Whatever Ghleanna had done, it broke Mordrayn's hold on Faeril. The cleric shook her head as if to clear it, then called out a command to free Athan and Durwyn from her spells.
Athan, however, still couldn't draw near Mordrayn. Corran leaped up to engage her. He scored two hits on her dragon arm but could not sever it.
Kestrel saw her opening. With Corran keeping the paralytic talons at bay, the thief darted forward. She raised Borea's Blood high in the air, then plunged it with all her strength into Mordrayn's black heart.
The sorceress's eyes widened in sudden sanity. She sank onto the stone floor as choked, gurgling sounds issued from her throat. "No…" she finally managed to gasp out. In the distance, a rumbling commenced. Cracks split the rocky cavern base, from which dancing orange firelight spilled.
Suddenly, ebon tentacles and a host of dragon claws rose out of the floor. They wrapped themselves around Mordrayn's limbs and torso, pulling her into the rock itself.
"No! Not yet!" She struggled against their grasp, demons and her own horror seizing her with equal strength as payment came due for an ancient bargain. "No! Pelendralaaaarrr!"
Her cry, like the rest of her, was swallowed up by the earth.
Only the Gauntlets of Moander-divine artifacts unfit to accompany Mordrayn to her new abode-remained. Corran stepped forward and lifted the gloves from the floor. He offered them to Athan. "I believe Elminster entrusted these to your care."
Athan donned the metal gloves. The mouth images on their palms opened wide as the gauntlets stretched to conform to the warrior's large hands. "At last." he said. "Now it but remains to use them."
Strangely, the thundering continued. It grew louder, until vibrations shook the whole cavern. Ghleanna peered at the cavern roof. "Not another cave-in?"
Before anyone could respond, the noise rose to a deafening crescendo. Kestrel fell to the ground, knocked off balance by the strength of the tremors. Rocks and rubble broke away from the east wall of the cavern and splashed into the Pool of Radiance. Then the whole wall gave way. An overpowering roar echoed through the chamber.
Pelendralaar had arrived.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The mighty dracolich filled the pool cavern. His body easily extended a hundred feet, his spiked tail another eighty. He stretched his tattered, leathery wings halfway to the ceiling, draping Faeril, Ghleanna, and Durwyn in his long shadow. He towered over them, not quite close enough to snap them up in his jaws. The trio froze in terror, rendered helpless by the very sight of the living dragon corpse.
Behind the beast, cool air and starlight filtered into the cavern through dust that had not yet settled. In his rush to answer Mordrayn's summons, Pelendralaar had burst right through the cliff face. When he saw Athan wearing the Gauntlets of Moander, he realized he'd arrived too late.
Red flames burned in his empty eye sockets. The dracolich opened wide his jaws in a bellow of rage. "Arrogant hatchlings! You know not what you have done!" Puffs of smoke escaped through rows of razor-sharp teeth. "But you shall pay for it."
The frightful fire-breathing creature inhaled deeply. Were Corran not so near, Kestrel knew fear surely would seize her as completely as it had her friends below. Fortified by the paladin's aura, she was able to dive to one side before flames burgeoned from the dracolich's mouth.
Pelendralaar blasted his burning cloud straight at Athan. Heat licked Kestrel's limbs, searing her skin as she tumbled away from the vicinity. Her body sweated beneath the leather armor, but it was protected from further harm.
She rolled until she reached the recess wall. Two hard objects jabbed her from beneath. Her daggers. They must have landed here when she threw them at Mordrayn. Gratefully, she grabbed the weapons and assumed a defensive posture as she cast a wary look back at the dracolich.
Pelendralaar advanced toward the ledge, ignoring the fear-stricken adventurers on the cavern floor. Somehow, Faeril managed to shake off enough of her dragonawe to cast a prayer-spell beseeching Mystra to imbue them with courage. Apparently, the Lady of Mystery granted the cleric's petition, for Ghleanna and Durwyn recovered their composure. Durwyn reached for another arrow.
Faeril's prayer and its results went unnoticed by Pelendralaar, whose sinister gaze focused on Athan alone. The fair warrior had been badly burned and lay unmoving on the floor. Kestrel saw that his chest yet rose and fell-life remained within him.
