Kerowyn Hucrele studied the trio with a mixture of hope and scepticism. This was not the first group of young adventurers to sit at her table and discuss her proposition. Actually it was the fourth.
The Hucrele name was well known in and around the town of Oakhurst. Kerowyn was the matriarch of a large merchant family that lived in the small town. The Hucreles were quite wealthy. In fact, they held roughly a third of all Oakhurst's monetary assets, so when word got out that Kerowyn was offering a reward for a small bit of adventuring, would-be heroes and heroines came flocking to her door-step. After being given their missions, she had sent them on their way, anxiously awaiting their return. Not one had made it back to her doorstep with news of her two missing children.
About a month ago, Kerowyn's young, brash son convinced his sister Sharwyn to join one of those adventuring parties that were getting so popular, even in the smaller communities like Oakhurst. Although Talgen, her son, was the best swordsman for miles around and Sharwyn was quite adept in the arcane arts, Kerowyn bade them not to go. She insisted that they stay in town and focus on the family trade. Hucreles weren't adventurers. They were businessmen.
"One day's work in a dragon's lair would earn me more than the family would make in a year!" Talgen was very fond of telling his mother. He must've got it from his father, Kerowyn thought. The fool did his fair share of dungeon crawling back before he came to his senses and finally settled down. She had to admit that the riches he came across did help getting the family business on its feet.
So Kerowyn reluctantly permitted them to get it out of their system and pointed them in the direction of the Sunless Citadel. Just south-east of Oakhurst, local legend told of a sunken fortress located in a gaping ravine that split the land like a horrible wound. Legends say that it was once the stronghold of a powerful cult of dragon worshippers. None of it was confirmed as fact, but the rumours were enough to entice Talgen and his impressionable sister. Kerowyn was certain that the risk was minimal, that maybe they'd bag a couple of goblins and be back before she knew it. And that was a month ago.
While telling these three her story, she tried not to let her hopes get up. But she could swear there was something different about them. Sure there was that same glint of greed in their eyes, especially the one packing an entire arsenal on his body, the dwarf who called himself Malmace. There was an air of superiority, no, confidence about them that gave her a glimmer of hope.
The three were strange to say the least. The dwarf who called himself Malmace seemed to be the self-appointed spokesperson for the group. He was bristling from head to toe with weaponry. At a quick glance she saw throwing axes, a cross-bow, a lance (even though he had not ridden in on a horse…) a battle-axe, and the most impressive, a five foot long greatsword. Maybe he's compensating for something, Kerowyn thought with a chuckle.
The second dwarf of the company sent a small chill of fear down her spine. He had introduced himself as Grundal in a deep, rumbling voice that sounded like two boulders rolling against one another. His hair and beard were as black as the night and as unkempt as a nest of trolls. What made his appearance most frightening was the rearing dragon tattooed across the right side of his face. The tattoo was done in bright red ink and a startling contrast to the mane of wild, black hair.
Ellawyn, the third and final member of the group, was the hardest to read. First off, she was an elf, and Kerowyn knew of no elf who'd willingly keep company with two hairy dwarves. She was slender and graceful like most of her kind. Beautiful too, a fact made even more obvious when standing next to her companions. She spoke little and seemed quite content to leave most of the talking to her male companions. There was a look in her eyes that made Kerowyn question her motives. The merchant woman figured her to be some kind of druid or perhaps a ranger, for she had approached the Hucrele house accompanied by a large grey wolf. When Kerowyn asked politely (she hoped she was polite) that the wolf remained outside, she swore she could feel the heat of the glare Ellawyn had shot at her.
Yes there was something different about these three. Maybe if they couldn't bring back her loved ones alive, they might be able to at least tell her what happened to them.
"So one-twenty-five per ring? Per person?" Malmace asked, looking around the richly decorated home.
"Yes," Kerowyn said with a sigh. "Per ring with an explanation of what happened to my kids. I'll even double it if you bring them back safe and sound."
"Sounds simple enough. Crawl down the hole. Find yer foolish kids, or their bodies. Crawl back up the hole and collect the bounty," Malmace said with a smile, rubbing his large hands together.
"You're very delicate," Grundal said, his hairy arms crossed over his burly chest.
"Yes, we apologize for him, Kerowyn," Ellawyn added, kicking Malmace in the shin under the table.
"Ow! What?" Malmace asked, spreading his arms wide. "She's a business woman. She knows how to talk business."
"That's quite alright. You're right, sir dwarf. I am a business woman and I'm not about to delude myself, thinking you three are here for nothing other than justice and the goodness of your hearts."
Kerowyn noticed Grundal and Ellawyn squirm uncomfortably in their chairs. Malmace just smiled.
"Well," Malmace said, slapping his hands on the table as he stood up, "If there's nothing more for ye to tell us, we'll get on with saving yer kids and putting money in our pouches. Shall we, friends?"
"I'll just issue a warning, if I may? Talgen was an experienced fighter, and Sharwyn a capable mage. I fear there may be more down there then just a couple of goblins."
"Not to fear me lady. We'll be back before supper time." Malmace said with a bow.
