Lazybones
Adventurer
Chapter 22
A PROMISE BROKEN
Dar grunted and braced his arms against the packed earth of the shaft. After the initial fifteen yards or so of ascent, which had been steep enough, the rising tunnel had become nearly vertical. Dar was a decent climber, but he was tired, the gear he carried was dragging him down, and the tight confines of the tunnel were not giving him much space to maneuver. That could be an advantage; he’d already avoided falling twice by the simple expedient of thrusting his arms and legs out to grip the sides of the shaft.
The slight gusts of fresh air that wafted down from above gave him added strength, however, and cemented his determination to win free of the confines of Rappan Athuk. He had no idea if it was night or day, above; the shaft twisted and turned enough that he probably wouldn’t know until he rounded the last bend. Or maybe the shaft opened onto a cave; probably occupied by a nest of fierce monsters, given his recent luck.
Dar grinned and adjusted his sword. He would welcome such a fight, as long as there was light at the end of the tunnel.
His foot landed on a seemingly solid clod that disintegrated as soon as he put his weight upon it. Instinctively he thrust his arms out again, but this time, the packed earth gave way at his touch, and he couldn’t stop himself from sliding downward. The slide became a fall, clods of dirt exploding around him as his armored torso shot down the shaft. It was all he could do to protect his face; he couldn’t even turn over onto his back.
Tiros and Varo dodged back as he shot out of the tunnel mouth, and rolled to a stop, coughing and covered in dirt.
“Are you all right?” the cleric asked.
Dar didn’t answer, pulling himself up—grimacing as the motion pulled something already strained in his back—and turned back to the tunnel.
“Give it up,” Tiros said. “You’ve already fallen twice, and you’re going to break your neck.”
“I am getting out of here,” Dar said, in a tone that brooked no disagreement.
“Without the rope that Ukas was carrying, it’s too difficult,” Tiros said, his own voice thick with weariness. Even if you do get out, what about the rest of us? And what about the extra gear? Even leaving your pack with us, you couldn’t do it, Dar. And the wilderness around Rappan Athuk is not a friendly region by any measure.”
“I was getting close, I could feel it,” Dar said. “If we stay here, we’re dead. You know that as well as I.”
“Perhaps I can help,” Varo said. “Given another chance to rest and recover spells, I could summon a small elemental that could help make the ascent more manageable. Set footholds, the like. It wouldn’t be here for very long, but it could help.”
Dar nodded. “At least somebody agrees with me. You might want to stick around and loot this place, marshal, but I’ve had enough, treasure or no.”
Tiros did not respond, but he looked troubled.
They made their way back to the ogres’ chambers. Varo suggested that they might want to check the doors they’d seen back in the outer corridor, but Dar refused.
“Why push our luck? The last few times we’ve opened doors, we haven’t had much success, have we? I say we turtle in here again, let you get your spells back, so you can call your mental friend, and then we get the hell out of this dump.”
It took all three of them working together, but they got the dead ogre’s corpse in front of the door leading to the outer passage. With that doorstop in place, they retreated to the inner room. The place was almost too foul to abide, but after they dragged most of the rancid furs out of the room, they could just stand it.
“I’d sleep in crap if it meant getting out of here,” Dar said. Now that the promise of escape had coalesced into a concrete plan, he seemed to be in a much better mood. He even offered to take the first watch. Despite that fact that they had last slept just a few hours before, Tiros and Varo were out again within moments.
Varo woke once more to a darkened room. He could sense Dar a short distance away. “Any trouble?” he asked.
For a moment, there was only silence, and the cleric wondered if the fighter had fallen asleep. “No trouble,” Dar finally said. “Quiet as the grave.”
The cleric touched his divine focus, and summoned a globe of soft light that filled the room. Tiros lay nearby. Dar was sitting against the wall, looking a bit haggard.
“You were up all night?”
“Night, day, what does it matter, in this place. I’ll get my fill of sleep when we get out of here.”
