“Hey, Enid.”
“Oh, hello!” Enid the Sphinx sat primly upright in her placeat the dungeons main junction. “Still at it?”
“Still going.” Escalla gave a sigh. “Anyway, Enid, SirOlthwaite. Sir Olthwaite, Enid.”
Enid obviously remembered the paladin. She grumpily flexed her claws and said, “We’ve met. He guessed my riddle.”
“Ah, he’s a student of the classics. It happens-no pointgrumbling. We move on, we learn.” Escalla put a comradely arm about Enid’sshoulders then tapped Polk upon the skull. “Polk, oil flask! I’m going to go getmore slime!”
The Justicar raised one thoughtful eyebrow.
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s great stuff!” The faerie whizzed down the easterncorridor. “Back in a flash. Meanwhile, did anyone bring lunch?”
Lunch! Cinders wagged his damp tail. Burnt bones andcoal!
“And I even brought you naphtha for afterward.” Jus removedthe hell hound skin and affectionately began to tidy its fur. “Here we go. Eathearty.”
Escalla returned to find her compatriots wrestling with strips of hardened jerky. Enid delicately nibbled on a piece of bread, showering crumbs across the watery floor. The faerie descended and gave a full slime-jug to Polk, who unhappily stored the thing away. Snatching Polk’s lunch while theman’s back was turned, Escalla settled upon Enid’s furry back.
“Lunch looks… challenging.”
Jus gnawed his jerky and shrugged. Sir Olthwaite distastefully put his food away. Having grown used to the ranger’s camp cooking,Escalla happily stuffed her face and enjoyed her meal, though it didn’t lastlong.
Sitting in the midst of a shower of crumbs, she announced, “So, we ready to go?”
“Yup.” Jus passed the faerie his canteen. “Let’s move.”
The group waded off down the western tunnel. Behind them, Enid waved a cheerful paw.
“Have a nice time!”
“You too!” Escalla flew backward to wave goodbye. “We’ll playriddles tonight, but no eating people anymore, all right?”
“I’m relatively over that little phase now!” Enid gave afinal wave. “See you!”
The western tunnel’s trap provided a few minute’s pause.Walking ahead of the Justicar, Sir Olthwaite halted and flexed his fingers in frustrated indecision. After a moment, he pointed to the water-covered ground ahead.
“The floor drops away here. It is only a ten-foot of gap, butthat’s quite enough to drown in.”
The Justicar lifted his magic light and squinted at the water. Escalla popped into visibility and tried to see whether anything lurked down below.
“How did you cross last time?” she asked.
“We swam. I removed my armor and drew it across the hole witha rope.”
It seemed a simple enough plan. Jus took one pace backward, sheathed his sword, and said, “Good. You go first.”
With a sharp glance of distaste at the ranger, Sir Olthwaite unbuckled his pauldrons and let his arm pieces slide off. Chunk by chunk he divested himself of his armor, letting the metal plates collect at his feet. Dressed in a soiled blue undersuit, the man bundled up his equipment and wrapped it with a few turns of his thin rope. He tied off the scorched rope end and without a backward glance, slipped into the water and began to swim across the gap.
Jus watched carefully then jerked his chin at the water trap.
“Polk, you’re next.”
Polk swallowed, eyeing the oily, filthy pool.
“Now, son, this seems a grand place to hide a monster! Youhave to realize that evil lurks-it lurks-meanin’ it likes to hide.”
Jus kept careful eyes and ears on the passageway.
“We already dangled some bait. Nothing’s there.” The Justicarhelped Polk from his backpack. “Can you swim?”
“Well, son, now that’s another point of contention in yerplan.”
Jus leaned the trident against one wall. He helpfully stuffed Polk’s chronicles inside one of his waterproof scroll tubes and handed the manone end of his own rope.
“You don’t swim?”
“Nope, not a stroke. That’s what I’m saying!”
“Time to learn.”
