Jaleigh Johnson - The Howling Delve

"Until the day the portal went dark on dwarf heels and never lit again," said Dantane. "The Howlings disappeared and so did the supply of magic. Subsequent Bladesmile generations locked away the portal and removed its keys. If they couldn't make money off it, they didn't want their name associated with arcane magic. Except now the portal's been reactivated."

"By the Shadow Thieves," Kall said, "in a quiet, no-questions-asked arrangement with the Bladesmiles." He looked at Garavin. "We hoped you could tell us what this 'beast' is."

"I couldn't say, but Abbathor and Dumathoin have long been enemies. One is forever trying to draw faithful away from the other. Abbathor won a plump victory with The Howlings, yet this ghost ye spoke of wore Dumathoin's symbol-with the gem sundered from the mountain. I'm suspecting the two gods are still at war over the Howlings. It could be on account of the beast the sorcerous lass hinted at-a prize for Abbathor, surely, and a secret Dumathoin wants bound to the earth. When we go down there, we'll be caught in the middle of the fight."

"Standing between two dwarf gods is not the most appealing place to be," Kall conceded.

"While we're speaking of that," Garavin said, "have ye given any thought to what ye'll do when ye encounter yer friend?"

"I don't know." Kall had avoided thinking about what he would do if Aazen came down into the Delve after him.

If he's made his choice, Cesira put in, You won't dissuade him, not after he's spent so long under Balram's hand. He won't be the friend you remember.

Come with me! Kall remembered shouting, in vain. He had escaped and was given a new life with comrades to walk beside him and to protect him when needed it, because they counted him as a friend. Aazen had had nothing but pain.

Kall couldn't forget that ultimately, without Aazen's help, he never would have had the chance at the life he enjoyed now. Balram would have killed him before it all began, if not for Aazen. Kall would never know how much that small betrayal cost his childhood friend, but he'd seen the scars on the boy as early as seven years old. He knew Balram's fury was immeasurable.

"He gave me a chance," Kall decided. "I'll give him the same."

Garavin nodded, and something that might have been approval lit his eyes.

Is the magic Rays gave you sound? asked Cesira, changing the subject.

"According to Dantane, it is," replied Kall. He held up a large bloodstone, deeply green in color with red flecks. Rays's item, bought at a high price, would transport them to a similar gem located in the portal room at the Bladesmile estate. All they had to do was take care of whatever guards weren't drawn away by Rays's distraction and get the portal key.

"Once we're in, the Shadow Thieves'll be nipping at our heels." Garavin turned his maul over in his hands. "We'll have to be hoping we're not strolling into a maze to find yer friend."

"Then it's fortunate we have the Sword Coast's foremost expert on caves and tunnels in our party," said Kall, grinning.

"Ah, the flattery of the very young and foolhardy knows no bounds," Garavin sighed. "Here I thought ye brought me along for me battle prowess."

"We'll be needing lots of that too." Kall placed the bloodstone on the floor in the center of the tower. "Dantane, you and I are first," Kall reminded the wizard. "Light spell ready, in case we're headed into the dark?"

"Yes," the wizard replied. Kall hesitated. "Slaying spell ready, in case we're headed into certain doom?" he asked hopefully.

Dantane made a gesture that had Laerin clucking his tongue. "Get on with it," the wizard snapped. Kall put his hand on the gem, leaving room for Dantane to do the same. "The rest of you, wait for a moment, then follow." He looked at each of them in turn, his gaze resting last and lingering on Cesira. "Remember what I told you," he said, all trace of humor gone. "Please."

She nodded, not speaking.

The gem pulsed, veiling the tower in a red haze. Cesira blinked, and Kall was gone.

A moment passed in silence. Laerin tossed a gold danter into the air. A circle of six tiny stars winked on its foreface as it fell. Morgan snatched it out of the air, juggling it with nimble fingers.

"Told you," he said smugly.

Laerin sighed. "No tearful parting, no farewell kiss," he said, putting his hand on the bloodstone. "Cesira, my love, I'm going to have a talk with both of you when we return."

Cesira blew him a kiss as he and Morgan disappeared.

Garavin knelt next to the gem, gripping the mastiff by its thick collar.

Watch over him, Cesira said.

"Like as not, he'll be the one watching me, but I take yer meaning. Ye take yer own care, lass," Garavin said. "The last thing he wants is for ye to be hurt by his enemy's hand. He wouldn't recover from that blow."

Cesira shook her head. Balram is my enemy too. I don't know if killing him will resolve anything for Kall.

"But ye're willing to find out?"

Eager, said the druid.

The Howling Delve

5 Marpenoth, the Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

"Maybe you killed them all," said Talal hopefully. Meisha stood in the center of the cavern where they'd found Braedrin's body. Her eyes were on the ceiling. Her arms dangled loosely at her sides.

Talal held her shirt and boots. She wore only her leather jerkin, bound tightly at the waist by her belt, and her breeches. Her lips curved as Talal fidgeted. "You're welcome to wait with the others," she offered.

"Cowards, all of em," Talal said, pitching his voice to carry down the passage where Haroun and the others stood ready.

"One step at a time," Meisha said, closing her eyes. "They're taking their fates in hand. They're already terrified to be defying the Shadow Thieves."

"Terror?" Talal sniffed. "Terror will be when my clothes fall apart or get burned up standing too close to fire-crazed sorcerers. I'll be tromping around here naked before I beg that bastard Balram for more clothes."

