Evaine was already unloading a backpack. "I need five uninterrupted minutes to weave my spell and destroy the pool. Make sure I'm not disturbed." She set out the magical brazier Miltiades had provided and held her breath as she lifted the cap. If the flame lit, it might hasten the spell and buy some time. For a few seconds, the brazier was still. Then a poof sounded, and the flame sprang forth. The sorceress arranged a half-dozen vials of strange liquids in front of her.
Before Ren could warn her that he might not be able to protect her during a lengthy spell, she was lost in concentration, kneeling before the viscous waters of the pool.
With little else to do, the ranger scanned the walls for possible hidden entrances. Gamaliel sniffed out the perimeter of the chamber, but neither found any hint of secret passages. Eventually Ren took up a post out of sight of the entry, clutching five of his throwing daggers. Gamaliel stood guard on the opposite side of the archway.
Evaine had been deep in concentration for nearly two minutes when the echo of running steps was heard on the stairs. Weapons and claws ready, Ren and Gamaliel were relieved to see Miltiades and Andoralson burst into the room. They were quickly cautioned against making noise.
"You weren't planning on having this party without us, were you?" the druid whispered. Miltiades used the moments of quiet to activate his scroll of fire protection.
"There'll be plenty of party favors to go around soon enough. Evaine is casting the spell to destroy this pool, but she needs a few more minutes. We have to buy her that time." Ren glanced around the chamber nervously.
"Too late," echoed a scraping voice. The red-robed Marcus appeared on the opposite side of the pool in a swirling crimson mist. "She won't be destroying anything today except herself." He lifted a hand and sent a spray of deep red motes of light at the three men. The energy sizzled in the chamber and bathed the room in an eerie light as it raced toward them with deadly speed.
Ren and Gamaliel sprang toward Evaine to block the blast, but Andoralson waved his hand and diverted the energy into the dark pool. The mystical waters gurgled and absorbed the awesome power of the tiny meteors without apparent effect.
Miltiades stalked toward Marcus, humming a chant of praise to Tyr.
The Red Wizard cackled, underestimating the power of the group that challenged him. He lobbed a searing fireball and a scarlet tangle of sticky webs at the undead paladin. The warrior walked easily through the flames and slashed through the webs with his sword. Then the wizard conjured a sixteen-foot snake that slithered toward Miltiades. Before the warrior could dodge, the serpent wrapped its red coils around the paladin from head to foot.
Andoralson conjured a jet of ice pellets that streaked over the pool toward Marcus, but as the sleet approached the wizard, it was diverted toward the ceiling where it froze solid into a fringe of icicles.
One by one, Ren hurled his daggers at the evil wizard. Each of the blades hurtled directly toward Marcus's heart, but then bounced off an invisible barrier and clattered to the floor. The Red Wizard cackled. "Put away your playthings, boys. You'll be mine before long." Ren swore at the crazed mage.
Andoralson and Marcus continued lobbing spells at one another. Fire, lightning, ice, mud, rocks, insects, and steam were all exchanged over the fetid pool, but all were rendered harmless by spells of defense. Rocks and mud splattered against the far walls. Lightning bolts tore chunks out of the stone. Debris began stacking up on both sides of the pool.
Gamaliel held his ground in front of Evaine, his eyes wide, claws extended. She needed less than two minutes to finish the spell. Already, the edges of the inky pool were beginning to boil in a white froth.
Ren suspected the rest of his ordinary daggers would be repelled by Marcus's magic. It was time to change tactics. From his boot he drew Right, one of his two specially enchanted daggers. As the silver blade streaked toward the Red Wizard, Marcus tossed five miniature hands carved of stone over the pool toward Ren's feet.
The evil wizard ignored Ren's dagger, expecting it to bounce off his magical shields. But the weapon pierced the barriers to bury itself in the wizard's lung.
Marcus crumpled to the floor with a howl. Blood oozed from his chest. Struggling to breathe, he summoned something black into his hand, gripping it tightly.
Gamaliel pounced on the stone hands, swatting two of them into the pool, but the three that remained melded with the floor and grew into hands of black marble, each larger than a bear. Ren and Gamaliel were suddenly grasped by their throats and pulled to the floor by the giant hands. The life was being choked out of them. No amount of scratching, clawing, or wrestling could loosen the stony grips.