Jus threw the other end of the rope to a dripping, fuming Sir Olthwaite and unceremoniously pushed Polk into the pool. The teamster squawked and thrashed like a drowning rat until the paladin hauled the rope and landed him on the far side of the pit.
Escalla hovered behind and above Sir Olthwaite, her new wand tucked under one arm and pointing at the paladin. Jus gave a nod to the faerie, then patted Cinders on the head. Sword, boots, armor, and all, he jumped into the water, swam across, and emerged dripping at the far side. The big man shook himself dry like a wolf, sending water flying out to spatter the paladin.
Sir Olthwaite grimaced angrily then turned to point down the corridor.
“We were attacked just around the corner.” Hanging his swordfrom his belt, the man shouldered his armor bundle. “There’s no pointre-armoring. I shall show you why.”
The group trudged down the corridor, their skin filthy with muck from the water. Marginally cleaner than the other adventurers, Escalla whistled a little tune between her teeth. The ranger threw a clod of algae at her invisible rear end in an effort to silence her. The faerie went into a huff, zipped around a corner, and then suddenly unveiled her magic light.
“Hey! There’s dead guys here!”
The party rounded the corner. Escalla hovered in midair above a human body that lay floating face-up in the water. Dressed in a slashed robe and hat, the corpse was clearly that of the baron’s sorcerer.
Two other corpses floated nearby. They were wights, gray skinned and leathery, and had obviously been slashed with swords. The Justicar strode forward and checked the monsters for signs of life in the simplest possible way: he hacked their heads off one by one. With that job done, he prodded at the dead sorcerer from a distance with his sword.
“Life drain. See the burns?”
Escalla hovered at her friend’s side and asked, “What doesthat?”
“Negative energy creatures, wights, vampires.” The Justicarknelt and relieved the body of a healing potion jammed into its belt. “But thatisn’t what killed him. This man was stabbed from behind.”
Sir Olthwaite managed to appear sanctimonious as he spoke. “Acreature slain by a wight becomes a wight. I therefore performed the final office of a friend.”
The Justicar said nothing.
Escalla flew a few paces farther out of reach and said, “Allright! Let’s just remain acquaintances then, shall we?”
Jus uncorked the healing potion, sniffed at it in suspicion, and seemed satisfied enough to clip it to his own belt.
“The potion seems all right.” Jus checked the smooth slide ofhis sword inside its sheath. “Paladin, you left a perfectly good potion behind?Why?”
Sir Olthwaite seared the Justicar with a disdainful glance and replied, “Some of us have a distaste for robbing the dead.”
“The worms don’t need it. We do.” Jus rose and took a closelook at the corridor ahead. “Tell us about this passageway.”
“The tunnel up ahead is lined with copper slabs,” the paladinexplained. “A hum of power seems to ripple through the metal, making the dankair shimmer with force.” Sir Olthwaite touched the bare copper with his hand.“It’s a trap designed to strip away your weapons and armor. Metal heats as youwalk down the tunnel.”
“Getting hotter over distance or hotter over time?” asked theJusticar.
“Time.” The paladin seemed evasive. “So it seemed.”
The Justicar watched Sir Olthwaite for a moment then said, “Where’s the Geshtai priestess?”
“I sent her through the tunnel. She did not return.”
Sent her? That was interesting. The Justicar noddedslowly, then looked down the corridor.
Hovering up near the ceiling, Escalla stuck a hand into the passage and twiddled her fingertips.
“Feels all right. I can go take a look.” The girl frowned.“Cinders, what do you smell?”
Undead. Evil!
“Now that’s not good.” Lifting her magic light, Escalla gavea swirl. “Shall I go?”
“Do it.” The Justicar kept his eyes on the corridor.“Paladin, guard the rear.”
