Descent into the Depths of the Earth (32 page)

“Now we’re getting warm.”

The Justicar squatted down beside Escalla, his hand resting
on her back. Grave, intelligent eyes watched Escalla with her find. “Could you
link it to a specific person?”

“No.” The faerie carefully stored the evidence away. “Not in
a court of law. Who’s to believe me when I say I found it down here? But it’s
giving me some crystal clear ideas.”

Polk and Henry were waiting. With a glance over her shoulder,
Escalla leaned in to whisper in Jus’ ear. “Keep Cinders watching out for any
sign of a faerie.” The girl flicked a glance at Henry. “And, ah, let’s keep it
happy. The kid’s been looking a little pale.”

Escalla seemed white as a ghost herself. Jus let her feel a warm squeeze of
his hand. Cinders teeth gleamed in manic goodwill as the ranger rose. He turned
to talk quietly with Private Henry. Escalla drew in a breath and turned around
to survey the cave. She felt her antennae freeze.

Two titanic kuo-toan priests stood at the edge of the
platform, staring wordlessly at the party through their huge fishy eyes.
Sheathed in blood, the monsters stood in silence. Escalla waved to them,
received no response, then cleared her throat to attract the attention of the
menfolk just behind her. “Ah, guys? Guys, we may have a problem.”

Apparently suspicious of why the party was loitering, the two
huge kuo-toa had come to escort them off the altar. Still, they ignored all of
the travelers save Escalla. To the faerie, they spoke in their snapping, vicious
tongue, crouching like mad carnivorous nightmares over the dainty faerie. The
kuo-toa bid Escalla a farewell, then turned and left their guests standing alone
and unguarded in the room.

The northern side of the huge temple had been carefully
sculpted into palatial apartments. The rooms were perfectly squared with high
ceilings rippled by an eerie underwater light. Walking slowly up sand-scattered
steps, the Justicar and his companions might have been in a palace under the
sea. Jus walked over shells and dried seaweed, past the gnawed remains of
grizzly cannibalistic meals, and halted at the edges of the hall.

Escape lay only thirty yards away. The northwest tunnel
opened into the underdark but was guarded by a team of kuo-toan warriors. On the
sands just outside the palatial apartments, a group of them sparred carefully
with weapons while a gnarled instructor taught the arts of the backstab and the
garotte. The creatures paid no attention to the visitors behind them. Escalla
looked about uncertainly, shrugged, then pointed to an entrance just beyond.

The new room had definite possibilities. At the far wall, two
tall statues of the lobster-headed goddess flanked an ugly throne that had been
studded with pearls. The throne depicted fish skulls and drowning humans being
torn apart by crabs. The walls were carved into horrible bas-reliefs, the
rippling lighting had taken on a darker, more sinister hue.

Sitting on a platform smothered with blood, the throne faced
the massive temple cave. It clearly gave a wonderful view of sacrifices,
executions, and the occasional leech attack. Escalla edged forward to the
threshold. There were kuo-toa soldiers crouching in the corners of the room. One
thin, misshapen creature crouching at the foot of the throne held a conch shell
trumpet. Pillars carved to look like columns of fish-infested skulls held aloft
the ceiling. Six taller, grimmer guards lurked by the columns—all watching
Escalla and her companions in silence as the girl crept timidly into the room.

Escalla rapped her knuckles against the doorframe, clearing
her throat and giving a smile as she caught the attention of the guards.

“Um, hello.” Escalla advanced a little farther into the room.
The fish simply stared, their fangs gleaming and their faces devoid of emotion.

At the foot of the throne, a huge clamshell pool glinted in
the light. Within it, tiny fishes swam, and brilliant sea shells gleamed. The
shells caught Escalla’s eye. The girl edged a tad closer, gave a nervous,
placatory wave to the guards, and peered into the pool.

“Jus, what do cone shells look like?”

“They’re sea shells, and they’re conical.”

“That’s
great,
Jus.” Unamused, Escalla put her fists
on her hips as she hovered, glaring back at her friend. “Can you tell when a
shell is venomous, or can’t you?”

