The Cerulean Storm Dungeons & Dragons Dark Sun Prism Pentad, Book 5 Written by Troy Denning

[Music] this is audible audible inc presents the prism pentad book five the cerulean storm written by troy denning narrated by ray porter dedication for jim lowder for his many contributions to the series most men called it shadow that dark stain visible only as an absence the cold gloom cast upon the ground when their bodies blocked the light of the crimson sun wiser minds referred to it as the black and they knew that it separated everything that existed from everything that did not it lurked just beneath the surface in all things like the leathery shell of some great egg buried shallow and about to hatch outside lay the barren mountains the endless sand wastes and the bleak wind-swept plains that were the world of athens inside lay the hollow filled with the languid albumin of nothingness within this colorless ether floated the bones of an ancient skeleton it lay curled into a tight ball its shoulder blades fused into a large hump and its gangling arms wrapped around its knees the skull seemed remotely human though the slender jaw bones drooping chin and flat cheekbones insinuated that this was not entirely true the skeleton filled the hollow completely but it would have been wrong to call the thing huge in this place size had no meaning only existence mattered and by the mere fact that it was the skeleton occupied all of the vast emptiness inside the egg the skeleton scratched at the murky shell with long barbed talons dreaming of the day it would be reborn for the first time in an eternity it felt confident of escaping its timeless prison forks of lightning circled its misshapen skull like a crown sparks danced in the empty sockets where once it had possessed beneath the scratching talents appeared a pair of blue embers and a long slit-like mouth the features were all the skeleton ever saw of its servants the shadow people were part of the black as trapped within the dark shell as their master was inside the emptiness of the egg we felt your summons omnipotent one the servant used thought speech to report for sound did not exist within the skeleton's eternal prison i have been thinking the skeleton replied it slowly twisted its oblong skull around to stare more directly into the shadow's eyes the sorcerer kings must be near when the usurper frees me that's too dangerous the servant's eyes grew larger and brighter the six of them have grown stronger than you know rajyath they'll destroy us a ball of lightning formed above rajat's head they won't destroy me he snarled if you hesitate to sacrifice a few lives so i may return arthas to its greater glory perhaps you should remain in the black kidar winced his eyes and mouth sliding down the inside of the black shell our fates are bound together he said with more regret than enthusiasm we have no concern except the future of of us never forget that rajat hissed the blue rays in his empty eye sockets flickering in ire think of all that i have sacrificed to return the world to your people and follow my example we are most grateful hidar assured him we'll see to whatever you wish good it would be best to avenge the sorcerer king's betrayal before proceeding with the restoration rajat said the lightning began to crackle more steadily and calmly over his head after that we'll cleanse others of the most profane strains of the degenerate races the half-breeds shall die first which ones asked the servant all of them half elves mulls half giants every filthy abomination produced through an unnatural union we must kill them as soon as possible as you wish the new races come next rajat continued knotting the barbed talons of both hands into tight fists there are so many it may take us a century we must expect our opposition kedar warned zadira and rikers our half breeds they'll die with the others the skeleton pronounced i'll destroy them as soon as i finish with the sorcerer kings what of the usurper asked kedar will you make him a sorcerer king yes i'll keep my promise provided he honors the cause of the pristine tower rajat answered and if he betrays us like boris and the others my new champion will never do such a thing the skeleton replied after he witnesses the fate of the other traitors he will not dare 1. samara king tithian of tear gnashed his teeth in vexation accidentally crushing the sweet chad nut upon which he had been sucking the pulp filled his mouth with sour peppery seeds that burned his tongue and made his eyes water he swallowed the kernels in a single gulp hardly noticing the fiery aftertaste that chased them down his throat it's a whole damned fleet his old man's voice was hoarsened by the spicy chad seeds the hunch shouldered king stood behind a low stone wall peering through a curtain of swirling dust a thicket of masts had just appeared in samara's tiny harbor while the thick haze prevented a reliable ship count tithing could see so much billowing canvas that the flotilla looked like a cloud bank rolling in from the sea of silt why should the fleet anger you mighty one asked corla clinging as always to tithian's arm she was the fairest woman in the village with ginger colored hair and a sultry smile that did not mean she was beautiful a life of heat and dust had framed her brown eyes with deep etched crow's feet while the sun had baked her skin until it was as creased and rough as a man's corla clasped the king's elbow more tightly your retainers wouldn't dare come for you with anything less than a dozen ships tithian pulled free and straightened his shoulder satchel she frowned soon you'll show me the wonders of tear won't you no tithian fixed a disdainful glare on her weather-lined face you can't leave me behind carla objected she glanced at the small crowd of villagers gathered behind the wall after what i've been to you the others will quiet tithian ordered he waved a liver spotted hand toward the harbor that isn't my fleet rikers and sedira will come by land not ship corla lowered her eyelids inside in relief don't be too relieved said riv corla's brawny husband and samara's headman an elf tarak crossbreed riv had a square big boned face with a sloped forehead and a slender nose standing so tall that the village wall rose only to his waist he cut an imposing figure normally typhian would have killed such a rival outright but the head man had taken pains to make himself indispensable as an intermediary to the villagers besides the king enjoyed flaunting corla's adultery in front of him your rain as queen will end soon enough riff glared at his wife why's that tithian demanded shuffling around corla to confront the huge crossbreed is there a reason i should fear those ships riv shrugged everyone should fear baelic and armadas but i see no reason they should concern you especially he replied he raised the thin lips of his domed muzzle showing a mouthful of enormous canine teeth i only meant that cola shouldn't expect to go with you when the time comes i've seen enough of others to know she'd only be an embarrassment in the city you may have seen the brothels of balak but you know nothing of life in tears royal court corliss spat back she regarded her husband suspiciously then continued now answer the king's question we haven't seen a bailicum fleet for more than a year why now riv sneered ask your lover he said he's the mind bender i'll know the answer soon enough tithian said thrusting his hand into his shoulder satchel and if you ever again refer to me as anything but king or mighty one you'll beg for your death rift blanched the king had pulled spell components from the sack often enough that the headman recognized the gesture as a threatening one what riv did not realize was that tythian could also withdraw a venomous viper a vial of acid or any one of a dozen other tools of murder from inside the sack was magical and it could hold an unlimited supply of items without appearing full rift glared at tiffian for a moment then hissed as you wish mighty one tiffin spun toward the center of the village signaling for corla and riv to follow him as they moved through the dust haze they passed a dozen stone huts shaped like beehives inside most buildings haggard women furiously packed their meager possessions sacks of chad nuts stone knives clay cooking pots and bone-tipped hunting spears outside the men gathered the family gorax knee-high lizards with colorful dorsal fans it was a slow difficult process for the stubborn reptiles were engrossed in overturning rocks and catching insects with their long sticky tongues the king and his companions reached the village plaza in the center was the communal well a deep hole encircled by a simple railing of gorak bones a small crowd of children surrounded the pit arguing in panicked voices and elbowing each other out of the way as they struggled to fill their waterskins on the far side of the plaza outside the hut the king had confiscated from riv lay an obsidian orb larger than a man with languorous streaks of scarlet swimming over its glassy surface it was the dark lens both the source of tithian's power and the means through which he would achieve his greatest ambition to become an immortal sorcerer king the dark lens had once belonged to athes's first sorcerer rajat thousands of years ago the ancient sage had started a genocidal war to cleanse athas of races he considered impure to assist him rajat had used the lens to make a group of immortal champions each dedicated to destroying one race after dozens of centuries of fighting the champions had learned that their master intended to strip them of their powers they had rebelled using the dark lens to lock rajat into a mystical prison then they had transformed their leader borisove into the dragon appointing him to guard the prison forever the other champions had each claimed one of the cities of atheists to rule as immortal sorcerer kings tithian intended to kill the dragon and free rajat in return he had been promised that the ancient sorcerer would bless him with the immortal powers of a champion unfortunately the tyrian king could not hope to kill his prey alone boris was a master of the way sorcery and physical combat and the dark lens would make tythian powerful enough to challenge the dragon only in the way the king knew who could help him his former slaves rikas and sadira a champion gladiator rikus carried a magical sword that had been forged by rajat himself while sadera's body had been imbued with the magical energies of rajat's mystic castle together the three of them would have the power to destroy boris of course tithing realized that it would not be easy to induce his ex-slaves to help for their own reasons they were as anxious to kill the dragon as the king was but they were also smart enough not to trust the tyrian ruler so to lure them into helping him tythian had sent them a fraudulent message in the name of their friend aghi savastocles in it he had claimed that agus had recovered the dark lens and had asked them to meet the noble in samara to convince them the summons was real he had included the astocles signet ring once they arrived he would make up a lie about how the noble had died after sending the message then the king would convince them to let him take agus place and helped them kill boris tithian had reached the far side of the village square the century the king had left to watch the dark lens showed himself he was a disembodied head with grossly bloated cheeks and narrow dark eyes he had a mouthful of broken teeth and wore his coarse hair in a top knot the bottom of his leathery neck had been stitched shut with black thread what did you find in the harbor the sentry asked floating toward tythian it's a fleet the king reported sacha's dark eyes opened wide that's impossible he glanced at the obsidian orb as long as we have the dark lens and droppiness can't find us and what are his ships doing in the harbour tithian growled how should i know sneered the head you're the one who controls the lens i suggest you use it tithian lashed out to snatch sacha's top knot missed and silently cursed his slow reflexes still surprised him occasionally for his body had grown frail and old just a few weeks earlier in the course of stealing the dark lands from the giant tribes in the sea of silt the king had been forced to outwit its guardians a pair of dwarven banshees named jorsh and before he could send them away the spirits had stolen what remained of his youth burdening him with aching joints shortness of breath and all the other afflictions of old age leaving corla and riv behind typhian spread his arms and stepped toward the dark lens as he approached waves of blistering heat rose off the glassy orb and seared his old man's body clear to the brittle bones clenching his teeth he laid his hands on the scorching surface from beneath his palms came a soft hiss and the smell of charred flesh filled his nostrils the king did not cry out he looked past the surface and gazed into the utter blackness of the dark lens tithian opened himself to the power of the black orb his hands seemed to meld with its surface and its blistering heat ceased to burn his flesh a torrent of energy rushed from the lens into his arms flowing down into his spiritual nexus the place deep within his abdomen with the three energies of the way mental physical and spiritual joined to form the core of his being tithian focused his thoughts on samara's harbor concentrating on what he would see there if the dust hays were not obscuring his vision in the black depths of the dark lens rose an image of 20 schooners each depicted clearly in ghostly red light the first ship was just sailing into the narrow strait that served as the harbor's mouth inside his mind the king heard the creaking of masts and the pop of flapping canvas the visual image was so clear that he could see the gaunt slaves shuffling along with yard arm ropes as they furled the sails on the main deck hairless dwarves labored around a capstan as they struggled to raise the keel boards and in the stern the ship floater stared into a black dome of obsidian from his own experience aboard bailican schooners tithian knew that the ship floater was using the way to infuse the dome with the spiritual energy that kept the ship from sinking into the dust find out if and droppiness is with them suggested sakha hovering at tithian's side if he isn't even an incompetent like you can destroy the fleet and if he is tithian demanded sacha did not answer tithian shifted his attention to a particularly large schooner near the center of the fleet unlike the other ships this one had narrow banners snapping from the top of its masts identifying it as the flagship the king focused all his attention on the craft closing the others out of his mind he felt a surge of mystical energy rush from deep within his body in the ship's image gradually enlarged until it was the only one visible on the foredeck four ballistics sat ready to fire massive harpoons knocked in their skein cords with a pair of lumbering half giants standing nearby two sorcerers stood in the prow inspecting the dust swells ahead of the ship for signs of buried obstacles to aid in the search each man held the base of a large glass cone to his eyes the glass cones tiffy and new were king's eyes unique lenses especially enchanted so the viewer could peer through the dust hazes so common to the sea of silt to the king's surprise there did not appear to be any slaves on the main deck half giants stood next to every catapult while the crew struggling to turn the capstan wore the plane togas of low-ranking balikin templars even the men and women crawling over the yard arms showed no whip scars on their bare backs when tithing's gaze fell on the quarter deck his stomach coiled into a tight knot in the name of rajat he cursed it can't be behind the helmsman stood and droppiness sorcerer king of balak he was muscular and huge with a fringe of chalk-colored hair hanging from beneath his jagged crown he had a slender face a nose so long it could almost be called a snout and dark nostrils shaped like eggs his cracked lips were pulled back to reveal a mouthful of teeth filed as sharp as those of a gladiator beneath his sleeveless tunic a line of sharp bulges ran down his spine small pointed scales covered his shoulders and the backs of his arms what disturbed tithian more than the sight of androgynous were the five people standing silently at the sorcerer king's side two were male two female and one of uncertain gender all stood close to androgynous height and appeared just as menacing one man with slit pupils and the heavy nose of a lion had a thick mane around his neck the other seemed remotely avian with a scaly beak-shaped muzzle and recessed ear slits on the sides of his head the taller woman appeared as cold as she was beautiful with long silky hair dark skin and narrow eye slits extending from the bridge of her nose around to her temples she had a small oval shaped mouth with dainty fangs pressed against the flesh of her lips the other woman was of lighter complexion her huge eyes constantly roamed about and never seemed to focus on anything say for the curled claws at the ends of her fingertips she looked more completely human than anyone else with andropinous last figure stood half again as tall as the others it seemed a miniature version of the dragon with a gaunt build neither male nor female a glistening height of leather and chitten covered its willowy limbs and androgynous body while huge claws with knobby jointed fingers hung from the ends of its skeletal arms at the end of its serpentine neck was its head little more than a slender snout with a glassy bulbous eye on each side and a bony horde at the end who are they asked corla coming to stand at tithian's side she held her hands out to shield her face from the blistering heat of the lens the sixth sorcerer kings and queens of others supplied sakha the head had hardly spoken before corla glanced toward her husband riv sakha faced tithian and growled you should have killed the half-breed when you decided to bed his wife it wasn't me riv objected joining them over at the well the children had formed a neat line and were working efficiently to fill their water skins the last thing i want in samara are sorcerer kings most of my villagers are slaves who came here after escaping the cities i've seen jealous fools risk more pressed didn't summon this fleet tithian said inside the dark lens he could see and drop inis's ship passing between the two spits of land that formed the mouth of the harbor even if riv has a way to contact the sorcerer kings he has no reason to think they'd be interested in me unless you told him sucka don't be absurd snapped the head they must have found a way to track the lens the king surmised impossible saga said as long as george and saram still walk arthus their magic prevents any sorcerer king from finding the lens by any method then what are all six doing here when the head didn't answer the king shifted his attention from andropinous flagship back to the whole fleet he felt a surge of energy course through his body then his field of view expanded to take in the entire armada the ship in the lead was furling its sails and slowing to a stop under the shouted guidance of the first mate the end of samara's single key laid just a short distance ahead of the bowsprit fearing that a balacan watchman would soon be able to see him tiffy and search to the sky over the harbor for the silhouette of a mast or crow's nest to his relief he found nothing but a pearly sky full of blowing dust samara and mothers began to pour into the plaza with heavy satchels of household belongings slung over their shoulders the fathers waited at the edge of the square clubbing their goraks with bone spears in a futile effort to keep the flocks from drifting where are your villagers going rev tithian asked if we stay here the balikins will seize everything we have even our children the headman reported we'll scatter into the desert until the fleet leaves we'd better do the same urged sakha and forgo a chance to spy on my enemies the king shook his head we're staying we can't eavesdrop on sorcerer kings of course we can tithian replied you said yourself they can't find us as long as we have the dark lens the king returned his gaze to the black orb then gasped several schooners had come to a dead halt in the middle of the harbor but that was not what had alarmed him boris had appeared next to the flagship his willowy frame so gaunt it would have made an elf seem stout though the dragon stood waste deep in silt his slender head loomed as far above the ship's deck as the highest mast with a spiked crest of leathery skin running up the back of his serpentine spine a menacing light glowed in his tiny eyes and wisps of red fume rose from the nostrils at the end of his slender snout and droppiness stood at the gunnel conversing with boris how can you be certain tuthian is here great one the sorcerer king asked i'm not the dragon replied but my spies in tear informed me that rikus and sadira are preparing to leave for samara why would they come so far if not to meet the usurper and retrieve the dark lands and you summoned us to help you ambush them perhaps if my agents in tear failed to stop them boris said but first i want you and the other sorcerer kings to find joersh and salam the dwarven knights asked andropinus the dwarven banshees boris corrected now that the usurper has stolen the lens from them they should not be so difficult to find bring them to me and my spirit lords will force them to undo the magic hiding the dark lens it would be easier to destroy the banshees where we find them suggested and dropping us these banshees cannot be destroyed by you or even me said boris only my spirit lords can do that which is why you must bring them to me you'll be here the dragon nodded waiting for tithian with that boris stepped away from the ship the crew began to lower the skiffs and the sorcerer kings prepared to disembark no will you leave asked sakha he was hovering near tithian's shoulder watching the scene inside the lens no it wouldn't do any good tithing's heart was pounding pumping fear and panic through his body and it was all he could do to keep control of his thoughts running into the desert won't save me not from boris and his sorcerer kings so you'll fight them karla asked in an anxious voice tythian looked up from the lens and glared at her don't be absurd he spat one or two sorcerer kings i could kill easily but not all of them and not with boris here even i can't kill the dragon alone i don't suppose you'd do us the courtesy of surrendering outside samara requested riv it might spare my people some trouble why should i care about your people growled tiffian i have no intention of surrendering i'm happy to hear that said corla smirking at her relief riffs scoffed why if he's not going to run a fight what else can he do the last thing boris expects hide in the very place he's trying to ambush me tithian was untroubled by riv's obvious delight at his plight the headman would pay for his insolence soon enough tythian thought his plan stood a good chance of seeing him through until help arrived if boris thought his agents could stop rikers and sadera the dragon was underestimating them badly as long as the pair believed they were coming to meet agus they would find a way to reach samara once they did they would have no choice but to help him slay boris the king studied riv's brawny form for a moment then used the way to visualize himself growing as large and strong as the head man a torrent of searing energy rushed from the lens into his body the king's arms burst into agony as his muscles began to swell taking on a knotted bulging shape after his arms came his shoulders and neck then his chest back and stomach each transformation brought with it a fresh surge of pain tithing clenched his teeth and waited for the dark lens to change his thoughts into reality until at last his legs felt as thick and bandy as ribs the king slipped his arms now as sinewy as those of a half giant around the heavy lens he lifted it easily then moved toward the center of the plaza shuffling to keep from banging his knees on the huge orb the crowd of samarin children backed away their half-filled waterskins dribbling precious liquid onto the dusty ground where are you going saka demanded floating at tiffy inside i told you to hide the king replied what good will that do the head whispered into tithian's ear there isn't a villager here who'd hesitate to tell the bailicans where you are i've thought of that already tithian replied as he spoke the king concentrated on the people ahead fixing their faces firmly in his mind he used the way to visualize them clasping at their throats choking and gasping for air he felt the energy of the dark lens flow through his body and into the ground a column of brown mist whooshed from the well spreading over the plaza with the fetid caustic odor of charred flesh the sound of coughing and gagging filled the air then samarans started to drop their strangled voices calling for help the instant a body hit the ground its flesh grew ashen and began to wither heavy steps sounded behind tiffian the king turned and saw riv charging his muzzle twisted into a snarl of rage murderer the head man flung himself into the air tithian shifted the dark lens to one hand and raised his other arm he opened himself to the lenses power he felt a streak of mystic energy rush through his body then riv's chest hit his hand a dark flash erupted from beneath the king's palm engulfing his attacker in a pall of absolute blackness the headman howled in pain but the cry was strangely muted as if the ebon fire of the lens had swallowed it riv's scorched bones clattered to the ground trailing wisps of greasy foul smelling smoke hardly seeming to notice her dead husband or any of the other dying villagers corla stumbled to tithian's side i'm choking she croaked save me tithian shook his head you must die as well carla's eyes widened in disbelief no if morris finds you he'll tear your mind apart with the way tithian explained you'll tell him where to find me i would never carla said stepping back in fear tithian caught her hand and pulled it to the lens a flame flashed beneath her fingers then her body erupted into a column of crimson fire the blaze died away quickly and all that remained where corla had stood were her bones a pearly heap of ash and a handful of cracked teeth recalling that they had once nibbled his ear and made him feel young the king stooped over and picked up the incisors slipping them into his shoulder satchel for safe keeping as tithing glanced around the square he saw that most of the people near the well had already died their bodies were shriveling into piles of dust and white bone that even boris would find impossible to interrogate farther away the mist had just reached the edge of the plaza the stunned fathers were thrashing about on the ground their purple tongues hanging out the gorax accepted their fate with more dignity dropping to their bellies and turning their yellow eyes away from the sun the king did not worry that the bailicans would find it strange that an entire village had perished for such catastrophes were far from rare on atheis when the sailors walked among the bones it would be coins and chad nuts they sought not answers tithing grabbed sakha and slipped the head into the satchel then walked over to the well and peered back toward the harbour above the hutts of samara he could see the faint outline of dozens of masts showing through the heavy silt curtain from outside the village came muffled balikin voices demanding that the gate be opened the king stepped into the well using the way to lower himself and the dark lens gently into the pit the gloomy depths swallowed them both and typhians settled into the tepid waters to await rikus and sedira 2. pauper's hope a deep boom rumbled over the butte and golden cascades of sand spilled down the bluffs wafer-like ledges the sound passed over the road rolling across a salt-crusted lake bed until it echoed off the craggy flank of a distant mountain rikus looked up and frowned the sky remained clear the crimson sun blazing through the olive tinged haze of dawn to the west athis's twin moons hung low over the ringing mountains silhouetting the distant peaks against golden crescents a harsh wind hissed over the top of the butte but there was not a thunderhead in sight the mall passed his hand over his kank's antennae bringing them out to a halt the insect was twice the size of a man with a chitinous body and multifaceted eyes bulging from the sides of its head the wicked mandibles protruding from its moor made it look as though it could have destroyed a pack of lears though in truth it was a timid and rather gentle creature rikus sat astride the kang's thorax his feet dangling among its six legs and almost touching the ground with a rugged heavy boned face and a hairless body that seemed nothing but knotted sinew the warrior looked even more dangerous than his mount in his case however appearances were not deceiving he was a mull a dwarf human half breed created to live and die as a gladiator from his father he had inherited the incredible strength and endurance of the dwarves while his mother had bestowed on him the size and agility of the humans the result was an ideal fighter combining both power and nibbleness in a single frame when another boom did not sound from behind the butte rikus lowered his hand to the scourge of her card as his fingers touched the hilt the sword's magic filled his ears with discordant sounds the roaring wind the rasp of falling sand and the pounding of his own heart from the shadowed cracks of the butte cliffs came the clamour of chirping crickets somewhere out on the lake bed as snake's belly scales whispered across the rough surface of a hot stone ranchus also heard something that disturbed him more the drone of human voices no doubt coming from a pharaoh plantation that lay on the other side of the butte the words were muffled by distance and the high bluff still the mull could tell that many of the farmers were yelling some even screaming as he listened a loud sonorous laugh drowned out the human voices and he knew that something was terribly wrong at pauper's hope rikus took his hand away from his sword and faced the inhuman figure at his side do you hear that magnus the magnus called himself an elf he did not resemble one born in the magical shadows of the pristine tower he had been transformed into something that looked more akin to a giant gorak than an elf he had a hulking thick limbed body that was covered by a knobby hide and had ivory clawed toes and hands the size of bucklers his face was all muzzle with an enormous sharp-toothed mouth and huge round eyes set on opposite sides of his head the boom it wasn't thunder magnus answered it doesn't take a wind singer to know that ragus replied what about the voices use your magic to find out what's going on magnus turned his elegantly pointed ears toward the butte and listened after a moment he shook his head the butte's too high for me to understand their words he said even a windsinger cannot listen through rock raccos cursed he and magnus were due at a meeting of the tyrion council of advisors by mid-morning normally it would not bother him to make the council wait but today he and sadira were asking for a legion of warriors to take to samara being late would not put the advisors in a mood to grant his request a damson-colored shadow fell across the road the mole looked up to see a cloud of ivory dust drifting over the summit of the bluff although the wind carried most of the undulating mass out over the dry lake some of the powder fell toward the road like a soft rain rikers held out a hand and caught a light dusting in his palm the stuff was the color of straw with the silky texture of finely ground flour rice touched his tongue to the powder it tasted dry and bland this is pharaoh the mall held his hand out toward the windsinger it looks freshly ground magnus observed the boom we heard could have been a collapsing silo that would explain all the excitement i don't think so rikers said remembering the deep laugh that he had heard over the concerned voices we'd better have a look the mall dismounted is that really necessary magnus protested when she contacted me last night sadira made it clear that she wants you present when the meeting starts rakhis scowled at this she should have thought about that before she sent us to inspect the outpost at the mine he growled she'll just have to handle the council on her own until we arrive he let his cank off the road and tethered it to a boulder magnus sighed in resignation at least let me send word that you'll be late after we see what's happening riku said it'll be better if we can tell her how long we'll be the mall led the way up the butte clambering over sharp-edged rocks that had already grown hot in the morning sun the boulder field soon gave way to a talus slope dotted with quiver-like clusters of arrowweed magnus grabbed a whole handful of the yellow stalks and used them to pull himself up the steep pitch as the canes snapped between his thick fingers a tangy fowl-smelling odor filled the air rikus could only look on an envy and scramble up the loose gravel on all fours his skin was not as tough as the windsingers and the stems of the plants were lined with razor-sharp ridges when they reached the cliffs near the top of the butte it was rikus's turn to gloat he crawled up the vertical crags easily while magnus cursed and groaned with the effort of pulling his heavier body up the precipice at times the windsinger had to use his fist to beat a suitable handhold into the rock face upon climbing onto the summit rakus found himself looking out over a wide shallow canyon flanked on one side by this butte and on the other by the ashen crags of the ringing mountains the orange soil was speckled by thickets of grey-green tamarisk and spindly catclaw trees while crests of dark basalt wound across the valley floor like the shattered vestiges of some ancient and long forgotten rampart the highest crest in the valley stood as tall as a small mountain and was known locally as razda's wall tyr's newest relief farm pauper's hope lay beyond its bulk completely hidden save for the green stain of a pharaoh orchard spilling from behind the immense barrier the field was made verdant ruckus knew by the waters of a deep well that the new farmers had laboriously chiseled through a hundred feet of granite bedrock more than a dozen figures were splashing down the shallow ditches of the pharaoh field though the distance was too great for rikers to tell the race or sex of any of the people he could see that they were running hard occasionally glancing over their shoulders at something hidden from view by razda's wall i was right there's some kind of trouble rikus looked down at magnus the windsinger was only halfway up the cliff hanging by a single hand thrust into a narrow fissure i'm going ahead the mull said follow me as soon as you can without waiting for a response the mole drew his sword and rushed down the gentle side of the butte as before a tumult of sounds filled his ears gravel crunching beneath his feet the hot wind sizzling through the brush the alarmed hiss of a lizard scrambling for cover now that the high butte did not stand between him and pauper's hope the drone of the farmer's voices came to rike us more clearly some yelled for help while others called the names of missing loved ones most simply screamed their cries hoarse with terror rikers heard other voices that worried him more these were much louder than those of the farmers with deep timbres and booming laughs like the one he had heard earlier after dodging past half a dozen clumps of arrowweed the mole reached the valley floor he was close enough now to see that the fleeing farmers still wore the pauper's rags in which they had dressed as tyrion beggars and they were sunburned and haggard from the struggle of adjusting to life outside the city from behind the fleeing paupers reverberated a sharp command as loud as thunder come back you little vermin at the shoulder of the ridge where the crag was not as high as the rest of razda's wall a pair of huge heads appeared above the crest the size of small canks the heads had shaggy brows and greasy braids of matted hair hanging off them they had eyes so huge that even from an arrow's flight away rikers could see that they had brown irises their teeth resembled long yellow stalactites one of the figures had a hooked nose as large as a cank mandible while a pair of plump bulbous lips distinguished the other's face giants rikers hissed hardly able to believe what he saw though the mole had never before seen a giant of the silt islands he did not doubt that he was looking at two now they were as tall as gatehouses and twice as broad with huge barrel chests and limbs as thick as an ironwood as they walked they crushed farrow trees and smashed irrigation ditches leaving a series of small ponds behind where their feet had sunk into the ground rikus didn't understand what the giants were doing here their race lived near balik in the long estuary of dust that twined its way inland from the sea of silt from what he had heard they were an aloof people using the dust sea to insulate their island homes from visitors occasionally they journeyed to the balikin peninsula to sell their hair which made excellent ropes or to raid caravans and farms but he had never heard of them traveling inland as far as tear the moles puzzlement did not change the fact that the giants were here and he knew it would not be easy to chase them away as he sprinted across the valley floor rikers studied the terrain ahead pondering the best way to save the farmers he still could not see the plantation itself for the buildings and most of the pharaoh orchards remained hidden behind razda's wall a care-worn woman holding a baby in her arms reached the end of the pharaoh field then sprinted into the rocky desert the hook-nosed giant chuckled in mad delight and stooped over to reach for her his knuckles scraped along the ground raising an orange cloud of dust she dived to the side barely escaping the long fingers the woman cradled her infant against her body and rolled several times rankes thought she might come up running but upon writing herself she stopped to look up at her attacker the giant was already reaching for her again she laid her infant beside a nearby bush then fled in the direction opposite raikus as she ran the woman screamed loudly to keep the titan's attention fixed on her this way rikers yelled still running the woman continued away apparently unable to hear him the giant's hand descended and grasped her as the brute plucked the woman off the ground rikus could see nothing of her except a pair of kicking legs the titan chortled madly then slipped her into his bulging shoulder satchel and reached for the infant as the giant pinched the baby between a massive thumb and forefinger it seemed to rikus that he could hear nothing but the child's wailing voice the rest of the farmers came spilling out of the pharaoh field with the scourge's magic rikers could hear their individual shrieks of panic as the second giant stooped over to scoop them up suddenly magnus's voice howled over the valley amplified by the power of his wind magic you giants leave those people alone the command filled rykus's ears with a painful ringing his first instinct was to drop his sword but he forced himself to retain his grip and concentrated on the cries of the farmers as the windsinger's voice faded away the mull heard their voices crying out in astonishment the paupers turned toward the butte and two pointed toward the summit rikus waved his arm to attract their attention come this way this time the mole was close enough to make himself heard several farmers looked in his direction then the whole group began to run toward him the hook-nosed giant stooped over and smashed half a dozen farmers beneath his fist don't run no more the words were loud enough that even without the scourge rikus would have had no trouble understanding them the giant raised his hand to strike again to rikus's relief the other one grabbed his partner's enormous arm before any more pulpers were smashed patch said to catch them not smash them said the second titan he pointed at rikers sarge here comes a dangerous looking one that's right rikers yelled though he was still two dozen steps away the mole raised his sword heard any more of my people and i'll make your death a slow one the first giant crinkled his hooked nose and glanced at his partner i'll smash him tay no yeah tay countered pulling yab back your brother would crack my head if i let a little man cut you tay stepped past the farmers and lumbered forward the giant stood taller than the four-story townhouses that lined the streets of the noble's quarter in tear as he came within striking range the maul had to crane his neck back to keep a watch on the titan's enormous hands the giant reached down to grasp rikus the mole waited until the palm filled the sky above him then voiced his mightiest war cry the scourge flashed up its enchanted blade slicing cleanly through the sinew and bone of the three length fingers tay bellowed in pain rankus dived forward and rolled hot stones scraped at his shoulders and back then the maul was on his feet again running toward the open space between the titan's ankles stomp him yelled yab tay lifted a foot high into the air ranchus dodged toward the opposite leg and the giant's heel crashed down behind him the impact was so hard that it bounced the mall off the ground riku swung his sword at tay's leg again the ancient steel passed through the giant's flesh easily slicing through the vulnerable knee joint the mole whirled around instantly striking at the back of the giant's other ankle there was a sick sort of pop as the tendons separated balling up into two gnarled masses beneath the titan's skin rikus pulled the scourge free and ran as fast as he could tay screamed and spun around to catch him the giants slashed knee buckled as soon as he set his foot back on the ground when the titan tried to steady himself with his other leg his severed ankle flopped about uselessly he pitched over sideways hitting the ground with a thunderous crash he thrashed about madly clutching at his wounds and raising a billowing cloud of orange dust the farmers fled toward the butte giving tay a wide berth and cheering rikus the maul waved them on then turned his attention to yab the giant's crag-toothed mouth hung open while his gaze flickered back and forth between his injured partner and rikus you've had your fun rikus called he stopped and pointed his sword at the giant's satchel put those people down yap's face turned crimson with anger no he boomed first return our oracle what oracle rank has demanded the giants oracle the giant replied gloring the one you tyrion's stole we never stole anything rikers snarled starting toward the giant again lawyer bent over to scoop a boulder off the ground magnus's lyrical voice rang out from the base of the butte he sang a deep somber ballad that filled the entire valley with a strain of melancholy notes the morning grew still for a moment then the windsinger raised his voice in a pulsing vibrato that sent whirls of dust scurrying across the desert rikus heard a gentle whistle behind him then felt a strong wind blowing toward the giant yab hurled his boulder magnus's voice rose to a crashing crescendo and a tremendous gust blasted past rikus so powerful that it swept them all off his feet and hurled him to the ground in the same instant the gale caught yab's boulder and flung it back into the giant's face the stone bounced off the titan's cheek raising a shiny lump and opening a long dash below the eye jab ran his hand along the cut then licked the blood from his fingers as if he were checking to make sure it was real rank has returned to his feet after glancing back to see magnus's thick limbed form plotting toward him he resumed his walk toward yab put those people down he yelled i won't tell you again the giant reached into the satchel and withdrew a grey-haired half elf he hurtled the man to the ground smashing the man's frail body on the rocks snarling and anger rika sprinted forward yap thrust his hand into the sack again this time withdrawing the care-worn mother rikers had seen earlier stop there the mall came to a reluctant stop realizing that he could not save the woman by continuing his charge he would have to find some other way to make the giant obey yap grinned maliciously now drop your little knife and come over here ragus glanced back at tay's groaning form i don't think so the mole retreated toward the wounded giant keeping his sword ready in case tay lashed out at him what are you doing yep demanded the same thing you are ragus replied stopping a few paces from tay's head the wounded giant growled and reached toward rikus with his uninjured hand but stopped short when the mall placed his blade between the titans fingers and himself what you do to those people i do to your friend yab frowned and scratched his ear he stared at rikus and muttered to himself in muffled tones then shrugged and stepped into the pharaoh fields where are you going rakus asked puzzled by the giant's peculiar retreat don't hurt tay or all these people die and i can find plenty more too the giant stepped behind razda's wall and disappeared from sight reicus started to pursue then thought of the plantation behind the ridge and decided to wait by pursuing immediately he would only provoke yab into a fit of destructive rage instead the mall thought it wiser to interrogate tay about the condition of the farm and its inhabitants then decide what to do before rikus could begin his inquiries magnus stepped to his side i sent a wind whisper to sadera is she coming ragus asked not yet the windsinger replied she and the others were just leaving for the council meeting and at the time it looked like you had things well in hand should i tell her i was wrong riker shook his head let's see what tay has to say he waved a hand toward razda's wall keep a watch and let me know if you see yab coming back from the farm he's probably too busy gathering more hostages but i'll keep an eye turned in that direction the windsinger positioned himself so that one of his round eyes was directed toward the ridge and the other toward rikus gripping his sword with both hands the maul laid the blade across the giant's immense gullet what are you and yap doing here we came for our oracle take could not keep his plump lips from quivering as he spoke true tyrion stole it your king and a nobleman rikers frowned tiffian and agusavastocles that sounds like what our chief called them tay kept platter-sized eyes fixed on the mull's face don't lie to me the mull said he pressed down until a trickle of blood ran from beneath his blade agus is no thief besides he wouldn't help tythian not even to kill the dragon asked magnus still watching razda's wall what do you mean ragus asked instead of answering the windsinger asked tay what does this oracle of yours look like a ball of black obsidian no bigger than you replied the giant it sounds like the dark lens magnus noted the oracle the giant insisted if you don't return it we'll raise every farm in the valley paying the giants threat no attention rikus asked the windsinger how did you know he was talking about the lens magnus shrugged modestly tithian had to be looking for something when he snuck out of tear he said my guess is that aggies caught him and they both found the lens in the giant's possession stole it tay growled and you've got to give it back or something bad's going to happen to us all what frank has demanded only the chiefs know tay answered but giants won't be the only ones to suffer we were guarding the oracle for everyone on offers you're going to have to do better than that rike has threatened not at the moment said magnus the windsinger pointed toward razda's wall where yab's head had just appeared above the low shoulder he was looking back toward the plantation yelling come quick suck him patch tay's hurt what hurt him from the faintness of the reply ragus guessed that this giant was a considerable distance away probably in the fields on the far side of the farm a little bald man yelled yab he looks kind of like a dwarf tay let a dwarf hurt him chuckle the fourth giant what did tay do sleep on the blood when he stomped it a storm of laughter erupted behind the outcrop and rikus knew he'd seriously underestimated the number of giants attacking the plantation apparently while yabb and tay chased down the escaping paupers most of the war party had remained behind to destroy the farm itself rikers looked back to tay how many warriors in your group tay said he smirked at the mall we'd better run for it rikers said he stepped away from tay pulling the windsinger along with him no boom tay stop ruckus looked up and saw the giant's hand descending toward their heads balled up in a tight fist as large as a shield them all shoved magnus in one direction and dived in the other tay's fist landed between them cracking stones and raising a plume of orange dust in the next instant they were both on their feet and scrambling over the rocky ground at their best sprint it took a dozen steps and two more close calls before they were safely out of the crippled titan's reach and even then they continued toward the far end of the valley at their best pace magnus came over to rikus's side should i send for sadera now before answering them all glanced over his shoulder jab was stepping out from behind razda's wall no longer carrying his shoulder satchel behind him came another giant much larger than either himself or tay this one wore a black shawl draped over one eye call her rikus said but tell her not to do anything until she sees eight giants if we let any of them escape it could take days to track them down the windsinger nodded then a soft lilting strain rose from deep within his throat so perfect was his breath control that his voice betrayed no hint of strain even though he was still running as magnus repeated the message air whirled around the windsinger's head with a hushed melodic hissing that sounded to the mall like whispering ghosts magnus completed the message finishing with to my brother the parching wind i commit these words carry them to the ears of sadera and no one else an eerie silence replaced the hissing of the wind then rika saw a series of dust whirls skipping across the desert as magnus's spell streaked toward tear the mull and the windsinger ran another dozen steps before boulders began to crash down on all sides of them filling the air with flying chips of stone and the mordant smell of powdered rock a billowing cloud of sand and dust engulfed them and rikus heard magnus cry out the windsinger slammed to the ground amid a mad clatter of rocks magnus raccoos called whirling around here came the reply through the clearing dust striker saw magnus pushing himself to his knees it just glanced off me ragus went to the windsinger's side and took his arm can you still run he helped his big friend to his feet perhaps a little slower than before magnus replied looking back toward the farm but we'd be wiser to doc following his friend's gaze rikers saw patch yab and five more giants charging past tay the titans were all struggling to retain their balance having launched another flight of boulders while on the run the jagged shapes were already descending toward the maul and his companion rakus dropped to the ground and covered his head a tremendous crack sounded ahead as a boulder smashed into a huge half-buried stone and shattered it a jagged shard of basalt scuffed rikus's back then he heard the boulder clattering across the rocky ground and felt warm blood flowing down his ribs can you stand asked magnus clasping his huge hands around the mall's waist it's just a scrape rikus said struggling to get his feet underneath him he looked toward the giants and saw that they were charging let's keep the mole was interrupted by a loud whoosh and a large sphere of black haze appeared in the air it hovered there for a moment then gently settled onto the ground and began forming the shadow of a slender woman as it drained from the air the dark fog left a winsome sorceress standing in its place she had waves of amber hair spilling over her shoulders and her skin was as dark as ebony her eyes had no pupils and glowed like blue embers while wisps of black shadow slipped from between her lips whenever she exhaled good timing sedhira rika said accustomed to seeing his wife arrive in this manner like magnus she also had visited the pristine tower as a result she had been transformed into something the mall did not understand and that he was not entirely sure he liked sedhira slipped past rikus and magnus i see only seven giants she said kneeling on the ground i thought there were eight turning back toward their attackers rika saw that his wife's conspicuous arrival had caused the giants to stop and reach for more boulders to throw them all was not surprised for even the dullest warrior would recognize sadera as a sorceress and would approach her with caution rakus pointed at tay's prone form the eighth is lying over there good sedhira turned one ebony palm to the sky rikus was surprised to see the signet ring of her other husband agusavastocles glimmering on her finger before them all could ask where it had come from a string of mystic syllables flowed from the sorceress's blue lips and a wave of pulsing red energy sizzled into the valley floor the glow fanned outward from her fingers in a brilliant flash stone and sand began to melt into a hot viscous mud sending yellow wisps of acrid smoke curling into the sky the spell swept out to yab and his company screaming in terror and confusion the giants sank to their wastes in the mush the boulders they had been grasping turned to liquid and drained between their fingers then the whole field gradually hardened into a steaming orange plane as smooth as glass the titan wearing the patch roared in anger and began to pound at the lustrous ground but the stuff was as hard as granite and showed no sign of cracking sedira withdrew a ball of yellow wax from her pocket and began working it between her fingers ragus knew from experience that she was preparing some sort of fire spell rikus laid a hand across her wrists how long will your first spell hold them until the sun goes down rakus nodded for it was the answer he had expected sedira's powers lasted as long as the sun was in the sky and generally so did any spell that she cast during the day there were exceptions however so he had thought it wisest to check before making his next suggestion you might not want to kill the giants he said they seem to know something about august and tithian they also claimed that the dark lens was stolen from them and that if we don't give it back something terrible will happen sedira's eyes flashed a deeper shade of blue do you believe them rick is shrugged i didn't have time to ask many questions he said but i don't think we'll solve anything by killing this punch the giants will just send more warriors to recover the lens we'd be better off to convince them that we don't have it sedera considered this for a moment then nodded we'll talk with them later she said but i must return to tear now the water had just opened the chamber doors when i received magnus's message and i should be there riker snotted we'll stay here sedera shook her head you need it in tear to lead the legion out of the city she said return as quickly as you can i take you with me but the spell i must use can carry only one don't worry about it rikers said just as glad he would not have to endure the touch of her strange magic but what about the giants they can't escape and if they could you couldn't stop them the sorceress raised both hands toward the sun her shadow formed a circle around her feet then rose up to swallow her body in a dark fog three the council of advisors when sadira stepped into the vaulted murkiness of the advisor's chamber she saw that the entire host of tyrion counsellors stood shoulder to shoulder on the orator's floor while the feather-stuffed chairs in the gallery sat empty she knew instantly that this morning's session would be a trying one and that her opponents on the council would use her tardiness to make it even more difficult although her trip to help rikus and magnus had delayed the meeting less than a quarter hour many advisers made a point of shuffling around to cast impatient