The monstrous red snake still surrounded Miltiades. The paladin was no longer visible.
A black marble hand was wrapped around Evaine's throat, pinning her to the floor and choking her. The pool of darkness boiled and frothed, emitting the foul odor of sulfur, but it was unclear whether the sorceress had finished her spell.
Andoralson stood helplessly staring at his friends. Then a tremendous thud echoed behind him. He whirled around to face the archway leading to the stairs.
"Latenat!" a gravelly voice bellowed. Before the druid's eyes, an enormous black-winged creature was beginning to materialize.
21
Light From Darkness
Andoralson choked as the enormous pit fiend materialized in front of him. Leathery flesh, huge batlike wings, and talons longer than the druid's hand stood between him and the stairway. The creature's eyes blazed a deathly red. The stench of old blood quickly filled the chamber, but the beast surprised the druid by ignoring him. Instead the fiend strode around him to the opposite side of the pool where Marcus lay bleeding. The snarl that arose from the fiend shook the walls and sloshed the foul waters of the pool.
"I had them, you idiot! The people of Phlan were ready to follow me out of the city straight to this pool! How could you be so foolish as to summon me? Latenat!" the fiend roared.
A trickle of blood escaped from one corner of the wizard's mouth as he wheezed and struggled for enough air to argue. "I'm dying! Quit your ranting and save me!"
"You have a punctured lung. You're not dying, fool. Latenat! Argh!" The fiend hissed as he grasped the dagger to pull it from Marcus's chest. Its touch seared the fiend's tough hide. Tanetal wrapped the wizard's cloak around the hilt and pulled.
Ignored by Marcus and the fiend, Andoralson seized the opportunity and ran to Evaine's side. She was still pinned by the hand, her throat bruised and swollen. Not knowing whether his spell would work, the druid took a chance and directed a swirl of blue energy around the stone fist. In seconds, the rock dissolved into a puddle of mud. The sorceress rolled over, coughing and choking, trying to clear the mud from her face.
SMASH! An ear-splitting shatter erupted next to the druid and wizard. They saw Miltiades, white bones dripping in blood, bashing away at the hand that gripped Ren.
"We thought you were a goner!" Andoralson gasped.
"Not a chance!" the paladin answered without ceasing his swings. "I don't breathe, so I cannot suffocate. These bones are sharp. It was just a matter of time before I sliced my way out of the snake." Another blow shattered the giant hand and released Ren. Miltiades immediately set to work to free Gamaliel.
But the bashing had also caught the attention of the pit fiend. He looked up to see a strange skeletal warrior smashing the black marble hands with the hilt of his sword. His work had released a human and an enormous cat from the marble traps. "What has been happening here? Latenat!" he bellowed at Marcus. The wizard could only gurgle in pain.
Tanetal concentrated for a moment, then breathed wisps of evil blackness into the wizard's wound. It wouldn't heal the damage, but it would numb the pain and stop the bleeding for several hours. Marcus instantly regained the strength to shout orders. "Listen, you fool! Do you hear that clamor? Phlan's people are preparing to escape the cavern. Dispose of these weaklings before they spoil everything! They must be dead before my souls find their way to this po
ol!"
The wizard rose to his knees. "Kill them all now! They've dared to hurt me, and they must all die. They've tampered with my magical pool! You take care of the men. I'll crush the woman and that wretched beast!"
The companions had survived Marcus's last wave of spells, but now, in their weakened state, they faced the pit fiend in addition to the crazed wizard. And Phlan's citizens would soon be in danger.
Still coughing, Evaine rolled to Gamaliel's side and forced a healing potion down the cat's throat. He was healthy enough to stand, but had been weakened terribly by the stone hand.
Andoralson launched the first attack. A storm of tiny, white-hot meteors streaked toward Marcus and the fiend.
Marcus clambered to his feet. "Your spells are nothing to me, weakling." He raised both hands and began to chant.
Tanetal stood his ground, expecting to be unharmed by the magic. Yet he was knocked to the floor with a loud thud. An unearthly shriek rattled the chamber as the hot meteors melted into the fiend's leathery hide. The beast hauled himself to his feet, snarling at his enemies, but the look on his face betrayed surprise.