“It will take some time for me to pray for my spells,” Varo said. “Get some sleep.”
Dar nodded. He took out his bottle, and took a long draught from it. He didn’t bother to take off his chain shirt, but merely slumped down, and was snoring gently within a few moments.
Varo waited for a few minutes, and then went to the door. Careful not to make any noise, he opened it and went out into the outer room. The dead ogre was starting to reek of decay, but Varo paid the stench no heed. Sinking into a kneeling position, the cleric abased himself before his god, calling upon the divine potency of Dagos to infuse him with power.
It took the better part of an hour, but the deity answered his call.
Varo rose and walked over to the tunnel entrance. The light spell had expired, so he paused to summon another one, fixing the radiance to upon the end of his mace. Without his gear or armor, it took only a few seconds to make his way through the passage, into the room of packed dirt. He paused to pick up a clod of black earth, one of those dislodged by Dar’s earlier efforts to climb the shaft to the sunlit world above.
For a moment, Varo regarded the dark opening pensively. Then he began to cast a spell. The words of power seemed to swell within him, demanding to be shouted at the world with all his might, but he was used to resisting that temptation, and the sounds made barely a whisper as he completed the complex incantation.
There was a momentary pause, a gathering of power, and then a cloud of mist coalesced before him, dissolving to reveal a truly massive badger with silver fur. The creature, almost six feet long, regarded him coldly.
“I know you do not appreciate being summoned by one such as I, creature, but I require a simple service of you.”
The badger merely looked at him.
Varo pointed toward the tunnel mouth. He held up his hand, the one holding the clod, and crushed it in his fingers, letting the dirt sift between them to the ground below. Then he said something to it, soft words in a lilting, sing-song that may or may not have been a comprehensible language.
The dire badger turned, and proceeded into the tunnel. It barely fit inside the opening, but its strong claws pulled it inside, and soon it was gone from view.
Varo didn’t wait around. He crossed back to the exit, and returned to the rooms where the others slept.
A PROMISE BROKEN
Dar grunted and braced his arms against the packed earth of the shaft. After the initial fifteen yards or so of ascent, which had been steep enough, the rising tunnel had become nearly vertical. Dar was a decent climber, but he was tired, the gear he carried was dragging him down, and the tight confines of the tunnel were not giving him much space to maneuver. That could be an advantage; he’d already avoided falling twice by the simple expedient of thrusting his arms and legs out to grip the sides of the shaft.
The slight gusts of fresh air that wafted down from above gave him added strength, however, and cemented his determination to win free of the confines of Rappan Athuk. He had no idea if it was night or day, above; the shaft twisted and turned enough that he probably wouldn’t know until he rounded the last bend. Or maybe the shaft opened onto a cave; probably occupied by a nest of fierce monsters, given his recent luck.
Dar grinned and adjusted his sword. He would welcome such a fight, as long as there was light at the end of the tunnel.
His foot landed on a seemingly solid clod that disintegrated as soon as he put his weight upon it. Instinctively he thrust his arms out again, but this time, the packed earth gave way at his touch, and he couldn’t stop himself from sliding downward. The slide became a fall, clods of dirt exploding around him as his armored torso shot down the shaft. It was all he could do to protect his face; he couldn’t even turn over onto his back.
Tiros and Varo dodged back as he shot out of the tunnel mouth, and rolled to a stop, coughing and covered in dirt.
“Are you all right?” the cleric asked.
Dar didn’t answer, pulling himself up—grimacing as the motion pulled something already strained in his back—and turned back to the tunnel.
“Give it up,” Tiros said. “You’ve already fallen twice, and you’re going to break your neck.”
“I am getting out of here,” Dar said, in a tone that brooked no disagreement.
“Without the rope that Ukas was carrying, it’s too difficult,” Tiros said, his own voice thick with weariness. Even if you do get out, what about the rest of us? And what about the extra gear? Even leaving your pack with us, you couldn’t do it, Dar. And the wilderness around Rappan Athuk is not a friendly region by any measure.”
