‘You hook him,’ said Brandos, ‘and we’ll gut him and cook him.’ Gulamendis nodded. ‘I’ve got one banishment that’s very quick, but tends to be messy.’
‘I don’t mind messy,’ said Pug. ‘If we need to leave in a hurry, we can.’
‘What about Magnus and his group?’ asked Brandos.
‘If they hear trouble, they know what to do,’ answered Pug.
‘I hope so,’ said Brandos. ‘Because I certainly don’t.’
Pug said to Amirantha, ‘Take the lead.’
Amirantha nodded, but instead of crawling forward as Brandos had, he stood, motioning for the others to follow, and started walking straight to the gate.
The sentry was looking the other way when Amirantha loomed upon it in the darkness, and when it turned its sheep-like head in the Warlock’s direction, it uttered a curious sound, ‘Uh?’
Before it could make another, Amirantha used a single word spell that stunned the creature, causing the huge axe it held to drop from limp fingers. Amirantha said to Pug, ‘You have perhaps five to ten minutes; more likely five.’
Pug said, ‘I’ll be back in four.’ He stole a quick glance at Amirantha who stood with hands outstretched, his magic controlling the demon. Brandos stood ready to strike a killing blow if needed, with Gulamendis ready to banish the creature.
Then he took a deep breath, and started walking towards the now unguarded entryway. As he moved around the makeshift wooden barrier, he unleashed a spell he had never used before. It was a difficult cantrip, that caused him to be ignored. Not truly invisible, but when someone glanced at him, he didn’t garner their notice, as if he wasn’t important enough to remember. It was a spell taught him by Laromendis the week before, and while the elf had proclaimed Pug’s mastery of it sufficient, Pug still had doubts.
He walked through the opening and paused, glancing in all directions.
The four towers rose overhead, arching towards the open centre. This close, Pug could sense their power; it was faint, or perhaps dormant was a better word, but it was there. A tiny flicker of light danced across each tip from time to time, but otherwise they were quiet.
Pug could not enjoy the luxury of investigating any one aspect of this place, no matter how much he wished he could. He moved towards the massive excavation at the centre of the ring, glancing from side to side to see if he was being observed. A sentry on the wall looked directly at him for a moment, then turned away to look out over the dark narrow path outside the wall. Either the spell was working or the guard expected to see humans in dark robes trekking around the facility during the night.
Pug reached the edge of the pit and glanced in. His stomach knotted. The pit was less than thirty feet deep, but he could see the pile of bodies. The stench clearly indicated they had been dead for days. Elves, humans, dwarves, and even some demons sprawled in the mass.
Pug stepped back and felt a fresh breeze blow the foul smell away. Had the air been still he would have sensed the dead at the outer gate.
He hurried towards the only feature inside the ring that offered an invitation, a small building of some sort, with a single door and no windows. As he hurried to reach it, a voice from nearby hissed, ‘Pug!’
It was only by the scantest margin that Pug didn’t incinerate Jim Dasher where he stood. ‘You have no idea how close that was,’ Pug whispered. ‘Where are the others?’
‘In there,’ Jim pointed to the door. ‘There’s a stairway leading down to an underground chamber.’
Pug said, ‘I have one minute before I must start back to where Amirantha and the others wait.’ He pointed towards the unguarded entrance.
‘Magnus, Sandreena, and Kaspar were taken.’
‘What?’
Jim motioned for him to remain silent. ‘A trap. I think they knew we were coming.’ Before Pug could ask how, he continued. ‘I used my cloak and Laromendis employed his conjuring skills to stay hidden. He’s gone after you, and if he hasn’t overtaken his brother and the others by now, he will be with them by the time you get back.’
‘Me?’ said Pug. ‘My son is down there.’
‘And I’m better able to slip in and out than you. You’re spell is good, I had to look at you long and hard before I realized, but I did eventually recognize you. If you go down the stairs, you’ll be in such a small space that those at the bottom won’t be able to ignore you, so let me go. I’ll meet you by the gates in five more minutes.’
‘If you’re not back by then, I’ll come after you,’ said Pug.
‘What about the plan?’ hissed Jim.
‘Everyone is in place, and I’ll send Brandos with instructions if I must. I’ve lost too much to not go after Magnus if you don’t return.’
‘Understood,’ said Jim. ‘Now, let me go down there and then I’ll find you.’