Keep on the Borderlands

13

Early morning found them waiting once more just within the clearing while Willow and M’Baddah searched for enemies out in the open. They lay low for a while when Willow signed he could hear things flying overhead, fairly low to the ground.

“They may be stirges,” he whispered “Small but unpleasant.”

Unpleasant, he calls the nasty bloodsuckers, Eddis thought, and wrinkled her nose. Each was as long as her arm, and enough of them attacking a woman her size could leave her dead and completely drained of blood in no time. After a while, the elf stole back into the clearing, listened, and motioned them on.

Furtive noises and rustlings followed them as they worked their way toward the south ledge, where another cave loomed dark and forbidding. Blorys touched Jerdren’s arm to get his attention.

“I think this might be the cave Zebos described,” he whispered. “All that prickly brush around the entrance and that fallen tree—the forked one—see?”

Jerdren nodded, then beckoned the others close to pass that on.

“Keep in mind what he told me,” Blor added quietly. “There are lots of long passages and guards everywhere—even where you might not expect them. Goblins and orcs and possibly hobgoblins.”

“And remember what we discussed about prisoners,” Eddis added. “Rescuing prisoners here is a high priority, right?”

Kadymus looked as if he wanted to disagree with her. She quelled him with a hard look.

Jerdren nodded again. “Sure. Any prisoners would be grateful to us, and that could mean a reward. Or they may know where their captors have hidden treasure.”

The little thief brightened at that.

Unlike the previous day’s cavern, this seemed to be a naturally formed cave—at least for the first part of it. Here, it wasn’t entirely dark. Eddis could see faint light far down one corridor, enough that they could walk at a good pace. It was quiet for some distance, but as M’Baddah started into the main passage, he pulled back, gesturing urgently for his companions to get out of sight. Moments later, Eddis heard guttural-voiced beings come clomping and grumbling up the passage from her left. Two burly, shadowy forms passed the entry without slowing. The sound of their footsteps slowly faded. Willow eased into the open briefly to gaze after them, then came back to whisper.

“Goblins. Taking messages and food to guards on duty up there. The guards are orcs, I think. One of the goblins asked, ‘How’s old Bear-face?’ and a guard cursed him.”

The elf moved silently into the passage once more, then beckoned. “It is all right. They kept going that direction, away from us.”

“Then we’ll go the other way,” Jerdren indicated the long passage with faint light at its end.

It took time, moving quietly down the rough-hewn way and making sure they weren’t seen or heard. They could hear others, though. Harsh, guttural voices echoed along the stone ceiling. Several of them. They could make out moving shadows, cast by the dim light.

“Guard room,” Eddis murmured, and Willow nodded. The swordswoman checked to make sure Flerys was staying close to M’Baddah and nocked an arrow.

Light shone on the left-hand wall of the passage, and another step would bring Jerdren into view. He met Eddis’ eyes, indicated the right wall with a jerk of his head as he moved that way. He edged along in shadow for several steps, back to the wall, bow drawn partway. Eddis was right behind him, and M’Baddah came after her.

Five steps, six. Jerdren threw himself across the passage and into the light, firing three arrows rapidly and seemingly at random into the chamber beyond. Fire flared up in there, casting dark, long shadows in all directions. Startled yells filled the corridor as Jerdren pelted back out of sight, and Eddis took his place. She could make out little because of the light and commotion—creatures running in all directions—but she fired two arrows into the confusion and ran. M’Baddah was already in front of her, shooting with his usual deadly precision. Willow and M’Whan faced a volley of spears and arrows, but none of the weapons came anywhere near them.

Eddis stiffened as a squat, nasty-looking creature came into sight, sliding along the shadowed wall, spear in one hand, and braced itself to charge.

“M’Whan, your right!” she shouted and drew back her own string.

The orc’s head snapped her way, and she could make out an evil gleam of teeth as it grinned, and shifted direction—toward her. Her arrow buried itself deep in the brute’s eye, more by luck than aim, and the orc sagged to the floor.

