Taker Of Skulls (Book 5) by William King

Author:William King [King, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Typhon Press
Published: 2014-02-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

THE QUICKLEAF STILL burned within Kormak’s veins but now his skin felt tight and his eyes as if they were full of grit. From previous experience, he knew it would not be long now before he felt the after effects of the drug kick in.

Their surroundings grew darker and grimmer with every step. Everywhere the stonework was pitted and crumbled, as if the buildings had suffered some variant of what had happened to the Bridge of Nets. Small landings rose off the street. Open doorways yawned on every side. Over each was inscribed dwarven runic script. He understood some of the words. They announced the nature of the business. He suspected that some of the other runes represented the names of the owners or builders.

He walked up the steps and looked in through one open doorway. Pipes ran along the walls, and from them came a strange gurgling noise. He reached out and touched one. It was not hot enough to burn but it was still warm. Perhaps it had been intended as a heating system. He looked around at carved stone tables and chairs. They did not look particularly comfortable but dwarves were supposed to be a hardy people. Some small knick-knacks, statuettes of what might have been deities, combs and mugs still lay on a shelf carved into the walls. It was eerie. The city might just have been deserted days ago. It was easy enough to imagine that the owners might return at any time.

He turned and bounded back down into the street.

“Looking for something?” Boreas asked.

“A place where we can hole up and rest if we have to. These places are all death-traps, though. Too easy to bottle us up in one of them. And we can’t hide if the wolves are tracking our scent.”

The warrior nodded his understanding.

“What are we going to do then?” Sasha asked. “Keep walking until we drop.”

“Can you think of a better plan,” Kormak said. “You’re supposed to be our guide.”

“No,” she said. There was a grim set to her jaw. “Our best bet is to push on until we hit the ramps and drop down a few levels. We might be able to lose them that way.”

She did not sound hopeful. Howling sounded in the distance reverberating through the Underhalls.

“I think they found another way across,” she said. “Not that they needed to. We’re not holding the bridge anymore.”

“Have you ever seen so many goblins in Khazduroth before?” Karnea asked. “If I had known it would be like this, I would not have come here.”

Sasha shook her head. “Never seen more than a dozen at any one time until recently.”

Karnea frowned. “Where have they all come from? And why now?”

“Graghur is an Old One,” said Kormak. “And the Great Comet is in the sky. Perhaps he has a plan. Perhaps he wishes to make Khazduroth his citadel and is gathering his people here.”

“We can talk about this while we run,” said Boreas. “I am keen to put some distance between us and those wolves while we still can.

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