They would have to walk through the bowed, cavelike bridge of vertebrae draped across the hex-line gap. Smells drifted out of the bridge opening, and a jungle of black shadows flickered as light flitted in and out of the gaps.
Two giant boulders stood propped against the opening. Other bones and dead things lay piled outside, though they could easily have been discarded in the black gulf.
Mindar stared up at the sky. The red S-scar on her forehead throbbed with the beat of her heart. She could not offer any help to them now, couldn't give them any warning about the Slave of the Serpent.
The golem set her down, straightened her legs, and made sure she had gained her balance before letting go. Mindar stood by herself, but did nothing else.
"Now what do we do?" Vailret asked. "Do we just walk through?"
An ear-splitting roar burst out of the shadows of the sagging tunnel, accompanied by a sandy, grating hiss. The sound echoed in the hollow vertebrae. Something moved in the dim light of the tunnel.
"And now for a really big show!" Journeyman said.
A silhouette appeared, and then the Slave of the Serpent stepped into view. The monster drew in a deep breath and stood reeling, unaccustomed to the bright sunlight.
Delrael flinched. The demon was huge, more massive even than Gairoth the ogre. It was hairy and apelike, but had reptilian features, a chest plate and a flat angular head set low upon its shoulders. The deep-set eyes looked pitiful and filled with immense sorrow shining out from slitted pupils.
Coiled around its body was a huge, oily green snake that raised its head high above the Slave's shoulders. The Serpent hissed at the travelers with a sound like rain pelting a fire.
The Slave took two lumbering steps forward then stopped, planting its feet to guard the opening of the tunnel bridge. The Serpent spoke.
"So you are Delrael! We went to the Stronghold. We killed a human character who claimed to be Delrael. But he was old and weak. We left him smoking on the ground."
Delrael felt his heart freeze, wondering if it could be a trick. Did they mean Tarne? If the Serpent claimed to be looking for Delrael, Tarne would have tried to trick them.
The Serpent cocked its head at him. "We came to get the Fire Stone and give it back to Scartaris. Now you have brought the Stone to us ― " The Serpent hissed at Bryl. The half-Sorcerer cringed.
Delrael looked back at the others. Vailret appeared weak and frightened with only his short sword; Bryl had the Fire Stone; the golem looked ready to fight.
The Slave stepped forward, and the Serpent spoke again with a note of glee in its voice. "I bind you to the protocol of single combat in Rule #10!
Delrael ― I challenge you. You must fight me alone."
Bryl let out a cry of dismay. Journeyman said, "Aww, shucks!"
Delrael stood up in shock, feeling cheated. Though the Serpent had used a loophole, the Rules still constrained all characters. The Slave of the Serpent greatly outclassed Delrael alone, but now the others could not help him. They could not break the Rules. It was unfair. Vailret, Bryl, and Journeyman appeared helpless.
Mindar stood without moving, unaware.
Delrael curled his lip and snarled at the demon. "Don't underestimate me."
The Slave made a grumbling bestial noise and tried to turn his head to glare at the Serpent. But the pupilless red eyes of the snake ignored him. The coils squeezed the Slave's chest, and he lumbered forward to meet his opponent.
"May the Force be with you," Journeyman called.
Delrael breathed in and out. He felt his heart pumping, the adrenaline flowing. He had fought a thousand mock battles, and some real ones. He had been through his father's training. He was ready. He had no choice.
Without giving any warning, he surged forward as fast as he could. He held the sword in front of him, howling at the top of his lungs, and swung.
The Slave stumbled back in surprise, leaving deep footprints on the ground. Delrael drove in, pushing his advantage of surprise for a few more moments. He swung, and missed, and struck again with the blade.
The Slave grunted and roared, batting at him with a bearlike paw.
Delrael turned his sword sideways and slashed the Slave's arm. The edge bit into the monster's fur, but made only a minor wound.
The Serpent's fangs flashed like glistening swords. Delrael saw the snake strike an instant before it was too late. He dove for the ground, tucking the sword against him to protect it, and rolled.
