A few minutes later, they came to a building adjacent to the Grand Hall of Truth and Justice, where the men were temporarily separated from the woman for the strip search and mental examination to make sure they were who they appeared to be. Gelrad read the men's minds himself, once he'd searched their clothing to make sure they weren't carrying Amulets of Mind Protection, and he laughed and joked all the while to lighten the mood, conscious of how embarrassed and vulnerable they must be feeling in the presence of a fully dressed person. Then, when it was over, they joined up with the women again and were taken towards the room where the other members of their expedition were waiting to meet them, along with the special equipment that had been prepared for them.
On the way, though, an older man dressed in flowing white robes called out to them, and they stopped to see what he wanted. “Andricus!” exclaimed Gelrad in surprise. “What is it? Is anything wrong?”
“It’s Cedrus,” said Andricus apologetically as he caught up with them. “I’m afraid he’s been called away. Something urgent came up, and he had to leave immediately to deal with it.”
“Damn!” swore Gelrad. “When will he be back?”
“Can’t say,” replied Andricus. “At least a month, maybe more.”
Gelrad swore again. “Cedrus was to have been your guide,” he explained to the six questers. “He’s the only one who knows the way to the Underworld.” He turned back to the newcomer. “Get him back right away. The recovery of the Sword of Retribution is of the utmost importance.”
“More important than the survival of Fort Dirk?” asked Andricus. “It’ll fall within two weeks unless he can lead the Four of Fendoom to it, and he’s the only one who knows how to find Loreless Pass. Every other access to the city is held by the enemy.”
“Surely there must be someone else who can lead a bunch of wizards through a hidden pass!” exclaimed the paladin in exasperation. “What about Kenriss?”
“Kenriss is dead,” replied Andricus sadly, “and we’ve been unable to get in touch with Dopandel, Clambaster, Harriman or anyone else who might, might mark you, know the way. I’m sorry, Gelrad.”
“Does that mean the mission’s off?” asked Shaun, who didn't look happy at the prospect of having to explain it to Resalintas.
“Unless we can find someone else who knows the way to the Underworld,” replied the Paladin. “Is there anyone else, Will? Anyone at all?”
“No,” replied Andricus sadly. “I’ve already checked. There’s no-one at all on this island, and it would take far too long to check all our contacts all over the continent. It would be quicker to simply wait for Cedrus to get back. If we’re lucky, it might be as little as four weeks.”
Gelrad had detected something in the older man’s voice, though. “There is someone, isn’t there? You do know of someone, don’t you?”
“Well...”
“Out with it, William.”
“You’re not going to like it.”
“Let me be the judge of that. Now spill!”
“Well, the cthillian delegates are still on the island, hammering out the details of their temporary non-aggression pact with Lanaris, and since they actually live in the Underworld...” He broke off when he saw the expression on the paladin’s face and the three wizards gaping in slack jawed horror. “I told you you wouldn’t like it,” he said quietly.
“Andricus,” said Gelrad, his voice rising in disbelief, “you’re not suggesting that we send a bunch of youngsters into the Underworld with a slaver as a guide and only a couple of trogs to defend them? Have you gone completely mad?”
“No, of course not,” replied the older man angrily. “You forced it out of me. I told you there was no-one else on the island.”
“Yes, you’re right, I’m sorry.” The paladin forced himself to calm down. “Forgive me, old friend. It was just the thought of these six innocent youngsters being led underground by one of those monsters...”
“Excuse me,” exclaimed Shaun indignantly. “We’re not exactly children, you know. We’ve had our share of the action lately, and we’ve been quite capable of looking after ourselves. There’s no need to talk about us as though we were helpless babies.”
Gelrad wiped a hand over his face. “This must be my day for putting my foot in it,” he said. “You have my apologies as well for forgetting what you have already achieved on your own. However, I’m afraid that, compared to a slaver, you would indeed be little more than helpless babies. Just one of them could destroy you all with its telepathic mind attacks before you could even draw your sword.”