"Must you be so…blunt? I at least like to think of myself good at heart, even though I am accepting a cash reward," Ellawyn said to Malmace as she opened the door and stepped outside the sizeable Hucrele household.
"Ahh ye care too much about what other's think of ye lass. Ye like doing good, but ye like gold just as much. No shame in that. Need any supplies for yer witchcraft before we hit the road?" Malmace asked.
As soon as the trio stepped out onto the dirt road leaving the Hucrele property, a blur of grey came darting out from behind a line of hedges. Reacting quickly, Ellawyn darted to the left and tucked into a roll. The blur of teeth and fur followed right on her heels as she sprang to her feet and took off in a sprint. Shouts and cries for help sprung up around her as she could feel hot breath on the back of her legs. People ran this way and that, darting to get out of her way and to avoid the beast at her back.
In a sudden movement, Ellawyn dodged to the right and turned to face her pursuer. The lupine sprang at her at the same moment Ellawyn charged at it. They met mid-air and came down in a heap of dust. Ellawyn could feel the strength in the beast's muscles and the hot breath as she became pinned to the ground. Canine teeth separated and a wet, pink tongue started unleashing its fury on the elf's face. Giggling and laughing, Ellawyn tried to shove the large wolf off of her to no avail.
"Keiko enough! Stop it now come on get off!" Ellawyn said between fits of laughter.
Keiko reluctantly let his companion up.
"Ye should get that mutt trained. Ye two scared half the town to death with yer little game," Malmace said, offering Ellawyn a hand.
"It was entertaining though," Grundal added, looking at the confused stares of the populace. "You two sure know how to make us welcome in a town."
"Like ye have a face that would make a mother feel comfortable with ye holding her babe," Malmace said, punching Grundal in the arm.
Grundal looked as if he was about to retaliate when Ellawyn said "You're both ugly. Now let's get a move on. Night will be upon us in a couple of hours. Come on, Keiko."
The two dwarves watched Ellawyn walk down the dirt road, one hand stroking her canine companion. "She's right. Ye are ugly," Malmace ribbed again and then turned to follow the elf. Grundal shook his head and looked up to the sky.
The Old Road wound through rocky hillocks and neared stands of old-growth oak trees in places. The trio passed a couple of abandoned farm shacks, but there was no other sign of civilization on the lonely road. The adventurers traveled in their normal fashion; the two dwarves walking side-by-side in the lead with Ellawyn following behind. Keiko always stayed protectively on her heels, ready for action at a moments notice. Having left town late in the afternoon, it was dark soon after. Grundal lit a torch and handed it to Ellawyn. Neither dwarf lit one for himself. Having both spent their lives in underground dwarven communities where there was little or no light, Grundal and Malmace's eyes soon adjusted to the darkness.
"Shouldn't we be there by now? I thought the woman said it was but a half a days travel," Grundal said as he aimlessly kicked a loose stone.
"I hear ya. Three long hours with not even a goblin's skull to smash. I'm knowin' what her kids died from. Boredom."
"You really need to be more careful what you wish for, Malmace," Ellawyn said as she noticed movement in a patch of brush at the side of the road.
"Really?" Malmace asked eagerly, "Goblin? Where?"
"That's not a goblin," Grundal said, slipping his heavy mace off of his back. "That's a stick."
"A stick?" Ellawyn said as she peered into the darkness. Grundal nodded and motioned to the bush where two strange, tree-like creatures shambled forth. The monsters were three and a half feet tall and appeared to be a series of branches interconnecting to form a vaguely humanoid shape. They both spread out, one going to the left of the group, the other to the right.
"Pffff!" Malmace scoffed. "Ye've got to be kidding me!"
"Claws look sharp," Grundal offered, crouching low as one of the monstrosities advanced towards him. "Guess they don't want to talk."
"Bah! We need firewood anyways. The axe then?" Malmace asked, looking up at Ellawyn.
"Whatever's your pleasure. Keiko?" The wolf looked up at Ellawyn and seemed to grin. Keiko launched himself at the nearest creature.
"Hey! Tell that mutt to leave me some!" Malmace yelled as he charged after the wolf, his massive battleaxe in hand.
The creature leaped aside as Keiko came crashing down. The wolf yelped and then snarled as the stick swiped at it with its barbed claws, drawing blood. The branch-like appendage then shattered into a multitude of splinters as Malmace's axe cleaved it clean from its body. The creature seemed to not even notice its missing arm as it turned on the dwarf. Malmace barely had a chance to get his axe up to deflect a slash from the thing. The creature was then dragged to the ground from behind as Keiko grabbed a hold of its leg.
Malmace lifted his axe high over his head and said "Better watch yerself, mutt!" He brought his axe smashing down on the monster's head, reducing the tree-like creature to kindling. He looked to the wolf, which still had a fierce hold on the leg.
"I win," the dwarf said, and stuck out his tongue at Keiko. The wolf let go and looked at the dwarf, cocking his head.
