Chapter 24

Walking back up the stairs near the main hall we spotted Duergar Greymon and the bald Duergar woman having a heated conversation outside the entrance to the main hall. Greymon scowled at me when he noticed my attention, "Would you look at that Kur. The Twat-Soul's listening in. Reckon we should get Nere coin off him?"

"Calm yourself, Greymon. I reckon we can help each other. You want Nere's gold, and we want Nere." I said trying to sound cold and businesslike as I swallowed my disgust for the slaver. Winter Knight business as usual.

"I ain't parlaying with anymore Twat-Souls. Sod off." Greymon barked.

"Alright, if you want a pair of tentacles to match that nice shade of black, I won't stop you. At least you'll end up taller." I smirked.

"What you on about?" Kur the Duergar woman asked.

"Mindflayers. That's who the Absolute is working for. All the 'True Souls' are infected trying to spread the influence, and your sergeant's handing you to them on a silver platter."

"Rothe-shite! If that's true you'd be infected too, 'True Soul'." Greymon challenged.

I used my connection with Kur to push deeper into her mind. I felt ancient resentments and iron-clad prejudices flow through her brain, and I pushed my influence onto her. It was difficult, she wasn't infected but her mind sensitive to the psychic energies of the tadpole, and I used that sensitivity to order her to slap Greymon.

Greymon and Kur stared at me in frightened awe for a moment. "What the hells was that?" Kur muttered.

"That was the tadpole inside me jacking your mind," I responded.

Greymon scowled at me, still sceptical, "Say we believe you. Why aren't you dancing to the same tune as Nere?"

"Because of me," Gale announced pridefully. "I am the chosen of Mystra. Her emissary in the mortal world. And lover in the planes beyond." Gale finished with a rye smile as he waved a glowing hand at Greymon.

Greymon suddenly went cross-eyed. When he returned to normal, he stared at Gale in disbelief, "You did… that. With a bloody goddess." Greymon breathed.

"Oh yes. It is her protection that prevents me and my companions from being tied to the Absolute's yoke." Gale said sagely.

Greymon shook his head. "Fine, I'll buy it… for now. What do you want help with."

I smiled brightly at the Duergar. "Oh, Greyboy. I'm asking you to help yourself. You want the gold and a way out of tentacles. You need to take out Nere and the Sergeant."

"Hoon's right Greymon. We don't get the money from Nere's corpse; we won't get it at all. And the Sergeants been stirring us wrong since finding those cult nutters." Kur agreed.

"Shit! You're right. Sergeant's been all about the 'Absolute's glory'. Be we ain't need glory- just coin. And Nere's got plenty." Greymon's eyes darted back to me, "So, you get Nere free- then me and my chums grind him and Thrinn up. Whatever the spoils, we'll drop you a fat cut. You in?"

"Forget the cut. I want something else." I interrupted.

"Such as?" Greymon asked waving his hand in a 'move it along' gesture.

"The gnome slaves. Once this is done, you let them go free."

Greymon barked out a laugh, "No bloody way. We ain't letting go of all our capital, no matter how much Nere has on 'im."

"You'll do as I ask. Or I'll go tell Sergeant Thrinn over there that you're conspiring to stab her and the Absolute in the back. Who do you think she'd believe? You, an angry foot soldier with a big mouth. Or me, a True Soul." I asked with a rageful leer in my voice.

Greymon's eyes blazed with fury, but he knew the score. If he didn't get Thrinn out of the way soon. He'd be food for squids soon enough. "Fuck! Fine, you get the drow out and my crew'll be standing by to gut the bastard. Slaves can go. We can always round up more." Greymon conceded.

I swallowed down my desire to punt the evil midget into the lava like a plate of pig guts and nodded in agreement.

We then moved to the left of the main hall and towards a large metal door. I jimmied the lock open with my lockpick and we walked into a flooded room with dining chairs and long-rotted old food. "Nightfall feast. Break bread in Lady Shar's name, spill blood in her name." Shadowheart commented.

"How… homey. I bet they had great family dinners here." I joked.

Shadowheart rolled her eyes as we walked through the side door and found ourselves in an old prayer room. The room had been converted into a safe spot considering the still-lit campfire in the middle of some overturned seats… and the angry-looking deep-gnome staring daggers at us.

