In The Cards

No matter how powerful you get, even if you're a warrior able to kill a demon in a single blow or a wizard able to make the earth tremble, you can always benefit from some teamwork. At the very least, it will gain you the luxury of being able to blame somebody other than yourself when something goes wrong.

Excerpt from 'Ruminations Of A Master Bard'

Having rested themselves the party moved steadily deeper into the mines. There were no miners around now, the tunnels lay dark and empty around them except for the kobolds. There seemed to be an increasing number of those, though. The ones which carried fire arrows were even worse than the others, stronger, faster, and quite dangerous. The few arrows that Zaerini and Imoen managed to find on their corpses didn't quite make up for the annoyance of having to creep along the tunnel at a near crawl so as not to get surprised by them.

"I'm really getting sick and tired of these things", Rini said and kicked a dead kobold off her blade. To her delight she had noticed that Varscona was more than a very sharp sword. It also carried some sort of permanent cold magic that served to further damage whatever it struck. Since she wasn't some biceps-bulging, warcry-shouting warrior lady she figured she could use all the help she could get in combat.

"I agree", Jaheira said. "It will be good to feel the sun once again."

"And to sleep in a proper bed", Edwin said wistfully. "I still have a crick in my back from that cave floor."

"I could easily cure that, wizard. Just lie down on your face and allow me to walk all over you. Your spine will be popping in no time."

"No, thank you, druid. With all the food you stuffed into your face earlier I fear I might get squashed flat. Tell me, when did your desire to be one with nature make you decide to turn into a hippopotamus?"

Jaheira's eyes were almost bulging at this impertinent comment. "Are you saying that I am fat?" she asked.

"No, of course not."

"Well, that is…"

"For a hippopotamus you are very shapely. Slim, even. (Particularly in the intellectual department. That is positively malnourished.)" The last comment was accompanied by a cold smile.

Jaheira was rapidly going purple in the face and even the mild-mannered Khalid was starting to reach for his sword, while stuttering too badly for any proper words to emerge. Fortunately Imoen chose that moment to speak up.

"Hey, guys", the young thief said. "Look what I found!" She held out a small bottle made from dark glass. "One of the kobolds was carrying it around." Imoen pointed vaguely at the pile of dead creatures at the adventurers' feet.

"Hm", Zaerini said as she inspected the find. "I suspect I know what this is." She picked up one of the dead kobolds' swords and poured a few drops of a sickly yellow substance from the bottle and onto the blade. Immediately the metal darkened and cracked slightly. "Yep. This is what's been poisoning the mines." The bard carefully screwed the lid back on the bottle and stuffed it inside her pack.

"W-what are you g-going to do with that?" Khalid asked, his anger forgotten.

"Oh, it might come in handy one of these days. You never know."

"Yes", Edwin agreed, actually looking approving. "The importance of a good poison, or for that matter potion, should never be underestimated. They can be used in so many creative ways. (I suddenly recall this particularly useful one containing asphodel and wormwood, among other things. Very interesting lesson, that was, even if my cauldron unexpectedly exploded. And I still fail to see why it should make such a great difference whether the potion is shaken or stirred.)"

"I just bet", Rini said. She closed her pack again and started walking down the stairs that made up the end of this particular tunnel. "And I can't wait to find out who's being creative down this mine."

As the adventurers emerged at the bottom of the stairs they found themselves in - another tunnel. Zaerini didn't know why she was surprised. It wasn't as if she'd really been expecting a dark and snowy forest or an enchanted castle. There was just rocky walls, rocky floor, a few abandoned tools here and there… Nothing exciting.

"Oh, look!" Imoen explained. "I found a pretty ring." She held it up, a plain ring made from green stone. "It was just lying on the floor. Say, it has an inscription inside. 'For Joseph'. Think we should try to find him?"

"I think that would be an enormous waste of time", Edwin commented as he bent over something on the floor.

"Why?"

"Because unless I am very much mistaken he won't be needing it any more." Rini looked over his shoulder and then immediately wished that she hadn't. There was a severed human hand on the floor, looking for all the world like a dead spider, pale and sickly, with fingers reaching helplessly into the air like legs. The ring-finger had been bitten clear off, probably one of the kobolds had done so in order to get the ring off and then managed to drop it anyway.

"Right…" Zaerini said, swallowing heavily. "Let's just go."

"Of course", Edwin remarked, "he might just be alive, sitting by the fireplace and telling his admiring neighbors the entire story about 'Joseph One-Hand And The Ring Of Stone'. (Though I wouldn't bet so much as a stale turnip on that.)"

"I said all right! Are you trying to make me lose my lunch?"

"Well, at least it would be better than what Joseph lost… (Though I might be able to use it for research, and certainly for spell components… If I ever get my hands on a 'Finger Of Death' scroll it should be perfect.)"

Imoen immediately clamped her hands across her mouth and Khalid and Jaheira both viewed the wizard with identical expressions of shock and disgust.

"What?" Edwin asked, sounding genuinely surprised at their reaction. "He's dead. It isn't as if he will miss it."

"Maybe", Zaerini said with a shake of her head, "but it's already starting to stink. I don't want it attracting every single carrion-eater around. Just leave it be, would you? We'll go shopping for spell components later, I need some too."

Edwin sighed and tossed the hand aside. "Is there nobody around here who appreciates a scientific approach?" he complained.

