Black wizards - Douglas Niles [32]
"I'd say we've been caught," growled the Calishite.
* * * * *
Far from Gehenna, there existed a region of peace and healing, a land where the god grows mightier from acts of virtue and kindness, not murder. This deity, like Bhaal, had worshippers throughout the Forgotten Realms and all the other planes of the universe as well. Her name was Chauntea, goddess of agriculture and growth. She was the patron of all things whole and healthy.
Chauntea had great concentrations of power in many lands, places where her clerics preached the doctrine of her faith to all. These lands, without exception, benefited from her benign nature. And in other places, where Chauntea was not all-powerful or even universally known, she sent her missionaries to bring the words and acts of her faith.
One of these places was the Moonshaes.
V
The Dead Queen
The black water seemed to penetrate Tristan's flesh with freezing numbness. His arms grew leaden from the constant motion of treading water. He knew that he would die in this castle, for there seemed to be no way out of the trap.
Dim rays of sunlight filtered down the long shaft, which opened into the ceiling of the chamber. The ceiling was a dome made of rough-hewn stone all the way to the water, where it surrounded the prisoners.
For the twentieth time, Daryth took a breath and dove. The prince watched his companion's feet drive him down, and Tristan floated anxiously, counting the seconds. Surely no man could hold his breath for that long.
But the Calishite eventually returned to the surface with an explosive splash, floating on his back for a moment as he recovered his breath. A feeble shake of his head answered Tristan's question.
"Nothing," he finally gasped. "It's solid rock all the way around and deeper than I can dive."
"Save your strength," said the prince, acutely aware of the ebbing of his own endurance. The great dog, Canthus, swam in circles, and Tristan knew that the moorhound could not remain afloat for long.
"Get over to the side," suggested Daryth, propelling himself to the stone wall with easy strokes. "If you can find something to hold onto, you won't get quite so tired."
Numbly, Tristan did as he was told, finding a few rough niches in the rock wall that were sufficient to give him fingertip holds. At least he could keep his head out of the water without exerting himself.
"We can't die here!" Daryth suddenly swore.
"We won't," said Tristan. Suddenly, his foot slipped into a hole in the wall, and he felt a tug of current clamp around it. Forcefully, he pushed himself away, breaking free to gasp several lungfuls of air.
"There's a hole in the wall," he finally managed to choke out. "I felt a current pulling my foot in."
The Calishite shot past Tristan, swimming like a seal, and instantly dove to investigate the spot. He remained submerged for a full minute before slipping to the surface.
"It's an outlet!" he said, grinning weakly. "I've widened it some. In a few more minutes we'll have a way out."
Daryth rested against the wall for a moment, while Can-thus swam between them, seeming to sense their hope.
"Where does the outlet go?" Tristan asked. "It could be way under the surface."
"No. The water flows from this room into that area, so the water level in there must be lower than it is in here."
"What if it's a water-filled pipe?" challenged Tristan.
"Then we'll all drown, and no one will ever know what happened to us," said the Calishite simply.
Daryth dove once again, and this time Tristan counted the seconds, stopping only after he reached one hundred. Still his companion didn't surface. The prince moved closer, certain that the Calishite was in serious trouble.
Finally, Daryth splashed to the surface, drawing in large gulps of air. "It's ready," he said. "I couldn't see any light on the far side, but I could hear splashing. That probably means there's an airspace. Should we try it?"
"Naturally," Tristan said. "I'll go