glares in her direction sedira started across the floor the advisors were divided into four different groups each gathered around a podium in a separate quarter of the floor in the far corner with the rays of the morning sun spilling through the windows behind them were the guildsmen mostly humans and dwarves they were dressed in aprons and clay-specked tabards appropriate to their various professions next to them stood the free citizens consisting of hemp robed mulls half elves tarics humans and anyone else who had been either a slave or pauper before tears liberation closer to the entrance were the nobles dressed in exotic silks of every color and description and the templars who embellished their black cassocks with bronze neck chains and breast pins of precious copper as sedhira passed between the noble and templar podiums she found her way blocked by a double chinned templar he had a shaved head eyes as shadowy as her own skin and a long silver chain hanging around his corpulent neck sadera here you are at last he said smiling just enough to bear his gray incisors how kind of you to come so promptly to the meeting you called if a short delay matters so much then i suggest you let me pass so we can get started sibrian sadera tried to step around the heavy templar i think we can excuse your tardiness said a blue frocked noblewoman moving forward to block the sorceress's way she was a handsome woman with gray eyes silver hair and a patrician nose the lady eyed sadera's dusty robe then clucked her tongue and added but your raymond is another matter by now you should realize that your apparel reflects your respect for the council itself sedhira suppressed the urge to make a sharp reply suspecting that the noblewoman's purpose was to disrupt the meeting by starting a senseless argument to the contrary lady lodge the sorceress said i came as i am because i have no wish to keep the council waiting sedira stepped between the noblewoman and sibrian when her adversaries tried to stand their ground the sorceress chuckled at their foolishness while her ebony body was steeped in the power of the sun even a half giant could not have blocked her way she brushed the pair aside easily sending them stumbling into the midst of their respective groups and walked over to the free citizens here the sorceress found her three guests waiting who were those two asked neva a former gladiator with blonde hair deep emerald eyes and a figure as powerful as it was voluptuous she wore only a breech cloth and halter with a cape of green silk thrown over her shoulders to show respect for the council sedera cast a contemptuous eye upon the two advisors she had just shoved aside the lady fancies herself the leader of the noble faction in argus's absence and the templar is one of several who claim to speak in tithian's name the sorceress explained because i asked the legion to stand ready this morning they must think we're going to find agus and tythian neither one would like that they enjoy playing leader too much never mind them interrupted rickard neva's small son what about rikus though only six years old the boy already stood as tall as most dwarves with long graceful limbs a sturdy frame and cords of muscle running across his chest and arms like rikus he had sharply pointed ears and a hairless body but he also had the distinguishing marks of a young sun cleric red eyes and a crimson sun emblazoned on his forehead both rykis and magnus are fine sedira said they'll be coming along later what happened hercard pressed if rikus needed help it must have been bad trouble we can talk about that later son said kylum he had the blocky features pointed ears and hairless body typical of a dwarf with the same red eyes and crimson mark his son urcard bore in his hands the dwarf grasped a closed ironwood box that sadira had asked him to hold during the council meeting right now we have business to conduct kylem offered the box in his hands to sedera do you need this not yet sedira climbed onto the podium and peered over the heads of her fellow advisors the nobles and templars quickly grew silent for lady lodge and sibrian already stood on the respective pulpits for their two factions but the guilds men did not stifle their contentious discussions for several moments until a bony slender-faced man climbed onto the last platform with the apron of a blacksmith strapped over his chest he looked as though he had come to the meeting straight from his shop child bequeath to speak for the guilds he declared god won't be coming today then we can begin said sibrian the templar raised his arm toward the murkiness of the vaulted ceiling as did lady lodge their hands were closed saved that they held their index fingers open enough to form a small circle with their thumbs what are you doing sedira demanded you may have convened the meeting but any orator has the right to call for the rabb replied lady lodge surely you haven't forgotten added sibrian the traditions as ancient as tear itself i remember council practice better than you remember common courtesy sedira replied thrusting her own hand into the air since callax death it's always been the one who called the meeting who controls the floor first the shrill screech echoed off the stone arches a tiny winged serpent dropped out of the ceiling's shadowy coves the creature glided around the room barely distinguishable from the gloom above it everything about the flying snake was black the leathery wings the huge eyes even the scaly body and barbed tail the rab passed low over sadira's hand and circled back once she thought it would perch on her finger but its tongue suddenly flickered in sibrian's direction it flapped its wings and sailed over to the templar after coiling up on his hand it thrust its tiny head down inside his curled fingers and remained motionless sadira lowered her hand not entirely discouraged sibrian would control the meeting's agenda for now but the rab was notoriously restless a natural user of the way it was trained to sense whether or not the assembly approved of the speaker's topic when the crowd's interest began to ebb it would seek a new roost from the upraised fingers and control of the session would pass to the person it chose sedira will you explain why you were late to your own meeting sibrian asked smirking perhaps later said the sorceress her refusal to answer the question was in disregard for council rules but it was also a common tactic used to gain control of the rab if she could interest the other advisors in her topic quickly enough the creature would leave sibrian's hand and roost on her finger before he could call for a vote of censure and ask her to leave the chamber the sorceress motioned for her card to come up and stand with her then continued i think my fellow counselors will be more interested in hearing how this boy is going to kill the dragon the advisers greeted her statement with snorts of derision and even a few guffaws but her tactic worked as skeptical as they were the counselors were also curious the rabb quickly left sybrian's hand and came to sadira's the creature weighed almost nothing and if not for its damp scales tickling her flesh the sorceress would hardly have noticed its presence sibrian glared at sadera but did not object he had used the same technique too many times to cry foul by all means tell us he sneered i'm certain my fellow advisers will appreciate a good gist the templars tactic was an effective one playing on the crowd's skepticism to such an extent that the rabb raised its black wings as if to leave sadera's hand perhaps you would waste the council's time on a jest sibrian you've certainly wasted it on many things just as trivial siddhira said sharply but i assure you i would never do such a thing the rabb folded its wings and pushed its tiny head down into her fist seeing that she had won the assembly's support at least for a time sadera laid her free hand on arcard's shoulder the boy stood straight and tall looking out over the volatile throng with an unflinching gaze small boy is the son of neva whom many of you will remember from her days as a gladiator and of kylum sun to the late ornomus of cled sadera said ten days ago erkhard was visited by a pair of dwarven banshees and sa'ram the sorceress continued those of you who are familiar with the book of the camelot kings will recognize the names as those of the last two dwarven knights who died before they could avenge the dragon's destruction of their city and they told the child to do what they could not kill boris asked charles incredulous not exactly replied sedira they said that he would kill the dragon and who heard them say this asked lady lodge i did her card replied this prompted the noblewoman to give sadera a patronizing smile my dear since you have no children you may not realize that young boys create make-believe friends she said why when my own sons were his age he did not make up george and sarram neva reported i also saw the banshees and we have another harbinger as well sedhira said she raised her hand to displaying the ring on her finger last night a messenger arrived bearing my husband's signet which husband argus rikus or someone we haven't heard about yet mocked sibrian maybe that dwarf the comment drew a few crude laughs from the same parents who always thought he'll love sadera for loving two men but it failed to shake the crowd's interest enough to dislodge the rabb the signet is argus's sedira said patiently with it came the message that he had found the dark lens for the first time that day the room fell completely quiet despite the efforts of sedhira and her husbands to keep the nature of the dark lens secret they had spent five years searching for it and word of what they were seeking had eventually leaked out by now most of the advisors knew not only what the lens was but why sedira was seeking it she intended to kill boris thus ending his practice of collecting a thousand slaves a year from each city of athens if the sorceress and her friends succeeded not only would they save untold numbers of lives they would also eliminate the greatest danger to tear itself that the dragon would attack the city for refusing to pay his gruesome levy it was who broke the astonished silence george and saram said i will kill the dragon the boy addressed the advisers directly utterly composed and confident but they also said i would need an army an army of humans and dwarves pled's militia is prepared to fulfill this prophecy neva said after i learned of arkhard's destiny i summoned them to guard against attempts on his life even as we speak they are at the astacles estate preparing to march and that's why you have commanded tears legion to stand ready for action demanded cybrian to give it to a child the legion will remain under rikus's command as always sedhira replied speaking of rikers where is he asked lady lodge i'm sure that all of the advisers want to hear his opinion of this plan before voting sedera took a deep breath knowing that her answer would send the council into an uproar still she did not even consider concealing the fact that there were giants in the valley the advisors had a right to know about any threat to tear even if it meant it would be harder for her to get what she wanted well kibrian asked as they were returning to attend this meeting rikus and magnus happened across some rampaging giants at our newest relief farm sadera explained i've trapped the invaders for now the chamber broke into a tumult as astonished advisors began yelling questions across the packed floor you mean half giants how many what do they want the rabb slithered completely into sadera's hand the sorceress felt confident that it would rather have retreated to its lair in the ceiling alcoves but it was too well trained to flee while a speaker commanded such wrapped attention quiet please sedhira shouted we can't accomplish anything like this the furor slowly faded to a drone as soon as it was possible to speak without screaming lady lodge asked how many giants are there and what are they doing so far from the sea of silt there are eight of them and they want the dark lens answered sedhira then i suggest we tell the giants where to find it before they destroy us said sibrian i can't do that sedhira said not only would that endanger agus argus would be the first to sacrifice himself for the good of tear lady lodge interrupted every noble knows that true if his sacrifice would save tear sadera agreed but it wouldn't unless we kill the dragon we won't discuss such nonsense declared cybrian would you rather let him destroy the city sadira countered or are you willing to sacrifice a thousand lives a year to him your scare tactics won't succeed here sibrian said we have nothing to gain by attacking the dragon he hasn't been to tears since kalak died that's because tythian has been paying the levy in secret sedera replied with what scoffed the templar his personal staff with men women and children kidnapped by his slavers said neva stepping forward to stand at sadira's side they attacked our village less than four months ago how dare you speak such a lie sibrian stormed king tithian freed the slaves he'd never he did and i can prove it sedera interrupted she looked down at kylum open the box the dwarf obeyed a shriveled ash-colored head with sunken features and cracked lips rose out of the box it hovered in the air for a moment its sallow eyes roaming over the assembly then floated up to sedira's level gasping in disbelief the advisors pressed close around the sorceress's podium training their necks to peer up at the disembodied head though many of the counselors had heard rumors that king tithian kept a pair of disembodied heads as companions few of them had ever seen one in person some of you may recognize the king's confidante wyan sadera said he's the one who brought agus his signet ring to me wyan regarded the assemblage with a sneer then rotated around to face sadera what do you want the sorceress nodded toward the crowd tell them about tithian slavers sedira did not worry that the head would disobey or lie wyan was one of the dragon's most ancient enemies for boris had separated him from his body more than a thousand years ago since then the head had been condemned to a miserable existence where his sole physical pleasure was the drinking of warm blood the sorceress had no doubts that wyan would do whatever it took to destroy the dragon even if it meant betraying one of tithian's most carefully guarded secrets when wyon did not speak up quickly sedhira reminded him sooner you talk the sooner we can attack boris with a weary sigh wyan looked out over the advisors the king was only thinking of tyr he said anyone who thinks the dragon would be denied his levy as a fool typhian did what was necessary to protect the city the chorus of outrage that followed came mostly from the free citizens but many of the guilds men also added their voices the nobles looked more frightened by wyan's admission than angered while the templars quietly exchanged whispered comments of concern wyan cautiously floated higher in the air apparently fearing that one of the free citizens might try to hold him responsible for tithian's acts let me see if i understand this correctly said lady lodge you want the council to give you the legion so you can go off to battle the dragon leaving tear to defend itself from eight full giants at this the rab crawled out of sadira's hand and launched itself into the air for a moment the sorceress didn't understand why it had abandoned her since everyone in the room seemed to be interested in the same thing then she realized that it was a matter of emphasis lady lodge was talking about the defensive tear while sadira was still trying to convince the advisors to kill the dragon hoping the rabb would return to her siddhira kept her hand in the air as i was saying earlier i have the giants under control for now she said before we take the legion out of the valley they will be under control permanently one way or another the rabb settled on lady lodge's finger and what if there are other giants the noblewoman asked the dark lens must be very valuable to them surely they'll send more warriors when these don't return we should be back by then sedira said reluctantly lowering her hand that's not something you can guarantee my friend said charle the guildsman speaker he shook his head sadly i'm sorry but what lady lodge says is right it's foolish to worry about the dragon when angry giants are about to storm the city the noblewoman smiled we'll put the matter to a vote she said all those in favor of telling the giants where to find the dark lens there's no need to vote sedhira said with the other three orators supporting it the sorceress knew without a doubt that lady lodge's motion would pass i won't reveal the location of the lens none of us will you'd be condemning argus to death you defy the council for the sake of your husband the same husband who has lectured this body so many times on the importance of lawful rule asked sibrian how dare you speak to me about the law sadeara spat you're only doing this because you hope to see august and tithian dead you want control of the council maybe that's true of them but not of me said charles if you defy lady lodge and sibrian on this matter you're defying the entire council you more than anyone should know that when someone of your power does that the city is on the path to despotism tyranny of the many is tyranny nonetheless sadera hisped the words spewing wisps of black shadow over the heads of those standing between her and the guildsman if this council betrays agus voting to do it together makes the act no less wicked we have already discussed the matter said lady lodge your magic is powerful enough that the council cannot compel you to obey but we can strip you of citizenship will you comply with the council's wishes or not when sedira replied her throat was tight with anger no the sorceress stepped off the podium motioning for her card to follow what are you doing demanded kylum leaving tear sedera replied starting for the door but what about urcard's destiny asked the dwarf and saram said that he would have humans as well as dwarves in his army the sorceress cast a cold glance over the council chamber apparently those humans will not be from tear she said we'll gather them somewhere else there isn't time to find another army snapped wyon the giants won't be the only one searching for the dark lens every day we delay increases the chance that the sorcerer kings or boris will find it before we arrive sadira turned around and faced the head who was still hovering high over the free citizens podium we can't have tears legion she said you can see for yourself we don't have the votes wyan ignored her and glared down at the advisors the city was better off under callak he yelled we will have our legion the head floated closer to the ceiling placing himself directly in the sun's rays streaming through the window his shadow fell in the center of the chamber floor covering the heads of more than a dozen counselors and began to expand crying out an alarm the advisors pushed their way into the gallery seats as the floor emptied the black shadow spread across the granite blocks like an ink stain why unknown sadera commanded hardly able to believe what she was seeing she had known for some time that the head could communicate with the shadow giants the nebulous beings of the black but she had never before seen any evidence that he could summon them to athas stop when wyon did not listen sadira pulled a glass rod from her pocket and pointed it at him the head's eyes went wide before she could begin the incantation of her spell he left the light and flew up into the murky alcoves of the ceiling it did not matter the shadow on the floor had taken on the shape of a tall thin man with ropey limbs a pair of sapphire eyes began to shine from the head and a blue gash opened where the thing's mouth should have been sadera pushed urkard toward his mother the sorceress did not need to utter any warning for both women had seen such creatures before neva had fought a shadow giant named umbra during the war with uric while sadera had visited the shadow people's home in the pristine tower as neva took the child she asked are you going to allow this sedera it's not for me to allow a disallow the sorceress replied shadow people are the ones who bestowed my powers on me and my magic won't work against them but you've got to do something kylem said we need tears legion i have no way to interfere sedera snapped when i can do something i will the shadow rose to its feet taking on a full three-dimensional body as tall as that of a half-giant it stepped towards sibrian and lady large who defiantly remained standing on their podiums your tricks won't fool us cybrian looked past the shadow to sedhira you won't win your way with a simple illusion the black is no illusion hissed the shadow giant stretching a hand out to each of the pair recognizing the voice as that of the chief of the shadow people sedira stepped after the dark being kitaar leave them alone you are not the one who asked me to take them the shadow replied kedar wrapped his sinuous fingers over the pair's skulls as their faces disappeared into darkness the rabb took wing and disappeared into its shadowy lair sibrian screamed then lady lodge their voices harmonizing into a single paned fearful howl sedhira grabbed the arm holding the noblewoman the shadow giant's flesh felt misty and cold and holding him was like trying to grasp water still the sorceress came closer to touching it than most beings and when she pulled tendrils of the arm came away in her hand the black filaments evaporated into the air vanishing like a dawn mist in the morning sun kidar's murky substance continued to swallow the templar a noblewoman slipping over their shoulders then down their wildly thrashing arms finally the shadow consumed even their hips and legs and they were gone for all of her magical powers sediro was helpless to stop the shadow giant casting a spell against him would have been useless like trying to pierce the sun with a ray of light and she knew better than to try if she accomplished anything it would be only to enrage kiddar to the point where he attacked more counsellors instead the sorceress looked toward the ceiling so she could not see wyon she had no doubt that he was still up there in the murk this accomplishes nothing wyan an army coerced into fighting as an army of slaves she said you know that neither ricas neva nor i will have anything to do with that then let the council vote why encountered they can do it here or in the black why bother demanded charles burkett he stepped onto the floor and crossed to sadera you and your friends have the power to take the legion whether we like it or not but i won't lend my name to a sham the guildsman spat on the sorceress's sandaled feet and turned toward the exit kedar blocked his path the council has not voted said the shadow giant charles lanced over his shoulder and glared at sadera tell this thing to stand aside i had no respect for lady lodge or sibrian true but this is not my doing sedhira said you saw me try to stop him i saw you pretend to try the guildsman retorted do not take me for a fool charles tried to step past kedar the shadow giant raised a hand to stop him sedera lashed out closing her powerful fingers around the guildsman's shoulder and pulled him back she shoved him roughly toward the gallery seats drawing a murmur of angry comments from the other advisors i suggest you vote the sorceress looked at kedar knowing that by now lady lodge and sibrian would be half frozen with the cold of the black and do it now without taking his narrowed eyes off her face charles growled all those who think we should give our legion to sadera i came the response though the chorus was far from deafening charles said the motion carries now can we leave sadera glanced up at the ceiling are you happy wyon came down out of the shadowy alcoves just far enough to be seen your duties are finished kedar what of the noble woman and the templar the shadow giant asked keep them why unsneered they'll serve as an example to those who cross me as you wish the shadow giant began to shrink he quickly lost his human shape and melted onto the floor like a puddle of black water sedira waited until his blue eyes and mouth disappeared then dropped to her knees and pressed her palms into the center of the dark stain that had been kedar the cold she felt was not that of the stone it was more bitter and biting numbing her flesh to the bone and stiffening her joints so that she could hardly bend her fingers kylum keep wyan out of the light she yelled not looking up i'll burn him to cinders if i see him poke so much as his nose out the dwarf promised sedera uttered a string of mystic syllables in her hands sank into the black up to her elbows lady lodge sibrian take my hands sadira directed her words at the floor and began to shiver as the circle of shadows slowly contracted around her arms i'm here to help you whispers of astonishment echoed down from the galleries as the advisors started to return to the floor but sadira hardly noticed her whole body ached with cold and her teeth chattered uncontrollably she began to fear that the noble woman and templar had been gone too long that the black had turned their bodies into frozen lumps of flesh then as the stain on the floor contracted to no more than a pair of small circles around her arms sedira felt a weight at the end of each hand her frozen flesh no longer had any sensation of touch so the sorceress had no way of knowing whether or not the missing advisors had finally found her nevertheless she wheeled her fingers to close not sure whether the digits were obeying her wishes and rose as sedhira pulled her arms from the floor each of the dark circles around them expanded to the size of a human body out of the shadowy stains came the shivering forms of the two advisors their flesh was as pale and shiny as alabaster and their muscles were so stiff that their own legs would not support them with each breath plumes of white steam rose from between their quivering lips and hundreds of gleaming ice crystals clung to their clothes murmuring reticent words of gratitude several allies of the two advisors stepped forward to take their shivering friends from sadira's arms charles studied the sorceress thoughtfully then asked why'd you do that you already got the vote you wanted sedira shook her head no she said not the one i wanted only the one i needed if kedar had taken any more of you i wouldn't have been able to pull you all back then you really meant what you said about not taking the legion if it was coerced from us sadera nodded what i said about leaving tear before i would be part of betraying agus the sorceress started to turn toward the exit but charles caught her by the arm wait a minute tyr can't afford to lose a citizen like you he said if we let you take the legion to fulfill the boy's destiny can you really keep the giants away from the city yes sedira replied and if we can't not only will we send the legion back rikus and i will return to fight with it charles raised his finger to summon the rab then before you leave there's one more vote we should take 4. the cloud road neva crawled forward on the cloud road a long ribbon of black slate hanging across the face of an enormous cliff she reached the jagged brink where a section of the bridge had fallen away and peered down into an arid valley far below lay the missing section of road a jumble of broken rock work strewn across a drift of red sand the warrior saw no indication of what had caused the collapse only a handful of limestone buttresses half buried beneath shattered slabs of paving stone this rhodes is oldest here she growled more to herself than to the companions waiting behind her why'd it have to collapse today coming as it did at the start of their journey the breakdown did not bode well for their mission against boris or for the legion's chances of reaching the giants before nightfall already the sun hung low over the western mountains its rays striking the granite cliff at a direct angle while the tyrion warriors waited impatiently at the beginning of the cloud road there were a thousand of them all human armed with huge obsidian axes bone tridents with serrated tines sawtooth scimitars spiked balls hanging at the ends of long coils of rope and a variety of other weapons as deadly as man's infinite desire to murder neva looked across the missing stretch of road a brightly cloaked merchant stood on the other side his image dancing in the heat waves pouring off the cliff face the man was staring into the breech and scratching his ear his face hidden beneath the broad brim of his great round hat shaking his head in despair he looked over his shoulder at a pair of enix's wagon-sized lizards with horny beaks pincher-like jaws and serpentine tails the reptiles were harnessed to a cargo dray that was so large that one side was pressed tight against the cliff while the other hung over the outside edge of the cloud road neva backed away from the gap magnus took her arm and helped her to her feet what did you find he asked the windsinger and rikers had joined neva and the others in tier shortly after the council had voted to send the city legion to help arkad slay the dragon i didn't see much neva reported there was nothing in the rubble to suggest something heavy made it collapse i thought as much kylem said he pointed at the square cavities where the buttresses had been mounted into the cliff face those joining holes are in perfect condition there aren't any broken posts sticking in them or any chips around the edges which means asked magnus that the supports didn't snap because of a load or sudden impact kylem answered they came straight out the buttresses were pulled intentionally could be more giants rikus suggested the mole was just returning from the beginning of the road where he had gone to fetch a rope from the legion's supply canks neva shook her head we're twice as high as a giant stands she said besides why would they bother if giants didn't want us to get across they'd just smash the road not pull it apart well whoever did it they aren't going to stop us frank has glanced at a card who stood near his father's side and asked you're not afraid to cross that gap on a rope are you no the boy answered sharply frowning as though insulted rikus chuckled then said good if we don't reach the giants before dusk our plan won't work they had decided the best way to make the giants leave the valley was to lure them away while the legions surrounded the titans raikes and sadira would interrogate the invaders about august tithian and what they knew of the dark lens during the questioning the mole would let it slip that the lens was not in tear and that they were on their way to recover it then they would allow one of the titans to escape sedira would use her magic to spy on him and be sure that he returned to his fellows with the news that their oracle was not in the city once sedhira was certain their ruse had worked the legion would leave an obvious trail for the giants so that any further war parties would go after the legion instead of attacking the city rika sat down on the roads jagged brink and wrapped the rope around his waist magnus watched him for a moment then scowled if you thought this out the windsinger asked of course rakus answered clevis said it would take a day to fix the road and we don't have a day so we'll have to rope across and then what asked magnus you can't expect the whole legion to crawl across that rope it would take too long and with so many warriors dozens are sure to lose their grip and fall the legion can take its time if it needs to said neva we can fetch my militia from agus estate our numbers aren't as great but there should be enough to support sedera while she attacks with her magic speaking of sedera i'm sure she could solve our problem easily enough kylem suggested maybe magnus should send a message to her sedera had stayed behind in tear making provisions with the veiled alliance to help defend the city in the legion's absence she had promised to catch the legion long before it reached the giants and neva was surprised that the sorceress had not joined them already that's the wisest thing anyone has suggested yet magnus said he went a few steps up the road and began to work his magic i'll take a line across anyway rank has said finishing is not we don't have any time to waste if sadera can't come yet after handing the other end of the rope to kylum rikus reached out and thrust his hand into the square hole where the first missing buttress had been lodged the mull swung out onto the cliff and reached for the next hole grimacing as his face rubbed over the hot stone his fingertips barely caught the bottom edge of the dark square he worked them deeper into the cavity than released his first hand and slipped it into the next hole rikus shrieked in fear and surprise he jerked his hand out of the far hole and began to fling it around madly a silvery creature about as long as the stiletto had attached itself to his middle finger neva pulled her dagger and kneeled at the edge of the road i'll still rikus she ordered i can't see what you've got i've got nothing the mole roared it's got me in spite of his shock rikers managed to steady his hand a huge scorpion had clamped its pincers onto his middle finger cutting him clear to the bone the barb of the tail was buried deep into the back of his hand with a great cone of red flesh already swelling up around the puncture that scorpion's huge kylem observed it couldn't have been in the hole when the buttress was there who cares ruckus growl just get it off the mall pushed his hand toward the road but could not quite reach because he had to cross his arm in front of his body never laid down on her belly and stretched out to cut the pincers the scorpion pulled its tail from rikus's hand and struck at her it moved with such blinding speed that she barely managed to twist her blade flat and deflect the venom dripping barb she changed targets and sliced at the thing's body but the creature was every bit as quick as she was its tail lashed again this time arcing at her wrist neva pulled back to avoid being stung i've seen lightning strike slower i could have told you that rikus growled pulling his hand back toward his body the mull lowered his head and opened his mouth there was a crunch of splintering carapace then rikus turned toward her and spit the scorpion's severed tail from between his sharp teeth them all extended his arm toward her already his hand was so swollen that it looked more like a bear's paw get the damn thing off now as neva reached for the scorpion its carapace suddenly changed from pearly gray to yellow the color did not fade so much to slip off the arachnids body like a passing shadow for an instant the formless apparition hovered in the air then it floated down to the hole into which rikus had been sticking his hand when he was stung the scorpion itself turned gold and began to shrink until it was so small that its pincers would no longer fit around the mall's thick fingers it fell free and tumbled away its tiny body vanishing from sight long before it hit the ground by the sun cursed kylem neva tossed her dagger onto the road then grabbed rikus's arm with both hands she felt her husband's powerful arms slip around her waist then the dwarf pulled both her and the mole back onto the road kylem kneeled in the dust and grabbed rikus's wrist with both hands his stubby fingers pressing down on the veins to shut off the blood flow neva did not need to ask why the sun cleric was so concerned of all the poisonous beasts in the athazian desert gold scorpions were among the worst with venom powerful enough to drop an adult mechalot in five steps of course such creatures did not normally change sizes or disguise their color beneath silver shadows but neva was too concerned with rikus's welfare to dwell on the matter right now hold his wrist tight kylum ordered neva did is commanded and her husband raised his own hand to the sky the sun's heat will boil the poison away rikus grimaced this is going to hurt isn't it the mull's eyes were glassy and his words slurred kylem lowered his hand fiery red and smoking from the fingertips it glowed so brightly that it was translucent save for the dark bones beneath the skin the dwarf laid his palm over the scorpion puncture and squeezed rikus's hand as hard as he could there was a soft sizzle and streamers of greasy black smoke rose between his fingers ricard slipped over to watch placing his back to the cliffs his face paled at the sight of rikus's scorched skin but he did not look away neva considered sending him elsewhere but decided against it her son was as much a sun cleric as he was a warrior if she attempted to shield him from the unpleasant side of a wound he would never learn his father's art when an involuntary hiss slipped through rikus's clenched teeth her stepped closer and laid his hand on the warrior's shoulder don't worry he said the sun demands pain in exchange for its magic i know the mole winced then added your father's done this to me before kylem continued to hold his hands over the wound for many moments until neva could no longer see the bones outlined beneath his flesh and the fiery glow had completely faded by then rikus was only half conscious and hardly seemed to realize where he was what happened asked sadira's voice neva looked up to see the sorceress coming toward the small group trailing black wisps of the shadow spell that she had used to answer magnus's summons a gold scorpion stung him neva explained the sorceress kneeled at her husband's side and took his injured hand between hers although the swelling had gone down the flesh remained black and scaly is he going to die sedera asked no father won't allow it said her card his hairless brow furrowed in determination that's right said kylum he'll be a little sick for a few hours but he'll live the sorceress's blue eyes seem to glow a little brighter thank you sadira rose cradling her husband's limp form in her arms although the mole probably weighed half again as much as a normal man the sorceress showed no sign of strain at lifting his heavy body she passed rikus to magnus if you'll bear ragus for a while i'll get us across this gap the sorceress took the rope from around rikus's waist and lay down at the end of the road she leaned over the brink and tied one end to the last buttress then returned to her feet and tossed the coil toward the merchants standing on the other side of the gap at first neva thought the rope would fall short of its target but sadera uttered a quiet incantation that sent the line drifting straight into the merchant's hands if you'll tie that off i'll bring you and your wagon across she called for a moment the man seemed too astonished to reply then he dropped down and fastened the line to a buttress beneath the road sadera smiled and yelled for him to stand back then took the rope in her hand and spoke the words to another spell a sheet of crimson light spread outward from both sides of the cord within moments a red flickering ribbon of luminescence spanned the gap connecting the two severed ends of the cloud road come on ahead sedera called she continued to kneel holding one hand on the rope my spell is more than strong enough to hold both you and your beasts the merchant stared at the scintillating patch and did not move i'll go across and show him it's safe kylum volunteered now i'll go said neva she checked her harness to make sure both of her steel short swords were readily accessible buttresses slipping from their joining holes and gold scorpions disguising themselves as something else there's something strange here the merchant might be part of it the warriors stepped onto the bridge and started across with each footfall the road swayed slightly under her weight through the soles of her sandals she felt a strange pulsing heat rising off the shimmering surface and she understood the merchant's reluctance to lead his indexes onto the unstable road even if it would support the weight of his huge wagon coaxing the skittish draft lizards over a hot vibrating surface would not be easy after neva had taken a dozen paces the merchants stepped onto his end of the shimmering bridge the indexes kept their gazes focused straight ahead and pulled the heavy wagon with no sign of spooking as each set of wheels settled onto the road the pathways swayed and undulated beneath neva's feet making her feel as though she was standing on water she continued forward thinking it wiser to meet the stranger in the middle of the link the man kept his eyes on the road hiding his face beneath the broad brim of his hat he wore a striped robe of many bright colors though its vibrance was dulled by a grey coating of road dust his gloves were worn in black as were his belt and boots the indexes behind him had silver gray hides which served to reinforce neva's fear that this was a trap usually the beasts were covered with a mottled assortment of scales ranging from rusty red to murky brown hues that camouflaged the beast in the rocky wastelands of athas neva stopped at the halfway point hail traitor she called have you waited long the man did not look up before you come further i'll know the name of the man who wishes to pass over this bridge she rested her hands on the pommels of her twin swords the merchant continued forward his hat shielding his eyes neva drew her swords and stood ready to defend herself speak she ordered the man was now so close that she could see that his clothes were not covered with road dust as she had thought earlier they seemed immersed in a pale shadow as if he were lurking in some back alley in the elven market the same was true of the indexes for neva could now see dim blotches of much faded color on their hides stop and show yourself she demanded the merchant raised his arms to about chest height though he carried no weapon never took the gesture as a hostile one she waited for the man to close within two steps then raised both her short swords the merchant threw his arms up to ward off the expected blows she slipped one blade over his guard and slapped the hat away bearing his head the warrior gasped at what she saw the man was a corpse with a swollen tongue protruding from between his cracked lips and the hollow expression of death in his eyes a gray paul covered his flesh not in the fashion of his inherent color but like a silken shroud clinging to his lifeless features it's a wraith never yelled having fought similar creatures during the war with uric the warrior knew instantly that she was in trouble wraiths had no bodies of their own instead they took control of other beings such as the corpse before her or the gold scorpion that had stung rikus she had even seen them animate marble statues the wraith launched itself at her the corpse's arms outstretched and its filthy fingers slashing at her eyes neva swung her second sword twisting her whole body to increase the force of the blow her blade sank deep into the neck there was a pop as the head came free but the corpse's momentum carried it forward she caught the brunt of its charge on her shoulder then dived away and rolled neva came up facing her companions sadera continued to kneel at the edge of the road holding on to the rope to keep her spell activated kylum was just charging past the sorceress with a raised mace while urcard followed a few steps behind with rikus's sword clutched in both hands a card no she yelled kylum's crimson eyes went wide and he spun around instantly almost impaling himself on the scourge as his son crashed into him he swept her card off the ground and started back up the road a shiver rolled down neva's spine as a pair of cold hands touched her neck she raised a hand above her head and spun as she came around she brought her arm down and trapped her assailants wrists between her elbow and body neva found herself staring into a pair of sapphire eyes set into a face of ghostly grey shadow that sat upon the stump of the corpse's severed neck the wavering visage was that of a sneering man with a sharp chin an arrow-like nose and hollow cheeks the boy it commanded although the wraith's lips moved when it spoke no sound came from them and never heard the words inside her head boris commands neva's mouth went dry as she realized that not only did her attacker resemble the creatures she had encountered during the war with uric it was one of them before their deaths a thousand years ago the wraiths had served as knights in boris's campaign to eradicate the dwarven race they had even fought at his side when he had used the scourge to mortally wound the last king of the dwarves or card now having returned to their master service they had come to destroy or card's namesake and heir her young son this time a card shall not fall neva yelled still holding the corpse's forearms trapped beneath her elbow the warrior plunged the sword in her free hand into its stomach the weapon sank deep and true the tip driving up into the heart blood cold and dark with death oozed from the wound the dead thing simply raised its arms and clasped its hands around neva's throat the cold fingers sank deep into her flesh her temples began to pound and she felt dizzy her vision narrowed to a tunnel a hissing roar filled her ears and her knees grew weak leaving her second sword buried in her attacker neva snaked her hand over one of his arms and under the other she clasped her hands together around the pommel of her other weapon and pivoted the motions sent the dead merchants swinging toward the side of the road and the warrior used all her strength to pry the thing's arms from her throat the corpse's grip broke and it soared away tumbling over the edge of the road toward the red sands below after the body hit a grey shadow drifted away and began a slow rise back toward the road the warrior watched the wraith long enough to be sure the thing would take many more moments to reach her again then turned her attention to a more immediate danger the inixes the grey-mantled beasts were only a dozen steps away scrambling forward as fast as they could pull the heavy wagon their eyes sparkled with gem-like light ones red and the others yellow leaving little doubt in the warrior's mind that the beasts were also controlled by wraiths neva turned and ran had the things been normal innix's it would have been a simple matter for her to find a vulnerable spot and kill them both even with her small sword but animated as they were by wraiths the only way to stop them was by cutting their huge bodies to shreds or pushing them off the bridge and she would need help to do either boris sent them for a card she called pointing at her son take him and go. kylem passed their son to magnus the windsinger started up the road with reichus tucked under one arm and archard under the other and the dwarf raised a hand toward the sun neva glanced over her shoulder and saw that the indexes remained a dozen paces behind normally the lizards would have caught her in a matter of steps but with a heavy cargo dray harnessed to their shoulders they were not as swift as usual sadera will help me kyle you go with her card neva commanded she pointed at the many fissures lacing the hard granite next to the road the scorpion that stung rikus was possessed by a wraith there may be more kylem stopped short of casting his spell and ran after magnus positioning himself between the windsinger and the wall hurry neva sadera called her hands still on the rope i can't cast another spell until i dropped this one as sedhira spoke a flurry of gray forms streamed out of nearby crevices and streaked over to her before neva could cry a warning the wraiths attacked their immaterial hands sinking into the sorceress's flesh as though it were air a cloud of black shadow billowed from sedira's mouth her glowing eyes flared white and her ebony body trembled with the pain of the onslaught she did not release the rope to save herself one more grey streak flashed up from the valley below slipping over the side of the cloud road to join the attack on sedira neva looked down and saw that the wraith that had animated the merchant's corpse was gone it had been waiting to join its fellows in the assault against the sorceress the wraiths had played her for a fool never realized they had never intended to take her card but had only demanded him so that the company would concentrate on protecting the child then they had struck at their true target sedira behind the sorceress magnus was rushing back to help leaving kylem to guard rikus and urcard whom he had dropped upon the cloud road neva did not think he would arrive in time she kneeled and felt the roadway shuddering with the heavy footsteps of the innix's drop the spell neva yelled sadera shook her head and did not release the rope her ember-like eyes burned with pain she flung her free arm about madly trying to shake off a pair of wraiths clinging to it her ebony body had turned gray in many places i'm fine neva yelled the warrior pressed her hand to the pulsing road directly over the rope and called save yourself neva faced the innixs and found the huge beasts upon her the first beast snapped at her head she ducked thrusting her sword into the lizard's maw the reptile closed its jaws on the steel blade and whipped its head around ripping the weapon from the warrior's hand the second innix opened its sharp beak pushing the first reptile aside the surface of the road suddenly grew cold it stopped shimmering and even knew that sadira had dropped the spell the warrior felt the bite of the rope across her palm then she was falling she closed her fingers around the cord all that remained of sedira's bridge and caught herself the dre dropped onto the rope causing a sharp jerk then tipped to one side as the wagon fell past neva the second innix snapped at her dangling legs she kicked its beak away and the beast was gone when the warrior looked back to her companions a sick feeling filled her chest sedera was engulfed in a swirling ball of black shadow and grey haze just transparent enough to reveal that she had risen no farther than her hands and knees the sorceress's limbs were all shaking violently while her weakly glowing eyes stared blankly at the road's slate surface magnus stood behind her singing an angry tempestuous song while a hot wind tore at the grey wraiths in a vain attempt to rip the apparitions away kylum was cautiously approaching the pair taking care to keep himself between the wraiths and his son neva hold herself toward her companions traveling along the rope hand over hand the two wraiths that had been animating the innixes streaked up to join the attack as soon as they rose above the surface of the road magnus's searing wind song sent them tumbling away they circled back to approach from below the surface neva reached the edge of the gap and transferred her hands to the slate roadway the last two are coming from underneath she warned magnus's shoulders drooped and even knew that the windsinger's spell would not penetrate through stone nevertheless he did what he could to help sadera directing his voice down at the surface of the road the hot gusts simply curled up into his own face as the last two wraiths passed through the stone directly beneath sedhira and joined the attack neva pulled herself onto the road a groan of exhaustion escaped sedira's lips and the sorceress collapsed to her side the ball of shadow and haze settled over her like a veil leaving nothing exposed except her flowing locks of amber hair and her amber-like eyes now blazing a sickly hue of greenish blue the murky shroud turned completely black then flashed to gray and began to alternate between the two colors at rapid intervals we've got to do something neva said we can't said kylum the wraiths are swarming her spirit any attempt to drive them away will harm her more than it does them then we have to attack them another way nevis stepped past her husband and took the scourge from her card who still held the enchanted sword what will you do with that asked magnus i saw rikers slice the shadow giant's hand off with this blade the warrior explained maybe it will work against wraiths too neva studied siddhira's flickering shroud for several moments finally the warrior felt confident she could predict the changes she waited for the paul to turn gray and gently drew the tip of the scourge along the sorceress's shoulder hoping it would slice through a wraith's insubstantial body without harming sedira a vicious screech echoed off the cliff wall and a grey ribbon flew off the whirling mass it shot up the scourge's blade in a pearly streak then expanded to form a grey cloud-like mass around the weapon the warrior thought she had destroyed a wraith the grey clouds slowly assumed a shape vaguely resembling that of a human female a pair of orange eyes appeared in the head and the hazy figure began to shrink neva felt a searing sting as the apparition passed through her flesh then the sword's hilt twisted in her hand get back she yelled the wraith's trying to animate the scourge the sword wrenched violently against her thumb and came free it did not fall to the ground but floated tipped down in front of the warrior the entire weapon had turned gray and a pair of angry orange eyes burned out from the pommel the points slowly began to rise toward neva's heart kylem started to reach for the hilt but pulled back when a line of blue frost shot down the length of the blade the scourge stopped rising the steel began to quiver filling the air with an eerie high-pitched whale what's happening neva asked the scourge's magic is too powerful for the wraith magnus replied in no divergency in his voice perhaps we should move before the windsinger finished the sword emitted a blue flash of cold the blade stopped vibrating and the shrill whale of quivering steel was replaced by a howl of pain ribbons of grey shadows flew in all directions trailing droplets of sleet neva and the others threw themselves to the ground the scourge continued to float wobbling madly the blade flexed almost in two it straightened with a deafening nail and the sword's shroud exploded into a cloud of grey haze for an instant the road seemed very quiet then the weapon clanged to the ground and the cloud dissolved into a squall of ash-coloured snowflakes the tiny crystals did not even last long enough to fall in the blistering heat of the day they evaporated long before they reached the cloud road neva retrieved the scourge then gasped in alarm the sword was as cold as ice but that was not what troubled her the blade had lost its silvery sheen it was now covered with a dull gray stain that made it look more like tin than steel what have i done she gasped magnus came and stood at her side after studying the sword for a moment he gently took it from her hands the wraith's touch has tainted the blade can we fix it neva asked perhaps with time answered the windsinger he kneeled next to sadera who remained covered beneath the murky shroud that neva had been trying to remove but for now we have more pressing problems the giants are still trapped at pauper's hope and the cloud road remains impassable once the sun sets we can't stop them from rampaging especially with sedira and rikus both unconscious rikas might be well by then said kylem as for sadera even if we can help her prevail against the wraths i suspect she will be unconscious until morning said magnus still we can hope i see nothing else we can do i do said neva she turned and looked toward agus farm where the clidan militia was awaiting their return find me a runner who can show my warriors the way from the astacles estate to pauper's hope magnus folded his ears in doubt your men are brave but are they a match for giants nevis shrugged i don't know she said but i've learned never to underestimate a dwarf five the grey sedira had gone to the gray she stood on a narrow stairway looking out over an immense abyss filled with a haze that stretched from far below her feet to the zenith of the sky it was the color of ash and as still as the midday sands there was nothing else out there the steps had been carved from a spire of porous white rock that rose out of the grey merc far below the stairway spiraled up the pillar to sedira's feet then continued above her head with no apparent end the column simply grew smaller and smaller until both the stairs and its tip vanished into the ashen haze far above sedera recognized the pillar as the pristine tower but did not think for an instant that she had truly returned to the distant