Free Escape from Undermountain by Mark Anthony

than be feared in the light above.
    "So it's these Outcasts who have Lord Corin Silvertor?" he asked finally.
    Beckla nodded, confirming his guess. "They're holding him prisoner deep in their territory."
    "Well, I don't suppose a ragtag band of misfits will give us much trouble," Artek said gruffly.
    At this, Beckla shook her head fiercely. "You don't understand, Artek. The Outcasts are not what they used to be. Anyone scorned by the world above is welcomed among them. But they hate those who are whole-those like us. And over the years that hatred has… changed them."
    A chill snaked down Artek's back. "Changed them?" he asked slowly. "How?"
    She gripped her staff with white-knuckled hands. "I think their hatred melded with some dark magic that lingers in these corridors even now, so long after Halaster created them. The very stones exude an evil enchantment like a foul odor. The Outcasts fled the world above because they were perceived as monsters. And over time, down here in the darkness, they have become just that. The atmosphere of Undermountain has twisted them. I've never laid eyes on any of the Outcasts myself-few who do so survive. But according to the stories, they're not human anymore." Beckla could not suppress a shiver.
    Artek stared at her in grisly astonishment. "So why wouldn't they just kill Lord Silvertor?" he asked. "From the description I got, Silvertor is young and handsome. If what you've said about the Outcasts is true, they would loathe him."
    "Yes, they would," the wizard agreed solemnly. "But you don't know the whole story. The Outcasts don't kill those who intrude upon their territory." Revulsion choked her voice. "Instead they twist their bodies and minds, turning the intruders into Outcasts like themselves."
    This time it was Artek who shivered. It was a horrible image. "How do you know all this, Beckla?"
    The wizard flashed a wan smile in his direction. "I have my ways."
    He frowned at this enigmatic answer, and she let out a soft laugh.
    "Actually, it's no mystery," she explained. "I'm not the only one hiding out down here. And rumors tend to travel pretty swiftly through these dreary tunnels."
    Artek nodded, temporarily satisfied with her answer. An uneasy feeling gathered in his stomach. He glanced down at the dark ink tattoo on his arm; the arrow was now halfway between sun and moon. Already six hours had passed. He didn't like the idea of meeting up with the Outcasts, but he had little choice. If he wanted to live, he had to venture into their territory.
    He shot the wizard a questioning look. "Are you certain you still want to come with me, Beckla?"
    "That little golden box of yours might be the only way I'm ever going to get out of here." She crossed her arms, fixing him with an even gaze.
    "You could just kill me and take it, you know."
    Her lips parted in a crooked grin. "If I was going to do that, wouldn't I have done it by now?"
    Despite his fear, he let out a laugh. "I suppose so."
    Together, they stepped through the archway's gaping mouth.
    While elsewhere the dank air of Undermountain had been oppressive, here it was downright menacing. As they went, the darkness parted sluggishly before Beckla's flickering ball of magelight and closed turgidly behind them, like oily water in the wake of a ship. Artek found himself taking shallow breaths; he was reluctant to draw the noxious atmosphere into his lungs, as if once inside his body it might fester, filling him with its dark disease. He knew that they were not welcome here.
    The two walked down a twisting tunnel; its walls were strangely curved and ridged. A dark, glistening mucus covered them, dripping onto the floor, which was nauseatingly soft and spongy under their feet. In all, the tunnel seemed as if it had not been hewn of stone, but was alive. Artek felt as if they had been swallowed by a gigantic creature, and were now moving down its long, sinuous esophagus. Hot bile rose in his own throat. He tried to force the queasy image