Savage by James Alderdice

Author:James Alderdice [Alderdice, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lost Realms Press
Published: 2018-09-16T22:00:00+00:00

14.

The Spider God

He led them through the bazaar and into the stables that held the trapdoor. The guardsmen grumbled among themselves until their captain ordered one of them to go down first, just to be sure Gathelaus didn’t have a means of escape as soon as he climbed down.

Once sure the way was clear, another came down and then Gathelaus himself.

He was grateful the Pipe hadn’t fallen out right here when he had climbed up the ladder, or they would be taking him right back up for execution. Now he had a slim chance of evading them, if the spiders proved a good enough distraction. And, if the spiders didn’t kill him too. At least he would know not to be surprised if he suddenly heard their chittering.

They marched down the dark passage for some time, checking several of the side passages for the possibility of ambush, until they came to where Gathelaus told them they would find the Pipe. They squeezed through the narrow gap until it opened up to the size of a standard hallway.

“I know I put it down this one, but I may have to look a few times to be sure what ledge I left it on. I didn’t want a passing slave to find it, did I?”

That seemed to pacify the captain, but they still had a guardsman walk in front of Gathelaus and another right behind him with a crossbow.

“What’s that reek?” asked one of the guardsmen.

“I think the slave pens are just above us,” said Gathelaus, knowing it was actually the carrion of the spiders and the lingering scent of smoke hanging in the air about them.

“That doesn’t smell like any slave pen I’ve ever been to,” answered the guard. “This smells downright demonic.”

“Shuddup,” commanded the captain. “We’ve a job to do.”

They rounded through several S-curves in the passage and then came to the wider chamber. The blackened form of what had been Sigurd lay there. But there was no sign of the dead Merovians that Gathelaus knew had been there. Had the spiders taken their corpses?

“Well, there’s an abyss and no way across it, so if this is the right tunnel, it must be here, somewhere right?”

“It’s here somewhere,” said Gathelaus, stalling for time. “One of these side ledges.”

“Captain, something moved over there on the other side,” said one of the guardsmen, holding his lantern high to try and grant more light across the deep gulf.

“How deep is that?” asked another.

“Who cares? Ain’t nothing getting across that,” said the captain.

Gathelaus made a show of looking across the rock face, something he had never bothered to do before when he had been in this chamber.

“It doesn’t look like there is anywhere to hide the Pipe here. You’re lying, you are,” snarled the captain, cuffing Gathelaus across the face.

“It might have been on the other side,” said Gathelaus.

“And just how did you get over there?”

“We had a long plank, we crossed but we knocked it over the side when we fought the Merovians.”

“Sounds like a lie,” said the captain.

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