Paul Kidd - Descent into the Depths of the Earth

After several hours of walking, the darkness ahead finallybegan to resolve into a single, massive wall.

A city nearly filled the northern sector of the cavern, a city of pus-white walls encrusted with strange minerals. The walls glowed like a corpse glimpsed sinking in the murky depths-a pale shape, cold and unwholesome,that sent a shudder through the soul.

The city towers rose hundreds of feet into the air. There were sky bridges and spires, tall spines capped with impaled corpses, and buildings fashioned into leering demon masks. The walls of the city seemed to shift and move, as though pulsing with living, corrupted blood.

A city. There would be thousands of drow, any number of them capable of casting spells to root out an intruder. Escalla stared uneasily. Beside her, Jus stood and gazed upon the city in cold appraisal.

After a moment, the Justicar looked at the locator needle. It pointed northeast past the eastern edge of the city and toward the rear cavern wall. Collecting his friends, he moved off to the east, skirting the city walls and keeping carefully to the cover of toadstool groves.

Agog, Polk hurried forward and pointed toward the city. “We’re not goin’ in?” The man seemed disappointed. “I thought we were going in.”

Jus looked down at the irritating little man and scowled. “Polk, we are not tourists.”

“But it would look good in the chronicle! How can I tellpeople we almost reached the city of the drow?”

Escalla glowered at Polk then removed the man’s hat and peered inside. “Polk,I think this thing is restricting the blood supply to your brain.”

“Eh?”

“Nothing.” Escalla replaced the hat and pulled it down tight. “If you’re thatkeen on entering the place, be my guest.”

“You’re not going to come?”

“Polk, I’ll kiss a duck before I put my silken little faerie butt insidethose city walls.”

Jus kept the walls in sight, following them for almost a mile until they finally curved away toward a great pale cliff. Flowing between the city and the cliff face, there was a black river, its water gleaming like liquid metal in the hideous light.

Jus ducked into cover and looked carefully at the cliff and the plateaus above the city. Escalla joined her friend’s side, checked thelocator needle, and pointed up the cliff.

“There. Real close. The needle’s going mad.”

“Then that’s it.” Jus looked at the cliff face on the far side of the river.“We’ll head to the cliff face, climb it, and bypass the city.”

Listening in, Polk tugged at his collar then stuttered forward in fright.

“So son, ah, did the river just happen to escape you? The black river? Theevil, black, sinister, underground river?”

Shooting a sidewise look at Polk, Jus raised his brows. “Don’t like gettingwet?”

“Son! Big things with teeth live in rivers-especially in underground rivers!”

“I thought fighting toothy things was heroic, Polk?”

“Not when it’s in the water!” Polk stamped his foot. “As senior tacticaladvisor, I’m putting my foot down.”

Jus looked at the man, feeling tired, then pointed at the forest of toadstools all around them.

“We’re going to float over on a mushroom cap, Polk. Only an idiot swimsrivers in the underdark.”

“Oh.” Polk sniffed, then decided to take a look at a gianttoadstool. “Well all right them. Good to see my advice is always followed.”

“Right.” Jus wearily waved his party onward. “Come on. We’llget out of sight of the city walls.”

This was Jus in his element. He led his companions stealthily down toward the shore, selected a giant toadstool as a boat, and unsheathed his sword. Benelux made a glad battle cry and flashed brilliantly with light, only to see the entire party scowling at her in annoyance.

The sword hurriedly shut off its light and said, Sorry.

Jus grunted in reply and tipped the toadstool over, severing the stalk where it joined the cap and making a paddle by carving the stalk with two long swipes of the hideously sharp sword. He pushed everyone in and paddled the makeshift raft into the water. The river wasn’t wide and was soon crossed.

Jus left his companions standing and staring in amazement as he attacked the cliff face with astonishing speed. The man moved like a mountain goat, lunging upward from crag to crag. When a spider the size of a cat lunged out of a crevice at him, the ranger pulped it with one single massive blow of his fist. Watching admiringly from below, Escalla could only shake her head in love and pride.

“Oh man, he is so harsh!”

Finally, a rope came spilling from above. Jus’ magicrope-taken from another enemy in a far distant place-lengthened and spilled tothe ground. Henry and Escalla looked at one another in agreement, then chased Polk up the rope. It was no easy task.

At the top of the cliff, Polk fumed and glared, looking at Escalla in hurt betrayal.

“No need to push! I was going!”

“Yep, and now you’re here.” Escalla hovered where she couldkeep an eye on Henry as he climbed. “Hey, Cinders! See anything?”

Cave. Lots drow. The black hell hound skin gleamedbeneath the dim, hellish lights. Smell spiders.

“Spiders. Great.” Escalla needlessly gave help to Henry asthe boy crossed the cliff’s edge. “That sounds real fun.”

Puzzled, the Justicar scowled. “I thought you liked bugs?”

“I’m starting to get an overdose.” The faerie made a face indisgust. “Face it, man, this arachnid diet you’ve had me on just isn’t good foranybody.”

Cinders’ nose pointed north. Across the flat plateaus, dimshapes of towers could be seen, each one swimming with eerie lights. Keeping low, the party sped northward, hugging ripples in the cave floor and moving in silence.

Beyond the towers, the cavern wall was pierced by a horrible tunnel mouth-a vast carving of a spider that seemed to suck the cavern roadsinto its maw. Escalla looked up at the spider’s mouth, spared a swift glanceacross the plateaus, then shuddered as a shiver crossed her spine.

“I guess this must lead to the temple?”

“I guess.”

Jus was lying flat just ahead of Henry and Polk, carefully scanning the tunnel mouth for the faintest sign of guardians. Escalla sat beside Jus, ludicrously tiny next to his armored bulk. With her long hair stirring in a strange breeze from the tunnel, Escalla stared wide eyed into the dark and swallowed.

“I think Lolth’s in there.”

“I know.”

The faerie wilted, suddenly feeling sick. She leaned her head against Jus’ shoulder and held onto his arm.

“Jus? I am just so sorry I had to drag you here.”

“Sorry?” Jus turned, a strangely puzzled look crossing hisface before he softened with a strange, sad little smile. “Someone has to lookafter you.”

“Yeah.” Escalla ruefully gave the man a smile. “Hey, Jus?”

“What?”

“Present for my man.” The girl threw dust over Jus’shoulders, a stoneskin spell shimmering as it took effect. “Stay safe.”

“Thanks.” Jus loosened his sword in its sheath. “I love you.”

“Yeah, I know.”

The big ranger and tiny faerie clasped hands, squeezed, then released each other. They rose up and began to move toward the tunnel mouth.

Behind them, a grinning Private Henry nudged Polk as he watched Escalla and the Justicar. Hefting his crossbow, the boy rose to his feet, followed his friends, and then idly glanced over to one side.

Sitting in a shadowy crevasse, a drow looked at him. Henry’sjaw dropped, and the elf’s eyes widened in shock. The drow took one look at theparty and gave a sudden panicked cry. Something big erupted from the shadows in the cave behind her. Emerging into the meager light, a troll reared from the darkness and slashed at Escalla with its claws, the creature’s talons strikingsparks as they crashed against her stoneskin spell.