Philomeen used magic to spark a fire in her hands and positioned it over a black barrel, that gave off an ashen scent. The smell reminded me of gunpowder if it was a hundred times stronger and gave off a vague aura. "Hold it. I swear to Iron Hand, one more step and I blow us to chunks." Philomeen threatened.

We stopped dead in our tracks. I held my hands out in compliance, "Woah. Easy there. We came to talk. No need for the Kamikaze show." I quipped nervously.

"As an expert on the subject, my dear lady- I'd like to point out that blowing oneself up is never the solution," Gale said placatingly.

"Shut your mouth, hoon. Or I'll shut you down." Philomeen spat.

"Hi, Philomeen isn't it? I'm Harry. I'm here to help your friends to get out of the cave-in. So put the flame away so we can chat. Please." I asked in the same manner you use to calm a wild animal.

"Don't know how ya got my name. But I know who you are. Nere's bootlicker- saw you sail in. Better to die in this shit-heap than rot in Moonrise. You want me? Come get me!" Philomeen challenged, fear punctuating her threat.

"Laridda sent us. She made me give my word not to harm you. Put the flame out and I'll get you and her out of this shithole." I pleaded.

"Laridda? Ruddy mind games. I… I know your tricks, True Soul." She barked but her hand was trembling. Philomeen stared at the barrel for a long moment and put the flame out, "Shit, I can't do it. Go on, drag me to Moonrise. I'll make you cult nutters suffer." Philomeen spat a cry starting in her voice.

"While I can't quite argue on the 'nutter' part, I'm not with the cult. I just need that 'powder' there. Your friends say it's the only way to get the rest of you out from the cave-in Nere's ass got stuck in." I commented.

Philomeen's fear was replaced by a curiously raised eyebrow, "You want to waste runepowder on…"

"Saving your people and killing Nere yeah. Seems a tad cold to say waste." I interrupted slightly miffed at her lack of care for her fellow gnome.

Philomeen scowled at me, "Look. You have no idea what you're dealing with. Any true Ironhand would trade their life just for a grain of this stuff. It's the whole damn reason we're here. I'm not leaving without it. But let me go, and I'll spare you a vial."

I looked at Philomeen suspiciously. If a single vial could blow up a cave-in as bad as the one in the main hall, what could a whole barrel do? And if Barcus's description of the Ironhand gnomes was accurate, should they be getting such high-calibre explosives? I shook my head. The gnomes needed me to get them out now. I can worry about Philomeen and her bomb fixation later.

"Deal" At my word, Philomeen filled a vial with runepowder and tossed it to me. I grabbed it carefully and looked back at her annoyed.

"Listen. You see Laridda at the dig? Tell her I'm dead. Impaled, half-eaten… I don't care- make up a story." Philomeen asked.

"I'm not your messenger, Mini-Unabomber. You want to break up with your girlfriend, grow a pair and do it yourself." I spat in dismissive annoyance before gesturing to Gale to get us back to the main hall.

When we arrived, I placed the runepowder on the rubble. I walked a distance away summoning fire before yelling, "Fire in the hole." The gnomes and Duergar scattered as I threw the fire at the vial. The rubble blasted away from the entrance with an impressive boom, and out of the dust and green fog ran four gnomes and a drow that towered over them.

Nere, like all drow was grey of skin, and had silver hair. His was long and draped over the collar of his long flowing black robes, which were accented by brown tassels and a fur shoulder lining. The symbol of the Absolute on his chest shimmered in the firelight as he stepped towards the cowering slaves that ran out with him.

"Worthless slaves. Your incompetence has been my ruin. Nere. Does. Not. Fail." Nere bellowed as he prepared a spell to smite the terrified gnome slaves.

Before either I or Nere could react, Gale had said a word and a red energy dispersed the power around Nere. Stopping the spell.

"No more innocents die today. You warped excuse for a caster!" Gale spat with a rage I had yet to witness.

Nere stared at us with an outraged confusion in his eyes. "You care for the weak True Soul. Most curious." Nere turned to me, "Kill this traitor. And earn my favour." He commanded.