There was a sudden silence in the chamber, except for a pained whimper. What are they up to? she wondered. Running feet alerted her, but the sound faded, going away. M’Whan darted into the chamber, bow clutched in one hand, a throwing spear in the other. Eddis threw herself after him.

She drew her sword as she came into the chamber, but there was no need. The low-burning fire against the far wall showed dead and dying orcs. There was no sign of M’Whan, though. She turned on one heel as the others came up. Flerys had a tight grip on one of her spears, and her eyes went wide as she gazed around the room. Blood ran across the floor and pooled in low places, and now several of the Keep men moved from orc to orc, finishing off the wounded. Aside from the bodies, there wasn’t much in the room: a barrel of water, a table and benches, a barrel full of spears. Eddis could see a passage in the far wall that led into darkness.

“M’Whan must have gone that way,” she began but stopped, as a breath later M’Whan came into the light.

“Passage there,” he gasped, out of breath. “Goes down, around a corner. More stairs and a closed door at the top. The one I followed went through it.”

“And may bring others back here,” M’Baddah said. He, Willow, and two of the Keep men went back the way they’d come to keep watch, and Mead took up a position just inside the lower corridor.

“Or it might’ve just run,” Jerdren said. He retrieved his arrows, tossing aside one that had snapped against the wall and another that had fallen into the fire pit.

“These don’t look like rich goblins to me. Ratty clothes, lousy leather bits for armor—nowhere to hide a bag of gems in that, and nowhere in this room, either. I say we go back the way we came and on up where those guards were before we worry about that runner. No sense getting caught between two bunches of goblins, even if they aren’t much to fight. Besides, if the guards are eating, they’ll be as easy as this bunch to catch off guard.”

“Not much to fight,” Blorys said dryly. “They just sneak up on you and ambush you. No danger of dying from that, is there?”

“Don’t make assumptions like that,” Eddis added flatly. “We’ve been blessed lucky, two fights in a row. Only a fool would think they’re all going to be as easy as this was.”

Jerdren rolled his eyes ceilingward and led the way back out, beckoning M’Whan to join him. The rest followed.

Near the end of the passage, where they could see light from outside, Eddis called a brief halt for water and a rest. When they moved on, she and Willow were in the lead, several paces ahead, the elf listening intently for the sounds of goblins or other creatures moving around the passages. For now, there didn’t seem to be any, and within moments they reached a four-way branching passage. A faint light flickered straight ahead—perhaps a candle or oil lamp in a deep niche, Eddis thought. Otherwise it was quiet and dark that way and utterly dark to their left. She glanced at Willow, sent her gaze that direction.

The elf listened and sniffed cautiously, then whispered, “It’s a dead end, I think.”

To their right, however, came a sudden burst of coarse laughter. They’d found the guards. These were laughing at some joke, or maybe simply drunk—she couldn’t tell. Ruddy light flared as though someone had tossed a log on a fire, and by that she could make out that the whole south wall of the chamber—a large chamber—was open to the passage. Great, she thought. We won’t be sneaking up on anyone here. She and the elf drew back to describe the layout to the others.

Jerdren thought for a moment, then listened as the priest spoke into his ear. The swordsman nodded vigorously.

“Eddis, M’Whan, and two of you Keep men who can run fast, we’ll go first,” he whispered. “Arrows ready. We’re gonna sprint along that passage, fire, and keep going until we reach the far end of the chamber.”

“Where they can pick us off one at a time?” Eddis objected.

“No. Panev says he has something that will distract ’em.”

He was gone before she could say anything else, moving along the tunnel until a step or two more would bring him into the open. Blorys sighed faintly and gripped her arm as she swore under her breath. She smiled at him, fitted an arrow to the string, and went to join Jerdren. Two of the Keep men and the priest were right on her heels. A glance over her shoulder as she settled in to wait. Panev tilted his head back and began to pray quietly.