The mine-tunnels gradually turned into natural caves and passages. Sometimes it was necessary to squeeze between rocks so tight that you hardly dared breathe in for fear of getting stuck. There were no torches around here either, since the mines themselves had been left behind. Both the bard and the wizard had conjured up a mage-light each, but they didn't dare more than minimal light for fear of attracting the kobolds. There were even more of them down here, and a nasty ambush from the narrow stone bridge that spanned a dark underground river had already taken its toll. Jaheira was completely out of healing spells, and they didn't dare rest here to gain some new ones. True, they still had a couple of healing potions left, but those had to be saved for a real emergency.

I never knew there could be this many kobolds in one place without them tearing each other to pieces, Zaerini thought. Where did they all come from, I wonder? They can't have been here before or the miners would have known.

"More kobolds up ahead", Imoen whispered in a low voice as she came slipping out of the shadows around a corner. She had pulled up her hood to keep her pink hair temporarily hidden, and that really made a difference to her skill as a scout. Rini felt honest pleasure in seeing her friend's newfound confidence and ability to move quietly.

"How many?" Jaheira asked.

"At least two dozen", Imoen answered. "Maybe more. And it gets worse."

"O-of course", Khalid said in a gloomy voice. "I-i-it always s-seems to d-do that once you get d-deeper into this s-sort of place…"

"Some of them had those nasty fire arrows", Imoen continued. "I could see them glowing in the dark. And there was a wizard as well. He had a magelight of his own, and he was the one giving the orders."

"I don't like that sort of odds", Zaerini said and shook her head. "If we just charge them we'll be reduced to pincushions before we can say 'fire-arrow'. And that's not even counting the wizard."

"Then let us by all means abandon the brawn and start using the brain", Edwin said. "Advice only applicable on those of us who have one of course."

"Meaning what, exactly?"

"Meaning that I have a plan. A little magic will deal with those beasts easily."

"Easily?" Imoen asked. "Once you get close enough to see them they'll see you too, and then you'll be looking like a hedgehog in no time."

"I don't think so", Edwin said with a self-satisfied smirk. "Not if you do your part properly, little thief. (Amazing as it seems, she does appear to have acquired some rudiment of skill in the art of stealth lately. Perhaps she can finally be useful.)"

A few minutes later Zaerini found herself hiding behind a rocky outcropping, nervously grasping the Wand of Lightning. Edwin was hiding on the other side of the passage, almost invisible in the darkness since they had both extinguished their magelights. The bard felt a light touch on her arm and felt rather than heard Imoen whisper softly into her ear, giving her instructions on how to aim her shot. Softpaws confirmed those instructions from her vantage point a little further up the passage. Once Imoen had detailed her findings to Edwin as well, both the bard and the Red Wizard prepared themselves, making sure to synchronize their movements. Then they fired blindly into the darkness ahead, going only by Imoen's findings.

A fireball landed in the middle of the kobold squad, immolating many of the monsters easily. At the same time a lightning bolt took out the kobold wizard before he even had the time to begin a single spell. It bounced back and forth along the walls of the cave where the kobolds had been hiding, killing them in droves. Eventually the shrill screams ended.

That's it, Softpaws reported. They're all dead.

"I have to admit that was a really clever tactic", Rini said once she had informed her companions of their successful mission.

Edwin preened proudly. "It is exceptionally well suited for a mage and a rogue working in tandem", he said. "Since our little thief now seems able to move without tripping over her own feet I thought we might as well make her work for a change."

"I was great, wasn't I?" Imoen exclaimed. "Boy, they never even guessed I was close! That was so neat! Can we do it again soon? Say we can, pleeease!"

"That shouldn't be a problem", Rini said with an amused grin. "If there's one thing not in short supply down here it's kobolds."

As it turned out there were no other kobolds in the immediate area. The cave where this group had been hiding turned out to be a guard post of a sort, there were supplies stacked here as well as weapons. An open doorway led further into the mountain. Before the adventurers could approach it Imoen halted them however. "Hold on a sec", she whispered. "I thought I saw… Yeah. There it is." She went down on her hands and knees and peered closely at the ground. Then she hauled a small dagger out of her belt and cut the almost invisible tripwire that ran along the floor. "Arrow-trap", the rogue informed her friends, pointing at the small hole in the wall where the arrow waited for careless intruders. She then proceeded to disarm two more traps, humming quietly to herself at the same time. Rini watched her friend with some surprise. She hadn't had any idea that Immy had been practicing this much. But it was a welcome revelation, and she made sure to congratulate her friend on her new aptitude, getting a beaming look of pleasure in return.

Once through the door the adventurers moved into a twisting corridor, long and narrow. There were no kobolds to be seen here, nor any other guards. Eventually they could hear the sound of running water, and realized that they must be approaching the underground river again. It was a good thing they were approaching so carefully and quietly or the river might well have drowned out the sound of arguing voices. Zaerini raised her hand in warning, signaling her companions to halt before she carefully peeked around the corner. Then she had to bite herself in the tongue to not give herself away with a gasp of surprise.

There was a large cavern in front of her, and another stone bridge led to a small island in the middle of the river. The island actually mostly resembled a great big rock, and there was an opening at its base, an opening that seemed to be a door. On the bridge three people stood, having an animated discussion. One of them was a tattooed mage, who was waving his arms angrily at the scowling halfling in front of him. The third was a zombie. There could be no doubt about it, there was the grey and flaking skin, the dull eyes and the heavy smell of death surrounding it. This particular zombie looked recently dead, and from the broad chest to the slack lips Zaerini recognized it all too well. The gaping hole in its forehead was new though.

Abduh?! Zaerini thought. Wow. He actually looks more intelligent as an undead.