Chapter 24: Silk and Ruin

Retracing her steps back to Reed and the queen standing in frozen silence, she grabbed the guardsman by the hand. Released abruptly from the stasis spell, he continued his stumble backwards from Aseiohiamenti's shove and nearly pulled free of her grasp again before he regained his footing.

Looking around, he shook his head. "What did I miss?"

"Not much," she replied glibly. "Just an evil sorcerer trying to steal my magic."

"So, just a normal day for you," he quipped with a grin. "I trust you did your thing?" he waggled his fingers as if casting a spell.

"Not exactly," she hedged, not knowing what actually had happened. "I think my benefactor may have intervened, but I'm not sure. But I did get these," she held up the ring with the moon opal and the earring.

"What's that?"

"Our ticket out of here. A ring of levitation."

It took a second for Reed to make the connection, then he grinned. "The exit at the top of the cliff!"

"Exactly," she nodded. "And this," she jiggled the earring, "contains a negation spell like my ring."

She held it out to him, but he frowned down at it dubiously.

"I have to wear that?"

"That's generally how it works," she responded.

"Um, maybe I could have the ring instead?"

Violet looked down at the dangly earring and grinned, "what? Is your manhood threatened by this little thing?"

He rolled his eyes.

"All right, you big baby," she sighed dramatically.

She hooked the earring through the hole in her earlobe, then slipped off the ring and handed it to him. With a thankful smile, he took it and slipped it on his little finger. Then they released each other and breathed a sigh of relief when neither of them froze.

"Thank the goddess that worked," Violet said. "Let's go."

As she turned to lead the way out of the palace, Reed asked her to wait.

"What?"

"We've been stumbling around down here for days without food and water and no real rest. Let's not rush back out there unprepared and exhausted."

Now that he pointed it out, Violet realized how tired she was, physically, mentally, and magically.

"You're right. Let's look for some place to get some sleep."

He nodded, then indicated the two mismatched pieces of armor he wore. "There's got to be an armory around here somewhere too."

He had a point. And they could use other supplies, like food and water. After all, even though they knew the way out, they still didn't know how long it would take.

"Don't touch anybody," she warned. "We don't want a repeat of what happened to me."

Exploring the rest of the floor, they found a variety of workshops and offices as well as an armory, a kitchen, and a laundry facility. On the floor above, they found dormitory style housing for the lower-level servants. Each room was just large enough for a single cot and a chest of drawers. Modestly furnished larger rooms and small suites filled the next floor.

Each floor was smaller than the floor below, in keeping with the pyramid shape of the structure, the outer walls sloping inward. The floors were a series of open squares with a walkway around the inner perimeter that looked down on the open throne room below. From the walkway of the third floor, Violet leaned out over the rail, looking up at the floors that rose above. She counted at least four more. Looking back down, she was staggered by the size of the massive palace.

Violet declared an end to their climbing on the next floor. The suites here, though not opulent, where large and nicely appointed. By this time, she was so tired that she fell into the soft bed not caring how dirty she was. She was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.

Violet was the first to wake up. Stretching, she lay in bed, just enjoying being fully rested for the first time in days. Though she didn't live a life of luxury and worked hard back on earth, nothing from her old life had prepared her for what she had endured since she left Highmoon. Strangely, she didn't feel traumatized by the experience.

Soft fur touched her cheek when she turned her head. Reaching up, she gave Nori a scratch under her chin, then swung her legs over the side of the bed as she sat up. She had no idea how long she had been asleep, but it was time to get moving.

A second door in the room led to a well-appointed bathroom, with almost modern amenities. Turning the handles for the water to the deep bath, she was shocked that the water worked and even more so when it warmed after a few moments. Filling the basin with hot water, she made use of the soaps, shampoos, and lotions arranged on a shelf over the bath. The scents were a little heavy for her tastes, but beggars couldn't be choosy.

