the northwest tunnel exit. The girl turned, flicked her glance across the votive bowl before the idol, then reluctantly edged closer and peered inside.
Quick as a weasel, she darted her hand in and snatched a trinket from the edge of the seashell.
“Hey!” The girl held a treasure in her hands. “Look. Avotive!” The other adventurers surrounded her as she showed them her prize.“It’s hair, faerie hair.”
The lock of hair shone like pale gold. The strands were long and fine, and tied about an elven finger bone. Escalla held the hair up against her own. They were almost a match, shade for shade. The girl’s humor left herface as she stared at the hair strands in thought.
“Now we’re getting warm.”
The Justicar squatted down beside Escalla, his hand resting on her back. Grave, intelligent eyes watched Escalla with her find. “Could youlink it to a specific person?”
“No.” The faerie carefully stored the evidence away. “Not ina court of law. Who’s to believe me when I say I found it down here? But it’sgiving me some crystal clear ideas.”
Polk and Henry were waiting. With a glance over her shoulder, Escalla leaned in to whisper in Jus’ ear. “Keep Cinders watching out for anysign of a faerie.” The girl flicked a glance at Henry. “And, ah, let’s keep ithappy. The kid’s been looking a little pale.”
Escalla seemed white as a ghost herself. Jus let her feel a warm squeeze of his hand. Cinders teeth gleamed in manic goodwill as the ranger rose. He turned to talk quietly with Private Henry. Escalla drew in a breath and turned around to survey the cave. She felt her antennae freeze.
Two titanic kuo-toan priests stood at the edge of the platform, staring wordlessly at the party through their huge fishy eyes. Sheathed in blood, the monsters stood in silence. Escalla waved to them, received no response, then cleared her throat to attract the attention of the menfolk just behind her. “Ah, guys? Guys, we may have a problem.”