Regdar lay motionless on his back with a large wound across his chest. Even though his arms were flung straight out to his sides, he had managed to keep a grip on his greatsword.
Whitman knelt beside him.
Clemf rubbed his hand over his face. "Is he alive?"
Whitman put his hand to Regdar's throat. The dwarf cocked his head to the side, almost as if he were listening for something.
"Well?" asked Tasca.
Whitman remained quiet for a long moment.
Tasca kicked the dwarf in the back. "Hey, you little oaf, I asked you a question. Did that fire burn out your tongue along with your beard?"
"No," replied Whitman.
Clemf's sword clattered to the ground.
For the second time since they had opened the door to this room, Tasca felt his heart miss a beat. He lowered his head.
"No," repeated Whitman, "he's not 'well'. Give me a potion."
A thrill ran down Tasca's spine. Dropping everything, the elf flung his pack from his back and dug frantically inside for a healing potion. Flasks clanked together as he fished around. Pulling out a vial, the elf shoved it at the dwarf.
Whitman uncorked the bottle, cradled up Regdar's head from the floor, and poured the magical liquid down his throat. Halfway through the bottle, the human fighter coughed and gagged. His arms came to life, flailing around like a drowning sailor's. Whitman pulled back, keeping the rest of the potion in the bottle, as Regdar gasped for air.
Clemf picked up his sword, then walked over next to Whitman. He leaned down, putting his face right next to the dwarf's.
"I don't claim to understand the little games you and the elf play," he said. "Sometimes the two of you even amuse me with your constant bickering." He leaned in even closer, his nose touching Whitman's. "But if you ever again joke like that about someone dying, I'll cut your beard off-and maybe I'll leave it attached to your face."
Whitman swallowed hard but remained silent.
Tasca held his breath, not quite sure what to make of the exchange.
"So we understand each other?" asked Clemf.
Whitman raised his eyebrows and nodded.
"Good." Clemf leaned back, slapped the dwarf on the shoulder, and broke out laughing.
Tasca sighed and chuckled. "For a quiet guy, you're pretty funny."
Clemf smiled. "You think so?"
"Yeah," interjected Whitman, "a real riot."
Regdar woke up coughing.
Whitman stood over him with an uncorked vial in his hand. Clemf stood over the dwarf, saying something into his face.
Regdar gagged and gulped for air. The other three were laughing.
"Oh," said Regdar between gasps, "so when I die, it's funny?"
Whitman shook his head and handed Regdar the half-full flask. "I'm going to poke around." The dwarf left the room, headed back down the corridor.
Regdar downed the rest of the healing potion, then fished in his pack for another one.
Tasca picked up the torch and scanned the walls. "It's possible they teleported out of here so that we'd just come to a dead end. This is the last openly accessible room on this level."
Clemf agreed. "Even if we do find a hidden stairway or a secret door, this whole thing is probably some elaborate trap." He walked up and helped Regdar get back to his feet. "Besides, pardon me for being honest, but your woman didn't exactly seem thrilled to see you."
Regdar gritted his teeth and glared at Clemf. "That wasn't Naull." His expression softened. "It looked like Naull, but it must have been an illusion or a doppelganger or… or I don't know what, but it wasn't Naull."
"Okay. All right." Clemf held up his hands in front of him, showing his palms to Regdar in a sign of nonaggression. "Just calm down and think about this for a minute. If it wasn't Naull, then what are we doing here?"
"If you hadn't noticed," replied Regdar, feeling rather indignant, "the black-armored men we fought in the entry hall were outfitted and uniformed exactly like the ones who attacked the duke's keep."
"Really?" said Clemf. "I thought black was just a fashionable color for evil minions, whatever the season." The tattooed man shook his head. "Didn't we cover this before?"
Regdar ignored the jibe. "It's likely that blackguard, Lindroos, is the person behind the attack at the keep. She's certainly in charge of the soldiers here, and if they're all on the same side, then by staying here and defeating them we're defending New Koratia." He straightened himself up. "Besides, Naull or not, that blackguard is the last person I saw alive with her, so she knows what happened." He looked Clemf right in the eye. "I intend to find out the truth."
Tasca finished searching and returned to the other two. "Personally, Regdar, you know I'm always up for a fight" He shrugged. "But in this case, I've got to side with Clemf. If the blackguard is behind the attack on the duke's keep, and if there's more to her plan, then we should go back and alert the duke." He looked Regdar in the eye. "We can come back with the rest of the army"
Regdar put his hands to his temples, massaging the wrinkles in his forehead. "We can't go back," he said.
Clemf laughed. "Of course we can go back. It's just a few days walk…"
Regdar shook his head.
Tasca narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, 'we can't go back'?"
Regdar threw his hands in the air. "We can't go back, okay!" he shouted. He turned around and began pacing. "The duke, he…"
"The duke what?" Clemf took a step forward, his fists clenched.
Regdar looked at him and shrugged. "The duke…the duke told me I couldn't leave. He never gave his permission. In fact, he said that if I came out here looking for Naull, then I could never return to New Koratia." His eyes shifted from Clemf to Tasca and back again. "I resigned my commission."
Clemf took another step forward. "You told us we had the duke's blessing." He grabbed Regdar by the collar. "We came out here with you as a favor, risked our lives for you, and you lied to us!" The tattooed human shook the big fighter, nearly lifting him off his feet. Clemf's face turned red, and spittle flew from the corners of his lips. "The duke thinks we abandoned our posts, Regdar." He shook the big fighter again, spraying saliva in his face as he talked. "Our careers as soldiers are over." Regdar's armor clattered louder as Clemf became more violent. "We left our homes, and now we can't even go back-and for what? To chase a dead woman!" Clemf's lips curled up in a sneer, and he thrust Regdar backward, pushing him hard to the ground. "You lying-" Clemf fished around for the right words. "We trusted you with our lives." He took a menacing step forward.
Tasca stepped up and put his hand on the man's tattooed arm, but Clemf pulled away, continuing to menace the fallen fighter.
Regdar just looked up from the ground, not bothering to even try to get up.
"You're right," said Regdar. "You're right."
Clemf pulled his fist back, winding up to punch Regdar in the face.
"As much as I'd like to do that myself," said Whitman, now leaning in the doorway, "there's not much we can do about it now. The only way we'll ever get back into New Koratia and clear our good names with the duke is if we stop this blackguard before she completes whatever wicked scheme she's concocted." He pushed off the door, hefting his hammer onto his shoulder. "If we bring Duke Ramas her head on a pike, he'll let us back in." The dwarf turned and headed back down the passage. "Come on," he said over his shoulder. "I found a stairway."
11
Regdar got up from the ground and dusted himself off. He headed out the door, avoiding Clemf's stare.