Depths of Madness - Erik Scott De Bie [65]
Not hesitating a heartbeat, the goliath leaped forward and split one from fangs to tail. His engraved sword hissed as it burned the lizardman's flesh away like boiling water through sugar. The steel itself bled greenish acid. The hapless creature's companions gave startled squeals. They drew obsidian weapons.
The goliath's rush overturned the dry totted table at which they had been playing, which promptly shattered on the stone floor. Gargan kicked the remains aside and carved another lizard in two, but the distraction gave the thitd time to hurl a cracked stool in his face. As Gargan reeled, the fourth hissed a war cry and lunged forward with a scimitar.
Then smoking blood spattered Gargan's face as Davoren's ruby blast blew a lizardman's head into a black and red abyss. The creature flopped headless to the floor with a disconsolate plop, and the flame arced from it to burn a hole through the stool-hurler. Both twitched, smoking.
As Gargan, Liet, and Slip fanned out to search for more of the creatures, the warlock stifled a yawn with one hand. "That was interesting," he said to Twilight. "And you say you are afraid of an ambush?"
Twilight glared at him but said nothing.
The room was ten paces on a side, filled with the crumbling remains of furniture and decorated with filth. Arcane sigils in much worn and faded paint adorned the walls, though they were all defaced and defiled. It had likely been a casting chamber. The room was just as old and as strange of architecture as the corridor and first chamber, but smelled much fouler.
Twilight was glad the lizards had not bypassed the wards to enter the previous chamber-the smell had been contained.
No other fiendish lizards were found in the chamber, nor could they see any of the creatures down the next corridor.
"Must have left the main group," said Davoren, "for some rest and diversion." He grinned. "The rest theirs, the diversion ours."
"Scouts, testing us," said Twilight. "We should still go back."
The warlock groaned.
The door, however, ended that debate for them. With a scrape of stone on stone, the heavy portal swung back into place, despite their best efforts to restrain it. In place, it looked no different from the rest of the wall, and it had the appropriate lack of door handles, clasps, hooks, pulleys, and opening catches.
"I suppose you're all pleased," said Twilight. "I don't even know how to begin opening it. Probably a command phrase." A mechanical thunk and rasp from the other side struck her ears. "And that would be the locks sliding into place." She folded her arms and looked away.
"All's well," said Liet. He put a reassuring hand on Twilight's shoulder-an act no one but the oblivious halfling missed-and smiled gently. "Be not afraid."
"Only of those things that warrant it," Twilight snapped. She shook Liet off roughly, hoping it would be an action none of the others would miss.
Slip, alert halfling that she was, remained completely oblivious. "I know what'll lighten this up," she said. "Let's figure out the mystery!"
"Mystery?" Liet asked, turning from Twilight, who signaled that they might as well explore these rooms in greater detail.
"Of where we are, silly," the halfling explained. "Where lies this dungeon?"
"Please," Davoren said with a dismissive wave. "It's hardly a dungeon. Deserted ruins, more like it." He gestured at the sloping, twisting, curving walls. "The deserted ruins of some mad child's doll house."
The image of a blood-soaked doll flashed through Twilight's mind.
"Speak louder, and we shall see how deserted it is," promised Taslin.
"Can we not move on?" asked Twilight, tapping her foot nervously.
"Praise be to the Lord of the Hells," said Davoten. "The fil-liken offers a glorious suggestion." He grinned at Taslin. "We should listen, scarred one."
"I am curious as to Slip's thoughts," said Taslin. "Say on, noble small one."
It took Slip a moment to realize the priestess was addressing her. "Well," said Slip. "I'm trying to figure out…"
Ignored by the others, Twilight pressed ahead, examining the