spire of white rock if she had the sky would have been yellow green with puffy silver clouds drifting past lush thickets of bogo trees would have surrounded the base of the column and in the distance there would have been fields of silver green broom grass instead all she saw was a sea of ashen haze the sorceress studied the area carefully searching for the wraiths who had attacked her on the cloud road the grey was their natural home and the whole point of their ambush had been to push her into it here the spirits of the dead were dissolved and absorbed into the gray much as corpses on atheists were slowly obliterated by rot and decay however some spirits did not suffer this fate some were sustained by a force even more powerful than the grey their everlasting faith in a cause greater than themselves the wraiths had dedicated themselves to boris's service many centuries earlier and they were such spirits it was clear that they intended to use their special natures to force her to fight at a disadvantage the sorceress was far from panicked while she would not be as comfortable in the gray as her foes she knew more about this place than the wraiths realized if they expected her to assume they had killed her simply because she found herself in the gray they were badly mistaken the pristine tower served as ample evidence that sadira was alive a reminder of the most significant event in her life the spire of white rock acted as a lodestone for her spirit holding it together and preventing it from dispersing into the haze before they could destroy her the wraiths would have to drive her off its steps magnus's voice began to roll out of the haze he was singing a ballad with melancholy strains as loud as thunder and as sweet as morning dew though she could not understand the words sedira quickly realized that her friend was trying to help her find a way out of the grey unfortunately the music came from all directions at once from the front and back both sides above and below even from inside her own head she kept her hand to an ear trying to locate the source of magnus's sonarous voice it would have been easier to chase down the wind the sorceress pulled her slender stiletto from its scabbard a magnificent weapon with a blade of etched bronze and an iron handle beset with tourmalines it had been in august's family for centuries she fished a piece of twine from the deep pocket of a robe and tied it around the cross guard the other end she looped over her wrist then held the dagger out at arm's length and let it dangle from the string she spoke a magical incantation that would make it lead her to the source of magnus's voice sadera felt a strange tingle in the hand with the twine and its ebony color began to fade the sensations slowly spread up her arm what she could see of her flesh from the fingertips to the wrist paled to its normal color and the dagger began to spin wildly though she had not expected the reaction the sorceress was not really surprised by it normally her skin remained black with mystic energy during the day then returned to its usual color the instant night fell but in the gray day and night did not exist without the sun in the sky her spell had drawn its power from the only available source her flesh then unable to replenish what had lost to the spell her arm had remained pale of more concern to the sorceress was the dagger it continued to spin madly attempting to point in every direction at once sedhira watched the blade for several moments when it showed no sign of settling down she decided that her spell had failed and she caught the hilt as the sorceress started to slip the weapon into its sheath the tower lurched beneath her feet sadira stumbled and nearly pitched over the side but managed to drop to her hands and knees in time to keep from falling her stomach rolled in one direction after the other and a sick queasy feeling rose into her throat although she saw no hint of motion when she tried to fix her gaze on the haze around her she felt like the spire was spinning as wildly as her stiletto had a moment earlier by plunging her dagger into a fissure and twisting the blade against the edge she barely managed to keep herself from flying off the steps for a long time all sadera could do was cling to the hilton pray the blade would not slip from the crack if she lost contact with the pristine tower she feared that the haze would begin to eat at her spirit and that her life force would seep away even if that did not happen the wraiths would certainly find it easier to prey upon her as she drifted aimlessly through the gray perhaps they were even responsible for knocking the tower into its crazy spin magnus's voice began to waver growing much louder each time the gyrating tower pointed in a particular direction fading to a mere whisper when it pointed away at first the volume increased every few seconds but gradually the rotations slowed and the spire continued to point in the same direction for a little bit longer until the sensation of movement ceased and the song came to the sorceress's ears from one direction only the top of the stairs sedira breathed a sigh of relief the wraiths had not caused the wild spinning after all the dagger had been unable to point in a single direction because doing so would have led her not to magnus's voice but away from the tower and into the dangers of the grey instead her spell had reoriented the whole tower so that the exit lay in an obvious direction up listening attentively to magnus's beautiful song sadir appeared under the collar of her robe the flesh of her arm had paled clear up to her shoulder the sorceress guessed that the magic energy in her body would be completely drained after five or six more spells even less if the spells were powerful ones after that she would have to find a different source for her enchantments and in the gray she doubted that she would find any plants from which to draw the mystic force of life wondering if she would have enough magic to defeat the wraiths when they finally showed themselves the sorceress started to climb the stairs were small barely wide enough to accept her foot from the toes to the arch often the steps were cracked and so worn that they formed more of a ramp than a staircase a thousand years of dust lay upon the treads and she passed over the ancient grime without leaving a track it took more than a footfall to disturb the torpor of the grey the sorceress climbed for a long time minutes or hours or days she did not know progress if she was making any came slowly the summit remained veiled by distance and the base of the tower seemed no nearer still she continued to climb reassured by the increasing volume of the wind singer's voice that she was traveling in the right direction in the stillness of the haze distance and time were mere illusions but not magnus's song it came from the outside and it was real after a time a glowing emerald floated into view it hovered next to the wall several steps above and a large eddy of darkening haze slowly circled it a pair of green pinpoints appeared in the haze at about head height and twinkling with a sinister glow sedira stopped climbing anxious and ready for battle like her wraiths needed something important from their lives to serve as magnets for their spirits although the sorceress had never encountered these particular apparitions before the attack on the cloud road rikus had from his description she knew that for boris's followers a brilliant gem served this purpose though she could not be certain she guessed that boris had given one of the stones to each of his knights when he took them into his service the sorceress thrust a hand into her robe pocket watching dark haze coalesce around the emerald above the clouds soon formed the cumbersome figure of a woman in a full suit of plate armor the warrior wore the visor of her helmet up so that she could focus the green specks of her eyes on sadera the woman's face was stern and hard with a cleft chin sneering lips and broad flat cheeks the wraith pointed the tip of her sword toward the haze below go down she ordered sedera pulled a tiny satchel of copper dust from her pocket the sorceress tore the packet open with her teeth then waited as the wraith charged when her attacker was almost upon her she blew the brown powder toward the warrior's open visor the stuff coated the woman's face the wraith's sword came down sadera twisted away diverting the blow with a crashing block to her foe's elbow from the solid feel of the armor it was hard to believe the warrior had coalesced out of grey haze just a moment earlier the wraith stumbled then caught herself embraced to swing again the attack came too late sedhira spoke her spells command word and the copper dust covering the wraith's face flashed blue a tremulous ear-piercing shriek burst from the wraith's lips she dropped her sword and clutched at her face pitching forward before she could clatter to the ground a blue glow ran through her armor her body instantly dissolved into a gray fog and drifted away leaving a glowing emerald floating where her head had been an instant earlier the sorceress plucked the gem out of the air it was as large as her thumb cut into an marquis oval and deeper in color than any emerald she'd ever seen the sheen of its many facets looked almost black while a faint green light glimmered in the center sedira laid the stone on a step drew her dagger and smashed the pommel into the gem the stone did not shatter so much as crumble into a coarse lime colored powder a shimmering radiance hung over the crushed stones slowly expanding outward in a cloud-like mass save for its green tint the light resembled the mystic energy that normal sorcerers drew from plants to cast their spells the cloud burst apart with a deafening crash bolts of green light shot through the gray lighting it with a spectacular show of brilliant flashes the storm continued to rage filling the vast abyss with a tempest of resounding booms and effulgent flares stirring the ashen haze into a froth of swirling green light sedira was surprised by the tumult she had known crushing the gem would release a certain amount of life force for even wraiths needed some energy to bind their spirits together but the stone had contained at least as much power as she would expect to find in a living woman perhaps that was the reason boris's nights had been so dedicated to him if the gems served as repositories for their life forces it would be possible for him to resurrect them after a time the storm gave one last rumble and died away in a wave of flickering color once more magnus's voice descended from the tower summit clear and unimpeded before starting up the stairs sadira paused long enough to look under her robe to see how much mystic energy her spell had consumed the enchantment had been a costly one most of her upper torso had paled to the normal hue of her flesh if she were going to get past all the wraiths she would have to find a more efficient way to use her magic the sorceress began climbing by this time magnus had repeated his sibilant rhymes so many times that she knew the syllables by heart even if she did not understand the meaning of the words sadera began to sing along the melody lifted her spirits and keeping a watchful eye for more wraiths she bounded up the stairs two at a time finally the sorceress rounded a curve in the staircase broadened into a small apron that sat before the open gates of a white bastion the ramparts were built of alabaster and finished with undulating caps of ivory beyond the entranceway a pool of shimmering blue water filled the inner ward of the citadel with a single pathway of limestone blocks leading toward its center the walkway stopped at the base of a minaret rising directly out of the water this slender steeple was faced with white onix and crowned by a crystal cupola although she had reached the summit of the pristine tower sadera singing croaked to a stop between her and the gate stood ten wraiths all armored in gray plates similar to the first woman's they wore their helmet visors down so that all the sorceress could see of their faces was the jewel-colored slivers of light emitted by their burning eyes ruby sapphire citrine amethyst and more none of them carried weapons the largest wraith stepped forward he extended a mailed hand and in a raspy voice ordered go down sedera reached into her robe and shook her head she was vaguely aware that magnus's booming voice had grown urgent directly above the citadel's minaret the pearly haze swirled about in two great eddies each spinning in opposite directions stand aside she paused to clear a nervous catch in her throat then continued let me pass the wraith shook his head boris is aware of what you and rikers are doing he said he has demanded your deaths sadera tensed her limbs cold and aching she wanted to ask how much the dragon knew and whether he had found agus but realized that it would be futile if the wraith replied at all his answer was sure to be misleading then boris should come for me himself the sorceress pulled a tiny two-timed fork of silver from her pocket you won't stop me she struck the fork against the wall and pointed the quivering tines at the wraiths the leader's purple eyes flashed brightly and he threw himself to the ground several of his fellows followed his lead but not all were quick enough to react before sedhira finished her incantation a shrill painful screech shot from the end of the fork and blasted over her foes blinding flashes of colored light flared inside the visors of the wraiths who had not yet hit the ground first their helmets then the rest of their armor burst apart the shards instantly dissolving into wisps of gray fume the whole tower shook with the violence of the explosion and the air erupted into a maelstrom of streaking colors red blue yellow and all the hues of the prism only the leader and four other wraiths all lying on the stony apron escaped the destruction the blast knocked sadira from her feet making her ears ring and sending her tumbling down the stairs the sorceress dropped the silver fork and clawed at the porous stone breaking off half her fingernails as soon as she brought herself to a stop she reached into her pocket for another spell component by the prickling sensation of her skin she knew that her enchantment one of the most powerful she could cast had drained her mystic energy down to her hips she had expected that gambling that the attack would destroy most of her enemies in a single blow but she had not expected so many of them to drop to the ground where the tower stone would absorb the magic vibrations she had sent to shatter the gems holding their life forces sedira came up ready to attack again the stairs still trembling beneath her feet and the maelstrom tearing at her clothes in her hand she held a small iron hammer the first syllable of her incantation already spilling from her mouth when she looked toward the wraiths she held her spell to her surprise they were not charging instead they stood on the apron between her and the gate their feet planted wide to brace themselves against the raging tempest behind them and directly above the minaret a faint gleam of pink was beginning to show through the swirling haze the sorceress flashed her hand toward the light hoping it came from the sun and that its rays would restore the mystic power to her body but her flesh remained pale sedira started up the stairs again catching a few notes of magnus's song between the storm's booms and crashes the leader of the wraiths held his hand out toward her sedera felt her stiletto leap from its sheath she lashed out but the dagger was gone before she could catch it the weapon sailed straight to his hand coming to rest with the iron handle in his palm i believe this weapon once belonged to aggies's mother he said lifting the stiletto he had to raise his voice only a little for the tumult was beginning to fade sadera scowled and stopped a dozen steps below the wraiths still holding her small iron hammer although puzzled by the warrior's action the sorceress was less interested in what he was doing than in selecting her next attack she estimated that her body contained enough energy for only one more spell if she wanted to escape she would need to pick a good one what does it matter who owned it sedira asked you shall see a pearly cloud of haze began to swirl around the dagger coalescing into the face of a handsome human a man with even features a patrician nose and long black hair streaked down the center by a single band of silver the rest of his body took form below the dagger and soon he stood with his sinewy arms hanging limply at his sides and his shoulders slumped forward forgetting about her spell sadera gasped august the noble said nothing the pupils of his eyes remained milky and vacant don't worry he's still alive the wraith said in a reassuring voice the grey often disorients the spirits of the living sedira's heart felt as though a hand of ice had closed around it the wraith was lying aguis's spirit had coalesced out of the gray not been drawn through it had the noble come from atheists he would have arrived fully formed the wraith continued his lie your husband valued his mother's weapon highly i used that attachment to summon his spirit from samara for a moment sedhira did not move too shocked to react then she cried out and almost collapsed her whole body convulsing with grief samara she repeated the name over and over that one word confirmed her worst fears the wraiths had found aggies or boris had and they had killed him all that remained of her husband was the glassy-eyed apparition at the wraith's side a spirit that could not remember his own name grow down the leader said step into the gray or i'll take your husband's life take him sedera yelled her chest suddenly felt constricted and hot what good is he to me now the words had barely passed her lips before the sorceress felt sick with guilt she could not have said such a thing it had to have been some other woman a weak woman who had not truly loved her husband sadera knew that she should be sorry for august's death concerned about the poor tense it held for the future she should be worried that boris had taken the dark lens and that now she and her companions would have no defense against his mastery of the way she should be seeing young urcard his red eyes blazing with determination standing before the beast that had killed agus and a million others she should be thinking of what came after boris killed her and her card and the others of how he would raise tear and murder its citizens of how too soon an immense pile of rubble would lie where athes's only free city had stood but sedira did not feel any of those things she only felt angry angry at the husband who gone away and died so far from her magnus suddenly stopped singing and an eerie silence fell over the tower the wraiths cast nervous glances back toward the minaret where a pink band had appeared between the swirling eddies in the sky the leader motioned to his companions then started down the stairs pushing agus spirit before him the other wraiths followed taking no chances that sediro would make a run for the gate magnus's voice boomed out of the sky sadera you're almost out he yelled help me sing the leader looked up as if his amethyst eyes could actually see the words booming out of the sky then he halted two steps above sedira stay silent he ordered the time has come for your decision the sorceress opened her mouth and sang though her thoughts were more on the small hammer of iron in her hand the leader stepped back pulling the hand with the dagger out of agus the noble spirit looked towards sadera his mouth half open and his eyebrows arched in sadness then the apparition dissolved into haze sedhira stopped singing and threw her hammer past the leader's head crying out an incantation the weapon smashed into the next wraith with a resounding boom the impact knocked him into the one behind him and they both fell to the ground the hammer hovered over them for an instant then enlarged to the size of a cank and crashed down the impact flattened their helmets and demolished the stairs beneath their heads as the gemstone containing their life forces shattered a tremendous blast rocked the tower the explosion hurled the leader into sedira and blew the other two wraiths off the stairway the sorceress and the leader crashed down the steps together locked in a tight embrace each time they rolled the wraith's armored body battered sadera she fought desperately to throw her attacker off while he struggled to drive the stiletto into her heart finally they came to rest with sadera lying on her back her head lower than her feet the wraith kneeled destroyed her the dagger still clutched in his fist sedera looked past his leg and up the stairway her magical hammer had disappeared with the two wraiths it had destroyed the two who had escaped the blast were nowhere in sight but the sorceress could see her own feet lying five steps above they were pale as ivory clear down to the toes she'd used the last of her mystic energy no more spells hissed the leader following her gaze his purple eyes flashed malevolently from behind his visor then he tossed the dagger aside he grabbed sadera by the shoulders and started to rise now you go to the gray hardly the sorceress drove the heel of her palm into the bottom edge of the leader's visor forcing it up and away from his face sedira lashed out with her other hand and grasped the wraith's withered visage she began to pull as though she were drawing mystic energy from a field of athazian plants a warm stinging sensation rushed up her arm had the wraith been alive it would have been impossible for her to draw the life force directly from her foe but the creature was not alive and the energies that held him together were not bound into the gemstone nearly so tightly as they would have been fastened into a true body the wraith screamed and his leathery skin began to flake away beneath sadera's fingers he tried to push her away his arms already trembling from the loss of vital energy the sorceress wrapped her free arm around his neck and held tight the leader stepped toward the gray gathering himself up to leap off the tower edge sadera thrust her hand deep into the papery mass of his dissolving head and grasped the dark amethyst inside the leader's flesh turned to dust he jumped but the sorceress felt her feet drop onto the coarse rock of the tower and knew she would not be carried with him the wraith drifted past her in a dun-colored cloud which quickly dissolved into hazy wisps as it drifted out into the gray when the sorceress saw no sign of the other two wraiths she quickly picked up her dagger and used the pommel to smash the leader's amethyst this time there was no storm of escaping energy she had already drawn all the life force from the stone and could feel it tingling in her flesh which had assumed a faint purplish cast keeping a watchful eye sedera started up the stairs she began to sing again and pulled a small lump of green clay from her pocket after she dribbled a few drops of saliva onto the mass it began to hiss and pop burning the palm of her hand with tiny droplets of corrosive fluid the sorceress did not care she had not yet destroyed the last two wraiths and when they attacked she intended to be ready by the time sadera reached the open gates of the bastion a crevice of crimson light had appeared above the minarets crystal cupola magnus's voice sounded clear and pure there was no sign of the wraiths on the path anywhere between her and the center of the citadel nor did she see them in the blue pool that filled so much of the bastion but she knew that did not mean much her enemies could be hiding anywhere beneath the water and the shimmering waves would make it impossible to see them the sorceress started to step through the gates then thought better of it and stopped boris's servants had not become wraiths by easily forsaking the tasks he assigned to them if the survivors had not yet assaulted her it was because they were lying in ambush inside the bastion itself using the life force she had drained from the leader's gem sadera cast her spell the purple sheen faded from her skin and a caustic-smelling mist began to rise from the lump of clay in her hand she waited until the green fumes condensed into a hissing stream of vapor then she stepped through the gate the first thing she noticed was the quiet she could not hear magnus's song the hiss of the vapor rising from her palm or even the sound of her feet shuffling over the limestone cobbles then she glimpsed a wraith pulling himself out of the shimmering pool beside the path the water dripped from his armor without making a sound and the sorceress realized that a magic pole of silence had been cast over the area no doubt to keep her from voicing the incantation of her own spells congratulating herself for avoiding the trap she held her hand out toward her ambusher and blew a stream of green vapor into his face the wraith's visor dissolved instantly and she saw him open his mouth to curse before his head was swallowed in the green fog without waiting for the magic acid to finish its work sadera spun fully certain that the last of boris's knights was behind her the sorceress found a pair of mailed fists reaching for her neck the wraith at the other end of the arms wore the armor of a broad-shouldered female with yellow rays of light pouring through the eye slits of her visor sedera twisted to the side thrusting the hand with the magic acid toward her attacker's face at the same time the sorceress protected her vulnerable throat with her shoulder the tactic succeeded only partially sedhira planted her hands squarely in her foes visor which instantly began to dissolve beneath the billowing cloud of green vapor the wraith switched her attacks at the last minute however smashing one male fist down on sedura's collarbone and bringing the other around in a vicious uppercut to the ribs the blows landed with such force that the sorceress felt bones crack in both places sedira's body erupted into such agony that she barely noticed when her magic acid dissolved the gem inside her first ambusher's head she felt the path buck beneath her feet and saw streaks of ruby-colored light flashing past in the silence then she dropped to the cobblestones gasping for breath the wraith reached down to pick her up attempting to carry out boris's orders even as the sorceress's green fog ate away the repository of her life force one maled hand clasped onto sedera's wounded shoulder and the other reached for her throat then a silent yellow flash flared from inside the acid cloud the wraith dissolved a tremendous shock wave crashed down on the sorceress spraying her with droplets of acid vapor and driving her tormented body into the unyielding cobblestones the sorceress did not care pain would not stop her from escaping the gray she forced herself to her hands and knees and turned toward the minaret sedera slowly crawled forward the syllables of magnus's wind ballad pouring forth from her silent lips six the dark canyon the crimson sun slipped behind the purple crags of the ringing mountains long streaks of shadows stretched across the valley outside pauper's hope the sheen slowly faded from the glassy plain that sedira's magic had created earlier the smooth field of rock slowly reverted to its true nature filling the air with a soft murmur as orange stone crumbled into orange dirt to half the titans who had attacked pauper's hope that morning the change no longer mattered the one that rikers had wounded tay lay motionless and blank eyed at the edge of the field three more including tay's comrade yab had succumbed to the searing heat of the athazian day they were slumped over at the waist the tips of their thirst swollen tongues protruding from their blue lips that left only four living giants to rejoice in the disintegration of their magical prison bellowing in gleeful thirst parched voices they began to dig their hips and legs free they hurled each handful of rock-filled dirt to the ground just out of arm's reach where a company of dwarven warriors had surrounded each of them only moments before despite the steel breastplates and helmets protecting the warriors the giant's barrage savaged through their disciplined companies opening great holes in their neat ranks and sending armored figures rolling away like tumbleweeds the dwarves countered with a volley of crossbow fire their iron-tipped bolts were about as effective against the thick height of the titans as cactus needles would have been against small gladiators call neva back rikers said their crossbows are useless kylum shook his head they've just begun he said she'll never retreat so soon if she waits much longer she won't have a chance said magnus his ears twitching with tension i'm afraid we arrived too late the wraiths may have failed to kill sadera but the delay they have caused might prove fatal to us all the trio stood about a hundred paces from the battle facing the butte over which rikus and the windsinger had climbed when they first heard the giants kylem and magnus were waiting in reserve ready to cover the retreat as soon as the battle turned against the dwarves unlike sedira's sorcery their clerical magic was primarily defensive in nature and not of much use in destroying titans rikers had been forced to stay with the clerics because up until a few minutes ago the ill effects of the scorpion sting had left his vision too blurry to fight thanks to his hearty mall constitution and kylem's magic however rikus was recovering rapidly even if he still had a queasy stomach and sporadic bouts of dizziness in spite of his condition the mole would rather have been with neva standing near the dwarven companies and directing the attack from close range unfortunately she had ordered him to stay behind saying he would only be a liability and the mall had been in no position to protest neva had organized the assault and it was under her full command as magnus had explained to rikus neva had reacted quickly after the wraith attack on the cloud road perceiving that the original plan for dealing with the giants was in jeopardy she had sent a half-elven runner to fetch the cledan militia from agus's estate then while the windsinger helped sedhira fight off the wraiths she and kylum had discussed their options when it became clear the sorceress would survive but might not regain consciousness before dusk neva had carried urkard across the rope that spanned the gap kylem and magnus had followed close behind with sadera and rikers tied to their backs in the case the pair awakened in time to help confront the giants the tyrion legion would follow as soon as possible but it seemed unlikely that they could get 2000 warriors safely across the breach in time to stop what was about to happen the largest giant the one-eyed fellow rikers had heard called patch by the others braced his enormous hands at his sides he pushed down and a gentle tremor rolled through the field the orange dirt bulged slightly upward around his hips the dwarves peppered him with crossbow bolts but he only twisted from side to side trying to loosen the ground and free himself before the battle rikus had made a point of reminding neva to leave the one-eyed giant alive so they could interrogate him about argus and what would happen if the dark lens was not returned to them now the mole was beginning to worry that it would be the titans who left no one alive carla i want to stop the giants as much as anyone rika said but your dwarves can't do it kled's warriors are as brave as any in tear the dwarf replied sharply wait until you see their axe charge neva wouldn't waste good warriors like that rikers considered his objection for a moment then started forward maybe i'd better go talk some sense into her before the mull had taken his second step magnus's huge fingers dug into his shoulder and brought him to an abrupt halt if you go out there now berkard will have another sleeping tyrion to look after the windsinger looked across the valley to the top of the bluff where the young mole was hiding with sadera's unconscious form wait until you're stronger i'm ready now rikers tried to pull free but the windsinger's powerful fingers held firm save your strength advised magnus if this doesn't work a tremendous rattle sounded from the battlefield as the ground around patch's hips loosened bellowing with delight the titan leader stretched forward and slapped his palm down with a thunderous clap three dwarves died instantly lacking the time even to scream rikers saw neva barking a command though it was impossible to hear her over the din of the battle he reached for the scourge's hilt but magnus had already tilted his eloquent ears forward to catch her words she's come to the same conclusion as rikus the windsinger reported signal the retreat the dwarf raised his hand a pillar of crimson light shot from his palm and arced westward casting a luminous glow over the battlefield the cleveland militia disengaged instantly they rushed toward the signal assembling themselves into loose squares as they moved at least their discipline's good rikus commented kylum shrugged yes but what now he asked we've lost our best chance to stop the giants they'll raise every farm in the valley not if we keep them busy with us ragus said patch grabbed another handful of rubble and hurled it at the fleeing dwarves a hail of stones rained down on the trailing company denting more than a dozen helmets and leaving dazed warriors scattered over the field magnus began one of his ballads a powerful wind howled down out of the mountains it swept just a few feet above the dwarves heads with enough force to drive any more such barrages back the way they came rikus continued speaking to kylem i have an idea but it'll mean leaving her card alone until seder awakes her card will be fine he has a son spell he can use to summon us if he has trouble the dwarf said what's your plan there's a dead end gorge on the other side of pauper's hope where i hid once after escaping from tithian them all said it's full of ancient minds if we can make it into the canyon and harass the giants enough to keep their attention focused on us we might keep them busy until morning and by then sedira should be well enough to help us kyla nodded let's give it a try they waited a few moments for neva and her dwarven militia to arrive without the dwarves harassing them patch and the other giants concentrated on digging their legs free soon they were each ringed by mountainous heaps of dirt and rikus knew that reaching the gorge would be an uncertain proposition when the first company of militia arrived riku saw by their clenched jaws and narrowed eyes that retreating grated on the dwarf's pride he waved his arm at them yelling the battle's not over yet follow me i have a plan neva winced no doubt remembering his disastrous plan to invade hamanu's city during the war with uruk nevertheless she took a long breath and ordered her dwarves to obey the mull started toward pauper's hope at a sprint padding over the ground in near silence neva joined him and ran just as quietly at his side but kylem's feet slapped the ground loudly with every step and magnus's heavy footballs actually shook the ground the four companies of militia spaced themselves out across the field and followed at a short distance armor clanking and booted feet stomping by the time they reached the edge of the field roll and cathay had risen both moons were in a crescent phase the flax and light they cast over the broken ground was so pale rikus found it difficult to distinguish between shadows and stones nevertheless he continued to run at his best pace finding his way as much by feel as by sight the queasiness in his stomach was fading with the exercise but the bouts of dizziness came more often several times never had to reach out to steady him not because he had stumbled but because he had lost his balance and was listening to one side of the other as reichus entered the pharaoh field near razda's wall patch dug himself completely free instead of chasing after the fleeing warriors the titan went over to his companions and began pulling them out of the ground like a crop of tubers keeping a wary eye fixed on the giant strike has turned to neva have your warriors drop their shields and whatever else they can discard on the run aside from their weapons right now speeds more important than armor neva shook her head they're well disciplined but they are dwarfs she replied that equipment came from kemalok's armory they'll die on the spot before they cast any of it aside i was afraid of that rikers grumbled starting down one of the paths between the pharaoh rose behind them patch's voice cried out in an angry howl that seemed to shake the sky rakus looked back to see him kneeling over yabb's body and remembered that tay had said something about the young titan being the leader's brother the rest of the giants were racing after rikus and the militia their heavy steps reverberating through the valley like thunder the ground between the pharaoh rose was packed hard rikus and his followers crossed the orchard at an all-out sprint quickly passing around the shoulder of razda's wall if rikers had possessed any regrets about the fate of yab or any other giant they quickly faded when he saw what had happened in the farm buildings of pauper's hope the night air was thick with the stench of corpses that had lain rotting in the sun all day long and it was apparent that patch's brutes had taken great delight in killing the inhabitants the bodies of men and women lay heaped at the bottom of razda's wall while dark smears of blood barely visible in the pale moonlight speckled the cliffs above as if mere slaughter were not enough patch and his warriors had also stomped every building flat usually with the inhabitants inside they had even destroyed the irrigation dam leaving a shallow depression of cracked mud cakes where once the pond had been a short distance beyond the farm lay a moonlit wall of foothills covered with little except jagged stone and flakes of clay rich soil they rose steadily upward to form the lower slopes of the ringing mountains a narrow gorge twisted its way into the hills the blackness of its depths creating the impression of a snake crawling up the steep scarps as the militia neared the far side of the compound and started toward the dark canyon the giants reached the other end of razda's wall the titans stopped long enough to lift several boulders off the outcropping and hurl the huge stones at the fleeing dwarves two of the rocks landed just ahead of rikers and shattered harmlessly into a hundred pieces but the others were better aimed and came down in the midst of the trailing company several of neva's warriors died amidst the crinkle of steel armor loose formation neva called spread out as the dwarves scattered rikers saw the giants start forward again they covered half the distance across the compound with a single stride then stopped to pluck more boulders off the cliff the mole was tempted to fight them here on the site where the brutes had slain so many helpless people but he resolutely resisted the temptation nearly a decade earlier during the war with uric he had learned the foolishness of allowing emotions to guide his tactics instead he waved the dwarves on toward the canyon but stopped magnus near the dry irrigation pond can you slow them down he asked we're 200 pesos from the canyon but they'll cover the distance in ten the windsinger nodded i have a powerful song that will give you time he said go on don't get yourself i have no intention of dying tonight magnus replied flecks of dried mud stung the mull's face as a rock crashed into the irrigation pond just a few yards away then he heard a crumple as heavy stones crushed the armored forms of several more dwarves magnus raised his voice in a thunderous song summoning a tempestuous wind from the depths of the desert night it roared down from the mountains in the blink of an eye bringing with it a thick fog of cold mist the blast surged across the compound hurling broken mud bricks and dead livestock high into the air it slammed the debris into the outcropping with a deafening boom loosening a slide of rock to come pouring down on the giant's heads magnus pushed rikus toward the canyon go this will hold them for only a few moments you must show the others what to do when they reach the canyon the mole obeyed sprinting for cover once he was overcome by dizziness and fell nevertheless with his longer legs and lack of heavy armor he caught up with the dwarves easily and led the way into the gorge the place was really more of a gash than a canyon a sheer-sided crevice of crumbling rock that twisted its way less than a mile into the base of an enormous mountain there were no smooth bends or gentle curves in the entire course it changed directions at unpredictable intervals and at sharp angles in some places an entire dwarven company could have stood in dress formation across its breadth then less than a dozen paces later it grew so narrow that a giant would have to turn sideways to pass between its towering walls at last rankus came to a bottleneck in the gorge where the cliffs stood so close together that he could have leaped from the brim of one to the other without a running start although it was not possible to see much in the pale moonlight them all knew that those cliffs were parked with dozens of caves the portals of ancient mines that had been worked abandoned and forgotten centuries ago perhaps even before cadillac had conquered tear on the other side of the bottleneck the canyon opened into a large circular valley it was enclosed on every side by sheer walls of red stained stone many times the height of a giant like the cliffs of the bottleneck these were parked by mine openings those near the top could be seen as dark circles on the moonlit rock faces raccoos knew that there were also several mine tunnels near the bottom of the cliffs though they were hidden behind huge mounds of waste rock that covered most of the valley floor an angry bellow echoed up the stony canyon then the walls began to shake with the steady crash of heavy footsteps rikus looked back down the gorge the dwarves of the first two companies were beginning to peer nervously over their shoulders the mull could not see the two companies bringing up the rear for the gorge took a sharp bend rakus joined neva telling her there's a huge tunnel on the far side i think it connects to most of the others so let's go over there once the giants think they have us trapped we can duck inside then come out from the other mines and harass them from behind with luck we may even be able to circle back and block the canyons neva nodded and passed the order back the mull entered the valley picking his way between mounds of red stained waist rock and the stone foundations of several huge buildings neva and the dwarves came close behind him their armor filling the still valley with a clatter such as had not been heard there in a thousand years finally upon reaching the back of the gorge they slipped from between two piles of rubble and came upon a small area of open ground it was located beneath a towering cliff that seemed to rise straight to the crescent moons at the base of the scarp a tunnel ran toward the heart of the mountain though the passage was easily broad enough for three dwarfs to walk down and high enough that an elf could have stood inside it at its full height it was not so large that a giant would be able to do more than thrust an arm inside from the far side of the valley rumbled patch's deep voice there they are fosk rakkus looked toward the entrance in time to see the giants immense form stepping into the valley his shoulders turned sideways so he could fit through the narrow gap it was pointing toward the open space in front of the tunnel where the dwarven companies were gathering let's draw them closer rika said make it look like we'll fight here neva traced a line in front of the cavern's entrance form ranks by companies she ordered the dwarves rushed toward the place she had indicated milling about purposefully although the scene seemed one of utter confusion to rikers each of neva's warriors seemed to know exactly what he was doing while they arranged themselves patch and one warrior probably fosk judging by the name rikus had heard a moment ago entered the valley in three steps they had already walked more than a quarter of the way across the mall did not see the other two giants at rikes's side neva suddenly cried salt where in the name of raoul are you the mull looked toward the tunnel entrance where he saw three ranks of dwarves standing with axes drawn and bucklers guarding their chests what's wrong salt attack and his granite company are missing neva reported just then a giants angry bellow rolled across the valley followed by the distant sound of crumpling armor rakus looked back toward the canyon beyond the lumbering forms of patch and foss he saw a third titan kicking madly at something on the ground they're still in the canyon rikers said they must have fallen behind either that or stayed on purpose said kylem coming to the mall side the yalmus of the granite company is a brave man sometimes overly so you think he'd hang back on purpose ragus gasped neva nodded if he thought he could kill a giant he would in the dark shadows of the narrow canyon the mull could see little only the silhouette of a huge knee rising and falling as the giant stomped at his attackers kurt death cries in the creek of folding armor suggested that the brute's foot found its target all too often but rikus could also hear a softer sound the incessant thump thump thump of dwarven axe blades biting into tough flesh looking back to patch rika said calling back neva they'll be wiped out neva shook her head i can't do that even if salt attacks men would obey she said they've declared for honor declared for honor them all asked you remember how yarik fought neva replied rikus groaned they wouldn't do a thing like that he and neva had trained with a dwarf named yarik during their days in tithian's gladiator pits before each match the squat gladiator would make victory over his opponents his life focus neva nodded in kled they call that declaring for honor she said sultan his warriors must kill the giant or die trying if they retreat now it's the same as breaking their life focus they'll become banshees when they die i thought your militia was disciplined rankus snapped he cursed and kicked at the ground he barely noticed as his calloused foot sent a melon-sized stone rolling away it's not salt's fault neva said every yamas has the right even the responsibility to act on his own initiative sult is dividing the enemy's forces just as neva taught him added kylem the maul cursed the dwarf's initiative and tried to think of a way to save the company during the war with uric too many brave warriors had died needlessly for him to want to see the same thing happen to the granite company before anything came to mind patch and foss surprised them all by stopping their advances the giants stood 30 of rikes's paces away only five or six of their own and glared down at the three ranks of dwarven warriors rikus drew his sword and stepped forward the blade remained gray with the stain of the wraith attack and the weapon's magic did not seem quite as powerful as before although the scourge brought the dying screams of salt attacks dwarves to his ears more clearly he still could not understand their words as he would normally have been able to do where is our oracle demanded patch if you want to talk call off your warriors attack rank is countered pointing toward the gorge patch peered over his shoulder then looked back down at rikus with his one uncovered eye he smiled revealing a cruel set of filed yellow teeth not until you answer right aside then said we don't have it here we knew that when your ugly little dwarves started shooting needles instead of giving it to us sneered fast standing a step behind his leader where have you hidden it if you make us call the rest of the tribe to break into tear we'll raise the city warren's patch we won't leave nothing standing there are many powerful wizards in tear including the one who imprisoned your war party this morning rikuspluft besides we only need to borrow the lens we'll give it back as soon as we kill the dragon patch's single eye went as round as the sun and fosk could not stop himself from stepping forward no boomed the giant leader especially not for that rick has frowned the dragon is everyone's enemy them all said he may not take giants to fill his levy but it's his magic and that of his followers the sorcerer kings that turned athas into a wasteland better to live in a wasteland than to die in a paradise countered fast what's that supposed to mean rankus asked patch and foss looked at each other with blank expressions then as if it would explain everything the leader said that's what your origin saram say what do you know of joe orsh and saram demanded kylem stepping to rakhis side they gave us the oracle patch informed him they said if we lose it almost everyone on others could die then they must have changed their minds neva said joining the pair because they are the ones who told us that it was time to kill the dragon basque's cavernous mouth dropped open and patch raised the brow of his uncovered eye in disbelief they're here asked fosk they visited us ten days ago riku said he carefully avoided any mention of a card deciding that he would leave it to neva to reveal or keep secret what the banshees had said about the boy's destiny they said nothing about returning the lens to the giants patch scowled doubtfully if you really saw them what did they look like they were the size of giants not quite as big as you but close neva replied they were nothing but bone all twisted up one had a skull and the other didn't neither one had any skin but both had orange eyes and long grey beards patch ran a hand through his snarled hair braids and they didn't take our oracle back he gasped where are they never started to answer but rikers raised a hand to keep her from speaking first stop your warrior from smashing any more of our friends patch motion to foss who turned and bellowed gold leave them guys alone for a minute but don't let them out till patch says galt reluctantly stepped back he grabbed a huge boulder and dropped it into place at the mouth of the canyon reich has heard the sound of crumpling armor then dozens of angry dwarves screaming for the giant to come back and fight right now we don't know where george and saram are ranker said we haven't seen them since they said it was time to kill the dragon but i suspect they've gone to protect the lens until we get there get where patch demanded our oracle isn't interior rank has smiled proud of himself for salvaging their original plan even with sedira unconscious it seemed he would be able to lure the giants away from tear perhaps even convince them to abandon their demand for the lens altogether no august didn't bring the dark lens back to tear riker said he sent word for us to meet him someplace else fast scowled and patch narrowed his eye aggies told you to meet him yes rankus replied we'll leave as soon liar boss thundered he stooped down and scooped up an entire pile of waste rock kylem touched his palm to the crimson sun on his forehead and pointed his other hand at the giant rays of scarlet light shot from between the dwarfs fingers illuminating the valley in eerie flickering hues as they streaked over and enveloped the titan's hand when foss whipped his arm forward no stones flew from his hand pink balls of sticky bubbling gel arced off the ends of his fingers igniting small circles of flame wherever they spattered the drops that fell on the ground flared briefly and faded but the burning sludge stayed in fosk's hand the giant screamed in pain and slapped the hand at his thigh kindling a fire even larger than the one he was attempting to put out finally he simply dropped to the ground and began to roll sending clouds of dust high into the sky nicely done husband said neva rikers grunted his agreement keeping a watchful eye on patch who was studying the fallen giant with a weary skull them all asked how many other spells do you have like that that was my most effective that's why i saved it kylem replied it may not kill him but it should keep him from bothering us for now perhaps magnus will have some wind magic i doubt he'll be coming rikus interrupted i assigned him to slow the giants back at the farm he must have gotten trapped on the other side or he'd be here by now as the mull spoke patch looked back toward the gorge kill the dwarves galt he yelled all of them neva spun around commanding into the tunnel now as the dwarves obeyed them all shook his head in bewilderment stop it patch he yelled trying to keep the anger out of his voice i thought you understood george and saram don't want the lens back be quiet little liar patch countered he picked up a huge boulder and stepped toward the mall august died in the bay of woe you're the one who's lying rikers yelled agus is alive he just sent us a message tithian stole our oracle patch insisted and you're trying to hide him the titan hurled the stone with both hands it arched toward rikus he had time to see that it was easily large enough to flatten both him and his companions the mole brought the scourge up and slashed at the rock with all his strength rikus did not feel the enchanted blade biting into the boulder as he had expected his arm just went numb a loud clanging nell punched at his eardrums and a black flash erupted from where his sword had met the rock the dirt vanished from beneath his feet and he felt himself being slammed into the ground by a tremendous blast everything felt quiet and he expected to feel the crushing weight of the boulder smashing down on his body instead he was pelted by a stinging hail of gravel shards he found himself gasping for breath as he struggled to draw air back into his lungs and marveled that he had survived rikas neva screamed i'm fine he groaned the mall ran a hand over a stinging cut above his ear then picked himself up off the ground nearly fell and put out a hand to steady himself it was then that he realized he no longer held the scourge mark's sword he growled shaking his head and glaring in patch's direction there never replied it exploded she pointed to the ground next to where rikers had landed the scourge of our card lay in two pieces still tainted gray and now disjointed about midway between the tip and hilt from the jagged ends of the blade oozed a stream of black fluid thicker than syrup and smelling as foul as a briny well instead of sinking into the dirt the liquid drew up into glistening beads which immediately rolled toward each other and began to form a single much larger glob a cold ache rolled over rikus's entire body no he cried snatching the two pieces of his sword off the ground the mull spattered his fingers with several drops of the black fluid the beads quickly rolled over his hand and started up his wrist leaving a stinging trail of blisters in their wake he yelled in surprise and whipped his hand downward flinging the liquid onto the ground what is that stuff he gasped watching the beads crawl toward the larger blob on the ground what does it matter now responded kylem he pointed toward patch who had grabbed another boulder and was raising it to throw again let's go with that the dwarf seized the maul's arm and pulled him into the tunnel patch's boulder crashed down outside and bounced off the cliff wall filling the mine with a resonant boom kylum led them into the deep recesses of the cavern where the three remaining companies of kled's militia waited safely beyond the giant's reach the dwarves had not bothered to strike torches when there was no true light available their eyes detected the ambient heat emitted by all objects it was an ability they had inherited from their ancient ancestors who had lived out their entire lives in the black snugness of subterranean depths since he was a half dwarf himself rikus was also blessed with this gift from outside came patch's distant voice deriding the dwarves as pointy-eared cowards backstabbing thieves who couldn't grow a hair braid among them and a dozen other names that he considered insulting each time the giant uttered another indignity the tunnel trembled with the impact of another boulder hitting the cliff face outside once a stone even entered the mine and rattled around the collar for a few moments before coming to a harmless rest kylem stepped over to