Chapter 7

"We've got work to do, and I suspect we don't have a lot of time." Jerlis said, surveying the room. By the light, there was a lot of stuff here! "Let's get to it. See if you can find anything useful." Jerlis said, conjuring a bright light and letting it float in the air. Laina nodded.

Her armor was easy to find. It was sitting right on the top of the pile. She quickly separated her pieces from the pile and set them aside – she didn't want to wear them without any kind of padding. And while there were no doubt a large number of superior pieces among the discarded gear, she didn't want to take the chance on ill-fitting and unfamiliar armor, not this deep in enemy territory.

Jerlis was searching through the pile of cloth. "I don't see mine – there it is. Ugh, it's been almost destroyed." He said, lifting up a tattered red robe. Laina eyed it dubiously.

"Is there anything in there that's better than that?" she asked.

"Plenty," Jerlis said, "but—."

"—Take the best you can get. Ill-fitting cloth isn't as big a deal as ill-fitting plate, and you might be able to get more magical advantage out of it." She insisted.

"Point." He acknowledged, rummaging through the pile.

She'd found the weapon pile. At the sight, her lips curled in an avaricious grin, and a slight, delighted giggle escaped her lips. While she was rejecting the armor, there was no reason she should do so with the weapons. Again, her swords were on the top, she took them and put them aside. She also tried the weight and balance of several others; an impressive looking two-hander and a fine glaive made it to her 'keep' pile, as did an excellent bow. She was considering a vicious-looking double-bladed battle axe when she realized Jerlis was staring at her. She gave him a bloodthirsty smile.

"Can you carry all that?" He asked, incredulous.

"If my magic bags are here, certainly," she said cheerfully. "You can never have too many weapons!" Jerlis's answering look was clearly doubtful.

Having found her weapons and armor, she joined the elf at the pile of clothes. She didn't know what had happened to her clothes, and doubted they were still fit to use, but the idea of wearing armor without anything between metal and her skin was not appealing in the slightest. Quickly, she dug through the pile, settling rapidly on some breeches and a tunic that looked serviceable and close in fit. Jerlis was much more picky, he had several items that he was apparently deciding on. She turned to the bag pile and found a bounty of magic bags. She flung some at Jerlis, who caught them and looked at her in puzzlement.

"Choose later; wear one and stuff the rest in a bag." She said. He nodded, and shrugged into a gold-trimmed brown and black item with sinister-looking designs. The sight of her companion in a dress made her snicker. Jerlis glared.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

"Nice dress," she smirked.

"Robe. It's a robe." He had the slightly tired and disgruntled tone of someone who had made this argument before. Laina shrugged, and turned back to the pile of loot. She had discovered a veritable treasure trove of enchanting supplies, and was rapidly stuffing dusts, shards, and crystals into one of her empty bags. Jerlis was checking out the potions, herbs and reagents.

"Pity," he said, "there's absolutely no teleport or portal stones here."

"That'd be too easy, I think." She said ruefully.

"By the Light I've never seen such a variety of potions… I think I found something that may be useful in getting us out of here."

"Oh?" Laina looked up with interest. Jerlis was holding a bright red potion up.

"This is an Elixir of Dream Vision. It allows you to leave your body and explore, completely undetectable. I don't think even the d… dreadlord could detect me if I used this." He stumbled over the memory. Laina didn't blame him.

"How is that useful?"

"If we can remain undetected here while I take the potion, I can find us the best way out of here and maybe explore the surroundings."

She could see the benefit of that. She nodded.

"How are we going to remain undetected, though? They're bound to check this room out sooner or later."

"I think if we cover me with some cloth I'll be indistinguishable from the rest of the pile. However, I think you should stay awake to guard us – use this if the door appears. It's an invisibility potion." He held up another potion.

"How long does it last?" she asked.

"Not long, but perhaps long enough. You're the more capable fighter, at any rate, should it spot you."

Laina nodded. "Let's try it. You'd better put out that light, though."

Jerlis smiled. "Naturally."

Laina tried to stifle a yawn as she tried to stay alert. It wasn't easy in the darkness, not after the exertions of the previous hours. She was tired and sore. At least she wasn't comfortable enough to nod off, not in plate mail. Jerlis was still fast asleep, only the regular rise and fall of his chest indicating that he was alive at all. He'd been gone a while – how long, she didn't know. She was still clutching the invisibility potion, eyeing the place where the door would be with trepidation.

The door appeared, the demon in the entrance shadowy and backlit in green. Hurriedly, Laina downed the potion, hoping it would last alright. She saw its glowing green eyes scan the room, passing by her. Her heart felt like it froze in her chest. After a few seconds of cursory examination, the door and the demon vanished once more. She breathed a small sigh of relief.

After an interminable time, Jerlis finally stirred.

"I was starting to get worried." Laina said. "A demon just came by and investigated here."

"I saw. I followed him a short distance – he checked some other rooms. I don't think he knew we were here. Sorry for the delay." Jerlis said.

"What did you find?"

"More than I expected. I found a map."

"A map?"

"Well, kind of. It was a tactical map, like they have of battlefields, showing the deployments of troops and the like. It showed the location of several portals such as the one that I, and I'm assuming you, came through. One of them seems to be abandoned – it's only got a light patrol. I suggest we attempt to reach it – I believe they will assume that we would go for the nearest portal, or the one that we may remember being taken through."

"So it's not near?"

"No. It is several days away, through rough terrain at that. The map showed a path, but it was clearly not a commonly used one."

"First things first, how do we get out of here?"

Jerlis smiled grimly, "Luck, mostly. They've raised the alarm, by the way. The place is crawling with armed demons, all very agitated about something – they must have discovered your handiwork and our absence. I actually think it might be beneficial if we stayed here for a few hours. By then they should have certainly concluded that we have already left, and we might find the halls less guarded."

Laina considered that. "But what if another comes here to check again?"

Jerlis rose stiffly, stretching, and walked over to the shelf that contained the potions. His light winked back into existence as he searched. Then he returned to her with several more potions in hand, identical to the one she had taken before.

"I don't know who or what needed so many of these, but I'm certainly not complaining." He said, handing her a few. She considered them for a moment.

"Jerlis, I don't suppose you could keep a watch if I got some sleep? I'm exhausted." She said. He nodded.

"We'll cover you with cloth so you look less conspicuous." He said.

At that, Laina tried to make herself comfortable in the pile of discarded clothing. She'd slept in her plate before – it wasn't impossible, merely uncomfortable – she didn't want to take it off just in case she had to act immediately after waking. Her exhaustion won over the discomfort, and within minutes she was sleeping.