Corran, also burned, crawled toward the fallen hero. Even as the dracolich neared to finish off Athan, the paladin laid his hands on Ghleanna's brother and spoke words of healing. Athan stirred.
Pelendralaar growled.
From below, a ghostly, oversized warhammer sailed through the air to strike the dracolich's head. With a hiss, Pelendralaar turned his menacing gaze on Faeril. He lifted his claw to swipe at her and was struck in the underbelly by a bronze-tipped arrow.
Kestrel took advantage of the distraction to scurry over to Athan and Corran. Athan had recovered much of his strength, but the paladin looked ready to collapse. "I've healed him as much as I'm able," Corran croaked out through blistered lips and a throat parched by heat. "Tyr answered my prayers beyond my imagining."
"You should have saved some of those healing powers for yourself." Kestrel pulled her last two blueglow moss potions from her beltpouch. "Drink these." Corran accepted one vial but pushed the other away. "Both of them," she admonished. "No arguments." Athan voiced his agreement. Pelendralaar swiped his claws at Durwyn. At a word from Ghleanna, the burly fighter suddenly moved with lightning speed, easily dodging the knifelike talons. The dracolich jerked his head at the sound of the mage's voice. "Your sorcery is nothing to what my queen's was." He fixed his gaze upon her and uttered a string of arcane syllables. Bursts of magical fire raced toward the half-elf, but a shimmering barrier surrounded Ghleanna, repelling the missiles. Durwyn, meanwhile, landed an axe blow on one of the creature's claws.
Athan rose to his feet, anxious to reenter the battle. Corran too, now partially restored by the potions, looked for an opportunity to strike the dracolich. "Our swords can't reach him from up here," the paladin said. "And we're vulnerable to another breath attack. We have to get off this ledge."
Kestrel soberly assessed the steep drop. They'd kill themselves jumping, but she didn't relish the idea of a slow climb down with her back to Pelendralaar. "We have no choice but to scale the wall," she said finally. "Durwyn's got the beast distracted-this may be our only chance." She headed for the ledge and prepared to descend. Corran was right behind her, but Athan remained where he was.
"Go ahead," Athan said, his eyes on Pelendralaar. "I've got another way down."
Kestrel exchanged quizzical glances with Corran but had no time to ponder Athan's plan. She slipped over the edge and scurried down the wall as fast as she could.
The dracolich batted at Durwyn like a kitten trying to catch dust motes. Faeril struck him with the spiritual hammer once more. With a roar, Pelendralaar twisted his long neck to capture the cleric in his sight. His mouth opened wide and rushed toward Faeril. Mystra's servant stood her ground.
Just as his jaws were about to snap around her, Faeril shouted a command. Brilliant sunlight streamed from her staff. The dracolich howled as the pure rays eclipsed the unholy fire in his own eyes. The cleric thrust the weapon into his jaws, wedging them open. Thus disabled, the dracolich could neither bite nor speak-nor cast spells.
Pelendralaar's whole body thrashed as he tried to shake loose the staff. He tossed his head wildly. Tendrils of foul-smelling smoke curled up from patches on his body where his undead flesh smoldered in the sunlight
An evocation from Ghleanna draped an enormous, sticky web over Pelendralaar's forelegs. Each time he raised his claws they became more enmeshed in the webbing. Unable to bring his forelegs up to his jaws, he tried lowering his head to meet the limited range of his claws and mired his snout in cobwebs. He flapped and twisted at the edge of the Pool of Radiance.
Kestrel, now safely on the ground with Corran, dash
ed out of harm's way as Pelendralaar's flailing brought him near the ledge where Athan yet stood. The dracolich beat his wings, scraping the ledge with the leathery appendages. Before Kestrel realized his intent, Athan leaped forward and grabbed hold of one of the wings.
Pelendralaar buffeted with new violence, now trying to throw off Athan. Somehow, the fighter held on. He gripped the wing with one hand while hacking at it with his sword in the other. Kestrel marveled at the feat of strength. Perhaps the gauntlets lent him magical aid- they and the spell Ghleanna had just uttered.
