‘We were not moving quickly, in fact we were very cautious. For our three ambushers to have secreted themselves in that location, in anticipation of our arrival, they had to be lying in those shallow depressions for quite some time, perhaps an hour or more.’
‘How did they breathe?’
Laromendis nodded emphatically. ‘I don’t think they did breathe.’
Jim’s face became a mask of concern. ‘Necromancy?’
‘Pug mentioned that one of his concerns was trying to understand how death magic and demon magic were linked.’ The elf paused, then looked at Jim. ‘There may be a more prosaic explanation, but if those were…reanimated dead?’
Jim was, for the first time in years, uncertain what to do next. ‘We need to send word to Pug, and we need to follow those captors.’
Laromendis said, ‘I’ll find Pug. I can hide better than you can, but I cannot track or skulk, and that cloak gives you more flexibility than my magic does.’ He asked, ‘What should I tell Pug?’
‘Tell him what you saw, nothing more. Don’t speculate unless he asks, and tell him that if I don’t find you within one hour he’s to assume I’ve been taken as well.’ Jim glanced over the verge and said, ‘Good luck,’ then he wrapped his cloak around him and almost vanished.
‘Good luck,’ returned Laromendis, fascinated by Jim’s subtle bit of magic. He could see him moving along the verge of the dried river, but only if he looked closely and concentrated. He knew that if he took his eyes off the human, he’d vanish from sight. The cloak did not render him invisible, but rather let him blend in with the surrounding terrain.
Laromendis decided he’d ask more about that cloak if they ever got out of here. He glanced around to ensure he wasn’t being watched, then started back the way he had come, hoping to overtake Pug before they ran into trouble.
Pug motioned for the others to halt. They’d been making very slow progress, frustrated by the need to loop far to the northwest and then return towards the wall in tangents. There was simply no cover until they reached a point further to the west, and from there they could hardly see anything. Kneeling behind an overhang that sheltered them from all but the keenest observation, he whispered, ‘This is getting us nowhere.’
Gulamendis also spoke quietly, ‘Amirantha and I sense demons, but there are not that many, and they are scattered.’
‘Where?’ asked Pug.
‘All over,’ answered Amirantha. ‘There’s a heavy concen tration of them near that big gate where we first crossed over the road, but after that…’ He shrugged.
‘How about here?’ asked Brandos.
‘Few,’ answered the elf.
Looking at Pug, he said, ‘Perhaps the direct approach?’
‘What do you propose?’ asked the magician.
Glancing around at the night sky and shrouded landscape, he said, ‘Unless they have night vision like our elf friend here, I can get closer and take a look. It won’t be the first time I’ve crawled on my stomach to get a look at an enemy position.’
Pug thought for a moment and said, ‘I’m loath to use magic that might be detected until I know what we face. Get as close as you can, then get back here, but secrecy is paramount.’
‘Understood.’
Brandos crawled over the edge and on to the beam at a surprisingly efficient rate. Amirantha said, ‘Enemy position?’ He chuckled softly. ‘He means spying upon the local sheriff or city watch waiting for us.’
‘As long as it works,’ whispered Pug.
Time dragged slowly until they heard Brandos returning. He snaked down on his stomach to where they crouched, rolled over and sat up. ‘There’s a small gate about a hundred yards southwest. It looks like it’s the one part of the wall that’s not quite finished. They have to move a wooden barrier to bring wagons in or out, and there’s only one guard. A demon,’ he said to Amirantha with a grin.
‘What manner of demon?’ asked the Warlock.
‘Big battle demon, ram’s head, all decked out in black armour and carrying a huge double bladed axe.’
‘A Ram’s head?’ said Amirantha, looking at Gulamendis.
The elf said, ‘They tend to be tractable if you can subdue them.’
‘If you can subdue them,’ echoed Amirantha.
‘What are you thinking?’ asked Pug.
‘If we can control that demon, even for a few minutes,’ said Amirantha, ‘that could provide us an ingress. If you have the means to get in unseen and look about—’
‘I can do that,’ said Pug. ‘I can render myself unseen for a short period of time.’
‘That’s good,’ said Gulamendis with a slight smile, ‘as we should only be able to subdue that demon for a short period.’
‘What do we do with it when it’s no longer subdued and starts shouting alarm?’ asked Brandos.
‘I expect it will be dead by then,’ said Amirantha, pointedly.
Brandos rolled his eyes. ‘They tend to stop being cooperative as soon as you start killing them.’
‘Then do it quickly,’ he said to Brandos and Gulamendis.