Hand of Fire - Ed Greenwood [21]
Marlel led his two priestess-robed companions in the other direction, down a dark and narrow passage, to a doorway where a tall, bald mountain of flesh with tusks and large ears – a half-ore, whose face and chest were covered with old, wandering sword scars – stood with arms folded and a spike-handled axe gripped in each heavy hand, blocking the way.
..
"Business with Rildra," the Harper told him.
The guard's eyes narrowed. "You, Marlel?"
"Strange times, Ulburt, and strange doings. Look upon it as free entertainment, sent by the gods especially to you."
"I look upon it as trouble," the half-ore told him bluntly, "especially when you're involved. What business with Rildra?"
"A chance to flip her a coin and so get to talk to Pharaulee."
"That you can do directly," the guard told him, waving them past. "Rildra met with a little accident earlier today."
"Her last?"
"Unless she knows some way to come back to life after hanging for half a day with two glaives run right through her. But she took a Red Wizard down to the worms first, and one of his bodyblades, too – I guess they're not used to roughing up women who aren't slaves and don't carry hairpins. Right through the eyes, she skewered them."
Ulburt's voice was full of grudging pride. Against Narm's shoulder, Shandril convulsed in a silent, sudden shiver.
Marlel turned to his two companions. "Wait here.
Ulburt will look after you, or I'll come back, cut off his down-belows, and feed them to him as his next meal." Without waiting for a reply, the Dark Blade of Doom ducked past the half-ore's deep, annoyed rumble, through the doorway.
He returned quickly, standing aside with a flourish in Narm and Shandril's direction. They were momentarily aware of a pair of old and very sad eyes regarding them out of a large and gray-haired but lushly beautiful face, ere that face nodded and withdrew behind the half-ore once more.
"Pharaulee just wanted to see you," Marlel explained. "All settled. You have the – well, I'll show you." Running a hand over the apparently solid wall next to Narm, the Harper found something with his probing fingers. There was a click, and a section of the weathered paneling shrank back into the wall.
Marlel gave it a push, and it receded reluctantly.
"Hurh!" Ulburt growled. "You're not supposed to know about that!"
"Well, you shouldn't be so careless, Ulburt," the Harper replied serenely. "You're the one who showed me this back stair, last month – taking a body through it after you had a little accident with your axe, as I recall." Giving the section of moving wall a last shove, he grabbed Narm's forearm and tugged him into the gloom.
"I never! I – "
"Come" Marlel murmured to Shandril with some urgency, "let's get up above before anyone decides we're interesting enough to follow."
Shandril rolled her eyes. "Oh, half Faerun already seems to have taken that view," she murmured. "You lead the way."
Marlel grinned. "You've done this before, haven't you?"
"I hesitate to agree until I know just what you mean by ‘this’," Shandril replied evenly, waving at him to precede her. "Increasingly, I find, I dislike disagreements – they tend to be so final."
"No doubt," Marlel said thoughtfully, giving her a look that was devoid of his usual smile for once. "No doubt."
He went up the narrow, foul-smelling stair in the darkness, Shandril followed warily and close behind him, and Narm watched the half-orc haul the section of wall closed and watched out behind them as best he could in the deep gloom that followed.
They were at the top of the stair, on a little landing where their way onward, up a few steps and along a passage of many closed doors, seemed to be blocked by two dark figures who were hissing curses at each other, when Shandril felt the first tinglings of a spell.
It felt like cold tendrils, caressing her mind – without hesitation she drank the magic, her spellfire flickering in her eyes.
Each time it felt wilder. Each time she had the frightening feeling that it was going to overwhelm her thoughts and will and what inside of her was Shandril