Depths of Madness - Erik Scott De Bie [29]
"Aye," said Liet. "And I suppose the wights were waiting for us as well?"
Twilight nodded and traced her fingers through the dust on the wall. "I am no stranger to running a maze set by someone greater than myself."
Without realizing it, she had drawn a star on the wall. When she noticed it, she brushed it away.
"And this feels the same. Except." She touched the amulet again. "Except no wizard can be tracking us."
"So there must be-" Liet said.
Twilight laid a finger across his lips, silencing him. Her pale eyes flicked back and forth, making sure none of the others were watching or listening.
"Maybe," said Twilight, "maybe."
The elf needn't have worried about the others. The warlock's muttering and the priestess's conjured food kept them more than occupied.
Rather, creatures not at all akin to the adventurers were listening, though they were not watching, exactly.
Had the pair looked up, elf and man might have been lucky enough to spot a pair of gray-skinned creatures pressed against the stone. They hung upside down, ears turned to listen to the conversation. Though they couldn't understand the words, they carefully memorized the sounds-a simple matter, since even their whispers sounded like obnoxious shouts. They recorded inflections of voice, scent, patterns of breathing, even the shape and texture of clothing from the movement of air, all from high above.
The creatures didn't note faces, not having eyes with which to do so.
The scouts memorized the characteristics of the things until the intruders continued into another series of sewer chambers. The seven had not yet invaded the sacred tunnels, but they had come close.
The sentries waited until the sounds stopped, then scurried back to report.
The Voice of the Great Slitherer would want to hear about this.
The discussion yielded three resolutions. First, they would avoid the rough-hewn tunnels diligently. Second, Gargan would take Twilight's place at point-the goliath seemed to have a sharp eye. Twilight was not happy about giving up the lead, but she could stomach it if need be. And third, they would search the sewers again. Perhaps they had missed something.
As they marched through the sewers, following Gargan's lead, Twilight hung back. Eyes closed, torch shadows dancing about her like amorous flames, she padded along in silence and distraction. Had Taslin or one of the wiser adventurers looked upon her, they might have thought Twilight was praying reverently to a dark deity.
And they would have been wrong.
Damn you, Uncle Nemesis, she thought to him. What is your game this time?
As always, her patron did not answer. She figured he didn't care even to listen.
I do not know how you found me, or how you have managed all this, she continued mentally. But I tire of it. Can you not give me a moments peace, that I might live on my own without you watching over my shoulder? Did we part on terms that were the least bit ambiguous?
Twilight thought she heard, somewhere in the back of her mind, a snicker.
Very well, you bastard, thought Twilight. Have it your way.
A sound came-a scoff-but this one turned out to be real.
Davoren scowled and gestured at the empty air. The others avoided his hideously scarred face. "Time passes, and we find nothing. Why don't v/e go down the corridor?"
"If you wish it so, go first," Taslin snapped. "We shall follow at a safe distance."
Weakly, Asson coughed and retched. It seemed he had not yet recovered from the wight's attack. Twilight felt a twinge of sympathy, which surprised her.
"What corridor?" Twilight asked.
In one of the sewer tunnels, they had stopped near a section of wall that had partly collapsed, revealing a tunnel that must have been added to the sewers after their creation. It was small, just too short for Gargan's twenty-three hands of height. The yawning darkness