Descent into the Depths of the Earth Read Online Free Page A

night.
     
    * * *
     
    With the kitchen now deserted, an eerie quiet fell. Outside
on the roofs, the stirges hooted plaintively for blood. Ashes hissed in the
stove, and an old brown tea kettle leaked steam into the breeze. Above the
stove, there was a subtle stir of motion. A wisp of smoke in the chimney swirled
then crept out into the light to hover just above the floor. A single eye
solidified in the smoke, and then a long trunk-like snout sniffed and snuffled
at the table top. The smoke creature drifted carefully along the table then
flowed down onto the floor. It sniffed at the giant wine barrel with its cloudy
water.
    A scent caught the trunk’s attention. The eye swiveled,
blinked, and the creature hovered above Escalla’s deserted bath. The trunk
sniffed deeply at the water while the eye carefully examined the old rusty pot.
    A single golden hair lay floating in the water. The smoke
creature carefully picked up its find, examined it carefully, staring at it inch
by inch, then gripped the strand tight.
    A sudden noise came from the door. The smoke creature made a
splash as it tore across the room and shot back up the chimney, fleeing into the
night. Padding into the kitchen with an empty bucket hanging from her mouth,
Enid blinked, then put down her bucket and frowned. She lumbered into the room,
sniffing carefully and following a smoky trail that wound across the table and
over toward the baths.
    Escalla’s voice pealed in from the taproom behind her. “Enid!
Come on, hon! We have to rinse all this gem powder off the food before it sets!”
    Her freckled nose snuffling, Enid creased her pretty brows
into a frown. “Wait! There’s something here!” The cat-woman peered suspiciously
at the chimney. “Something’s up the chimney.”
    “It’s just a stirge. Don’t worry. I blocked the chimney with
a metal grate.” Escalla, still resplendent in a pair of little towels, popped
into the room. “Come on. Let’s clean off this fried rabbit or whatever it is,
then we can beat Polk with a stick!”
    Reluctantly Enid filled a bucket from Jus’ bath then turned
to go. With a last look behind her, she padded back to the taproom to join her
dinner and her friends.

 
 

     
     
    Morning stole over the old, bleached giants’ bones and crept
cat-footed through the tavern windows. Ashes cracked in the tavern fireplace.
Huge and fuzzy, Enid slept beside the fire, flexing her huge talons in a feline
dream. Polk snored like a sawmill, curled protectively about a big stone whiskey
jug and muttering occasionally in his sleep.
    The Justicar opened his eyes slowly, carefully searching out
the room. Curled against his ribs and bundled in an old beaver skin, Escalla
slept happily. She made little chipmunk noises, unwilling to keep quiet even in
her sleep. Propped above them on the back of a chair, Cinders grinned his
crocodile grin, keeping watch over the room. All seemed quiet. All seemed still.
    Something was wrong.
    Cinders’ ears stiffened. In perfect rapport, Jus and the
hell hound listened to the air currents in the quiet room. Jus could sense no
movement, no presence hovering in the room. Cinders had given no warning of
illusions, invisible creatures, mysterious scents or noises, yet—
    There was a sudden sense of movement. In a blur, the
Justicar’s sword hissed through the air above Escalla. The black steel clove
emptiness, and the room seemed still once more.
    “Cinders?” Sitting in bed, his huge sword gleaming in his
hand, the Justicar breathed slowly as he sensed something strange in the air.
    The hell hound sniffed at the air, his red eyes gleaming
dangerously.
    Magic!
    “Where?”
    Gone.
    Jus rose and began jamming on his clothes. Beside him,
Escalla rolled into the warm space of his abandoned bed. Jus slid into his black
armor, the straps simple, well tended, and efficient.
    “You were asleep?”
    Cinders snooze. The hell hound cautiously searched the
room, seeming annoyed at