The Slave bent over to give the Serpent more reach, but the fangs dug into the sand. The Serpent pulled up, hissing and spitting dust out of its mouth. Black pools of smoking slag marked where venom had squirted into the dirt.
Delrael worked his feet under him and stumbled back to a standing position. The Slave could have attacked, but it hesitated, giving Delrael time to compose himself. He wondered what was going on.
He heard Vailret and Journeyman shouting at him, urging him on. Delrael blanked that out for the moment. He needed to concentrate on the fight.
The Slave's sad eyes struck his heart. This monster didn't want to hurt him, didn't want to do what he did. The Serpent forced the Slave to do its will. He wanted no part of this. Delrael stared at the eyes. It was a trick.
It had to be.
But the Slave's eyes were not pupilless.
Then the Serpent struck again.
This time, inexplicably, the Slave stepped sideways, deliberately throwing off the snake's aim.
In anger, the Serpent viciously nipped the bare patch at the back of the Slave's neck. The monster roared in pain and swatted with its great paws, but the snake bobbed back and forth, weaving away from the clumsy grasp. It ducked in and nipped the Slave again.
"Kill Delrael!" it said.
Wet mucus dripped from the Slave's eyes, either in pain or sorrow. With a roar, the Slave reached out his huge paws.
Delrael held his ground and lunged, trying to duck under the grasping arms. But the Slave cuffed him on the side of the head. Delrael sprawled on the ground. His vision fuzzed, and his ears rang. He heard Vailret and Journeyman shouting again. It didn't make sense. He didn't want to listen to them, but he knew he couldn't lay there.
He felt vibrations in the sand as the Slave stomped forward. Delrael half-closed his eyes, pretending to be unconscious. When he saw the Slave near him, he snapped open his eyes and grabbed the sword with both hands. He scrambled to his knees and put his chest, his shoulders, all of the muscles in his arms and back into one swing. He aimed for the Slave's thigh and felt the blade sink in, cutting into the meat of the monster's leg all the way to the bone.
Viscous yellow blood oozed out, gushing in heavy globs. The monster howled in agony.
Delrael rolled out of the way, but the monster kept staggering forward, propelled by its own momentum and forgetting its pain. Blood spattered to the ground with every step the Slave took. Delrael held the sword against him, smearing the yellow blood across his leather armor. He tried to climb to his feet, but was not fast enough.
The Slave of the Serpent knocked him back to the ground, then wrapped both huge paws around Delrael's chest and jerked him into the air. The monster shook him and squeezed.
Delrael felt the roar in his head grow louder. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. Loud sounds and darkness echoed at the corner of his eyes. His arm went numb. He couldn't control his fingers ― they went limp, and the sword fell, embedding its point in the sand. The weight of the pommel tipped it over, spraying dirt in the air.
For a moment he thought the Slave would cast him into the yawning black chasm where he might fall through the map and be incinerated by his first glimpse of reality. Then he saw the Serpent rear back. Its blank red eyes blazed fire as if Scartaris himself were looking through the reptilian skull.
The Serpent opened its mouth. The fangs oozed venom like miniature diamonds.
Mindar blinked. Her vision snapped back into focus. She stumbled, suddenly regaining her body.
In the back o
f her mind she heard a mocking voice, Scartaris laughing at her, telling her to watch. Watch him die. You will lose. You will always lose.
She didn't know where she was, how she had gotten there or what was going on. She remembered nothing beyond the Cailee and the circle of firelight. And the pain, memories sparkling with pain.
Then she saw Delrael in the grip of the Slave of the Serpent. Watch him die. Scartaris had toyed with her, showed his power. Now he would have fun by letting her witness Delrael's death.
The Serpent drew back to strike, and Delrael closed his eyes.
The snake's head flashed downward as Delrael heard racing footsteps, a swish. It all happened too fast. He opened his eyes and saw the Serpent still descending toward him with its mouth open and fangs bared, but somehow the head had become severed from the body. Squirting blood, the snake's head continued its arc, struck Delrael in the shoulder and bounced off. It fell on the sand, staring up with dead red eyes.