Grundal was finding similar success against the live plant that had approached him menacingly. It came at the shaman with a double slash of its sharp wooden claws, which were easily blocked by his sturdy steel shield. Grundal countered with a fast swing, bringing his heavy mace out from behind his raised shield. The creature shrank back as the mace shattered one of its outstretched hands. It made a strange hissing sound and lunged at Grundal with its remaining claws. They grated against the dwarf's armour and he felt a sharp sting as a wooden talon got passed his neck-guard. Grundal growled and brought his mace back around, making a back-handed chop that destroyed the monster's head in an explosion of wood and leaves.
"Doesn't quite give you the same satisfaction as a goblin skull," Grundal said as he heard Malmace approach.
"Not squishy enough," Malmace agreed.
"What were those things anyway?" Ellawyn asked as she poked at the scattered kindling.
Grundal shrugged. "Sticks," was all he said.
"I've never heard of anything like that before. Maybe there's something more than goblins behind the disappearances?" Ellawyn said, throwing a piece of the remains. "Go get it, Keiko!"
"Bah ye're thinkin' too much girl. It's just a beastie. A beastie is a beastie," Malmace said.
"More words of wisdom from the brains of the operation," Grundal said as he rolled his eyes.
"Bah!" was all Malmace said in response. "Can't even clean an axe on the carcass of these things!" he said, trying to wipe sap-like blood off his battle-axe.
"Shall we continue?" Ellawyn asked and her and her two dwarven companions turned from the arborary carcasses. There were times that Ellawyn got tired of there ceaseless banter. Not once did she ever think she'd end up with traveling companions like these before she set out from Glensdale Grove. She had first encountered the pair when they stumbled into the sacred forest that she called her home. Malmace had been busy chopping down an ancient oak for firewood. She had put a stop to that quickly with a sling-shot to the side of the dwarf's rather large head. A quick skirmish ensued that ended with Ellawyn's scimitar at Grundal's throat and Malmace threatening to eat Keiko for dinner. Looking back at it now the druid couldn't quite remember whatever made them put away their weapons and call a truce. The Elders of the Grove then tasked Ellawyn with keeping an eye on the destructive dwarves. She offered to accompany them on their endeavours, and, oddly enough, developed a strange fondness for the bearded folk. She learned that, for whatever reason, the two had left their clan to set out for grand adventure. For Malmace that meant gold. She still didn't know what prompted the other dwarf to leave his underground hall.
Ellawyn became fascinated with life outside her ritualistic and rigid Grove. Her thirst of knowledge became as great as Malmace's thirst for wealth, so when she realized that Malmace and Grundal posed no threat to her forest, she approached the Elders and asked for permission to leave the Grove and gain knowledge for the druidic society. The three, four including Keiko, had been together ever since.
Not long after their encounter with the stick creatures, Grundal said "We must be here."
"Ah now this looks a tad more promising. Goblins like deep holes," Malmace commented, peering through the darkness. He saw that the Old Road passed to the east of a narrow ravine. At the road's closest approach to the cleft, several broken pillars jutted from the earth where the ravine widened and opened into something more akin to a deep, but narrow, canyon. Two pillars stood straight, but most of them leaned against the sloped earth. Others were broken, and several had apparently fallen into the darkness-shrouded depths. A few similar pillars were visible on the opposite side of the ravine.
As Malmace approached the gaping crevice that split the earth in two, a sense of ominous foreboding filled the dwarf with tingling excitement. There was one thing that thrilled Malmace as much as the prospect of gold, and that was adventure. If he met his demise at the breath of a great red dragon, at the foot of its heaping horde of gold, Malmace would die a happy dwarf. Looking down into the darkness of the deep chasm, Malmace imagined a death so fitting down there.
Noticing Malmace's ridiculous grin, Grundal said, "Settle down, Malmace. It's just a hole. You got a rope?"
Not relinquishing his grin, Malmace countered, "Don't need no damn rope! Where's your sense of adventure?" Malmace put is back to the pit and lowered himself down, finding his first foothold with ease. He then started probing with his right foot, trying to gain purchase on the next-to-smooth rock face. Malmace couldn't find a next foot hold.
"How's the adventure?" Malmace heard Grundal ask above him. He looked up to see Grundal's black-bearded face peering down at him and was thankful that his own beard covered the deep red that his face was no doubt turning. He hoisted himself back up onto the ledge and said, "You go first."
"Age before beauty. Isn't that the old dwarven adage?"
"Hey granite heads! I'll go first so you'll stop your bickering!" Ellawyn said, holding up a sturdy, knotted rope that lead down into the darkness.
"Where'd that come from?" Malmace asked.
"It was here all along. I found it here tied to the pillar," She asked, gesturing to one of the leaning posts. "How deep?"
"At least seventy feet, probably deeper," Grundal said.
"Right then. Ladies first?" Malmace asked, still feeling the heat in his face under his beard.
"How do we get the dog down? Last time I checked Keiko can't rock climb," Grundal said.
"The boy's right. The mutt's a hindrance. Will it be fine by itself for a couple of days? Maybe a week?" Malmace said.