“I was getting close, I could feel it,” Dar said. “If we stay here, we’re dead. You know that as well as I.”
“Perhaps I can help,” Varo said. “Given another chance to rest and recover spells, I could summon a small elemental that could help make the ascent more manageable. Set footholds, the like. It wouldn’t be here for very long, but it could help.”
Dar nodded. “At least somebody agrees with me. You might want to stick around and loot this place, marshal, but I’ve had enough, treasure or no.”
Tiros did not respond, but he looked troubled.
They made their way back to the ogres’ chambers. Varo suggested that they might want to check the doors they’d seen back in the outer corridor, but Dar refused.
“Why push our luck? The last few times we’ve opened doors, we haven’t had much success, have we? I say we turtle in here again, let you get your spells back, so you can call your mental friend, and then we get the hell out of this dump.”
It took all three of them working together, but they got the dead ogre’s corpse in front of the door leading to the outer passage. With that doorstop in place, they retreated to the inner room. The place was almost too foul to abide, but after they dragged most of the rancid furs out of the room, they could just stand it.
“I’d sleep in crap if it meant getting out of here,” Dar said. Now that the promise of escape had coalesced into a concrete plan, he seemed to be in a much better mood. He even offered to take the first watch. Despite that fact that they had last slept just a few hours before, Tiros and Varo were out again within moments.
Varo woke once more to a darkened room. He could sense Dar a short distance away. “Any trouble?” he asked.
For a moment, there was only silence, and the cleric wondered if the fighter had fallen asleep. “No trouble,” Dar finally said. “Quiet as the grave.”
The cleric touched his divine focus, and summoned a globe of soft light that filled the room. Tiros lay nearby. Dar was sitting against the wall, looking a bit haggard.
“You were up all night?”
“Night, day, what does it matter, in this place. I’ll get my fill of sleep when we get out of here.”
“It will take some time for me to pray for my spells,” Varo said. “Get some sleep.”
Dar nodded. He took out his bottle, and took a long draught from it. He didn’t bother to take off his chain shirt, but merely slumped down, and was snoring gently within a few moments.
Varo waited for a few minutes, and then went to the door. Careful not to make any noise, he opened it and went out into the outer room. The dead ogre was starting to reek of decay, but Varo paid the stench no heed. Sinking into a kneeling position, the cleric abased himself before his god, calling upon the divine potency of Dagos to infuse him with power.
It took the better part of an hour, but the deity answered his call.
Varo rose and walked over to the tunnel entrance. The light spell had expired, so he paused to summon another one, fixing the radiance to upon the end of his mace. Without his gear or armor, it took only a few seconds to make his way through the passage, into the room of packed dirt. He paused to pick up a clod of black earth, one of those dislodged by Dar’s earlier efforts to climb the shaft to the sunlit world above.
For a moment, Varo regarded the dark opening pensively. Then he began to cast a spell. The words of power seemed to swell within him, demanding to be shouted at the world with all his might, but he was used to resisting that temptation, and the sounds made barely a whisper as he completed the complex incantation.
There was a momentary pause, a gathering of power, and then a cloud of mist coalesced before him, dissolving to reveal a truly massive badger with silver fur. The creature, almost six feet long, regarded him coldly.
“I know you do not appreciate being summoned by one such as I, creature, but I require a simple service of you.”
The badger merely looked at him.
Varo pointed toward the tunnel mouth. He held up his hand, the one holding the clod, and crushed it in his fingers, letting the dirt sift between them to the ground below. Then he said something to it, soft words in a lilting, sing-song that may or may not have been a comprehensible language.
The dire badger turned, and proceeded into the tunnel. It barely fit inside the opening, but its strong claws pulled it inside, and soon it was gone from view.
Varo didn’t wait around. He crossed back to the exit, and returned to the rooms where the others slept.
