EPISODE 54:
THE MISSING
“He’s gone?” Corwin asked, confusion turning to fear in his voice. He pushed past Vash and looked all around the room, as if the dwarf were just hiding in a corner somewhere. “He was recovering. There was no way he could have walked out on his own.”
Vash stepped into the room slowly. Moonlight illuminated the room through partially drawn curtains. He let his eyes adjust, elvish lenses sliding into place, and the room became almost as bright as daylight. Ignoring Corwin’s frantic searching for a moment, Vash scanned the room.
. He thought, looking at the beds that he and Corwin had used. Weapons, armor, and other gear lay on small tables at the foot of the beds. Vash glanced over at Jabez’s bed and spotted the heavy war hammer leaning against one bedpost. Jabez would never leave that behind.
“He didn’t leave on his own.” Vash said, gesturing to the bed and the hammer. “He left his magic hammer behind. I’ve never seen him more than a few paces away from that thing.”
Corwin paused, looking down at the hammer. “Neither have I. So someone took him. Scalebacks?”
“Possibly. I don’t know much about Scalebacks beyond what the sailors on Lake Marallon would talk about,” Vash said, approaching his gear and sorting through it. Someone had cleaned and mended his clothes. The large rips that ran down the back of his shirt were so cunningly stitched that Vash had to squint to see the repair. His leather jerkin had more obvious stitching, but it looked to be in good condition. Vash quickly changed out of the soft clothes given to him by the clerics and into his more robust adventuring outfit.
“Scalebacks eat humanoids.” Corwin said, doffing his shirt and reaching for his tunic and armor. For the first time, Vash noticed scars standing out on Corwin’s well-muscled arms and chest.
. Vash thought.
“I’ve heard that, too.” Vash said, buckling on his sword belt and securing his short sword and dagger in their proper places. “But I doubt they came up here in force just to grab an invalid dwarf to make into dinner.”
“I’ve never heard of Scalebacks attacking in force, ever.” Corwin said, buckling on his breastplate and making sure the straps all cinched tight. “They’re territorial as hell, but they keep away from settlements.”
Vash thought about the shadow temple, how it had dug into his mind, looking for a place to latch on.
The thought wasn’t something that Vash wanted to dwell on.
Corwin tested the draw on his sword and turned to Vash. “Maybe we can…”
A sound from the hallway drew their attention. Vash and Corwin exchanged glances and immediately drew their weapons, taking up positions on either side of the door.
Footsteps, Vash thought, straining to hear more than the faintest noise.
Vash signaled to Corwin to wait. Corwin frowned, but nodded, keeping his sword ready, but holding back.
The footsteps continued down the hall, stopping just outside their door. Vash heard a sudden intake of breath, then a shape rushed into the room between them.
Vash hesitated and was glad that he did. The shape was smaller than him, slender, and moved without the deliberate grace of a trained fighter. A soft feminine voice whispered in the darkness.
“” She prayed, holding one hand up in front of her face.
Vash felt a tingle. It wasn’t like when he used a Talent, or even when a wizard used a spell. The mana was moving around, but not in the way familiar to him. A small sphere of golden-white light blossomed in the hand of Sera Emberhart. The cleric’s apprentice looked worried as she took in the mess of Jabez’s bed, then Vash and Corwin’s missing gear.
“Oh, thank the gods, it’s just you.” Corwin said in relief, lowering his sword.
Sera let out a shriek of fear and surprise, whirling around. Vash could feel she was pulling in mana, and that same tingle from before. The sphere of light flickered and almost went out, but Sera regained her composure quickly.
“You two nearly scared the life out of me!” Sera said, her relief taking some of the bite out of her rebuke.
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“Sorry about that.” Vash said, sheathing his blades. “We didn’t know what was coming down the hall and thought it was better to be safe than sorry.”
She nodded, but still looked a bit out of sorts. Turning back to the savaged bed, Sera lowered her light to get a better look.
“There’s no blood.” Corwin said. “But I’m certain that Jabez didn’t just get out of that bed on his own.”
“I agree.” Sera said, scanning the area with a practiced eye. “One of them probably tore the sheets when attempting to lift Jabez. But why would they want to take him?”
Vash hesitated for a moment, wary of letting out too much information. Finally, he relented, because there was no way that he and Corwin could get Jabez back on their own. “When we were down in the Underlands, we had to cut through an ancient temple dedicated to the Drae. It was mostly inactive, but there was…something still in there. Is it possible that the Scalebacks, when they chased us, woke it up?”
“Corwin told us a bit about that.” Sera said, biting her lip. “My experience with dungeoncraft isn’t that extensive, but I’m not sure Heartstones in that state could control this many Scalebacks. They would need the souls of most of a Scaleback tribe to make a conversion like that.”
Vash had a sudden thought. “What if it’s not controlling them?”