rikus's side his hand already glowing with crimson light my healing magic is not as strong as night he said gesturing toward the gash above the mall's ear but at least i can stop the bleeding rikus pulled away wait a minute i have an idea the mole looked at the scourge's broken blade the black fluid continued to drip from its jagged breaks enough of the stuff had gathered on the tunnel floor to create a knee-high blob rikus fit the two pieces of his sword together and held it toward kylum what do you want me to do the dwarf asked he stared blankly at the blade and the dark fluid dripping from it i'm no smith if you were you'd know steel doesn't bleed rikers pointed his chin at the oozing seam between the broken pieces of blade so heal it men steal just try it rikus interrupted what can it hurt the dwarf shook his head then reached for the seam rikus put out a restraining hand can't you do it without touching it he asked that stuff stings pain is nothing new to me the dwarf replied closing his fingers around the scourge as his hand contacted the black liquid kylem drew sharp breaths between his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut but did not pull away a soft sizzle echoed off the tunnel's stony walls and sparks spewed from between the dwarf's fingers filling the dark passage with fleeting flashes of orange light sweat poured off kylum's brow and his muscles trembled but still he did not pull away is that going to work neva asked stepping to her husband's side i hope so replied kylem without the scourge i don't know how orcard is going to kill boris the dwarf held his hand over the seam for several more moments finally when no more black fluid dripped from between his fingers onto the blob at his feet kylem took his hand away from the scourge the blade separated into two pieces but the ends had ceased to drip disappointed rikers slipped the broken tip into his scabbard for safe keeping at least you stopped the bleeding whatever that liquid is it's not blood hissed kylem staring at his hand the dwarf's palm was covered with the black ooze which now bubbled and spewed as though on fire more grotesquely the bones beneath kylum's flesh seemed to be writhing about like worms get that off my husband neva screamed rikus grabbed the dwarf's hand and used the back of the scourge's broken blade to scrape kylum's palm clean the black fluid hit the floor with a splat it gathered itself into a bead and joined the largest glob by the sun gasped kylum what's happening to me the mull looked back to the dwarf's hand and saw the cause of kylum's alarm thick pointed scales had sprouted along the outside edges of the palm in the center gaped a fang-lined maul with bright red lips and a forked tongue that rose up from the abyss-like depths of its ebony throat release me black wisps of shadow slipped from between the mouth's lips come and free me kylum closed his hand he grew very pale and said nothing what is it neva demanded she pulled them all away from the blob on the floor ranka studied his broken blade for a moment then shuddered it must have something to do with the scourge's magic he said slipping the broken blade into his scabbard with the tip cediro will know more i hope come out yelled patch's voice rankus looked toward the entrance the giant was lying on his stomach and looking into the tunnel with his one good eye he peered into the darkness for a moment and pulled away then you can stay in there cowards he bellowed a moment later a huge boulder came careening down the passage it bounced off the walls a few times and finally came to rest 20 or 30 paces inside the portal the huge stone filled the tunnel so completely that rikus could not see even a sliver of pale moonlight shining around its edges i guess we won't be leaving that way raku said the mall turned around and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dearth of light within a few moments he was viewing the tunnel in a dozen radiant hues the dwarves and neva in luminous red thick veils of broken spider webs in shining green or yellow the cold stone of the tunnel walls in shimmering blue so how are we going to leave asked neva peering around blindly as the only full human in the group she was the only person present who could not see in the dark it won't take us long to find another exit kylem said with his good hand the dwarf grasped his wife's arm and began to lead her deeper into the inky depths that's true isn't it rikers there are hundreds of ways out the mall assured kylem i suggest we divide the militia into three groups two of the companies should find exits as quickly as possible then attack patch or any other giant they see we don't want them to go for a kill just let them know we're still alive then retreat and try it again from another portal what about the other company neva asked rikus could see that she was gripping kylem's arm tightly and it squeezed her ineffective eyes shut so that her mind would not automatically strain to see what it could not and would be more open to her other senses the technique was one that he had taught her long ago while they were training for a special match of blindfolded gladiators we'll take the rest of your warriors and try to reach the mines opening into the mouth of the gorge riker said with a little luck maybe we can find our way through in time to help salt and his granite company this shouldn't be too difficult said kylem he touched his fingers to his son tattoo i've just the magic to lead us through this warren seven the banshees rikus gnashed his teeth trying to be patient and not succeeding very well he stood at a tangled intersection of mine tunnels holding his hand out in front of him a single tongue of scarlet flame flickered in his palm scorching his flesh and rising straight up into the gloomy air the tiny fire cast just enough heat to wash out his dwarven vision and its small sphere of scarlet light was barely large enough to illuminate the black maus of a dozen passages gaping at him from all directions beyond that he was as blind in this merc as neva at last rikers looked to kylum who was standing at his side the flames not pointing anywhere he growled your spell isn't doing anything except burning my hand i'm sorry you find my fire beacon uncomfortable said kylem he raised his own hand i would have held it in my own palm but he opened his fingers revealing the scales and red lips that had formed there when he had tried to heal the scourge rikus looked away good enough he said but which way now the flames not pointing toward any tunnel isn't it kyla masked looking up rikus tipped his head back and saw a circle of blackness wonderful he grumbled raising his hand over his head the flame's light revealed a man-sized cavity roughly circular in shape rising straight up how am i going to climb that without smothering the fire beacon the mull said nothing about the sporadic dizziness he had been suffering earlier for it had all but disappeared during the long walk occasionally he would feel light-headed for a moment or two but the sensation no longer caused him to stumble or fall you're not going to climb anything rikus neva said she turned to the dwarves at their back brol ciderite present yourself with a rope a young man promptly came forward with a coil of rope compared to the boulder-like shape of most dwarves brawl was rather gaunt and lean with gangling arms and bowed legs neva had him remove his armor and sling the rope over his shoulder then boosted him into the shaft the warrior began to climb his long arms and bowed legs flickering over the rough-hewn walls in search of secure holds rikus waited in the musty darkness with the others the mine's humid air forming cool beads of water on his bald head every time a groan or scrape sounded from above he cringed fearing brawl was about to come crashing back down the rackets recognized neva's wisdom in sending the dwarf up first that did not make waiting any easier even with kylem's fire beacon guiding them through the maze of mine tunnels he feared that it was taking their group too long to work their way back to the mouth of the valley the iron company had not gotten lost once but it had encountered many obstacles that delayed its march several times the dwarves had crawled on their bellies through long spans of partially collapsed tunnel once after the fire beacon had directed them into a passage filled with foul smelling air they could not breathe they had found it necessary to backtrack and find a different route neva had even been forced to ferry the entire company of dwarves across a stretch of flooded cavern wading back and forth through 50 paces of muddy water as deep as her chin at last brawl's panting voice echoed down from the top of the shaft rope as soon as the end of the line dropped into the tunnel neva tied it around rikus's chest all away she said the coarse rope bit into the mull's chest and he felt his feet leave the ground brawl hauled him up in a steady cadence of long poles the shaft was small enough that the fire beacon lit it completely revealing rough-hewn walls cut from red rock once rikus got stuck in a narrow section and could not free himself until he had taken off his scabbard belt no easy feat with one hand near the top of the shaft rikus felt an arid breeze blowing across his skin sapping the dew that had collected on him in the lower more humid depths of the mine he resisted the urge to cheer knowing there were a hundred portals in the valley just because he felt an outside breeze did not mean they had reached one of the exits overlooking the gorge where the granite company was trapped the mole glanced at the fire beacon in his hand but did not find the answer to his question there the flame was flickering but it still pointed upward a moment later brawl pulled rikus into a small passage so cramped that the mull's broad shoulders barely fit between the walls rikers scrambled onto the ledge he did not even try to stand for the ceiling was so low that it scraped his back even when he rested on his hands and knees is this the way asked the dwarf shielding his eyes from the fire beacon i think there's an exit here but the shaft also continues up for at least another hundred feet rikers looked at his hand and saw the flame pointing straight down the side passage this is it the mall reported he pressed his palm to the wall and sighed in relief once rikers had smothered the fire beacon he saw a square of moonlit night at the other end of the tunnel about a hundred paces distant he untied the rope around his waist and squeezed past brawl anxious to see what had become of salt the granite company and the giants there was no need to wait patch's muffled voice sounded from the other end of the tunnel nasty dwarves i'll kill you like you killed got rikers heard a distant crash a muted rumble rolled through the passage shaking dust and loose stones from the ceiling it sounds like the granite company killed one giant the mall said turning to brawl have neva bring me an axe and we'll see if we can't get another while the dwarf lowered his robe back into the shaft and relayed rikus's request the maul strapped on his scabbard belt by the time he finished brawl was heaving on the rope again with the fire beacon gone the maul's dwarven vision had returned and he saw a halo of rosy light appear as neva's head rose out of the shaft she carried a pair of battle axes in her arms and an extra rope over her shoulder rikus reached past brawl and grasped the weapons over here the maul pulled the axes past the dwarf then took one and started up the passage neva followed close behind as they crawled patch's voice continued to rumble down the passage punctuated by muffled crashes and distant booms the noises did not seem to grow much louder as they neared the exit which made riko's fear the battle had already moved farther down the canyon rikus finally reached the end of the tunnel directly ahead lay the moonlit crags of the gorge's opposite wall he looked to one side he and neva had come out as intended where the narrow canyon opened into the valley in the other direction the gorge ran for only a short distance before kinking sharply had he not known better the mole would have sworn the chasm ended there he saw no sign of patch in either direction make room said neva crawling alongside rikers as her flank pressed against his the maul could not help smiling at the warmth of her soft flesh it reminded him of times past when they had laine pressed together all night too tense to sleep or talk knowing the next morning they would leave the arena as they were then victorious or dead but together still rikus had never thought he would miss anything about being a gladiator but now with neva pressed against his side he realized he did miss one thing the crack of a shattering stone sounded from somewhere below reminding rikus the dwelling on his past with neva would do him no more good than wishing the scourge's blade had not been snapped the mull looked down and saw that they had come out much higher than he had hoped as he could tell by the sight of a tangled nest of giant braids far below riku squinted trying to see what was happening more clearly the moonlight reflecting off the gorge's walls washed out his dwarven vision so even after careful study he could distinguish little more than a hulking pair of shoulders filling the canyon from wall to wall nevertheless it appeared that sult and the granite company were giving the giant a good fight patch's head was tilted forward to look at the ground and he seemed oblivious to anything but stomping and cursing the dwarves at his feet ruckus didn't you see that neva asked a note of urgency in her voice what the mall asked he scoured the gorgeous shadows for something he had missed up there neva corrected she pointed into the sky where a crimson sphere hung just above the opposite rim of the gorge the ball was flickering and sputtering like a torch that had burned all its oil and was so faint it barely stood out from the night what's that rikers asked sun spell her voice cracked as she spoke he's in trouble it's about to go out rikers observed how long does it last a quarter hour neva replied she looked at rikus then asked do you think there's any chance sedhira is awake yet if she were awake there would be no need for a card to cast his spell them all replied nevis started back down the tunnel we've got to help him rike has grabbed her shoulder it'll take too long to return he said but i know a faster way neva allowed herself to be pulled up the passage how rikus took the rope off her shoulder he began tying it around himself looping at first between his legs then around his hips over his shoulders and beneath his arms so it would spread the impact of a long fall over the strongest points of his body leave about 10 arms of rope between us rikers said finishing his harness off with a secure knot fasten yourself into the other end of the line like i have then come up here next to me by the time they finished kylem was crawling up the tunnel toward them what's wrong he asked eyeing the ropes strung between his wife and rikus your son's in trouble the mall answered rankus checked neva's harness then twisted himself around so that he sat at the mouth of the tunnel his legs dangling over the edge neva passed him his battle axe and sat next to him cradling her own weapon in her arms wait kylem cried that rope isn't tied off you'll fall not now husband neva snapped without looking back at the dwarf she peered down at patch's shoulder which was just a little bit ahead of their perch i know what to do just like old times racus answered smiling go gripping his axe with both hands he slipped out of the tunnel he pushed off the gorge wall with his legs driving himself to the side so that he would fall in front of patch's body in the same instant neva also slipped from her perch though she launched herself straight ahead so she would come down behind the giant the ropes stretched out between her and rikus keeping them connected as they plummeted into the shadows rakus heard kylum cry out then the roar of the wind filled his ears and drowned out the dwarf the mole felt his own voice vibrating inside his skull and he knew he was screaming but he simply ignored the panicked part of his mind and focused his thoughts on one simple task clutching his battle axe rikus plunged past a tangle of hair braids and neva passed out of sight behind patch's massive collarbone the mall hit feet first then glanced off the giant's breast and bounced away the rope caught him an instant later his makeshift harness biting deep beneath his legs and arms as the cord stretched with the force of the fall it squeezed tight around his ribs filling his chest with a terrible ache and driving the air from his lungs in an involuntary groan he heard a similar grunt from neva's side of the shoulder then felt himself arcing back toward the titan's chest as painful as the stop was rikus knew that it would have been much worse possibly even snapping his back or breaking his ribs had he not taken the time to tie himself into the line as he had patch roared in surprise and wrenched around to see what had fallen on him the motion sent rikus swinging toward the gorge wall and the ropes skipped as his weight hit the end fearing the line would slip off the huge shoulder he swung his axe as hard as he could the steelhead drove deep into the titan's breast instantly stopping them all's flight and drawing a pained howl from the giant releasing his weapon rikus grabbed a fold of the giant's smelly sheepskin tunic and pulled himself forward patch's hand slapped down behind him the back edge of the double-bladed axe sank deep into the titan's palm and the giant bellowed in anger while the titan plucked the battle axe from his palm the mull climbed for the opposite shoulder he saw patch raise a hand to claw at him then the giant abruptly stopped as a flurry of dull thumps sounded at his feet stomp the granite company will you cried a dwarf's angry voice we'll chop you off of the ankles you lout patch hopped from one foot to the other each time he changed legs a dwarf cried out in pain and the sound of folding steel echoed up from the dark gorge determined to make the most of the diversion rikus continued his climb and soon pulled himself over the giant's shoulder he met neva coming from the other side like rikus she remained harnessed into the rope everything okay rikus asked it will be when we choked this giant neva replied the warrior scrambled away crossing in front of the titan's throat the mull jumped over the back of the shoulder patch did not attempt to stop them his attention fixed on the dwarven axes hacking at his ankles rakus waited until he saw neva appear behind the giant's other shoulder then braced his feet and pulled she did the same the rope now looped around the huge throat like a garage tightened patch forgot the dwarves and tried to pull the rope away his efforts were to no avail rikus and neva had pulled the cord so tight that it bit deep into his flesh and the titan could not slip his fingers beneath the taut line a deep gurgle rumbled from the brute's throat patch stumbled around turning his back toward the cliff anticipating the giant's next move rikus called cross and over still pulling on the rope the mull shuffled across patch's spine neva did the same and they crossed the giant leaned back toward the cliff they threw themselves over his collarbone and narrowly avoided being crushed as he slammed into the rock wall patch kept his back against the cliff his rasping chokes echoing down the canyon he raised one hand toward each of his tormentors rakus could not see what nevo was doing but the maul tried to draw his dagger he found the hilt tied into place beneath his harness the giant's fingers encircled his body rikus grabbed the rope with both hands and pulled kicking at the enormous hand with both feet he almost slipped free then patch caught his legs the titan squeezed filling rikus's knees and hips with agony the choking giant had already grown very weak and the torment was not as bad as it might have been none of rikus's thick mull bones cracked and he did not even feel anything pop out of socket deciding he could bear the pain until patch fell unconscious the warrior braced himself against the titan's thumb and index finger concentrating his efforts on keeping himself from slipping deeper into the huge fist the mole peered around the giant's gullet and caught a glimpse of neva somehow she had braced her feet against the back of the hand and had wrapped both her arms around the titan's little finger she was pulling it back against the joint though rikers suspected she had little chance of snapping it a series of deep racking coughs shook the giant's torso he tried to jerk rikus and neva away from his throat they were still connected to the rope and he succeeded only in drawing it tighter hatch began to sway then dropped to his knees cheering madly more than a dozen dwarves began hacking at the giant's thighs a long convulsion ran through patch's body then his hands opened and he pitched forward his face slammed into the gorge wall leaving his killers dangling from the rope around his neck rikus and neva pulled themselves up the rope to patch's collarbone where they freed themselves from their harnesses they tied the ends of the cord together so the garage would not loosen before it had done its work completely then they slid down the unconscious giant's back their feet had barely touched the ground before neva was yelling for salt to report here commander a grizzled dwarf stepped forward wading through a river of blood that was pouring from a wound in patch's thigh he had a weather-lined face and a thin crooked nose that looked as though it had been broken a dozen times 15 survivors for the granite company never mind that neva replied how many giants did you kill in this canyon one aside from this one the dwarf replied the fourth one stayed at the farm to fight the wind singer with a curse neva turned and started down the dark gorge at a sprint from his hiding place on the butte urcard saw magnus run out of the pharaoh orchard below razda's wall the windsinger looked utterly exhausted stumbling over rocks and flailing his massive arms as he tried to retain his balance he veered away from the four giants who had died during the day and raced for the far end of the valley a series of thudding footsteps echoed behind him a single giant appeared from behind razda's wall carrying a stone he had torn from the ridge the titan looked as exhausted as magnus he had two jagged cuts on his brow and his body was covered with huge bruises so dark her car could see them even in the pale light of the moons the marks were evidence of the terrific brawl to which the young mole had been listening until just a few seconds ago after the four surviving giants had followed kled's militia toward pauper's hope a terrible storm of whirling winds and rumbling thunder had erupted behind razda's wall the dean had been answered by the clatter of breaking stones and angry bellows a moment later most of the titans voices had begun to grow more distant and muffled and urkhard had guessed they were chasing the militia into the mountains one brute had stayed behind however and the sounds of battle had continued to rage for a long time now it was finally clear who had won as her card watched the giant braced himself and hurled his stone the rock glanced off the windsinger's shoulder and tumbled away magnus dropped in mid-stride tumbling head over heels for the length of a dozen strides he finally came to a rest flat on his back with his head toward his attacker card almost forgot himself and cried out but at the last moment managed to choke his scream into a strangled croak magnus the windsinger lay motionless for a moment and urkhard worried that the stone had killed him then magnus raised his head and with a great deal of effort pushed himself into a sitting position the arm that had been hit by the boulder hung limply at his side and he hardly seemed conscious of the giant's heavy footsteps behind him get up magnus her card whispered he knew magnus could sometimes hear messages carried on the wind since a gentle breeze was blowing down the butte the boy hoped his words would reach the windsinger's funny-looking ears the giant's coming magnus continued to sit motionless and the titans stopped behind him arkhard touched his fingers to the crimson sun on his forehead and felt a warm tingly sensation running through his arm most people assumed the red disc to be a tattoo but it was actually the sun mark a birthmark that served as his mystical connection to the sun during times of darkness the windsinger suddenly pricked up his big ears and glanced toward the butte he shook his head and rolled over onto his hands and knees a sigh of relief thankful the windsinger had spared him the necessity of deciding whether or not to cast his spell after jorsh and saram had appeared to him his father had told him that he must never risk his life not even if it meant saving the entire militia or his own parents his father had said more than a few lives depended on his destiny and that if he got himself killed everyone on athens would die with him hercard didn't like what his father had said and he thought his mother probably didn't either although she had not told him as much after that nasty head wyan had arrived with the astacles signet and everyone had decided that it was time to kill the dragon she had told him to think about his decisions very carefully she'd said he should never do anything dangerous unless he had a good chance of succeeding and even then he had to think of a way to escape first in the valley below the giant kicked his foot into magnus's ribs the windsinger arced out over the valley crashing into a jumble of sharp stones thirty paces away the impact would have killed a human and probably even a mole but not magnus he just rolled across the rocky ground and tried to pick himself up again this time he did not succeed the giant grabbed a pointed stone as large as a cank hercard could not decide what to do neither of his parents would want him to cast his spell now the worst thing he could do to the titan was blind him for a few moments and then the brute would probably come to hunt him and sadera down but the thought of standing by while the giant smashed magnus gave the boy a sick feeling in his stomach the titans stepped toward magnus berkard slipped behind his boulder and looked down at sadera the sorceress lay motionless on the ground her amber hair glowing softly in the moonlight and her almond-shaped eyes closed tight her chest heaved as though she was sobbing and the way her fingers fluttered reminded the boy of how they moved when she cast a spell hercard kneeled at her side and shook her shoulder the giant's going to kill magnus he said wake up the sorceress's chest continued to heave and she showed no sign of stirring what should i do he asked sedera's head rolled to one side but she did not answer okay i'll decide myself the boy answered what would rikers do urcard knew instantly that his hero would not stand by while a giant killed a friend rikus would do whatever he could even if it meant he might die himself that was why everybody liked him so much the young mull stepped past sadera and clambered to the top of the boulder the giant was standing over magnus just raising the stone to slay the unconscious windsinger hey ugly he yelled the breeze carried hercard's voice across the valley as though the boy were a giant himself bouncing it off the rocky scarps on the other side the titan pulled the heavy stone back to his chest and looked toward the echo first he called searching the barren slopes at the base of the ringing mountains over here on the butte you dumb hairy giant her card yelled as he spoke the young mole pressed his fingers to his sun mark again he felt a warm tingle descending through his arm had it been daylight he would have pointed his hand toward the crimson sun instead of touching it to his forehead the feeling in his arm would have been excruciatingly hot rather than merely warm but he was far from glad to avoid that pain his spell would have been much stronger during the day perhaps strong enough to do more than merely distract the giant after searching the slope of the butte for a few moments the giant's dark eyes finally settled on her cards small form are not as dumb as you he said squinting at the boy i know better than to make fun of her card pointed his hand at the giant's face and spoke a mystic syllable a crimson ball formed around the giant's head the titan screamed and dropped his stone almost crushing his own foot he raised his hands to his face and began stumbling about screeching as though his flesh were melting ricard knew that the giant's reaction was more fear than pain while the crimson sphere might look fiery and even feel hot for a brief moment it was far from a searing ball of flame the spell consisted entirely of red light shaped into a bright orb with flickering tails that looked like fire his father had taught it to him so he could honor the sun on days when blowing sand obscured the real thing and because it served as a good distress signal anticipating the giant's reaction when he realized the true nature of the spell her card jumped off his boulder and threw sadira's limp body over his shoulders though the sorceress was much larger than he was he had no trouble carrying her up the steep slope as a young mull he was already as strong as most humans besides she did not weigh much more than the huge water pails his mother made him fetch from the village well every day by the time the young mull was halfway up the butte the giant's screams had ceased hercard paused to look back and saw his spell rising over the valley casting an eerie orange glow onto the rocky ground once it was high enough the sphere would stop and hang motionless in the sky just like a miniature sun now that his head was no longer engulfed in the bright light the giant had begun to stumble toward the butte he was rubbing his eyes with one hand and holding the other out before him the titan had left magnus where he had fallen motionless but out of danger for now pop is going to be angry when he sees this her card said continuing his climb the boy did not even consider trying to deceive his father for he had grown up with the certain knowledge that the sun would always bring the truth to light as urcard reached the summit of the bluff he heard stones clattering below as the giant clambered up the base the young mull slipped behind the crest of the butte and onto a narrow ledge that overlooked the road to tears iron mine convert you little wall thunder the giant don't hide it'll only make me murder a pushed sadera into the deep crevice that he had selected earlier as a good hiding place then quickly stacked boulders over the entrance to conceal it by the time he finished the giant was so close that his heavy steps were shaking rocks off the ridge overhead knowing that the angry titan could easily tear the top of the butte apart the boy decided to lure his pursuer away from sadera he rushed along the ledge until it ended then scrambled up a rift and onto the top of the butte hercard found himself standing at the giant's feet wishing that he was strong enough to cast more than one spell a day he swallowed and drew his weapon the glow of his sunspell sent glimmers of red light twinkling along the edge of his sword's obsidian blade what are you going to do with that thorn demanded the giant stick me in the toe when i step on you ricard stepped forward raising his weapon he focused all his attention on keeping his blade from shaking and craned his neck upward to meet the giant's gaze his mother had always told him that a show of confidence would do more than 10 blows to defeat a powerful enemy and if ever there had been a time he hoped she was right it was now leave me alone and magnus too her card said imagining that it was rikus and not himself speaking without taking his eyes off the giant he pointed his sword toward the edge of the cliff go away or i'll cut off your foot and push you over the cliff the giant's big belly shook with laughter until he looked toward the edge of the cliff where her card was pointing then the titan's huge mouth fell open and his eyes widened in surprise you the brute gasped yes me hercard replied he stepped forward and poked the giant's yellow-nailed toe with his sword now listen the boy ordered what you want isn't in tear and even if it was you couldn't have it ricard pointed his sword down the hill then added now go home and tell all the other giants what i said the giant looked toward the cliff again then licked his lips as if uncertain of what to do i can't go back without the oracle he said his tone more pleading than insistent we need its magic to make us smart again patch is the smartest one of us left and he's getting dumber all the time a card considered this even at his young age he understood that without a smart leader any community would collapse into disorder maybe you can have the dark lens back after we're through with it the boy suggested some of the tension drained from the giant's huge face and he looked directly at her card again how long will you keep our oracle the boy paused before answering in his short life the only journey he had ever made was from kled to tear and he could not imagine how much farther away the village of samara must be we'll be gone a long time a hundred years he answered having lived all his life among dwarves who commonly lived three times that long the guests did not seem unreasonable to the young mall maybe even longer the giant shook his head stubbornly no we'll be dumber than canks by then ricard raised his sword expecting the brute to stomp him and tried to look confident the attack never came instead a deep voice behind him said then you will learn to live like a card spun around and found two giant-sized heads peering over the top of the cliff though it may have been an exaggeration to call them heads one had a hideous misshapen skull with a sloped brow and gnarled cheekbones while the other one's neck ended in a knobby stump just above the shoulders regardless of whether they had skulls or not pairs of orange embers burned where their eyes should have been and coarse masses of tangled beard dangled from where their chins had once hung though urcard could not see the bodies hidden beneath the cliff edge he knew they were little more than huge skeletal lumps warped into shapes scarcely recognizable as men like the legs were gnarled masses with knotted balls for feet and the thighs knees and calves were all curled together gasped they were the last dwarven knights who had become banshees after they had disavowed their life focus and had died without killing boris the young maul had not seen the pair since they had returned his namesake's belt and crowned to him then told him that he would slay the dragon you've come back we never left said the one with the lumpy skull george the other band she focused his floating eyes on the giant we have let you giants use the dark lens for too long her card heard the words inside his head as if the mind bender were speaking them you have all grown weak and foolish it is time you learn to live without it the giant gasped and a rancid-smelling wind washed over a card we current the brute cried you can and you must retorted george do is the boy commanded added saran return to mighty lean and tell the others to think of the dark lens no more we have taken it back and you must learn to live without it or perish her card looked back up at the giant the brood had a stunned and dismal expression on his face as if he had just been cast out of his home village and know for every giant your tribe sends to seek the lens the tribe shall suffer a century of barbarism said george now go the banshee's voice broke over the giant like a thunderclap sending him stumbling down the hill backward he took five huge steps before he turned around and scurried into the valley giving magnus a wide berth once the giant was gone urcard's arms and legs started to tremble he tried to sheath his sword discovered he couldn't hold it steady enough and gave up thanks for saving me he could not bring himself to face the banshees again not when he felt so frightened and foolish are you as angry as my father will be why should we be angry or your father for that matter saram asked because i disobeyed him her card kept his eyes fixed on the ground and nearly got killed you saved a friend countered george that was very brave and your father won't punish you for it a card shook his head he took a foolish chance he said and when i did that i risked all of athas before you can save athas you will have to risk it said saram you mustn't be afraid to do that just as you weren't afraid to endanger yourself to save your friend her card frowned but i didn't save magnus he looked up at the banshees you did george shook his head all we did was stand behind you yes just as your friends and your parents will stand behind you when you attack boris eight crimson dawn neva stood on the ledge between her husband and son the cold wind raising goosebumps over their naked bodies they were gazing across the dry lake bed where the first sliver of morning sun had just appeared over the craggy shoulder of a distant mountain we hailed the return of the crimson sun said kylem the trio raised their arms over their heads they turned their palms toward the rising sun except that kylem held the hand with the strange mouth tightly closed although both her husband and son stared straight into its glowing crescent neva fixed her own gaze on the scarlet rays creeping across the salt-crusted lake bed unlike the two sun clerics she did not have fire eyes had she dared to stare directly into the glorious radiance she would have been blinded we welcome the beacon that lights the world the mighty fire that burns away the cold night the punishing orb that drives the savage beasts into hiding bercard said this dawn we have a special request neva added we ask that you shine brightly and do not let the dust haze obscure your light so that we may see clearly and choose well from the difficult paths before us today ricard looked up at her what paths mother he asked george and saram have said what i will do not now kylem said his voice gentle attained to your devotions the young maul remembered himself and returned his gaze to the eastern horizon together the trio stood in silence the sun rays spreading a heartening warmth over their skin fortifying their spirits for the difficult day ahead the sun marks on the brows of kylem and durkhard grew ardent red gleaming with a deep scarlet luster as they absorbed the sun's radiance neva found herself squeezing her son's hand so tightly that her fingers ached as afraid of what the future held for him as she was relieved that he had survived last night's battle with the giants at last the bottom edge of the crimson sun rose completely above the shoulder of the mountain shimmering red flames briefly flickered from the sun marks on the foreheads of urcard and kylem then the flares died away the discs returned to their normal red hues we live by the power of the crimson sun kyleman toned the hottest of fires the brightest of lights the mightiest of the four elements ricard finished as the trio retrieved their clothes neva's son asked what paths must we choose today mother that remains to be seen neva answered tying her breech cloth the scourge has been broken and sedhira has yet to awaken perhaps this is not the time to fulfill your destiny but we must regard insisted saram and george have said you've told me what they said neva snapped i don't need to hear it again the boy flinched startled by his mother's sharp tone he bit his lip and rubbed the back of his wrist beneath his eye then he turned to tie his breach cloth in silence kylem raised his brow her card didn't cause our troubles he said laying a hand on their son's shoulder in fact i'd say he did well it's not every six-year-old who can chase off a giant of course not neva answered she dropped to her knees and gathered the boy into her arms i know better than anyone how special he is that's why i won't risk his life if our attack has no chance to succeed we need both the scourge and sedera george and saram will protect me her card answered returning her embrace just like they did from the giant i wish i could hear that from them never replied why her son asked don't you believe me of course i believe you neva answered she glanced up at kylum then looked in her son's red eyes but once we attack we'll have to keep fighting we won't be able to stop and try again later i know answered her card the dragon will try to kill me just like i'm going to try to kill him so neva smiled at her son's bravery so we can't make a mistake and assault too early if we don't have everything we need he'll succeed and you won't she said let's check on our friends and hope the sun favors us all today she tied her halter around her chest then led the way over the buttes crest and started down the shadowy hillside in the valley below the surviving companies of the cleydon militia were ready to march while the tyrion legion which had arrived late last night was just beginning to stir neva went to a small encampment at the bottom of the butte early morning shadows still cloaked the site but the sun's rays were slowly creeping across the valley floor soon the camp would be bright with the orbs radiance sadera lay next to a small fire of acrid smelling cat claw boughs still unconscious and as pale as moonlight magnus sat next to her singing a soft song of healing the windsinger appeared only slightly healthier than the sorceress for his knobby hide was crusted with dried blood and marred by large black bruises rikers stood between two boulders at the edge of camp he held wyan in one hand and his sword in the other the blade was still broken ending in a jagged stub about two feet from the hilt but the gray stain had faded from its silvery steel which now gleamed as brightly as it had before the wraith had tried to animate it just in time the mall motioned for neva and her family to join him i was about to try this scourge wyon says it may not be ruined after all that would be welcome news nevis said what i said was that by healing the blade kylum may have saved it the head corrected slowly twisting around to face neva i didn't tell the elf to bang it on a rock i don't see what we have to lose riker said he placed wyan on top of a boulder it doesn't boost my hearing anymore so the magic's probably gone but there's only one way to be sure see if it still has the magic to cut rock are you sure that's wise asked kylem as i recall it was a boulder that snapped the sword in the first place only because the wraith had tainted it ragus replied before that i used to cut things harder than stone neva motioned for rikus to perform his test go ahead the mole faced the second boulder the sun's light had just touched the rock casting a rosy glow over its brown surface he swung and his shortened sword struck with a dissonant chime that made magnus miss two notes in his song fearing the weapon would snap nevis started to pull her son away then the blade sank through the stone trailing wisps of black shadow the sword did not stop cutting until it had cleaved through half the thickness of the boulder rikus scowled it doesn't cut like it used to he said bracing a foot against the stone as he pulled the sword out of it but it'll do the mall returned the weapon to his scabbard where the tip of the blade was still stored good said her card he turned to his mother and asked so now we're going to samara right we'll see neva glanced towards sadera the rays of crimson sun were creeping up the sorceress's legs returning her flesh to the eben hue it customarily assumed in daylight first we must see if sadera awakens but we've got to go objector card if we don't i'll turn into a banshee just like jorsh and saram neva frowned what makes you think that she asked squatting down so she could look her son in the eyes malls aren't like dwarves they don't have to choose a life purpose but your son is no ordinary mole interrupted wyon the head fixed his salo eyes on the boy's face has a destiny and who can tell what will become of him if he doesn't fulfill it now kylem plucked the head up by his top knot don't say such things to my son he yelled you know nothing of his destiny i knew the scourge still had its magic why uncountered perhaps i know other things as well then tell us never commanded drawing a dagger wyan's cracked lips twisted into a sneer you know the answer he said that's why you're so afraid ricard slipped forward and stood eye to eye with the head nothing scares my mother you're wrong brat snarled the head your mother's paralyzed with fear if she lets you attack boris you'll be killed but if she doesn't let you fight you'll turn into a banshee more hideous than ramor george wyan showed his gray teeth in a cruel mockery of a smile what some mother to do ricard took neva's hand i'm not afraid of the dragon he said i'll kill him of course you will but not until the time's right never turned him away from wyon let's check on sedhira and see if the sun's awakened her we could use some good tidings they found the sorceress cradled in magnus's arms she was now completely bathed in sunlight and her skin was as black as ever the sores and bruises that had marked her body the previous evening were gone and there were no other signs of injuries from her battle with the wraiths still her amber-like eyes did not burn with their usual intensity and she lay slumped in a limp heap rubbing the astacles signet between her thumb and forefinger motioning for card to wait with his father neva went to the sorceress's side are you well sedira's eyes flared back to life she slipped agus's ring back onto her finger then reached up and grasped neva's hand and fine she said pulling herself to her feet i wish i could say the same for august and for the rest of tear what do you mean sedhira took a deep breath and said agus is dead it can't be never gasped how could you know i know sadera replied i had to fight my way out of the gray and the wraiths tried to make me stay by using his spirit as a hostage tiny streamers of black shadow began to rise from the corners of the sorceress's eyes i destroyed them you can't be sure you were in the gray said kyle i'm coming to neva's side it could have been a delusion sedera was in the gray or it wouldn't have taken me so long to call her back magnus pushed his hulking mass to its feet and the wraiths are gone or they would still be attacking us the only way she could have destroyed them was by fighting them in the gray arches is dead sedira said this time she could not keep from crying as she spoke i'm afraid so magnus agreed that's the only explanation for seeing him there cedira began to sob black shadow rising from between her blue lips and puffing billows neva wiped her own cheek surprised to find tears running down it during her days in the arena she had seen many friends die some at her own hands when the game promoters felt particularly cruel and she had thought all her tears were gone the warrior was glad to discover that some remained for august the only noble she had ever called friend she touched her hand to her heart in the gladiator's traditional sign of farewell then raised it toward the east where he had died when neva looked toward rika's she found them all staring at the ground with glassy eyes his lips were quivering and he was shaking his head as if he did not believe what sadera had said neva said softly the mall looked up i thought august was too smart to die he said i didn't believe what patch said neither did i neva said but we didn't have much chance to think about it august held everything together the council the relief farms our house the mall stepped past her reaching for sadera what are we going to do now the sorceress pushed him away how do i know she yelled with august dead what does it matter kylem quickly slipped in between sedera and rikus agus was a friend to us all and will miss him he said but he wouldn't want us to give up we must consider what to do next sedera shook her head angrily haven't you been listening she demanded august is dead the only thing that will happen next is tears destruction you may be overreacting sedhira said magnus i don't see how one man's death will bring about the downfall of a city that stood for a thousand years don't you understand the sorceress asked the dragon knows we're coming that's why he sent the wraiths to kill me and if boris killed argus then you fear he's also stolen the dark lens kylem concluded neva's stomach began to churn with a sick hollow feeling she could not quite believe that august was dead or that they had lost the dark lens before they had even seen it and something in the back of her mind told her it was not true then she remembered what patch had said august died in the bay of woe whatever that was and tiffian stole the dark lens i don't think boris killed agus neva said she stepped over to wyon and snatched the head off the shoulder where did august die what happened to the dark lens aggies fell in the giant islands the head answered smirking cruelly at sadera euntyphians stole the lens together but only the king escaped alive he's the one who sent me where did you get agus's ring sedhira demanded she snatched wyan from neva's hand and held the astacles signat in front of his nose tithian gave it to me wyan said he didn't think you would answer a summons from him so he wanted you to think aggies had sent me he's waiting for you in samara with the dark lens sedhira's blue eyes flared and she stared at the head without speaking finally she asked how did august die wyon's long tongue licked his cracked lips the giants were warring over the lens he said aggies fell in the final battle with tithian's dagger in his back no doubt sedhira hissed the sorceress pulled the scourge from rikus's scabbard and in one swift motion cleaved wyan in two the head clattered to the stony ground putrid brown slime seeping from the two halves of the skull rikers stomped on the yellowed bones grinding them into powder he should never have used augustus ring to trick us the mole growled and when we catch tithing we'll do the same thing to him as he did to august sedira did not answer for she was staring at the scourge's jagged blade with a slack jaw for a moment neva did not understand the sorceress's surprise then she recalled that her friend had still been unconscious when the mull tested its magic earlier finally sedhira gave rikus an accusatory glance it's broken she snapped what did you do it's my fault neva said when the wraiths attacked you i tried to use it against them and tainted its magic the blade snapped later when rikus had to deflect a boulder but there's still plenty of magic in it riku said it quickly kylum healed the blade before all the black slime oozed out black slime sedera asked yes it poured from the broken blade kylem said holding his hand out to the sorceress this is what happened when i touched the stuff we were hoping you'd know something about it the dwarf opened his fingers so that she could see the strange scales around the edge of his hand and the fanged maw in the center of his palm the red lips began to work immediately twisting themselves into various shapes as the forked tongue wagged in the thing's ebony throat release me the mouth hissed wisps of black shadows slipping from between its white teeth come and free me still holding rikus's broken sword the sorceress leaned over and inspected the scales around the edge of kylum's hand this reminds me of what happens when someone suffers a wound near the pristine tower which means neville was growing more nervous about the fate of her husband's hand the sorceress fixed her amber like eyes on the warrior that magic is rajat's with a sinking feeling neva asked so you can't heal his hand it's not really a matter of healing sedira said but it will be simple enough to return the hand to normal neva breathed a sigh of relief though her husband seemed interested in things other than getting rid of the mouth why does it keep asking us to free it kyla asked if i'd been trapped inside a sword blade for a thousand years i'd want out rajkus said sedhira shook her head the magic is not a spirit she said it is not intelligent and who keeps asking us to release him asked magnus i don't know sedhira replied it might be rajat neva felt a knot of fear form in her stomach but his champions killed him a thousand years ago the sorceress shrugged we don't know that she said the book of the camelot kings says they rebelled we assumed he was destroyed because the champions survived to become sorcerer kings we could easily be mistaken it's too bad you destroyed wyon said kylem i suspect he would have known rajat's fate all you would have heard from him are lies and half-truths said neva besides i don't see how rajat's fate matters to us if he's still alive the sorcerer kings have him locked away someplace said rikers as he spoke the mull kneeled down and used a handful of dirt to scrub away the brown gore that had been wyon's brain our worry now is boris it's clear enough from the wraith attack that he knows we're coming for him and our destination sedhira said the race knew enough about our plans to say that they had summoned his spirit from samara i'm afraid boris may already have killed tythian and recovered the dark lens the dragon may know where we're going but he doesn't have the dark lens said rikers if he did he wouldn't bother sending assassins after us he'd just attack us himself and get it over with but if he knows our destination how could he not have the lens asked kylem our message said to meet in samara but it didn't say that the lens was there now said neva maybe tithian is waiting someplace else he's certainly cunning enough said rikus we don't have any choice except to go and see if we wait here the dragon will only try to stop us again never nodded the battle has started if we are to win we need the dark lens even if tythian is the one who sent for us the warrior faced her militia and pointed toward the raised farm behind razda's wall go fill your water skins she ordered we've along marched to samara 9. the cargo cank scratched at the white-crested ground with all six claws protesting sedira's command to halt she did not begrudge the beast its impatience the poor creature had not had water in more than five days since the legion had started across the glaring salt flats of the ivory plain now with the pollen of blade blossom yellow fan and other oasis flowers loading its bristly antennae the insect could probably taste the water it had been denied for so long the sorceress counted herself lucky that it obeyed at all sadera had stopped 200 paces from a ring-shaped knoll covered with slender sydra trees the long needled conifers grew with upraised boughs that resembled the arms of a sun-worshipping dwarf purple-flowered vines with long yellow thorns grew twined around the bowls and beards of moss dangled from the branches on the hilltop ahead two ranks of enemy warriors had formed a battle line among the trees most wore green tabards over yellow hemp kilts in their hands they held square wooden shields and long throwing spears obsidian spiked flails hung at their belts unarmed officers wearing light blue turbans stood along the line interspersed at regular intervals there must be two thousand of them rikus observed coming up behind her like sadera he led a cargo cank and he carried younger card on his shoulders this worries me sadera nodded and the mall walked to within two paces of her before stopping this was as close as they had come during the last ten days for the sorceress could not quite bring herself to forgive rikus when she had told him about agus death the mull's first response had not been sorrow or even sympathy he'd wanted to know how they would manage without the noble siddhira could not even bring herself to imagine life without agus and she had led her husband to die without the thing he most desired an heir to carry on the astocles name how could rikers expect her to think about their future at a time like that kylem stepped forward placing himself between rikus and sedhira that's no raiding tribe the dwarf said he reached up and took his son off right as his shoulders it looks more like a legion that's exactly what it is said magnus legion when i was with the sun runners we had to flee the city's soldiers many times but we are a good 15-day march south of rome with