A sudden flash of memory hit him, and he grinned sheepishly. He lifted the medallion up over his head and tucked it in his belt. “Can you hear me now?”
Allison threw her arms around him with a cry.
CHAPTER 21
“You’ve been following us the whole time? We thought you’d ditched us,” Stu commented drily.
“Well, the thought certainly crossed my mind, but I guess I’m a better team player than we all thought.” He added with a wink and a grin, “Who knew, huh?”
After he had established his identity, Chuck handed Stu the new bow and returned Jimmy’s dagger to him. Jimmy looked at it questioningly, but as soon as the hilt was in his hand, the blade extended to become the giant two-handed sword he was used to.
“Wow! I didn’t know it could do that!” He squinted at it a moment and the blade shrank down to a wide sword about two feet long. “Look! A gladius! I’m all Roman!”
“Yeah, well, let’s not get too excited. I still have to get you all out of here. And keep your voices down. I don’t think this amulet will mask all of our sounds, only whoever’s wearing it.” Chuck’s smile belied his pessimistic statement. It looked like the rescue might work out after all.
Chuck crossed the hall to unlock TJ’s cell, calling out to him softly to make sure he knew he was being rescued. As he had expected, the mage’s arms were shackled behind him and his mouth was gagged. He pulled the rag out of TJ’s mouth, and his friend took a couple deep breaths, working his jaw open and closed a few times. Neither key worked in the shackles, but the lock was simple enough that Chuck picked it in seconds. The two rejoined the others in their cell.
Chuck gave them a brief description of how he’d gotten to this point, leaving out details that he didn’t think necessary, like that whole poison dart thing. Certain secrets were secrets for a reason. “How are you guys feeling? Do you have any fight left in you, or do we need to do the dodging thing?”
Allison was the first to speak. “I’m out of magic. I used all the healing ability I had keeping these two guys from bleeding out on us. Luckily, TJ didn’t take as bad a beating, because I wasn’t able to get my hands on him at all. Physically, though, other than a headache, I’m not feeling so bad. I could go a few rounds if I had to.”
Chuck nodded and looked at TJ, who said, “I’ve still got quite a few spells left, actually, but I lost my reagent pouch somewhere along the way, so I can’t cast most of them. None of the materials are particularly rare, and I should be able to restock quickly once we get out of here, but in the meantime a lot of my magic will fizzle.” He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. “But considering how useless the fireballs were against these guys in the forest, that’s not really a huge loss. What I do have are some magic missiles, though, and those seemed to work pretty well the first time. Until we got overwhelmed, of course.”
Stu had been testing the draw of the bow Chuck had brought him. “I can draw this, no trouble. I’m pretty sure I broke a couple ribs back there, but Allison fixed them for me a few minutes ago—they’re still a little tender, but I’m good.”
Jimmy grunted agreement. “Yeah, I could fight if I had to. In fact, I’d kinda like it, if you don’t mind. They caught us by surprise and overwhelmed us with numbers. Toe-to-toe, however, I’d be able to whoop any ten of them at once.” He stated it without bravado, and everyone believed him.
Chuck looked again to TJ, who had been the de facto leader until they’d gotten captured.
TJ looked back at him and said, “Hey, you know the way out. I’m not going to get in your way.”
The rogue heaved a sigh of resignation. He shrugged and motioned them back down the hallway. He could always turn the reins back over to the wizard once they got out of here.
About halfway down the hallway, they heard a small voice call out: “Wait. Take me with you.” The five pulled up short, and Stu quickly drew an arrow back to his cheek. Cautiously, Chuck approached the door from which the voice had come, careful to leave the archer a line of sight in case he had to fire. He looked through the bars of the door and saw a small humanoid shape standing in the middle of the cell.
“Who are you?” Chuck whispered.
“Eggelbert, I am, of the Stone Mountain goblins. Captured I was. Eat me they will. Please take me with you? Slow you down I won’t. I promise. Get out of here I want. Yes?”
Chuck looked back to his friends in the dim light. If it were up to him, he knew what the choice would be. Turn around, never look back, and forget all about the little goblin in the cage. But the looks on their faces said he was going to be overruled on this one. Though he didn’t know Stu particularly well, he knew that the other three were much less mercenary in outlook than he was. Further, they had just been guests of the dungeons themselves, so they were more likely to feel camaraderie with the creature.
“OK. Give me a second.” He fiddled with the key in the lock and unbolted the door, wincing at the slight grinding noise. He had gotten used to the amulet concealing sounds, and that complacency would get him dead. None of the others seemed concerned about the noise, but he knew all too well how the smallest slipup could ruin a job. He cracked the door open to reveal the diminutive figure of Eggelbert. Chuck leaned in and said loud enough for just the goblin to hear, “If you betray us, I will make you regret being born.”
The prisoner swallowed loudly and gave a nod. “Believe you I do.” Chuck opened the door the rest of the way, allowing the goblin to come out. He then motioned for everyone to follow him back toward the sleeping guard.
He put his fingers to his lips and pointed at the cell that held the kobold. The six crouched down to pass beneath the bars on the door, and they reached the exit without incident. Before opening the door, Chuck slipped the amulet over his head. TJ raised an eyebrow but held his tongue. Chuck peeked through the door, and the string of curses that came out of his mouth made him glad he had put the amulet back on. The chair where the guard had been snoozing was empty.
“What I wouldn’t give for a sewer chute right now,” he mumbled. He turned, taking the amulet back off, and said, “Well, Jimmy, I think you might get your wish. We’re gonna have company waiting for us when we go up the stairs. Everyone get ready.”
Jimmy held his sword out in front of him, and Stu nocked an arrow. Allison, weaponless, took the torch from its sconce and snuffed it under her boot. It wasn’t as good as her mace, but it was much better than her bare hands. TJ nodded wearily and reached toward his belt, forgetting his pouch had gone missing. He let out a sigh and shrugged. No one noticed the look of determination in Eggelbert’s eyes.
Chuck said, “OK, let’s take it slowly. Maybe we’ll be lucky and he just went to find the bathroom. Do kobolds even use bathrooms?” His question was met with blank stares, and they crept up the stairs.
Chuck peeked his head around the last bend with the rest of the group close behind. Stu crouched directly behind him, an arrow drawn. Jimmy, rather than playing rear guard the way he had done during their march, came next so that he could move in front of whom he referred to as the “squishier” members of the group. TJ, Allison, and the goblin were last. Chuck was concerned that the goblin didn’t have anyone keeping an eye on him, but that was the least of their worries at this point.
He let out a sigh of relief as tension flooded out of his body. There was no welcoming party waiting for them to emerge from the tunnel. Maybe it would end up being as easy as he’d hoped. He put his hand up to tell the others to stay put and crept forward inch by inch, slowly expanding his view of the main hall. He got just to the edge of the torchlight leaking in and still didn’t see anything. He motioned his friends forward, then pointed to the left.