sparkled.
They entered.
‘Take two handsful,’ Smhee said. ‘That’s all. We aren’t out of here yet.’
Masha untied the little bag attached to her belt, hesitated, then scooped out
enough to fill the bag. It almost tore her heart apart to leave the rest, but
she knew that Smhee’s advice was wisdom. Perhaps, some day, she could come back
for more. No. That would be stupid. She had farmore than enough.
On the way out, Smhee stopped. He opened the mage’s robe and revealed a smooth
shaven chest on which was tattooed a representation of a fearful six-armed four
legged being with a glaring long-tusked face. He cut around this and peeled the
skin off and put it rolled and folded into a small jar of ointment. Replacing
the jar in his bag, he rose, saying, ‘The goddess knows that I would not lie
about his death. But this will be the proof if any is demanded.’
‘Maybe we should look for the mage’s secret exit,’ she said. ‘That way, we won’t
run into the Raggah.’
‘No. At any moment someone may see that the guard is missing. Besides, the mage
will have put traps in his escape route, and we might not elude those.’
They made their way back to the corridor of the lift shaft without being
observed. But two men stood in front of the entrance to the lift. They were
talking excitedly and looking down the shaft. Then one ran down the corridor,
away from the corner behind which the two intruders watched.
‘Going to get help before they venture down to find out why the two feeders
haven’t come back,’ Smhee muttered.
The man who’d stayed was looking down the shaft. Masha and Smhee took him from