Mindar regained her balance and swung the rippled sword back through empty air, flinging droplets of the Serpent's dark blood into the air.
Apparently stunned, the Slave released his grip and let Delrael fall to the ground. His right arm was still numb, but he managed to snatch up his sword as he scrambled out of the way. He heaved in great gasps of air. His ribs ached. Sand crusted the globs of yellow blood sticking to his leather armor.
Mindar stood poised and ready to fight the Slave, wearing a snarl on her lips. Her red S-scar glowed. She had returned. Delrael wanted to go to her.
The Slave pivoted around. Yellow blood drooled down the matted fur of his leg. He seemed to ignore the pain of the wound. He stared at Delrael with his liquid, anguished eyes. Then he gawked in awe at the ragged dripping stump of the Serpent. His face wore an impossible, stupefied expression. When he lifted up the dead Serpent, dark blood ran down his fingers, but the poison did not harm him.
Then he raised his huge paws into the air in a gesture of triumph.
"Sadic is free!" The monster's words were clumsy, as if the flat, plated mouth was not suited for speech. The Slave unwrapped the entwined body of the Serpent as if he were casting off a heavy chain.
Delrael continued to breathe hard. He didn't know what to think. He saw Mindar raise her eyebrows.
Moving with obvious disgust, the Slave held the snake's body away from him. Black blood drizzled from the decapitated end, leaving foul pools smoking on the ground. The Slave's fur had been worn off in pink, raw-looking patches by the Serpent's scales rubbing against his hide.
"Ring around the collar," Journeyman mumbled out of the side of his mouth.
The Slave of the Serpent stalked to the edge of the deep crevasse. He raised the Serpent's body over his head and, with a roar of exhilaration, cast it down into the void. Then he turned back to Delrael and Mindar, dragging his wounded leg behind him along a trail of thick yellow blood.
Delrael grabbed his sword, ready to fight again, though his aching ribs and numb arm protested. Mindar stood glaring at the demon. Journeyman, Vailret, and Bryl all joined them.
The Slave of the Serpent stopped and stared at them, pleading. He spread out his massive flat paws. "Sadic will not hurt you. You freed Sadic.
You killed Serpent."
"Just stay away, big fella," Journeyman said.
The Slave kept his distance, trying to look harmless. He made no sudden moves. "Sadic will do no more harm."
Then Mindar turned pale and sick-looking. Her rippled sword fell to the ground. She staggered and dropped to her knees, making strange noises. She covered her face. Delrael heard her sobbing.
He put a hand on her shoulder, hesitant. She didn't flinch. Then he put both arms around her in a hug. He felt her trembling, the spasms as she tried to control herself.
Mindar choked out words. "I don't know what happened. All I remember is fighting the Cailee, and then the pain, and blackness..."
"The Cailee almost killed you," Delrael said quietly, soothing. "But Scartaris didn't let you die. He ... he controlled you. You were like the other Tairans. Your eyes..." He let the words trail off.
"Scartaris released me only so I could watch you die. For fun." She looked up, and her dark eyes were filled with a complex mix of emotions.
"I saw my daughter, I think. She was like a dream in the darkness, and it's fading. The more I try to hold onto the memory, the faster it slips away." Mindar drew a hitching breath and pulled herself to her feet, brushing her singed green tunic. Feeling awkward, Delrael took a step away.
"The first thing I saw was you fighting. And the others were just standing there, not helping you. I knew what I had to do."
Delrael saw Vailret flinch and shifted his short sword from one hand to the other. "The Serpent bound us with single combat protocol. We couldn't help."
Mindar let that sink in for a moment, and then a slow smile crossed her face. "Scartaris wanted to bind you with a strict interpretation of the Rules ― and we turned the tables on him, hah! We can find loopholes, too. Since Scartaris kept me unaware of anything that was going on, I didn't hear the challenge." Her grin broadened. "I beat Scartaris with his own trick!"