“What exactly is a slaver?” asked Matthew curiously. “You’re all talking about them as though they were as familiar as cats and dogs, but I’ve never heard of them.”
“You probably know them by another name,” replied the paladin. “They’re also known as cthillians, butterfly men, devil men...”
“Devil men!” exclaimed Matthew. “I’ve heard of them! Yes, I see what you mean, not exactly the sort of creature you’d want to place your trust in.”
“You said something about a non-aggression pact,” said Thomas to Andricus. “What exactly did you mean by that?”
“The cthillians have recognised the Shadowhosts as being as great a threat to them as to us,” replied Gelrad, “and have stated their intention to help us fight them. A couple of them came here to lay down a few ground rules, to make sure we stopped fighting each other until the greater enemy has been defeated.”
“So, for the time being at least, we and the cthillians are allies,” said the wizard thoughtfully.
“What are you suggesting?” asked Jerry, his tone of voice suggesting that he wouldn’t like it.
“Well, it just seems a shame, that’s all, having to give up before we’ve even started. If these cthillians are on our side for the time being, and if they’ll be going back to the Underworld anyway as soon as their business here is finished, well, couldn’t we just ask them if we could go with them?”
The tiny nome stared at him as though he were mad. “Go with them?” he almost screamed. “These are bloody slavers we’re talking about! One of the most evil and dangerous creatures in the world!”
“They’re rational, intelligent beings with whom we share a common enemy,” replied Thomas. “If we explain that the Sword is to be used against the Shadowsoldiers, the people who are threatening their very existence, I’m sure they’d be only too willing to be our guides.”
“I don’t believe I’m hearing this,” spluttered Jerry. “What do you think they’ll do as soon as we’ve left the protection of Pargonn? They feed on people like us! They breed us like sheep! That's why they call them slavers, and don’t think we’ll be safe so long as we outnumber them.”
“I know how potentially dangerous they are,” said Thomas, trying to sound reasonable. “I know that if they decided to turn nasty, we’d be in real trouble, but think about it. What would they gain by killing us? Nothing, but they’d be gaining a great deal by seeing to it that our mission succeeds. So long as the Sword’s in the Underworld, there’s a chance that it’ll be used against them, but if it’s returned to the surface, it’ll be used against their enemies, the Shadowhosts. Of course they’ll help us. They’d be stupid not to, and evil though the slavers are, they’re not stupid.”
Jerry turned his back on the human in disgust and turned to the paladin. “Talk to him,” he pleaded. “Try to make him see sense.”
“Actually, I think he’s making a great deal of sense,” replied Gelrad. “It hadn’t occurred to me, but I think he’s right. They might well be willing to guide you to the Underworld.”
“Not you as well!” exclaimed the tiny nome, shocked betrayal in his voice. “Am I the only one with any sense around here? Lenny, tell him. Shaun, Matt, please!”
“I, I don’t know,” muttered Lirenna in confusion, glancing to and fro between her two fellow wizards. “I don’t like the idea of travelling with slavers any more than you do, but if it helps to win the war I think we should at least consider it. It wouldn’t do any harm to just explore the possibility, would it? What do you think, Di?”
“I’ll go along with anything that helps to end this terrible war and puts a stop to this senseless slaughter,” replied the cleric.
“You’ve never seen a slaver,” pointed out Jerry. “You don’t know what they’re like.”
“That’s true,” agreed Diana, “but Father Bryon once told me that only by meeting people from different cultures in strange lands and getting to know them can one grow in wisdom. Who knows what we might learn about them, and about ourselves, by prolonged, non-hostile contact with them?”
“That’s right!” agreed Thomas enthusiastically. “It’s an opportunity too good to miss. Come on, Jerry, we don’t have to trust them. We’ll keep our eyes on them, and if they start anything we don’t like, I’m sure the eight of us’ll be able to handle them. They may be powerful and dangerous, but even they’d think twice before taking on odds of four to one.”
“What if they lead us to one of their cities?” asked the tiny nome stubbornly but with slightly less conviction. With nobody else on his side, he was losing the heart to carry on arguing.