"We're not leaving him here," Ellawyn said.
"Fine then, how 'bout I carry the damn mutt down?" Malmace asked, approaching Keiko. The wolf lowered his ears and emitted a low growl.
"Would you settle him down? I ain't gonna bite," Malmace glowered at Ellawyn.
"Keiko might," Ellawyn smirked.
"What, so you're gonna carry that massive beast down yourself? All ninety pounds of you?" Malmace said, stopping his approach.
Ellawyn smiled as the dwarf looked apprehensively at Keiko. She bent down on one knee so she was looking Kieko in the eye. She whispered in the wolf's ear and stroked his head. Keiko seemed to calm considerably.
Ears still pinned against his head, Keiko crawled on his belly towards the waiting dwarf. Grundal sat on the ledge, legs dangling into the darkness below. He looked bored with the whole thing.
Malmace led Keiko to the knotted rope that was tied to the pillar. He grabbed the rope with one strong hand and the hoisted Keiko with the other, the wolf's upper limbs resting on Malmace's broad shoulders, as if he was carrying an infant. The dwarf shrugged and grinned. This one was as hairy as the last babe he held, he thought to himself.
"What's so funny?" Grundal asked, finally showing some interest in what was unfolding.
"Oh, nothing. Just got a spell of déjà vu," Malmace said, winking at Grundal. The older dwarf lowered himself down with one hand, his other arm firmly gripping the wolf.
The climb would have been an effortless one if Malmace didn't have to keep Keiko (who the dwarf was dead sure didn't like him) calm and stable. Climbing with one hand was the simple part, his strong hand and arm easily supporting both of their weight. The hard part was trying to keep a firm but gentle grasp on Keiko, who was growing more agitated with each cautious step down. The pair descended the first twenty feet with only minor difficulty. Then Keiko's whining changed to an almost inaudible growl that Malmace could feel rumble through the wolf's chest.
"Good puppy. Nice mutt," Malmace said as soothingly as he could. This was a dumb idea, he thought to himself as he glanced into Keiko's eyes. What he saw there didn't look too promising. The wolf's eyes were wild, almost panicked as it started to squirm even more. Who would've thought wolves hated heights so much, Malmace thought. Well, maybe he just hates me that much.
All of a sudden Keiko let out an ear-splitting yelp that startled Malmace from his thoughts and he lost his grip on the knotted rope. It was only a half a second before Malmace stabilized himself again, but that was enough for Keiko to decide he had enough. The wolf was now struggling to get out of Malmace's grasp. The dwarf reflexively tightened his grip on Keiko, causing the wolf to howl. Malmace heard Ellawyn's startled gasp from above and was about to look up to her for advice when wolf-jaws came snapping at his face.
"Stupid mutt!" Malmace yelled. "I'm sorry, elf! I don't know how much longer I can hold this beast!"
Just then, Keiko chomped down on Malmace's left hand, the hand that was holding the rope. Malmace let out a yell of pain as his grip loosened on Keiko and the wolf leapt out into the darkness below. With his darkvision, Malmace saw Keiko land in a heap on a rocky ledge some thirty feet below.
"What happened?" Ellawyn shouted. "Is he okay?"
"The wolf landed hard," Malmace shouted up, then added sarcastically, "But I'm fine. Thank you so very much for asking. Wait, the mutts moving."
Hanging from the knotted rope, Malmace could see Keiko trying to bring himself to his very shaky feet. Hiding his relieved grin, Malmace said "Bruised and battered I'm sure, but I think he's okay. I'm gonna wait here until you guys come down. I have a feeling that Keiko doesn't want to see me right now."
"You should probably re-think that," Grundal called down. "There's something else moving down there."
Sure enough, the sound of Keiko's low growl rose up to Malmace's ears. Peering through the darkness, the old dwarf saw a creature almost as big as Keiko skitter out from under a pile of rubble. It appeared to be a monstrous rat, with coarse, greasy-looking fur and a long, naked tail.
"Dire rat," Malmace muttered to himself. Smelly things, but at least they were squishier than sticks.
The grotesque rat stared at Keiko with white, red-rimmed eyes and let out a blood curdling squeal that was answered by another squeal as two more rats scrambled out of different piles of rubbish. The wounded wolf snarled at the three rats that were backing him up against the wall, coming at him from three sides.
"Get down there Malmace!" Ellawyn shouted, "We're right behind you!" and sure enough, the rope started to sway under the weight of his companions. Malmace started to rappel down the rock face, swiftly rushing down to the fight that had started below him.
Keiko snapped out at the rat in the center, jaws narrowly missing the scruffy neck of the rodent. The dire rat flanking his left took advantage of the distracted wolf and sank his teeth into the meat of Keiko's back leg. Keiko let out a yelp that quickly turned to a snarl as he twisted his head around and clamped his jaws around the giant rodent's neck. With a quick and savage jerk, Keiko broke the rat's neck and flung it aside. As the rat was being tossed off of the rock ledge, another dove at the wolf's head; dirty, jagged claws seeking Keiko's eyes.
