CHAPTER THREE
Back in the kitchen, they re-examined the tracks they had seen earlier.
"Someone was dragged off, down that hallway," Dorin said. "But these smaller tracks weren't made by that golem creature, or I'm an elf."
Embeth raised an eyebrow.
"So, what made this other set of tracks?" Braun asked. "They look vaguely humanoid to me."
"No," Dorin said. "There's no apparent toe-marks. These are something else. Like hooves, perhaps."
"Hooves?"
"Aye. And from the looks of it, whatever creature made those smaller tracks must also have put the chair against the door."
"Trapping the golem in the pantry?" Braun asked.
"That'd be my guess," Dorin said. "Then it dragged some fellow off down that hallway." The dwarf rubbed at his beard.
"One of the wizards!" Prester exclaimed.
"What?" Braun asked.
"No, he's right," Dorin said. "That giant walking calzone we killed down there was some wizard's guardian. I've seen it before- well, never quite like that one, but I've seen golems before. One of the first rules of robbing a wizard's house is to get rid of all the magical guardians."
"You make a habit of robbing wizards houses?" Embeth asked.
"No, no," Dorin spluttered. "Never mind about that. What I'm saying is, whatever creature made those tracks first overpowered the wizard, somehow managed to trick his golem into the pantry, then locked it in and dragged the wizard off."
"So, where's the other wizard?" Braun asked. "I thought two of them lived here."
"There might only be one here," Embeth said. "Gendrew. His wife, Andolyn, used to be in the Golden Company, before she retired."
"And they're away," Braun said. "You think she came out of retirement and went with them?"
Dorin shrugged. "Either that or she's dead upstairs. All depends what it is made those tracks."
"Hooves, you said?" Embeth asked quietly.
"That'd be my guess," Dorin said. "Why?"
"Because, I sense some evil upstairs."
They all stared down the hallway, at what looked to be a set of stairs leading up.
"That settles it," Braun said, gripping his axe. "We're going to see this wizard."
At the top of the stairs they found a single door, which Braun kicked in without hesitation. A large bed dominated the room, but one entire wall was lined with bookshelves above a writing desk. Sprawled across the bed was a bloody, battered man, tied at the wrists and ankles. And perched on the desk, idly tearing books to pieces, was a small, bat-winged, cloven-hoofed imp.
"Foul creature!" Braun yelled, seeing what had been done to the man on the bed.
"Spawn of Hell!" Embeth shouted, looking at the infernal creature's hellish wings.
"No, not the books!" Prester cried.
"By Moradin's Bloody Eyes," Dorin swore. "Just kill the thing."
The imp immediately hissed and leapt to the attack. Although small, it was deceptively powerful and infernally quick. With a few quick flaps of its bat-like wings, the red-skinned little devil flew towards the ceiling and took the measure of its attackers. Seeing Prester standing near the doorway, the imp deemed the spellcaster to be the greatest immediate threat to its existence on the material plane. It swooped down towards the lightly-armored wizard, barbed tail ready to strike.
Prester saw the imp coming at him, and immediately began casting a spell. His outstretched hands seemingly burst into flames, and the wizard held up his burning hands, ready to grasps the imp when it came within range. He hoped that fire would hurt the infernal thing- he wasn't sure, but it was the only offensive spell that he knew.
His companions, though, were ready to protect their friend. Embeth hastily spoke aloud a prayer to the gods and goddesses of the elves, and the light in the room seemed to brighten momentarily. The elf raised her sword to smite the imp, and the thing squawked in pain, blinking its eyes. But the creature shook off the attack and dove at the wizard.
When the imp swooped down on Prester, it came within range of Braun and Dorin, giving each of them an opportunity to strike. Braun's axe sliced off a wing and an arm, and Dorin's hammer caught the thing square in the abdomen, sending it against a wall. Prester grabbed it with his hands, burning the creature's scaly hide. But it still had a poisonous barb on its tail, and the wizard drew back.
"Kill it," Prester urged. "Get it before it goes invisible!"
"Ack, save me, master Woganpuck!" The imp was desperate, and made a last attempt to flee. It fluttered away on broken wings, but before it could escape, Embeth's bowstring hummed and an elven arrow pierced the imp through the chest, pinning it to the wall. The hellish creature slumped, and exploded into dust.
"Is it dead?" Dorin asked, lowering his hammer.
"Dead and gone," Embeth said. "Without a doubt."
"Good work, everyone," Braun said. "Let's see to the imp's prisoner."
The battered prisoner on the bed was not dead, nor even as badly wounded as the adventurers had feared. Dorin wrinkled his nose and gingerly wiped a little of the blood that stained the man's shirt. The dwarf sniffed at it. "Tomato sauce," he announced, holding up his finger.
