As they walked down the hallway, Deft was struck by a sudden thought. What had happened the black-robed man? The fighter realized that he hadn't seen him at any point after he struck him down. Was he hiding behind the throne, perhaps?
He mentioned it to the others, and they stopped.
"Should we go back?" Twix asked.
Ganth sighed. "Forget about him. We shall get him when we come back. I just want to get back home and have a nice hot meal and a couple mugs of ale. Deft, take rear guard, though, in case he tries to sneak up on us."
"Who was that guy, anyway?" Bloom asked.
"He was human, I think," said Deft. "Although he looked half goblin, too. He was wearing armor and carried a mace, so he was either a cleric or some type of fighter. I cut his arm and he dropped like a stone. He was probably feigning death."
Moray Vaco hit the ground when the fighter attacking him slashed his head. He hoped the man would think he was already dead and not stab him to make sure. Luckily for him, the man ran to fight the hobs, sparing the cleric from a painful death. As the sounds of battle erupted around him, Vaco reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a small glass vial. He pulled the cork out with his teeth, and swallowed the contents. It was a Potion of Invisibility, and it was going to save his life.
The cleric became invisible, and instantly rose up and ran for the doors. He avoided the greenish cloud, and slipped past the goblin, who heard him running towards him, but could see nothing. He didn't waste any time trying to strike him down. Moray's only thoughts were on escape. He ran through the doors and down the corridor.
The attack had taken him completely by surprise. He had no idea who these people were, but he did recognize the dwarf that the hobs had captured and forced to work in the forge. Perhaps they were friends of this dwarf.
At this point, it didn't matter. Vaco could find out who they were, once he was safe. He was known in Fort Gaston, but under a different identity. His thoughts went immediately to revenge. Who were these people? What gave them the right to invade his territory and slaughter his congregation? They would pay. Oh yes, they would certainly pay.
The cleric turned the corner and raced up the passageway. So engrossed was he with his ideas of the perfect revenge, that he totally forgot about the king's pit trap. It was a defensive measure the king had had installed in case of hostile invasion. From his throne, he could pull a level that would active a set of twenty foot long trapdoors. Anyone stepping on the edge of one of the hidden doors would be deposited in the natural rocky maze several hundred feet below. The king must have activated it once the attack began.
The door below Vaco's feet suddenly opened, and he fell on his back, sliding down the trap door and into the chute. He cursed himself for his stupidity, but he wasn't too worried. In a way, this might actually work out for the best. He knew the layout of what lay at the bottom of this trap. He had been there many times and had thoroughly explored the area. Because of that knowledge, he knew what awaited those bastards. They would die, and die painfully.
The party reached the end of the corridor and turned right. They had only walked fifteen paces before the floor suddenly opened beneath them. They fell on their backs and slid down the door, landing in a rocky, downward spiraling chute with a smooth floor. In a jumble of bodies and weapons, they slid down the chute, powerless to stop themselves. Deft managed to hold onto Cinder, and it lit their way as they descended. The fighter was frantically hoping that this chute wasn't leading to a fatal fall into a dark pit. In few more seconds, he had his answer.
They landed hard, on a hard surface. Deft sat up quickly, just in case the trap had dumped them into a room full of monsters. Luckily, that wasn't the case. They found themselves in an octagonal chamber, with eight doors on the walls, one for each point of the compass. The doors were all wooden with rusting hinges and handles.
"Is everyone okay?" Ganth groaned, getting to his feet and retrieving his mace and shield. The others rose, checking themselves for injuries. They all had bumps, scrapes and scratches from the fall down the chute, but that was the extent of their injuries.
Bloom glanced around the chamber. "Where in the Nine Hells are we?"
"It's obviously some underground chamber," Deft said.
"I see that. How do we get out?" The thief looked up to the ceiling, which was ten feet above them.
They all stared at the opening in the ceiling. At last, Runt spoke. "You're the tallest among us, Deft," the goblin said. "Perhaps if Bloom could stand up on your shoulders, she could pull herself up into the chute."
Deft chuckled. At five feet and seven inches, no one had ever called him tall before.
They tried this, but there was no way Bloom could get enough of a grip to pull herself up into the chute. And even if she had, it was far too smooth for her to climb it.