“Just hold it to your ear.” The Justicar walked forward,
apparently ignoring the guards. “If you hear the ocean, it’s harmless. If it
kills you, it was a cone shell.”

“Funny.”

Funny!
Cinders’ grin twinkled like jagged mountain
peaks.

The pool held quite a few interesting life forms—tiny blue
ringed octopi and sea snails with conical shells. Giving the pool a cautious
glance, the Justicar kept carefully clear.

“Don’t fall in.”

“Well
dub!”
The faerie made a droll little face. “Any
other good advice?”

“Yes. Go talk to the chamberlain.”

Stealing silently in from a side entrance way, a hunched,
thin kuo-toa came onto the dais. The creature’s eyes swiveled independently,
taking in Polk and Henry, Escalla and the Justicar. The black presence of
Cinders and the faerie’s golden hair seemed to impress the creature, and it made
a simple little spell pass with its hand.

The creature spoke, its cruel fangs clacking. A disembodied
voice, eerily suave, feminine, and calm, drifted out from somewhere in midair.
“Greetings, air child. We had not looked for your return so soon.”

Biting her lip, Escalla decided that the creature was talking
to her. “Well, I just can’t keep away! You know how I love this temple.”

The fish creature bobbed, its savage voice gargling. It made
motions with its hands, and the female voice echoed from above.
“Your gift of
sacrifices has gained you great credit with us. May we assist you?”

Escalla took on a sly look, hid it with a false blonde
innocence, and clasped her hands together. “Well yes. Just a little thing for
now.” Escalla blinked brightly. “Do you remember me borrowing a deadly cone
shell from you a while ago?”

“Yes.”
The fish creature bobbed.
“In return, you paid
us with the hearts of many upworld slaves.”

“Oh, how very… outgoing of me.” Escalla looked a little
sick. “Anyway, silly me—must have slipped my mind—but can I just trouble you for
a receipt?” The girl gave a polite little clasp of her hands. “It’s for my
records, you know?”

Not quite comprehending, the kuo-toa simply stared. Escalla
signaled Polk for a piece of parchment and a pen, then flew over to present them
to the fish creature. “It’s an upworld thing! Sorry. Don’t mean to be a bother.”

“It is necessary?”

“I’m a faerie. Would I lie to you?” Escalla put the pen into
the creature’s clawed hands. “So if you could just write out my name and the
exchange deal… you know, ‘We, the temple of the sea goddess, acknowledge
that we gave a venomous cone shell to so-and-so for the purposes of an
assassination…’ That kind of thing.”

“So-and-so?”

“You know… my name.” A true mistress of fast talk, Escalla
was beside the kuo-toa, helping it write out the receipt. “Just scribble it in
there. My full name. Nice and legal.”

The kuo-toa scribbled its foul script, then paused.
“Please write in your name.”

“No, you do it. Just put it in here.”

“I do not recall your alien name. Phase refresh my memory.”

Frustrated, Escalla tried fishing for ideas. “Well, it’s just
I forget what name I left with you guys. I have so many! Let’s see what jogs
your memory.” Escalla tried her mother’s name. “Let’s try Ifurela, Lady
Nightshade. No? How about Tielle?” The girl watched carefully, but the kuo-toa
never twitched. “Lord Faen? Lord Ushan?”

With a sinking feeling, Jus made ready to strike with his
sword. Above him, Cinders was stoking his flames. Escalla waved her hands,
making less and less as she went on.

“Otiluke? Tensor? Bigby?” The girl threw up her hands. “Come
on. Gimme something to work with here!”

The kuo-toa turned and began to write. Relieved, Escalla fell
back toward her friends and whispered avidly in their ears, “He’s doing it! I
mean,
she’s
doing it! We’re getting a receipt!” The girl gave a huge
gesture of relief. “So that’s it! We get the receipt, and we run for home. No
drow city!”

With his eyes nervously fixed on the kuo-toa, Henry cleared
his throat. “What about the captives from Sour Patch?”

“Yeah, too bad about that reward.” Escalla shot a guilty
glance at Jus and Henry. “Ah, I mean too bad about all those poor souls, but
they’re in the clutches of the drow, man. Nothing we can do about it. Can’t be
helped!”