Ren and Miltiades charged the fiend, whacking and slashing with determination. Their blades sang as they landed on the seven-foot monster. The paladin's shimmering weapon bit deeply into the shoulder of the fiend, releasing a spray of black ooze. Ren's huge sword found its mark but shattered to pieces, rattling across the floor. The ranger pulled Left from his boot without missing a swing. Both men attacked relentlessly to prevent the fiend from using its magic.
When Marcus completed his spell, a cherry-red beam found Evaine, but the magic sizzled harmlessly against her green sphere of protection magic. With Gamaliel in good health, Evaine struggled to her feet, directing her energy at Marcus.
"Wizard, you've blasted me one time too many!" She raised her staff and released a frigid spiral of ice and snow at Marcus.
Her magic was partially negated by the red protections around Marcus, but the cold still harmed him. It ruined the spell he was summoning and slowed him with numbness. Evaine took advantage of his condition, raising her staff again.
A ball of fire, hot as the sun but tinted the cool green of the sea, streaked toward the Red Wizard. Evaine stepped closer to her enemy. Gamaliel slinked along the edge of the wall, so stealthily that he was unnoticed.
Marcus stood his ground, unharmed by the extreme heat. Instead, his bones were warmed by the blast of fire, and he was able to move normally again. Evaine sighed at this unexpected result. Gritting her teeth, she prepared another spell. A greenish white spiral of ice streamed from her hand.
The force knocked Marcus backward into the wall, spoiling another of his spells. He raised a magical golden rod as Evaine neared. "You've caused us enough trouble for one lifetime!" she cried. "This is the end of you!"
Marcus gaped foolishly at the sorceress. He tried to conjure one last spell of protection against her magic. Nearby, Gamaliel's back feet dug in with his claws, then his haunches twitched.
Before Marcus knew what hit him, two hundred pounds of cat landed squarely on his head, snapping his neck. Marcus slumped to the floor with a sickening crunch, his head tilted at a ghastly angle.
Ren, Miltiades, and Andoralson, still battling the pit fiend, were spurred on by the destruction of Marcus.
But the wizard's death had a sudden, unexpected effect on the beast.
With a horrendous roar, the monster drew itself to its full height. "Free! Oh, the power! I'm free at last!" the fiend bellowed. Its skin turned even blacker as the monster reveled in its release from the Red Wizard. It ignored the attackers who still danced and weaved around it.
Miltiades used the chance to chop at the monster's leg. Ren retrieved Right from the floor where the fiend had dropped it, then slashed away with both daggers. The deep cuts burned into Tanetal's black hide. The fiend roared an unintelligible command, lashing out with both clawed fists.
One arm swung wildly, but the other found its mark. Ren took the blow full force in the stomach, hurtled through the air, and crashed against the stone wall. The ranger slid to the floor accompanied by the dreadful snap of breaking bones. Without enough breath to scream in pain, the warrior clamped his left hand on his right forearm. Blood streamed freely from a puncture made by the broken bone that now stuck out of his skin. Ribs were shattered, and his right leg rested limply on the stone, bent nearly backward.
None of the companions could come to his aid. The pit fiend thrashed at them, though in its rage it had moved dangerously close to the pool.
A clatter on the stairs announced the approach of yet another enemy. A grating voice broke through the clamor of combat. "My troops have been slaughtered, and you have the gall to summon me! I won't stand for this any longer, foolish human! You have-"
An irate Brittle rattled around the corner, ranting and hissing. He stopped short as he observed the battle that raged before him.
"Fiend! Is Marcus really dead?"
A roar from the fiend cut his question short. Brittle quickly raised his sword as Miltiades charged forward to face him.
The two skeletal warriors stared at each other for less than a second, then nodded silently in an unspoken greeting of honor. In the next instant, blades flashed and crunched as the two became a whirl of steel and bone.
Evaine and Andoralson directed their most powerful spells at the fiend. Swirls and sparks of green and blue energy illuminated the chamber in an eerie glow. The beast laughed off nearly half the magical attacks. Gamaliel circled around behind the monster, poised himself for a leap, then sailed through the air to land on black wings. Four paws, claws extended, raked and gouged mercilessly.