Once Sir Olthwaite’s attention was partially divided, Escallastealthily slipped off her anti-charm ring and dropped it in Jus’ palm. TheJusticar traded it for his own bone ring, shielding the faerie from view until the ring slipped it in place upon her finger. With a happy salute, Escalla flipped her wings wide and turned invisible, the magic light bobbing softly as she flew into the corridor.
She flew a mere ten feet and then screeched in pain. An instant later, a hot gold piece came flying at the Justicar.
“My lucky gold piece!” Visible again, the girl rubbed angrilyat her cleavage. “Damned thing almost branded me!”
“You’ll get it back.” Jus caught the rapidly cooling coin andtucked it into his scabbard. “Tell me you didn’t swallow any coins.”
The girl raised one brow, put her fingers against her stomach, and looked a little blank. “Are pearls metallic?”
“Not that I’ve heard.”
“Oh, good.” The girl turned invisible again. “Well, undead,here I come!”
She flew off into the unknown, her light glittering from the great copper slabs lining the passage walls. Far down the tunnel, the light seemed to flare as it caught the walls of a larger room. Escalla’s cheery littlevoice could be heard echoing out into the halls.
“Helloooo!” The light swirled and bobbed. “Yoo-hoooo!Undead? The vampire crusher is here!”
There was a sudden sound of a door crashing open, followed by a chorus of bestial snarls. Escalla’s war cry could be heard as frost and mistcame billowing down the metal corridor. Whooping, the unseen girl blasted at her enemies.
“Oh, you want some of this? Yeah? You want some more?”
Frosty vapors drifted into the copper passageway, and Jus lunged forward to the tunnel mouth.
“Escalla!”
“Hey, I’m fine!” The faerie could be seen framed against thelight as she waved her new magic wand above her head. “Oh, man, this thing iswild!”
“What happened?”
“Dunno. Some kind of ghouls or something. I froze them intocorpsicles!” The faerie turned a cartwheel in the air. “Come on down! Thewater’s fine!”
It was easier said than done. The Justicar carefully held a coin out into the corridor, dropping it when it suddenly became hot enough to scorch him through his leather glove. The coin hissed steam as it hit the water and disappeared from view.
Simply tying the arms and armor into a bundle and towing it through the corridor would be useless. The metal would heat itself enough to burn through the ropes. Jus removed his helmet, scratched at his head stubble and then settled his ideas. After long moments, inspiration came, and he settled into the details of a proper plan.
“Escalla, come back! Olthwaite, watch the rear.”
The faerie drifted into view, waving her wand over her head.
“Ta-daaaaah! Hey, killing undead is a real breeze. I maystart renting myself out.”
“Don’t get too fond of it. None of them have hit you yet.”The man lifted his arm to provide Escalla with a perch. “What’s down thecorridor?”
“Icicles and ghouls! There’s a dead priestess in the room,all eaten up.” Escalla waved a potion over her head. “She was carrying this,though. Pretty useful, huh?”
“Good.” Jus took the potion and tossed it to Polk. “Did youfigure out the wand?”
“Oh, it’s a frost thingie! It shoots out a cone of cold.” Thefaerie pointed at three different runes upon the side. “Red means kill, this onemakes a great big ice wall, but I dunno what the last one means. The blue line fades as its charges wear out.” The wand looked to be about two-thirds empty.“Pretty hoopy, huh?”
“You need it. It gives you a sting.” The Justicar looked downat the paladin’s pile of armor. “We can use it, too.”
The room at the far end of the tunnel seemed no more dangerous than half a dozen traps already passed and gone. Jus faced the passageway and folded his arms in thought.
“Paladin, why didn’t you go farther?” The man narrowed hiseyes as he glared into the dark. “The wights were dead, the priestess hadtraversed the copper tunnel…”
“I had no allies.” Sir Olthwaite tugged at his wet, filthyundersuit. “Dungeons are dangerous. I felt it best to find some companionsbefore proceeding farther. I searched-and I found you.”
“Go down the tunnel, then. It’s safe.” Jus held out his handfor the man’s sword. “Leave your sword and we’ll tow it through.”