Durwyn backed away from the web ensnaring Pelendralaar's claws and switched to his bow. He sank several bolts into the creature's writhing neck, while Faeril struck him in the head with her spiritual hammer. Kestrel added one of her daggers to the assault, hurling a perfect strike in the dracolich's underbelly. Corran attacked the beast's tail, dodging its whiplike snaps.
In desperation, the dracolich breathed his fire once more-this time at his own limbs. The web fell apart, freeing Pelendralaar's head. Though the flames had billowed against the dracolich's skin, he'd suffered no damage from them.
The Staff of Sunlight, however, had. The inferno that blasted from the creature's lungs burned hot enough to melt metal. The staff bent into a U as Pelendralaar slowly clamped his mouth shut. Its light faded away, then disappeared altogether as he swallowed the precious weapon.
Though the dracolich triumphed over the staff, the flickering flames did not return to his eye sockets. The holy rays had rendered him sightless.
Nonetheless he could still feel the sturdy warrior clinging to his wing. Pelendralaar twisted his long neck, trying to catch Athan in his sharp teeth. The fighter braced his sword arm. When the dracolich darted his head toward Athan, the warrior used the beast's own momentum to drive his blade into Pelendralaar's snout.
With a roar of pain and rage, the creature jerked back its head.
The fighter, still gripping his sword, was torn from Pelendralaar's wing and now dangled from the beast's snout. He clung to the hilt with both hands as the dracolich thrashed his head from side to side, but could not maintain his hold against such violent force. He went sailing through the air, straight toward the Pool of Radiance.
"Athan!" Ghleanna screamed.
Faeril sent her ghostly hammer racing toward Athan with lightning speed. The weapon struck him just hard enough to alter his course. He landed in a heap at the edge of the pool.
Immediately, light burst from the mouths of the gauntlets. The beams arched forth to strike the pool, infusing its depths with a pure white glow. As the blessed light met the pool's tainted amber radiance, the water churned and roiled.
"The pool is dying, Pelendralaar!" Corran cried. "You shall soon follow!"
Athan, too? Kestrel gazed at the brave fighter. He had not moved since crashing to the ground. With the dracolich standing between him and the rest of the party, Faeril could not reach him with her healing magic.
"I have no intention of falling to a pathetic handful of mortals," the dracolich rumbled. Though still fierce, his speech had lost some of its strength. The blinded creature swiped his claws toward the sound of Corran's voice. His talons whistled past the paladin but struck another target-Durwyn.
The force of Pelendralaar's blow knocked the burly warrior to the ground. Despite the lacerations oozing blood down his entire right side, Durwyn tried to rise. He struggled, then sank back to the floor, his arms going limp. "I can't feel my legs," he gasped. "I can't-"
Move, Kestrel finished silently. Apparently, Pelendralaar shared Mordrayn's paralytic touch. Or vice versa. While Faeril dodged her way to Durwyn's side, Kestrel sent her last dagger soaring toward the beast. The trusty blade scored another strike to his underbelly.
He hissed and lunged toward her with open jaws, but they met only the acid-edged heads of a volley of magical arrows-courtesy of Ghleanna. "That's for my brother," she spat.
In response, the dracolich spewed another gout of flames. The sorceress held forth her spellstaff, drawing the heat and fire into the enchanted wood. The staff glowed red with the intensity of the attack it had absorbed. White smoke wisped from its runes. Ghleanna tapped the staff twice on the floor.
The flames spilled out and raced toward the dracolich. The great beast raised his head and laughed. "You think my own fire can harm me? Foolish hatchlings!" He swept his tail in a wide arc.
Kestrel ducked, letting the tail breeze over her head. Corran and Ghleanna did likewise. She noted that for all the creature's bluster, the swing had less energy than before. They-and Anorrweyn, working from afar? — were wearing Pelendralaar down.
The gauntlets, meanwhile, weakened the pool. The whole lake was infused with white light now, bubbling and rolling like a pot set to boil. Steam rose in the cavern, lending the air a humid thickness. The cavern smelled of sweat, fire, and blood.
Kestrel pushed damp locks off her forehead and reached for her club. She'd no desire to employ such a close-range weapon against the dracolich, but it was the only tool she had left.
Pelendralaar, however, would not give her the opportunity to use it. The dracolich beat his wings rapidly, trying to take flight. Did he seek to escape or attack from above?
