"It took me months to gather that one shard and learn the spells enabling me to wield it. Sinestra's made that foul piece hers." He kicked over the body of the skardyn. The shard had left the front badly burnt. "There is only one thing to do with it and that is to leave it here."

"Not what I'd prefer."

"Nor I..." But despite saying that, Krasus headed to the entrance as if the shard no longer existed. After a moment, Kalec hurried after him.

"Which way is out, do you suppose?" the blue asked in the corridor.

"That does not matter as much as the way deeper."

Kalec considered this, then nodded. "Of course."

"It is the captive that we must reach, the nether dragon, as Iridi called it. We must decide whether it can be safely freed or, if not that, how to quickest destroy it."

"Not a simple choice, considering our odd weakness."

"And that is the other thing that we must locate, which I believe must be not that far from the nether dragon. That shard of the Demon Soul was strong enough to deal with us, but this very mount radiates a foulness that sickened and slew my kind. One little shard, even of the Soul, cannot do that. Sinestra has something more vile."

The younger dragon agreed. "We will probably have to separate at some point."

"My company is surely something you do not desire much, so when the time comes, that should be no trouble."

Kalec chuckled, but the chuckle died as he realized that Krasus was making no joke.

Meanwhile, the dragon mage had finally determined which direction might best lead them where they desired. He had been in portions of Grim Batol in the past, but his current condition had had some effect on his memory.

"This way," he said, pointing where they had last seen Zendarin go.

Kalec steeled himself. "As you say." "Can you create any sort of shield to block us from Sinestra's senses?"

"It would be a weak one, Korialstrasz."

The dragon mage considered as he walked. "She is distracted by her work. Even a weak shield may be enough to preserve us."

The younger dragon drew a circle in front of him. Krasus could have perhaps done as well himself, but he was already using what power he had to divine what lay ahead.

The circle that Kalec drew grew to fill the rocky corridor. It then swelled, becoming a sphere that engulfed both males. At the same time, it gradually faded from visibility.

It should at least help us with the drakonid and dragonspawn," the blue remarked. "And maybe the blood elf and that altered mageslayer."

"If it helps with any, it helps...."

The passages were not lit for the most part, but neither dragon was bothered much. What illumination there was came from crystals intermittently set in the walls.

"How far down do these caverns and tunnels go?" Kalec quietly asked.

"I know of no creature living or dead who could answer that question save perhaps Deathwing himself. Even the orcs did not descend into the caverns' true depths."

"Nor dragons, either?"

"Nor dragons, either...save again, perhaps, Deathwing, for the mad can survive what sanity says is suicide." Krasus did not add that, depending on how matters turned, he, at the very least, mighthave to brave the lowest depths.

They journeyed for some time along the same passage, but then it broke off into three directions. Krasus paused at the juncture, smelling the air.

"The smell of skardyn is everywhere, which negates seeking the currents. However, we can at least make some judgments on what is visible each way. The path to the right will most certainly climb again. The one ahead seems to go down another level at least and may eventually lead us to our goal, but I cannot say whether we should follow it or take the one on the left—"

A thundering roar filled with pain shook the entire mount. Krasus and the blue pressed themselves against the walls as rock fell here and there.

The roar ceased. The tremor passed a moment after.

"That came from the left, Korialstrasz."

"Yes, our choice has been made."

The two crept slowly in that direction. Krasus would have liked to have moved faster, but with both of them not at all in any condition for a prolonged battle with Sinestra, they had to be very, very cautious.

There came another roar suddenly, one that sent shivers even through Krasus. He had never heard its like before, even among all dragonkind.

Even including the two unstable abominations they had fought.

"What—what is that?"

"Sinestra has a new child, it seems...."

Kalec looked at him in shock. "You mean like those things we ran into earlier?"

“I would think that they perhaps pale in comparison. She would not wish to repeat mistakes." He considered. "That roar came from the same general direction as the pained one."

"It sounded closer, too."

"Indeed..." They waited a moment longer, but the roars did not resume. However, voices began to arise.

Without a word to one another, the two dragons slipped back down the passage. Krasus pointed down an unlit side tunnel. What he could sense of it gave indication that it had not seen recent use.

Kalec continued maintaining the shield. The pair finally paused at another juncture, then stilled.

The black dragon was near. Very near. Krasus prepared himself to fight her with what might was left in him. The tunnels prevented all of them from resuming their true forms, but that would not keep Sinestra from unleashing power such as neither of the escapees had, even combined.

Then, both the voice and the presence of Deathwing's consort faded again. Krasus waited longer than necessary before finally heading back.

With Kalec close behind, he headed to where the roars had originated. They entered another chamber that immediately made Krasus wary. To one side of the chamber, a great pit descended into utter darkness. The dragon mage cautiously peered into it, but, despite his best attempts, could sense nothing beyond the inherent evil permeating all of Grim Batol.

"Very odd," Krasus murmured to his companion. "I would have thought that—"

Kalec suddenly gripped his arm and pointed farther on.

Two dragonspawn entered from the other side of the chamber.

The dragonspawn were more startled than the prisoners. Kalec leapt forward, a magical blade already summoned. It was fainter in its glow than Krasus knew that it should have been, but it still cut through thick scale well enough to badly wound the first guard. As the massive creature tried to rally, Kalec cut through both its arm and its chest.

As the one collapsed, the second started to call the alarm. Krasus gestured, hoping that at least he could spare enough magic to prevent that.

The dragonspawn's long mouth opened...but no sound escaped. The guard clattered his ax against the rocky wall nearby, with the same lack of results.

Expression almost murderous, Kalec battled the survivor. The ax came near his skull, but his weapon severed the head of the ax from the shaft.

As the guard registered the loss, Kalec slashed again.

The dragonspawn's muzzle dropped to the floor.

The monstrous guard stumbled back. Even for a four-legged giant, the loss was a terrible one regardless of the fact that the sword had also immediately cauterized the wound. The dragonspawn clutched at his ruined face.

The blue dragon drove his blade through the guard's chest.

Krasus joined Kalec, who was panting, but not from effort. The elder dragon saw that the younger had relived some past, critical moment.

"We need to dispose of them quickly," Krasus whispered to him, more to shake Kalec from his reverie than because he really had to tell him what was obvious.

"This pit seems very handy." Kalec created a blue-tinted glow sphere. He sent the sphere down into the pit for some distance, but when the bottom remained invisible, finally summoned it back to him. "It's huge...and there's a tremendous drop on the right side, Krasus. This would be as good a place as any for these two."