"We are fortunate. I will be happy to show it to you. It is invaluable for food preparation," Helmclever gabbled. "And down below we have a number of cubes, of varying powers. Nothing may be withheld from the smelter. I am ordered to show you everything you wish to see and tell you everything you wish to know."
"Thank you," said Carrot, as the elevator stopped in blackness speckled with the corpse glow of vurms. "How large are your diggings here?"
"I cannot tell you that, said Helmclever quickly. "I do not know. Ah, here is Ardent. I will go back up-"
"No, Helmclever, remain with us, please," said a darker shadow in the gloom. "You should see this, too. Good day to you, Captain Carrot, and" - Angua detected an element of distaste - "ladies. Please follow me. I am sorry for the lack of light. Perhaps your eyes will adapt. I will be happy to describe to you any object that you touch. Now I will lead you to the place where the dreadful occurrence ... occurred."
Angua looked around as they were led along the tunnel, noting that Carrot had to walk with his knees slightly bent. Head Banger, eh? Funny, you never mention that to the lads!
Every dozen yards or so Ardent stopped in front of a round door, invariably with the vurms clustered around it, and turned a wheel. The doors creaked when they opened, and they opened with a ponderousness that suggested they were heavy. Here and there in the tunnels were ... things, mechanical things, hanging from the wall and clearly there with a purpose. Vurms glowed around them. She hadn"t got a clue what the objects were for, but Carrot greeted them with enthusiastic glee, like a schoolboy.
"You have air bells and water boots, Mr Ardent! I"ve only ever heard of them!"
"You were raised in the good rock of Copperhead, were you not, captain? Mining in this wet plain is like digging tunnels in the sea."
"And the iron doors are quite watertight, are they?"
"Yes, indeed. Airtight, too."
"Remarkable! I should like to visit again, when this wretched business is over. A dwarf mine under the city! It"s quite hard to believe!"
"I"m sure that could be arranged, captain:
And that was Carrot at work. He could sound so innocent, so friendly, so ... stupid, in a puppy-dog kind of way, and then he suddenly became this big block of steel and you walked right into it. By the smell of it, Sally was watching him with interest.
Be sensible, Angua told herself. Don"t let the vampire get to you. Don"t start believing you"re stupid and hairy. Think clearly. You do have a brain.
Surely people could go mad living in this murk? Angua found it easier to close her eyes. Down here, her nose worked better without distraction. Darkness helped. With her eyes shut, various faint colours danced across her brain. Without the stink of the damned vampire, though, she would have been able to pick up a lot more. The stench poisoned every sensation. Hold on, don"t think like that, you"re just letting your mind do the thinking for you ... hang on, that"s wrong...
There was a faint outline in the corner of the next chamber, which was quite large. It looked like ... an outline. A chalk outline. A glowing chalk outline.
"I understand this is the approved method?" said Ardent. "You will be aware of night chalk, captain? It is made of crushed vurm. The glow persists for about a day. On the floor here you will see, or rather, you will feel the club that dealt him his death blow. Just under your hand, captain. There is blood on it. I regret the
darkness, but we kept the vurms out. They would have feasted, you understand."
Angua saw Carrot, outlined in his permanent smell of soap, feel
his way across the space. His hand touched another metal door. "Where does this go, sir?" he said, tapping it. "To the outer chambers."
"Was it open at the time the troll attacked the grag?" You really assume a troll did it? Angua wondered. "I believe so," said Ardent.
"Then I would like it open now, please."
"I cannot agree to that request, captain."
"I did not intend it to be a request, sir. After it has been opened, I will need to know who was in the mine at the time the troll broke in. I will need to speak to them, and to whoever discovered the body. Hara"g, j"kargra."
For Angua, the smell of Ardent changed. Under all those layers, the dwarf was suddenly uncertain. He"d walked right into it. He hesitated for several seconds before replying.
"I will ... endeavour to meet your reque- your requirements, smelter," he said. "I will leave you now. Come, Helmclever."
"Grz dava"j?" said Carrot. "K"zakra"j? d j h"ragna ra"d"j!"
Ardent stepped forward, uncertainty growing, and held out both hands, palms down. For a moment, until his sleeves slipped, Angua saw a faintly glowing symbol on his right wrist. Every deep-downer had a draht as unique evidence of identity, in a world of shrouded figures. She"d heard they were made by tattooing vurm blood under the skin. It sounded painful.
Carrot took his hands for a moment, and then let go. "Thank you," he said, as if the dwarfish interlude had not taken place. The two dwarfs hurried away.
In the thick darkness, the watchmen were left alone. "What was all that about?" said Angua.