Then her expression fell again and she became serious. "I learned one other thing, though ― we're already too late.
"Scartaris has informed his army that they will march tomorrow night.
They will charge across the map, pillaging and laying waste to every hexagon.
Even if you destroy Scartaris, there's no way you can stop the whole army."
Delrael felt betrayed. He wondered if the Earthspirits knew what Mindar had said, if they knew anything beyond Scartaris. In his belt, the Earthspirits gave no sign, no communication. If Mindar was right, then the quest, Tallin's death, the first plea in the message stick from Drodanis ―everything they had done was for nothing!
"One problem at a time," Delrael said. At least they were questing and trying to do something. No one had thought of a better way to confront Scartaris.
The Slave made a grunting noise to attract their attention, but remained standing where he was. "Sadic will help."
Delrael scowled at the hairy, reptilian monster, feeling his aching ribs. The Slave plastered his paw against the deep sword cut in his thigh to slow the bleeding.
"Serpent made Sadic do bad things. Scartaris controlled Serpent. You freed Sadic. Sadic will help. Sadic knows you want to destroy Scartaris."
Bryl muttered, "Seems just about everyone knows that by now."
"Remember Rule #3, about taking new companions," Vailret said. "We could use all the help we can get, especially powerful help like that."
"The plot thickens," Journeyman said.
Delrael turned, still feeling weak from the combat. The wide white quest-path stretched across the desolation.
He saw the towering black cloud charging toward them, little more than a hexagon away. He heard an eerie buzzing sound, a cacophony of many noises, like a storm of voices, tormented souls. The cloud itself looked fuzzy and indistinct, rolling along the ground in thousands of frenzied pieces, large and small, looking for something to attack. Huge clouds of dust from its passage bubbled into the air.
"I want to see Scartaris destroyed," Mindar said.
"Cross tunnel," the Slave said. "Do not trust Sadic. He will cross by himself."
Mindar nodded at Delrael. "Three of us should cross, then Sadic, then the last two. Otherwise he might push the tunnel bridge over the edge when we're all inside it."
"He looks strong enough to do it," Delrael agreed.
Sadic hunched his hairy shoulders. "Yes. Go."
They cast dice in the dust to see who would go first. Delrael, Vailret and Bryl won the rolls and stood at the edge of the foul-smelling opening.
They entered the rotting and ancient bridge of vertebrae.
Wind whistled around and through the cracks. The dried sinews stretched taut, and the giant vertebrae swayed and rattled over the gulf. Delrael took the lead and put his boot on the rough, cu
rved surface of the inner bone wall, checking his footing.
The passage was wide and tall. Delrael strode forward. He didn't want to think about traps, didn't want to worry. Gaps and holes between the segments of vertebrae showed too plainly the depths of swirling blackness far below, the shadows of things he didn't want to see.
The sinews were dry and leathery, holding the vertebrae together.
Delrael kept telling himself that armies had funnelled through this, that heavy cartloads of supplies and pounding Slac regiments had gone through. The bridge would hold.
They pushed ahead and saw the other side not far away. He listened to Bryl whimper behind him. Then they hurried out of the last segment, anxious to be on solid ground again. Gasping and trembling, they emerged, each trying to cover the look of fear he wore.
Sadic came next. Delrael kept his sword drawn, uneasy. He could see the vertebrae in the tunnel sway as the massive Slave lumbered through and then emerged beside them.
"Sadic will not hurt you," he said in a low voice, trying to be reassuring.
Mindar and Journeyman rapidly followed. The shadows grew longer around them with late afternoon.
"We should hurry," Mindar said. "Within another day we'll be near Scartaris. We have to be ready."
Delrael swallowed in a dry throat. "We will be."
They set off across the packed white quest-path.
The Serpent's head lay on the sand. Its eyes remained dead and pupilless, storm-colored jelly. Then the eyes lit up, glowing red again.
Scartaris looked through them at the questers as they set off toward his mountain lair.
Game Play Page 22