The Seal of Karga Kul_ A Dungeons & Dragons Novel - Alex Irvine [22]
“Gone sinister?” Keverel asked, coming up next to him.
Remy didn’t understand the word, but he tapped the sword hilt against his right arm. “I can’t feel it,” he said, although already sensation was returning to his fingers. “But I think I’m all right.”
“Good thing. There might be more ahead.”
Quickly they looked through the room, finding nothing but three other dead hobgoblins. The others had gone ahead in pursuit of Lucan. Remy and Keverel followed, and a short distance ahead found the rest of the party gathered around yet another dead hobgoblin. “A commander,” Biri-Daar said as they approached. “See the brands on its cheek.”
In the dim light Remy could see what looked like simple runes on the dead hobgoblin’s skin, the pale scar standing out against the bristly hair that covered most of the creature’s cheeks and jaw. “I hate to say it, but Zegur might be right,” Iriani said. “If there’s a commander down here, one of the local warlords is planning something.”
Feeling was returning to Remy’s arm, and a bone-deep ache settled into his shoulder where the head of the axe had struck. He worked his fingers to get the blood moving and limber up the arm again. He thought he’d be able to use it if more of the hobgoblins appeared. In another half-hour, they emerged in a slot canyon in the wastes. Once a river had flowed there, but its sole remnant was a ribbon of sand on the canyon floor, churned by the booted feet of hobgoblins and their beasts and littered by their garbage.
“Now we know,” Lucan said after they had looked around to make sure they weren’t walking into yet another ambush. “Who’s going to report back to our charming host, Zegur?”
“I’ll go,” Kithri said. “It wasn’t so bad after all.”
They climbed out of the canyon and got their bearings. Crow Fork Market was away to the southwest. “We are not far from the road to the Bridge of Iban Ja,” Biri-Daar said. “Remy and I will go toward the road. Everyone else return to Crow Fork Market quickly. Report to Zegur, but do not wait; if he will not see you right away, give the report to one of his secretaries. Gather the horses and supplies. Meet us before sundown.”
“At least we won’t have to hurry,” Lucan grumbled.
“Come on, Lucan,” Keverel said after a brief whispered consultation with Biri-Daar. “We have spent enough time as it is, and time is dear.”
Leaving Biri-Daar and Remy, the rest of the party wound their way back down into the canyon and disappeared into the caves. “Let us walk,” Biri-Daar said to Remy. “They will be back sooner than we think. The road is this way.”
They walked west through the wastes, almost immediately drawing the attention of carrion birds that drafted in sweeping arcs above them. “You would think they knew something,” Remy said.
“Carrion-eaters are forever optimistic,” Biri-Daar said. “And why not? Creatures are always dying.”
After that they walked in silence until they reached the road. It cut north and south, as straight as its makers could lay the stones. Remy and Biri-Daar found shade and sat where they could see the road and any approaching traveler could see them. After a while, Remy gave voice to the question that had been rattling around in his head since the canyon. “Why did you want me to stay?”
“You have a decision to make,” Biri-Daar said. “And I imagined you would want to ask another few questions before making it.”
“Here’s my first question: You could have refused Zegur, but you didn’t. Why not?”
“Because despite his base motives, what he said was true. I could not leave Crow Fork without putting right what problems our presence had caused.”
“Even though it delayed your …” Remy thought about how to continue. “What is it you’re doing in Karga Kul, anyway?”
“Saving the city from being overrun by demons.” Biri-Daar spoke matter-of-factly.
“Demons?” Remy repeated. “Then why are we worried about hobgoblins?”
“Bahamut