The Wyvern's Spur - Kate Novak [49]
The bugbear looked up at the newcomers, then came lumbering down the corridor at them.
Giogi froze with fear, and the burro tried to press her heavily loaded bulk flat against the wall. If she has a death wish, Olive thought, I wish she'd leave us out of it.
The halfling couldn't tell for sure which smelled worse, the bugbear's matted red fur or the lice-ridden wool sweater it wore. Its fangs were a dull yellow, but its eyes shone bright red. It stood much taller than Giogi. Giogi grabbed at Cat's arm to pull her behind him, but she evaded his grasp and walked right up to the bugbear.
"Wine?" the mage offered with a smile. "More wine?"
The bugbear snatched the flask from Cat's hand and poured its contents down its throat.
Cat stepped back.
"That's not wine," Giogi whispered. "It's straight Rivengut."
"I know, but he doesn't. In another moment, he won't care," Cat replied, smiling.
The bugbear roared once, wobbled, and passed out.
"See?" the mage asked. She stepped over the monster and continued down the corridor with the disk and Steele floating after her.
Giogi and Olive hurried to catch up.
"I bribed him a few hours ago with a skin of wine," Cat explained.
They reached the anteroom and slowly climbed the stairs back to the crypt. Olive felt her stomach rumbling. She thought longingly, too, of the Rivengut that Cat had given the bugbear.
When they reached the top of the rough stairs, Giogi peered into the crypt, but the guardian was silent.
Giogi crept across the crypt without a word. Olive needed no warning to step as softly as she could, but Cat couldn't leave well enough alone.
"So where's the guardian?" the mage asked as they waited at the crypt door for Giogi to pull out his key.
"She's here," Giogi muttered as he inserted his key in the door and unlocked it. "Please, don't disturb her."
"Giogioni" the guardian's voice whispered. "Not long now, my Giogioni."
Cat whirled around and saw the huge wyvern shadow on the far wall. "Mystra's mysteries!" she whispered excitedly. "There is a guardian."
Giogi flung the door open and smacked Olive through. The burro needed no further encouragement. She clomped up the stairs.
"What does she mean?" Cat asked. "Not long until what?"
"Don't ask, please," Giogi whispered, tugging on the mage's arm to pull her through the doorway with him. As soon as the disk floated through, too, he slammed the door shut and relocked it.
"Why shouldn't I ask what she meant?" Cat demanded.
Giogi closed his eyes. "Because I don't want to know," he whispered.
They trudged up the last four flights of stairs. Giogi hopped hard on the tenth step from the top, and the secret door slid open. He ushered them through the mausoleum and out into the graveyard beyond.
The noon sky was a cold steel gray laced with low clouds, but the trio blinked in the open air as if they had been prisoners exposed to full sunshine for the first time in months.
Giogi reached into one of the burro's packs and pulled out a vial of healing potion. As carefully as he could, he poured it down Steele's throat. His cousin stirred and sighed, but remained unconscious.
"That's the best I can do," Giogi said. "We'll have to get him to a cleric. How much longer can you carry him like this?" he asked Cat.
"As long as you need me to," the mage replied with a gentle smile.
"Thank you. For everything," Giogi said.
What about me? Olive thought. I've pulled more than my share of the weight, too, you know.
As if reading Olive's thoughts, Giogi scratched between the burro's ears and said, "We'll be home soon, Birdie. You'll get your lunch then, and with any luck we'll get an explanation from Unce Drone before teatime."
Yes, Olive thought. Uncle Drone's one mage I want to meet.
Their party hadn't gone halfway down the graveyard hill when a man wrapped in a green cloak came rushing up to meet them. He was calling out Giogi's name. As he approached, Olive realized he was another Wyvernspur. He had the same face as Steele, Nameless, and Jade's