“How? A rope will burn through within sixty feet!”
“The wand.” Jus took a blanket from Polk’s backpack andsoaked it in the water. “We wrap the weapons and freeze them inside a block ofice. We wrap the block with groundsheets and tow it through the water, moving at a run.”
“Ah!” The paladin stroked his moustache. “Then I shall helpyou. By all means bundle the weapons and metal.”
“Scout the passage.” Dark and forbidding, the Justicarrefused to look at the man. “Make sure there’re no obstacles in the water. Polkand I will do the carrying. It’s going to be dirty work.”
Sir Olthwaite took a torch and began to walk down the tunnel. Happily playing with her wand, Escalla encased armor, weapons, and sundry bits of treasure inside a block of ice. Polk seemed to approve of the whole idea and began wrapping the mass in cloaks and blankets.
Jus wore leather armor, but his belt had a metal buckle. After removing the belt, he tied his trousers up with string. As he did so, he moved quietly closer to the faerie.
“Follow Sir Olthwaite.”
“You got it!” The faerie worked the slide on her wand with aharsh clack-clack, setting it to kill. “See you in a few minutes.”
The faerie sped away. Jus and Polk lifted the big block of ice between them on a cradle of blankets. They looked at one another, drew a deep breath, and then ran like hell through the corridor.
Water foamed about their shins as they blundered through the mire. Steam rose from the ungainly ice block as the metal inside began to overheat. Halfway down the passageway, the ice gave a crack. With the block dripping and already beginning to sag, Polk and Jus careened into the open room and hurled the ice block over at a set of stairs. The ice split, and heated metal tumbled in the steam. Jus dove to retrieve Escalla’s golden ring. He cooled it with a chunk of ice and jammed it onto his finger before reaching down to rescue his helmet and sword.
Carefully inspecting his much-cherished sword, the Justicar slowly relaxed. The blade seemed unharmed. Rubbing the pommel with ice until it cooled, Jus slid the weapon back into the leather scabbard at his belt. The silky click of the sword sinking home sounded loud and comforting.
The chamber at the end of the copper passage was square. Issuing from a still-open secret panel were a group of fanged, skeletal humanoids all frozen in ice. Frost starred the walls and had frozen the floors into a sheet of ice. Escalla hovered self-importantly above the frozen ghouls, hoping that someone would choose to comment upon her handiwork.
The one man who saw fit to make a fuss was Polk. Overjoyed, the teamster licked the end of his wax marker as he circled the ghouls.
“Eight! She got eight! Now this girl has the right stuff!”Polk began scribbling notes into his chronicles. “Beauty and brains, son! Takeheed!” The man shot a glance up at Escalla. “Can I write ‘mistress of mayhem’?”
“As long as you don’t mention my leather duds in the sameparagraph, sure!” The faerie polished her knuckles on one breast. “Did I mentionthe fact that I took ’em all in one shot?”
“I’ll put it in big letters.” Polk suddenly seemed farhappier with his day. “Now see? There’s no reason not to fight fair. No slimesneeded. You’re a combat kitten now!”
With her head swollen, the faerie drifted down to watch her companions rescuing their gear. The paladin had not yet bothered to climb back into his armor. Escalla kept her eye casually upon Sir Olthwaite’s back as shecame closer to the ground. “So, Jus, nothing broken?”
“Doesn’t look like it.” The Justicar tossed Sir Olthwaite hissilver sword. “Here.”
The paladin caught the weapon with a deft left-handed catch, then used the implement to point at a set of steps leading up out of the muck. The top of the steps had been sealed off with a door made out of something akin to solid ivory. Runes had been inscribed about a central indentation, and the whole portal had been fixed deep into the living stone. The door seemed massive, solid, and unbreakable.
Looking over at the new discovery, Cinders gave a sniff and then a sudden sneeze. Bah! Magic! Strong magic!