gulgan nibena in between protested salt attack after the fight against the giants neva had distributed the survivors of the granite company among the rest of kled's militia and had asked salt to stay near her for special assignments what are romans doing here boris sent them rikus concluded alberti's made the sorcerer king spread their armies all over the desert looking for us whoever sent them there between us and water said neva also joining the group we'll have to hope our warriors are strong enough to drive them out sedira looked back to inspect the legion the three cleydon companies led the column standing five abreast in 30 disciplined rows the dwarves had removed their heavy armor and had strapped it across their backs to keep from being baked alive in the midday sun even this concession to the scorching heat had not saved them entirely for they had flushed faces and glazed eyes the tyrian humans looked even worse they stood in a double column behind the dwarves breathing in short rapid gasps and leaning on each other for support those who owned armor had tied it into bundles and had dragged it along behind them while many others had tried to shade themselves from the sun by stretching scraps of cloth over their heads a few warriors were shifting from one leg to the other in a futile attempt to keep the hot ground from scorching their feet through the thin leather of their sandals most seemed too lethargic for such efforts simply bracing themselves on their weapons and clenching their teeth against the pain of standing in one place sedira saw a small group of stragglers coming up behind the legion but beyond them nothing rose above the surface of the salt flat not a boulder not a single barren stem of spike brush not even the whirling wisps of a wind spout the plane stretched clear to the horizon glaring white utterly level as the legion had crossed that blistering blinding expanse the scouts had not found a single trace of animal dung had not seen so much as a beetle scuttling across the sparkling ground had not heard the call of even one gluttonous kestrel waiting for them to die there had been nothing no sign of any other living creature sedhira faced rikus and neva should we fight now or rest for a while the sorceress did not worry that their foes would attack first no commander would leave a defensive position on a hillside to advance across the open salt flat especially when he had water then the enemy did not if they wished sadhira knew they could even make camp in the full confidence that the ramens would wait for them to make the initial assault after considering the sorceress's question neva said resting won't do us any good the more time we spend in the sun the thirstier our warriors will be when the fight starts rikus nodded his agreement then turned to face the legion before he could say anything ricard grabbed his hand i guess the scourge the boy pointed at rikus's scabbard a cylinder of bleached bone intricately carved with the maul's life story tears friedman had presented it to him in gratitude for throwing the first spear against kalak the mall frowned what of it ricard lifted the scabbard the tip of the cylinder had cracked open and a short length of the scourge's broken point was protruding through the hole that's strange rikers took the scabbard but thanks for noticing her card broken or not i'd hate to lose the tip of my sword the mole pulled his sword out of the scabbard then gasped in astonishment the broken blade no longer ended in a jagged barb instead it curved to a sharp point at about two-thirds its original length what's happened rikus gasped it's growing back her card concluded riku shook his head steel doesn't grow enchanted steel might said sedhira she pointed at the old tip still protruding from the scabbard and that would explain why the broken piece is being pushed out of the scabbard the mall rubbed his cheek and studied his revitalized blade finally he shrugged what do i know he asked i'm just glad to have it returning to normal as are we all said kylem reichus tipped his scabbard down to let the broken end of the scourge's blade slide out since you kept me from losing this why don't you take it he asked her card maybe we can make it into a dagger for you the boy accepted the gift with a gaping mouth even if the blade had not been part of the scourge it was steel and in the metal poor world of atheists that fact alone made it a weapon of considerable value card have you forgotten what to say when someone gives you a gift asked neva the boy blushed i'll cherish it as i cherish a friendship he said bowing to rikus to sedhira's surprise rikus remembered the proper response let it be a symbol of our trust rank his bowed to her card then face to the legion tyrion's flank the dwarves forming a two-ranked line he yelled we must fight before we drink the warriors quickly spread out to both sides of the dwarves most of those who had been dragging armor left it lying on the salty ground in the scorching heat of the ivory plane few humans were strong enough to carry the extra weight into battle without collapsing from heat exhaustion as the tyrions scurried into position neva turned to her warriors farm assault wedges she called i'll lead the iron company yalmos attack will take the boulder company kylem hold the bronze company in reserve unlike the tyrions the hardy dwarves did not abandon their armor each warrior helped the dwarf to his front unfasten the equipment and put it on within a few seconds the three companies were fully armored in helmets and breastplates the gleaming steel reflected the sunlight so brightly that sedira could hardly bear to look at the cleetins that claire will trouble the ramens sedira used her dark hand to shield her eyes not as much as our axes promised salt cinching down his breastplate the iron and boulder companies arranged themselves into wedge-shaped formations with the points aimed at the center of the rameen lines the bronze company moved 20 paces back and formed a compact square each man standing straight and motionless in the blistering heat sedira was tempted to suggest they used their broad-bladed axes to shade each other but thought better of it when she remembered that all cledenz venerated the sun what shall i do asked magnus i can't kill all their templars but i should be able to take out a few you stay here with kylem and sadira said rikus but all those ramens wearing turbans are templars magnus objected i know rankus replied that's why i want you and seduro to stay back you'll have a better view and can help us where you needed most the mull looked to sadera an unspoken question in his eyes i understand what you want sedhira replied she knew he was hoping she would say something kind or encouraging but she could not bring herself to do it the anger inside was too powerful perhaps because it was something she did not quite understand when the mole did not turn away she asked shouldn't you be going rikers spun on his heel and started toward the oasis without saying a word he lifted the scourge and waved the legion after him neva eyed the sorceress for a moment don't you think you're being a little hard on him she asked rankus isn't the one who killed agus no but he's still glad to have my other husband gone sedira said he's only upset now because i miss agus more than he thought i would neva closed her eyes and slowly shook her head is that what you think you can't tell me i'm wrong sadira countered i shouldn't have to neva looked away and waved the iron and boulder companies forward before leaving she looked back to her card stay with the bronze company and no heroics this time the boy frowned but nodded yes mother neva smiled then stepped into her place at the back corner of the iron company with kylum and her card sadira watched the warriors of tyr and kled advance seen from the rear the joint legion reminded sedhira of an ungainly bird the gleaming triangles of the dwarves represented the body feathered with silvery breastplates of steel the human flanks were its wings ragged gangly and barren of plumage it was a strange creature born equally of desperation and hope the sorceress hoped it would prove both savage enough and smart enough to slay its prey the formation had traveled about a quarter of the distance to the oasis when a mad cackle rang out from the center of the knoll's summit though the voice was female it sounded more like the bloodthirsty call of a wyvern who was that asked sadera magnus shrugged even the sunrunners have not run afoul of every official in rahm he said it could be a high templar or even the sorcerer queen herself kylem pushed his son toward the bronze company take the kinks and hide yourself behind the formation he ordered and remember what your mother said about heroics hercard took sadira's switch and tapped the antennae of the two cargo tanks they clacked their mandibles in frustration but slowly turned to follow the boy toward the bronze company hiding won't save you child the words rolled across the salt flat as clear and distinct as the lyrics to one of magnus's ballads though the voice was aloof and cold in a way that the wind singers could never be her cards started to turn around but kylem yelled don't listen to her son go on as the young mall slipped behind the ranks of the bronze company sedira searched the oasis hill for the speaker at the same time she raised her hand to her mouth and caught a wisp of her shadowy breath then faced the yalmus of the bronze company i know you and your warriors prefer sunlight she called but stay beneath this shield it'll protect you from rameen magic with that she uttered her incantation and blew the black shadow toward the reserves the wisp floated over to the bronze company stretching into a long dark cord as it moved it dropped to the ground in front of the almost and snaked its way around the formation when it had formed a complete square enclosing hercard and the dwarves a grey pawl crept over the entire company the dwarven warriors cast nervous glances into the white sky muttering and fidgeting several even stepped out of line until their yalmos chased them back into place with a sharp command again a cruel laugh rolled across the salt flat a chorus of ramen voices cried out in fear then a small section of the enemy line grasped their chests and dropped to the ground sadera studied the slope behind the fallen warriors carefully looking for the cause of the men's sudden deaths she found only half a dozen sidra trees and several clumps of silver fan there was not even a blue turban's templar standing in the vicinity did you kill those ramens magnus asked sadera shook her head and what before kylem could ask his question a seething orb of white radiance shot out from the gap in the rameen lines it skimmed over the legion's flank vaporizing for tyrion warriors as it passed sadera and magnus barely managed to duck before it blazed over their own heads a stench like burning tar riding its wake the ball crashed into the front rank of the bronze company and exploded in a blinding flash the dwarves shouted in anger and alarm but no one cried out in pain the almost ordered his warriors to form their ranks as the spots cleared from her vision siddhira saw that her grey pall remained intact and had protected the dwarven ranks from injury still the bronze company had fallen into disarray most of the dwarves had dropped their axes and were blindly trying to find their weapons again while many others were simply rubbing their eyes and shaking their heads stood in the center of the jumble his eyes pinched shut in his hands clutching the sword shard rikers had given him by the wind magnus gasped that leaves no doubt that abella rey is with them she is sedira said only a sorcerer king or queen in this case could and would call upon the life force of her own soldiers to cast a spell the sorceress turned around to study the area near the collapsed ramens she saw no one standing nearby the sorcerer queen was using magic to hide herself sedira reached into her pocket and withdrew a bead of amber crushing the golden gem between her ebony fingers she tossed the powder toward the oasis and uttered her incantation a huge billow of flex and mist formed above the gap abalakh had created in her own lines a thunderclap crashed over the hillside and the clouds split unleashing a deluge of yellow beads as large as melons as each globe landed it exploded in a golden spray that coated anything it contacted ramens cursed and yelled trying to scrape the sticky syrup from their bodies the stuff hardened almost immediately soon hundreds of saffron pillars covered the hillside each encasing the astonished form of a suffocating warrior none of the dark shapes trapped inside the diaphanous columns appeared to be a sorcerer queen a great cheer rose from the tyrian warriors for sadera's spell had done more than a little to offset the advantage of the ramen's defensive position double time advance called neva the dwarves broke into a steady run their formations as tight as ever the tyrions began to trot though their ranks loosened as they picked up speed near the top of the oasis a huge circle of cydras turned brown and dropped their needles before the needles hit the ground the red bark darkened to black and the barren boughs began to droop the roots released their hold on the hillside tree after tree crashed to the ground smashing ramen warriors and raising a large cloud of dust the sorceress did not see anyone nearby who could have caused the destruction though she knew it had to be the result of a defiler drawing the energy for a spell since she could not see any other sorcerer in the vicinity sadera thought it was most likely abalakh rey herself who had destroyed the trees sorcerer queens could summon spell energy from plants as well as from men and animals sedira reached into her robe whispering whoever you are this will be the last time you defile an oasis surprised the sorceress by answering i spoiled a thousand oasis before you were ever born girl her voice was a mere whisper in sedira's ears and i'll spoil another thousand after you die at the top of the hill a pair of blue streaks flared under the dirt they shot down the slope glimmers of azure light flashing up every time they passed beneath the stone like a pair of sapphire arrows the bolts sped out beneath the salt flat each racing straight toward one of the dwarven companies when they reached the warriors leading the two wedges a tremendous crackle echoed over the plane the dwarves went rigid their helmets and breastplates erupted into showers of sparks dancing cords of energy leaped from their torsos to the men behind them these warriors also stiffened and their armor exploded into blue embers in an instant the crackling waves of energy fanned out over both companies of dwarves at the back of the iron company neva screeched and flung the steel battle axe from her hands the rest of the klee duns trapped inside their metal breastplates were not so lucky they remained completely rigid and motionless blue energy cords dancing over their armor and weapons soon their flesh blackened and began to smoke one after another the dwarves burst into flame and disintegrated into piles of ash an instant later all that remained of the cleyden companies were two piles of soot-stained armor and neva standing alone and dazed on the salt flat kylem started to call the bronze company forward but sedira stopped him leave the reserves here or abilaq will use the same spell against them she said you and magnus reinforce the tyrion flanks with your magic i'll fight from here and guard dwarf nodded then he and the windsinger rushed forward sadira considered casting a spell to protect the tyrian troops from abilah but quickly decided against it if she spent her energy shielding while the sorcerer queen attacked rikus's assault would stall against the superior force waiting on the hill to win the battle now she had to reduce the number of ramens facing her husband while also putting abalak on the defensive or killing her outright sedhira pulled a lump of sulfur and a pinch of bat guano from her pocket she rolled the two components together into a viscous mass and held it in the palm of her hand when she spoke her incantation the wads slowly expanded emitting a stream of grey foul-smelling smoke as the gummy ball enlarged the defiled area of the knoll surged upward forming a huge dome that continued to swell when the hillside looked ready to explode sadera whispered a mystic syllable the viscous mass she was holding vanished in a billow of smoke on the hillside the swollen dome abruptly collapsed in on itself the slope trembled and a murmur of concern rustled through the ramen ranks the boughs of the sydra trees began to quiver from deep inside the knoll sounded an angry rumble and tongues of flame shot from beneath the defiled ground then a mighty explosion shook the entire oasis hurling a huge section of the knoll into the sky a cloud of ash and dust spread over the salt flat casting a gray pall over the white plain splintered trees and ramen bodies rained down with sharp cracks and soft thumps most landing within 20 or 30 paces of the hill ragus waved his sword and with a great cheer his warriors broke into a full sprint the cry even seemed to rouse neva from her shock for she picked up her battle axe and rushed to join the charge rakus and his followers began to leap over the bodies and cydra trees littering the approach to the hill crackling thunderbolts and sputtering fireballs rained down from the slope above tyrion warriors fell all along the line the black streamers of smoke that rose from their bodies were a grisly contrast to the white salt upon which they lay catching up to rikus's charge kylam and magnus answered the ramens with their own spells the dwarf sprayed the slope with a crimson beam that set fire to anything it touched the windsinger summoned a ferocious southern gale the squall scoured the hillside with an airborne wall of salt shredding clothing and flesh alike a strand of sparkling green fiber appeared on the ground between rikus's charging legion and the base of the hill the right flank reached the green strand first as the warriors leaped across the line a loud crack reverberated beneath their feet the filament became a gaping chasm with a bright emerald glow shining up from its depths the tyrions screamed and a lime-colored tongue of vapor shot up to engulf each one of them the entire flank simply dissolved their bodies eaten away even before they fell out of sight magnus stopped at the edge and tried to peer down into the fissure a green tendril shot up and laughed at his thick hide he stumbled away clutching at his throat and coughing at the other end of the tyrian line where the hill curved away slightly the warriors had not been so close to the chasm when it opened most had managed to stop at the brink and were dragging themselves away on their hands and knees coughing and choking while tendrils of green vapor lapped at their feet from her vantage point across the salt flats sedhira did not see rikus among the survivors she ran her gaze over the tide of crawling refugees in located neva and kylem but there was no sign of the maul the sorceress felt a cold lump form in her stomach rikus had been leading the charge at his end of the line had he fallen into the chasm determined to prevent ram's sorcerer queen from casting any more such spells sedhira pulled a pinch of powdered glass from her pocket after a moment of searching she spotted another circle of rameen bodies near the summit of the hill it was directly above the chasm's right end and sedhira felt certain that it marked the place abelach had been standing when she had drawn the energy for her last spell sedhira tossed the powdered glass into the air and spoke her incantation as it dropped to the ground the silvery dust scintillated in the light of the crimson sun on the hillside sparkles of red light flashed over the withered sidras the glimmers quickly coalesced near the heart of the despoiled ground outlining the distant shape of a mature woman dressed in flowing robes the figure turned towards sadera you've found what you're looking for said abalakh's voice what do you think you'll do with me sedhira reached for a spell ingredient barked a sharp command in the language of her city the rameen warriors rushed down the slope their spears ready to throw across the chasm at the retreating tyrians for a moment the sorcerer queen watched her army charge then as sadira pulled a small glass rod from her pocket abalak tossed something into the air a cloud of red smoke billowed into existence and swallowed her figure recognizing the basic nature of the spell sadhira realized instantly that her foe was using magic to change positions still holding the glass rod she ran her eyes over the knoll searching for abelak's new location sadira saw that the ramens had reached the bottom of the hill as she watched they ran up to the edge of the chasm and hurled their spears across the green abyss most of the shafts clattered harmlessly to the ground but enough found their marks to fill the plane with death cries a similar squall of screams erupted from the enemy ranks green tongues of vapor began to rise from the chasm again this time looking at ramen warriors as a whirl of flashing blades and kicking feet knocked them into the abyss with a start sedhira realized that the attacker was rikos the mall had landed on the other side of the gap given the width of the chasm the sorceress could not imagine that he had been able to leap across it seemed more likely that in his typical brash fashion rikus had been charging too far ahead of the legion and had gotten separated when abalak's spell had created the abyss for now that was proving a misfortune for the ramens but sadera did not know how long her husband could continue to fight so savagely already it seemed to the sorceress that he was tiring he'd stopped advancing and now allowed the rameens to come to him sadera could see at least 20 of them moving toward her husband whirling spiked flails above their heads the sorceress pointed the glass rod in their direction and spoke the words to her spell a bolt of energy arced over the chasm and came down in the center of the advancing ramens there was a tremendous bang and bodies flew in all directions to sedhira's amazement rikus rushed his shocked enemies sending them to their deaths twice as fast as before don't be crazy rikus sadera cried knowing even the champion gladiator could not survive such odds wait for help there won't be any stupid girl the voice belonged to abelach and this time it came from behind sedhira the sorceress felt a strange tingle deep within her belly the entire bronze company gave a deep groan and dropped to the ground in a tremendous clanging of armor the sensation in her stomach grew more severe as if a cold hand had reached deep inside her to squeeze her entrails she did not panic for she had felt such pain before and knew what it meant the life force was being drawn from her body abalak had probably been waiting the entire battle for this moment with all eyes turned toward the trouble at the front lines it was the perfect opportunity for the sorcerer queen to surprise the reserves with an attack from the rear sedira spun around she found a tangled mass of dwarfs clutching at their stomachs as their life forces were pulled from them some had managed to remain on their feet though they had to brace themselves on their axes and seemed in imminent danger of falling others had fallen unconscious and already appeared close to death with gray faces and sunken eyes most simply writhed on the ground their panicked voices cursing the magic that would rob them of the chance to die with their steel buried in their enemies sedira saw no sign of the magical pole she had cast over the dwarves earlier and she realized that abalaj ray had been near the company long enough to dispel the magical shield in the middle of the confusion stood urkard gaping at the dying company with wide frightened eyes and showing no sign of physical distress in his hands he clutched the sword tip that rikus had given him earlier which sedira assumed to be the source of his good fortune apparently the shard afforded him the same protection that the scourge bestowed on rikus as long as he held the enchanted steel the sorcerer queen could not harm the young mole with any sort of attack whether physical mental or magical thirty paces beyond the boys stood rey the ramen queen was an ivory skinned beauty with peaked eyebrows and huge round eyes as baleful as they were dark her narrow nose ended in a sharp point she had full lips as red as rubies a slender chin and a neck so long and thin it was almost serpentine the queen's only weapon was a small scepter which had an eerie green light glimmering deep within its obsidian pommel abalakh raised a slender finger and beckoned to her card the claw at the end of the digit was as long as a dagger come here child she said a forked tongue licking over her red lips i only want the banshees i won't hurt you her card shifted his grip on the broken blade liar abilax eyes flared and she stepped toward the boy then i'll come to you the queen said the banshees will arrive soon enough when i start breaking your little bones sadira could not tell whether the threat was a bluff or if abila did not realize the nature of the shard in her card's hands but the sorceress did not want to put the matter to a test she directed her palm at the pommel of the queen's scepter which she knew served as a sort of mystic lens through it abalakh could pull the life force from men and animals using it to power her mightiest spells sadera forced a stream of the sun's energy from her hand the beam was almost invisible as it left her palm a pink ripple in the hot desert air with her attention fixed on her card ray did not notice the faint shimmer as she drew it along with the life energy she was taking from sadera into her scepter's pommel the beams sank into the obsidian ball with a loud hiss a crimson light flared in the heart of the dark orb and sedhira felt the outflow of her life force cease the pommel burst into shards with a brilliant flash of scarlet spraying jagged pieces of obsidian in all directions a ball of scintillating lights hovered briefly at the end of the scepter then sank into the salt crusted soil like water abelach ray threw her useless scepter aside she scowled at sadera then said that will not save the child or you the almost of the bronze company and two dozen warriors all that remained conscious pushed themselves to their feet looking pale and nauseated they stepped forward and attacked their steel axes bounced off abelach's ivory flesh without opening a single gash the queen began to slap them aside her claws ripping through their breastplates as though they were flesh the yalmus landed at urcard's feet his armor torn open to reveal a gory mess beneath the young mole backed away his eyes wide with horror as he watched abalach savaging the rest of the company sadira started forward to protect him as soon as her card stepped away from the bronze company two lumps of gnarled bone appeared at the boy's sides they did not arrive so much as wink into existence emerging from empty air in the flicker of an eye the figures were as large as giants and so twisted they could not even be called skeletons one even lacked a head though both had long gray beards dangling from where their chins should have been abalach broke the last dwarf's neck then smirked up at the two apparitions she said come sadera stepped between the banshees and the rameen queen what do you want with them it was one of the banshees who answered the lens our magic hides it from the dragon and his minions only until boris's spirit lords finish with you said abalak the queen cast a spiteful glare at sadera then lashed out her dagger-like claws arcing at the sorceress's throat sadera twisted away and ducked the talons raked across her shoulder tearing away wisps of black shadow the sorceress struck back her hands cupped together in glowing scarlet with the power of the sun the fists caught abalach square in the jaw the queen's head snapped back and her feet came off the ground she landed half a dozen paces away among the dwarves she had killed earlier and immediately started to rise realizing there was no time to cast a spell siddhira moved to attack again abalak locked gazes with her in the image of a lear appeared in the queen's dark eyes it resembled a large lizard with tough diamond shaped scales and a tail covered with thorny spines sedhira realized instantly that the thing was a mental construct that abalach was attacking with the way the lear flared its magnificent neck fan and opened its pink gullet then flashed across the space separating the two women it tore into sedhira's mind with such force that the sorceress cried out in pain and actually tumbled over backward slamming the back of her skull into the salt plain the sarian appeared on the shadowy plane of sadira's intellect then began to rip great gobs of spongy black matter from the ground the sorceress's head exploded into pain and she could hardly believe that it was only her thoughts that the beast was gulping down she had never felt a mental attack this powerful nevertheless remembering what her husband agis had taught her sedhira focused her thoughts on fighting the terrible beast she opened a pathway to her spiritual nexus imagining a dark cord running down to deep within her abdomen she concentrated on the black matter of her mind and visualized it hardening into granite a searing wave of energy rose from deep within her body the shadowy material hardened into rock catching the creature in the process of ripping away another large hunk of ground and encasing its claws in solid stone a mad cackle erupted from the beast's throat how many wenches like you have i killed it shortly speaking in abelak's a thousand years of battle and you dare to think you can stop me with that the lear rose to its hind legs its trapped claws ripping away two great chunks of sedera's mind white flashes of pain erupted all through the sorceress's head the beast dropped back down smashing the rock encasing its talons and began to tear away great chunks of black stone sedera heard someone screaming and realized it was she she summoned more spiritual energy hoping to counter attack but the only thing that rose in response was a wave of bile the sorceress continued to fight trying to create a wyvern or a basrag to counter abilax construct she simply did not have the power the lear continued to rip through her mind until at last rays of white radiance began to flood her head and she knew she would fall unconscious then from somewhere she heard her card yell in anger as he attacked abalach the lear screeched then went limp and faded away as rapidly as it had come sedera found herself alone inside her wounded mind lost in a white fog of pain help the young mole called though she did not remember closing them sadera opened her eyes she found abalak ray five paces away thrashing wildly and trying to shake younger card from her back ram stood at her side with the rigid shards of bone that served him as arms the ban she was ineffectually trying to pluck the young mull off the ramen queen sadera pulled a tiny bead of silver from her pocket and yelled but card let go at the sound of her voice abalak spun around her card opened his hand and sailed away crashing down on an unconscious dwarf he left the scourge's broken tip planted in the queen's back sedira spoke her incantation and flicked the silver bead at the shard hoping to drive it through abelach's heart the pellets streaked straight to its target striking the jagged blade at a shallow angle there was no blast of magical power as the sorceress had expected instead a pearly aura spread over the steel and it began to hum with a high pitched chime abilax eyes went wide she twisted a hand around behind herself trying to reach the blade aram stepped closer lowering his skeletal arm to attack the queen's back before the ban she could touch her the scourge stopped chiming a huge geyser of black fluid shot from the shard's jagged edge and splattered saaram's gnarled form the inky liquid spread quickly coating the banshee beneath a thick layer of ebony slime wherever the fluid stained saram's twisted bones they untwined and rearranged themselves into a less contorted skeleton the back grew round and hunched while the arms became long gangling things that ended in barbed talons the banshee's grey beard disappeared then a skull of sable bone rose from the shoulders in its place the head seemed remotely human with a drooping chin a small jawbone and a pair of rather flat cheekbones blue sparks replaced the banshee's orange eyes while a crown of yellow lightning crackled around his skull rajat abalakh gasped facing the apparition oyness of waverly orc plague the skeletons stared down at the queen billows of black fume shooting from its nostrils i have come for you traitor abba ray stumbled away no you can't be free sedura sprang at the queen's back slipping one arm around abella's throat she used her other hand and all her supernatural strength to drive the scourge's tip deeper into the queen's body she felt the steel great against the bone then pass into a lump of softer tissue avalach howled in pain but abruptly fell silent when sedhira twisted the blade a convulsion ran through the queen's entire frame and she fell limp brown smoke began to pour from her nostrils and mouth her limbs went stiff and the muscles of her stomach started to quiver a terrible heat poured off her body and her clothes began to smoke sedera turned and hurled abalak away not bothering to extract the scourge's tip the queen spun through the air with her arms and legs splayed stiffly at her sides she dropped to the ground a dozen paces away landing with a hollow thud for a moment the body just lay there staring blankly into the sky while brown fumes rose from its nose and mouth finally the corpse folded in on itself then burst into a column of bronze flame the explosion left nothing behind except a salt crater stained brown with soot when siddhira looked back toward the black skeleton she found it melting into a pool of bubbling sludge the only recognizable feature was the head and even it was quickly dissolving the sorceress saw no sign that the ebony mass would reassemble itself into anything resembling she silently spoke a few words of gratitude for the banshee's efforts to protect her card a moment later ricard took her hand and tugged at her arm come on he said george says that stuff's dangerous the sorceress opened her eyes and allowed the boy to lead her to george's massive i'm sorry about your friend she said craning her neck to look into the banshee's orange eyes there is no need for sorrow said george a banshee can hope for nothing except to find rest and now saram has and what if that sedhira asked gesturing toward the black pool was that really rajat yes the ban she replied your spell allowed his essence to escape the scourge shard the sorceress swallowed and stared at the bubbling fluid how do we put it back you cannot george replied but there is no need for worry like rajart himself it is locked inside the black it can harm only those foolish enough to touch it of their own wills the shiver of terror ran down the sorceress's spine then the sorcerer kings didn't kill rajat she asked turning back to the banshee did not answer for he had vanished as quickly as he had arrived what happened to your friend sadera asked taking her card's hand he's still here like always the boy said he scowled thoughtfully then looked up at sedhira it's okay that i helped you isn't it sadira furrowed to brow and pretended to consider his question seriously i don't know didn't your mother tell you no heroics she did the young mole grumped but i don't see why rikus gets to be brave he pointed toward the oasis when sadira turned around she saw her husband charging up the hill on the heels of the rameen army waving his sword and cursing his enemies for cowards the sorceress could not help laughing the mall did not seem to realize that kylem had bridged abalak's chasm with an arc of flickering flame or the neva was leading 400 warriors all that remained of the tyrian legion across the trestle to help him sedira started toward the chasm come on she said we'd better let raqus know the battle's over 10. the forsaken village the two innixs stood in the center of the dusty plaza their saddles empty and their reins hanging loose having battered down the bone railing that enclosed the village well the great lizards had stuck their horny beaks into the dark hole as far as their stocky necks allowed apparently they could not reach the water for they were bellowing angrily and snapping their serpentine tails from side to side the beast's riders four tyrion scouts were nowhere in sight magnus stood at the edge of the plaza his dark eyes searching for some sign of the missing riders he counted 52 stone huts ringing the plaza each shaped like a beehive and covered with a scaly roof of gorak hide he did not see any villagers peering out of the doorways nor any of their herd lizards roaming the dirt alleyways between the shacks the place looked deserted even the scouts seemed to have disappeared without leaving any footprints by which to track them the unnatural quiet disturbed magnus even more than the lack of visible activity as his big ears swiveled around the plaza he heard nothing not a child whimpering not a gorak scratching at a stone wall not a stifling wind hissing through the streets the place was as noiseless as death do you think this is samara asked rankus the mole whispered his question apparently reluctant to disturb the eerie tranquility of the place the windsinger shrugged it's in the right place he replied starting toward the well but the inhabitants seemed to have abandoned it but then driven away said sedhira her voice was loud and sharp as she stepped from a narrow path between two huts what do you mean asked neva she was clutching her battle axe in both hands as if she expected to be attacked at any moment kylo manderkard were not with her when the scouts had not returned she had sent them with what remained of the bronze company to examine the village's southern perimeter the tyrion legion was circling around in the opposite direction inspecting the north side did you find something the sorceress shook her head no but i'm worried about what happened to ram then tell us why rikus demanded this is no time to make us guess sadhira scowled at the mall but magnus interposed himself between the two spouses before she could retort perhaps we should have something to drink first he said thirst is making all our tempers short the windsinger was not being very honest and they all knew it after the battle against the ramens the coolness that had come between siddhira and rikus had warmed slightly for about a day then something had gone wrong and now they could hardly speak without quarreling from what the windsinger had gathered rikus had tried to make love to sadera and that had angered the sorceress who was still mourning her other husband's death as they moved across the square rikers peered around the windsinger i'm sorry siddhira that was uncalled for he said what were you going to say without acknowledging the apology sedhira explained george said that boris wanted him and saram because their magic was still hiding the dark lens she said but that was before ram was destroyed the company neared the well causing the indexes to look up in hiss magnus ignored their threats and began to examine the tackle on their backs at the same time keeping his enormous ears turned toward the sorceress so you're worried that by destroying saram you ruined the enchantment that had kept the lens hidden all this time the windsinger asked he pulled a heavy waterskin off an innix harness that's what i'm afraid of sedhira said it's been 10 days since the battle with abalak rey if the dragon suddenly found himself able to locate the lens that would be more than enough time for him to come here and take it along with the villagers tythian and anyone else who happened to be here that's true magnus said opening the water skin in his hands the liquid inside smelled too much of leather and lime to have come from the well but that doesn't explain the absence of our scouts wherever they went they didn't take their water skins in fact they didn't even change water sedira and the others scowled anyone who traveled the athazian desert knew to keep a waterskin handy and it was a rare man who did not fill that sack with the freshest water available that the scouts had not done this suggested they had not lingered at the well for long there's only one way to find out what's going on here said sedhira we'll have to search the village right but first things first said rikers he pushed an innix aside then retrieved a rope and bucket tied to the toppled rail i'm thirsty the mall tossed the bucket into the pit after falling for a moment it struck the bottom of the well with a muffled sound somewhere between a splash and a thud rikus allowed the weighted pail a moment to sink then pulled it up he stepped away from the indexes and tipped his head back closing his eyes in anticipation of a cool drink the water that flowed from the bucket was cloudy and pink raccoons gulped down a mouthful then made a sour face and threw the bucket across the plaza it tastes like blood that's what it looks like hundreds of frightened voices cried out from the north side of the village the screams lasted for only an instant then faded away in a single strangled croak by the time magnus and his companions had spun around to look toward the disturbance samara had fallen silent again they saw nothing but a hillside of orange stones rising above the scaly roofs of the empty village we'd better see what happened said sadera leading the way across the plaza magnus followed the others they crossed the plaza in silence the thick dust cushioning their footsteps and entered a crooked lane running northward through a small borough of huts here they had to plow through waist-high silt drifts filling the alley with grey clouds of dust neva and ragus began to choke and cough but magnus simply closed his mouth and breathed only through his huge nostrils deep within his nose several membranes kept his airway clear by filtering out fine particles of dust the group emerged beside a small pasture that lay between the huts and the village wall a blanket of undisturbed silt covered the ground the jagged shapes have upturned stones visible beneath the gray shroud we should be able to see the legion by now magnus said he pointed across the pasture the village wall rose only chin high if the tyrion warriors had been standing on the other side it would have been an easy matter to spot their heads protruding above the crest magnus saw nothing but a slope of rock and dust 400 warriors don't just vanish riker said the scouts did magnus reminded him the mall granted an acknowledgement then said let's go and have a look he drew the scourge which had grown back to its original length magnus pulled the mace from his belt and the small company started across the field the stones beneath the dust were loose and often shifted as soon as any weight was put on them the companions had to move slowly picking their way carefully to avoid turning an ankle sedera reached the wall first she peered over the top and cried out in alarm the sorceress gave the barrier a hard shove and stones flew in all directions she slipped through the resulting gap and stared at the ground with a horrified expression on her face magnus and the others followed her through the breach along the base of the wall lay the tyrian legion still in column formation most warriors had fallen with their heads uphill all were curled into the fetal position and clutched at their stomachs in agony their faces were twisted masks of anguish except that their gaping mouths seemed more astonished than pained and their vacant eyes uniformly stared at the same spot on the slope above although none of the bodies were moving they looked more paralyzed than dead magnus kneeled beside a red-haired woman whose hand still gripped her half-drawn sword he leaned over her head cocking one of his ears to cover her mouth and nose well rikus demanded her lips no longer sing the song of being the wind singer said he placed a hand on her torso the flesh remained soft and warm though it was as still as stone nor does her heart carry the beat of life there are no wounds nevis said rolling a black-haired man over what happened their life force was drawn from their bodies said sadera she climbed up the hillside to where the warrior's dead eyes were fixed and this is where boris was standing when he did it magnus and the others joined the sorceress she stood beside a pair of three-toed footprints such as a bird might make save that these were a full two paces across the windsinger had no doubts about who had made the tracks for he had seen the dragon attack kled and recognized the prince from there you were right sadera magnus observed maurice has beaten us to the dark lens so let's take it back said rikers he studied the ground looking for an indication of where the dragon had gone there were no other tracks only the ones sedira had discovered if we can find boris i have a feeling he'll find us said magnus my son gasped neva she pointed across the village a short distance beyond the south wall the sun's rays glinted off the bobbing figures of armored dwarves if he knows of the banshee's prophecy he'll try to kill arcart the warrior had hardly spoken before a gaunt figure as tall as a giant appeared behind the bronze company emerging from thin air as though stepping from behind an unseen curtain he was the color of iron with a chitinous hide equal parts flesh and shell his head sat atop a serpentine neck and resembled that of a sharp beaked bird with a spiked crest of leathery skin he had long double-kneed legs and his gaunt arms ended in knobby fingers with sword-length claws the beast crept up behind the dwarves so silently that they seemed unaware that it was following them kylem behind you neva yelled she started down the hill at a sprint rikers followed instantly magnus was only a step behind when he felt sadera's fingers digging into his shoulder you go to the well but you'll need help do it magnus the sorceress looked across the village outside the wall the dragon had almost reached the rear ranks of the bronze company the dwarves who were too far away to have heard neva yell seemed as oblivious as ever to his presence i'm not going to leave her card in danger sadera gave magnus a gentle shove and he found himself running down the slope the windsinger glanced back and saw the sorceress looking toward the bronze company one hand searching her cloak pocket for spell components he faced forward again and rushed through the gap in the village wall magnus crossed the rocky pasture at a full sprint stones clattering and slipping beneath his pounding steps he almost fell as he entered the narrow lane between the stone huts knocking several holes in the walls as he bounced from one side to the other at last he emerged in the square he saw boris's gaunt form looming above the huts on the south side of the village the dragon was hardly moving at all simply staring down at the ground magnus feared the beast had already destroyed the bronze company for he did not hear so much as a shield clanging outside the wall the windsinger rushed across the plaza his huge feet crashing down on the dusty stones the enix's looked up and hissed then slowly backed away from the well to reveal kylum and hercard the two cledans sat on the ground looking dazed and frightened don't worry sedura used a spell to move you magnus called still 50 paces from the pair the dragon destroyed the tyrian legion and now he's after the bronze company hercard was on his feet instantly then why'd she move us he demanded i can't kill boris from here outside the village wall neva's distant voice called franz company halt face to the rear billows of orange smoke poured from the dragon's nostrils streaming out of sight as they passed behind the huts on samara's south side dozens of warriors cried out in anger and fear they began to cough and choke but the windsinger did not hear the clang of any armored bodies falling to the ground never shouted a harsh command ordering the dwarves to attack archard drew his sword and started toward the battle but kylum grabbed the youth's shoulder to hold him back from outside the village came the clatter of dwarven axes striking stony flesh boris roared in anger and raised a clawed foot so high into the air that magnus sawed above the roofs of the huts the dragon slammed his heel down the windsinger heard death screams and crumpling metal rikus screamed in anger then sedira's voice rang out with the mystic syllables of a spell a low growl rumbled through the ground ending with a tremendous bang the dragon stumbled back the dwarves gave a mighty cheer and magnus heard them tramping forward sedira called out another incantation and a black bolt of magic energy blasted a hunk of scaly flesh off the beast's shoulder boris sprayed glowing sand toward the village wall and retreated neva yelled the order to charge and the clamor of running feet filled magnus's ears the windsinger could also hear rikus disparaging boris's courage in a futile attempt to lure him back to the fight at the same time sedhira was shouting for the company to spread out so that the dragon could not use a spell to make an easy counter attack as magnus joined kylum and her card at the well the boy looked up at him what are they doing although the dragon's towering form had already retreated so far that it was no longer visible behind samara's huts the young mole's eyes were still turned southward said i'm the one who's going to kill the dragon perhaps but we should not complain if your mother and her friends succeed now said the wind singer besides i doubt that this battle will be our last one with boris said kylem he is a powerful enemy and will not be slain so easily a hud at the plaza's edge suddenly collapsed spraying stones halfway across the square magnus looked toward the sound and scowled what caused that whatever it was i don't like it kylem raised his palm toward the sun i'll go take a look magnus offered the windsinger gripped his mace more tightly and started toward the ruined building he moved across the square cautiously his dark eyes searching the narrow alleys for some man or creature that could have destroyed the hut a cloud of still tongue in the air around the fallen shack but the haze was thin enough that magnus could see that there was no one lurking inside finally when he had crossed about three quarters of the plaza he heard something clatter across a cobblestone ahead less than three paces away a swirl of silt rose off the ground with no apparent cause normally he would have attributed the disturbance to the wind but the day was a still one there was not even a faint breeze and he knew that no air current had caused the sound or the puff of dust something hard and knobby struck magnus in the chest though the jolt lacked the sharp impact of an attack its force was powerful and unyielding the windsinger's feet left the ground then he crashed down on his back a short distance away the air over his face stirred faintly as something unseen passed over him the ground trembled slightly as something heavy settled down just a short distance from his head then everything was once again still and quiet magnus regained his feet and rushed toward the well something's coming kylum the windsinger's warning was hardly necessary kylum's palm was already glowing brilliant crimson the dwarf pushed his son behind him then pointed his hand at the ground and traced a circle around himself and her card a scarlet glow washed over the cobblestone sending waves of heat pouring into the sky magnus was 20 paces away and kylum's spell scorched his tough hide even from that distance tongues of orange flame began to lace the shimmering wall though the dwarf and his son showed no sign of discomfort inside their protective fire circle the windsinger's mace burst into flame he barely managed to toss it aside before it burned his hand at the well the bone rails surrounding the pit turned black and began to smoke then abruptly vanished in a fiery flash unable to endure the terrible heat of the sun cleric's spell magnus stopped the fiery curtain around kylum and her card waved as though something were passing through it even before the windsinger saw the flames outline the shape of a gaunt figure he knew the awful truth the dragon had created a double of himself to lure rikus and sadera away magnus burst into song summoning a hot gale that swept across the plaza and fanned kylem's spell the flames flared white blowing cobblestones shot from the ground like lightning bolts trailing blue fire and filling the air with ear piercing whistles the rocks rattled off the dragon's legs and bounced away with no effect boris passed inside the circle the only effect the flames had on him was to coat his body in soot rendering him more or less visible kylum raised a glowing hand and sprayed the blackened dragon with crimson fire the flames bounced off the beast's chest and curled back magnus rushed forward ignoring the searing pain that washed over him with each stride as he ran he sent a wind whisper to sadera boris has tricked us come to the well at once even as he committed the words to the wind the windsinger worried about all the things that could keep the message from reaching the sorceress if boris's magic had caused today's eerie stillness magnus's breath would be muffled long before it left the village or if the battle had drifted too far east or west the wind whisper would bypass her and if the words did reach the sorceress it would take a little while for her to disengage from the fight with the fraudulent dragon and return to the well by then her card might well be dead inside the fire circle a loud thud sounded as boris kicked kylem in the chest the dwarf shot into the air his limp hands still trailing flame he crashed down on the far side of the well and did not move magnus reached the circle of fire and tried to hurl himself through he slammed into the flames as though smashing into a stone wall then his leading flank erupted into blistering pain the smell of scorched hide filled his nostrils the windsinger fell away bellowing in agony and madly slapping at the embers flaring to life on his thighs he slammed to the ground and rolled once he managed to get control of himself he returned to his knees already singing a lyric that would ease his pain magnus looked up in time to see her card diving forward the boy's sword flashed hit the dragon's scorched leg and snapped the young mole cried out in disbelief then rolled through the firewall and came up facing boris he stood about a quarter of the way around the circle from magnus less than a dozen paces away the dragon stepped into the fire curtain and stooped down to pick up her card magnus pushed himself to his feet and stumbled forward his legs protesting each step with fiery pain record over here he yelled the young mole looked toward the windsinger when boris's hand flicked down to cut him off the boy dodged away and began to run fleeing toward a hut on the opposite side of the plaza the dragon turned to chase the boy suddenly on the other side of the fire circle from magnus a gnarled mass of bones stood between boris and the boy the lump was almost as tall as the dragon himself with glowing orange eyes a long grey beard and stiff branches of bone protruding from its shoulders magnus shook his head unable to understand where the ban she had come from the thing had appeared in a flash standing where there had been only empty air an instant before i won't let you slay our king again said george i have no intention of killing him maurice replied i'm taking him to urdraksa when i'll return him to you in return for the dark lens now stand aside with his arm of stiff bone george slashed at the dragon opening a long gash in boris's snout boiling yellow blood spilled from the wound hissing and popping as it splashed off the cobblestones magnus circled around kylum's fire curtain ducking his face behind his shoulder to shield it from the blazing heat boris tried to sidestep his foe and jorge moved to block his path the dragon struck driving a fist through the banshee's gnarled ribs a deafening crack reverberated across the square and