“Jerry,” said Shaun, “Back in the Ghost Ocean, we were all almost killed when we ignored your warnings, and we promised that we’d listen to you in future, so now we’re listening. If you really think that having slavers as guides is too dangerous and that they’ll betray us, then we’ll forget the whole idea.” Thomas started to protest, but the soldier shushed him up. “I mean it, Jerry. Just say the word and we go back to Fort Battleaxe and forget all about the Sword.”
Jerry glanced at each of them in turn. His friends, the paladin and Andricus. All looking back at him as they waited for his answer. Would they really abandon the mission if Jerry said no? wondered Thomas. I'll talk to him, convince him...
One look at the others, though, told him that he'd be on his own if it came to that. There was an earnestness on their faces that told the wizard that they would abide by his decision. They'd given him their word and they would abide by it. If Thomas held out, it would be him against the other five and he would have no choice but to give in as well.
He searched the tiny nome's face, therefore, looking for a clue as to what he was thinking. If he said no, then presumably they would return to Fort Battleaxe to help defend the city and the nome would spend the rest of his life, however long that was in a city under siege, wondering if he'd done the right thing. As defenders died around him, as he watched his friends and battle brothers die one by one, he would wonder whether they could have ended the war sooner by going ahead with the mission.
Yes, slavers are dangerous, Thomas thought, as if he could beam it into the tiny nome's head by a kind of telepathy. So is war. So is life itself. Any of us might choke on a fishbone tomorrow. Come on, Jerry, you know it makes sense. You know we have to do this.
Maybe it worked, because Jerry gave the sigh of having reached a decision. “Oh all right,” he said, taking his hat off to scratch his head. “What the hell. Who wants to live forever anyway?”
“Thanks, Jerry,” said Thomas, reaching down and patting him on the shoulder. “I won’t forget this, I promise.”
“Neither will I,” replied the nome sourly. “I just hope we don’t all live to regret it.”
“We don’t know that the slavers will agree to be our guides yet,” pointed out Matthew. “Wouldn’t it be funny if, after all this, they refuse to have anything to do with us?”
“We can but hope,” grunted Jerry.
“We won’t know until we ask them,” said Gelrad. “I’ll go find Lanaris, explain the situation to him and hope that he’s in a good mood. Feel free to explore, but don’t go too far. If Lanaris and the slavers are willing, we’ll need to get hold of you in a hurry.”
The paladin and Andricus then disappeared off down the corridor, leaving the six questers all alone in the building, staring at each other in nervous excitement.
☆☆☆
An hour later, as they were walking slowly along the Avenue of Heroes, admiring the handsome statues of former Fellowship members, a messenger came trotting up to them. “You have to go back to the Grand Hall right away,” he told them. “Lanaris wants to see you.”
“Lanaris?” asked Shaun as they followed him back. “Gelrad mentioned him. Who is he?”
“The head of the Fellowship,” replied the messenger, seeming surprised that they’d had to ask. “None other than the most senior paladin on the island, probably in the world. Must be something really important for him to be involved.”
The questers glanced nervously at each other, and Thomas felt a great flock of butterflies fluttering in the pit of his stomach. This could only mean one thing, and he found himself trembling with excitement. He was soon to meet representatives of one of the most powerful, and most feared, races of creatures in the world. Creatures who had originally, if the stories were to be believed, come from another world and whose knowledge of history and the principles of nature was unrivalled. Soon, he’d have an opportunity to engage them in casual conversation, and who knew what he might learn, what great secrets they might reveal to him.
None of the others shared his excitement, though. They were pale with apprehension and nervous energy and Jerry was almost trembling with fear. None of them have any imagination, thought Thomas, slightly contemptuously. None of them have any idea just how important this meeting could be. They can only see the danger. Am I the only one who can see the incredible possibilities that may soon be opened up?
It seemed that he was, and he felt himself simmering with annoyance and impatience as the messenger led them back the way they'd come.