'I have tried,' Banaschar replied. 'No-one comes.'
Hellian hesitated. Break into the Grand Temple? The Fist will have my tits on a fry pan for this.
'There are dead spiders on the steps,' Urb said suddenly.
They turned.
'Hood's blessing,' Hellian muttered, 'lots of them.' Curious now, she walked closer. Banaschar followed, and after a moment the squad fell in.
'They look…' She shook her head.
'Decayed,' Banaschar said. 'Rotting. Sergeant, the doors, please.'
Still she hesitated. A thought occurred to her and she glared at the man. 'You said you made all haste to get here. Why? Are you an acolyte of D'rek? – You don't look it. What brought you here, Banaschar?'
'A presentiment, Sergeant. I was… many years past… a priest of D' rek, in the Jakatakan temple on Malaz Island.'
'A presentiment brought you all the way to Kartool? Do you take me for a fool?'
Anger flashed in the man's eyes. 'Clearly you're too drunk to smell what I can smell.' He eyed the guards. 'Do you share your sergeant's failings, or am I alone in this matter?'
Urb was frowning, then he said, 'Sergeant, we should kick in these doors, I think.'
'So do it then, damn you!'
She watched as her guards battered away at the door. The noise attracted a crowd, and Hellian saw, threading to the forefront, a tall, robed woman who was clearly a priestess from one of the other temples. Oh, now what?
But the woman's eyes were fixed on Banaschar, who had in turn noted her approach and stared steadily back, his expression setting hard.
'What are you doing here?' the woman demanded.
'Have you sensed nothing, High Priestess? Complacency is a disease fast spreading, it seems.'
The woman's gaze shifted to the guards kicking at the doors. 'What has happened?'
The door on the right splintered, then was knocked back by a final kick.
Hellian gestured for Urb to enter then followed, Banaschar behind her.
The stench was overwhelming, and in the gloom was visible great splashes of blood on the walls, fragments of meat scattered on the polished tiles, and pools of bile, blood and faeces, as well as scraps of clothing and clumps of hair.
Urb had taken no more than two steps and now stood, staring down at what he was standing in. Hellian edged past him, her hand of its own accord reaching for the flask tucked in her belt. Banaschar's hand stayed her. 'Not in here,' he said.