Up above on the rope, Malmace un-slung his hefty battleaxe. He closed one eye and squinted with the other, taking aim at the vermin below him. Hoping the animals below didn't make any sudden movements, Malmace squeezed his eyes shut and let go of his battleaxe. He was rewarded with a high-pitched squeal that didn't sound like any canine he'd heard of. He looked down to see a dire rat lying motionless, his bloody battleaxe close beside. But there was still the problem of the rodent that was using Keiko's face as a scratching post. Malmace let go of the rope and dropped the remaining ten feet to the ledge below. He landed hard, jarring his knee. He shook away the pain and picked up his axe. He looked up and noticed Ellawyn right behind him, closely followed by Grundal.
A sling-stone pinged off the rocky ledge close to the rat's face as Ellawyn let one fly from above. After missing, the elf quickly loaded another and flung it hard. She was rewarded with a squeal and saw the rat surrender its hold on the wolf's face. With the rat distracted, Grundal pushed off the rock wall. He let go of the rope and drew his mace in one fluid motion, hoping his leap would bring him in line with the remaining dire rat. He landed hard on the solid ground and brought his mace crashing down on the rodent's head, splattering fragments of skull and brain matter.
"Much more satisfying than pounding a stick, eh Grundal?" Malmace asked the black-haired dwarf, helping him to his feet. Grundal responded with a nod, both in appreciation and to answer his question.
Ellawyn swung lightly down from the rope. "Poor Keiko," she said, walking over to the limping wolf. She stroked Keiko's head and muttered a few quiet words. Her palms glowed with a soft blue light for a brief second. The blood slowed then stopped flowing from the wounds on Keiko's face and leg. His limp from the fall seemed also to lessen as Keiko walked over to sniff at a carcass.
"Now how do we get the mutt down the last eighty feet? He sure in the abyss ain't gonna let me carry 'im anymore," Malmace asked, peering off of the ledge.
"We could always take the stairs…" Grundal said, standing at the southernmost end of the ledge. Malmace walked over to where the younger dwarf was standing. He looked over the edge and saw that there was indeed a set of stairs. They were roughly five feet wide and very crudely made. Malmace could see that every twenty feet or so the stairs hair-pinned sharply in the opposite direction.
"Oh well, yes…I guess that would work," the dwarf stammered.
"Do wolves have good balance?" Grundal asked Ellawyn.
"I'm more concerned that Malmace will bumble himself off the edge than Keiko," Ellawyn winked at the scowling older dwarf and turned towards the stairs, torch high in hand.
The lichen and fungi that festooned the enormous cavern gave off a venomous green glow. The sickly light reflected off the tree's enormous black trunk. Its dark roots twisted and writhed together, like a mass of snakes frozen in a deadly embrace. Its blackened, warped limbs reached upward, like a skeletal hand clawing its way from the earth.
The Outcast basked under the phosphorous glow, absently stroking a giant lime-green tree-frog. "Isn't it wonderful Kulket?" Belak asked the tree-frog. "Just look at the way light shines off of its glossy bark." Kulket puffed out its throat in reply. So fixated on the massive, undead tree was Belak that he didn't even noticed the diminutive creature that entered the room.
"It is done, Favoured One. The fruit has been sold and the seeds are sewn," the goblin said as it approached the druid.
"Good Graegitt. And another fruit already grows," Belak stated as he pointed at a high branch that held a single, pale flower. The tree bore only two fruit all year round. The single, perfect ruby-red apple that ripens at the summer solstice grants vigour, health, and life. The fruit that ripens on the winter solstice is an apple of albino white that steals away the same attributes that summer fruit grants, leaving the consumer emaciated and barren. Belak and his goblin groundskeepers tend the fruit and sell them both to the surface dwellers at a high price. The fruit gets sold fast, whether for good or ill and all proceeds go to the goblin clan. Belak's reward comes from the plants that sprout from the seeds of the fruit. Belak planned to colonize the surface with the children of the monstrous Gulthias Tree, twig blights who will one day populate the surface. Flora will once again rein dominant, beating back human and elf alike, Mother Nature's true guardians, risen to take back what's hers.
Of course, Belak wouldn't needlessly kill all of civilization. His attention turned to the bole of the tree, where the two human-sized depressions there made him smile fondly. Yes, prisoners would be taken, and domesticated much like cattle. They would serve as supplicants and food for the Gulthias Tree. Once a supplicant was 'absorbed' by the giant tree, it fed off of their life-force. It then exudes the 'remains' of its victims, who are then irreparably changed.
"Isn't that right, my pets?" Belak asked the man and woman who stood stone-faced behind his wooden, throne-like chair. Neither of the two responded, or even made any indication that they heard Belak at all. The man just stood there, stupidly holding a battle-axe, while the woman similarly clutched a spell-book. He turned his head and grinned at the sight of their bark-like skin. "It won't be long now…"
The narrow stairs emptied into a small courtyard; apparently the top of what was once a crenulated battlement. It looked as if this buried citadel had sunk so far into the earth that the battlement was now level with the surrounding cavern floor. The floor stretched away to the north and south, and was composed of a layer of treacherous, crumbled masonry. To the west loomed the surviving structure of what could only be the Sunless Citadel.