"We may as well explore," the cleric said. "This place has doors, so it must be inhabited."
"Yeah," Bloom smirked. "By more hobs!"
"Which door?" Deft asked.
The dwarf was about to answer, when the southwest door suddenly pulled open. Two men, filthy and unshaven, ran wildly into the room, a maniacal gleam in their eyes. One wore a cuirass of fine leather armor and carried a sword. The other had no armor and wielded a battle axe.
The party was taken totally by surprise, but they were swift to recover when the men attacked them. They went after Ganth and Deft, who already had their weapons in hand. It was a brief skirmish. The men fought wildly and without discipline. Ganth felled his foe with a blow to his head, and Deft gutted his opponent.
"Damn!" the dwarf said, frowning down at his foe. "I did not want to kill him, just knock him out."
"Who are these guys?" Twix said, examining their bodies. They looked like normal humans, but their hair and beards were long and unkempt. They were dressed like adventurers.
The halfling ran his fingers through his blonde hair. "Oh my goodness."
The dwarf turned to look at him. "What is it?"
"What if these two were adventurers who got dumped down here like we did? They look like they've been down here for a long time."
"Well, we won't starve," Bloom grinned. "If they've been down here for months, they've found something to eat."
"I don't want to think of what that could be," Deft said. He was starting to feel apprehensive about this situation. "There's got to be a way out of here."
"There is," said Runt. The others all looked at him. "Remember the Potion of Gaseous Form that the ladies gave us? One of us could drink that, float up the chute, then hang a rope down for the others to use to climb up."
"That would work," the dwarf frowned, "if any of us had any rope."
The goblin hung his head, and blinked his large, watery eyes. Then he grinned and looked up at his friends. "The person who escapes could go back to the fort, get enough rope, and come back."
"That is a good plan," Ganth said. "Except the person who leaves will be alone in hostile territory."
"We can use that plan as a last resort," said the bard. "If we can't find a way out of here on this level."
Deft blew out a breath, happy that they wouldn't be trapped down here forever.
Bloom, always on the lookout for treasure, examined the bodies of the men. The weapons were of average quality, but the leather cuirass one of them wore seemed to be a high quality piece. The magic-user waved his wand over it, and it began to glow.
"Magic!" Bloom cried. "And since I'm the only one that wears leather, it's mine!"
No one gave any objections. Bloom took off her cuirass and slipped on the magic one. It fit her perfectly, even though it had been much larger when it was on the man. Many wearable magical items were imbued with that quality; they would change size according to the wearer.
"Are we done here?" Ganth grumbled. "If we are going to explore," the dwarf said, "we may as well start with the door these poor fellows came through."
They all agreed, and passed through the doorway. It led into a winding tunnel with rough, rocky walls. It ran for about thirty yards before taking a sharp, right turn. There was no natural light, but Cinder brightened their way. They could see a light flickering against the wall from around the corner.
They all stopped suddenly.
"Looks like a light from a fire," Twix whispered.
"I'll go check it out," Bloom said.
"Be careful," Deft called out after her. She didn't respond.
The thief slipped around the corner of the tunnel, returning a minute later.
"Those guys we killed aren't the only ones down here," she reported. There's a cave up ahead with five more of them."
"We should talk to them," said Ganth. "If they are trapped here, we may be able to help them find an escape. At the least, we can take them with us if we need to implement Runt's plan."
"What if they attack us, like the last two did?" Gareth said. The dwarf had been quiet, barely saying anything after they rescued him. Perhaps he was still recovering from his ordeal at the hands of the hobgoblins. Plus his friend Cullen had been killed. The fighter couldn't help feeling sorry for the young dwarf.
Ganth snorted. "Nephew, there are only five of them. The other two seemed to be out of their mind. If these others are of the same mental condition, they will prove to be easy foes."
"I don't want to fight them if we don't have to," Deft said. "Everyone put your weapons away and keep your hands away from them. We'll try to be diplomatic. And don't mention those men we killed."
