David Cook: Uneasy Alliances

Noph rose. His stomach ached and his breath smelled sour. He badly wanted a drink of water. His face ached where Entreri had hit him, and he felt a trickle of blood down his chin. Trandon and Kern stared pointedly away from him.

Noph looked at the stiffening body of the guard, then at Sharessa, hoping for comfort and sympathy. She, too, was gazing at the body, but Noph saw, to his surprise and dismay, that she showed no emotion. She turned away and slapped Ingrar's shoulder in a comradely gesture.

Noph found Kern at his side. The paladin looked at him and then, catching Noph's eye, looked awkwardly away again.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

Noph nodded. "I… I guess so. It's just that when we killed before, it was us against the fiends. The only humans I've seen die were Anvil and… Harloon."

Kern nodded slowly. "I know. It's never easy to see men die, even those whom you don't know."

"He was so cold about it." Noph stared at Entreri. The little man was now exploring the far end of the room with Ingrar and Sharessa. "He didn't pause for a minute. He just…" He shut his eyes, as if trying to squeeze out the memory. Then he opened them wide. "And Shar. She could have killed Artemis back there when we were fighting that shadow-thing."

Trandon, coming up behind Kern, snorted and lowered his voice. "Not a bad job if she had. That'd be one less problem in our way."

Noph turned on him hotly. "Don't say that! Haven't you seen enough death?" His eyes filled with tears. "I thought being an adventurer was supposed to be glorious and exciting, not dirty… and…" His voice faded as he looked at the body of the guard.

Kern shrugged his broad shoulders. "Noph, adventuring is about duty-about doing your duty and keeping an eye on what needs to be done. It's about doing what's best in the eyes of your god." He looked contemptuously at Entreri and the pirates. "For a pack like that, the only thing that counts is profit. And if that means betraying your friends and companions, so be it. Master Entreri would kill anyone or anything if he were paid for it."

He turned away from Noph and said over his shoulder in a voice that carried throughout the room, "And don't lose any sleep over trying to keep in the good graces of Master Entreri. When you were wounded, he was ready enough to slit your throat and leave your carcass to the fiends."

Noph started and stared at Artemis, who looked at him stolidly and said nothing. Shar moved toward the young man. "Noph-"

"No, Shar." Noph turned away from the beautiful mercenary. "I'm sorry. I guess I just don't have what it takes to be a real pirate. You see, I care about other people."

He walked away from her. Shar stood motionless, her dark hair framing a face drained of blood.

Another low rumble came from beyond the room, and the floor shook. In the distance came the sound of faint screams and a shrill, ululating shriek. Trandon stepped to another door set in the chamber's west wall and listened intently.

"Fiends! Coming this way!" He drew his sword. Kern and Shar ranged themselves alongside him. Noph pulled a dagger from its sheath and stood behind them, feeling lost and very alone.

"Any suggestions?" Kern barked at Artemis over his shoulder.

Entreri, busy with Ingrar probing the eastern wall of the room, half turned. "You could go shout the name of Tyr at them. Or perhaps read them one of his holy books. It might bore them to death."

Kern's face turned red, and his mouth opened to make a powerful reply when Ingrar said quietly, "Here." He stood next to a tapestry on the north wall, his blind face laid against it.

"What?" Entreri joined him, moving swiftly and as silently as a cat.

"It's this way. The bloodforge." Ingrar gestured to the tapestry.

Kern quickly stepped to the wall and pulled back a corner of the hanging. "How do you know? I can't see a thing."

Ingrar shook his head. "I–I'm not sure. I just… know! " Не pressed his fingers against the wall, tapping and listening.

"Are you-" Kern started to ask.

Ingrar gestured imperiously. "Quiet!" Such was the force of his confidence that the paladin lapsed into silence.

There was a sudden snap, a click, and a grinding sound, and the outlines of a hidden door were revealed. Kern pushed it open and cautiously stepped through.

"There's been a partial cave-in," he called back to the others. "We'll have to go carefully."

The rest of the party left their posts near the far door and crowded after Kern. Noph lingered, looking back at the body of Althgar.

"Are you just going to leave him for the fiends?" he asked Artemis bitterly.

The little man stared at him a moment, as if surprised at his depth of feeling. "Yes. If I could give him a decent burial, I would. But sentiment and survival have nothing to do with each other. Now go on." He thrust Noph through the hidden door, then stepped through himself, pulling the panel shut behind him.

The passage was sufficiently large that under ordinary circumstances no one would have felt trapped. However, as Kern had warned them, large blocks of stone had fallen from the ceiling, making their way cramped and difficult. Noph had to assist Entreri in several places, since the little man's arm was still injured from the attack of the shadeling.

The way ran straight for perhaps twenty yards, then bent left and began to descend in a series of sweeping curves. The humid air grew stifling.

Noph could see the glow of Kern's torch flickering on the moldy walls as he descended endlessly down a flight of circular stone steps. Here the effects of Aetheric's rage were much less, but the explorers were disturbed to see several large cracks in the walls, whose ragged edges showed them to be of very recent origins.

"There's a room of some kind ahead," called Kern in a muted voice. The echoes reverberated tantalizingly up the stairway.

The companions reached the bottom of the stairs and stood looking at a black, empty space before them.

No, not quite black, for somewhere ahead of him, Noph thought he could see a faint pulsing glow. The ceiling stretched to an unknowable height and was supported by a forest of stone pillars, intricately carved, that marched into the blackness in ordered rows. The path between them was an elaborate tiled mosaic, scuffed with the tread of many feet.

"Listen," whispered Ingrar. Somewhere out in the darkness, water lapped against stone.

They went forward toward the glow in the dark. Kern led the way now, with Entreri at the rear. Noph thought he detected a faint keening sound above the shuffle of their footsteps and the wash of the waves, which sounded louder now. He also noticed that Ingrar, walking next to Kern, apparently no longer needed the paladin's touch to guide him through the dark.

As if to confirm Noph's thoughts, Shar whispered in his ear. "Ingrar hears the bloodforge." Her voice quavered unexpectedly, and Noph realized with a shock that she was afraid.

Ingrar came to a sudden halt. They were still too far from the glow to see clearly what was causing it. The water and the sound Noph had detected earlier were the only noises in the darkness.

"Can you feel it?" whispered the blind pirate.

Although Noph could see very little, there was an odd tangible quality to the air, almost as if it had grown thicker and was distorting what little vision he had. His skin felt dry to the touch, although sweat dribbled down his brow.

"Hang on!"

Kern's voice spoke behind Noph, the echoes resounding off hidden walls. The paladin was turning from side to side, peering into the darkness.

"Where's Entreri?"

The others gathered in a circle, cautiously exploring by the light of the torches. The little man was nowhere to be seen.