the banshee burst apart shards of white bone rained down on the plaza from one end to the other as soon as they hit the ground the fragments astonished magnus by slowly tumbling back toward the place where jorsh had been standing swallowing his shock magnus lowered his shoulder and charged though he was not foolish enough to believe he could injure boris he hoped to slow the beast down long enough for urcard to escape boris stepped away forcing the windsinger to change courses and rush after him in two paces the dragon crossed to the hut where a card had gone he ripped the hide roof away and tossed it across the square apparently the young mull had left through a back window for the beast did not reach down to pluck him out of the building where are you little boy the dragons slapped the hut in frustration the building exploded into flying stones less than a dozen paces away magnus had to stop running and duck to shield his head when the windsinger looked up again the beast was tearing the roof off the next building again the dragon smashed the shack then he ripped the hide off a third shack this time a red flare shot up from inside and engulfed boris's slender head inside a glowing likeness of the sun unconcerned the dragon reached into the hut when he pulled his hand out it was curled into a tight fist with her card's head showing out of the top no magnus roared the windsinger sprinted the last few steps to the plaza edge he threw himself at the dragon's bony shin and wrapped his massive arms around it boris started toward the tiny silt harbor east of the village smashing his foot through the nearest hut the windsinger grimaced from the impact but held on easily his thick hide was as tough as a lear's and it shielded him from all but the most serious blows he began to sing in his loudest voice calling up a gale from the sea of silt boris dragged him through another hut then another and another magnus continued to sing and soon the sky above was filled with gray clouds of dust yellow bolts of lightning crackled out of the gathering storm each striking the dragon's head the windsinger was not foolish enough to think his windstorm could harm the beast but he hoped it would draw his friend's attention to her card's danger boris chuckled then slammed his foot through the village wall and stepped into the harbor magnus sank beneath the silt he closed his eyes and mouth trying to breathe through his nose the membranes protecting his nasal passages were clogged by dust but at least the filters kept him from swallowing the powdery less and choking he would not suffocate for a few more moments holding his breath magnus pulled himself up boris's knee the storm would continue for a few moments without his ballad but if he wanted to keep it going he would soon have to raise his voice again the windsinger reached up searching for a handhold on the dragon's thigh magnus felt a hand slip around his torso the claw pulled him free and lifted him out of the silt the windsinger saw that the dragon had already carried him and her card out of the harbour they were heading toward the heart of the sea of silt above magnus or card had managed to work an arm free of the dragon's grip and was trying to bend a clawed finger back to free himself the windsinger knew he would not succeed even a mall child could not be that strong magnus snorted clearing his nostrils and raised his voice in song a peel of thunder cracked over the dragon and a dozen forks of sizzling energy stabbed at his head boris's eyes flashed even brighter than the lightning your noise makes my head throb the dragon hissed three sharp claws pierced the windsinger's hide cracking his massive ribs like a storm snapping pharaoh branches his ballad changed to a howl he felt the dragon's arm whip outward then magnus found himself soaring over the pearly sea his black eyes clouded over and he began to arc downward the wind singing in his ears never found her unconscious husband next to the well one arm draped over the side the flesh had been scraped off one side of his skull and a dark streak on the cobblestones marked where he had been dragged across the plaza to the pit strangely enough the wound itself looked clean as though someone had taken the trouble to bathe it before abandoning him kylem wake up she kneeled at his side and shook his shoulder when his eyes failed to open she slapped his cheek not lightly tell me what happened to her card the dwarf's eyes did not even flutter behind her jorsh's bones continued to clatter as they tumbled toward each other neva looked toward the noise and shuddered the banshee had reconstructed only about half of his gnarled body most of the torso and one leg and somehow he looked even more hideous than before rikus and sedhira appeared at the edge of the plaza leading the five haggard survivors from the bronze company toward the well the rest of the command nearly 30 warriors had perished in the battle with the counterfeit boris at the time with its claws ripping through steel breastplates and its heels smashing thick dwarven skulls the beast had seemed real enough it was not until the fight had ended and the dragon had shrunk into a frightened battered gorak that they had discovered the creature's true nature it was then that they had noticed the dust storm drifting out to sea for a moment it had seemed to neva that she saw a red light in the heart of the tempest but the others had not been able to find it when she tried to point it out to them finally even she could not see the glow and the squall had moved out of sight they had rushed back to the village finding it as quiet as when they had first arrived how is he called sadera neva shook her head alive but that's about all she reported any sign of magnus or cart the sorceress shook her head i'm sorry neva cursed i want to know where my son is she said why doesn't magnus send a wind whisper to tell us where they are he may have sediro replied but if he did it after the battle began to drift eastward we wouldn't have been there to hear it or maybe he didn't have time rank has suggested if it came down to a choice of protecting a card or warning us i've no doubts that he'd defend the boy as long as he was able which may not have been that long neva said she picked her husband up and carried him a safe distance away from the well but what happened isn't as important as how we're going to find my son again maybe george will be able to tell us something sedhira suggested she glanced toward the banshee who had reassembled his complete torso both legs and an arm he must have seen what happened ragus nodded until then maybe this can tell us something the mole kneeled at the side of the well he pointed at the dark streak marking the path along which kylem had been pulled could urkhard have been the one who dragged his father over here neva shook her head he'd just carry kylum she said you know how strong he is unless he was hurt and looking for a place to hide riku said he grabbed the well rope and handed the end to neva i'll go see neva barely had time to loop the line around her back and sit before the mall stepped into the dark pit the rope bit into her waist and she waited intense silence while the mall descended the warrior did not know what she wanted him to find if her card had been injured and had dropped into the well he might well have drowned on the other hand she could not bear the alternative that boris had taken him and disappeared she found herself placing all her hope in magnus praying that the windsinger had taken her son and had hidden where neither sadera nor the dragon could find them the ropes slackened as rikus took his weight off it the mole groaned in disgust then cried you a muffled thump echoed up from the well then a bloated head came flying out of the pit he had coarse hair pulled into a tight top knot with puffy cheeks eyes swollen to narrow dark slits and a mouthful of broken teeth his leathery lips were caked with fresh blood no doubt licked from kylem's head wound sedera cried the head regained his equilibrium and hovered in the air regarding them with a malevolent sneer it's high time you arrived he said your king has nearly starved to death neither ignored the head and leaned over the pit what did you find down there rikus our scouts dead came the reply never heard the maul grunt then there were several splashes as he pushed their bodies aside and tiffian at least i think it's him with something that could be the dark lens although this news should have delighted her neva could not rejoice yet anyone else our cards not down here answered them all of course not saka sneered drifting over in front of neva if you want to see your card again you better hurry and get tythian out of that hole neva lashed out catching the head by his top knot why the head slowly spun around facing the sea of silt because the dragon is taking her card to ur i don't think george is going to wait very long for you to follow neva followed his gaze having returned his gnarled head to his lumpy shoulders george was moving towards samara's harbor in long silent strides 11. the dow as the dow left samara's harbor a gust of wind skipped across the swells ahead silvery columns of dust swirled skyward forming a chain of feather-like silhouettes against the yellow horizon for a moment they hung like clouds above the pearly sea then the bluster died the plumes slowly melted back toward the surface forming a low-hanging dust curtain that shrouded george's distant figure in a mantle of gray tithing braced his arm on the tiller and pulled himself upright sitting squarely on the floater's dome he peered out toward the open sea and cursed his lack of a king's eye with george wading through chest deep silt it had been difficult enough to see him before the gust came up now keeping the banshee's lumpy head in sight would be impossible the effort of sitting upright was almost too much for the king his time in the well had reduced him to something of a skeleton the pallid skin dangled from his stick like arms in loose folds and each time he exhaled his breath filled the air with the stench of starvation he had little desire for solid food and the few morsels his former slaves had forced him to eat sat in his distended stomach like rocks the king thought that sacha's approach to helping him recover trickling warm blood down his throat had been much more sensible after a few moments of peering into the dust haze the king let his elbow slip over the tiller and slumped back down he was careful to keep his bare foot pressed against the dark lens which lay in the open bilge in front of him he was drawing the lenses energy through his body using it to feed the dome and keep the ship afloat tiffian looked toward the top of the mast where saka had positioned himself to serve as a lookout i've lost sight of the banshee he called can you see him through this haze the heads scoffed as sakha replied neva ducked under the low-hanging boom of the latine sail and stepped back toward him since her days in the gladiator pits her skin had grown darker and less sensitive to the sun as demonstrated by the fact that she wore nothing but a leather breech cloth and halter to protect her from its blistering rays to tithian's eye she also seemed more beautiful motherhood had given her a fuller figure while her muscles were more sinuous and less man-like her emerald eyes however remained as fiery and angry as they had been when the king had owned her especially when they were looking at him tithian met her glare what are you staring at without answering neva picked her way toward the stern it was not an easy task they had just entered the open sea and the dow was pitching badly as it rode across the dust swells to complicate matters the small boat was crowded to overflowing in the open bilge lake kylum crammed in next to a dozen kegs filled with chad nuts and water his head had been bandaged but he had not yet regained consciousness to tithian's way of thinking he was just taking up limited cargo space sadera stood along the port side braced between a barrel and the gunnel holding the line that controlled the set of the sail on the opposite side of the boat sat rikus his bald head and pointed ears barely visible over the cask tops as neva came abreast of the mast she stopped to grab her battle axe from between two water barrels tithian raised a brow i'd advise you to remember that without me this boat will sink the king said and with it all hope of rescuing your child i don't care if we sink countered neva we've hardly left the harbor and already we've lost sight of george we'll never catch up to him or my son the tao is a sensitive craft typhian replied we'd be traveling faster if sadira had left kylo minsamara with the other dwarves as i suggested i doubt kylem's weight is slowing us down that much neva raised her axe besides it doesn't matter we may have lost her card but i want you to die before he does don't be foolish never sedhira later is straining hand on the warrior's arm the action caused a subtle shift in the sails trim and the dao slowed the sorceress let a little line slip through her ebony fingers returning the boom to its original position once the dow had returned to speed siddhira looked back to neva george is showing himself because he wants to help us track her card she said when he sees us falling behind he'll wait and let boris escape with my son never spat back that won't happen tithian said ories wants the banshee to follow that's why he took the boy explain yourself rikers ordered he rose and peered at the king over a water barrel if you had something to do with the dragon seizing him i wasn't even conscious tithing spat but i do know boris once the ban she's alive in urdraksa his home he has a way to make them dispel the magic that hides the dark lenses from him and the sorcerer kings the dragon needs are called alive because george was sent to protect the boy neva frowned sent she asked by whom tythian swallowed hard and found himself gripping the tiller so hard his gnarled joints turned white nevertheless the blunder did not cause the king to panic he simply looked neva in the eye and lied aggie sent them you don't expect us to believe that sadera snapped not really but it's the truth tithian said silently cursing the sorceress did she have some way to tell that he was lying josh and sarah were guarding the dark lens when we found it they were going to kill both of us until argus told them about kemalok being uncovered then they left saying something about the return of the king how'd they come by the belt of rank under card's crown demanded neva why don't you tell me tithian returned dodging the question this was the moment the king had been dreading since rikers had pulled him from the well in the hurry to pack the dao and start after jo'orsh there had not been time for his temporary allies to interrogate him but now he sensed the questions would begin as weak as he was tithing feared it would be difficult to keep himself free of his own tangle of lies never picked up her axe again your raiders stole those treasures from camelot she stopped a pace in front of him holding her weapon level with his neck i know that much and it's enough to warrant your death tithian did not flinch do you really expect to frighten me i know you won't strike not while you need me to rescue your son neva's gaze burned with a profound hatred such as the king had never seen before and he had seen many many kinds of hate the warrior's arms began to tremble and tears of frustration welled in her eyes for a moment the king feared she would actually lose control of herself and strike then she gave a tremendous scream and spun away sighing in relief tythian committed her expression to memory as a reminder of what would happen if he allowed her to live a moment too long as neva returned to the front of the dow the king noticed sadera staring at him instead of blue glowing embers her eyes now resembled a pair of sapphire colored suns each blazing with the radiance that nearly blinded him the sorceress did not move or speak but merely continued to watch him in that moment tithian understood why she had not asked about august she knew that her husband had been murdered by him you won't kill me either tithian said not as sure of his words as he would have liked we want the same thing no i want to kill the dragon you want to free a monster as sadera spoke a cloud of black fumes shot from her mouth and coated tithian's body bringing withered a fearsome cold that chilled his bones to the marrow tell me what you'll gain by helping rajat escape she ordered what makes you think i want to tithian gasped his teeth clenched the contrast between the dark lenses heat and sedira's cold made his bones feel as if they were melting he expected to burst into flame or shatter like a block of ice at any moment i thought the champions killed rajyad don't lie to me sadera hissed again the black fumes stop it wench tithian's teeth chatted so badly he could hardly force the words from his mouth he wanted to use the lens and counter attack but to use the way now he would have to let the dow sink he could not allow that the king needed both siddhira and rikers alive at least until boris no longer stood between him and freeing rajat i command it you don't have to answer the sorceress said i'm enjoying this i'm too exhausted tithian warned fighting back the waves of darkness descending over him the dao will sink i don't think so said sedhira tithian heard the sorceress whisper in incantation the dow suddenly rose out of the dust lifting its weight off the king's spirit the boat's speed increased by half and it began to slice through the air as smoothly as an arrow you still need me tithian said hoping to use the way to defend himself he tried to lock gazes with sadera but could not bear to look into the blazing blue suns of her eyes what will you do if we don't catch a cart before dark i won't kill you yet the sorceress replied you haven't suffered enough an inky cloud boiled from between sedera's blue lips engulfing the king in cold vapor he opened his mouth to scream but his frozen voice did not rise to acknowledge the pain he felt his feet slip from the dark lens then he sank into a bitter slumber more icy and black than his own heart later after what seemed an eternity of bone deep aching tithian returned to awareness not so much waking as crawling from beneath a terrible crushing blackness his body hurt worse than it had before as if that were possible and he wondered not idly if neva had beaten him while he slept slowly the king came to realize that he was lying on the floor of the dao stuffed between the side and the water casks he heard voices and the speakers did not seem to realize he had returned to consciousness always one to spy tithing kept his eyes closed and listened i'm not saying we should let the dragon keep our card said sadira but i'm not so sure we should kill him i'm certain that tythian's helping us destroy boris only because it'll make it easier to free rajat and we know how much worse than boris he would be so we should let the dragon keep collecting his levees rikers asked never rikus that's not what i said and you know it sedira shot back the voices of both sadera and rika seemed harsher than necessary leading tithian to suspect that they were angry with each other and to wonder if he could use that fact to his own advantage we have the dark lens now sadira continued boris knows better than anyone how powerful it is we can force him to return our card and forsake his levees but what about the prophecy neva demanded the banshees said card would slay the dragon we can't just ignore them why not sadera challenged they also said he'd do it at the head of an army of dwarves and humans where is that army now it took boris and his sorcerer kings about as much effort to destroy all our warriors as it takes a megalot to smash a jackal we must have misunderstood what they said about the army said neva if george and saram said that ricard will slay the dragon i have faith he will tithian had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing the so-called prophecy was nothing more than an elaborate ruse he had invented faced with the difficult task of overcoming jorsh and saram before he could steal the dark lens the king had instead lured the banshees away from their duties by convincing them their thousand-year-old ruler had been reincarnated as a mull child it had never occurred to tithian that his deception would dupe anyone other than the two spirits but it appeared his former slaves were bigger fools than he imagined he could hardly wait to see what happened when a six-year-old boy tried to kill the dragon the entertainment might even be enough to repay him for the indignities he was suffering at the hands of the child's mother and her friends after a moment's silence sadera continued the debate neva did it ever occur to you that the prophecy might be a warning that it might be something we don't want to come true she asked perhaps the fate of our two armies is important of what will happen if we go through with this plan what the prophecy says doesn't matter declared rikus we've got to kill the dragon even if doing so freeze rajat think of what you're saying siddhira objected as powerful as the sorcerer kings are it took all of them together to imprison rajat and he could be even more powerful now i don't care said them all stubborn as ever boris and the sorcerer kings are greedy and power hungry but their evil is nothing compared to that of rajat sadhira pressed at least they won't wipe out every athazian race except the humans and wouldn't have the power to succeed if they tried true agreed them all and i'm as worried as you but we've got to kill the dragon we'd be fools to think we can control him forever so if we free rajat we'll just have to destroy him too we can't trade one evil for another there was a short silence then sedera asked nevo what do you think it's your son we must risk if we decide to kill the dragon and it's my son we'll have to live or die with the scruples of our choice she said given that there's only one thing to do burkard must kill the dragon tithian heard sadera suck in a deep breath victory or death then she said the declaration was one that tyrian gladiators had once recited before entering the arena no just victory said rikers death means that we have lost and we can't allow that not when we are risking so much tiffian heard the soft slap of three hands coming together then rika said that leaves us only one problem tiffian as much as i'd like to kill him we can't said sadera he's the only mind bender among us and we know from the battles we've already fought that we can't get along without one ablach rey used the way in the ivory plane and nearly defeated me and i suspect that boris will prove even more powerful we can't trust tiffian objected rikers of course not replied sedera but we can keep him under control until we've killed boris and after that asked never as soon as the dragon falls he'll try to kill us said rikers lowering his voice to a whisper if we want to survive we'll have to kill him first tithian smiled to himself they could try to murder him but snow would blanket the athazian deserts before they outperformed him at his own art in his stomach the king felt the dow descending it's almost dark said sadera we'd better rouse his majesty a small foot smashed into tiffian's ribs forcing him to groan in pain time to go to work sedira said with one hand she grasped his hair and pulled him off the bilge floor she set him on the floater's dome i trust she slept well tythian opened his eyes feigning grogginess the dark lens had been moved to the bow of the craft and the king could see little more than its red-tinged base showing beneath the boom of the latin sail neva and rikers stood directly in front of him their weapons in their hands as they glared at him with open hostility kylum still lay in the bilge his bandage crusted with dried blood the king reached up and pulled his coarse hair from sadera's grip you shouldn't separate me from the dark lens he said maurice has been looking for me hoping to find the lens nearby then i hope he finds you said sadira it would save us a journey how far have we gone tythian asked looking around he saw nothing but dust swells swaddled in the purple shadows of dusk with no sign of land in any direction where's george sedhira pointed to a spot off the port bow every now and then we see a furrow of dust over there she said sometimes he sticks his head up to be sure we're still following that won't do me much good the king laid his hand on the tiller i'll never see him in the dark don't worry said rikus the maul sat on the starboard gunnel and laid his sword across his knees i'll be sitting up to help you look so will i added neva she took a similar position on the port side and if one of us even thinks you're using the way against the other or here's anything that sounds remotely like a mystic word we'll assume the worst that means we'll cut you up into little pieces rikers reached out with the tip of his sword and cut the strap of tiffian's shoulder satchel the bag slipped off the king's shoulder and fell out of the dow just in case you didn't understand tithian lunged for the sack trying to grab it before it sank into the sea of silt he instantly felt sadera's fingers digging into his shoulder jerking him away you fools the king hissed watching the satchel sink beneath the dust that was magic which is why i thought it best to be rid of the thing said sedhira who knows what surprises you had stored in there for us now that we've made our point said rikers is there anything else we should know about so we don't accidentally throw it overboard the king shook his head if no need to fear me or anything i have left he grasped the tiller if we're going to kill boris we have to work together i understand that probably better than you good said sedhira she moved toward the bow then you take over until dawn tithian opened himself to the floater's dome allowing his life energy to flow into it icy tendrils of pain began to spread up through his hips and into his abdomen he closed his eyes and visualized the ship's hull in his mind then pictured the grey dust swells changing to blue waves of salt water the sea of silt as it was long before the sorcerer kings ruled athas the dow's weight settled on his spirit filling him with a terrible ache and again the craft began to pitch as it rode across the endless swells of dust that was how it went day after day from dawn to dusk sadera's magic carried the dow above the grey waves then as dark fell rikers roused to the king to float the craft over the silt the mull and neva spent the nights sitting to either side of tithi and watching his every move at least once a night one of them smashed him with a fist just to make certain that he knew they would kill him at the slightest provocation the king accepted his persecution with a grace that rikers found vaguely unsettling never complaining or begging forbearance typhian did not even try to win them over with cajolery or false promises perhaps because he knew such efforts would only bring more abuse in the afternoon of the third day kylem finally woke with a great deal of care more from sadera than neva the dwarf soon felt well enough to call on the sun after that the women left him to his own resources and he quickly grew better using his healing powers to mend his terrible wound other than the dwarf's recovery the routine never changed george's head periodically rose out of the dust his glowing orange eyes serving as beacons in the darkness of the night saga stayed atop the mast day and night never leaving his post which was probably wise since neither rikus nor any of the others had quite forgiven him for pulling the scouts into the well to feed typhian deep into their fifth night with a steady wind blowing from the west and a dust curtain clinging to the sea sacha suddenly drifted down from the mast lights he reported the head's voice was so hoarse that rikers could barely understand him behind us the mull glanced over the stern and saw nothing but the impenetrable blackness of the dust curtain i don't see anything you weren't sitting on top of the mast saga countered there were a dozen clusters of them spread out across the horizon it's a fleet coming up behind us tiffy and cursed what do you know about this rikus touched the tip of his sword to the king's throat if you've betrayed us tithian slapped the blade away this is no trick he sneered it's the fleet of the sorcerer kings rag has moved his sword back toward the king and said nothing what do i have to gain by lying growled tithian when the sorcerer kings came to meet maurice in samara they arrived on a fleet of bailican schooners it appears they've been summoned to ordraksa why asked neva to find us i suspect said the king from my experience barely can flee sail in tight formations if they've spread out they must be searching for us never went forward to wake kylem and sadera bring me the dark lens said tiffian riker shook his head i don't think so you stupid mole it's our only chance our only chance to get killed wreck is countered even with the dark lands we can't sink a fleet of ships carrying all the sorcerer kings of atlas at least not at night when sedira's powers are so limited we can't outrun them if that's what you're thinking said tiffian they have too much sail and we'll do the next best thing we'll hide said rikers the dust curtain will conceal us it won't said tiffian they have magic cones of glass king's eyes that they used to see through the silt haze and what are they used to see through the dark asked them all when the king did not have an answer riker smiled i thought so the next time we top a dust swell swing us around so we're sitting across the slope near the bottom of the wave the mole sheathed his sword and went forward to the mast he waited until tythian started to bring the dow around then he lowered the sail furled it to the boom and undid the lashings holding the whole assembly to the mast by the time he had pulled the rigging free and had laid the boom and sail aside neva had awakened kylum and sadira the dwarf helped rank us unstep the mast fold the long yard arm down and lay the whole thing in the bilge cover the boat with silt suggested tithian ragus frowned won't that sink us the king shook his head why should it i'm holding us aloft he said we won't be able to move very fast but with our masked down we're not going anyplace anyway ragus nodded then he and the others began pulling dust from the upslope into the dao soon only their bodies and the tops of the gunnels made of weathered bone almost as grey as the silt showed above the sea the mull instructed the others to lie down then he began covering them with powdery less leaving only their faces exposed so they could see and breathe this should hide us from the fleet said neva but what about george we could lose him perhaps but he hasn't changed direction in days said sedhira and if the sorcerer kings are behind us i suspect we're still traveling toward the dragon's home right agreed rikers but i am worried that the ban she will stick his head up at the wrong moment his glowing eyes would be hard to miss on a night like this you needn't worry about george said typhian he pushed a liver-spotted hand under the dust to maintain contact with the floater's dome he could take care of himself with that the king slid down into the bilge accompanied by sakha who had carefully remained out of everyone's reach during the preparations rikus covered the pair with dust then took a moment to inspect the dao when he was satisfied that everything was covered as well as it could be he drew his sword and lay down taking care to position himself between the king and the dark lens they waited in the silt heavy gloom for what seemed an eternity listening to their own heartbeats and the wind hissing across the silt the hollow that they had carved from the dust swells slowly filled in and less gathered around rikus's nose and mouth at first he tried to keep a clear air passage by blowing the stuff away but this did not work and he eventually had to move his hand up to fan the stuff away he began to doubt that sacha had really seen any lights and occupied his time by trying to think of possible reasons for the disembodied head to lie aside from sacha's malevolence he could not see what the head might gain by making the dao sit motionless in the dark rakus was just about to rise when he heard the distant creek of straining masts the others heard it too for the dow fell even more silent as if everyone had drawn a deep breath and had held it the sound grew louder and steadier until at last them all recognized in at the rhythmic cadence of a ship sliding over dust swells far to the dao's stern the flickering beams of huge oil lamps began to dance across the silt the rays roved back and forth in great arcs creating long columns of bright wind-borne silt that pierced the darkness like spears even with the lights the dust was so thick that rikers doubted the balikon searchers could see more than a few yards beyond their gunnels at least they couldn't have if not for the magical king's eyes tithian had mentioned the lights danced ahead to the next swell then the schooner itself slipped into the trough if not for the muffled voices of its crew and the halos of its deck lamps hovering far above the dust rikus would hardly have known it was there it took many moments for the ship to pass from the lights shining on the various decks and portholes the mall formed a fair picture of its size and shape the thing was huge at least three times the size of the mighty war wagons hamanu had sent to attack tyr during the war with urik it seemed entirely possible that the whole village of samara could have fit on one of its decks by the time the schooner's stern lights faded into the dusty night rikus felt more certain than ever that he had made the right decision in electing to hide fighting the schooner would have been like battling an entire legion the ship had hardly passed when the glow of another schooner's lantern stabbed through the darkness overhead rikus heard his companions gasp then the light illuminated a small circle on the crest of the next dust swell the yellow disk began to sweep slowly down the slope coming in their direction rikus gripped the scourge more tightly preparing to leap up and fight as his companions tensed to do the same he heard dust rustling all around him stay still he whispered don't move unless i say to the light continued to come toward them ragus gasped the beam would sweep across the ship just about where he lay a loud hiss sounded from just in front of their dow an instant later a huge bowsprit drifted over the crest of the dust swell in which they had buried themselves the spar was as long as a tree and it gleamed with the reflected rays of an oil lamp it was passing so close that rikers could have jumped off their little craft's bow and caught hold of it the schooner's lantern beam approached to within an arm's length of the dow at the same time the prow of the balikun schooner burst through the dust swell spraying a thick plume of silt high into the air rankus closed his eyes and ducked down beneath the dow's gunnel pulling himself toward the bottom of the bilge the mole felt the bow rise as the schooner's wake pushed their little craft aside the dow spun toward the bottom of the swell and began to slip down the slope it moved easily for it was still being levitated by tythian fighting the urge to sit up rikers opened his eyes to the burning silt he saw yellow light illuminating the silt over his head he could do nothing except remind himself that this was the reason they had camouflaged their boat and to hope that his companions also remembered that an instant later the amber glow vanished the maul pushed himself up he thrust his head out of the dust gasping for breath and expecting to hear an alarm cry rising from the schooner through a thick cloud of dust rikers saw the dark wall of an immense hull looming high above them the mole looked toward the schooner's bow and saw the beam of the lantern sweeping away from their dao from his angle below the gunnel he could not see the lookouts nevertheless he did not think they had seen the dao there was no sign that anyone was attempting to shine a light in their direction nor did he hear anyone shouting an alarm it seemed that their camouflage had kept the dow concealed at least for the brief instant that the lantern had flashed over it ranker saw the heads and shoulders of his companions showing above the dust around him neva was biting her finger to keep from coughing sedira and kylum were both prepared to cast spells the sorceress holding the dark lump of a spell component in her hand and the dwarf touching his fingers to the sun mark on his forehead only tithian seemed calm leaning against the floater's dome and smirking at them with an air of condescension it took only a moment longer for the schooner stern to hiss past and disappear behind the next dust swell leaving the dao alone in the vast inky darkness of the sea of silt they all breathed a sigh of relief and began to scoop the silt out of the bilge 12 the shoals the chain of shoals stretched across the entire horizon in the dusk light they appeared to be true islands covered with tangles of water-loving ferns and vine draped trees from every cops trilled the warbles of strange birds underscored at regular intervals by the chilling roar of some colossal reptile most of the flats even had a beach of sorts a broad expanse of crusty sun-baked mud that ringed the fertile groves in the center in the past two weeks however the dow had passed enough shoals for neva to know the truth the inviting aisles ahead were little more than a chain of muddy swales created by water seeping up from springs buried deep beneath the dust the ground beneath the trees was a thin sticky sludge only slightly less treacherous than the powdery less filling the sea of silt there's no way the bellicans took their schooners through that growled neva she leaned over the gundle and peered into the shadowy labyrinth of channels between the shoals we've lost their course we haven't callum called back the dwarf kneeled in the bow his eye fixed on an arrow of crimson flame gliding through the silt just ahead of the prow our sun guide still points straight ahead judging by how brightly it glows i'd even say we're catching up to the fleet the dwarf cast the spell several times a day alternately using it to track the bailikins and or card so far the arrow always pointed in the same direction though it always glowed much more brightly when kylem directed it at the fleet neva looked across the boat to rikus what do you think could the balikin schooners squeeze through those channels the mall shrugged there's enough space between the trees he said but the ship floaters would have to lift their hulls high enough to clear the mud crusts at the shoal edges it wouldn't be easy whether sorcerer kings might know of a hidden passage said sedhira the sorceress sat in the stern using her magic to fly the dao if not their magic is certainly powerful enough to see them through when neva did not respond sedhira added we'll catch up to boris and your son how neva snapped we don't know the way through there it could take days to find a passage we don't have to go through the shoals suggested rikers we could fly over them no kylem objected the balikin fleet is too near their lookouts might see us sadera glanced over her shoulder at the setting sun besides it'll be dark soon she said my powers will fade before we travel far neva cursed we've got to do something she said the last time kylem's sun guide pointed at her card it was so faint we could hardly see it rankus stepped over tithian who was sleeping in the bilge and took neva by the shoulders you're right neva the mull said we don't know how far away the dragon and your son are but we're doing everything we can to catch them what if that's not enough rikus she demanded we've already seen that the dragon's magic is just as powerful as sadera's and if he knows we have the dark lens he's probably trying to hide ricard from us maybe the maul allowed his black eyes holding hers steady but you know we won't stop searching like boris hasn't stopped searching for the dark lens she asked my son won't live a thousand years he might even be dead now yes he could be dead rank us allowed but should we do anything different because of it neva shook her head folding herself into the mall's arms damn you she whispered you always were too honest with me she had only been there an instant when she felt her husband's hands prying her away are you cruel or just stupid rikers the dwarf demanded interposing himself between her and the mull the last thing she needs to hear right now is that arkad might be dead rikers scowled more confused than angry how do you know he's not that's not the point kylem fumed then what is demanded neva do you think i'm stupid enough to believe anything else of course not the dwarf said but don't you see what he's doing what demanded never now that sedira spurned him he wants you back said kylum his red eyes burning with anger and he's preying on your emotions i was only trying to calm her down rikers shook his head in disbelief kylem stepped toward him i know what you were doing the dwarf turned his palm toward the sun and if you try it again neva slapped her husband's arm down that blow to your head must have shaken your brains loose she jerked him away from the mall apologize to rikers he's the one who should apologize kylem said he's already come between us whether you admit it or not you think i haven't noticed how distant you've been never released her husband's arm this has nothing to do with rikers except that i keep thinking or card should have been with him instead of you she said her throat suddenly felt as dry as silt i can't help blaming you for what's happened to our son it's unfair but i just can't get over the fact that boris took her card from you i'm sorry kylem's face paled from bronze to ivory even his eyes seemed to fade from red to pink don't apologize i feel the same way he said i've gone over the fight a hundred times and i still don't know how i could have stopped boris i just wish he had finished the job and killed me the fault is more mine than yours said sedhira when i used my magic to move you and her card to the well i played right into boris's plans the dwarf shook his head you moved both of us so i'd be there to protect him if anything went wrong kylem replied but i couldn't what good is a man who can't defend his own son neva felt sorry for her husband but could not bring herself to offer him consolation the simple fact was that she could not answer his question what good was a man who couldn't protect his own son kylem turned toward the bow then paused and faced rikus please accept my apologies my friend he said what i said to you was terrible the color rose to the mall's cheeks think nothing of it he tried to shrug in a good-natured manner but succeeded only in looking uncomfortable we've all been touchy for the past few days tithian must be using some mind trick to make us argue as if he really believed what he had suggested the mall planted a sharp kick in the sleeping king's ribs ricard woke gagging on the rotten stench of sulfur fumes and faintly aware that the dragon still held him they had stopped flying maurice stood on a broken hillock of basalt overlooking a vast valley of dust and fire before them lay a plane of loose cinders and black stone laced with yellow channels of molten rock scattered geysers spewed ash and fire high into the sky while cascades of lava poured from the steaming fissures of distant cliffs a cloud of red ash boiled overhead and the air tasted as hot as flame where are we picard croaked inside the sun no record answered a familiar voice boris has carried you into the heart of the sea of silt his personal lands george appeared at the dragon's side as always the banshee arrived instantaneously as if he had emerged from the vacant air itself george ricard cried he twisted around to face his friend fighting against the dragon's incredibly tight grip you found me i never lost you replied the banshee why haven't you killed the dragon yet feeling guilty that he had not hercard tried to pull his arms free he was too weak the dragon had not allowed him any water in almost a whole day and it had been three times that long since the boy had eaten still the young mole did not think his thirst or hunger made much difference boris's grip was as powerful as that of a giant hercard lowered his gaze or is this too strong he admitted i don't know how to kill him that is for you to decide said george after all it is your destiny his destiny scoffed boris he snorted in amusement shooting wisps of red glowing sand from his nostrils there is no such thing as destiny except what a being chooses for himself and her god has chosen to slay you said george ricard frowned as he remembered it he had been given no choice in the matter the banshees had told him that he would kill the dragon then perhaps i should kill the child now kissed the dragon before he makes good on his threat boris's grip tightened and her card heard a crack deep inside himself a sharp pain shot through his flank then he could not breathe george's orange eyes grew cool and narrow release the boy give me the dark lens came the reply if you wish replied the banshee boris's grip relaxed and her card could breathe again the effort filled his lungs with fire confirming that his captor had broken a rib taking advantage of the dragon's preoccupation with the banshee the young mole pulled his hand free and raised it toward the boiling sky as he summoned the energy to heal himself a spout of glowing red ash shot down to lick at his palm the dragon paid no more attention to the whirling jet than he had when her card had assailed him earlier with kicks and bites boris kept his beady eyes fixed on jorge's gnarled form after a thousand years you're going to give me the dark lens let me have the boy george answered maurice held her card out george advanced to within a few paces of the dragon he glanced down at a patch of broken basalt in front of him then stopped from between the cracked stones shown the orange glow of a submerged lava channel dappled here and there with flecks of green fire don't come any closer george ricard said he was almost ready to cast his healing spell for his hand now glowed fiery red and smoked from the fingertips if you let boris have the dark lens what happens to me doesn't matter silence child ordered boris his grip tightened around her card's injured ribs the burning embers beneath george's brow flared yellow shooting a pair of fiery bolts straight into boris's beady eyes in the same instant he leaped the submerged lava channel and landed face to face with her card's captor the band she drove the jagged nub of his bony arm into the dragon's wrist the claw opened and der card fell free the young mole bounced off boris's leathery knee and tumbled to the ground as his mother had taught him her card tucked his chin against his chest and stretched out to his full length he landed on his uninjured side slapping his forearm against the rough basalt to help absorb the impact the maneuver did him little good from his feet to his shoulders her card's body exploded into a stinging ache he heard himself scream the sound was choked off as pain filled his chest and the air rushed from his lungs he could not rise could not even shift his hand still glowing red with the sun's healing magic down to his broken rib far above boris jerked his wrist off jorge's jagged stump spraying an arc of hot yellow blood over the ground though the dragon's snout and face were scorched his dark eyes showed no hint of injury only anger perhaps i can't destroy you but there are those who can boris hissed he stood so close to george that the yellow fumes of his breath swirled over the banshee as he spoke the lens destroy me or not said joharsh the dark lens will remain hidden not from my lords boris's hands shot up and pushed the banshee back toward the submerged lava channel take him my kaisharika the basalt burst into shards around george's feet six gaunt withered corpses rose from the lava channel runnels of molten rock pouring off their blackened hides a little larger than humans they had emaciated builds and white hot talons instead of fingers their shriveled faces all looked alike with gaping dark holes where their noses should have been and eyes of green fire in spite of their other similarities each had one feature that set him or her apart lacy wings of fire smoking horns fingernails as long and sharp as needles huge pulsing eyes chitinous scales of armor one even had a mouth shaped like a trumpet george go away ricard yelled stay commanded boris his tiny eyes fixed on the banshee if you leave my servant shall have the child in your place george made no move to flee and the dead lords began to close in around him he'll kill me anyway ricard cried he forgot about his own pain and struggled to his feet disappear george shook his gnarled head for better or worse my long battle is at an end he said keeping his orange eyes fixed on his foes i knew that when i freed you all six of the dead lords leapt at the banshee's gnarled shins and began climbing the banshee swung his twisted arms at his attackers knocking the armored ghouls away before they reached his knees the remaining corpses tore at his legs ripping away so much bone that limbs buckled and pitched george backward into a sputtering stream of molten rock white flames began to dance over the banshee's twisted bones he flailed at his attackers splashing great arcs of fiery rock into the air the corpse jorge had knocked away earlier dived into the fiery river then all six of the dead lords began tearing his gnarled ribs away the banshee's eyes grew dimmer and he sighed expelling a cloud of golden mist but card's hand still glowed with the energy he had summoned earlier the boy stepped toward the fiery stream intending to cast his son spell he hoped that it would distract the lords long enough for george to escape god no the ban she yelled the time has come for you to kill the dragon before his minions dispel my magic and learn where the lens is the card stopped how the heat of the liquid rock was so terrible that he had to shield his face behind his arm tell me what to do boris stepped forward to straddle the young mole yes said the dragon his wounded wrist dripped beads of fiery blood all around her card we're both very curious george's orange eyes remained fixed on her card i can't tell you how to do it he said if you can't find the answer within yourself then athas is lost the deadlords pulled away a last rib liquid stone poured into the banshee's chest and the corpse with the huge pulsing eyes rode the viscous stream inside jorsh's orange eyes began to dim the dragon reached down to pick urcard up spattering the boy with droplets of fiery yellow blood the young maul hardly noticed for he was concentrating too hard on what johorsh had said to him if he could find within himself the key to slaying boris then it seemed most likely that the ban she meant it was a matter of knowledge but card's thoughts automatically turned to the greatest source of dwarven knowledge the book of the camelock kings his favorite stories described the adventures of king thurin who always defeated his enemies by curing the grievous afflictions that had turned them into monsters in the first place afterward the beasts always became either his devoted friends and servants or they died peacefully thanking him for releasing them from their eternal agony it struck urkar that as a sun cleric his healing abilities were not so different from the way king thurin had overcome his enemies he wondered if that was what the ban she had been hinting at certainly as one of camelot's ancient knights george knew the stories of king thurin as well as the young mole did boris's claws closed around her card's body so how will you destroy me child ricard laid his hand on the seething puncture in boris's wrist there was a brief flash as the red glow drained from the boy's hand and into boris's scaly hide the wound sizzled and smoked then the drizzle of yellow fire slowly came to a stop the hole's jagged edges stretched toward each other and met leaving a black smoking scar where the injury had been a knot of anticipation formed in her card's chest his magic had sealed the wound but had it healed the dragon boris lifted the young male high off the ground and held him in front of a single black eye you are considerate child he chuckled to show my gratitude i shall let you live to see your parents as i killed them a sick hollow feeling formed in her card's stomach the boy could not imagine how he was supposed to kill the dragon back in samara he had used the only other spell he knew when he had cast his sun beacon at boris's head that had worked no better than healing the beast and during the long trip to this place he had tried punching gouging biting kicking and every other kind of physical assault he knew boris had not even flinched if there was some way for a boy his age to kill the beast the young mall could not think of it far below her card saw jorsh lying in the fiery stream the last glimmer of light faded from his orange eyes his gnarled bones began to smoke finally his skeleton disintegrated in a white flash leaving nothing behind except a few crusts of black cinder within moments the slow swirling currents of boiling rock devoured even that trace of the banshee the dead lords waded to shore and stepped onto the black basalt at boris's feet orange beads of molten stone dripped from their bodies like sweat usurper tithian has the dark lens and has joined your enemies reported the corpse with the pulsing eyes he was the one who had slipped inside joersh they want the child returned alive but they are also determined to kill you the dragon nodded good if we present them with a choice between the two they may hesitate at a critical moment he said where will we find them left them a day ago so we cannot be certain the lord replied but the banshee thought that they would be entering the baxal shoals by now less than a day from my valley hissed the dragon his grip tightened around the card's chest sending sharp pangs of agony through the boy's lungs it is a dangerous thing to attack them so close to if they slip away and enter the city with the lens boris let the sentence trail off shaking his head then what prester card you cannot imagine child the dragon said even your nightmares are not that terrible the lord mariner is lying off the shoals with his fleet said the corpse with the smoking horns with good fortune he might intercept them you would like that wouldn't you lord guardian spat the lord covered by chitinous armor after the lord mariner is destroyed all his warriors the lord guardian is right the usurper and his companions must be intercepted said boris but the baxal shoals are a vast labyrinth therefore all my lords will join in the search the lord mariner will divide you among his ships as he sees fit covering as many channels as possible the dragon looked at the fire-winged corpse you will inform the others lord harbinger as you wish replied the lord stretching his fiery wings i have not dismissed you boris snapped the lord harbinger froze in place even the flames on his wings did not waver it will be difficult for you to reach the boxel's shoals tonight said the dragon if you fail those who find my enemies must attack during the day the dead lords cast uneasy glances at each other then the lord guardian asked what hafsa dearest sun magic she'll destroy you worry censored calmly but you have only one chance to attack if you wait for night or pause to regroup my enemies will escape and reach the valley in full force if we are likely to lose why have us attack great one asked the lord with the chit in his armor your success will not be measured by victory lord warrior the dragon replied one of you must steal the mull's sword the blade was forged by rajat so i cannot attack whoever bears it but you can if you can do this one thing i will destroy my enemies in that case perhaps we should also take king hamanu suggested the lord harbinger his help will be required at the gate of doom along with that of the other sorcerer kings interrupted boris i must be ready in case you fail a card frowned curious as to what the lord harbinger thought hamanu could accomplish in the battle from what the boy understood