“Scalebacks don’t attack like this,” Sera said, shaking her head. “They like to ambush folk near their territory. If they raid a settlement, it’s a farming or a fishing village, not the adventuring headquarters of the southern kingdoms.”
“That’s not what I mean.” Vash said. “What if it made them an offer? Bring the temple powerful souls to complete the conversion into a Dungeon Heart.”
“What would the Scalebacks get out of it?” Corwin asked.
“Having a true dungeon as your lair lends creatures like Scalebacks a great deal of power. They would get weapons, armor, learn new Talents.” Sarah said, eyes lighting up in realization. “It’s even said that monsters who lair in a true dungeon can even go through a forced evolution, becoming more powerful versions of themselves.”
Vash thought of the Scalebacks with the gleaming obsidian hides.
“From what Corwin said, there were nine Heartstones down there.” Sera continued, frowning in thought. “Jabez alone wouldn’t be enough to get the conversion started. He’s a powerful soul, but these are old Heartstones. Whatever dungeon they formed would be…impressive.”
“What if they’re not after just Jabez?” Vash asked, glancing at the windows and the general direction of the village. He thought he could hear faint shouts out that way, but couldn’t be sure. “What if they’re up here to capture multiple powerful Wayfarers and get the dungeon heart started?”
Sera’s face went pale. “I haven’t seen Sister Clea since this afternoon. I was checking for her in her apartments before I came here.”
“Anything missing? Any damage?” Corwin asked, concerned.
“No, but Sister Clea isn’t the tidiest person around.” Sera said. “I might have missed something.”
“Let’s assume that they took Sister Clea as well.” Vash said. “At least until we find proof otherwise.”
“So they’re up here grabbing people to sacrifice to the Heartstones.” Corwin said. “Then they must be taking them back down to the shadow temple.”
“That means they’re headed back into the Underlands.” Vash said, starting for the door. “If we hurry, we might stop some of them before they go down the falls.”
Corwin and Sera moved to follow, but they all stopped when they heard wood cracking and crashing, followed by the sound of breaking glass.
Padded feet and clicking claws entered the hallway. Low, guttural hissing noises and throaty barks called to each other. Vash’s blood went cold remembering those sounds. He held up a hand and waved Corwin and Sera back into the room.
Vash leaned out into the hallway just enough to get a quick glimpse of what they faced. Down by the door to the infirmary, Vash could see five hulking lizard men. Two stood head and shoulders above the others, with glistening obsidian hides and red and yellow striated markings on their chests. The others were large bulls with normal coloring. One had stumbled over a cart of supplies, causing the crash.
The other Scalebacks were chastising their clumsy partner, but they weren’t afraid of being heard or noticed. Shoving furniture and carts out of the way, the Scalebacks stalked down the hallway in a proprietary fashion.
Vash ducked back inside.
“There’s five of them.” He whispered. “Two of the new big ones, and three of the regular bulls.”
Sera swallowed hard, her eyes wide with sudden terror.
“I think we can get out through the window.” Vash whispered, nodding at the windows along the wall. “We just have to be quiet.”
Corwin nodded, taking up a guard position by the door. “I’ll keep watch. Get the cleric out of here first.”
Sera, too frightened to protest, nodded enthusiastically.
“Don’t do anything stupid or heroic.” Vash cautioned.
Corwin grinned. “I’m no hero.”
Vash rolled his eyes and crossed the room to the nearest window. With deliberate caution, he slid the blinds aside, then studied the ground outside. The meadow outside the window stretched from the infirmary all the way to the village, interrupted by some trees and a few paths.
He tested the window. It flexed slightly when he pulled, but latches at the top and bottom held it in place. More hisses and growls came from the hallway where the Scalebacks were throwing things around and kicking open doors.
Vash thought, reaching down to undo the bottom latch. It clicked softly and released. He stretched, trying to reach the top latch, but it was just beyond his fingertips.
He thought bitterly, then reached for a chair to stand on.
Vash had just climbed up onto the chair and was reaching for the latch when he noticed that the sounds of general destruction from the hallway had stopped. He glanced over at Corwin, who stood stock still by the doorway, eyes glued to what little he could see from his angle. Vash could see that Corwin’s knuckles were white on the hilt of his sword.
Vash thought.
He reached up to undo the top latch of the window when he heard a voice from the hallway.
“Hello?” came the familiar voice of Kurt Baumkanf. “Master Stahl sent us to check on the infirmary. Anyone here?”
Vash froze, looking back at Corwin. The big man had a determined look on his face. The look that Vash associated with ‘noble but stupid’.
. Vash thought.
Corwin drew his sword.
.
“Kurt!” Corwin called down the hall. “Watch out! There are Scalebacks everywhere!”
“What?” Kurt said, confused.
Then came the roars of the Scalebacks.
