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.A thousand times or more he'd imagined how the moment would feel; none was remotely accurate.Seven goblins, including Sheemzher and Outhzin, accompanied Dru into the entry chamber.Rozt'a hadn't been listening when Sheemzher came out of the headquarters, or she'd misunderstood what he'd said."Where is everyone?" she asked."We need the whole tribe, the women and children, too, if we're going to distract the alhoon with a sentience shield," she explained."Later.People here convince Ghistpok.Ghistpok convince all people.Get scroll after feast.""Wonderful," Rozt'a replied."You agreed to this, Dru?""It's the best Sheemzher could do.""Wonderful," she repeated and fingered her sword.They left sunlight behind.With their keen noses and heat-sensitive eyes, the goblins didn't need light to find their way through the mines, but they didn't object to Dru's light spell when he let the freshly cast spell drift above them.Light revealed aspects of Dekanter that scent and heat could never detect.The dwarves hadn't stopped their carving at the entry portals.The walls and high ceilings of several chambers of the mines were covered with inscriptions, portraits, and scenes from forgotten epics, many of them painted.One goblin, on seeing a remarkable likeness of a red dragon that incorporated the natural contours of the rock beneath its paint, dropped his spear and raced back to the light."Wait until they see the Beast Lord," Rozt'a mused bitterly.For the moment, the Beast Lord was the least of their problems.Last night's torrential rains had penetrated the mines.Sheemzher complained that the smells were different—fainter—than they had been, but more worrisome were the puddles and the water seeping through the walls.Dru knelt and examined a damp line a handspan above the floor."This tunnel flooded last night," he decided."We had more water pooled around our feet in the rocks," Tiep joked."And that water's still flowing through this mountain," Dru countered, then added, "We're out of our minds.Only fools would walk into a mountain after a rain."Rozt'a was unimpressed."Then we're fools.The Beast Lord lives in this mountain and so do its slaves.If they can survive, so can we."The passages were unfamiliar at first, but soon enough Druhallen recognized intersections by their Dethek runes.He began to relax about water and worry, instead, that they might encounter a beefed-up swordswinger patrol.Dru listened for voices, boots, and the clank of metal; what he heard was different."There's water ahead, Sheemzher," he told the goblin."A lot of water.""Much water, good sir," Sheemzher agreed."No danger.Egg smell strong."Perhaps it was.Dru had stood in front of the athanor without noticing any scent emanating from it, but before they'd gone a hundred feet into the next tunnel even a human nose was aware of a damp, stony tang in the air and the breeze that carried it toward them.They followed the wind to the next intersection.Sheemzher forged straight ahead."This way before, good sir," he said when Dru hesitated."This way now, yes?"The goblin was retracing their steps, but he was also leading them toward water.Against his better judgment, Dru let himself be led down a corridor past the point where damp became wet.Yesterday, he'd nearly succumbed to panic when he'd felt the mountain bearing down on him.Today, knowing there was a storm's worth of water working its way through the tangled passages, the pressure was worse.Druhallen knew there was danger and knew no way to avoid it, except by leaving the mines."We've got to turn around," he announced."There's no telling where the water's been or where it's going.This tunnel could flood in an instant."They argued with him, Rozt'a and Tiep included, until water seeped through the seams of their boots and covered their toes.Backtracking to the previous intersection, Sheemzher declared that he'd made a mistake—"Egg smell strongest this way!" He pointed down the right-side path, a down-sloping path where the stone was dry and the air was still."Come.Come, good sir," Sheemzher tugged on Druhallen's sleeve."Be brave, good sir.Trust Sheemzher.Sheemzher follow nose now, not memory."Dru backed away and found himself face-to-face with Rozt'a."What have we got to lose?" she challenged."Maybe the water's already drowned the alhoon."He returned the challenge."Can you drown the undead?"He followed her down a corridor that ended over a seemingly dry hole in the floor [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]