Afterwards, wrapped in a bath sheet – no terrycloth towels here – she perused the wardrobe of the room's occupant. When she had chosen the suite, she had noted the feminine touches that seemed to indicate that it belonged to a woman. Now, she was pleased to find she had been correct. Caressing the soft silk of the clothes, she decided there was no way she was going to put her ragged dress back on. It was beyond repair and so filthy that it wasn't even fit to be used for rags at this point.

Helped herself to a pair bright blue silk pantaloons with a matching vest with dark blue embroidery, she tried them on. The pants reached her ankles even though they were supposed to hit just below the knees, and even laced as tightly as it would go, the vest was still loose, but the overall effect was still better than her dress. They fit well enough and that was the important part.

Frowning, she considered the choice of footwear available. The sandals, while appealing, would not work for tramping about in tunnels. There were her sturdy boots, and, if she was being practical, she should just wear them and not worry about how they looked with her borrowed clothes. Sighing, she was starting to turn away from the wardrobe when she caught a glimpse of a leather toe. Shoving aside the sandals, she triumphantly pulled out a pair of soft leather boots that laced up. The soles were hardened leather that would protect her feet from the rough stone of the tunnels but still flexible enough that she could climb with them on, and the leather would provide a little extra protection for her calves. Pulling them on over her old socks she laced them up over her pants.

She also took the time to clean and rebind the cut on her arm. It was still oozing clear fluid but didn't appear infected. She wished she had another healing potion. Those things were marvelously handy.

Giving up her skirts with its pockets meant she had to find a bag for all the stuff she had been carrying around in them. Luckily, the owner of the suite had several along with a woven belt she could tie them to along with her daggers. She hadn't realized how much she had accumulated since she entered the tunnels. Between all the semiprecious stones, the strange orb, and the jewelry she had stollen from Aseiohiamenti, she practically jingled as she walked.

Reed was waiting for her, dressed in chain male and matching armor. A new sword hung from a sheath strapped to his side, its jeweled hilt gleaming in the soft light.

"A bit much, isn't it?" she asked.

"If you had seen the ones I passed up, you wouldn't be saying that," he shrugged. "As long as it works, does it even matter how fancy it is?"

Deciding it wasn't worth arguing over, she let it go and declined to say anything about the two new leather bags that hung low and heavy from his belt.

Grinning, he turned and grabbed a spear that had been propped against the wall behind him.

"Here, I brought this for you."

It was short, only about a foot longer than she was tall, with a slim blade that ended in a sharp point. The pole it was mounted on fit her hand nicely and, though it was stout, it wasn't heavy.

"It's better than just the daggers because you don't have to get so close to use it," Reed told her. "I figured you could use it for a walking stick if nothing else."

"Thank you," she smiled. "I'll try not to stab you in the back with it."

"Maybe I should put you in front of me, then," he smiled back.

"Hiding behind my skirts?" she teased.

"You aren't wearing skirts."

She laughed. "Let's go home."

"What about these people? Are we just going to leave them like this?"

"I don't see that we have much of a choice. I'm not skilled enough to even try and the one person that could help is a complete jerk who tried to steal my magic," she answered.

"It doesn't feel right though."

"No, it doesn't," she agreed. "I don't plan to completely abandon them. I have the jewel that has the sorceress imprisoned. When I finally meet Elminster, I'll give it to him. He'll know what to do."

Reed brightened at the wizard's name. "That's a good plan."

Well rested and carrying plenty of water and food, they left the quiet city and headed back into the tunnel. The way back to the cliff seamed longer than it had the first time. Maybe that was because Violet was so eager to get out of the underdark. Fortunately, with Nori forging ahead of them, they didn't encounter any trouble. Once they were at the top of the cliff, they peered into the darkness of the tunnel. Wide enough for them to walk side by side, it had been cut into the rock face with a level of expertise that the pair had not seen thus far.

"I wonder how far it goes?" Reed asked, voicing the question Violet had been thinking.

She shrugged, "I don't know. Nori can't convey distances very well."

"Well, it's not going to get any closer with us just standing here."

Violet looked at Nori, "lead the way."

With a chirp, the purple fae flitted into the tunnel. Violet and Reed followed at a slower pace, letting Nori go ahead.

