He led them quickly to the ramp leading down to the door into the basement and found the door refused to open. He pushed, and despite his above-human-level strength, the door wouldn’t budge. Magnus whispered, “Let me.”

The younger magician moved to stand before the door and held up his hand. With a short motion and a single word, the door moved in balky fits and starts until it was open enough for them to see what blocked it.

“Bodies,” whispered Magnus.

The stench of decomposing flesh rose up and even Brandos swallowed hard.

Sandreena said, “What happened here?”

“We won’t know until we get inside,” said Pug. He spoke in a normal tone, not evidencing any concern over being heard. “I think the demons have quit this place and decided not to take the prisoners with them.”

Magnus waved his hand again and the door veritably flew off its hinges, back into the room. The large room that led into the dungeon cells and up to the kitchen was littered with corpses: humans, elves, and dwarves all piled atop one another. It was clear a good number of them were racing for this door, to escape, and were cut down from behind. The wounds were mixed, some smooth cuts, from sword or knife blades, others torn, ragged, as if made by fang or claw.

Once they had cleared a way though the piles of bodies, Pug knelt and inspected the corpses. “Some of the clothing I recognize,” he said softly. “I think this dwarf here is from Dorgin, perhaps a companion of Keandar’s. That pattern in the weave of the tunic is common there. But these elves…”

Gulamendis said, “They are unknown to me, but then until we found Home…Midkemia, we knew only the Taredhel.”

“I don’t think they’re from Midkemia,” said Pug. He felt an undamaged piece of shirt on a dead elf and said, “I do not recognize this material. It’s not silk or linen, but it’s light and…” He stood and said, “Too many mysteries. Too many distractions. Where is the tower?” he asked.

“That way.” Gulamendis pointed.

Sandreena and Brandos had both seen their share of battlefields, yet both appeared pale and shaken by the carnage in the room.

The light was faint and at the end of the hall, Magnus raised his hand, creating a bright blue-white glow that illuminated their surroundings more efficiently than a lantern. They reached the bottom of the tower stairs and moved quickly to the top.

The door was still unlatched and once they moved inside, Pug said, “I can feel it.”

“Grandfather?” asked Magnus.

“Yes, though how long ago…” He shrugged. He reached up and pulled a book off the shelf at random and glanced at it. “I have a copy of this in my library.”