D & D - Red Sands Read Online Free PDF Page A

from shore and swam power-Iully toward the wall. A slight splash behind them told Jadira that Marix and Tamakh were also on their way.
    The water was cold. Jadira snorted when it got in her nose. When Uramettu thrust ahead with extra vigor, a small wave hit Jadira in the face. She choked and sputtered so loudly Uramettu had no choice but to dive, lest the Faziri hear them. The black water closed over Jadira's head and for a second she thought Uramettu meant to drown her. But she held her breath, and a dozen heart-beats later they surfaced in front of the culvert.
    The way was barred to keep in the large animals, but neither woman had any problem slipping through. In the tunnel, the water was only calf-deep and the culvert was short. They slogged to the other end and saw that the dark street beyond was empty.
    Marix and Tamakh labored through the water to the culvert. Marix was complaining about the priest's weight, while Tamakh insisted the young noble had tried to shuck him off in mid-pool. Jadira, returning from the far end, stifled their bickering with a fierce glare and a finger pointing up; the sultan's soldiers were on the palace wall above them.
    Marix crawled through the bars. Tamakh, going head first, got stuck halfway.
    "Not again!" said Jadira in a harsh whisper.
    "By Tuus, we ought to leave you there!" said Marix, pushing wet blond hair out of his eyes.
    "Uncharitable wretch," Tamakh responded. He pushed mightily with his hands, trying to force his belly past the constricting bars.
    "Can't you magic them?" said Jadira.
    He wrapped his thick fingers around one bar and twisted. The dark green verdigris flaked off, revealing yellow metallic sheen beneath. "Bars are brass," wheezed Tamakh. "So's not to rust."
    Jadira grabbed him under the arms and pulled. "I thought priests were supposed to lead lives of denial," she complained. Her grip slipped on the wet fabric of his clerical toga. She fell against Marix, who fell on Uramet-tu.
    "The devotees of—ugh!—Agma follow the—oof!— god in all things."
    Uramettu gently set Marix aside. "How so, Holy One?" she asked, taking firm hold of Tamakh.
    "Agma is fire, and fire consumes all things."
    "Oh, filth," said Marix.
    "I can free you, my friend," said Uramettu. "But I can't promise in what condition. Shall I try?"
    "I can't stay wedged in this drain forever," said Tamakh. "Haul away."
    The black woman set her feet, and her shoulders knotted, the muscles in her arms coiling like live serpents. Tamakh let out a loud groan, then pop! he was free.
    "Are you all right?" said Jadira.
    "Largely," said Tamakh with unintended humor. "I feel like a cork newly pried from a wine bottle."
    The water got shallower as the tunnel slanted up to street level. At the far end, which was open, a wide ditch
    ran a dozen paces into a city square. The ditch ended at a squat pillar with a conical cap. This was the filling hole for the Al-Makhi cistern. Tamakh warned them to keep clear of the hole. The suction there could easily pull them into the underground reservoir.
    They waded along the ditch in single file. Bundles of torches burning atop the palace wall threw giant wavering shadows on the street beside them. A dog barked nearby; everyone froze. There was the sound of smashing pottery, and the barking stopped.
    Midway to the cistern, Uramettu halted and climbed silently out. She helped Jadira and Tamakh over the side of the ditch. Marix, last in line, grew impatient. He put a hand and foot on the rim and began to climb out. The white brick edging was thick with slime, and his foot slipped. The others could only watch helplessly as Marix tumbled backward into the ditch.
    The loud splash brought a helmeted face to the top of the wall. The Faziri flung a torch down, and by its light saw Jadira, Uramettu, and Tamakh.
    "Who goes there?" he shouted. Jadira and Tamakh ran while Uramettu yanked Marix out of the ditch. The soldier changed his cry to "Alarm! Alarm! Sergeant of the Guard, come