Malmace walked to the crumbled tower that stood on the west side of the courtyard. "Obviously not of dwarven-make, eh Grundal? Pretty shoddy if I'd say so," he said as he kicked some of the loose masonry.
"Depends. I've known dwarves who couldn't build a decent campfire, let alone a fortress," Grundal replied, rolling his eyes.
Malmace loosed one of his throwing axes from his belt and wagged it at the younger dwarf. "You know Grundal, mayhap one of these days, an accident might happen and you'll just lose that sarcastic tongue of yours."
"You'll both lose them if you don't shut up and focus on the job," Ellawyn said, pointing with her scimitar at the door of the sunken citadel. "I'd also put your business suits on if I were you. Looks like their might be some tough customers in this place."
Grundal and Malmace turned their attention to the ominous, shadow-draped doorway.
"The lady's right," Malmace said, putting away the small throwing axe and drawing his much larger greatsword. Grundal drew his mace and stepped towards the door at the opposite side of the courtyard. Malmace quickly fell into step at his side. Sling in one hand and scimitar in the other, the elf was quick to follow, Keiko at her heels. As soon as Ellawyn put a stop to the bickering, a menacing silence filled the cavern.
Movement across the rubble-strewn courtyard was fairly difficult. At one point, the three friends had to balance precariously on large slabs of masonry just to get ten feet closer to the doorway. The two dwarves both worked the mines in the deep stronghold that was once their home, so they traversed the cavern with little difficulty, but it wasn't so easy for Ellawyn. The elf, who hated seeing earth above her head instead of bright blue sky, needed both of the dwarves' aid on more than one occasion. Keiko surprisingly had next to no difficulty. The wolf scrambled, leaped, skidded, and bounded from one slab of rock to the other, always taking care to keep by Ellawyn's side.
Just as Grundal turned around from helping Ellawyn over the last big pile of rubble, the ground beneath his feet seemed to shift.
"Hold on Boy-o! I think we're going for a tumble!" he heard Malmace say beside him. All of a sudden, the ground fell away with a grinding of stone-on-stone. Grundal briefly saw Malmace lunge for the side of the pit and tried to do the same, letting go of his mace. He no sooner stretched out his arm than landed hard on his back. With a grimace, he looked up and saw that the edge of the pit was only about ten feet above the ground that he now lay on.
"What are you wincin' for? That was hardly a fall!" Malmace said as he dangled from the ledge.
"It was enough of a fall for whatever those were," Ellawyn said pointing past Grundal. Just behind the young dwarf were two small, skeletal remains of what must have been goblins judging by the third cadaver the lay across the skeletons' laps. This last corpse couldn't have been more than a day or two old, showing little sign of decay. Grundal stood up and leaned closer to the corpses. The freshest one had gouges in its flesh and looked as if something had been nibbling at it.
Up above, Malmace had clambered out of the pit just as Keiko started to whine, staring intently down where Grundal stood. The younger dwarf looked up and said, "What's got the wolf so riled up?"
"I don't know," Malmace said, "But it could be the dire rat that's headed right for you."
Sure enough, Grundal saw a furry creature winding its way under and around the rubble that covered the floor, and stopped in between Grundal and the mace he had dropped. Just then, the dwarf heard the familiar sound of stone grinding on stone as the floor above the pit started re-setting itself, slowly sealing off the opening.
"Grundal!" Ellawyn shouted as she let loose a sling-stone that pinged off the rock in front of the large rat. The rodent hissed up at her just as the stone tiles reset themselves, shutting out the torchlight from above.
"Dragon's fiery breath!" Grundal cursed as he was momentarily plunged into darkness. The rat leaped at the dwarf before his eyes adjusted and his darkvision kicked in. It slammed into his chest, knocking Grundal back to the rubble-strewn floor, further hurting his already injured back. His eyes adjusted just as the dire rat snapped at his face, claws working vigorously against his scalemail armour. The dwarf grabbed a hold of the rat's neck keeping its jaws at bay. He was seriously afraid of the diseases and worse that these filthy beasts were notorious for carrying. With his free hand, he groped along the floor for his mace. Realizing it was well beyond his reach, Grundal shoved the rat back hard with a snarl and scrambled to his feet.
The muffled voices of his companions' shouts reached his ears through the rock ceiling and brought a grim smile to Grundal's face. Not this time guys; this kill is mine, he thought as he raised his shield and braced himself behind it. As he predicted, the rat leaped for him again. Timing it expertly, Grundal lunged and swung his shield out and wide, sending the rat careening into the rock wall. Before it could gain its senses, he quickly drew a crossbow bolt from his quiver and leaped on the rat. He used the bolt as a primitive dagger, stabbing the rat repeatedly, not letting up until its high-pitched squealing stopped.
Just then, he heard a click and then a slow grating sound from above. The trap was being triggered. Suppressing a grin, Grundal quickly lay on his back beside the rat, closed his eyes and lolled out his tongue from between his lips.