"Gods forbid," came Haroun's voice from the passage.

"Just you keep that in mind while you're clinging to the walls out there!" Talal bellowed.

"Settle down," said Meisha. "I can hear them. Get ready."

"Nets up," Talal called down the tunnel. "Even if you do get them to fly down the right hole," he said, "how do we know they won't just chew through the ropes and get loose, maybe in the warrens?"

"I treated the ropes with poison," said Meisha. "It isn't lethal-not even painful-but it'll taste awful to the bats. Besides, we only need to funnel them to the cavern off the portal room. As long as that net holds, we'll be fine. Get down!" she shouted as black shapes began to pour from the hole near the ceiling.

Talal hit the ground as deep bats filled the chamber. He watched Meisha step back, cross her arms over her chest, and burst into a pillar of flame.

Kall passed through the portal and started to fall. He reached out blindly, his hands sliding down rocks, but there were no handholds. He fell into empty space.

Abruptly, his back and buttocks hit something solid. He flung his arms behind to catch himself, but they kept going, flailing in midair until something else caught his armpits and held him securely.

Panting, Kall looked around. Dull green glows revealed an expanse of hemp net stretched taut across a circular chasm. His legs and arms dangled through gaps in the net. All was quiet but for the swaying and creaking noises made by his weight against the rope. Beyond the chasm lay a large expanse of cavern, with tunnels adjoining either end. The tunnel in front of him was clear, but an identical, crudely fashioned net draped the one behind him.

Kall looked up and saw a mirror of what lay below him; but the shaft in the ceiling was clear of obstruction, lit by green radiances from the active portal. He watched, transfixed by the unusual perspective, as one by one his companions plummeted through the light and down the shaft.

Kall braced himself as they hit the net. Each impact jarred his back and shoulders. The net strained under their weight. Garavin's hound howled as it tried to disentangle its legs from their painful positions.

"We need to get off this," Kall said, noting the frayed ends of the rope looped around three nearby stalagmites. "The rope won't hold all of us."

"Meisha didn't mention a death trap'd be waiting for us," Morgan said.

"This was probably her work." Kall helped Garavin lift Borl out of the tangled ropes. "Without it, we'd be at the bottom of the chasm."

"Still could've warned us," Morgan grumbled.

Kall waited until they were all off the net. Using his sword, he hacked the ropes free from the stalagmites. The net sailed down into the darkness.

"The Shadow Thieves will have ways to avoid the chasm," Dantane pointed out.

"Now they'll have to use them," Kall said. He turned to Garavin. "What about it, old friend? Are we in the right place?"

The dwarf examined the cavern walls, clasping his holy symbol reflexively. "Aye, lad," he said. His voice sounded unnaturally thick. "We're here." He turned to look at Kall earnestly. "Dumathoin is here too."

Kall and Laerin exchanged glances. "What do you mean?" asked the half-elf.

"Where do ye feel most at peace, Laerin-closest to yer god?" asked the dwarf.

"In Erevan's grove or Dugmaren's tunnels," answered Laerin.

"This is Dumathoin's place," said Garavin. "But it's been tainted."

"He's right," said Dantane. The wizard closed his eyes. He appeared to be listening, though Kall detected nothing breaking the stillness but the distant sound of water. "There's some sort of distant aura in effect."

"Meisha's master lived in the Delve," said Kall. "Could it be some latent magic of his?"

"I don't think so," said Dantane, "not unless her master was of another plane."

"Meisha was trained as an elementalist," said Garavin. "Might be there's links to the elemental planes here."

"Kall," Morgan said abruptly, "we're not alone."

Kall turned. A child stood in the opening of the clear tunnel, watching them with wide, fearful eyes. Her face was pale and thin, almost emaciated. Kall took a step toward her, but she darted off down the tunnel.

"The refugees," said Laerin. "Do we follow?"

Kall nodded. "Light two torches. Keep your weapons out but down. We have to find Meisha."

"Kall." Dantane pointed to the other tunnel branching off the chamber. The net strung over its mouth glistened in the torchlight. A thick, mucuslike substance dripped from the ropes, collecting in black puddles on the floor. "Something's coming."

Kall heard it-the sound of air rushing up the too-narrow tunnel. Next to him, Borl growled from the gut, shifting agitatedly. "Get away from the net," he snapped as Dantane bent to examine the black drippings.

The wizard ducked away as a leathery wing swiped at him. Twin lines of needle-teeth bit down directly in front of his face. The bat screamed as the black substance filled its mouth and foamed. It fluttered back against a wall of a dozen or more creatures just like it. Their wings tangled in the small space, causing them to snap indiscriminately at each other.

"The Shadow Thieves?" Laerin said. "Or are these meant for us?"

"I don't know," Kall said. "But we're not going that way. We follow the girl." He looked at Dantane. "You have the portal key?"

Dantane touched a pouch hidden in his robes. Within, he'd placed the oblong stone that activated the portal from this side of the Delve. Rays had kept his word.

"It will be safe," Dantane said.

Kall nodded. He and Laerin led the way down the open tunnel. Dantane, Morgan, and Garavin brought up the rear. Once out of the spell light of the portal room, the tunnel became stygian. The torches cast a glow in front and behind their group but made the air close and smoky. Kall couldn't imagine being trapped in the enclosed space for any length of time, as the refugees had been. It would have driven him mad.