Jerdren went into a low crouch, then burst into the open, Eddis right on his heels. She could hear the pounding of boots right behind her. Movement—there, to her right, and not as far away as she would have liked. She swerved as her co-captain came to an abrupt halt and turned to fire an arrow, then took off again. She shot two arrows wildly and ran, slamming hard into Jerdren’s outstretched arm. She had a sharp mental image of stunned goblins staring at them, mouths agape, until Jerdren’s arrow brought one of them down yelping. The Keep men ran up, and the orcs were coming for them.

We’re dead, Eddis thought, and was suddenly angry.

“Jers, you brainless oaf—!” She caught her breath in a startled gasp. Brilliant light, painful as lightning, flooded the room.

“That’s Panev,” Jerdren hissed. “Back the way we came—now!”

If he’d run fast coming over, he was almost flying now. Eddis stretched her legs and tried to keep up.

All four made it back across without incident. Most of the goblins were clutching their eyes and wailing, but as Eddis ran for the relative safety of the corridor, two of the goblins scooped up a bundle from the floor and fled through a massive wooden door she hadn’t noticed before. Two others drew short swords and swung them wildly, as if they expected the crazed humans to sneak up on them and kill them while they were blinded. One accidentally slashed its companion in the forearm.

He screeched in pain and flung himself away from the blade, crying out, “Bree-yark!”

Kadymus pushed past Eddis, laughing. “Hey, get that! Hit ’em with a little light and a few bad shots, and they give up!

Jerdren snatched at the youth’s sleeve but too late. The young thief was already halfway across the room, swaggering toward the huddled creatures, sword in one hand, long dagger in the other.

“Gotta be one of you understands some Common, I bet, just like I know that surrender word of yours. So you just drop those swords and give up n-now… ?” His voice rose to a girlish squeak. Two of the goblins were coming for him, still blinking but ready to kill. As he retreated a pace, the door slammed against the far wall. A massive brute filled the doorway, huge club clutched in one hand. It raised a meaty fist and leered at the youth only paces away, revealing brownish, ugly teeth. Kadymus’ sword fell from his hands, and he staggered back into the nearest wall. Jerdren darted into the open, grabbed him, and dragged the youth back into the passage.

“Gods,” Blorys said reverently. “It’s an ogre! Willow,” he added urgently, “you and Mead, back, out of sight!”

“It knows we are here,” Willow replied calmly, though he’d gone pale. “It can smell us, but I will not run from it.”

“Now what?” Eddis asked. Her sword felt puny, all at once. The creature was head and shoulders taller than she, if not more, and muscled like a blacksmith. Still, there was only one….

“We fought one in the north,” Blorys said. “They’re mean and strong but not smart or fast. Remember, Jers?”

“Sure. You remember what we did to stop it?” his brother replied, as tersely.

“Hope so.”

“You’d better remember! M’Baddah, you and M’Whan come with us, and the rest of you, deal with those goblins, so we can concentrate on that ogre!”

Jerdren moved out into the chamber again, sword drawn, and his back against the nearest wall.

The ogre was in the chamber now, the goblins backing warily away from it, though two had begun a slow stalk along one wall.

“Watch it,” Eddis said and indicated the two with her chin. “They’re trying to flank us.”

Willow brushed by her and shot two arrows at them. One struck its target, and the goblin sprawled across the passage, twitching and snarling. The other yelped in surprise and darted back to join his companions near the doorway. The ogre growled at them, and they backed hastily from the door, edging along the north wall, out of his reach.

Jerdren yelled something guttural, a single word. The ogre’s eyes narrowed, and it drew itself up straight, grip tightening on the club as the man ran for the far wall, just as he’d done earlier. This time, he didn’t stop. The ogre, astonished, turned to watch him. Blorys and the outlanders flung themselves into the room, M’Whan clutching a throwing spear, M’Baddah his bow, Blorys his sword.