They all agreed to the plan, and as a group, they turned the corner of the tunnel. It continued on into darkness up ahead, but they could see an opening a few paces up ahead on the left side of the passage. Deft and Ganth took the lead. They turned into the new tunnel, which led into a large, wide cavern. A blazing fire burned in the middle of the cave, with four men sitting around it. They looked similar to the other two, all human males with unkempt hair and beards. At the far end of the cave, a large man sat on a crude stone chair that looked to have been carved into some semblance of a throne. The man had long hair and beard, and was wrapped in a tattered purple blanket.
The five men heard the party coming before they saw them, and they all whipped their heads towards the cave mouth. The men around the fire leaped up and picked up their weapons, two swords, a mace, and a war hammer. The man on the throne leaped up and quickly armed himself with a long staff. They all had the wild-eyed look of the two that had attacked them.
The party stopped, and Deft held up his hands. "We come in peace! We fell down the shaft, and are just trying to find our way out of here. Are you stuck down here as well?"
The men seemed to relax a little, but Deft wasn't sure what they were going to do.
The man in the carpet spoke in a loud, commanding voice. "Who seeks an audience with Deriwinki the Third? Kneel, peons!"
"Are you serious?" Ganth muttered.
The man's face twisted in rage. "Impudent swine! You shall know the wrath of the Emperor of the Lower World! Guards, arrest them!"
The four men around the fire hefted their weapons and grimly strode forward to do battle.
"Kneel, you idiots!" Bloom said. "He's obviously insane."
Deft called out. "We are sorry, great Emperor Deriwinki the Third!" He fell to his knees, and the others followed suit. "We were overcome by the greatness of your presence!"
Deriwinki regarded them sternly, then smiled. "Guards, return to your posts!"
The men did so, but they didn't drop their weapons, and they kept their eyes on the intruders.
The Emperor spoke again. "Ah, my loyal subjects, feel free to approach my throne. I hope this day finds you happy and healthy. Why have you sought an audience with the Emperor of the Lower World?"
Deriwinki sat back on his throne, but still retained his staff.
"Let's get out of here," Bloom muttered. "The Dungeon Master over there is totally out of his mind."
"I don't want to offend the guy," Deft whispered.
They got back to their feet, and approached Deriwinki's throne, keeping alert to the threat of the four men behind them.
"My lord," Deft bowed. "We have unwittingly come into your kingdom, and, although your empire is vast and impressive, we are seeking to leave your realm and return to our homes."
The Emperor's eyes went dark, then he smiled magnanimously. "But why would you want to leave my wonderful realm?"
"Umm…as I said, my lord, we simply wish to return to our homeland."
Deriwinki seemed to consider this, and he waved his hand dismissively.
"You have my leave to go. But I hope you are not leaving because you are unhappy."
"Certainly not, my lord." The fighter bowed again, and the party turned and left the cave, turning left upon exiting.
"Well, that was a waste of time," Ganth grumbled.
As they walked up the tunnel, they heard the squeaking of rats, and small, dark shapes skittered away at the approach of the light from Deft's sword.
"Now we know what they eat," Twix grinned. "Gross. Probably tastes like chicken, just like halfling."
After forty paces, they saw a side tunnel branching off to the left, but it receded into darkness. After a quick discussion, they decided to avoid it, preferring to stay on as straight a course as they could.
"There is probably no way out of here," the dwarf said. "We could wander around this place for hours, and not get anywhere."
"As long as we can find the room with the chute, we'll be fine," Bloom said.
Soon, the tunnel opened up considerably, with another tunnel intersecting on their left. They continued forward.
"We're in a cave," Ganth said. No one disputed him. If there was one thing dwarfs know, it's stone.
They kept moving forward, staying near the wall to their right. Soon, they left the cave, and were back in a narrow tunnel.
The corridor ran on for a bit, ending at a wooden door, exactly like the ones in the octagonal chamber.
Bloom listened at the door, but could detect no sound behind it. Deft opened it, with the others standing ready with weapons in hand.
Beyond the door was an octagonal room, with eight doors, one at each point of the compass. They had entered through the northwestern door. The southwestern door was open, and two bodies lay on the floor.
"This is where we came down." Ganth pointed up to the chute in the ceiling. "This place is a maze. No wonder Deriwinkle and his crew haven't found a way out. There probably is no way out."