Paladin's Hope by Kingfisher T

Author:Kingfisher, T. [Kingfisher, T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Adult, Adventure
ISBN: 9798201410292
Goodreads: 59109627
Publisher: Red Wombat Studio
Published: 2021-10-09T07:00:00+00:00

Twenty

“An obstacle course,” said Galen. He slapped his forehead. “Yes, of course. Like in the army. You run a little way and then you have to go over a wall and then you run another little way and then you have to crawl under something and then there’s a dummy with a sword you have to fight.”

“Yes! Exactly!” Piper was so excited that he was practically bouncing on his toes. “Only this is an obstacle course for the ancient’s machines. Like the clocktaurs, only smaller. Humans were probably never meant to be here. It was all for the machines that we saw broken apart in the pit.”

“A machine isn’t very good at thinking, though,” said Earstripe. “Clocktaurs thought some, but mostly were just big. Clocktaur couldn’t run this.”

“The clocktaurs we saw couldn’t,” said Galen. “But those were controlled by demons, and most demons aren’t very smart. Word from the Dreaming God’s people is that they were meant to be controlled by human souls.”

Piper grimaced. “Maybe these little machines are, too. Maybe it’s some kind of bizarre training ground. Or an entertainment, like a steeplechase. Hell, for all we know, the ancients were shoving condemned prisoners into machines and betting on how far they’d get.”

“A gnole doubts it matters why,” said Earstripe. “A gnole just wonders if it’s good or bad for two humans and a gnole.”

“It’s good,” said Galen. “Isn’t it? It means that there’s always a way out.”

“It means there’s a way out for a machine,” said Piper. “Not necessarily for one of us. The poison gas room, for example. Maybe it was a corrosive, and the machine would have had to brace itself against the ceiling.”

“Thank you for that little ray of sunshine,” said Galen.

“It’s what I do.” We’re back to banter. Oh thank god. Kissing and banter and no one is dead yet. Impossibly, Piper felt his heart lift. We’re going to get through this.

Galen went through the room twice more before he was confident that he’d gotten the pattern down. “It’s not hard,” he said. “Or rather, it is, but I can walk you through it. There’s enough space for two, barely. Who wants to go first?”

“A gnole took an oath to serve and protect,” Earstripe said. “A gnole is not a guard-gnole now, but a gnole swore.”

“I’m not sure that oath covers obstacle courses of death in a murderer’s basement,” offered Piper.

“Oaths are oaths,” said Galen. “I took one. You probably did as a doctor, too.”

“Yes, but it was mostly about doing no harm and not a lot about death traps.”

“A gnole would prefer traps to philosophical discussion.”

“Right,” said Galen. “Now you’re gonna stand pretty much on my feet, and move when I say…”

The door shut behind them. Piper fretted, even though he trusted Galen’s skills. And you know damn well that Earstripe is a lot more agile than you are, and a lot less likely to get you both killed.

He tried to distract himself with more pleasant thoughts, like the bit where Galen had kissed him.

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