Ru Emerson - Keep on the Borderlands

Eddis moved warily around the corner and into an alcove, one of the lantern-holders illuminating the way for her. Ahead she could make out a heavy-looking wooden door that was closed tightly, and just short of the door, a sentry area. Two low stools and a table littered with cups and scraps of an old meal had been shoved against the right wall, and on the floor nearby stood a basket stuffed full of quarrels and a wound crossbow shoved in with them. The creatures that had been on guard here were dead.

Jerdren spoke quietly. “Don’t know what’s in there, but wedon’t want to leave it there to cut us off from the outside.”

“Don’t even think about that,” Eddis replied.

Willow moved past her to lay his ear against the rough-hewn surface. He nodded and then backed away from the door.

“I can hear voices but cannot say how many. They do not seemto have heard the fighting.”

“Ridiculous,” Eddis began, but the elf shrugged.

“It is a very thick door. Perhaps for privacy?”

“Chief’s room, maybe?” Jerdren asked. He was grinning widely.“There’s where any treasure will be.”

Eddis was aware of Kadymus for the first time since they’dgotten past the pit. The little thief was grinning even more widely than Jerdren. She tapped his shoulder, hard.

“Share alike, remember? If there’s an armed chief in there,do you really want to be the first in to fight him, little man?”

He gave her an indignant look and fell back as Mead again took over.

The mage laid both hands against the portal, then stepped back and spoke under his breath. To her amazement, Eddis heard the mage’s voicefrom the other side of the door, scarcely muffled by it.

“Fly, all of you!” he ordered, “for you are discovered!”

He retreated just in time. The door slammed into rock, and armed kobolds fled into the passage, engaging the Keep men and the priest. Eddis let Blorys pull her aside to let the creatures go. She sensed a large room beyond that door. M’Baddah came up on her other side, opening his lamp wide withone hand as he drew his curved scimitar with the other.

“That’s no kobold!” Eddis protested as she got her first lookat the fellow. He was nearly twice the size of the others, and he seemed unaffected by the sudden flare of light.

“Their chiefs are chosen by size and skill!” Blorys hissed,then set his shoulder against hers as the brute strode through the open doorway and straight for Jerdren.

“Two others in there that I can see, Blor,” Eddis said as thechief brought his two-handed axe down overhand at her co-captain.

Jerdren yelled, “He’s mine!” as he jumped nimbly out of theway and stabbed at the leader, but his blade slammed into the face of the heavy axe and went flying. Off balance, Jers flailed for balance and went down.

M’Baddah slipped between the fallen man and the axe-wieldingbrute, deflected a wild overhand blow that might have separated the man’s headfrom his body. The outlander countered the attack with an overhead, slashing blow of his own. His enamel-hilted dagger buried itself to the hilt in the kobold chief’s chest.

At M’Baddah’s warning yell, one of the Keep men ran at theenemy with his spear, but heavy mail turned the point and sent the man reeling back into the wall. The kobold dragged a long-bladed knife from its belt but slipped in its own blood and went down hard. Jerdren, back on his feet, snatched up the battle-axe and brought the weapon down across its owner’s neck.

Eddis stayed where she was for a long moment, then skirted the mess, heading for the last armed kobold, hesitating in the doorway. It wasn’t running-possibly there was no place left to run to-but it wasn’t givingup, either. Female, Eddis thought as she drew near. Possibly protecting its young, and now she could see two such little creatures. They weren’t cowering,either. They were trying to sneak around-possibly trip her or help the female insome attack.

Blorys was a reassuring presence against her left arm. He swung at the monster holding the doorway as Eddis turned sideways to stab at sudden movement on her left.

A sudden, dreadful, high-pitched squealing filled the chamber and hurt her ears. One of the little creatures who’d tried to flank herstaggered back, into the open room. Long, pale, bony fingers clutched the hilt of a dagger buried in its belly. The other shrieked and tried to flee, and to Eddis’ horror, Flerys ran past her into the chamber where, one of M’Whan’sspears in hand, she ran the little thing through, pinning the now squirming body to the floor.

“Flerys! Get back!” the swordswoman yelled.

“They’d hurt you!” the girl protested, but at M’Baddah’scommand, she edged back out of sight.

The kobold Eddis fought was distracted by the injured and frightened youngling and went down a moment later, impaled on the woman’s sword.Blorys left the one he’d fought gravely wounded and leaped beyond it-or her-tothe next of them. The fight had gone out of the last of the creatures. It dropped its weapons and huddled on the floor. The remaining two young ran to it and dung.

Blorys shook his head and swore softly. “Gods. I can’t killthat!” he protested.

“I can.” Jerdren pushed past him and swung his sword hard,several times. Finally he turned away to finish off the wounded creature Flerys had attacked, retrieved the spear, and wiped it on one of the room’s roughhangings. He met his brother’s eyes.

“Any of those might have killed you, female or not. And thelittle ones grow up, remember?”

He stepped back into the passage. “All of you out here! Keepwatch. We don’t know what’s left in this cave that needs fighting. I think thisis the chief’s room, and I believe whatever treasure we find will be here. Mead,you should help us look, in case there are potions or charms. Otherwise-Eddis, Isay that you, me, the child and Kadymus have the best chance of quickly finding whatever’s here.”

“Keep in mind,” Eddis said, “that we came up the right-handend of this passage. We don’t know what’s down the other way. So far, I haven’tseen anything resembling those two guards from the entry. Maybe there’s anotherhorde of creatures behind us that they went to warn?”

“Let the guards worry about that,” Jerdren told her. “Workfast. Check anything that might hold coin or other trove, and remember, anything locked probably holds something of great value. If this is the chief’s chamber,he wouldn’t have locked everything of value away-not with that door and guardsto keep him feeling safe.”

Kadymus was already rummaging through a pile of dirty bed clothes. He sat back on his heels suddenly and gave a sharp little whistle.

“Don’t do that!” Eddis turned from the small chest she’dfound.

“Got something,” the youth said and scooted backward acrossthe floor, dragging something into the open: a small wooden chest, with dulled metal banding. He chuckled softly. “Hidden pretty well. Heavy, too.” He peeredat it. “And locked.”

“That’s yours to open, then,” Eddis ordered. “Open, not keep to yourself. Got it?”

Kadymus gave her a sour look but sat down cross-legged to fish out his special lock-wire.

Blorys came across the room, a blood-soaked chain dangling from his fingers. “Found a key around the chief’s neck.”

Jerdren’s eyebrows went up as he fingered the links.

“That’s gold! I don’t know what the gem is, but it’s big.I’ll take the key. Blor, you hold the rest.”

“Lookit this!” A jubilant Kadymus sat back on his heels.“It’s all coins-hundreds of ’em!” He pawed through the top layer, sighed. “Nogold I can see, but plenty of silver.”

“Some of that’s platinum, unless my eyes deceive me,” Jerdrentold him. “Good work, lad!” He looked around as his brother suddenly laughed.