Gods, it’ll kill them! Eddis knelt, bow in hand and tried to sight on the brute’s eye or its throat—either was big enough to make a decent target. The Keep men moved around her, staying close to the wall, and began firing arrows and spears at the goblins.

The ogre spun around as M’Whan’s spear missed it by inches, and it swiped at Blorys with one massive hand. Blorys leaped out of the way, ducking as M’Baddah’s arrow sang over his head, and sliced across the monster’s shoulder. It didn’t even notice, Eddis thought, and shifted her attention to the orcs, who had been bullied into a pack by one of their number and were charging the Keep men. She fired several arrows at them, but most were foiled by armor or went wild. They slammed into the humans, and she didn’t dare shoot any more. Willow eased past her, sword in one hand, dagger in the other, and went to help.

M’Baddah’s second arrow bounced off a bony hip. The next sank deep into the ogre’s belly. Behind Eddis, Mead was muttering—setting up a spell. Off to her right, one of the men yelled and went down. Another slid down the wall.

The ogre plucked at M’Baddah’s arrow, snarled, and left it where it was. Its filthy leather pants were slick with blood. Eddis stared in horrified astonishment as Blorys darted back and forth in front of the massive creature, waving his arms and shouting taunts. She brought up her bow and shot high. The arrow tore through the air where the massive head had been, but the ogre was on the move, its attention locked on Blorys as it swung the club.

Too hard. It overbalanced and fought to regain its feet, but as the man ran in, sword swinging, it smacked him with an open hand, sending him rolling across the floor, half-stunned. His helm rolled the other way and cracked against Eddis’ knee. She dropped her bow and drew her sword, throwing herself into the open between Blor and the brute. The ogre laughed, an evil sound that filled the chamber and left the orcs drawing back in a terrified huddle. Brushing past M’Baddah and M’Whan, the creature raised its club high.

Eddis slashed wildly with her sword, hoping to force the ogre back. Behind her, Blorys was fighting to sit up and gasping for her to get away.

“Don’t distract me!” she yelled.

The ogre bared its ugly teeth in a savage grin and reached for her.

Eddis tightened her hands on the sword hilt and swiped at the ogre’s hand. The blade rebounded. She staggered back, off balance, and Blorys shouted a warning. Jerdren came running then, sword a blur as it cut the backs of both the ogre’s legs. The brute snarled and fell hard, one or both of the long tendons cut, but it was fighting to turn and bring the club down on the head of the man who’d injured it. M’Baddah, M’Whan, and Willow threw themselves at the brute, stabbing at its throat and eyes. The ogre jerked once and was quiet. A little blood trickled down its filthy cheek but soon stopped.

Blorys staggered to his feet and fell back into the wall. Eddis wrapped her free arm around his shoulder to draw him away from the fighting, and when he tried to resist, her hand tightened.

“Come with me! You’ll get someone else killed trying to protect you!” He went with her then, back into the passage where Mead, the priest, and Flerys waited. He was still panting for air and not walking very well, but he wouldn’t go any farther than the entrance.

“Gotta… see,” he gasped.

Eddis swore under her breath as she eased him down to the floor and handed him her water bottle. A glance over her shoulder assured her that the goblins were retreating.

“How bad?” she asked quietly.

“Just… knocked the wind… out of me,” he replied.

Eddis tensed and spun around, sword ready to slash, as Jerdren yelled. She couldn’t make out what he said, but the few goblins still standing shrieked in what sounded like pure terror and ran through the open door.

Blorys laughed. “Jers… learned a word or two of Goblin … back in the army. When… we… fought ’em. Forget… what that means. Don’t think they’ll… come back, though.”

A moment later, he let Eddis help him back to his feet as Jerdren came running across the guard alcove to join them.

“Blor! You all right?” Without waiting for answer, he said, “Ogre’s chamber beyond that door. Know what that means, don’t you, Brother? Come on, all of you!”

