“Damn you!” The older soldier threw himself forward, slashing again and again at the gargoyle. Blood dripping from several wounds, the monster at last retreated from his victim.
Mirko collapsed in Bakal’s free arm. The captain started to talk to him, only to see that the big man was already dead.
“Captain!” a soldier called from the shaft. “Come on!”
With one last cut at an approaching gargoyle, the officer leaped for the hole. He slid in just as one of the attackers nearly tore his shoulder off.
A gargoyle thrust his muzzle down the shaft, snapping. Bakal poked up with his sword and the muzzle vanished. Although many of the gargoyles were slightly smaller than humans, their wings prevented them from climbing down the narrow shaft. Yet, despite being unable to reach the men, several gargoyles nevertheless tried, hissing in frustration.
When finally the top of the shaft was a distant sight, Bakal spat some cobwebs from his mouth and called down, “Is there an end to this thing, or do we just fall out the bottom of the citadel to our deaths?”
“Just coming to what looks like a floor, sir.”
“Praise the gods …” The shaft had to have once been part of an escape route in case the castle was endangered. The captain hoped they would find a usable exit when they reached the end. He didn’t want to be trapped in here with only the smithy as a way out. Might as well cut his own throat then.
Bakal wondered if Tyros and Serene still lived. He had briefly seen them heading to the castle before he had begun to fall.
“Can’t worry about them now …” he muttered. He had his own mission.
The others waited for him at the bottom. Brushing his clothes, the scarred officer noticed that a dim light illuminated the musty corridor for several yards. Looking around, Bakal noticed some emerald crystals in the wall.
“The crystals started glowing when I reached bottom, sir,” the first man down the shaft informed him. “They seem to be part of the original design.”
“I thought this place was built by a Solamnic Knight,” said another. “Solamnics hate magic.”
“Only what wasn’t their own,” Captain Bakal replied, inspecting one of the crystals. They felt slightly warm to the touch. “The Knights of the Rose and some others are supposed to know a few spells, although I think they’re more like clerics than mages. Doesn’t matter. At least we have some light. Rapp?”
Rapp stood by the shaft, staring up. The expression on the small figure’s face looked out of place on one of his kind.
Captain Bakal cautiously put a hand on the kender’s shoulder. “The griffons will be okay for now. We’ll rescue them when we can.”
“Sharpclaw’s dead,” the kender whispered. “He was Taggi’s favorite brother. The lightning got him. I don’t want to lose the rest of them, Bakal!”
“You won’t, but we’ve got to keep going if you want to give them any hope, boy! Now, you did a great job up there, but I need you up front with me to look for a way out. Are you up to it?”
Rapp immediately brightened. “I can do it, Bakal! I’ll find a way out so that we can rescue the griffons, Tyros, and Serene!”
Not knowing if the last two were already dead, the captain did not contradict his small companion. “Fine. Let’s go, then.”
The corridor, at the beginning no wider than two men side by side, grew narrower as they left the vicinity of the shaft. Fortunately the crystals in the wall continued to light up, giving them some comfort. However, there were no side corridors nor any rooms. Bakal wondered if they had entered a trap, yet as the minutes passed, nothing confronted them.
“Just how far can this thing go?” someone finally asked. “Are we going to walk the entire width of the castle?”
It seemed that way. Bakal was just about to call for a short rest when Rapp suddenly darted ahead.
“There’s another corridor ahead!” the kender called. “It cuts right across this one!”
Catching up, Captain Bakal studied the intersection. The paths left and right looked identical to the one they were already on. He took a few steps into each and saw that the same crystals illuminated them.
Despite the urge to change direction, the officer could think of no good reason to abandon their present course. If it seemed that they were going nowhere, the party could always turn around.
“We’ll go straight,” he informed the others. “At least for now.”
They continued on, and as the minutes passed, Captain Bakal began to regret his decision. The intersection they had left behind had so far been the only one. Ahead of them, the crystals continued to come to life, but all they revealed was more of the same monotonous view. Surely, Bakal thought, there had to be an end to this place.
Soon they noticed that the path ahead remained dark. Bakal paused, thinking perhaps that the crystals here simply reacted more slowly. Yet when still nothing happened after a few moments, the officer decided to check the nearest wall.
There were no crystals, at least as far as he could tell. Perhaps beyond, but definitely not within reach.
Bakal peered into the gloom but could see nothing. He glanced back at the others. “Wait here a moment, all of you. That goes for you, too, Rapp.”
Sword ready, the captain took a few tentative steps into the darkness. With his free hand, he reached for the other wall, seeking the crystals there. However, that wall, too, proved bare.
“You all right, Captain?” someone called.
“So far. Looks like we’ll have to go back, though. I’ll just go a few steps more, but if I don’t find anything-”
Bakal heard a slight click as his foot came down.
“Damn!” A trap!
He turned to warn the others to stay back, hoping at least to save their lives … and found himself staring at total darkness. The illumination behind him had completely vanished.
Voices rose. “What happened?”
“Captain, are you all right?”
“Be still, all of you,” the officer commanded. “I’m coming back.”
Feeling his way along, Captain Bakal made his way toward the others. He nearly bumped into Rapp, only missing because of the kender’s sudden giggle.
“You did really good, Bakal!”
“Can you see me?”
“Just an outline, and not until you were close.”
“Pity.” He had hoped the kender’s eyes would be better. No sense, then, putting Rapp up front. “All right, listen up. We’ll head back to the other corridor, then follow it from there. Who’s in front?”
“Garon, Captain!” called a gruff voice.
“Take the lead, Garon, but use caution all the way.”
“Aye, Captain.”
Garon was a good man. Bakal breathed a little easier. “The rest of you, keep one hand on the right-hand wall and don’t get too far from the man in front of you.”
Weapons held carefully, they backtracked. Despite having earlier lit their way, the crystals now stayed dormant. Bakal’s eyes grew more accustomed to the dark, but still he couldn’t make out much of anything, even Rapp right in front of him.
Frustrated, he called out, “Anything yet, Garon?”
“It’s still as black as pitch, Captain,” the lead soldier called. “I can’t see any sign of the split up-”
There was a sudden hiss. Garon’s reply cut off with a brief choking sound.
“What is it?” Bakal roared. “What’s happened?”
“Garon” a voice gasped. “Captain … I think Garon’s dead!”
“Let me through!” Bakal made his way to the front, fearing with each step that he would walk into whatever had slain yet another of his soldiers.
He put his hand out, trying to find the fallen body. Instead, he collided with it. Garon still stood. Cursing under his breath, Bakal felt around the corpse’s waist, then the shoulders, at last touching Garon’s throat.
A metal shaft had pierced the soldier’s neck, passing through one side and out the other.
The shaft extended nearly all the way across the corridor, the needlelike point of the death trap not more than an inch from the opposing wall. The captain’s hand came away damp with blood.