There seemed to be no explosive runes. Jus walked up to the white door and wiped it with a fingertip. The surface was free of algae, and the edges of the runes still showed stone dust that had drifted from above.
“This is new construction. The rest of the dungeon is old,but this has only been here a few days.”
Escalla flew over and pushed at the door, then twisted at a ring-latch set below the runes and said, “I can’t turn it.”
“It’ll be a mystic clue.” Polk looked immenselyself-important. “One of us should talk to it and see what it wants!”
No one seemed keen to speak to the dungeon fittings just yet. Watched intently by Sir Olthwaite, the Justicar held up his light and carefully traced the patterns cut into the door.
Someone had already unsuccessfully tried to break the door down. Mud marks showed where a foot had kicked at the ivory. Jus touched the still-wet mud then returned to the runes.
“Glyphs.” The man traced two symbols on either side of theindentation in the door. “Sir Olthwaite?”
“Glyphs are for rangers and priests.” Intensely interested,the paladin edged closer. “Can you read them?”
“Yup.” The ranger stood. “The one on the left means ‘good’.The one on the right is ‘blood’.” Jus carefully removed his gauntlet. “It’s amagic lock.”
The man nicked his thumb and pressed a droplet into the hollow of the door. A heavy click sounded as the door unlocked itself and suddenly sprang open. Jus snorted, licked his cut, and looked into the corridor beyond.
A shocking whip crack echoed through the hall. Sir Olthwaite lashed out his rope and snapped it about the ranger’s neck. With a scream oftriumph, the paladin seemed to swell, a new creature bursting up out of the abandoned skin. White wings unfolded as a naked female figure discarded her disguise to the floor.
Wrapped in a scorched magic rope, Jus snarled and rolled aside. Naked, savage, and powerful, the erinyes laughed in triumph and flung out a clawed hand toward the faerie girl.
Magic twisted through the air to slam into Escalla. “Obey me!Kill the others with your wand!”
The faerie rocked beneath the magic blast, then held up her hand with the Justicar’s magic ring and gave a nasty smile.
“Think again, bitch!”
Escalla turned the wand upon the erinyes. Screaming in anger and frustration, the devil-woman instantly fled. With Jus still in her line of fire, the faerie could only curse and fire her web spell down the hall to block the erinyes’ escape. The devil-creature gave a peal of laughter and evaded theweb with ease, disappearing quickly into the dark.
Swearing, Escalla stared into the dark and hunted targets for her wand.
“Damn it!” Furious, Escalla half-made to fly after theerinyes. “Jus! Do I ice the bitch?”
“Stay together!” The big man managed to wrench himself freefrom the erinyes’ abandoned rope. “She can’t beat us if we stay together!”
Escalla swore and slammed her little fist against the wall.
“She’s after Blackrazor!” The girl shouted curses. “Damn it!I thought the paladin was just an agent for one of the temples!”
Polk blinked. Still covered by wet scraps of Sir Olthwaite’sold skin, the man sat on the floor in a daze.
“You-you knew he wasn’t a paladin?”
Annoyed with himself, Jus gave a growl.
“A baatezu. No wonder the creature couldn’t use a healingpotion.” The Justicar cursed himself as he carefully coiled the erinyes’ magicrope. “But Cinders hated him so much I thought he must have really been apaladin!”
“Well, good boy, Cinders.” Escalla patted the hound upon thehead. “You tried to tell us.”
Cinders good dog! Evil smell gone!
The faerie cocked an eye at jus and asked, “Hey, erinyes comefrom somewhere really awful, don’t they? Are they immune to hell hound fire?”
“Yup.” Jus scratched at Cinders’ snout. “So I’m told.”
“Ah well, he can gnaw off the bits of her when we’re done!Pooch, sniff deep and start tracking!” Escalla assumed combat stance in midair,her wand covering the way ahead. “Jus, let’s go make some iced devil-bitch!”