Eddis kept a steadying hand on Blorys’ arm as they went back into the open. Two of the Keep men were down and still. Another leaned against the wall, lips tightly compressed while one of his fellows wrapped his forearm. The man’s fingers were bloody. Several goblin bodies were scattered around as well. M’Baddah and Willow moved around the room, dispatching the wounded creatures.

Jerdren paused as they started past the dead ogre. “Got an idea,” he said. “Those goblins that ran? I’m pretty sure I could see daylight on the far side of the ogre’s den. So, I’m thinking they just kept going, all the way out of the cave. It looks to me like there could be more chambers on ahead, but if anything’s there, they aren’t coming at us.”

“There are creatures that way, I think,” Mead said, “but not near.”

Jerdren nodded. “So what if we drag this monster back into his lair? Some other goblins come through here later, and they’ll see all this blood, all the dead guards, they’ll figure the ogre went nuts and killed ’em. Won’t go looking for him, then, will they? And they won’t suspect we’re here, and we still have surprise on our side.”

“You’re forgetting the guard who ran back the other way,” Blorys said. “Still… it might work to our advantage, and we’re a couple of men short.”

“What about our men?” Eddis asked.

“Bring them into the ogre’s den as well,” Jerdren said “Best we can do for them, don’t you think?”

Eddis glanced at the remaining Keep men. They looked grim to a man, but no one protested.

M’Baddah shoved a last arrow into his quiver. “My son, two of you others, keep watch up and down the passage. Only fools would let themselves be surprised now.”

It took time. The dead men were brought in first and laid against the wall, behind the door. The ogre was awkward and heavy, and it took four of them dragging at the massive arms to get it moving. They hauled the body just far enough inside the chamber that the door could be pushed shut.

Jerdren strode into the darkened cave, hands on his hips, looking around. Eddis’ nose wrinkled. A faint breeze rustled dry leaves piled here and there on the cave floor, but the air remained utterly foul, like poorly tanned hides and meat gone rotten.

“What’s that?” Flerys demanded sharply and brought up her spear. “Nasty brute keeps a bear?”

At first glance, the thing near the far walled did look like a sleeping bear. Eddis drew her sword and stalked warily toward it, but after a few steps she realized it was a hide. Probably the source of the odor, she thought and backed away from the thing.

“Just a skin,” she said.

Flerys gave her a doubtful look.

Jerdren was rubbing his hands together and grinning cheerfully. “Only other ogre I knew kept his treasure close—and he had plenty of it. Too bad for me and Blor that was when we were infantry, because the officers got most of it. Still… some of you, look under things and in things. Coin, gems, gold, jewelry, any of that should be just what it looks like. Anything you see that doesn’t look like that or like food—”

“Like garbage, you mean,” Blorys said.

“Food or garbage.” Jerdren shrugged. “Ogres collect stuff. Magic devices and amulets among ’em. Anything that looks odd, you let our priest or our mage check it before you touch it, got that? I think I’ll start—there.” He pointed.

There was a large leather sack that smelled nearly as revolting as the bear hide did. Eddis decided to keep an eye on the outer door for the moment, dividing her attention between Jerdren and what she could see outside. The sky was bright as midday, but the twisted forest was gloomy as ever. Nothing moved out there. The ex-soldier cut the ties on the huge bag and pulled several smaller bags from it, examining each in turn.

“Cheese—too old for any but an ogre to appreciate. Whew! Mmm—this is brandy by the smell. Nice little keg but awkward to carry around, and here’s no place for a drink.”

“Save it for a toast, back at the Keep,” Blorys suggested. He sounded normal once again.

“There’s a notion. Ah! Here we are—coins. Clever brute to sort ’em by kind, so far’s I can tell. Gold here, copper here—here’s some silver.” He hefted one. “Eddis, any notion of how late it is?”

“Midday, maybe,” she told him.

“M’Baddah, anything the other way?”

“Not a sound, but they will change guards at some point,” the outlander said quietly.