In response, I used my considerable height and speed to sock the pompous bastard in the nose. Nere stumbled back, growling a curse through a bloody nose, "Sorry Slaty. But I already got some Underdark friends. The Myconid Sovereign wants payback for its children. And I reckon it's drow season" I said in my best Elmar Thud impression.

"Thrinn! Carve out this sun-blight's heart and serve it to the rothe!" Nere screamed.

"That's the cue, Greymon. Time to get your cut." I barked.

"Too right." Greymon sneered, directing his attention to the drow. "You owe my crew a tenday's worth o'coin, Nere. Time you shell it out." Greymon threatened pulling a sword from his waist.

"Direct your blade at the heretic, duergar. You shall have your coin." Nere said

"Your damn right I'll have it. Me and that one, we got a deal. We beat your arse and dig the dues out from your carcass." Greymon spat.

"Heretics! Let Nere be your end."

At Nere's command, the battle started. It was us and about six and Greymon's troops versus Nere, Sergeant Thrinn and six other Duergar. The fractured Duergar clashed with each other, swords and pickaxes clashing as the gnomes ran for a place to hide. I focused my attention on Nere blasting him with a gout of flame. But instead of burning him, he slashed the fire with his golden rapier and the flame was absorbed into the blade. Then Nere blinked out of sight, and I felt and burning slash on my back, the blow being absorbed by my duster. I turned to see Nere going for another slash, which I blocked with a staff.

"What! Too chicken to fight fair Twat-Soul." I mocked as I kicked Nere in the chest.

He stepped back but didn't fall as he spat, "Heretics like you don't deserve honourable engagement." Nere then blinked out again, coming for my side.

I expected it this time, so I met his flaming rapier with the fist of my right hand, force rings blasting. The blow knocked Nere on his ass and blasted his element-absorbing sword away.

"Funny. I was about to say something similar." I said as I pulled out my revolver and shot Nere in the chest, putting Nere down with a gurgling scream.

Before I could bask in my victory, I saw a now nine-foot-tall Thrinn charging at me and threw herself forward feet first. The sheer weirdness of the image was enough to throw me off balance and vulnerable to the dropkick. I went flying across the room, hitting my head on one of the pillars. My vision went blurry for a second, and then I saw Greymon and Karlach engage the magically enlarged dwarf.

Thrinn bashed the pair with an oversized warhammer. Greymon dodged the blows and slashed Thrinn with his sword. Karlach took the abuse on the arm, protected by her new armour and bellowed a raging challenge as she slammed the duergar with her axe. The combined efforts of the fighters would have been enough if a second, regular-sized duergar hadn't interfered. The hooded figure waved his hand and purple light shone over Karlach's head. Suddenly, Karlach began attacking Greymon. It was all the dwarf could do to avoid the tiefling's blows as he ducked and dodged the awe swings.

I tried to get up to help, but I was still woozy from the blow to the head. Thankfully, I didn't have to. A mighty squawk reverberated through the hall as a brown owlbear charged the hooded Duergar. Halsin grabbed the mind-meddler by the head with his beak and bit the man's head off. He then jumped at Thrinn and slammed her down to the ground, her oversized form an easier target for biting out the sergeant's throat. As Karlach got back to her senses she turned to Greymon and held her axe up above her head, a gesture of non-violence. Greymon got it and they quickly got back to the fight with the remaining Duergar.

The fight went fairly quickly after that, with Greymon's troops, assisted by Gale and Shadowheart, wiping the floor with the other Duergar. Shadowheart came to my side to heal my skull. "What is it with you and head injuries Dresden?" She asked wittily.

"Got a thick skull. Easy target." I quipped drunkenly. The bleariness faded as my head was healed and I got up to face Greymon, companions at my side.

Greymon was looting Nere's corpse and suddenly jumped in fright as the tadpole in Nere's head wriggled out. Nere stomped a heavy boot on the parasite, ending it with a wet squelch, "Sschindylran's shithouse. You weren't shittin'. Cock-stench had a wriggler in his skull. All the more reason to clear out."

"And our deal Duergar? Take your gold and go. The gnomes are free." I said staring daggers at the deep dwarf.

Greymon looked like he was about to say something but caught the eyes of Halsin, still in his owlbear form, and decided against it. He nodded his ascent and ordered his men out of the area, leaving the Ironhand gnomes alone.