As the creature rose in the air, his tail snaked down behind him. Corran dropped his shield and ran to the tail. He grabbed it just as its end was about to slip from reach. The paladin dangled one-handed for a moment, then sheathed his sword and began to climb the tail as if it were a rope.
Pelendralaar swung his tail like a pendulum, trying to dislodge Corran, but each sway threatened his equilibrium as he struggled to hover in the cavern's close quarters. He didn't have room to properly spread his wings, and Athan had significantly damaged one of them before being flung aside. Corran climbed higher, using the tail's spikes as a ladder.
"Hang on, Corran. Hang on," Kestrel whispered. Ghleanna sent another barrage of acid arrows to distract the creature. Durwyn, now restored by Faeril, also launched bolts at the beast The missiles struck Pelendralaar in the neck and upper body. Faeril dashed to Athan's side now that the path was clear.
Though Kestrel could smell the acid burning through what was left of the dracolich's skin, the beast ignored it. He kicked with his hindlegs, but could not quite reach the paladin. Furious, he shot a series of magical bursts at Corran. Those hit but did not deter Tyr's knight.
Corran scaled farther up the dracolich's body. Kestrel held her breath each time he touched another spike-one scratch and the paladin would become paralyzed and tumble helpless to the ground. As Ghleanna released a third volley of arrows upon the creature's head, Pelendralaar awkwardly maneuvered himself until he was directly over the Pool of Radiance.
As the pool boiled below, Corran reached Pelendralaar's back. When the beast twisted his neck to snap up the paladin in his jaws, Corran was ready. With an upward thrust, he drove his sword through the underside of the creature's jaw and into his skull. "I smite thee in the name of Tyr the Just!"
Pelendralaar threw back his neck, then dived headlong toward the bubbling pool. The paladin rode the creature like a runaway horse. The two plunged into the frothy water and disappeared into its depths.
"Corran!" Kestrel ran to the pool's edge. She and the others peered into the cloudy water but saw no sign of him.
Suddenly, the center of the pool spouted. Kestrel's heart stopped as a fully restored Pelendralaar shot into the air-without Corran.
"I live again!" the dracolich shouted in triumph, buffeting his wings as he hovered near the ceiling. Flames flickered in his eyes once more. He celebrated his restored strength with a mighty roar.
Steam poured from the pool below, filling the cavern with sultry fog. The boiling water hissed and popped. Before their eyes, the waterline dropped-one foot, ten feet, a score and more.
The vapor surged up at Pelendralaar. The creature's bellow quickly dissolved into a choked gasp. His tail crumbled to powder, his legs next. When his wings disintegrated, the rest of him plummete
d into the basin.
The dracolich exploded in a cloud of dust on the dry pool floor.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
White mist filled the cavern. It swirled and danced, propelled by the cool breeze that drifted in with the early dawn light from the hole in the chamber wall. Kestrel could barely make out the faces of her friends, though all sat mere feet away.
All but one.
Kestrel felt Corran's absence more strongly than she'd ever imagined possible. She'd said all along that this mission was suicidal, told the paladin repeatedly that they faced insurmountable odds, that they couldn't go up against an archmage and a dracolich, and live to tell about it.
She hadn't wanted to be right.
In the end, Corran had proven himself a man of integrity. A man who not only spoke about honor but lived it-and died for it to preserve what he held dear. A man worthy of the title "paladin."
He had died a horrible death. Kestrel could not close her eyes without seeing the bandits in Phlan, the cult fighter in this very cavern-how the pool had first consumed their spirits, then their bodies. She wondered where Corran's spirit was now. With Tyr? She hoped so.
She moved several paces away from the group, seeking solitude, but she still could hear the others speaking in low tones. Faeril. Ghleanna and Athan. Durwyn. Though the latter three spoke of returning to Elminster-and from there, home-all used the muted tones of a funeral service. Corran's loss hovered in everyone's thoughts.
Faeril approached to offer her curing magic. Kestrel yet suffered burns from the dragon's fire but motioned the cleric away. "Treat the others first." She wasn't in the mood for ministry.
"I already have."
With a sigh, she submitted to Faeril's healing. As the cleric prayed, Kestrel stared into the swirling fog. Her mind was full, her heart heavy.
Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor (single books) Page 26