“I know. If we plan on going back the way we came, we’d better go soon. Eddis, you think you could find this cave from outside?”

She shrugged, eased through the opening, and after a cautious look all around for enemies, she backed away to study the door and the rock face surrounding it. The door was ordinary, the trees and brush and rocks no different from any others she’d seen. She drew her dagger, made a small cut, just above the handle, and eased back into the chamber. After a few breaths of fresh air, the ogre’s den smelled worse than ever.

“I can find it,” she said.

“Good. Remember we came this way to clear the cave of goblins, so they wouldn’t catch us between ’em—the ones here and the ones beyond that door back yonder. Now, we can either quit fighting for the day and carry all this trove back to camp, or we could take it with us and go jump those brutes on the other side of that door. But we’ll be overloaded, and most of us will be thinking more about gold and silver than about fighting.” He grinned. “Me included. It’s natural. I say we leave the stuff here—under that hide, maybe—and come back for it from the outside when we get the chance.”

“I agree,” Eddis said. “You saw how scared those goblins were of their ally. They won’t come in here looking for him after they see the mess out there.”

She looked up as one of the Keep men exclaimed in surprise. One of his fellows had just dragged a clinking, heavy bag from the ogre’s water barrel. Across the room, mage and priest were rummaging through a heap of bones, and as she watched, Panev pocketed several small items, while Mead wrapped a bit of cloth around a handful of arrows and slid the bundle into his quiver.

“Eddis is right,” Jerdren said. “But just in case…”

He separated out three of the bags and piled them by the door where anyone pulling it open would be sure to see them. “Leave that wet bag here, too,” he added. “That’s the one they brought in here. Must hold his pay for taking us on. They’ll expect to find it, if they look, and they’ll also find a bag of silver, the cheese, and the brandy. Wager my share of what’s hidden that they won’t look any further.”

“What if they do?” That was Kadymus, of course. “We fought pretty hard for this stuff!”

“You sure did,” Eddis replied bitingly. “Took their surrender, didn’t you?”

He flashed her a dirty look but fell silent.

“I agree with Jers,” she went on. “We’ve spent enough time in here. Shove the rest of those bags under that hide, and let’s get out of here.”

They retraced their steps, back into the other guard chamber. It was still empty, except for the dead goblins. The fire had burned to a sullen red glow. Willow and M’Baddah listened intently at the entrance to the next passage and pronounced it empty.

It was very dark here. One of the Keep men lit his lantern and opened the shutter, just enough that they could make out the way ahead of them. There were stairs here, rough-cut and uneven. The passage turned right, and another, shorter flight of cracked stairs went into a flat passage blocked by a heavy door. Skulls were nailed to the walls and door, and someone or something had scrawled a message in Common: come in! We’d love to have you for dinner!

Kadymus stared at the message, looked at the skulls, and licked his lips. “Have you for dinner? Who’d eat with whatever lives in there?” he mumbled.

Eddis felt Blorys bite back sudden laughter. She swallowed her own mirth and murmured against the thief’s ear, “Wrong meaning. Not to dinner. As dinner.”

He gave her a sick look and moved away.

Jerdren eyed the door for a long moment. He stiffened as faint, coarse laughter came to them from the other side, followed by what sounded like a snapped order, then silence. He stepped cautiously back and beckoned the others close.

“Someone’s on alert in there. Mead, can you tell how that door’s locked?”

The mage nodded and moved toward the portal, hands spread wide. He was back in a moment. “It’s both locked and barred. I have a device that will move the bar, quietly, but the lock is a fairly simple one, I think. Your business,” he added to Kadymus. “If I explain this thing, will you be able to move the trigger and open the door?”

“Open?” Kadymus looked at him, round-eyed. “Me? Open that? You see all those skulls? See what it says on that door?”

Eddis tapped his shoulder with a hard finger, silencing him. “Open the door, little man,” she said softly. “Because we’re going to open it one way or another. You do a good job like a nice little thief, we just might surprise whatever’s in there. Probably more goblins.” She couldn’t resist adding, “Get the door open, and yell bree-yark! They’ll drop their weapons and surrender.”

