Sentinelspire - Mark Sehestedt [95]
The man who had fled into the dark cried out, "Sound the ala-!" followed by a sharp crack of something heavy smashing bone. Then another sound-one Bennig had heard many times in his service for the Old Man-the sound of a body striking the floor.
The green light winked out and there was only darkness. Quick as it took him to draw a breath, hold it, and crouch, two thoughts occurred to Bennig.
One, their keys that protected them from the guardians in the Gallery of Stone Faces had failed-or someone had found a way to dampen their power. But he discounted that. If one of the guardians had been after them, all of the guardians would have been after them, and in their moments of light he hadn't seen a single one moving.
Two, someone was in the tunnels with them. Sauk and the Lady Talieth had known something was wrong and had set guards in the tunnels for a reason. A reason they hadn't explained. But Bennig realized that the reason had come, and he had to think quickly.
+++++
Two down. But Berun knew that there were three others in the room, all armed-and any number could still be lurking in the far tunnels. He'd been expecting only the three he'd seen farther up before he'd retreated back to the Gallery. Where the other two had come from, he couldn't be sure. One of the side tunnels, surely. And if there were two, there could be twenty, still waiting.
He'd been crouched on the ledge above the doorway when the guards entered. It had not been an easy climb, carrying the dead guard with him, but he knew that this was the worst place in all the mountain to be without a ward. When the guard had seen him, he'd dropped the corpse on the nearest man and followed after. He'd killed the man with the saber and took his body instead, leaving the first one, hoping it might cause some confusion among the survivors. It had, just enough for him to strike again.
He'd managed to get one man's sunrod and douse it, and after killing the leader, he'd retrieved his starstone. He had to end this quick.
The gallery lit up as lightning split the sky over the mountain, the edges of its bright light leaking through the cracks in the roof,
"There he is! By the-"
Thunder drowned out the rest.
+++++
Four guards huddled just inside the main gate of the Fortress. Two had been assigned to watch the tunnels and to sound the alarm should anyone try to pass without the proper words. The other two were to keep an eye on the grounds around the main gate. But once the storm began in earnest, the wind off the mountain driving the rain horizontally at times, all four had sought refuge just inside the tunnel. The torches set on posts just inside the gate had long since been drowned by the storm, but the brazier set inside the tunnel still gave the guards a decent light. Whatever powder Velugis had sprinkled on the coals had turned the tiny flames blue, and it kept the fife going. Three of the guards huddled near the brazier, taking comfort not only in the warmth but the light, though they all took turns complaining about the foul odor.
"What did you put on the coals, Velugis?"
Velugis, the fourth guard who stood apart from the rest, just at the edge of the circle of light, was from Thay. Beyond that, no one knew much about him, nor cared to ask. He kept to himself most of the time, shut up in his rooms when not on assignment. Word around the Fortress was that he never even asked for one of the slaves for his bed, and he never drank anything but water. But one thing everyone knew was that Velugis was a master of potions and poisons, second only to the Old Man himself.
He turned his head a bit, not so much to look at his companions as to make sure his voice was heard. "Just something to keep the coals going in the damp. They burn hot, yes?"
"Hot, yes. Like hot horse piss. Is there nothing you can do about the stench?"
"I do have something I could sprinkle on the coals," said Velugis. "A powder of my own design. It would burn with the scent of honeysuckle."
"Well, let's have it then," said one of the other men.
"I think not."
"Why not?"