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."I'm sorry, miss," Corbrinn said."I should have smelled the oils.""Let's just get out of this," Adeenya said."Ideas?"Corbrinn stepped past the soldiers and stopped a few steps from the fire.His hands moved in strange patterns, and he mumbled something indistinguishable.Above the blazing orange light, a large quantity of water appeared, hanging in the air for a moment before crashing down, extinguishing the flames and creating a plume of smoke.A gap large enough to accommodate their passage opened before them, and several of the soldiers thanked Corbrinn as they fled the trap.The circle of fire still burned, and although the plant life there was mostly protected by the moisture, leaving the forest ablaze seemed unwise."Spread out, douse the flames with mud and dirt as best you can from the outside, and then we head back to Neversfall," Adeenya said."We can't let it spread to the citadel.""And the invaders?" Corbrinn said."They're gone.We won't find them this day.""How do you know?" the halfling asked."If they were still here after that fire," she said, "they wouldn't have left us alive."? * + + +Taennen and Loraica's examination of the tower had revealed no clues to Khatib's death.When they returned to the courtyard, word was waiting for Taennen to join Jhoqo in the formians' prison.By the torchlight, Taennen saw Neversfall with all its dancing shadows.He found that he had no taste for the place.He accepted the salutes of the four guards outside the low stone structure and pushed the heavy door open.The smell inside nearly caused him to retch, and he took a step backward."Close the door," Jhoqo's voice came from the dimness of the interior.Taennen lifted an orange silk sash to his face and tried to breathe through it, hoping to dull some of the stench.His eyes adjusted to the low torchlight, and he saw the formians divided among cells.Their feces and waste were in one corner of each cell and, although there was very little of it, the stench burned Taennen's nostrils."We'll get them outside for that in the future, sir," Taennen said, indicating the mess.Jhoqo shook his head."They stay in here.Under no circumstances are they to leave this building."One look at Jhoqo's face told Taennen not to argue the point.He acknowledged the order with a nod and turned his attention to Guk."Has he said any more?" Taennen asked."He's talking.In fact, he'll answer nearly any question you ask him."Taennen's eyebrow went up."Do they know who attacked us?""Ask him," Jhoqo said, anger rising in his voice.Taennen knew the anger was not directed at him, but he wondered what the formian had done to provoke Jhoqo.He turned to the big formian."Do you know who attacked us?"It does not matter.You and they will all become part of the hive," Guk responded.He looked smaller, locked in the cell.He was still bound and blindfolded, the gag hanging loose around his neck.Jhoqo snorted."That's his response to everything," he said."It is the truth," Guk said, his grating voice setting Taennen's ears vibrating."They weren't involved with the intruders, sir," Taennen said, risking his commander's ire.Jhoqo spun to face him."How do you know?""Because the attackers didn't head for these cells at all.They weren't here to free the prisoners.I doubt they even knew of them."Jhoqo's eyes narrowed, his lips pursed."They did not get the chance to," he reasoned."We know what these things can do, if the halfling and the other humans and even your experience are to be believed.And we've established that these things aren't foolish.Their rescuers were outnumbered and ordered to retreat."Taennen had not considered that the intruders might be slaves of the formians.He knew the ant creatures had the ability to control the actions of other creatures.Guk stood passively as the two men discussed the situation.The formians ease and lack of expressive or readable features disturbed Taennen more than he could admit.But his gut still told him that the creatures were not involved in the attack on the citadel."It won't matter," Taennen said."Adeenya will find thebastards, and we'll hunt them to the ground this time.""Let us hope so, Durir," Jhoqo said."We're not getting anywhere with these beasts.""Sir, a moment, please," Taennen said."Yes?" Jhoqo said."Sir, why didn't I know about the tower? You told Khatib but not me," Taennen said
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