He glared at her but went with the elf, drawing his lock picks from a small pouch at his belt.

“Ease up on the lad,” Jerdren murmured. “I think his first ogre startled him.” His eyes stayed on the door, and a moment later, Mead held up a warning hand.

“Stay alert, people,” she said quietly as she freed her sword and a throwing knife. Blorys came up and settled in at her left shoulder, two long spears in his right, sword in his left. He still looked a little pale, she thought, but he no longer sounded winded.

Kadymus had the door ajar. He and Mead stepped back as Jerdren took their place. She could hear low, rough voices—not goblin voices—and a sudden yell as Jerdren pelted into the chamber. Eddis and Blorys were right behind him, then Mead, who moved along the inner wall, two of the Keep men between him and the room’s occupants.

She had no time to see where anyone else went.

“Hobgoblins!” Jerdren shouted the warning. Hulking, heavily armored and armed brutes leaped to their feet as what must have been females caught up little ones and backed away behind a pile of broken furniture.

“I hate hobgoblins,” he snarled and ran straight at the nearest, attacking before the creature could bring his sword up.

Blorys swore in frustration as he and Eddis came after, blocking the poleaxe of a second hobgoblin who was trying to get behind Jerdren. Eddis’ sword rebounded, but so did the long pole, and Blorys jammed his spear at the monster’s eye. Eddis brought her blade back around, slashing at his knees. The brute fell back, startled and bleeding but not badly hurt.

The company swarmed into the room, driving the startled hobgoblins back, but only for a moment. The fellows had been clad for a fight. They were big, fast, and skilled. That lousy goblin guard must have warned them, Eddis thought. She lunged and slashed at a huge back as one of the hobgoblins roared past her, but hardened leather foiled the blow, and the thing turned on her, teeth bared. She swung again, and this time the blade clove through leather and deep into the arm beneath it. The monster bellowed in anger and pain, slapping the sword from her hand. As good as gone, Eddis thought as she shook out her hand and tried to free up another throwing knife. Her fingers wouldn’t cooperate.

“Change sides!” Blorys shouted.

She nodded and took the spear he held out. He shifted his sword to the other hand and turned to check on the brute she’d wounded. The hobgoblin was staggering a little and bleeding heavily but still full of fight. When one of the Keep men ran at it with a boar spear, the monster batted it aside, snatched at the man, and threw him against the wall. He wobbled there, trying to gain his balance, but when the hobgoblin started after the man, Kadymus came up behind the creature and plunged a knife deep into the back of its neck. He skipped nimbly aside as it howled and slapped at the air, trying to grab him.

“Cover me!” Blorys yelled and brought his sword down two-handed on the brute’s neck. The first time, the blade hit something hard and rebounded with a clang, nearly flying out of his hands, but the second time it cut deep. Blood poured from the long wound, soaking into the shuddering monster’s clothing and hair, pooling around the suddenly still body. Another of the hobgoblin’s fellows came running, eyes fixed on Blorys, who freed his sword and let Eddis guide him back with a hand clutched in his near sleeve. The hobgoblin’s boots slid across a suddenly slick floor, and it went down, hard. M’Whan and another Keep man were there to make certain it didn’t rise.

Eddis yelled as something slammed into her left arm. She stared in surprise as blood welled from her sleeve and ran from a long, ugly cut just above her elbow. Blorys swore, snatched at the long knife caught in her torn sleeve, reversed it and threw, hard. The dagger sliced the ear of the hobgoblin who’d thrown it at her. If the brute hadn’t ducked, it probably would have hit its eye. Eddis set her teeth against her lip and tried to press her sleeve against the cut. Ugly, not dangerous, she thought, but it hurt damnably, and from the elbow down, her arm wouldn’t respond. M’Baddah had her by the other elbow, drawing her back out of the fray. He thrust her into Flerys’ trembling hands and strode out to take Eddis’ place at Blorys’ side.