Andoralson cast an illusion, duplicating himself ten times. The real druid was lost among his images. All eleven conjured illusionary monsters, directing them at Tanetal, but the fiend merely waved them away with his hand. In moments, the druid stood alone. Nearing exhaustion, Andoralson gasped for breath as he raised his hands to cast another spell.
Ren lay slumped against the wall. He struggled to reach a healing potion in his pocket, lifting it to his lips. The blood that poured from his arm and trickled from his chest gradually slowed and stopped. The ranger's bones were still broken, yet his life no longer drained away. Yet he was helpless to do anything.
Brittle and Miltiades continued their deadly dance, matching each other blow for blow, parry for parry. Swords sang and crunched as the pair's exquisite but horrifying choreography led them around the chamber.
Evaine never ceased directing jets, clouds, and streams of emerald energy at the enormous black beast. Nearly half her spells fizzled uselessly away, and no matter how the monster was harmed, its injuries gradually healed within minutes. Evaine racked her brain for some inspiration, but she had little time to think amid her furious spellcasting.
Gamaliel still clung to the fiend's back. Black ichor flowed down the monster's muscled form, puddling at its feet. A stench like stagnant water accompanied the blood.
The skeletons continued their duel. Every few seconds, a sword found its mark and a shard of bone chipped off to sail across the chamber. The two were so embroiled that both were virtually oblivious to their surroundings.
Evaine had nearly completed another spell when she noticed the paladin's danger. By the time she dispatched her magical energy, it was too late even to shout a warning. Both skeletal warriors had stumbled dangerously close to the pool, bobbing, weaving, and dodging. And then it was over. Evaine watched as the pair teetered for a moment, then tumbled into the pool of darkness with a syrupy splash.
The inky fluid bubbled and boiled as the magical water tried to drain the souls of those who battled within. Every few moments, a bony hand or glinting sword tip broke the surface of the vile water, but there was no way to know which warrior had the advantage. It was only clear that the two skeletons battled for their souls. Occasional syrupy blobs splashed over the rim and sizzled on the stone floor, only to ooze back to the pool by sliding up
over the edge.
At last a skeletal hand reached out of the pool, gripping the side. Then a second hand grasped the edge, and a bony form began to pull itself out of the murk. Evaine's heart sank as she realized that it wasn't Miltiades, but Brittle. The enemy warrior struggled to haul himself up. But another bony hand reached up and yanked the evil creature back into the pool. Miltiades still lived-but for how long?
The pit fiend laughed in delight. A minute globe of darkest night formed at the tips of the fiend's talons, then slowly drifted toward the druid. In the globe's writhing mists, Andoralson saw his worst nightmares come to life but couldn't tear his eyes away from the evil images.
"No!" he shrieked, toppling to the ground. The druid kicked and struggled, screaming and gibbering at nightmares invading his mind.
Now the fiend reached behind him and plucked the clawing Gamaliel from his back. The giant cat hissed and snarled, gold eyes ablaze, but the fiend tossed him aside like a toy. The feline tried to right himself as he sailed through the air, but landed on the stone with a sickening thump.
Tanetal took a step toward Evaine. "We meet at last, little soul. I desired to meet you ever since I felt your presence in my chamber. The fires of your magic burn oh so brightly. I look forward to tasting your life force. Latenat!"
The beast took another step. Evaine launched her poisoned dragon darts at the creature, while Ren hurled his own dart with his left hand. All of them found their target but bounced off the monster's filthy hide, clattering to the floor.
The ranger summoned enough strength to fire Left at the pit fiend. The blade struck and seared into Tanetal's dripping wounds. The beast bellowed in pain, but lumbered closer to the sorceress.
In desperation the wizard launched two more green blasts at the fiend. The first spell merely charred its black wings, while the second fizzled away. The monster's dry chuckle drove her to a fury she had never known.
Evaine tried to get away, but the creature pursued, half-galloping, half-flying. Before she could cast a spell to hide herself, a giant scaly hand had wrapped about her waist. The beast picked her up as if she were a doll. The scent of blood and ichor hung thickly around the creature. It slobbered in delight as it examined the sorceress, contemplating what to do with its new prize. Then the fiend spoke in surprise and curiosity.
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