Chapter 14: Baysil, Cleric

He woke slowly, savoring every moment of rest. Under his sheltering cloak, Kletta nestled close, her dark hair framing the curve of her cheek. Gently, he moved his arm from beneath her head and climbed stiffly to his feet.

"A good morning to you."

He answered Anji's friendly greeting with a smile. "I suppose it is morning, though it could as well be midnight, or high noon. You look rested."

"I feel like I've caught up on a ten day's sleep," she chuckled. "I'm ready for whatever comes."

"I think we all are," Darrick agreed, joining them. "To make sure, perhaps we should take this chance to spend a few final moments in meditation and prayer before we try to make our escape from this place."

"It can certainly do no harm," Baysil agreed. With charcoal from the fireplace, he and Darrick soon had a small Diagram of Power sketched out on a bare expanse of floor.

Distant sounds from beyond the door, the whisper of wind in the chimney, all faded and were lost. Once more, Baysil's essence mingled with an aspect of the Universe. All that brought stability to the affairs of Men and Gods, a world that rewarded right action with deserved advancement. All things sought their proper place in an orderly array, bringing wealth and power to those who aided the will of the Gods.

Renewed energy flowed through him as he rose to his feet. Within him was a calm certainty that all would be well, that the Gods were with them on this quest. His every movement a re affirmation of supreme confidence, he picked up the coffer of the Gem and took his place at the rear of the Company.

"Listen!" Bartan held up a warning hand. In the sudden silence, he could hear a snuffling and scratching at the door to the corridor. Weapons ready, they were set for trouble when the doors burst open.

The heavy portals slammed back as four giant weasels flowed lithely into the room, red eyed incarnations of blood lust. Two of the creatures skidded to a halt on their bellies, felled by Burdock's magics. One of the remaining weasels staggered as missiles streaked its fur with bright blood, but the other came on unharmed. Darrick took a step to his left, while Gwinny moved to her right. Elm and Kletta shifted farther toward the sides of the room to give them space to use their slings.

The action was blindingly fast in the torch light, high pitched squeals of fury a counterpoint to the grunts and oaths of the fighters. Darrick and Anji aimed blows at one foe, dodging teeth and raking claws. Bartan and Gwinny met their opponent's charge with a wall of swords and shields.

Elm's sling whirred, its leaden bullet glancing from a furred skull. The weasel dropped, stunned, and Darrick's mace finished it off. Bartan lunged at the other, his sword drinking its life blood. He and Anji moved swiftly to ensure that the other two weasels wouldn't wake to follow the Company.

"Nobody's hurt?" Darrick looked them over. "Good, then let's be on our way."

The corridor outside was empty, not surprising with monsters like these roaming loose. Baysil wondered if the giant weasels had been loosed on their trail deliberately. They belonged in the forest, under the trees, not down here in these dank cellars.

He followed behind as they turned to the right, marching past the room where Gwinny had joined them. Would she aid them, or would her presence only draw more trouble to them? She had proved a doughty warrior for all of her small size. At that, she was about the same height as Tarr, though not as strongly built.

The door to the Wolf leaders' den stayed closed as they marched by. Baysil kept a watchful eye on it until they rounded the next corner and it was out of sight.

"You! Stop!" Ahead of them in the gloom, four hooded figures blocked their way to the room of the giant lizards. Tarr moved to the front of the column, throwing back the hood of her cloak. Her pale hair gathered the light of the torches until it seemed to glow with a light of its own.

"How dare you stop us?" Her voice was poisonously sweet. "The Dark One calls, and we must come."

"We not know you!" the first hooded Goblin snarled. "You not one of us!"

"We come from the deep caves to the Dark One's call. Let us pass!"

"You not pass!" The Goblin gestured, mouthing a guttural phrase. Tarr raised a warding hand, the ring on her finger catching an errant beam of light. The Goblin rocked back on his heels, then stood rigid.

"You will let us pass!" Tarr commanded. "The Dark One calls. Let us pass, and go on your way."

"Dark. One. Calls." The Goblin's voice grated on their ears. "You. Pass."

The other Goblin Spell casters shrank back fearfully, but their leader didn't stir as they moved on past. He twitched, tried to break free as Baysil carried the coffer of the Gem close by him. Then they were safely by, and the Goblin leader led his followers away into the darkness.

When they'd gone, Anji cautiously opened the door at the end of the corridor.

"Yeeps!" She ducked back as she came face to snout with a giant lizard. The massive jaws opened to bite...

"Thunder Bird!" Bartan shouted. The lizard backed away, still threatening to chomp down on these tempting morsels. "I said, Thunder Bird, you scaly idiot!"

The lizard shut its mouth, backing off. With a disappointed hiss it turned and climbed laboriously up the wall, its claws ripping fresh gashes in the rough stone.

"Make it fast, but quiet," Bartan ordered. "The stairs are right along here."

The stairs were there, but so was another lizard. This one hung from the wall by the arched opening, its head poised to snap at anything that tried to pass.

"Thunder Bird," Baysil shouted the password one more time, but it only opened its jaws hungrily. He shouted again, and in answer the lizard moved toward him. The heavy body dropped to the floor with a meaty thud, and it hissed angrily.

"Damned thing's deaf!" Bartan snarled. "All right then, kill it!"

The lizard was a big target, and almost all of their missiles drew blood. Then it was swords and maces against scaly hide. Anji hit it from the side, and Gwinny's sword slid between its scales. The lizard bellowed pain and rage at them, the light in its eyes dimming as it writhed in its death throes.

"Run for it," Baysil shouted as the other lizards scuttled toward them. They clattered toward the stairs, not at all willing to fight these monsters if they didn't have to. Baysil brought up the rear, but even he was partway up the steps when the first lizard reached them.

"It's still coming!"

Darrick's shout spurred him on. He didn't know if the lizard was going too fast to stop, or whether the Gem of Brightness was nullifying the geas that confined it to a single room. Whatever the cause, the lizard paused halfway up the stairs. Hissing and groaning, it turned back, joining the rest of the lizards in tearing at the body of its fellow. The Company burst through the doors at the head of the stairs, and a shriek of fear rang out. Bartan darted out of Baysil's sight, coming back with a firm grip on the collar of a scruffy looking Orc.

"It's Griggo," he announced cheerfully. "Remember Griggo? He opens doors for Gorrick. Where is Gorrick?"

"Gugg!" Griggo choked, and Bartan loosened his grip slightly. "Gah. Uck ck. Gorrick dead. Not kill Griggo?"

"Not if Griggo talk. Where other Orcs?" He shook Griggo, scowling fiercely.

"Awk! Me tell! Orcs dead. Bugbears come in night. Kill." He snuffled, and a solitary tear rolled down his bristly cheek. "Griggo run. Them not find. Now is just Griggo. No get food. No get water. No nice fungus to eat, make brave."

"Griggo like to go away? Go deep in woods, hide from Bugbears?"

"Huh?" Griggo's slack jaw dropped as he wrestled with this idea. "Griggo go to woods? Like that!"

"All right. We take you. Griggo talk to Ogres, so can go by."

"Not talk to Ogres!" Griggo quailed. "Ogres eat Griggo!"

"You talk to Ogres. Them try eat, we fight Ogres," Bartan reassured him. "Griggo talk good, not need to fight. Then we take Griggo to woods."

"Me go." Griggo shuddered, slobbering. "Griggo hunger. Thirst."

"Eat and drink outside," Bartan answered sternly. "Now we go."