Extinction

Slipping away from the other tanarukks, the pair squeezed through the narrow tunnel. It extended horizontally for some distance, then sloped up to a small cavern, one whose entrance was guarded by a duergar. The gray dwarf lifted his axe as the pair approached.

"We've got an urgent message for the drow Nimor," Gromph said, adopting the low. grunting voice of a tanarukk.

"Oh yeah?" The duergar snorted. "So does every other bloody tanarukk in Vhok's useless excuse for an army. Well, Lord Nimor's not here."

Gromph ignored the taunt. He sniffed loudly as he scanned the apparently empty cavern.

"He's here," the disguised archmage said. "I can smell him."

"No he's not," the duergar replied with a frown. "Get back to your ranks."

Andzrel balled a fist with knuckles that were ridged with scales and raised it under the duergar's nose.

"We know he's in there," he growled. "Let us by."

The duergar suddenly grew larger and broader?until he was half again as tall as Andzrel's tanarukk form. He squeezed the handle of his axe, causing a shimmer of magical energy to pulse through it.

"Don't make me use this," the giant gray dwarf warned.

"Nimor will want to hear this message," Gromph insisted. "Tell him it's from the spy he sent into Menzoberranzan."

"What spy?"

"Sluuguth," the other tanarukk said.

The duergar's face paled to a lighter shade of gray, and he said, "Oh … the illithid."

Gromph frowned.

"Sluuguth doesn't like it when his messengers get delayed," he growled. He pulled a length of silver chain from his pocket. From the end of it hung an oval of jade. "He told us to bring this to Nimor as quickly as we could," he said. "He said it's important."

At last, the duergar nodded. Shrinking back down to his usual size, he stepped aside.

"Go on in," he told Gromph, but he held up a hand as Andzrel tried to follow, and added, "But you have to leave your weapon outside."

Gromph and Andzrel exchanged a look. That was going to be a problem. As soon as Andzrel's «battle-axe» left his hands it would no longer be affected by the polymorph spell and would turn back into a drow sword.

"I can deliver the message on my own," Gromph told Andzrel. "You wait out here. . until I'm done."

Andzrel nodded.

Gromph entered the cavern. Once inside, he could see that the space was more of a natural chimney, with a high ceiling. Up near the top was a ledge on which Nimor squatted, eyes closed, apparently in Reverie. He was in an unusual pose, with his arms drawn against his chest and his fists touching his shoulders, which were hunched. His posture reminded Gromph of a sleeping bat turned

Wondering if Nimor, too, was cloaked in an illusion, Gromph reached into a pocket for the small stone jar he carried there. He was just about to scoop out a little of the paste it held when Nimor's eyes opened. They immediately locked on the oval of jade hat spun gently at the end of the chain in Gromph's hand. The magic in the amulet was still potent?though the jade spider it had once commanded had been reduced to a heap of rubble, at Gromph's orders, before he and Andzrel set out into the Dark Dominion.

Nimor stepped off the ledge, levitating down to where Gromph stood.

Gromph withdrew his hand from his pocket, abandoning the spell he'd been about to cast. There was no time for true seeing, he had to be ready to mount a magical defense if one was required.

"Where did you get that, soldier?" Nimor demanded as he landed lightly on the floor next to Gromph.

Gromph smiled to himself. The illusion was holding.

"From Sluuguth," he answered, holding up the jade spider amulet.

At the same time he reached into a pocket and carefully grasped the item it contained?the prism?by the end that protruded from the oiled sheath he'd constructed for it. He'd made some magical alterations to the prism before embarking on his quest to find Nimor, weaving new spells into the magic the device already contained.

"Sluuguth got busy and couldn't bring the amulet himself, so he sent me," Gromph continued.

Nimor started to reach for the silver chain, then stopped.

He eyed Gromph warily and asked, "Busy with what?"

"That wizard that Lord Dyrr captured?the one from House Baenre. He escaped from the sphere."

"Gromph?" Nimor waved a hand dismissively. "Old news. Gromph's dead now."

Gromph shook his head vigorously and said, "No, he's not.

Sluuguth says he's up to something that could hurt our army. . some spell."

"Where is he?" Nimor demanded.

Gromph scratched the bristles on the top of his head and frowned. Fortunately he didn't need any help looking stupid with the illusion of a tanarukk cloaking him.

"Who? Sluuguth … or Gromph?"

Nimor's eyes narrowed in irritation, and he said, "Gromph."

"Oh. . yeah. Sluuguth said to show you this," Gromph answered, as if just remembering.

As he spoke, he slid his hand from his pocket. The prism he held came out of its oiled sheath with a jerk and emerged from the pocket without any of the sovereign glue that coated it sticking to the fabric.

So far, Gromph thought, so good.