Some of the man's wounds were real, though, the cruel result of the imp's claws. Braun took out one of the party's prized healing potions and poured it down the prisoner's throat, while Dorin and Prester worked to untie his bonds. Embeth gently touched the man's forehead, and they managed to revive him.
He sat up and looked around. "Is it gone?"
"Yes, we killed it," Braun said. "What is your name?"
"I am Gendrew. But, who are you?"
"I am Braun, and these are my companions, Embeth, Dorin- "
"And I'm Prester," the wizard said, extending his hand. "I'm most pleased to meet you, Gendrew. I've heard so much about you, and I'd really like to know- "
"Wait," Gendrew interrupted. "Where's Andolyn?"
"I'm here," said a feminine voice.
The four adventurers spun around, surprised. They felt the tell-tale rush of air and the distinct soft crackle of noise that immediately followed a spell of teleportation, sensations that in later adventures they would come to recognize all too well. But just then, the four had no real inkling of what had just occurred, other than that a woman had suddenly appeared out of thin air.
Andolyn was a slight woman, just entering what humans considered middle age, but she was still trim and attractive. She was obviously a fellow adventurer, judging by the sturdy, practical robes, cloak and boots that she wore, and the number of pouches and cases that hung at her belt. She wore a small pack on her back, and carried a runed staff in her hands. The four companions could barely sense an aura about her, or perhaps it was just that Andolyn carried herself with an air of confidence and power that comes along with being an experienced adventuress. Her gaze darkened as she took in the dried blood on her husband, and the torn books strewn about the room. She eyed Braun and his companions suspiciously. "Gendrew, what has happened?"
The man threw up his arms. "Wait, Andolyn, these are our friends. They rescued me."
The wizardess relaxed a little, and Dorin let out a sigh of relief. Braun loosened his grip on his battleaxe, and Embeth lowered her bow. Andolyn walked past the four companions and sat down on the bed beside Gendrew.
"Now, tell me what happened, and quickly."
"An imp flew into the kitchen, just as I had completed work on the calzone golem," Gendrew explained. "It attacked the golem with its claws, scratching it." He turned to face his wife. "When we first met, it seemed like a match made in heaven. Andolyn was a skilled wizard with a love of a good meal, looking for an excuse to settle down from adventuring."
"And Gendrew was a master chef, looking to create new methods of cooking," Andolyn added.
"Together, we took up a quiet life of baking and brewing. The calzone golem was our master work, the perfect union of the culinary and the arcane. But our experiment has gone horribly wrong, Andolyn. The imp's attack on the golem triggered some sort of berserk rage we had not foreseen. The golem wreaked havoc in the kitchen, then turned on me, knocking me out."
"When I came to," Gendrew continued, "I was up here, held prisoner by the imp." He turned to face the adventurers. "I don't know where the golem is now, so be careful. And be warned- it is resistant to fire and utterly berserk."
"Don't worry," Braun said. "We already found it. The imp somehow tricked the golem into going down to your pantry, and managed to trap it there. We already killed it."
"One thing I must ask," Embeth said. "Where did the imp come from? It mentioned a name."
"Don't say it aloud!" Andolyn warned. "I can guess who its master was. The imp serves an old enemy of mine, a devil who must have sent it to cause trouble while I was away."
"It seems to have succeeded," Dorin said.
"What about the items in your sitting room?" Prester asked.
"Years ago," Andolyn explained, "I dabbled in animation magic, in an attempt to create various labor-saving devices. Though I didn't pursue the effort very far, those were a few of my early results."
"It seems the berserk state of the golem has affected them, as well," Prester said. "We had to disable a few of the things."
"Well," Andolyn said with a sigh. "The imp is gone, the golem destroyed. I'm glad you weren't too badly hurt, Gendrew."
"A lot of this is tomato sauce," the master chef said, tugging at his stained tunic. "And they must have healed me."
The wizardess conjured up an unseen servant, and set it about the long task of cleaning up the cottage. "It seems Gendrew and I owe you all a debt," Andolyn said with a disarming smile. From a secret compartment in the writing desk, she produced a small box, and took out the contents one-by-one, handing them to the adventurers.
"To you, Braun, I give two potions- bull's strength and vision. For Dorin, I have potions of jump and cat's grace. For Embeth, I have endure fire and cure moderate wounds. And for you, Prester…"
She tapped her finger on her chin. The little box was empty. "Perhaps I have the time to teach you a spell or two. Did you bring your traveling spellbook with you?"
"I have it right here."
"And I will prepare a fabulous feast," Gendrew said, excited. "Everyone is invited."