The Howling Delve - Jaleigh Johnson [113]
"You dig strongholds for people who have secrets or who want to protect knowledge. Is it possible the dwarves did the same hete, with magic? Did the Howlings, and by extension, Varan, stumble upon that work?"
"If they did, it was all tainted by the Howlings' greed when they turned to Abbathoi." Garavin said, shaking his head sadly.
"Why are Abbathor and Dumathoin fighting over such a small group of souls?" Kail asked.
"Because the Howlings are fighting," Gatavin replied. "These gods of the Morndin Samman, our pantheon, are forever locked in snuggle. The Howlings are olorns, stories that become symbols. Whichevet side wins in this will gain mote than souls."
"They gain a victory in lore," said Kali, understanding. "Yout stories will reflect the tedemption of the Howlings from their greed. Dumathoin's powet grows."
"And his children would rejoice," said Garavin.
"Are the Howlings powerless in this? If they seek redemption, why do they not renounce Abbathor and ask Dumathoin's forgiveness?"
"Because they made a pact with the god of greed and accepted his blessings and aid. That gives Abbathor power over the Howlings that isn't easy to forsake. Dumathoin can only intervene so far as to hold them between life and death. For the rest, they must atone."
"But Meisha's master disrupted that process," said Kail. "So her message-the dwarPs warning-was also a cry for help."
"Issued to one who might carry and keep a dangerous secret," Garavin affirmed, "and risk everything for the sake of a friend. Meisha was wise to seek ye out."
Kail did not voice his doubts on that score. "And do you think it's a coincidence that I count among my friends a devout servant of Dumathoin?" he asked instead.
Garavin smiled. "Little in this world is a coincidence, lad." He nodded up and down the abyss. "Which door?"
"I don't think it matters," said Kali, "but whichever we choose, we can't lose track of these doors." He looked back at the open portal. "That's our way back to the surface."
"The Shadow Thieves are sure to block it," Garavin pointed out. "If they haven't already. Might be we'll have to find a different exit."
Kali didn't need to tell the dwarf how monumental a task that would be. Their odds of surviving long enough to collect the others and find the way out seemed slim indeed at the moment.
"We could call out," he said finally, "from the bridge. The echo will carry down at least a dozen of these tunnels. If they're nearby, one of them might hear us."
"As could any number of beasties foraging in the tunnels," Garavin said.
Kail nodded. "Better to encounter them in the open than a bottleneck in a tunnel, where traps may be waiting to spring."
"Agreed," said the dwarf. He drew his maul out and cradled it in both hands.
Kali strode to the center of the bridge. His bootsteps echoed in the vast chamber.
Thousands of feet must have trodden these bridges, Kail reflected, a testament to the forgotten legacy of the dwarves, and far grander than all the merchants of Amn above. The enoimity of such a lost existence humbled Kali.
He raised a hand to the side of his mouth. "Meisha!" he shouted. The Harper's name carried far down the cavetn in either direction. "Laerin! Morgan!"
He shouted until his lungs ached. Nothing stirred in the vastness.
Kali turned back to Garavin, seeking a new suggestion, when Borl began to bark furiously. The dog pushed his head between the stone slats of the bridge.
Kali looked down. Thirty feet below, Talal ran from a tunnel in the opposite wall onto a btidge, so fast and stumbling so much that he nearly toppled ovet the edge. Sheer luck kept him upright as he plowed across.
"Morgan!" Kail yelled as the tall man came out behind Talal. "Up here!"
Neither slowed. Morgan flung his head back and hollered, – "Stay there!" Spinning, he flung a dagger at the tunnel mouth. The throw broke his stride, and the normally graceful thief fell sprawling on the bridge.
Kali saw Morgan's dagger stick to the hilt, and his eyes traveled upward in horror to see the demon. The beast stalked onto the bridge,