Grundal's acting was rewarded when he heard Malmace clambering down into the pit. "Me boy! If you're dead I swear to Moradin I'll kill ye!" He heard the older dwarf rush to his side. "Yer Mother was right! I should have never let you leave the halls. And now yer dead, kilt by a rat," Malmace was almost wailing now, his bearded face buried against Grundal's chest.
Grundal opened his eyes and winked up at Ellawyn, who shook her head, smirking slightly.
"That dragon of a dwarven woman is gonna kill me. Have my guts for garters she will. Aw boy why'd you have to go and die on me? There's so many things I never said to you…"
"Oh?" Grundal said from beneath him, unable to contain himself any longer. "Say on, stoic, tough-as-nails dwarf."
"Aww you do have a heart, Malmace," Ellawyn said from above, "How sweet!"
The anguish on Malmace's face soon turned to sputtering, blustering anger as the older dwarf went to beating Grundal on his chest and arms, the whole while swearing dwarven oaths at the younger dwarf.
"Love taps, Malmace?" Ellawyn asked from above.
"Shut yer pie-hole elf! It wasn't the whelp I was concerned about! It was me own hide! You know what that woman would do to me if I got her son killed? I'd gladly face a fire-breathing dragon before facing his mother's wrath!" Malmace yelled up to the druid. "There ain't nothin' in the realm more terrifying."
"If you're quite done showing your concern for me, could you get off me so we can get out of this hole before it closes on us again?" Grundal asked the older dwarf.
Releasing Grundal, Malmace replied, "Bah! I should just leave you in the damned hole!"
Grundal just snickered as Malmace stood up, giving the younger dwarf one last kick on the way up for good measure. "Shoulda brought a rope," Malmace muttered, turning to look up at the ledge of the pit trap, which was a good six feet above the dwarfs head.
"Boost?" Grundal asked the grumbling dwarf, cupping his hands.
"Bout time you made yourself useful," Malmace said, stepping into Grundal's offered hands. With a mighty heave, Grundal hoisted the older dwarf, who pushed upwards with his strong legs at the same time. With the two dwarfs' combined strength, Grundal's toss easily brought Malmace within to the edge of the pit.
Malmace hoisted himself up to stand beside the waiting elf and her canine companion. "And how's he going to get up?" Ellawyn motioned to Grundal.
"Bah! The boy's half spider-monkey," Malmace snorted, and sure enough, Ellawyn saw that Grundal was having no trouble finding hand and footholds on the rocky wall, and soon he was standing next to his friends.
"Now that that nonsense is over, shall we continue?" Ellawyn asked, pointing to the crumbled tower, which lay beyond the pit. As in response to her question, the trap reset itself, beckoning them onward. The trio, quartet if you included the wolf, made their way past the pit trap, staying close to the north wall so as not to trigger it.
Passing the doorway, the mercenaries entered a circular area, the granite floor cracked and broken from the towers decent into the depths. The bodies' of four goblins lay strewn across the floor, apparently slain in a battle that was waged here. One stood with its back against the western wall, the killing spear still skewering it and holding it upright. The companions saw three closed doors that lead off from this area. Looking up, they saw that the loose masonry of the tower extended thirty feet. Intervening floors and stairs were gone, save for a few crumbled ledges and steps.
Walking up to the skewered goblin, Malmace asked, "Anyone hungry?" Ellawyn looked at him and raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Goblin on a stick? Gob-kabobs! Bwahah!" Malmace said with a laugh. That was met with a stare from the elf and a roll of the younger dwarf's eyes. Malmace gripped the spear and pulled it away from the wall. The dead goblin slumped to the floor, revealing deep-set, impressive runes carved into the wall.
"What is that?" Ellawyn asked, moving up beside Malmace.
"I ain't got a clue. Just looks like random scratches. 'Prolly all it is, eh boy?" Malmace asked Grundal.
"It's draconic," the younger dwarf said.
"And it says…" Ellawyn said as she gave a motion with her hand as if to say 'go on'.
"Ashardalon."
"You can be extremely exasperating, do you know that?" the elf rolled her eyes. "What does 'Ashardalon' mean?"
Grundal shrugged. "Doesn't mean anything. I think it's a name. I once heard of a mighty dragon, a Red I think it was, that claimed dominion to this area in centuries past. There are rumours that this citadel was built by a cult of dragon worshippers."
"Ahh. Dragon cult. Right up your alley, eh boy?" Malmace said with a wink.
Ellawyn looked at the old dwarf questioningly as Grundal's face remained expressionless. Malmace could swear, if he looked close enough and just right, he could see a fiery glint in Grundals eye. It could've been rage, or maybe saddness in the young dwarf's eye, but Malmace liked to think it was nostalgia and a hint of excitement that he saw there, and he knew, either way, that his son was thinking of the past.
It was close to a quarter of a century ago that Grundal was on a survey team led by his father, Malmace. They were responsible for scouting out new areas to mine in the underground tunnels around their mountian home of Dulgarrun.
"So what'll it be then?" Grundal asked. "Door number one or door number two?"