"Oh, wow," Violet breathed.

Jagged peaks devoid of vegetation and deep, dark valleys spread out before them. The sky was dark with ominous clouds that rumbled and flashed with lightning. The wind whipped around them, chilling the air forcing them to duck back into the shelter of the cave they had just emerged from high on the mountainside.

They had traveled through the tunnel system for another four or five days, following Nori and surviving on the food and water they had taken from the lost city. Reed had also brought torches, giving Violet a break between light spells so that she wasn't totally exhausted at the end of each 'day'. In the perpetual dark, it was hard to judge the passage of time. They just counted each time they stopped to sleep as the end of a day.

During the last part of their journey, they encountered two separate groups of goblins and a lone giant spider. Using her new spear, Violet was able to hold her own during the fighting. She even delivered the killing blow to the spider. Proud of her newfound skills, she silently vowed to get more training with the weapon once they returned to highmoon.

"Do you have any idea where we are?" she asked Reed.

"I think we're in the thunder peaks," he answered grimly.

"Is that bad?" Violet racked her brain for information on the mountains. From what she had read, they were mostly uninhabited except by bandits, orcs, and goblins. She thought there was something else but couldn't quite remember.

Before he could answer, a bright flash of lightning lit the sky, the bolt bright as it struck a stunted tree clinging to the side of the slope across from where they stood.

"Very bad," Reed said unnecessarily.

Violet remembered then. The thunder peaks got their name from the violent storms that raged frequently in them.

"We should wait out the storm from here," she suggested having no desire to go out in the storm.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

She looked at him with disbelief. "You want to go out in that?"

"That storm is the least of our problems. Look," he pointed to the bottom of the valley, barely visible in the gloom.

At first, she couldn't see what he was pointing at, then another lightning bolt lit the sky, and she could make out the crumbling ruins scattered across the valley floor.

"What is it?"

"Thunderholme," he said in a quiet voice.

She shook her head, "I don't understand."

Reed drew her farther back into the tunnel. "We have to get out of here," he told her. "That's Thunderholme. It was a dwarven city, but they were all slaughtered long ago."

Violet went cold at his words. "Slaughtered? By what?"

"A Dracolich."

"A what?"

"Dracolich. An undead dragon," he explained.

"An undead dragon?" she paled at the thought and shrank back against the wall.

"It's not there anymore," he assured her. "But this whole area is full of the undead it left behind. Which is just as bad, if not worse. And they aren't bothered by the storms."

Violet looked outside at the storm. Fat raindrops were just starting to fall, throwing up tiny puffs of dust as they hit the dry ground.

"And you think they will find us here?"

"It's a possibility. If we leave now, we can use the storm as cover."

"Nori?" she called out softly.

The fae appeared instantly with a low merrow.

"I need you to go out and look around. Find out if there is anything near that's a danger to us," Violet told her.

She chirped and flew out of the cave.

"That's handy," Reed told her.

"Very." In fact, since they had left Highmoon, her familiar had proven her worth time and time again. She seemed to be in her element here in Faerun.

In just a few minutes, she returned, going straight to Violet, sharing what she had seen. True to Reed's prediction, there were short, stout skeletons and zombies wandering aimlessly outside. There were at least three on the trail that led away from the cave and around the side of the mountain. Even more were on the trail that wound its way down into the valley and a small group were shuffling up the trail from the valley.

She relayed the information to Reed.

"You said there's only three on the high trail?" he asked.

"Yes."

"That way will be more exposed to the storm, but I think we can easily handle just three undead. What do you think?"

"Nori, is there another exit from this system farther away from here?" She remembered several branches that they had passed before reaching this exit.

The fae huffed and showed her an exit that came out closer to the ruins. Multiple creatures filled its entrance and shambled around in the nearby tunnels.

Reed looked at her hopefully, but she shook her head. She sighed and stroked Nori's back, "that's okay. You tried."

Outside the rain was coming down in sheets. Violet looked down at her clothes dubiously.

"This is not going to be fun."

"We just have to make it away from here," Reed assured her. "Then we can find shelter and wait out the storm."

