“Good,” said James. The men returned to their cages. The doors were shut and one man sat down and began a slow rhythmic count, to track the time till the hour was up.
As they left the slave pens, James said, “See you in Haldon Head. There should be a Kingdom garrison there by now. If there is and we’re not back, tell them what you’ve seen here.”
“I will.” The thin man looked at James and asked, “Where do you go now?”
“To the heart of this black place,” answered Solon.
“Then be wary of the leader,” replied the prisoner.
“You’ve seen him?”
“Yes,” the thin man whispered.
“What did he look like?”
“I suppose he was a man, once, but now . . . he is an undead . . . thing! He’s all rotten and decayed, wearing tattered robes that stink to heaven, and he’s guarded by creatures I can’t even name. We didn’t see him often; he stays in the lower levels and few of us are taken there, and only infrequently.”
“May the gods be with you,” said James.
The man nodded.
James led his companions off down another dark hallway.
They went down a stairway they had passed a few minutes earlier that led to a series of tunnels. Several times James had paused and decided that the best course of action was to continue along the main passageway that ran from the base of the stairs, on the assumption that the shortest course would take them to the heart of the temple, and all other passages led off to other areas. At least he hoped that would prove to be true.
Before long they came to an opening in a stone wall and they passed through it. On the other side they discovered what could only be called a gallery — a huge room, all four walls of which contained niches every few feet. Instead of containing skeletal warriors, these niches held statues. Some depicted humans, but many did not, and James didn’t recognize all the races memorialized in stone.
Heroic statues - of figures garbed in warrior dress or robes - stood atop pedestals placed at regular intervals around the floor. There was a consistent look of evil to all of them.
At the far side of the hall was a pair of doors. James tested the latch and it clicked open. He pushed slightly and peeked through the crack. “This is it,” he whispered.
He pushed aside the door to reveal yet another square room. Three walls were lined with human skulls and the fourth was tiled with a huge mosaic depicting the same tableaux as the bas-reliefs they had seen at the entrance to the temple. The “empty window” dominated the center of the images as it had before.
Four huge columns supported the ceiling, carved stone showing human skulls entangled by tentacles. The floor was inscribed with arcane runes.
In the middle of the floor rested a giant altar, caked with blood so ancient it was black, and inches thick. Above this sacrificial surface rested a giant clawed hand, apparently made of silver or platinum. Clutched in its fingers was a giant black pearl, twice the size of a man’s head. Its surface shimmered with mystical energy. Faint colors radiated across the surface, like the dark rainbow of oil on water.
Jazhara said, “Yes, this is indeed ‘it.’”
She hurried to the object. “This is the source of the mystic energy that blocks your spell, Kendaric. I am certain of it.”
“Let’s destroy it and be on our way,” said Solon, unlimbering his warhammer.
“That would be imprudent,” said a dry voice emanating from the shadows.
A figure emerged from a dark alcove. It was clothed in tattered robes, and James instantly recognized the figure from the vision. Jazhara reacted instantly, lowering her staff and unleashing a bolt of crimson energy.
The creature waved his hand and the energy deflected away from him, so that it struck the wall, where it crackled and spread before diffusing. It left smoking char where it had hit.
“Foolish woman,” he whispered, his voice an ancient wind that sang with evil. “Leave me the guildsman and you may leave with your pitiful lives. I have need of his talents. Resist and you die.”
Kendaric stepped behind Solon without a thought. “Me?”
James said, “No.”
The creature then pointed at them and ordered, “Kill them!”
From doors at each end of the room two giant figures appeared. Each was a skeleton-warrior similar in appearance to the others they had fought earlier, but these were taller again by half. Nearly nine feet tall from foot to helm, each of the giant creatures also possessed four arms and held a long, curved blades. Their heads were covered with wide flaring helms of crimson trimmed with gold.
‘This isn’t good,” said Kendaric. “No, not at all.”
Solon reached behind him and grabbed Kendaric by the sleeve, pulling him aside. “Try not to get in the way, that’s a good lad.”