When the group had left the area, Chuck stole forward to examine the dead creature. There were no identifying marks that he could discern, nor any jewelry to pocket. Whatever the two had disagreed on didn’t matter to him. This was just one less thing to worry about while attempting to free his friends. Better safe than sorry, he took the time to slit its throat, then wiped the blade off on its fur and continued on without another look.
The moon was full and high in the sky, bathing everything around him in a soft glow. His eyes, trained through years spent on rooftops and in alleyways, were able to see nearly as well at night as during the daytime. He had also learned through years of experience not to be cocky about what he thought others could or could not do. Chuck assumed that the monsters shared his ability to see in little light, and he acted accordingly. He maintained his distance so he could hear, and occasionally see, the back end of the group in front of him.
Again the leader barked out a growl and the group stopped. They did not drop the sacks this time, however, which piqued Chuck’s interest. He took the risk of getting closer, crouching behind one of the low shrubs dotting the landscape. At once he realized why the creatures hadn’t dropped his friends. They weren’t stopping to take a breather or to club each other to death. They had reached their destination. A tunnel was carved into a nearby hill, with flaming braziers on either side. Sentries flanked the tunnel as well, and the group’s leader strode directly up to one of them. The two exchanged a series of gestures, and then a roared command from the leader set the pack back in motion. They went into the tunnel and out of Chuck’s view. Within moments, all that remained were the tunnel entrance, the sentries, and the braziers.
The gears in the little man’s mind had begun to spin.
CHAPTER 16
One benefit of being kicked repeatedly is that the boots begin to tear holes in the bag you’ve been shoved into. At least, that’s how Jimmy looked at it as he peered out into the dim torchlight. Resilient as he was, he hadn’t lost consciousness from the blows he’d taken after talking to Allison—although, the ache in his head and jaw made him wish he were made of slightly less stern stuff.
The lair they’d been taken to seemed pretty standard by his estimation. There was a large central hall supported by pillars, and in addition to the entrance, there were at least two corridors leading away from it. It was into one of these they were being dragged, and as his head bounced down each step of a too-long descending staircase, he did his best not to whimper. Through one door, down a long corridor, and into a cell . . . it was almost funny how cliché it all was.
The only light in the prison wing was the torch carried by one of his jailers, but it was enough to see that one of the other sacks was tossed roughly through the cell door on the other side of the hall. Rough hands grabbed the sack he was in and yanked it off him. He remained limp, pretending unconsciousness, despite his head cracking once more against the floor. After a brief exchange of grunts, a blade slipped between his wrists and the thong binding his hands fell away. The cell door clanged shut. Footsteps receded and more grunting echoed down the hall before the outer door also closed.
Hoping there wasn’t anyone still watching, Jimmy rolled over and gave his wrists a quick massage to get the blood flowing. A torch burned outside the door, shedding meager light into the room through the barred window. With him in the cell lay Allison and Stu—two heaps in opposite corners. Both appeared to be breathing, though Stu looked to be in much worse shape. Maybe, he mused, Allison’s less harsh treatment meant chivalry wasn’t dead among the kobolds. Still, it wouldn’t save them once he got out of this cell. He felt his face turn warm in anger, and it took a few moments of deep breathing to control himself. There was no benefit in letting the bloodrage out now.
He crawled over to Stu first. Blood crusted his face and hands, though the bleeding seemed to have stopped. A quick inspection revealed that most of his upper body was intact but one of his legs was bent at an odd angle. When he probed it gently, Stu’s eyes flashed open and a moan escaped his lips.
“Owwwww! Don’t do that!” A hand swatted out, slapping Jimmy ineffectually.
“Easy there, Stu,” he soothed. “Just giving you a quick rundown. We appear to have arrived at our final destination.” He patted his friend on the shoulder.
“Errrg,” came the response, and Jimmy was once again reminded of how quickly he healed compared to the rest of the crew. On the one hand, it made it much easier for him to take charge and protect the weaker ones. On the other hand, he sometimes forgot that what would be a minor scratch to him could put someone else out of the fight completely.
“OK, hands off, completely,” he apologized.
“Why are we even alive? Not that I’m entirely sure I want to be.” A pause. “Where are the others?”
“As for the first, I don’t know. But we are, and so we’re going to get out of here. As for the second, Allison is snoozing over there. She looks to be in much better shape than you are—I think she healed herself a bit on the trip, but it took a lot out of her. We should let her sleep as much as possible to get her energy back. Someone else is across the hall—my guess is TJ. I was the last one standing, and I never saw Chuckles enter the fight. Hopefully he got away.”
“Hopefully he got eaten, is more like it,” Stu countered. “I didn’t get along super well with my brothers and sisters—too different, you know—but at least they always had my back.”
“I don’t think he woulda made much difference in that fight. I don’t know if anything coulda made much difference in that fight.”
Stu was unimpressed. “Yeah, well, he should have gone down with the rest of us.”
“Think of it this way. Maybe he’s out there right now, trying to find a way to come save us. He’s got quite a few tricks up his sleeve. I bet he’ll come through.”
“Hmpf.” With a grunt, Stu rolled over, ending the conversation.
“I sure hope you’re out there, little man,” Jimmy murmured to himself. “I’m not going to be able to save the day this time.”
CHAPTER 17
Just outside the tunnel, Chuck smiled. While others might have been daunted by the prospect of a lair that no doubt concealed many more of the kobolds than were in the raiding party, he wasn’t bothered. While others might have seen this as a trap waiting to spring on them, Chuck knew better. This was a puzzle, and puzzles have solutions. He had made a career of solving just these sorts of puzzles, first in the city where he was trained, and then in the wilds as a member of an adventuring company.
His first order of business was getting into the tunnel unseen. If the moon weren’t so bright he could have just sneaked around them, trusting his instincts to keep his footfalls silent. Even with the moon as bright as it was, he figured he had a fifty-fifty chance. Fifty-fifty was good enough when he knew he had backup available to bail him out of trouble if he failed. But it wasn’t near enough when he was the backup, and if he got caught they were all doomed. Doomed. The word triggered a memory in his head, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He shrugged.