sorcerer kings could not hit someone bearing the scourge any more than could the dragon remember that i created you for just such a time as this maurice said glaring at his lords to survive without the sword is not to survive at all 13. the spirit lords from his post atop the mast saga cried five sheeps though kylem heard the warning he kept his eyes focused straight ahead and did not rise from his knees the sun's crimson rays were filtering through the tangled boughs rising from the shoal ahead and the dwarf could see by the flat bottom of the orb that the red sphere would not rise completely for many more moments he would not allow the appearance of a few ships to disturb his devotions especially not when he had such need for the sun's favor great beacon shine upon my enemy so that his weakness will glare with a scarlet radiance that even my unseeing eyes will find in tone to the dwarf raykus stepped into the bow next to kylum what do you make of those boats cleric though he did not respond kylem saw the boats five of them lay dead ahead sitting broadside in a single line the vessels were all cutters their single masts billowed with gossamer sails shaped like bat wings and unsupported by any sort of yard arm the decks bristled with catapults manned by half-decomposed corpses the hulls were made of burnished bass salt and looked far too broad to have navigated down the narrow channels that came together to form the bay kylem returned his attention to the rising sun kindling me the fires of your vengeance mighty punisher he said let the flames of your fury pour from my raging heart and char my enemies flesh melt his eyeballs scorch his bones until they crack i beseech you let the inferno of my anger sear his body until it is a black and smoking cinder kylem get up rikers demanded neva came to the mall's side it's no use rikus she said pulling him away until the sun has completely risen my husband's devotion is to it not us his own child could be standing on those ships and still he would not stand kylem resisted the urge to refute his wife even if he had not been in the middle of his devotions there would have been no point to it she had not greeted the sons sincere card's abduction and that fact alone proved that she lacked the faith to understand the depth of the sun communion the dwarf continued his intonation wonderful fire of life watch over my absent son and do not let the flame of his spirit darken warm his heart so he will know his father remembers him and searches for him with a fidelity as fervent as your light reicus and neva left the bow each slipping around a different side of the dark lens at the same time tithian called pull in the boom the king still sat in the stone of the dal for he and sadera had not yet changed places for the day they can't follow us down there tithian gave the tiller a shove the dow tilted to starboard as it changed directions then abruptly slowed and returned to an even keel as the sail went slack a headlayer dust channel so narrow that the trees flanking it actually touched fronds over the passage as sedhira pulled the boom in and caught the wind the dow tipped to starboard and started forward again kylem dutifully returned his gaze to the sun scrambling around so that he could watch it over the starboard side of their little craft the dwarf tried to steal his thoughts to empty his mind so that it would be refilled with the dawn's radiance in spite of his efforts he noticed the cutter's gossamer sails twisting on their masts he tried to forget them and focus on the sun's crimson rays if he allowed the impending battle to impinge on his meditations he would absorb fewer spells than normal and they would be less powerful the dao's hull began to scrape along the mud crusts ringing the shoals adding to the difficulty of the dwarf's meditations he began to hum a single note as he had taught her card to do when the boy was learning to meditate at the same time the ghostly fleet began to move forward kylem found himself puzzling over its path the cutters were trying to cut them off but their course would take the ships straight through the middle of a show as the dow moved deeper into the channel the fleet's gossamer sails disappeared behind the dense foliage to the dao's starboard sighing in relief kylem concentrated on his devotions this thicket seemed heavier than that rising from the last shoal so the dwarf had trouble seeing the sun itself nevertheless by the halo of red tinged leaves in the center of the cops he knew where to look he opened himself to the orb and breathed in slow steady whispers this time the dwarf's meditations were more successful he barely heard the shrill whistles and eerie cackles erupting from the shoals as the dow sliced through the narrow channel between them soon he felt the sun mark on his forehead burning hot and red then the halo shining through the forest became round and whole a crimson flame flared over his brow and he knew the sun had risen kylem stood and turned toward his wife it seems i had time to finish my devotions after all he said for which we'll all be glad when those cutters return let's hope so she retorted neva stood with rikus both of them holding their weapons in their hands and looking past him down the channel behind them sadera fished through her robe pocket with one ebony hand and effortlessly held the boom line with the other tithian sat upon the floater's dome his beady eyes darting back and forth between the shore and the dark lens the shoal suddenly fell silent nothing happened for a moment then a cloud of birds erupted from the tangled thicket their beating wings filled the air with a tremendous throbbing as they passed overhead kylum saw a cluster of gossamer sails approaching through the boughs over the shoal the diaphanous sheets passed through the tangled fronds as though immaterial not disturbing so much as a leaf in contrast to the sails the cutter's black prows drove through the muddy shoal like farmer's plows cutting great harrows and uprooting every plant they passed the majestic trees fell away almost silently their heavy bowls becoming snarled in a nest of vines and boughs long before they could crash to the ground neva and rikus came forward kylem's wife hefted her battle axe and asked well husband can you sink those ships kylem raised a hand toward the sun he waited until his flesh glowed with a brilliant crimson light then pointed back at the dow's mast he cast his spell a globe of scarlet light formed around the base of the pole and slowly rose upward when the shining ball reached the top sakha shrieked shooting off his perch as though someone had struck him the head fell trailing wisps of red smoke and struck the shoal's sun-baked beach with a hollow thump the red sphere took his place on top of the mast and shone down on the dow with a warm rosy light stupid dwarf cursed soccer wobbling into the air you could have warned me what did you do asked drakus protected the ship from the undead kylem replied now the animated corpses on the cutters can't board us the dwarf had barely finished his sentence before the clack clack of firing catapults sounded from a head he spun around to see a barrage of small boulders arcing toward them rikus and neva ducked when kylem did not instantly do the same his wife kicked his feet from beneath him the dwarf dropped unceremoniously into the bilge most of the volley went wide the stones crashed through the sun-crusted beaches to either side of the channel shooting plumes of mud high into the air unfortunately a number of rocks did find their targets two boulders glanced off the dark lens and bounced over the gunnel though the impact caused no apparent damage to the lens it drew an alarmed squeal from tithian three more stones landed amidst the cargo casks spraying chad nuts and precious water in all directions one rock even struck sadera in the chest the impact drove her down on her seat but seemed to cause her no harm she pitched the stone over the side then stood up again kylem stuck his head up and looked over the gunnel two cutters had sailed into the shoal off the port bow and were turning to approach the dow on a parallel route the third ship was positioning itself broadside across the channel the last two vessels remained in the starboard shoal and were turning their bows toward the dao on all five cutters the ungainly corpses were slowly cranking their catapult spoons back into firing position they're trying to catch us in a crossfire growled rikers they won't have a chance said sedhira by the time they're ready to fire again their missiles won't be able to reach us with that the sorceress took typhian's place at the tiller and cast her flying spell the dow rose out of the channel at such a steep angle that kylem had to grab the gunnel to keep from sliding the dark lens slipped back against the water casks pushing them toward the stern sedera braced her feet against the last two barrels and held the entire load in place now this is magic exclaimed neva magic that will betray us to the sorcerer kings if they're still near tithian complained if they're that close the battle would alert them anyway said rikus peering over the gunnel i doubt we could sink five ships without creating a lot of smoke and thunder kylum also looked over the side feeling a little foolish for bragging about how his magic would prevent the corpses from boarding the dow the little craft was already as high as the treetops and rising far below and ahead the corpses were still loading boulders into their catapult spoons but the dwarf did not think the stones would come high enough to strike their craft as they came nearer to the cutters kylum noticed that not all of the corpses on the decks were decomposing on each ship one looked strangely preserved with leathery skin and an emaciated body the shriveled faces of these figures looked remarkably similar with gaping cavities for noses and eyes of green fire but each also had a distinctive feature setting him or her apart from the others a pair of smoking horns fingernails as long and sharp as needles shittiness scales of armor lacy wings of fire a sharp beak instead of a mouth what are those things neva asked she pointed first at the corpse with the smoking horns then at the one with the chitness armor they're the ship commanders some sort of spirit lords offered sadera and i doubt they happened on us by chance boris probably sent them the one with fiery wings leaped off his ship's deck and shot up to intercept the dow there's no need to worry kylem said he glanced up at the red sphere still shining down from the top of the mast hoping his spell would prove useful after all he can't come into the light who's worried rikers asked but we can't let him follow us either better to kill uh destroy him now the mole gripped his sword with both hands and stepped into the bow it was the only place on the dow where the protective light of kylum's spell did not extend beyond the gunnels and so it was the only place the corpse could attack the craft itself the spirit lord seemed to sense this for a streaked straight to rikus them mall swung the corpse fanned his fiery wings and stopped instantly allowing the scourge's blade to flash harmlessly past his face stupid mull the spirit lord hissed come with me the corpse slipped to the side of the blade and clamped both hands over the mull's wrists the lord's wings flapped furiously trying to back away and pull rikus from the dow each time they beat forward long tongues of flame curled off the wings lacey edges to lick at the mall's face and arms screaming in pain rikers dropped down to shield himself behind the bone prow he braced his feet against the gunnel and pulled trying to draw his attacker into the glowing circle cast by kylum's spell the two foes seemed evenly matched the mull's wrists remained poised at the perimeter of the rosy light trembling with strain and agony the corpse's wings beat madly filling the air in front of the dow with yellow whorls of flame neva ducked under the sail and stepped forward chopping at the spirit with her axe the steel did not bite into his flesh but she caught the crook of the blade behind the corpse's neck she added her strength to rikus's and pulled dragging their enemy across the gunnel into the rosy light of kylum's spell the spirit lord howled in pain black tendrils of smoke spewed from his body and his flesh fell away in flakes of black ash kylum could hardly believe what he was seeing the spell was having an effect but hardly what he had expected the corpse had to be as powerful as a banshee otherwise he would have been consumed by crimson flame as soon as he was pulled into the circle kylem turned a hand toward the sun calling for the magic to incinerate the spirit a red glow crept over his hand and he pointed his finger at the corpse before the dwarf could cast his spell sadera uttered an incantation from the back of the boat a bolt of black energy streaked past kylem's head striking the spirit in the center of the chest a tremendous bang shook the dow nearly knocking the cleric from his feet and blasting the corpse out of the bow a ball of ebony fire swallowed the lord and he plunged toward the shoals below by the time he reached the ground all that remained of him was a cloud of ash kylem's side feeling more useless than ever he went to the mall's side and said let me see those burns rikers the mall shook his head and started to rise later he said they're not serious kylem laid his palm on the mull's blistered arms i'll turn them now he insisted if all i'm good for is healing other people's wounds at least let me do it well with that the dwarf released his healing energy the mull hissed as the magic poured into his body the blisters quickly subsided leaving only a red tint to show where the mull's skin had been burned thanks rike has said it does feel better the clatter of catapults sounded from below kylem looked over the gunnel in time to see a volley of grey boulders crossing paths beneath the hull the four ships that had fired the stones were almost directly below the dao one pair to each side of the silk passage the fifth cutter lay a short distance ahead still blocking the narrow channel between the shoals in spite of the catapult's obvious inability to hit the dow the mindless crewman cranked the spoons down to reload go ahead try again rikus yelled as they passed over the last cutter a loud sizzle sounded from the ship's deck a brilliant flash of blue streaked from its stern there was a deafening boom and the whole dow bucked the hull erupted into a spray of gray splinters kylum grabbed the gunnel to keep from flying out and felt his feet dangling free realizing the dow had no bottom he looked down the cargo casks the floaters dome neva's axe the dark lens even the boats sail and mast were arcing toward the shoals far below only the people remained clinging to the gunnels for their lives callum watched the dow's cargo fall with the sail still attached the mast was caught by the wind and lost its forward momentum the fastest it landed about a hundred paces from the cutters plunging through a shoal's mud crust and standing upright the water casks and neva's axe were strewn over the crusty banks a little distance beyond while the dark lens continued the farthest before plunging into the silt channel no tithian screamed the lens the king released his grip and dropped away raising a plume of dust as he followed the lens into the dust passage what now cried neva turn around answered kylem the dwarf looked back toward the cutters already the spirit lords were leaping off their ships i don't care about tythian but we can't lose the lens swinging low near the sail sedera rike assorted them all pointed at the dao's mast which still had the rosy orb of the dwarf's protection spell glowing from the top harlem and i'll drop off to hold them back then you take neva back to find the lens sedira brought the dow around she swooped in so low that kylem could have counted the cracks in the beach below the dwarf waited until they passed into the rosy glow of his protection spell then let go of the gunnel almost before he felt himself falling kylem slammed into the crusty mud and felt it crack beneath the impact he allowed his momentum to carry him forward and tumbled head over heels across the hot ground he came to a rest on his back staring straight up the mast at the red sphere of his spell the mass was wobbling slightly as if it might fall at any moment and it was tilting toward the silk channel at a slight angle kylum noticed that he felt nothing from the waist down and feared the fall had broken something in his back he tried to kick his legs and nearly choked on the resulting cloud of dust realizing that he had nearly rolled into the dust channel kylem pushed himself back he stood already raising a hand toward the sun and spun around to face the spirit lords to his surprise he did not see any coming after him the only undead he saw were the decomposing corpses back at the cutters they stood beside their catapults staring into the air with vacant expressions and blank eyes kylem suspected that their spirits were magically bound to the ships otherwise they would have been climbing over the gunnels to attack by now from across the narrow silk channel rikus yelled of all the rotten luck kylem looked over and saw the mull at least he saw the upper half of the mall rikus had plunged through the sun-baked crust and was stuck up to his breast in the soft mud beneath to make matters worse all four of the spirit lords were rushing toward him already the one with the smoking horns was diving at rikus kylum pointed at the spirit and spoke a mystic command word a brilliant ray of crimson shot from his fingers bursting into a dazzling spray of light right before the thing's eyes the corpse roared in anger and beams of golden energy shot from his smoking horns the spirit lord landed at the mull's side shaking his head in a mad effort to clear the spots from his eyes the rays from his horns washed over rikus the mull screamed in pain and brought the scourge down across the spirit's neck sending his ugly head skittering across the sun-baked ground rikers looked back to the other three spirit lords who were only a dozen steps away i can't get out of this mess the mall drew his arm back to throw the scourge take this no keep it kylem yelled not giving rikers a chance to argue the dwarf stepped over to the mast and tried to shove it toward the mall the shaft was lodged more securely than it appeared and would not tip easily kylum continued to push the pole slipped a little but did not fall across the channel the three remaining spirit lords had reached the mall they spread out around him the one with the chitness armor positioned himself directly in front of rikus while the corpse with the beak approached from the side on which the mole was holding the scourge the last lord a female with fingernails as long as needles circled around behind rikus kylum continued to push against the mast for he could feel it slowly tipping at the same time he glanced up the silk channel to see if he could summon help sadera and neva were several hundred paces away flying low over the silt passage their backs to him and rikus from what the dwarf could see of their heads their gazes were fixed on the channel below searching for some sign of the dark lens kylem started to call out but from across the passage one of the spirit lords said now lord warrior the dwarf looked back to see the corpse with the chitness armor apparently the lord warrior dart in and level a vicious kick at rikes's head there was a loud crack as the maul deflected the assault with his free arm then he swung the scourge of the spirit's legs the lord warrior jumped the slash he landed on one foot kicking rikus's sword arm away with the other now you lord vizier the other male spirit leaped forward clamping his beak-shaped mouth around rikus's wrist with one hand the lord vizier grabbed the fist holding the scourge and slammed the palm of the other into the maul's elbow rekka screamed but did not release his weapon so the corpse tried to force it free by wrenching the mole's arm kylem heard the mud crust crackle and felt the masked tip growling with determination he slammed his shoulder into the pole and pumped his legs madly the mast tilted farther leaning across the channel the glowing sphere on top cast rosie light over rikus in the area around him the lord warrior shrieked and retreated as did the female corpse the lord vizier tried one last time to wrench the scourge free it proved a terrible mistake varicus reached over and grabbed him by the back of the neck then held him in place the spirit lord opened his beak and screeched in pain wisps of black foul-smelling smoke rose from his body the corpse flailed his arms about wildly in a mad effort to escape rikus pulled his sword across the corpse's stomach the lord vizier gave a harrowing whale and clawed madly at the dry mud in an effort to drag himself away the mall struck again and the spirit went limp the body smoldered for a moment then a wave of shimmering flames reduced it to ashes the last two spirit lords standing on opposite sides of rikus looked toward kylem can you take care of him ladybliss asked the lord warrior gladly answered the female spirit spreading her needle-like fingers and stepping away from rikus kylem circled around to the other side of the mast as if trying to hide he could hear the mud crust crackling beneath its weight and knew it would fall at any moment lady bliss circled the area lit by kylum's spell then stopped at the edge of the silt channel she used one finger to motion for him to come closer and the dwarf could see droplets of murky yellow fluid dripping from the claw there is nothing to fear little man she said gathering herself up to jump the channel this won't hurt this will kylum countered using all his dwarven strength kylem shoved the mast the mud crust gave way with a sharp crack and the top of the pole swung around the shaft dropped straight toward lady bliss catching her as she tried to leap into the air the red globe crashed down on her shoulder the spirit lord did not even have time to scream before her body erupted into a pillar of crimson flame calm heard the lord warrior curse then say the sword give it to me the dwarf did not even take the time to look across the channel his end of the mast had sunk into the dust but the other end still lay propped on top of the opposite shoal's mud crust he took a running start and jumped spreading his arms wide kylum dropped about halfway across he hit the dust face first sinking only a short distance before his chest touched the solid shaft of the mast the dwarf closed his arms around it and pulled himself up coughing and choking as he came out of the silt not even waiting until he could breathe clearly again he crawled up onto the opposite shoal and turned toward rikus kylem found himself behind both his friend and the lord warrior having landed a glancing kick on the back of the maul's skull the corpse was just leaping away as rikus tried to twist around and slash at him with the scourge the lord warrior slipped the step to the side positioning himself for his next attack the dwarf charged timing his assault to arrive as the corpse stepped forward again the spirit lord stopped directly behind rikus the lord warrior raised his leg preparing to level a vicious thrust kick at the base of rikus's skull certain that the blow would be fatal if it landed kylem yelled a warning at the same time he hurled himself at the lord warrior taking the corpse high in the shoulder blades the dwarf hit with a bone jarring impact his face pressing into the cold hard scales that covered the corpse's back the lord warrior cried out in surprise and the momentum of kylem's charge carried them both over the top of rikus's head the corpse crashed down right in front of the mall then the dwarf rolled away ragus brought the scourge down half a dozen times before the lord warrior had a chance to react by the time kylem had returned to his feet all that remained of the spirit were slabs of putrid flesh many thanks rikers said you just saved my life four times over the mullet suffered more during his struggle against the spirit lords than kylem had realized his body was covered with lumps huge purple bruises and a dozen gashes that were starting to soften the mud around him with blood i haven't saved your life yet kylem said he raised a hand toward the sun and walked over to the mall's side lord warriors beating could take you yet rikus's eyes widened he stared up at the dwarf's glowing hand with a pained expression i'm too sore for that he growled you don't have to heal me right now of course he does snarled tithian's voice kylum looked over and saw the king or rather a creature with the king's head crawling out of the silt channel typhian's body no longer looked even remotely human it was shaped like that of a lizard with a knobby green hide and squat powerful legs so broad they looked more like paddles as the strange beast emerged the rest of the way onto the shoal the dwarf saw that it had wrapped its long tail around the considerable bulk of the dark lens the creature crawled over to them and deposited the lens at rikus's side now be quiet and let kylum save your miserable hide again tithian said looking toward the cutters i'll go make arrangements for us to continue perhaps we can finish our journey in a style more befitting my station 14. the gate of doom the ravine was a scar upon the blackened face of the plane an ugly slash choked with jagged boulders and thick with brown vapor its sheer walls were capped with long mounds of loose stone as if some immense plow had scratched a furrow from a field of solid basalt the floor was littered with pulsing heaps of yellow stones while tiny fissures in the cliff faces spat beads of steaming white sludge across the canyon it was not a plant living or dead in the whole valley the ravine spilled into a vast fiery abyss filled with molten rock at this brink loomed a massive arch of black granite engraved with squirming yellow runes and twice as tall as the cliffs flanking it in the shadows beneath the arch stood the dragon eclipsed by the edifice and silhouetted against the orange glow rising from the chasm at his back the claws of one hand were closed around a small limp figure though sedira could not see it clearly from this distance she assumed the figure to be ricard the sorceress had been watching for quite some time and still had not seen the boy move sedira felt a hand grasp her shoulder it's time neva whispered kylem just received tithian's thought message they're in position sedira looked at the ravines south wall the cliff was only about half the height of the great arch itself but easily tall enough so that rikus and tithian would be able to attack the dragon from above she saw no sign of the maul or the king of course for they would not show themselves until the battle began until then they would remain hidden behind the mound of loose stones that capped the wall according to the plan neva and kylem would make the first move protected by sedhira's magic they would go straight down the ravine they would try to hold the dragon's attention on themselves so that the sorceress would have a better chance of using her powers to sneak up on him sedira's task was to deprive the dragon of his most dangerous magic like the sorcerer kings boris could draw the life force from men and animals also like sorcerer kings he required the aid of obsidian globes to convert it into magical energy but the dragon's mighty spells required more of the dark orbs than his hands could hold so he swallowed his globes and carried them inside his body if sadera could get close enough she could shatter the obsidian in boris's stomach thus robbing him of his mightiest weapon the loss of the globes would probably also stun boris so sedhira would move quickly to rescue ricard then if necessary she would return and lure the dragon from beneath his arch by taunting him pretending to suffer an injury or as a last resort leaving herself vulnerable to a physical attack when boris stepped out of his cover rikers and tithian would attack from above hopefully the ambush would prove fatal if it did not the assault would lapse into an unpredictable melee and their strategy would become of necessity a simple one attack as fast and as hard as possible sedira asked neva is something wrong the sorceress shook her head then followed her friend back behind the ridge they were using as a hiding place she was sad to see that neva did not go to kylem's side sedhira had hoped that her friend would make amends with her husband before the fighting started the sorceress went to neva's side and took the warrior's axe don't you think it's time to forgive your husband she whispered this will be a hard-fought battle i didn't see you kiss rikus before sending him off countered the warrior also whispering that's different kylem did all he could do to protect your son sadera said ragus was glad to see august gone that's not true never replied he thought he'd have me to himself i saw it in his eyes sadera insisted he's always been jealous of aguis rikers neva scoffed shaking her head she lowered her voice even further neither of you are ones to be jealous that's why you have him and i don't as i recall you ended that romance for kylum sadera glanced over her friend's shoulder at the dwarf he was deep in concentration one hand pressed to his sun mark and i think you'll find you still love him if you ask yourself how you would have stopped boris neva bitter lip and looked away maybe after this is over she said but all i can think of now is getting ricard back fix my axe so we can get on with it sadira sighed she rubbed her ebony fingers over the weapons steelhead speaking several incantations in a row a dark stain spread outward from beneath her fingertips coating the double-edged weapon with an ebony sheen as smooth and lustrous as a mirror tiny whirlpools of dusky light poured into one blade while sable starbursts sparkled from the other even the handle turned as black as pitch remember use the flat of the blade to deflect anything flying at you sedhira handed the weapon back to neva and boris tries to use his magic point the handle at him and above all if you get close enough to hit him leave the blade buried in his flesh as long as possible unless you've changed any of the enchantments there's no need to go over it again interrupted neva she cast a nervous glance skyward night could come at any moment sadira looked up and nodded although it had been less than three days since they had entered the valley they had learned to be wary of their sense of time the boiling ash storm overhead cast the same red pall over this strange land all day long rendering it impossible to judge the hour by looking at the sky they could not even create a sundial the thick clouds hid the sun and prevented even a faint shadow from showing on the ground to make matters worse when night fell it would do so with no period of twilight or hint of dusk the sky would simply change from a bright crimson to a dim scarlet and sedira's skin would fade from ebony to its normal hue of ivory and as neva had pointed out that could happen soon mornings such as it was had arrived much earlier that day long before kylem's tracking spell had led them to the dragon unfortunately holding their assault until morning was out of the question for boris knew their strengths and limitations too well if they let knight fall he would certainly attack them sadera stepped aside letting neva and kylum pass fairly certain that arch is a mystic gate though i've no idea where it leads she said so keep a watchful eye if boris activates it our best chance of following him and her card will be to duplicate what he does exactly what should we watch for neva asked sadira shook her head i wish i knew a command or touching a hidden panel perhaps even something as simple as stepping out the other end she said i doubt that he'll try to use it until he's injured but just in case i'll try for your son as quickly as i can let us hope that her god still lives said kylem and that the hour is not too close to dark the dwarf led his wife into the ravine as the pair disappeared sedira slipped the nugget of dried nissa resin into her mouth and chewed she plucked a lash from her eyelid and when the gum had grown soft wrapped it inside pinching the resulting wad between her fingers she whispered an incantation her body slowly faded from black to gray then grew translucent and finally became completely invisible the clatter of shifting stones echoed up from the gorge and sadera knew neva and kylum had begun their descent she reached into her pocket to prepare her next spell did you hear that rikus whispered it sounded like cluttering stones the mole faced down on the brink of a small cliff to one side the precipice dropped about 30 feet to a plane of broken basalt to the other side a mound of loose stones rose 50 paces to a rounded crest that overlooked the dragon's waiting place above the summit of the ridge rikus could see the top of the arch with its sneaking yellow runes silhouetted against the crimson sky of course he could not see over the hill to tell what was happening in the ravine i assume neva and kylum are descending said sakha he was floating beyond the cliff edge well out of the maul's reach be ready i am rikers growled he drew his sword and peered over the cliff edge at tithian having transformed himself into something resembling a giant scorpion the king was using the claws of his six legs to climb the cliff the dark lens was pressed against his back held securely in place by his curled tail in place of the arachnid's claws he had created a pair of arms as long and powerful as those of a half giant only the head remained tithians looking at once demented and pitiful with his brown eyes glaring from deeply sunken sockets his hawkish nose slimmed down to a crooked rib of cartilage and wild shocks of gray hair sticking out at all angles remember i'll be watching you ragus warned the king smirked up at the mall we're on the same side in this fight he said it's time you accepted that ragus looked back up the hill i've been stung by one scorpion already he said it won't happen again neither sprang from one teetering boulder to another her eyes watering and her throat burning from the caustic fumes of the ravine most of the brown vapors in the immediate area were swirling around her axe's head sinking into the enchanted blade and disappearing from sight the few wisps that escaped were enough to make her glad for sedira's protection they had already traveled most of the way down the gorge the great arch stood less than 50 paces away at least five times as tall as a giant a bailicum schooner could have sailed through the gap between its pillars even the yellow runes on its face now writhing madly were the size of pharaoh trees the dragon continued to stand in the shadows beneath the arch his head cocked as he watched them approach the closer they came the harder it became to see him clearly the glow rising from the abyss at his back grew brighter with each step until the glare blurred the edges of his scaly body neva had expected boris to attack by now but it did not disturb her that he had not the closer he let them approach the longer sedira would have to position herself the warrior glanced at her axe head they were all keenly aware that the dragon ahead could be a double like the one they had faced in samara one of the enchantments sadera had cast on the weapon was to make the blade reveal the true appearance of anything reflected in its dark sheen the image neva saw was that of boris watch yourself kyla cried he may be attacking the dwarf pointed at the top of the great arch one of the sigils was glowing white and whirling madly an instant later it vanished in a bright flash neva pressed herself close to her husband's side holding the axe between them in the arch before she could ask what he expected to occur a sheet of steaming white sludge sizzled from a long fissure in the canyon wall she thought they would be swamped but the sheets split apart as it neared them a huge glob struck neva's axe and swirled into the blade in a great whirlpool the rest of the muck fell around them blanketing the rocks on the ground a harsh hissing and popping sounded from beneath the white shroud as it quickly dissolved into brown vapor and rose up around them in a caustic cloud neva swung her axe through the choking vapors clearing them away with a single pass of the blade both she and kylem looked back to the arch immediately to their relief no more of the runes disappeared they advanced farther down the gorge until they were close enough to see that the yellow runes in the arches face consisted of flowing ribbons of molten stone the bright glow behind the dragon sent blazing daggers of pain shooting through neva's eyes and blasts of fiery wind gusted up from the depths of the abyss to sear her flesh determined not to show her weakness neva continued to advance without shielding her eyes or looking away a loud spiteful voice came from beneath the arch stop there and we will speak the warrior and her husband obeyed keeping a watchful eye on the yellow runes above what do we have to talk about neva asked boris stepped to the front edge of the arch his body now blocking most of the glare he lowered his serpentine neck and fixed his scorching gaze on the two intruders the spiked crest on his head stood completely upright the barbed tips of its spines gleaming with orange light a scorching light shone in his beady eyes and wisps of yellow smoke fumed from his dark nostrils the dragon's beak-like mouth gaped open neva brought her axe around fearing he intended to spray them with his fiery breath maurice did not attack if you give me tithian and the lens i'll return your child and let you live he offered i'll even leave tear alone never looked up at his hand far above she could see her cards feet and hands protruding from between the dragon's claws but nothing else how do i know my son's still alive neva asked the warrior found herself croaking the words she did not know whether the dryness in her throat was due to her fear or the parching wind blowing in her face boris poised a claw over the center of his palm approximately where her card's chest would be would you like to hear him scream that won't be necessary neva glared up at the dragon for a moment then faced her husband as if to speak with him as badly as she wanted to agree to the terms she did not trust boris any more than she would have trusted tithian she had no intention of revealing the lenses location but she was simply trying to buy sedera a little more time to maneuver into position kylum turned a palm upward calling upon the sun for his spell to neva's horror a spout of glowing red ash shot down from the sky to lick at her husband's hand the dwarf's eyes went wide and a sound like roaring wind howled from inside the arch neva spun around holding the flat of her blade before her boris had drawn himself up to full height his bony chest puffed out with air his snout gaped so far open that she could see a yellow glow rising from deep in his gullet police were holding his attention neva thought the beast dropped his head and spewed a cone of white hot sand at the warrior and her husband rikers saw a strange spout of crimson ash whirl down from the sky descending into the gorge just a short distance from the great arch then came a roaring sizzle he recognized from previous battles against the dragon the blast of scorching breath clouds of blazing hot sand build it up around the ash the spout quickly dissolved drifting away in a fog of gray flakes boris's breath continued to roar rikus looked down at the king who was less than ten feet away hanging from the cliff face by all six claws the fight started the mall yelled hurry up rankus jumped to his feet and started up the rugged slope he had taken only three steps when a long chain of yellow runes squirmed off the great arch and streaked down to the mound's crest they struck with boom after thunderous boom and the entire summit seemed to explode into shards of basalt and plumes of acrid smoke the mole covered his head and waited for the eruption to pass when the choking haze thinned he saw 13 obsidian statues standing on top of the ridge they had round featureless heads with no faces and their arms ended in fan-shaped blades the statues came lumbering down the slope with plunging stiff-legged strides that sent loose rocks skittering down the hill before them as the golems came nearer rika saw a single yellow flame twinkling in the dark breast of each one what's that racket called tithian he was still hanging on the cliff and could not look over the top to see the approaching golems nothing i can't handle rikus answered but watch your head there might be some falling rocks rakus drew the scourge and waited deciding that he could use the cliff to good advantage against the clumsy statues the four golems in the center reached him first slashing in his neck the mulducked and counter-attacked bringing his blade through the breasts of all four attackers the enchanted steel cut through the obsidian like flesh as the sword sliced through the yellow flame inside each golem's breast the statues burst into shards opening more than a dozen deep slashes along the mull's side rakus hardly noticed the cuts except as a warning to be more careful about how he destroyed the other statues he had not suffered any crippling wounds when these golems exploded but he might not be so lucky next time the mall turned and charged one flank of the golem's line he ducked the flailing arms of the first statue then counter-attacked with a series of vicious slashes that took the legs off both it and the next one in line the third golem stooped over to slash atracus's legs anticipating that he would duck again the mull leaped over its head and sent it tumbling over the cliff with a stomp kick to the back he found himself descending straight into the thrashing blades of the fourth golem rakus flipped his blade around and drove it straight down to the thing's yellow heart it exploded as the others had but the shards sprayed out horizontally and the maul suffered no cuts as he came down before the last statue this one split its attacks one arm slicing low and the other high rankus leaped back and waited for the appendages to cross then darted forward and sliced them both off at the elbows the thing threw itself at him rakus grabbed a stump and sidestepped bracing a foot against its ankle when he pivoted the golem's own momentum carried it over the cliff as it shattered on the stones below rikers faced the last four golems and found them forming a semi-circle above him the mall backed to the edge of the cliff and braced himself the dark statues closed ranks and rushed their hands slashing high low and through all points in between rankus parried for a moment lopping off a couple of obsidian hands then stepped back and dropped off the precipice as he fell rikus drove the tip of the scourge down into the cliff at a steep angle catching himself just a yard below the top only two golems followed him over the edge unable to stop their advances in time to keep from falling still attacking as they plummeted past one managed to open a deep gash next to the mull's spine then they both shattered against the rocks below the last two golems kneeled at the cliff's brink the mall thrust his free hand into a crevice and nodded his fist twisting against the stone to jam it in place as the two statues above began to slash at him he pulled the scourge free and severed one golem's head the thing hardly seemed to notice thrashing at the arm rikus that thrust into the crevice when it could not reach it dropped to its belly the other golem now excluded from the combat returned to its feet and stepped away where the maul could not see it rekkus waited until his attacker's arms spread wide then pulled himself close and thrust the scourge up through the brink of the cliff the blade passed through the basalt easily driving deep into the golem's chest the statue exploded though the cliff head sheltered the maul from suffering more cuts when the last golem did not take this one's place rikus began to pull himself up a pair of heavy steps sounded atop the precipice a boulder slowly appeared over the brink held between the statue's glassy arms cursing them all stretched across the cliff face and drove the scourge deep into a knob of rock he pulled his other hand from the crevice and swung away just as the huge rock plunged past the golem peered over the cliff and cocked its head at rikers then turned away the mole pushed himself up and grabbed the statue's ankle as the thing stepped away it dragged him back onto the cliff top leaving the scourge planted in the precipice rikus rolled into the back of the golem's legs the thing tumbled over his body landing flat on its back the mall did not even stand but simply whipped himself around and pushed it over the edge with his feet most impressive rikers called tiffian the king was just crawling over the top of the cliff aren't you glad now for all that time you trained in my gladiator pits the mall clenched his teeth and reached down to pull the scourge free stop talking and start climbing he growled the fight started and we're late gliding silently and invisibly along the gorge wall sedira watched boris's scouring breath bubble around neva and kylum he had been spewing sand at them for nearly a minute now with no sign that he would stop soon thanks to the enchantment she'd placed on the blade the scalding wind caused her friends no harm nevertheless the attack did keep the pair pinned close together and the sorceress suspected that was why the dragon continued to assault them with it the sorceress dived toward the battle coming down the face of the arch her hand vibrating with a soft hum she knew the noise would alert the dragon to her presence but she did not care by the time he cast a spell to undo the magic that made her invisible her attack would be made the sorceress descended past several yellow runes and slipped beneath the arch's vault she saw her target below and dropped boris continued to spew sand at neva and kylum his arrow-shaped head pushed forward and his beady eyes flashing with rancor the sharp spines of his crest glistened under sadera like so many spears he was stooped slightly forward presenting his scaly shoulders to the sorceress kylum cast a spell from outside the arch and a layer of flame appeared beneath sadera she lost sight of the dragon and had to slow her dive then she saw a clawed hand pluck the fire from the air like a silk cloth boris hurled the spell back at the dwarf neva caught the blazing sheet on the heft of her axe then whipped it away the flames blanketed the canyon wall and continued to burn resuming her dive sedera looked into the palm in which the dragon held urcard her stomach twisted into knots and a cold hand clutched at her heart the young mole was still not moving and he looked almost starved she could see every rib on his torso and his stomach was distended with hunger his skin was flushed and scaly from lack of water and his limbs were as thin as sticks still the sorceress had to bite her cheek to keep from calling out to neva the boy's eyes were open and he was touching one hand to the sun mark on his forehead he had survived as sedhira slipped past the dragon's bony shoulder the beast abruptly closed his mouth he cocked his ear toward her and annoying gleam flashed in his eyes the first syllables of an incantation began to slip from his leathery lips the sorceress reached boris's midsection and slapped her hand against his belly she spoke the command word of her spell she immediately turned visible for she did not possess the psionic talents to keep herself hidden after making an attack a deep hum throbbed through boris's abdomen then the tinted nabulation of shattering glass erupted from inside his stomach the dragon roared in pain he struggled to finish the incantation he had begun a moment earlier but he only managed to belch forth a cloud of black dust all that remained of the obsidian globes that had been stored in his stomach sedira swung up toward the hand holding her card far below neva and kylem charged the arch yelling and screaming madly the sorceress streaked past boris's wrist and swept low over his palm she reached down and snagged her card gathering him up into her arms and felt four sharp claws close around her body caught you stupid woman the dragon chortled he jerked her out of the air and closed his fist bearing down with indescribable force i knew you'd come for the child sedera wrapped herself around her card protecting the boy from the awful pressure at the same time she kicked at the dragon's gnarled fingers trying to break one or force them open it was no use the sorceress might have been imbued with the power of the sun but the dragon was infused with a magical force just as strong boris met the charge of her cards parents at the front of the arch he casually kicked neva aside sending her tumbling across the broken ground then stomped at kylum with his other foot the dwarf saved himself by diving away sedira tried to look toward the top of the cliffs wondering if rikus and tiffian could see what was happening the effort was futile she could peer between boris's scaly fingers and see most of what was happening on the ground but it was impossible to twist around to look up said era you shouldn't have come for me said der card he was so hoarse that the sorceress could barely understand him of course i should have the sorceress replied her voice strained it was all she could do to keep her arms extended and her body curled over her card so the dragon's fist would not crush the boy you're going to kill boris i don't think so ricard said orsh said something that the dragon bore down harder not now sadera groaned she tensed every muscle in her body struggling to keep herself and the boy from being crushed boris stepped from beneath the arch and peered down at kylum who was struggling to return to his feet sedira took a deep breath expecting rikus's war cry to ring off the gorge walls as he and tiffian leapt down from above the only thing she heard was boris chuckling the dragon fixed one bdi on kylum from the intensity of his gaze she guessed that he was about to use the way against the dwarf no the sorceress started to reach for a spell component but had to stop when she nearly collapsed on top of her card to sedhira's surprise the rugged image of a human man suddenly flashed into the shadowy corridors of her mind he had blocky features with a shaven head round ears and a long beard with no mustache his eyes were beady and full of hatred much as the dragons and he was dressed in a full suit of gleaming plate armor at first sedira was perplexed about what she was seeing then she realized that boris was attacking with the way the knight pulled a sword and walked until he reached a door of polished ebony which he kicked open the doorway opened into a gloomy room with a high vaulted ceiling the walls were lined by benches and draped with richly colored tapestries depicting the bearded dwarves of old in the center of the chamber a ball of crimson fire hovered over a circle of white marble sedira was confused she had no memories of such a room it almost seemed as though she were looking into kylum's mind the warrior crossed to the circle and paused before the blazing globe i should have finished my job and cleansed the world of every filthy dwarf when i had the chance a few tendrils of flame lashed out and washed over the knight's armor he simply laughed and raised his sword then began to chop away great pieces of the burning sphere in the ravine kylum began to scream leaving no doubt in sedira's mind about what she was seeing the dragon's mental attack was so powerful that it had penetrated her thoughts carrying a part of her consciousness into the victim's mind what's happening her card demanded sedhira covered the boy's eyes don't look kylem fell silent then his body erupted into a spray of blood and flesh it collapsed to the ground in a dozen neatly sliced pieces boris snickered then turned around and stepped back toward the arch sadera heard neva yell the sorceress shifted her gaze between another pair of fingers and saw arcard's mother burying the sparkling edge of her axe into boris's leathery calf the blade bit deep and the dragon's leg began to jerk with rhythmic convulsions the spasms brought a feeling of satisfaction and hope to sedera she knew that with each contraction the enchantment she'd placed on neva's axe was pumping another bolt of mystic energy into boris's leg the resulting explosions were not powerful enough to kill the dragon but they would certainly serve to slow him down for rikus and tythian apparently boris had no interest in waiting for the pair to arrive growling in pain he limped back beneath his arch without taking the time to remove either the axe or neva from his leg as the dragon passed between the pillars he uttered a long series of words in a language sedira didn't understand a loud crackle echoed off the walls of the arch then a brilliant flash of orange light forced sadera to close her eyes she felt boris step forward then the mordant stench of boiling rock burned her nose and throat her stomach grew queasy and she suddenly felt as light as a cloud rikers she yelled where are you 15. the broken plane tithing scurried up the slope with just the proper amount of urgency joining rikus on the hill's crest from this high vantage the king could see that the abyss beyond the arch was filled with a sea of lava in some places it bubbled and shot viscous geysers high into the air and in others torpid whirlpools slowly sank into unseen sinkholes scattered spires of scorched stone rose out of the molten expanse while the black ribbon of a cliff barely showed on the far side of the vast pool the king sauna sign of urdraksa the secret city prison wherein rajat was confined still he felt certain that they were not far away from it for the great arch and its yellow runes had been created to protect something and the king did not think it was a sea of molten stone soon he would free the ancient master of sorcery and receive his reward the powers of an immortal sorcerer king but first tithian had the dragon and a few former slaves to kill the king peered over the cliff and discovered that the ravine below was empty the blood was still draining from the assorted pieces of what the king assumed had once been kylem in a concerned voice tythian asked where is everyone as he spoke the king searched the broken floor of the valley for some sign of neva's body he saw nothing but a few pulsing heaps of stone and the arch its face still covered with writhing yellow runes they're gone rikus pointed the tip of his sword at the arch the dragon stepped through there with sadira just as i reached to the top of the hill and neva the king asked clinging to boris's leg the mall reported her axe was buried nice and deep tithing cursed silently it would have been better if both kylem and his wife were already dead now neva would be one more person trying to kill him after boris died still the king was not overly concerned in the weeks since he had stolen the dark lens he had noticed that the higher the sun was in the sky the more searing the surface of the lens judging by the orb's relatively bearable temperature at the moment the king knew the sun was about to set taking with its sedira's powers if he could time things so that they finished the dragon just after nightfall the sorceress would not be a challenge that would leave only rikus and his sword to worry about rankus's hand flashed out grabbing tithian's long hair bring them back he ordered i can't do that then i have no reason to keep you alive the mole pressed the scourge's tip to the chitness collar connecting the king's head in his scorpion's body let me finish tiffy and hissed he was very careful to keep his tail motionless perhaps we can still save them how the mull demanded we can follow tithian replied gesturing toward the arch and we can do it quickly if you'll let me fly us down to the arch ragus released tithian's hair we've got little enough to lose he said do it the dragon's foot returned to the ground and neva felt the chasm's incredible heat at her back still clinging to the axe handle she blinked several times a wasteland of black scoria sloped gently away before her it was laced with jagged fissures and twisted ribs of rock and it appeared more windswept and bleak than any terrain