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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 4005713" data-attributes="member: 143">Thanks for all the posts; I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story.* * * * * Chapter 340QUESTIONS OF LOYALTYThe first stretch of the tunnel under the mountain was the worst.  There had to be some sort of crevice or other drain that allowed most of the water to seep away, or the entire route would have been flooded.  But the first thirty feet of the passage beyond the broken black slab had still been inundated to within a few scant feet of the low ceiling, and in two places they had to duck under low overhangs that had left only a scant few inches of air between the water and the rock.  The vampires, of course, had no difficulty; they no longer had the burden of breathing.  But the companions pressed forward, and after that initial stretch, the tunnel began to ascend gradually.  The bare black rock remained slick with moisture, and slime soiled their clothes when they brushed against it, but at least they could see clearly and move easily.  The ascent grew steeper but still manageable even with the slipperiness of the floor, and they soon saw a large chamber open up ahead.  The place turned out to be another irregular chamber, with smooth black walls that rose up to a rounded ceiling some twenty feet above.  It rapidly widened beyond the range of their lights, and bent around to the right, extending for a considerable distance from the way their bootsteps returned hollowly from ahead.  Shay set out unbidden along the left wall, while Drudge and Hedder moved out to the right at a gesture from Talen.  The others moved forward out of the entry, spreading out to give them room to maneuver.  The vampire Needles, close behind Letellia throughout their trip through the tunnel, jostled her as he bounded forward into the chamber.  The sorceress glanced back at the creature with disgust. “Tell your spawn to keep its distance,” she said to Talen. “Do not take his attentions personally,” Talen said.  “In life, he had a preference for stabbing young women with those little knives he carries.”“Sharp little needles,” the bandit cackled.  But he withdrew as Allera stepped up next to the sorceress, and lifted a hand that flared briefly with blue energy. “Needles, go with Carra and keep Shay company,” Talen commanded.  The vampires moved to obey, swallowed up by the darkness as soon as they left the radius of their torchlight. “Your control over your minions seems to be growing tenuous,” Dar said.  “Their will belongs to me,” Talen said simply.  “Do not concern yourself; they will behave, until it comes time to collect my revenge.”“And then what?” Allera asked suddenly.  The question seemed to catch him off balance, but just for a moment.  He chuckled.  “Let us see if we survive the Demon, first, and then we can talk of the future.”  He turned and walked out toward the middle of the room, where they could see Shay returning, the head of her longspear catching the light before they could detect the sleek shape of her black-clad form. “He is mad,” Allera said to Dar. “We are all mad,” Varo said.  “But that does not change what must be done.”  Talen turned back toward them.  “There’s a door on the far side of the chamber, nothing else.  Let’s get moving.”The other vampires rejoined them at the door, a slab of heavy gray granite that stood out clearly from the adjacent black stone.  The door was set deep into a lintel carved from the surrounding walls, and looked as tight as a cork that had fallen into the stem of a bottle of old wine.  It proved as tough to open, but they had no shortage of raw strength, and finally Dar and Talen were able to grind it open, revealing the black mouth of another passage. The tunnel was irregular and dank, the darkness retreating almost reluctantly from the light of their torches.  The companions pressed on.  A scent of decay suffused the air.  While it did not trouble the vampires, the mortals found themselves covering their faces in a vain effort to filter out the worst of the stench.  Alderis coughed, his breath rattling in his chest like a trapped animal.  Allera helped him as best she could. “The elf looks like he is about to keel over,” Dar whispered to Varo.  “Could be that your book was wrong about him.”  “He is stronger than he looks,” the cleric replied.  “Look, the scout has found something.”The torches revealed Shay, standing under a broad arch of ancient gray stones.  Beyond the arch a pair of statues, or rather the remains of them, warded the corridor forward.  There was just enough left of the dark obsidian shapes to hint at what they had been, representations of things that had been in no way human.  Debris lay strewn about the floor, admidst which lay the occasional bone, starkly white in the light shed by their brands.  “If this isn’t a trap, I don’t know what is,” Dar said. “Agreed,” Talen said.  “Calla, go in there and check it out.”“No!” Allera interjected, coming forward.  “She’s just a—”  The healer trailed off as all of the vampires turned to face her, including the girl.  “She knows exactly what she is,” Talen said.  He turned back to her.  “Go.”The lithe vampire darted forward into the room, moving among the bone fragments and obsidian shards, barely disturbing even the dust on the floor with her steps.  She slipped across the room like a mouse, and prowled around both of the statues, poking at the remnants before returning to the arch.  “Clear,” she said.  At Talen’s gesture Shay led them forward again.  Talen shot a glance at Dar and Varo, as if to confirm his earlier comments about the loyalty of his servants.  Neither man responded, but Dar’s expression darkened, and his hand slipped once more to the hilt of Valor.  Talen saw the gesture and smiled.  The passage continued on the far side of the room, passing under another arch.  This corridor was much straighter than the one they’d just traversed, constructed of large stone blocks with deep gaps at the seams.  It appeared to open onto another much larger chamber a short distance ahead. Shay had barely entered the passage when they heard a soft click, and then the air was full of spears, erupting from the crevices in the walls.</blockquote>

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