“We’re going after them.” The Justicar stood with his feet
planted and his eyes seeing every tiny little movement in the room. “We need to
know why your murderer is taking human slaves.” The big man’s voice echoed like
the slamming of a tomb. “They have a date with Justice.”

Escalla seethed, going into a grumbling sulk. “I just
knew
he was going to say that!”

Benelux gave a self-righteous glow.
I knew it also. He is
made of purer stuff than you.

Further retort was halted as the kuo-toa held up the finished
receipt and stared at it with its eerie eyes. The creature came toward Escalla,
who rubbed her hands in anticipation.

“Here we go!” Posing, Escalla elegantly reached out for the
slip of parchment. “And now, for your listening pleasure, ladies and gentlemen,
the murderer is… !”

A huge bubbling roar came from the far side of the room.
Escalla whipped about to see a mammoth kuo-toa dressed in golden chains.
Standing in a secret door that opened beside the throne, the monster’s voice
thundered and was echoed calmly by the disembodied voice above.

“This is not the faerie that we have trained! This one is
male. It has no mammary glands!”
The kuo-toa scribe whirled, staring at
Escalla, the receipt crushed hard in its hand. Outraged, Escalla lost her
temper.

“What do you mean no mammary glands! Hey! You fish reject,
what the hell do you think
these
are?”

“You are a different faerie.”
The newcomer angrily waved a
claw.
“Why are you here?”

Stumped for ideas, Escalla turned to face her friends. “Got
me there. Guys, anyone got anything more to say?”

Wag-wag-wagging his tail, Cinders grinned in glee.
Yes.

“What?”

BURN!

His first blast smashed three kuo-toa off their feet. The
creatures screamed as the noxious oil on their scales caught fire. Gleefully
thundering a vast column of flame into the kuo-toa, Cinders made a noise of
insane enthusiasm, sweeping fire all across the enemy.

“At least he has no problem with commitment!” Escalla blasted
a fireball into a knot of onrushing guards. “That’s great, pooch! That was real
subtle!”

Burn! Burn fish! Burn palace! Burn idol! Burn cave!
Cinders fur stood on end, flame streaming from happy teeth.
Burn!

The scribe screamed and launched himself into the air, clawed
hands reaching to rip Escalla from the sky. The girl’s eyes bulged as she was
snatched and squeezed like a grape. An instant later, the scribe’s hands were
severed by Jus’ sword. Croaking, Escalla thudded to the ground, her ribs almost
crushed and the dead hands still pinning her tight.

Above her, Private Henry screamed a panicked war cry and
parried a harpoon that would have pinned Escalla to the floor. Angrily fighting
free, Escalla struggled out of the dead grasp and spat her hair out of her
mouth. Something blurred past her, a spear smashed sparks from a pillar beside
Henry, and Escalla fired another fireball in reply.

Jus had already taken the arm off a huge kuo-toa, kicking
backward to smash another monster’s knee as he whirled. Behind him, Polk made
the brilliant move of opening his portable hole, diving inside, and reaching
back out to fold up the hole.

Two of the lesser guards hurled themselves at Private Henry.
Rushing at him, the monsters hurled heavy harpoons straight at the boy.
Imitating the Justicar, the boy managed to smash one huge spear out of the air.
The second missile tore the whole sleeve of his mail shirt, ripping a line of
blood along his arm. With a roar the boy whirled and swung his sword. To his
astonishment, the sword blade bit into flesh, and the fish bellowed in agonized
rage. It struck at the boy, had its blow blocked, then whirled backward as Henry
cleaved his blade down into the monster’s skull.

Overjoyed, Henry turned to the next monster and struck wildly
down. His sword blade hit the kuo-toa’s shield—and suddenly stuck fast to a
layer of glue. The kuo-toa roared and twisted the weapon from his grasp, raising
a spear to plunge it through the boy.

The kuo-toa’s head suddenly exploded as Escalla smacked it
neatly with her pencil-slim lich staff. The corpse jerked like a mad puppet,
leaving Escalla staring at the magic staff in astonishment.