Paul Kidd - Descent into the Depths of the Earth

Jus had already taken the arm off a huge kuo-toa, kicking backward to smash another monster’s knee as he whirled. Behind him, Polk madethe brilliant move of opening his portable hole, diving inside, and reaching back out to fold up the hole.

Two of the lesser guards hurled themselves at Private Henry. Rushing at him, the monsters hurled heavy harpoons straight at the boy. Imitating the Justicar, the boy managed to smash one huge spear out of the air. The second missile tore the whole sleeve of his mail shirt, ripping a line of blood along his arm. With a roar the boy whirled and swung his sword. To his astonishment, the sword blade bit into flesh, and the fish bellowed in agonized rage. It struck at the boy, had its blow blocked, then whirled backward as Henry cleaved his blade down into the monster’s skull.

Overjoyed, Henry turned to the next monster and struck wildly down. His sword blade hit the kuo-toa’s shield-and suddenly stuck fast to alayer of glue. The kuo-toa roared and twisted the weapon from his grasp, raising a spear to plunge it through the boy.

The kuo-toa’s head suddenly exploded as Escalla smacked itneatly with her pencil-slim lich staff. The corpse jerked like a mad puppet, leaving Escalla staring at the magic staff in astonishment.

“Hot damn!” The girl reached out a hand to the dazed Private Henry. “You allright?”

“Um…”

“Yeah. All glory to King Um! Whatever, kid. Now’s not the time!” Escalla picked up Polk’s folded portable hole and shoved it down hercleavage. “Time to run!” A horn was blowing, summoning more kuo-toa. “Jus! Packit up, man. Time to flee!”

Roaring and cursing, Jus was surrounded by kuo-toa guards, all of them reeling away from the white blade. One lunged in with a pole arm, lost the business end of the weapon to Jus’ sword, then jerked as a massiveblow opened its guts. Another slashed with its claws, ripping Jus’ shoulder. AsCinders sheeted fire to incinerate a ring of guards, Jus trapped his attacker’shand, slammed one hand against the monster’s arm and snapped its elbow. It fellback, screaming as Benelux ripped through its chest. The sword twisted, whipped out, and flicked up looking for targets all in a single horrid blur.

The kuo-toa leader had already disappeared through a secret door beside his throne. With guards thundering in from the temple outside, the secret passageway seemed like a good idea. Jus threw himself at the door even as it slid closed, shattering the panels and making the kuo-toa leader reel back in fright. The creature leaped down a set of stairs with powerful shoves of its stumpy legs. Jus loomed in the door, terrifying with his brilliant sword, blood-smeared armor, and smoking hell hound skin.

“Move!” Jus bellowed to his companions. “We’re going thisway!”

Jus shoved in through the door, and Private Henry instantly followed at his heel. Escalla made to follow, then suddenly blinked and swerved back into the throne room.

“Wait! The receipt!”

The piece of parchment lay on the floor beside the scribe’ssevered hands. Escalla dived toward the receipt-only to look up in shock to seethirty enraged kuo-toa charging straight for her. A massive barrage of harpoons showered toward her. She threw her hand up in a spell, her magic shield snapping up an instant before the rusty harpoons arrived. The shield staggered as spears struck like a thunderstorm, spraying sparks and snapping points. One harpoon punched through the shield, and Escalla screamed, twisted aside, and had the middle ripped out of her dress. With the kuo-toa lunging toward her, the girl hurled herself backward in panic, screeching in frustration as the monsters overran the receipt. She flew backward through the secret door, harpoons ricocheting madly from her shield.

She bumped into Henry’s back. The boy was stuck halfway downthe stairs. As a dozen kuo-toa charged for them, Escalla blasted her black tentacles spell into the passage entrance, blocking the doorway with tendrils that caught hold of screaming kuo-toa and tossed the creatures aside.

“Jus! We’ve got company!”

The spell would last for a few minutes, no more. Escalla blundered about in a blur of wings until she dragged out her little light-stone. The sounds of screaming, throttled kuo-toa, thrashing tentacles, and alarm horns made conversation almost impossible.

“What’s the hold up, Hen?”

“A door just slammed! The Justicar is on the other side ofit!” Henry pressed his ear against a wooden door that blocked the passageway. “Ican hear movement but can’t hear fighting. He won’t answer when I call!”

“Great.” Harpoons clanged from the magic shield, tentaclesthrashed, and kuo-toa roared. With hundreds of angry monsters at her heels, Escalla yanked her light stone out of her cleavage to look at the door, noticing the folded up portable hole between her breasts as she did so.

“Polk! You still in there?”

“Yep!”

“Are you peeking?”

“Yep!”

“Polk, I’m gonna give you such a pinch when we get outtahere!” Escalla yelled into the dark. “Jus, come on man, open the door! What’sthe hold up?”

On the other side of the door, the Justicar’s eyes bulged.The garotte around his neck jerked tight, and his fingers bled as he tried to pry the wire from his throat. The kuo-toa snarled, heaving backward on the garotte to try and tear Jus’ head off his shoulders. High priest of an assassincult, the kuo-toa hissed with the pleasure of the kill. Jus tried to rear and slam the monster against the walls, but the creature outweighed him, shoving him against a pillar and heaving viciously at the ranger’s neck.

Jus tried to punch backward with his fist but struck only the harsh hide of the monster’s arms. His elbow viciously slammed backward andfailed to connect. He tried to rake his boot sole down the monster’s shins, butthe creature hopped and stepped away. With his air shut off, Jus staggered and heaved, while at his belt Benelux cried out excitedly with advice.

Drop your weight! Turn into him! The sword jittered likea school marm. Look out! Don’t let him bite your head!

From the other side of the door, a little fist began pounding at the door.

“Jus! Jus, I mean it! This isn’t funny! There’s about amillion fish out here!”

Whipping his free hand down to his side, Jus tried to draw his sword. The weapon was too long to free from its scabbard until Jus loosed the first few inches, gripped the blade in his gauntlet and whipped the weapon clear.

A spell exploded somewhere on Escalla’s side of the corridor.

“Jus, open the door! Open the door!”

The Justicar rammed the sword hilt back, crashing the pommel into the kuo-toa’s skull. The fish snarled and ducked, the next blow glancingoff its angled skull. Jus reversed the blade and stabbed backward past his flank, slamming the weapon home and drawing a wild roar from the kuo-toa. Still the wounded creature held on, arching backward with renewed frenzy as it tried to tear the Justicar’s head off. Cinders thrashed to no avail, and blood pouredfrom Jus’ upper hand. The wire garotte had cut through his leather gauntlets toslice into the flesh of his hand like a giant razor blade.

Jus stabbed backward again-the sword skipped clear of fishscales-and then again, this time jamming into flesh. The kuo-toa screamed,released its garotte, and smashed down with its hand. Benelux clanged protesting to the floor, struck out of Jus’ bleeding grasp. Still holding the ranger frombehind, the kuo-toa tried to strangle him with its bare hands. It bit at his head, getting a mouthful of Cinders’ fur and breaking teeth on Jus’ metalhelm. The Justicar gave a vicious noise and grabbed the kuo-toa’s hand, snappinga finger and bringing yet another bellow of pain and rage. He broke a second finger, then a third, breathing at last through a throat that felt ragged with pain.