"Then, let's get this over with."

Soaked to the skin and chilled to the bone, Violet followed closely behind Reed, trying to use him to block the worst of the wind to no avail. It seemed that no matter which way they faced, the wind blew around them coming from different directions simultaneously. They went as quickly as they could on the narrow trail with their visibility limited by the rain. To their left, the mountain rose above them at a steep incline. To their right, the ground dropped away down into the valley below.

Just a few yards from the cave, they encountered the first skeleton. Once a dwarven warrior, now its bones were yellow with age with just scraps of rotting cloth hanging off it from what used to be its clothes. A great, rusted helm was all that was left of its armor, sitting askew on the bare skull. Its mouth gaped open in a silent scream as it came at them.

Reed dodged its first lunge, then swung his sword. The weapon bounced harmlessly off the exposed ribcage, but the force of the blow combined with the momentum of its attack sent it careening off the trail. As it bounced its way down the cliff, its helm flew off followed by bones. By the time it came to rest several yards below them, it only had one leg and one arm left. Its eyeless sockets seemed to glare at them accusingly as it flailed about, trying to stand. Violet almost felt sorry for it.

"Let's keep going," Reed told her, turning away from the pitiful sight.

Continuing along the trail, they sighted their next opponent, barely visible ahead of them in the rain. The zombie was facing away from them as they quietly came up behind it and never saw them. Reed used the same tactic that had worked on the skeleton and shoved it roughly off the trail. Here, the drop was almost straight down, and the zombie's landing was inaudible over the din of the storm. They didn't bother to look before hurrying on their way.

The storm intensified and worried about finding shelter, Violet sent Nori ahead to scout.

Soon they came upon the third undead that Nori had warned them of. Reed attempted to sneak up behind it and knock it off the cliff like the others, but something alerted it before he got close enough and it turned and attacked.

In much the same condition as the first skeleton, this one lacked a helm, but gripped a sword with its boney hand. This wasn't a rusty piece of crap sword like most of the monsters they had faced had welded. The blade shone with a luster even in the rain as the dwarf skeleton attacked. Reed brought his sword up to parry just in time, but this time he was between the skeleton and the drop off. Violet looked for an opening but doubted she could do any damage with her spear.

Reed and the skeleton struggled against each other with their blades locked between them. Despite his height advantage, the skeleton had a lower center of gravity giving it a better angle to shove against the guardsman. He was forced a step back towards the edge, leaving only inches between him and empty space.

Violet darted in with her spear raised, aiming for the arm that held the sword. Wedging the blade between the two bones of the forearm, she attempted to twist them in hope of breaking them off or at least disrupting its struggle with Reed. The bones held, tougher than they looked, but the arm pulled away from Reed, giving him a chance to regain the ground he had lost.

The head of the skeleton snapped towards Violet and it shoved Reed to the side as it slashed at her with the sword. Her spear was ripped out of her grip and clattered to the ground. The skeleton advance on her as she backed away, feeling for the trail blindly behind her and hoping she didn't trip and tumble over the edge. Frantically, she tried to think of a spell that would affect the skeleton and not endanger Reed right behind it but came up blank. It raised its sword for a killing blow and Violet had nowhere to dodge.

As she watched the sword descend as if in slow motion, she threw up her hands and cried, "èist sgiath!"

Instead of cleaving her in two, the weapon glanced off an invisible shield just inches from her outstretched hands. Undaunted by the missed blow, the skeleton raised its sword for a second attempt. Violet had no idea if her spell would hold a second time and stumbled backwards, willing to risk falling off the trail rather than being chopped up by the sword.

Lightning flashed and she caught a glimpse of Reed standing behind it with his sword drawn back to strike. He swung and the head of the skeleton went flying out into the darkness. The body flailed about blindly, striking wildly but Violet was able to scurry back out of its reach. Reed swung again and the headless skeleton teetered on the edge of the trail. Reed lifted his foot and kicked it hard on the pelvis. It pitched over the edge, but not before its empty hand grabbed hold of Reed's belt. Together the two of them disappeared.