"How about three?" Ellawyn asked as she studied the southern wall. "Is it just me, or does this section of wall look different than the others?"
Malmace approached the wall and studied the stonework. "Eh lass I think yer right!" he exclaimed, once again marvelling at the elf's keen eyesight.
"Secret door?" Grundal asked, moving up beside Malmace. The younger dwarf started to gingerly press against individual stones in the masonry, and as he did, Malmace took a deliberate step back. More than once had he foolishly tampered with locked and trapped doors only to be poked, zapped, stabbed, or scorched by the various traps that such doors were occasionally armed with. His wariness proved well-founded as Grundal gasped in surprise and jerked his arm back from the wall. Malmace saw that a stone had fell away, releasing a mechanical, spring-loaded trap. The older dwarf could see the sharp needle that had sprung forth, glistening in Ellawyn's torch light. Malmace turned a worried look at Grundal. The needle was much too small to do any real physical damage, being only about three inches long. Malmace knew from experience that the danger of the device didn't lie in the physical damage caused by the needle, but rather what the needle was coated in. Poison.
"Did it git ye, boy?" Malmace asked Grundal.
"No, thankfully," Grundal replied. Just then, the hidden door slid inward and to the side, revealing a damp and cold pocket chamber with no apparent exits. Inside, the companions saw the skeletons of three long-dead humanoids slumped against rubble-filled arrow slits along the east and south walls. Bows were clutched in their dead hands and quivers were still strapped across their backs.
"Dead-dead beasties or undead beasties?" Malmace asked, once again un-strapping his greatsword from his back.
"Why don't you find out?" Ellawyn asked. She took a step back so that the two dwarves were between her and the pocket chamber. Noticing the change in Ellawyn's demeanour, Keiko lowered his head to the ground, hackles raised.
With a shrug, Malmace stepped into the room. As soon as his foot crossed the threshold, malevolent pin points of red fire flared in empty eye sockets and the three undead rose with the clacking of bones.
"Time for more fun, kiddies," Malmace shouted as he rushed into the room, greatsword held high for an overhand chop. Dropping the bow, one of the skeletons swung a bony arm and caught Malmace in the face before his strike could land. Falling back, Malmace was briefly aware that the other monsters scurried past him to engage his friends in the room behind. Trusting that they could handle his run-off, the warrior turned his attention back to the horror before him. The skeleton followed up the slash of its claw-like bone-fingers with a quick back hand, aiming once again for the dwarf's face. Malmace quickly brought up an arm to block and the bony fingers scraped harmlessly against his tough plated armour. Malmace saw an opening in the creature's defences and drove in with a thrust. Malmace pulled his sword out of the skeletons rib cage with the realization that his plunge had done little damage. "This is why I prefer things that squish," Malmace muttered under his breath. He slashed out again, aiming for the small vertebrae just under the thing's garish skull. The force of his blow smashed through the tiny bones, and the skull hit the rocky floor with a smash. The rest of the body stood for a second more, and then followed its head to the floor with a clatter of bones. As soon as the dead was deceased once more, he spun around to the fight raging behind him.
Ellawyn took a quick second to make sure Grundal and Keiko had the skeletons fully occupied. She saw the dwarf swing his mace at his enemy's knees, keeping his shield arm high to deflect any riposte. Keiko had grabbed a hold of the other walking dead's leg and was trying to drag it to the crumbled floor. Trusting her companions to hold the creatures back, the elf drew forth and handful of sling-stones from a pouch belted to her waste. She muttered a few words in the Druidic language and passed her other hand over the stones. They glowed with a faint green light and seemed denser in her palm. Turning her attention back to the fight, she quickly set one of the stone into the leather sling. Seeing that Keiko had his opponent sprawled on the ground under him and was attacking him with canine ferocity she looked to the dwarf. Grundal had lost his shield and was ducking and weaving, trying to avoid the wild swings of bony arms. Whenever the dwarf saw an opening, he countered with his mace, but the skeleton had him off balance. Ellawyn saw that the skeleton was quickly gaining the upper hand.
She set her sling swinging and called out, "Break right!" Without hesitation, the black-bearded dwarf pivoted on his right foot, spinning back and to the right. Ellawyn let loose her bullet with deadly accuracy. Deadly efficiency too, Ellawyn saw as the sling-stone rocketed into an empty eye socket and crashed through the back of the skull. She heard a startled yelp as the flicker of un-life extinguished in the skeleton's sockets and it crashed to the floor.
"Ye did that on purpose ye damned she-elf!" She couldn't help grinning as she saw Malmace, who happened to be standing immediately behind the undead, rubbing a red and bloody nose.
After a quick search of the pocket chamber that revealed no further secret doors, the companions decided on trying the south-western door. The masonry walls of the twenty -foot wide hall were in poor repair. The far end was especially bad. It had completely collapsed, filling the southern section with rubble. The western wall was in much better shape than the other walls, and it held a stone door with a rearing dragon carved in relief upon it. The door contained a single keyhole, which situated in the dragon's open mouth.