"Well that was fun," grunted Eddy while wiping a splash of grime from his face, and his words were partially true. For a change, it had not been he who had to climb up the sewer shaft first. Isabella, lithe and nimble, had taken the lead in venturing up the stinking tunnel, securing it by rope and hook.

At first, he had objected to her going, volunteering himself to lead while an astonished voice in his head asked, Wait, who said that? In the end, however, after creeping upward through the filth like a cockroach, he had been blessed with a glimpse of heaven—Isabella's bosoms close and directly in front of his eyes as she hauled him up through the large bell-mouthed drainage opening that led into this room from the small muck tunnel.

He grinned dreamily while cleaning more filth from his suit.

"Does this amuse you?" the Marquis demanded to know.

Lost in thought, Eddy had not noticed that his dream-clouded eyes had rested on the Marquis, who was even more covered in filth than he. The disgusted look on his face spoke volumes of how he felt about that, and his eyes were like poisonous daggers aimed directly at Eddy.

Eddy gave him a wide grin, flashing his golden teeth, nodding, but saying loud and clearly, "No."

Then he turned his back and quickly stepped toward his partner, bringing the other man's tall frame between himself and the noble. He glanced back. The Marquis had murder in his eyes. Eddy allowed himself a hidden smile.

"Some sort of sewer system," Azrael said into the emptiness of the large circular chamber while looking around. The room had been hewn from rough stone and seemed to be a confluence of several drainages, all significantly smaller than the one they had entered through. Dirty water and garbage sloshed and trickled down the drainages like small tainted waterfalls to disappear into the bell-mouthed shaft they had emerged from. The chamber was empty, yet signs of human life were easily found. An odd-looking piece of a chair, an oily old rope, several strange gadgets, and what looked like an abnormally long poker stood in the corner.

"It must be the sewers Francisco de Orellana managed to escape through all those years ago," said Isabella, who had appeared beside Eddy like a newly cast shadow. The quietness with which she had moved startled him.

"Should not be far, then," added the Marquis as he closed the distance to the trio, his eyes full of venom as he regarded Eddy. He pointed at a shadow-shrouded corridor that led away into the darkness. "That should bring us to the Corridor of Golden Corpses," he said.

"Ok, that's it!" hissed Eddy. "An army of dragons, giant spiders, stinking sewer tunnels, and now 'Golden Corpses'?"

He glared up at Azrael, ignoring the baffled looks of the others. "What else did you not tell me about? What other horror is waiting for us in the mountain?"

Azrael regarded him coldly, then said with a grin, "Only the God of the Dragons—if I am lucky."