“That’s not any sort of recommendation in my book,” said Boreas. He was using the handle of his hammer as a staff to push himself up.
“I suspect that where we are going will make Aquilea look paradisiacal by comparison.”
Sasha was bounding ahead, agile as a goat on the tracks. Karnea mopped sweat from her brow. Her cheeks were even more rosy than usual. A few hours of sleep did not seem to have done an enormous amount to restore her energy but she looked cheerful enough. “I’ve been saying for a while that I needed more exercise. Be careful for what you wish for!”
“How much further?” Kormak asked Sasha.
She looked back down the slope as if trying to see if anyone was following them. “Not more than an hour if we keep up this pace. Surely you don’t need a rest already, Guardian? I thought this would be a mere tussock to an Aquilean.”
“I am just curious,” said Kormak, refusing to rise to the bait. “Will we have time to get any distance underground once we find this entrance of yours?”
“We’d better hope so,” Sasha said. “Those look like storm clouds coming in and I am not keen on spending the night getting soaked on a mountainside.”
None of them said anything about the possibility that there might be goblins waiting in ambush.
It was raining heavily as they reached the postern gate. It did not look like much, just a heavy stone doorway that blended into the rocks it stood among. Moss had grown on the runes in its surface. The rest of the door was overgrown so the pattern was only noticeable through being lighter than the moss around it.
There was a faint darkness around one edge of the door. “The door is broken,” said Sasha. “It was when we found it.”
Kormak studied the area around him. There were no signs of recent goblin passage, such as the marks of heavy packs being dragged over the rocks. That did not mean the goblins had not come this way of course.
“Let’s hope they are not waiting for us on the other side,” said Boreas.
“Never seen any goblins up here,” Sasha said.
“Where do they usually lurk?” Kormak asked.
“Nobody really knows but it used to be you never come across any signs of them near the gate or on the upper levels. Used to be you only found them deep in the Underlands and you had to be unlucky for that to happen.” She paused for a moment as if thinking about something sad, took a deep breath. “Of course they never used to raid either. Last night was something new.”
Boreas used the handle of his hammer to force the gate wider and they looked down into the gloom. A flight of stairs receded in front of them.
“We’re going to need light,” said Kormak.
Karnea nodded and pulled something out of her rucksack. “Fortunately the goblins never got their claws on my pack,” she said.
She held a glittering crystal on a stone ring. The ring was large enough to encompass a human fist, and Karnea gripped it as she would the handle of a stein. She rubbed the stone with her hand, and as she did so it glowed brighter. The light was no greater than that of the full moon.
“A moon-lantern,” Kormak said. “You raided the vaults of Aethelas before you came.”
Karnea made a noise of mock outrage. “Of course not. This is one I acquired for myself.”
Kormak inspected the lantern. It would produce light for an hour after being rubbed or even after being breathed upon. It seemed to feed on heat, rather like the rune Mankh. It would begin to glow even if only held close to the body. Master Malan has possessed one. The light would not affect the Old Ones in any way, which was hardly surprising for the lanterns had been made by their servants, the dwarves, to illuminate their way in the very darkest places of the world.
Sasha was looking at the lantern. A gleam of avarice had appeared in her eye. “A functioning moon-lantern,” she said. “Those are worth a lot of money.”
“The light will be worth more to us in the darkness,” said Karnea. “Let’s try not to lose it.”
“Are there many such objects in the vaults of Aethelas?” Sasha asked. Boreas stared at her sidelong. Kormak laughed. “Aethelas fortress is guarded by hundreds of warriors, by magic, by all manner of cunning traps. The vaults are probably the most secure place in the world.”
“I was just asking,” said Sasha. “I am curious about dwarf artefacts. Always have been.”
“That’s understandable,” said Karnea with her glowing smile. “I have spent hundreds of hours inspecting the collection myself.”
She looked as if she were ready to expound on all the hidden treasures collected in the vaults so Kormak cut her off. “If we’re going down below, we’d better make a start.”