"Beldron!" I heard Lunkbug shout in exaltation. I turned to see an older-looking gnome go up to him, "I was so worried! Did Nere hurt you?"

"No, no- I'm alright. Did the sergeant hurt you?" Beldron asked, equal amounts of joy and worry in his voice.

"Who cares? We're together now, thank Ironhand!" Lunkbug exclaimed embracing Beldron

"We ought to thank someone closer by, I think," Beldron said turning to me. "Gaerdal Ironhand you may not be, but you damn well fight like him." A hint of apprehension blossomed on the gnome's face as he asked, "I'm grateful, don't mistake me, but… why help us? You're one of them, aren't you?"

"Thulla. The gnome that escaped, put me on the trail. And killing slavers seemed like a fun way to let off some steam." I responded with a quick grin.

"Haha. I knew that girl was too stubborn to die." Beldron cheered.

"Hurry this along! We need to find Wulbren now." Barcus cut in.

"You're a little late, Barcus my lad. He's already been sent to Moonrise Towers." Beldron responded with a hint of condescension in his tone. He then turned the conversation back to me, "We were just slave hands to the cult, but not Wulbren. He… knows things. Things they want know too."

"What has he gotten himself mixed up in now…?" Barcus worried aloud.

"So, the cult wants their hands on runepowder. Mindflayer cult freaks with high explosives. Might as well give the red hair muppet a rocket launcher while we're at it." I quipped irritably

"How did you… well, you're a sharp one. Most believe it's a fairy tale. But Wulbren bloody found it- a small cache, buried down here with a manuscript. He'd just made sense of it when the cult jumped us, so he burned the damn thing. The only copy is in his head. If the Absolute manages to pull it out of him... they could flatten the whole Sword Coast." Beldron warned.

"Then… I guess we're staging another breakout. At this point, I'm gonna need to put, 'Captured gnomes rescued' on my business cards." I joked, but no one laughed.

"You'd do it, wouldn't you? But not us." Beldron said a combination of admiration and shame in his voice. "My people can barely stand. And we have business in the city."

"And just like that you'd leave Wulbren behind. I knew you lot were foolish, but I didn't know you were cruel." Barcus spat outraged.

"If you knew half as much as you think, my lad, Wulbren might have kept you around." Beldron shot back.

"Fighting won't get Wulbren out any quicker." I said directing mostly at Barcus, "I'm headed to Moonrise regardless. I'll get Wulbren out, those cult crazies can't get their hands on runepowder." I stated firmly.

"He'd admire your resolve. And your optimism. My people will find somewhere beyond the lake. Then to the city." Beldron said.

"We can guide you to a safe place. The Myconids gave Thulla shelter, and they'll be obliged to listen to me once I bring them Nere head." I offered.

"Thank you, you have been a godsend. We depart when you're ready." Beldron said.

I turned to the corpse of the drow, and then asked Karlach "A quick cut of drow skull if you don't mind butcher. Need a party favour for some Myconids."

She chuckled and lopped Nere's head off with expert skill. I cauterised the head stump to stop blood leakage and stuffed the head in our pack.

Walking back to the gnomes I noticed Barcus trying to subtly beckon me over to him, slightly undercut by the dirty looks he was getting from the other gnomes.

I walked up to him and Barcus said, "Well. You… did it! Suppose I shouldn't be surprised given our history. It would also seem that you are going after Wulbren. So, I'm going with you." Barcus insisted firmly.

"You sure that's a good idea. Considering…" I gestured to the general area, to illustrate the result of his last attempts at rescuing Wulbren

Barcus scoffed at me, "Yes. I'm aware my last attempts were… less than optimal. But I was alone then. With your help, we could break into the Towers and bust Wulbren from his cell without even ruffling the cult's nose hairs."

I began to make another protest when Barcus interrupted, "And besides. If you don't take me with you, I'm going on my own. So, if you're that concerned for my safety, I'd suggest making sure I don't get killed on the way there."

I sighed, "Fine. I'll take you to our camp after we drop the rest of your kin."

Barcus's eyes lit up. "Really! Oh thank…" Bracus took a moment to compose himself, "Thank you. We'll discuss how to get Wulbren out when we get there."

I got all the gnomes to gather around us and Gale teleported us back to the myconid camp.