D & D - Red Sands Read Free Page A

Marix took the cudgel from the nomad woman. She nodded briefly toward the oncoming voices, and he signed his understanding.
    Two men, a Faziri soldier in mail and a leather-vested jailer, wielding a torch appeared in the tunnel. They were talking earnestly about dice when they spied Jadira standing proudly in their path.
    "The sultan," she declared, "is the son of swine!"
    The soldier snatched at the scimitar on his belt. He never drew it, for Marix burst from the shadows and bashed him across the neck. The Faziri's spiked helmet bounced and clattered on the paving. The torch-bearing jailer turned to flee, but in a flash, Jadira leaped on his back and bore him down. She cracked his sbaven pate repeatedly on the stone floor until he stopped struggling-
    More voices could be heard. As she quickly ran through the jailer's pockets, Marix retrieved the soldier's sword. He stuck it through his belt and said, "Get the torch."
    They ran into the dark tunnel. A faint breeze washed their faces and flickered their torch as they walked down the passage. There had to be an outlet somewhere ahead.
    They passed a series of niches in the walls. Jadira thrust the torch into each opening, looking for a way out. The niches held nothing but skeletons, some still
    clothed in rotting garments. All were chained to the wall. Spiders and other vermin crouched in their empty eye sockets, and the skull mouths hung open in unheard cries of silent agony.
    "Tuus preserve us," Marix muttered as the parade of the dead continued.
    Jadira steeled herself and turned to the next niche. This one was deeper than most. She stepped in—
    A dim figure rose up with a clanking of chains. Marix and Jadira shrank back, torch and cudgel to the fore. From the umber depths of the alcove, a voice said, "Peace, my friends. I am a helpless prisoner."
    Jadira pushed the torch closer. Chained to the wall was a portly man of middle age whose benign features and scalp lock identified him as a priest.
    "May the warmth of Agma find you always," he said. "Can you release me?"
    "I don't see how," said Jadira. "We have no tools."
    "And no time," Marix insisted. "Let us be gone!"
    "Don't leave me, I beg you! I am due to die on the morrow," said the priest.
    "For what crime?" asked Jadira.
    "For spreading the word of my god. I am Tamakh, reborn in the wisdom of Agma. The corrupt clergy of Omerabad imprisoned me, and they mean to take my life."
    "This is hardly the time to discuss religion!" said Marix. "Guards may come at any moment!"
    "Calm yourself. Even vultures take time to feed." Jadira examined Tamakh's fetters. "There are no rivets," she said. "How are they held together?"
    "They're locked," Marix said. "Use the key."
    Jadira was puzzled. She turned the iron rod over in her hands.
    "How?"
    "Oh, filth," said Marix in exasperation. "Let me." He look the rod, inserted it in a hole in a fetter, and turned. In short order, Tamakh was free.
    "My soul is rekindled!" he said. "Thank you! Surely Agma will bless—"
    "Can we go now?"
    "Yes, yes," said Tamakh. "As you so wisely said, let us be gone."
    Marix turned sharply on his heel, took two steps, and stopped. "Ah, which way should we go?"
    "Into the wind," said Jadira. She led the way past Tamakh's niche.
    The flow of air grew warmer and stronger. The floor began to slant upward. "I smell smoke!" Jadira said. That would mean they were near street level, where home fires were kindled.
    They came to a set of steps. Wind flowed down the stairwell, tormenting Jadira's torch. Marix handed the cudgel to the priest and drew his scimitar. As one, the three took a deep breath and fairly ran up the steps. At the top Jadira stumbled. The flaming pine-knot flew from her hand—and fell, end over end, down a deep cylindrical shaft in the floor at their feet.
    The men helped Jadira to her feet. Together they crept to the edge of the pit and peered down. Far below, the torch lay on the bottom, flickering feebly. The smell rising from the pit was