the balcony. The exit was merely a stone archway heading out to a wet corridor. A small pool of water had formed on the balcony. The walls nearby wept water slowly. Before Jymoor, a mess of a creature was all that remained of the guard.
As the Companions ascended the slippery stair, Jymoor and Yeel went further into the lair. The dark corridor split once, then a few paces later it split to the right again.
“Which way?”
“We have to send some each way,” Yeel said. “We don’t want any to escape on this world. No doubt they have means of traveling to other worlds in their main shrine, but we can’t help that.”
“Split up into three even groups?”
Yeel put the impression of a shake of his head into their minds.
“I think the shrine will be directly ahead, the deepest point in the lair. These side passages are probably not as important. I would ask five to go to each side and make sure no Meridalae there make any escape. Be mindful there may be prisoners from your world here, or from any world for that matter. If there’s any confusion, bring them to me afterward and I’ll determine their innocence.”
“I’ll go to the right,” offered a strong man in chain mail. Yeel had carefully remembered his name as Rodan of Mountover. Yeel saw that Rodan wore some of the dense weave fabric under the chain mail. Apparently, Rodan wanted a double layer of protection.
“You are armed?” Master Kasil asked.
The man held up a loosely clenched fist.
“The sword is invisible to all but the wielder. Yeel gave it to me,” the man said.
“Ah yes, that sword came to me from the distant—”
“Excellent!” Jymoor hissed, cutting Yeel off. “Will any join him? Four more?”
Four other Companions nodded or raised their weapons, moving behind the first.
“Then me and my brother can try the left,” a soldier offered. Yeel had remembered him as Captain Carmar. Another man stood at his side. It was his brother, Grael Carmar. Two more men and a woman joined them in the passageway.
“Good luck to you all,” Jymoor said softly. The large group of Yeel and nine Companions, including Jymoor and Master Kasil, moved forward down the central tunnel.
Yeel took the lead. The tunnel headed deeper underground. Rivulets of water flowed down the walls and the gentle sloping floor. It got darker, then lighter as a glow grew brighter from ahead. The tunnel emptied into a larger cave or chamber. The inside of the room was obscured by a low wall that forced a right turn at the entrance.
Yeel raised his tentacle.
“One moment,” he thought at them.
Yeel plucked a good eye from his ridge, then tossed it solidly away. The eye bounced off the stone floor and rolled into the next room.
Quan lay in wait inside. Yeel saw them and a low, chitinous creature with many legs.
Apparently they’ve been preparing for us. That’s their master. And that’s the one who’s dangerous.
“Quiet. It’s a trap for us. I’ll clear the way, then come in ready for a fight,” Yeel put into their minds. Yeel tossed a firebomb into the room. The flash of light was impressive. Yeel supposed the Companions would be able to smell the smoke, though he could not.
Yeel rushed into the room. One of the Quan had been hit by the bomb and lay smoking on the floor.
The other Quan moved in on Yeel and his Companions near the entranceway where they poured in. Yeel projected the image of himself growing larger, more fearsome. The tips of his tentacles grew into giant venomous spikes. He hissed like a wicked creature come to kill everyone nearby.
The Quan edged away from him, but they still engaged his Companions on the flanks. Yeel didn’t pay them any attention. He focused on the crab-like being behind them. He tossed his last firebomb in its direction, simultaneously shifting to conceal his next vlure sphere.
The creature chittered at him and moved aside. The firebomb failed to detonate. Another bolt of violet energy shot toward Yeel. This time he was ready with the vlure. The bolt struck his tentacle holding the sphere. Yeel felt a sharp pain as the energy bit into him, then receded as the vlure absorbed it. It cracked and opened in his hand, sending a small white form shooting toward the crab-thing.
The effect was immediate. The crab-thing scuttled and chittered, then flipped upside down, its legs waving like an overturned bug.
Jymoor and the others chopped up the Quan in short order.