“Hurts?” Flerys asked. Her voice trembled.

“It hurts,” Eddis agreed, “but it won’t so much if you can tie my sleeve around it.”

The child nodded and leaned her spear against the wall, but it took her three tries to get the ends fastened.

“Better,” Eddis managed, with what she hoped was a reassuring smile, though with the added pressure, it hurt considerably worse. “You stopped the bleeding, and my father used to say that if it doesn’t bleed, it doesn’t hurt.”

Flerys clearly didn’t understand a word of the weak joke, but the smile did seem to reassure her, a little. She retrieved the spear and scrambled to her feet to guard the swordwoman. Though I don’t know what she can do against one of those, Eddis thought. Or what more I can do. Her left arm hung limp, and the fingers of her right still smarted, but they’d hung onto Blorys’ spear, somehow. She tightened her grip and watched the fray.

The fight was nearly over. The last two hobgoblins were tottering, and as she watched, they fell, one to a Keep man’s spear, the other to a joint attack by Blorys and M’Baddah.

Jerdren had already sent Willow over to listen at the far door. “Bless me if the entire cave shouldn’t be down around our ears by now, all the noise we made in here. Maybe we’re still in luck, and that door’s as thick as the one we just came through.”

He eyed the cowering huddle of females and young. “And bless me if I don’t want to run ’em through. I’ve had enough of killing beast babies and their cowering mothers. Suggestions, Mead? Panev?”

The priest came forward, mace in hand and his eyes glittering. “If you cannot kill them, I shall. The females of their kind often fight and kill as well as the males. The young will grow up to become fighters. But—” he shrugged. “If you choose to bind them instead, I will strengthen your ropes with a charm I have that will keep them enthralled for several hours.”

“All we need is enough time to see what’s beyond that door and get back out this way, if we need to.” Jerdren’s brooding eyes fixed on one of the fallen hobgoblins.

Blorys picked his way across the room, his eyes dark with anger.

“Beyond? Are you mad, Brother? We have injuries here, and Eddis is bleeding! And all you can think of is—?”

Jerdren’s head came up at that, his color high. Eddis dragged herself to her feet and stepped between the two men.

“Let’s not waste time arguing. Blor, I’ll be fine, M’Baddah will tend this. Blor, remember the description Zebos gave of the way to that torture chamber, where he was chained to the wall? I think this is it, and I still say we are bound by honor to free prisoners. This is a cut, nothing more. It’s not—” She became aware of Flerys right behind her and shook her head, her eyes warning Blorys. “It’s nothing. Let’s finish up here and go.”

“She’s right, Brother,” Jerdren said. “There’s the least chance new guards will find that dead ogre or the dead guards just back there—or this room. We’re leaving a trail, and I wager they’d be ready and waiting for us if we came back tomorrow. With things like hobgoblins, I’d rather have surprise on my side when I attack.”

“Never mind that,” Eddis said. She bit her lip as M’Baddah began working on her arm. “These creatures might simply kill prisoners, once they realize we’re here. I’d hate that.”

“If there are any prisoners alive,” Blorys said as he retrieved her sword and wiped it clean.

“We won’t know until we look,” Eddis told him.

The rest of the party members were tending wounds or working their way around the chamber, looking for coins and other wealth. Panev watched two of the Keep men tie the unresisting females and young. When they were all knotted together, the priest waved a short black wand over them and spoke under his breath. Moments later they all slept, and when Jerdren nudged the nearest female with his foot, she didn’t move.

“Good work, man,” he said and headed toward the far door. Willow had it open and was already out of sight. “Good work, all of you. Eddis?”

She nodded. Her arm still throbbed, and she might be weak for a while, but her fingers and elbow were working once more. Blorys patted her shoulder awkwardly and went after his brother. Eddis stayed back with Flerys and Mead as the brothers strode through the door.