55
Carefully, the three of you descend into the pit. Ashur goes first, occasionally blasting little holes in the side of the rock to act as handhold. Tarquin follows him and you bring up the rear. For some reason, it’s not the darkspawn in the pit that worry you; they’re already weakened and you should be able to mop them up with little effort. What’s really unsettling you is the edge of the pit above you. It feels like, any minute, a pair of glowing red eyes will appear there—and, somehow, that seems worse.
You’re right about the ones in the pit, though; most of them are injured and all of them are afraid of Ashur, so it doesn’t take much to finish them off. When you’re done, the three of you stand in the middle of the empty pit and look around, satisfied with your efforts.
“Thank you,” Ashur says. “But… you should get back to headquarters.”
“What?” you say. “Why? We haven’t found Neve yet.”
“I know,” says Ashur. “Tarquin and I will keep looking. You can head back.”
Tarquin nods sympathetically. “Look, it’s not you,” he says. “It’s… how can he trust you after you sacrificed his hat?”
It looks like—for you, at least—this job is over.