she had ever seen the plane ended in the far-off distance where a sheer cliff rose straight into the boiling red clouds of the sky in a step boris had crossed the sea of molten rock the dragon limped from beneath an arch identical to the one they had departed a moment earlier then growled in pain knowing what would come next neva braced her feet and pulled her axe free she dropped to the ground just as boris's claw slapped the place where she had been hanging the warrior swung her axe the sparkling edge bit deep then began pumping bolts of mystic energy into boris's wrist the dragon's hands swelled to twice its normal size and blew apart pelting neva with beads of fiery yellow blood and bits of bone boris's howl shook the ground neva dived away she rolled across her shoulders and came up facing the dragon's flank her axe still in her hands ignoring the agony of her many burns the warrior charged aiming her blade at the leg she had mangled before boris pivoted away neva found herself crossing the open plane without protection the dragon fixed an eye on her and white blazing pain filled her head no she used her last act of free will to hurl the axe at him boris's eye widened and he shifted his gaze to the weapon the axe tumbled through the air end over end flying straight toward his abdomen he brought his good hand the hand holding her son and sadera down to block the blade sliced across his forearm and bounced toward the arch drawing a whirling spout of yellow blood after it the dragon's claw sprang open allowing sadera's legs to dangle free before the sorceress could fall out boris flipped his hand palm up neva saw her son peering out from beneath sadira's sheltering form boris's fingers twitched but did not close he glanced down at them curling the lip of his long snout into a snarl his claws trembled some more and never knew her blade had severed a tendon sedera get her card out of there the warrior yelled when she saw that the sorceress was already reaching for a pocket neva sprinted toward her axe boris cut her off with a single step i promised your car of a child that he would see you die the dragon fixed his eye on neva again a terrible pain filled her head as he forced his way into her mind she continued to run then a crimson glow lit the field it was bright enough to cast shadows on the ground and she knew that her card had cast his son's spell the agony in her head vanished she looked up to see boris's head swaddled in a globe of red light sedira pointed up at the dragon's face a bolt of blue energy crackled from her finger blasting away a large chunk of hide then the sorceress gathered up and leaped into the air maurice recovered quickly lashing out at the flying escapees with both maimed hands taking advantage of the distraction neva darted between the dragon's legs he lifted his injured leg to stomp her she dived for her axe and saw the shadow of a huge foot falling around her her face and chest scraped across the rough stone then the warrior's hands closed around the handle of her weapon maurice's heavy heel settled across her back a sickening crack sounded down near her waist sending a searing wave of agony through her hips neva screamed and tried to pull herself from beneath the beast's foot but her legs would not come free her toes went cold then an icy tide of numbness rose through her feet traveled up past her knees and spread into her hips to the warrior it felt as if her legs had vanished her own flesh and bones seemed as remote as the stone upon which she lay growling in anger neva used one hand to swing her axe over her back she managed only to strain her shoulder and strike a weak glancing blow the weapon slipped from her grip and fell to the ground beside her boris stepped away without reacting never rolled herself over and tried to sit up the muscles of her legs and hips would not help her do even that much she picked up her axe and braced the handle against the ground as the warrior pushed herself up the ebony stain suddenly drained from the weapons blade the bone hills faded from black to its natural ivory color and the light falling over the plane dimmed from angry crimson to murky scarlet neva heard her son cry out in surprise then sadera cursed in anger the warrior looked across the plane and saw the pair crashing to the ground from a low height their limp forms went tumbling across the broken expanse his head still encased in the fiery globe of ricard's sun spell the dragon turned toward them and watched as the pair came to a stop get up neva yelled hercard jumped to his feet and rushed to the sorceress's side he started to pull her up but sadira stood and pushed him behind her when she turned to face the dragon neva saw that the sorceress's skin was as white as alabaster rikers and tithians stepped between the pillars of the great arch saga floating a few steps behind the edifice looked as though it had been shaped from a single block of stone for if there were any seams in the construction they were not visible in the polished face of the black granite they walked farther down the passage raccus counted 13 empty alcoves lining the interior walls the same number as the golems he had destroyed they reached the back of the arch and peered into the fiery sea when did boris vanish tithian asked as he passed beneath the front of the archer as he stepped out the back on the front side ragus replied a sheet of orange fire covered the opening and he stepped through it tithian cursed he must have touched something or spoken a word he growled for a second or two rikers replied that's all that's it the king said growing excited the arch must be controlled by a command word repeat it exactly if i could sing like a lear them all replied growing annoyed with the king my throat's not built for sounds like that you must or your friends are doomed tithian said he motioned across the molten sea then raised the leathery wings he had grown to lower them from the top of the hill it'll take hours maybe days to fly across that use the way to transport us regis raised the scourge menacingly shook his head i'd have to know what our destination looks like he said we don't even know for sure that we want to emerge directly opposite this point are you blind sneered sacha that must be some kind of signal over there ragus peered closer and saw a crimson dot shining on the edge of the cliff it was so tiny and faint that he could hardly separate it from the orange glow rising from the molten rock and the abyss and for a moment he feared he was imagining it then he noticed that despite the specs tendency to shift positions in the rippling heat waves of the lava sea its brightness remained markedly steady i see it rikus pointed the scourge at the dot that's a card's sun spell tithing shook his head it doesn't matter if i know where they are he said unless i can visualize the place itself i can't take us there you incompetent snarled soccer must i do everything myself you couldn't teleport us across a door threshold much less that the king gestured at the boiling sea with one of his half giant arms sacha ignored him drifting around in front of rikus i assume the boy's spell is bright enough to cast a shadow when the mull nodded the head swiveled around to look at tiffian if you can do as well as a six-year-old mole then i can get us to the other side raising his brow tippy and closed his eyes to concentrate then a tremendous blast sent him skidding toward the brink of the precipice he scratched at the ground with all six claws barely saving himself from sailing into the sea of molten rock the king managed to back two steps away from the edge then a shaft of golden light flashed behind him his tail and wings disintegrated into a hundred tiny bits the dark lens rolled off his back and dropped to the ground as soon as he lost contact with the lens tithian howled in pain and began the change back to human form his carapace shrank into a pair of shoulder blades while the stump of his bleeding tail retracted to become a tailbone and his shredded wings folded down to form the flanks of his torso rikus grabbed tythian and hurled him toward the lens paying little attention to where the king landed he whirled around to face the front of the arch at the entrance stood two figures a silky haired woman with dark skin and a fang-filled mouth and an imposing androgynous figure that resembled a miniature version of the dragon their gazes were fixed on tithian and it seemed likely to them all that they were responsible for the spells that had nearly destroyed the king rankus assumed the woman to be la lalipui the oba of gulg since sadira had killed the only other sorcerer queen on athas he did not know the identity of the dragonlike figure the malls started forward to meet them three yellow runes streaked down from the face of the arch and exploded on the ground spraying rock and dust high into the air when the haze cleared three more figures stood outside the edifice a remotely avian man with a scaly beak-shaped muzzle and recessed ear slits another man with a muscle knotted body and a fringe of chalky hair and a tall figure with the slit pupils heavy nose and thick mane of a lion recognizing this last figure from the war with uric rikus gasped hamanu the sorcerer kings ignored the mull but the bird featured man at hamanu's side said perhaps i should not have doubted this plan of boris's it seems to be working well enough divide and conquer responded the chalky-haired sorcerer king when will you learn tech in dropping us you will address me by my full name tech hist i am king your name is too long amano interrupted we have more important things to do with that hamanu walked beneath the arch tithian shoved rikus forward to meet him go on the king said with the scourge they can't touch you the sadera had told him the same thing before rankus frowned as he advanced something's wrong with that theory he said i fought hamano in the war with uric he struck me then in fact he almost killed me a man who chuckled this time i won't fail the sorcerer king leaped at the mall knowing better than to meet the charge head on rikers threw himself to the ground and rolled he passed beneath his foe and slashed up at the belly a blue aura flashed around hamanu's body as the scourge sliced through the magic defense but that was as far as it sank as it had nearly a decade ago in uric the blade simply stopped cutting when it hit the sorcerer king's flesh rakus rolled once more than brought his legs around beneath him as he returned to his feet he slashed at the sorcerer king's waist again hamanu's aura flashed and the blade clanged off his flesh without biting the mall did not even see his foe's counter strike he merely felt the sorcerer king's heel smash into his chest then found himself sailing toward the front of the arch rakus landed on his back gasping for breath throwing his legs over his head he rolled on his shoulder and glimpsed the other four sorcerers close by he sprang to his feet and spun slashing at the androgynous figure that resembled the dragon a golden aura flared around the sorcerer king's body and green sparks sputtered high into the air the scourge bit deep into the figure's withered shoulder the gaunt arm dropped to the ground sickly brown blood spewing from the wound the figure howled in pain and lashed out at rikus the mull experienced an instant of blackness then found himself standing back at tithian's side the king had assumed the form of a human-headed viper with his giant tail wrapped around the dark lens along his spine were several nasty burns where he had used the lenses heat to cauterize the wounds he had suffered from the first attack tythian and hamanu had locked gazes and appeared to be engaged in a battle of the way ragus felt more relieved than disoriented by a sudden change of location this was not the first time the blade had moved him once before when he had helped sadera chase the dragon away from the village of cled it had simply transported him out of harm's way whenever boris struck hamano screamed the wounded sorcerer king raising the stump of his arm this is your fault the distraction did not seem to affect the battle between hamano and tithian both men remained motionless staring into each other's eyes sacha appeared at rikers's side gripping tiffy and slender dagger between his teeth the head dropped the weapon into rikus's hand amanu wasn't one of the original champions saha whispered rajyat created him to kill the idiot troll scorcher myron of yoram so the scourge's magic works backward against him the blade won't injure him and while you're holding it you can't defend yourself against his blows use plain steel against him rikers glanced back at hamanu the sorcerer king remained locked in mental combat with tythian his contorted face showed the strain of the long battle with flaring nostrils and beads of cloudy red sweat pouring off his leonine brow the mole slipped the dagger into his belt and started forward as he advanced he kept a careful watch on his enemies and held his sword directly in front of him the injured sorcerer king moved back rikus guessed that he was nibene since that was the only sorcerer king's name the maul had not yet connected to a face the other three sorcerers hissed spell incantations rankus cringed uncertain as to whether the sword would protect him from their magic a black shield appeared on androgynous arm while a cylinder of golden light rose up around the oba of gulg king tech's flesh turned to bronze what's wrong with you sakha screeched catching up with them all attack no it makes more sense for me to attack the others the mall said they can't injure me and tithian has hamanu under control idiot that's what they want sakha hovered close to raqqa's head and hissed the words into his ear why do you think they're waiting instead of helping amanu they're trying to waste your time while boris deals with sadera then after you're tired from fighting the sorcerer kings the dragon will come back and finish what they started raccoos stopped and turned sideways so he could see both into the ravine and back toward the chasm he was near the front of the arch less than a dozen paces from the sorcerer kings this isn't working growled the oba we'll have to kill the usurper she locked her eyes on tythian as did king tech and nibbanae and drop in his stepped to the front of the arch positioning his black shield between rikus and his fellow sorcerer kings tithing groaned then his tail slackened and began to come entwined from around the dark lens blood trickled from his nostrils and ears and his eyes bulged from their sockets his jaw began to quiver and rikus knew that even with the dark lens the king of tear was no match for the sorcerer kings shifting the scourge away from his throwing hand rikus drew the dagger sakha had given him and hurled it at hamanu the blade sailed straight for the sorcerer king's back and it looked like it would be a clean kill behind them all andropinis spoke a syllable of a mystic incantation rikus spun and leaped slashing his sword at the sorcerer king's rising hand reacting impossibly fast and droppiness brought his shield up to intercept the blow the scourge hit without so much as a thud and stopped cold and droppiness's spell misfired and a silent burst of silver light flashed between the sorcerer king and rikus the mole felt a tremendous force pushing on his chest not so much an impact as overwhelming pressure and his feet left the ground he sailed a dozen paces through the air before he crashed down rolling head over heels and coming to a rest at hamanu's side to rikus's amazement the sorcerer king still stood even with that dagger planted deep in his back his teeth were clenched in pain and sweat soaked his entire body but the injury had not forced him to break off the combat with the tyrian king in contrast tithian looked ready to collapse with tears of blood running from his bulging eyes and his serpentine tail barely contacting with the dark lens rankus glanced toward the front of the arch and saw that androponis misfired spell had hurled him into the oba they were both picking themselves off the ground the other two sorcerer kings were still helping hamanu their gazes locked on tithing's face leaving the scourge on the ground rikers leaped up and reached for the dagger in hamanu's back without looking away from tythian the sorcerer king lashed out the attack was as fast as a viper strike but at least this time riker saw it coming he twisted sideways trying to slip past the blow and felt a hard fist skip along his jaw normally the mall would hardly have noticed a glancing blow but hamanu's strike snapped his head around rikers spun with the impact turning around in a complete circle he stopped directly behind his foe and grabbed the dagger pushing it into the hilt when the sorcerer king still did not fall he twisted the blade and forced it upwards driving toward the heart amanu screamed and stumbled back as if tythian were driving him away a kestrel came streaking out of the dark lens its curled talons and hooked beak poised to strike the giant raptor seemed as real as any rikers had ever seen which surprised him the maul was not a complete stranger to the way and he knew that battles between mind benders were fought inside their minds when the bird hit any doubts about its reality vanished the kestrel's talons sank deep into hamanu's shoulders bowling him over the maul released his hold on the dagger then watched the great bird carry the sorcerer king's screaming form toward the front of the arch as he realized what he was seeing rikus did not know whether to rejoice or be sick with the dark lens tithian could create physical versions of his mental constructs while that ability was proving useful now them all knew that when the time came to kill the king it would be every bit as dangerous to him and his friends as it was to the sorcerer kings ragus rolled across the ground and grabbed the scourge then returned to his feet in time to see the kestrel hurl itself into the midst of the sorcerer kings the mull started forward knowing he did not have long to attack before his enemies recovered no rikers wait sacha ordered then to tithian the head said give me a light as the king uttered an incantation rakus watched the sorcerer kings counter-attack the castreco they made short work of the raptor reducing it to a cloud of feathers in an instant a bright white light flared behind the mull causing him to cast a dark shadow a pair of burning blue eyes and a gash-like mouth appeared in the silhouette's head the limbs began to thicken and the figure peeled itself off the ground sacha had summoned a shadow giant at the other end of the arch and droppiness cursed he and the other sorcerer kings started forward yelling incantations and gesturing madly the shadow giant turned and spewed a black mist in their direction the passage filled with a thick impenetrable fog the vapor quickly rolled back to engulf them all and his companions in its bone chilling murk how am i supposed to fight in this ragus demanded his teeth were already chattering and his flesh was growing numb from the cold you won't have to sacha answered the sorcerer kings know better than to enter the black riker saw a pair of blue eyes drifting toward him then he felt an icy hand close over his wrist the dragon turned his remaining hand toward the ground sedira saw the telltale shimmer of magic rising into the palm with both hands injured she could not imagine he intended to cast a spell any more than she could imagine where the energy was coming from the obsidian globes in his stomach were shattered so the sorceress knew he could not be drawing the power from any animals that might be lurking in this wasteland that meant boris was drawing the energy from foliage sedira did not see so much as a blade of grass anywhere on the desolate plain but she knew there had to be plants somewhere she turned her own palm toward the ground and began to draw even when the sun was down she was a powerful sorceress and could rely on the normal energy sources to cast her spells it took a moment then she felt the familiar tingle of magic rising through her arm the energy seemed to be coming from the cliffs at the edge of the plane she would have to be careful not to draw too much power too rapidly for fear of robbing all the life force from the unseen plants and destroying them before the sorceress's eyes the gash on boris's forearm slowly began to seal itself we'll never kill boris if he can heal himself her card exclaimed the boy stood at her side staring in horror at the dragon's closing wounds we'll find a way sedira replied infusing her voice with more confidence than she felt the sorcerers closed her hand to the flow of energy and pulled a small piece of brown tuber from her pocket keeping one eye on the dragon the sorceress uttered an incantation over the root then held it out to rickard eat this it'll make you so fast boris won't catch you as sedhira spoke she saw the fingers on boris's useless hand begin to wiggle the boy refused to take the route you should eat it he said i tried to tell you before i'm not supposed to kill the dragon sedera frowned what are you saying of course you are her card shook his head george told boris that i decided to kill the dragon the boy explained but that's wrong when he and saram came to agus house i asked them why they were giving me the belt of rank and king arkad's crown they said it was because i was going to kill the dragons so i thought they were telling you it's your destiny sedhira interrupted hercard did not answer right away and the sorceress watched the fingers of boris's hand close into a fist she thought he might come after them then but the dragon summoned more energy and did not move apparently he intended to leave them no weaknesses to exploit when he attacked after a moment ricard said quietly boris told george there's no such thing as destiny i didn't believe him at first but then george said people choose their destinies he paused then added only i never chose mine then how come he and saram gave you the belt and crown her card shook his head i don't know the boy replied and i'm not sure how they got them in the first place the belt and the crown were stolen from our treasuries when the slavers raided cled the sorceress hissed for some reason the king had made up the whole story about arkad being destined to kill the dragon and had used the belt and crown to convince the banshees that it was true i'll kill him only if you kill boris first her card answered so eat the root yourself no i want you safe you can't make me safe answered the boy besides boris isn't as worried about me he'll come after you first the dragon was still drawing energy from the ground the wound on his leg had already healed and the nub of a hand had appeared on the stump of his severed wrist go and see what you can do for your mother sedira said the sorceress put the root in her mouth and fixed her eye on the crimson globe encasing boris's head given that urcard's spell had prevented the dragon from using the way she suspected that he would dispel it when he recovered the full use of his hands sadera turned her palm toward the ground wondering if the beast would find it any easier to use his mental powers from inside a sphere of darkness it seemed to rikus they had been floating in the black forever the shadow giant's icy fingers entwined around their wrists and icy strands of gossamer filament brushing across their faces them all ached to the bones with cold and only the vibrations of his constant shivering kept the ice crystals from completely encasing his body save for the red shimmer of the dark lens glimmering a short distance to his side rikus could see nothing it's taking too long riker said hardly able to speak because his teeth were chattering so badly in the black time has little meaning the shadow giant replied earlier he had introduced himself as kidar but i will deliver you to the other side in a matter of instance in your time provided sacha was not mistaken about the light normally we cannot approach uldraxa because there are no shadows in this land a few instances is still too long the mall worried if the sorcerer kings know the arches password that knowledge will do them no good replied kidar my people will keep the arch filled with the black until you have killed boris if the sorcerer kings step into it they will never leave raqqa still wasn't convinced they have powerful magic which they will eventually use to dispel the fog in the arches passage hidar replied but even for them the shadow people are not easy to battle and they were not prepared to meet us you may believe me when i say that by the time they follow your battle with the dragon will be won or lost a crimson globe appeared in the darkness ahead partially obscured by a thick wisp of blackness that reminded rikus of a sand streamer blowing across the face of a moon now you must be quiet kedar urged that's our destination as they drifted closer the wisp of blackness grew thicker and more substantial until it resembled a pair of gnarled tree bowls rising up to meet high above ground only after studying the image for another moment did rikus identify the dark band as a pair of huge legs kiddar was bringing them up directly beneath boris in the next instant rikus emerged from the dragon's shadow and found his head protruding above a vast plane of broken scoria as his eyes adjusted to the red light of arcard's sun spell he reached up with sword in hand and braced his arms on the ground he started to pull himself up leading the way out of the black the mole made it as far as his waist before boris's voice cried an incantation the red light of her card's sun spell abruptly vanished and a terrible crushing agony gripped rikus's hips as he found himself clamped in solid stone biting back the urge to scream rikus looked around and saw no shadows anywhere below the ground he could feel tithian tugging at his cold numbed legs the mall raised his sword and stretched toward boris's foot but held his blow when he heard sadira's voice behind him rikers looked over his shoulder he saw a black sphere leave her hand and shoot up toward boris's head the mall cursed silently then stretched out to slash at the back of the dragon's ankle the blade struck with a mighty clang spraying blue sparks in all directions then red smoke and yellow blood poured from the wound boris howled and stumbled away his head engulfed in a sphere of darkness he turned a palm downward then rikers felt an eerie tingle as magical energy sizzled through the ground around him sedira made her second attack firing a storm of flaming blue ice at the dragon the pellets scoured long smoking scars into his thick hide but did not penetrate boris growled in frustration and dodged apparently expecting another attack and fearing that it would have more effect over here sedhira rike has called waving his sword in the air rikus the sorceress rushed toward him she moved with incredible swiftness and was at his side in an instant reaching into a robe for a spell component where have you been the words came so fast rikers could hardly understand her that's not as important as where i am now trapped halfway in the black them all growled we need a light fifty paces away boris uttered an incantation and touched his hand to his head the sphere of darkness evaporated instantly light sedira rikers urged now sadera spoke a mystic syllable and touched the scourge a brilliant glow flared on the blade casting a long shadow behind rikus he felt his waist come free before the mall could pull himself out of the ground a pair of arms shot out of the black and grabbed the rocky plane ragus felt tithian's shoulders pushing him up from beneath then the mull was free of the cold murk rikus stood and held his sword ready tithian's head and torso emerged from the maul's shadow saga came with him cleaving to a mouthful of long gray hair the king stopped climbing when he noticed sadera staring at him with a murderous light in her eyes what's wrong with you he demanded ask later rikers said we're in enough trouble sedhira's head snapped toward the dragon she launched herself forward giving rikus a hard shove ragas heard the sizzle of a magic bolt crackle from boris's direction then everything went dark an instant later the mole found himself standing near the brink of the abyss staring back toward the center of the plane where he had been standing a moment earlier there was now a smoking crater the size of the golden palace raccoos could not see how deep the hole was for it was surrounded by a rim of broken stone as high as tyr's city wall by raw the mole was so shocked he could do little bit gape at the immense hole sadira what are you doing giving up asked a familiar voice for the first time the mole realized that he was standing near an arch similar to the one on the other side of the lava sea lying near its base her head cradled in her cod's lap was neva the rikus could not see any injuries her motionless legs revealed all he needed to know neva he gasped go she pointed toward the crater boris was already limping down into it i'll be fine with a card looking after me see what happened the mole started forward then heard a strange voice at his feet noticing that he only heard the voice when his feet touched the ground rikus halted and looked down out of the shadow cast by his sword came tithy and followed immediately by sedhira's pale form how did you it was the only place to go sedira replied cutting him off before he finished the question where's the dragon rikus pointed toward the crater we'd better hurry tithian said still in serpent form the king started to slither toward the crater wait sedira said i've got an idea it'd better be a good one tythian said we don't have long before boris realizes we're not in that crater the sorceress took the scourge then touched the blade to the dark lens a flash of crimson light flared from beneath the enchanted steel the sword began to glow red and sedira gasped in pain what are you doing ragus asked horrified of the thought of what the heat might do to the temper of his blade remember what happened the first time you broke the scourge she asked and how terrified hablar ray was in the ivory plane the mall smiled then looked to typhian weaken the blade he ordered are you mad the king gasped if you want to kill boris do it ragus ordered tithian frowned but directed his gaze at the weapon his brow furrowed in concentration where the scourge's blade touched the lens a white flame danced over the steel sedera cried out and dropped the sword rancus tore a strip of the hem of the sorceress's robe then wrapped it around the scourge's hilt and picked the sword up about midway down the blade a black scorch mark stained the steel that'll do fine the mall declared ragus led the way back to the hole sadera sprinting at his side tithian crawled behind them holding the dark lens in his tail when they reached the crater rika signaled the others to hide then climbed to the top and peered down on boris the dragon was on all fours still digging through the rubble at the bottom of the pit the mall picked up a rock intending to let it drop on boris to get his attention there was no need the dragon drew himself up to his full height and rikers found himself standing eye to eye with the beast where's my lens boris demanded the dragon raised his hands but resisted the temptation to strike obviously aware that rikus would vanish if he did allowing some of his very real fear of the beast to show through rikus replied i don't have it ragus raised the scourge as if to strike then pretended to slip on the treacherous ground he flailed his arms wildly flinging the scourge down the slope below the instant the sword left them all's hand boris's mouth gaped open and his head darted forward rikus hurtled himself down the hill backward watching the dragon's snapping jaws snake after him tithian struck first slipping from behind a boulder to make contact with one of boris's beady eyes rikers saw the psionic image of a winged serpent striking from the dark lens toward their foe the dragon swiveled his huge head around the glowing figure of a lava golem shot from the beast's eyes and intercepted the viper the snake bit into the burning giant then erupted into flames the serpent continued its attack coiling its body around the figure and constricting the two constructs began to wrestle shifting forms into birds lears lions and a dozen other ferocious creatures the battle raged with such fervor that tongues of real flame came flying off the two images scorching stones and steering rikus's flesh leaving his construct to carry on the battle against tithing by itself boris looked back to rikus the mall was still sliding down the hill grasping madly at the scourge wisps of smoke began to ooze from the dragon's nostrils and his mouth opened to exhale sedira leaped from her hiding place she lunged at the beast's eye with a dagger of hissing blue smoke boris closed his mouth and looked away the sorceress's blade missed its intended target but still slashed down across the dragon's snout the attack drew only a trickle of blood but it bought rikers enough time to find the scourge and spring to his feet boris's hand flashed from behind the crater rim and closed around sedhira now that she was no longer protected by the power of the sun his claws sank deep into her abdomen she screamed in pain blood began to seep from between the beast's fingers still holding the sorceress boris swung his head back toward rikus the mull charged up the hill and drove his sword down through the dragon's snout the blade sank through both jaws drawing a spray of boiling yellow blood boris threw sadera down and snapped his head high into the sky trying to flip rikus off the maul hung on tightly locking his legs around the dragon's snout and desperately trying to snap the blade he heard sadera yell from the crater rim keep fighting damn you rankest looked down and saw the tiffy and it ceased his mental attack instead of combating boris with the way the king was slithering away with the dark lens in his tail one of the dragon's gnarled claws rose into sight blocking the mole's view of the scene below rikers cursed knowing that if he allowed his enemy to strike at him he would find himself standing near the arch and away from the combat gripping the scourges hilt with both hands he flung himself away from the claw and braced his feet against the other side of the snout he pulled with all his might the blade flexed with a resilient chime but did not break far below sedhira called tithian's name raggus looked down and saw the sorceress throw something the king ducked behind the dark lens then a web of sticky white filaments formed in the air above him and began settling over his head tithian laughed boris whipped his head around in an angry attempt to shake rikers loose the scourge snapped with a sour twang and the mull fell away as he dropped he saw a fountain of black syrup spraying from the blade still half buried in the dragon's snout rikus slammed into the crater rim his body exploded into pain and the scourge's hilt slipped from his grasp he tumbled down the slope the dragon's roars filling his ears soon he managed to bring himself to a stop everything hurt so badly that he could not tell whether he had broken all his bones or none of them the mole rolled over and grasping a boulder pulled himself to his feet to rikus's relief attacking him was sure to be the last thing on boris's mind a huge fountain of black fluid was shooting from the scourge's broken blade and had already coated the dragon's head with a thick layer of ebony slime with angry red plumes of smoke pouring from his nostrils the beast was madly scratching at the steel shard lodged in his snout he accomplished little save to coat his claws with the same dark sludge that covered his face the dragon bellowed in horrid pain he sprayed a fiery red cloud high into the sky and his hands dropped limpy to his sides his beady eyes glazing over in agony a series of convulsions ran through his slender face with each spasm the snout grew shorter and thicker until the thing looked more like a nose and drooping chin than a beast's muzzle the spiked crest on the top of his head broadened into a sloping forehead boris gave one last roar then fell silent and dropped behind the ridge feeling fairly confident that the dragon would not return to attack him rikus looked across the slope he found the king bound tightly to the dark lens by a sturdy mesh of silver filaments as the mall watched a huge red spider emerged from the depths of the lens the creature lowered its head to the web and drew the glistening strands into its mouth once tythian was free the creature sprang at sedira it sailed across the intervening distance in a flash then landed square on the sorceress's face and began savaging her with its maw rankus started forward to help her as he stumbled across the slope he watched helplessly as four lacy wings sprouted from tithian's back still holding the dark lens in his tail the king rose into the air and flew toward the cliff on the far side of the plane his size dwindled rapidly and the mall knew that he would quickly pass out of sight tithian flew away and sediro rolled down the slope and pinned the spider beneath her she pulled her head away from its maw her face was covered with red welts that looked like burn marks but there were no punctures to suggest that the thing had been injecting poison into her body the sorceress grasped her attacker in both hands and picked it up high over her head she brought it down on a sharp rock the thing vanished in a fiery flash sadera screamed in shock and covered her face ragus reached her side let me see he said i'm not seriously hurt which is more than tithing will be able to say when i catch up to him sedhira said she lowered her arms revealing a face with singed eyelashes and reddened skin ragus was relieved to see that there were no critical burns what about the dragon sedera asked the mole pointed toward the top of the rim i snapped the sword he said what's left of boris fell inside we'd better have a look sedera said they climbed the slope and peered cautiously over the top in the bottom of the crater a huge skeleton of black stained bones lay curled into a fetal ball its shoulder blades were fused into a single large hump and its gangling arms were wrapped around its knees the thing's face was the remotely human visage that rikers had seen replace boris's with the scourge's shards still lodged in the nose and spewing dark slime into the air as they watched sparks of blue energy began to dance in its empty eye sockets from its fleshless mouth came a sibilant voice butcher of dwarfs leader of the revolt the voice hissed the master has claimed his punishment inky fluid began to bubble up between the skeleton's teeth the ribs broke open and began to gush ebony syrup from the jagged ends the arms and legs separated at the joints then the pelvis split down the center and finally the spine collapsed into a line of disconnected vertebrae with each separation more dark slime poured into the basin until the skeleton itself disappeared beneath a pool of bubbling frothing black sludge 16. the blue age a stone shifted beneath rice's foot and went tumbling down to the boiling black pond below the mull's legs buckled and he dropped to his seat landing hard on the crest of the crater's rim he managed to keep neva cradled tight against his chest but she groaned anyway her card was at their side in an instant careful the boy scowled at rikers we're not even supposed to move her i'm sorry we have no choice said rikus sadera came over the rim and joined them the sorcery kings might come through the arch at any moment she said bracing herself on neva's axe to rest her card had sealed the punctures in her stomach and had dressed the burns she had suffered when typhian had used the lens against her but the sorceress still looked pained and fatigued you don't want our enemies to find her do you i want you to kill the sorcerer kings said the boy neva took her son's arm haven't we talked about this but they killed boris the boy retorted and maybe they'll kill the sorcerer kings later neva said she winced with pain then added but they can't do it now not with the scourge broken and sedira's powers gone until morning this is dangerous mother ricard protested i'm supposed to heal you at least one more time before moving you otherwise you might not walk again if the sorcerer kings find me i won't live long enough to walk neva said her voice growing stern she looked up at rikus take me down don't drop her this time her card ordered he went down the slope first kicking loose stones out of the maul's path he doesn't mean to hurt your feelings rikus neva said after what happened to kylem he's scared to death that he'll lose me too i won't let that happen the mall said shh neva touched her fingers to his lips during the war with eric i thought you learned not to make promises you can't keep the mole shrugged some things never change i guess rikers shifted his gaze down the hill a dozen paces below the black sludge from his sword had filled the bottom of the crater dark wisps of shadow rose from its surface while yellow eyes blinked in the center of slow spinning eddies in places warped spouts of slime oozed up to form disfigured silhouettes of four-footed birds two-headed men and megalots with long writhing tales at both ends sometimes the weird beasts even seemed to take on lives of their own making their way to the shore and crawling a short distance up the slope before they dissolved into sticky messes and drained into the ground ragus thought it a mark of his company's desperation that they had picked this place to hide neva but he had been unable to think of another plan to protect the injured warrior from the sorcerer kings as neva had told her son with the scourge gone he and sedhira would not be killing any more sorcerer kings at least not until the sorceress's powers returned in the morning rank has followed urkard to a jagged tumble of boulders that offered shelter both from searching eyes and splashing oohs he kneeled down and deposited neva in the center of the cluster bracing her back against a large stone she glanced through a gap toward the black pond just a few steps below it should do she said nodding the sorcerer kings won't be anxious to come down here you two go on ricard's eyes widened go where now that your mother's safe we must find tythian sedira said no the boy grabbed rikus's arm the dragon's dead you have to stay here rikus's heart grew as heavy as stone there's nothing i'd like more he said but i can't if we let tithian go he'll release an evil even more powerful than the dragon i know rajat the boy answered but without the dragon to keep him locked away isn't rajat going to escape sooner or later anyway not if we capture the dark lens sedhira explained when i touched rikus's sword to it i felt magic as powerful as the sun's i think we can use the lens to keep rajat imprisoned and that means you have to leave my mother in danger her card asked i'm afraid so rikers answered the boy turned away my father wouldn't leave her ricard don't neva let her command to trail off and raised her hands to wipe away the tears suddenly brimming in her eyes look at this she said staring at her wet fingers in amazement i haven't cried since i was a child when tythian bought me for his gladiator pits water for kylum sedira said don't hold it back i couldn't if i tried neva watched her tears tumbled to the ground shaking her head with unspoken regrets sedira laid a hand on the warrior's arm but seemed unable to find the words to comfort her friend rakus realized that the sorceress knew the same thing he did it was too late to apologize now the spirits of the dead did not hear the voices of their loved ones or even remember their names sedhira touched rikus's arm we'd better go the mole pulled his dagger and held it out toward her cards back i don't know if this blade will do you any good but it might when the boy did not turn around neva said ragus is leaving our card do you want this to be the way he remembers you no the boy said he turned around and without meeting rike as this glance accepted the dagger good luck the mole patted the boy's shoulder take care of your mother he said and if we're not back by the time she's walking leave without us hercard looked up his eyes wide with fear you've got to come back if you don't he paused collecting his composure then said i don't even know the way if we must we can find it together neva took her son's hand and pulled him to her side then fixed her green eyes on sadera don't make the mistake i did say everything the sorceress gazed at urqad and did not answer for several moments then finally said i will sadera handed the axe to rikus and together they climbed the hill as they started over the top the mole paused and ran his eyes over the crest of the rim i dropped the top part of the scourge up here somewhere he said when the sorcerer king's comet might be useful to have the hilt in my scabbard maybe we can bluff them into leaving us alone it can't hurt to try sedhira said she pointed to a location several dozen paces away near the top of the small hill a small circle of ground was covered with an ugly black stain look over there the mall walked to the area he found the scourge behind a boulder with the hilt lying uphill above what was left of the blade black slime continued to ooze from the jagged break creating a bubbling pool of sludge tipped at the angle of the slope as with the larger pond inside the crater wisps of shadow rose from its surface and yellow eyes peered out from the center of slowly swirling eddies rikus considered the amount of sludge still losing from the blade then decided it might be better to leave the shard alone he started to return to sedira the mall stopped a step later when he glimpsed an orange light flash beneath the great arch when the glow faded the four sorcerer kings and the remaining sorcerer queen stood between the pillars of the great edifice their eyes roving over the broken the distance from the crater to the arch was just small enough for the mull to see his enemies clearly the runt of a limb had sprouted from the stump of nimbane's severed arm and hamanu showed no sign of discomfort from the dagger that had been plunged into his back raggus dropped behind a boulder and signaled for sadera to come over she slipped behind the crest of the crater rim trying to stay out of sight as she ran over to join them all her precautions were of little use the sorcerer kings stepped from beneath the arch and walked across the plane toward the crater by the time sadera reached rykes's side behind the boulder the sorcerer kings stood at the rim's base directly in front of the pair's hiding place the five figures were less than 20 paces away and perhaps half that distance lower amanu stepped forward and looked up the slope you fools he growled angrily shaking his mane what you have unleashed may destroy us all in your case the loss will be a welcome one called sadera she rose to peer over the boulder rankus joined her if the sorcerer kings attacked a few feet of stone was not going to save them give us the dark lens and your deaths will be mercifully quick said the oba i'm in no hurry to die the mole looked at sadera how about you i'll take my time the sorceress replied she glanced down at their enemies then said if you want the lens you'll have to find it and take it amanu started forward but the oba caught him by the shoulder wait they're too anxious they're blustering the sorcerer king snarled perhaps but they did kill boris she countered the oba pointed at the dark stain on the slope below the mall do you really want to take the chance that they haven't set a trap amanu's huge nostrils flared but he stepped back you have something else in mind the oba nodded then called up the slope how much do you know of rajat enough to know that you betrayed him which at the moment makes him our friend rakis replied the oba chuckled though she sounded more nervous than amused rajat would slay you two as soon as he finished with us his shadow people have proven helpful so far sedira replied of course they wanted you to kill boris said andropane is shaking his fringe of white hair but if you knew the truth about rajat you would know better than to rely on his gratitude why don't you enlighten us requested sadera and drop in his glanced at his fellows go ahead suggested the oba after hearing the truth they'll yield the dark lens without a fight andropinis turned his palm toward the ground no magic rikers yelled the sorcerer king fixed an icy glare on the mall and drew the energy for his spell watch and learn he said waving his hand across the sky an image of the ringing mountains appeared above the horizon but they were not the barren crags rikus knew from his life in tear a howling wind tore great plumes of snow off the highest peaks while large sheets of ice ran off their lofty shoulders lower down the slopes resembled the wild forests of the halflings with thick verdant timberlands clinging to the steep slopes pearly clouds of mist hung low over valleys filled with gurgling streams and thundering rivers as majestic as the mountains were they interested rikers little compared to what he saw at their base between two ranges of foothills lay a hollow about the size and shape of the tear valley there the semblance ended instead of the barren waste of rocks and thorns them all knew the veil was filled with a vast swamp of vine draped trees and floating islands of moss at the edge of the valley a strange beautiful city of graceful sweeps and brilliant colors rose directly out of the swamp the buildings seemed not so much constructed as grown for they were marked by an architecture of gentle curves and elegant spires with no straight edges sharp points or abrupt corners the material was a uniformly porous stone that radiated blazing crimson emerald green royal blue deep purple or any of a dozen other hues where there should have been streets were canals filled with long slender boats guided by child-sized figures with adult faces if not for their elegant tabards their short cropped hair and their handsome features the mall would have sworn they were halflings at the city's edge the swamp gave way to the sparkling waves of an immense blue sea it appeared to stretch clear to the horizon and beyond covering ground that rikus knew to be nothing but sandy wastes and rocky barons tear during the blue age said androgynous blue age sedira was studying the scene intently before your time or hours when only halflings lived on arthas explained the oba making no effort to conceal her admiration for the halflings she continued they were the masters of the world growing homes from a rock-like plant that lived beneath the waves harvesting the sea for everything they needed to maintain a vast splendorous society able to create anything they needed by manipulating the principles of nature itself as the sorcerer queen spoke a fatted brown tide spread over the blue sea it crept into the swamp surrounding tear causing the floating moss islands to shrivel and sink the vines went next withering into the brown sludge like the sluffed skin of a serpent the trees themselves died last dropping their leaves and losing their bark before long the grove stood naked in the swamp an army of grey bulls mired in a valley of putrid slime despite their vast knowledge or perhaps because of it one day the halflings made a terrible mistake that destroyed the life-giving sea the oba continued a good story but don't assume i believe it just because andropin has spreads it across the sky rikers said believe it said sedhira on my way to the pristine tower i saw halflings in stone just like that so far they're telling the truth we've no reason to lie snapped and dropping us we care nothing for your opinion the sorcerer king waved his hand the ringing mountains receded into the distance until they looked like no more than blue clouds hanging low on the horizon in their place stretched a vast featureless plane of mud as brown as dung and as thick as clay in the center of the flat rose a single spire of porous white stone capped by a beautiful citadel with alabaster walls and a keep of white onyx the pristine tower sadera gasped a long file of halflings left the citadel descending the narrow staircase that spiraled down the outside of the spire their tabards hung off their bodies in dingy strips while their hair cascaded over their shoulders in tangled snarls their features had grown haggard and wild and they gestured with the quick darting movements typical of the feral race rikus had known during his own time the halflings started across the brown plain toward the ringing mountains the mud cleaved to their feet like torch pitch and soon they could not take a step without also raising a huge clump of brown earth in their wakes sprouted tall grasses leafy bushes and magnificent trees that loomed above the tableland like towers soon the plane became a verdant paradise teeming with foliage of every sort creatures began to appear in this forest horn-covered lizards bright feathered birds and graceful herd beasts such as rikus had never seen with racks of white horns and long thin limbs some of the animals perished almost immediately falling prey to the great hunting cats that prowled the newborn wilderness while others lived long enough to create others of their kind the flowering of this new paradise did not come without pain as the halflings traveled across the plain the weak collapsed and were abandoned where they lay their bodies began to transform into strange shapes one grew stocky and hair covered while another tripled his height without gaining much bulk still others became both thicker of limb and taller and some developed scales sprouted feathers or even grew carapaces by the time the surviving halflings had reached to the distant mountains they had left more races behind than rikers could count he recognized many of them such as the dwarves elves and humans others he had never seen or he only knew about from legends there were frail winged characters even smaller than halflings and ugly swine-faced beings that could scarcely be called people like the animals many of these individuals perished quickly while others went on to populate the world with whole races of their own realizing their own vanity had destroyed their civilization the halflings seeded at us with the beginning of a new world said the oba this is the green age the age before magic when the way dominated the world as she spoke villages and castles sprang up in the forest rapidly growing into walled towns and cities connected by an intricate series of cobblestone roads powerful mind-benders wandered the wooded lanes on floating ivory platforms traveling from their majestic towers to the sylvan citadels of the elves and the gloomy cities of the dwarves and droppiness gestured and the scene shifted to an isolated turret in one of the smaller villages where a single figure sat by a glass window pouring over a stack of books there was no way to describe the man's appearance except as hideous for he had a huge head with a flat grossly elongated face his eyes were half covered by flaps of skin while his long nose lacking a bridge ended in three flaring nostrils he had a small slit-like mouth with tiny teeth and a drooping chin his body was contorted and weak with humped shoulders and gangling arms the figure looked up from his book and held his palm over a potted lily growing in the windowsill the plant quickly withered and died he tossed a pinch of dust into the air and a grey fog filled the room rajat came to us early in the green age one of the many hideous accidents spawned from the rebirth said the oba his only blessing was a supreme intellect which he used to become the first sorcerer he spent centuries trying to reconcile his brutal appearance with his human spirit in the end even his powerful mind could find no answer he came to revile himself as nothing but a deformed accident soon rajat turned his head outward he declared the rebirth a mistake and proclaimed all the races it had spawned to be monsters he dedicated himself to wiping the blight of their existence from the world so that he might return atas to the harmony and glory of the blue age the grey haze faded rajad stood atop the pristine tower looking out through a crystal cupola he seemed immeasurably older with long shocks of gray hair a wrinkled face and white burning eyes a company of armored figures marched out of the base of the keep they descended the tower spiraling staircase and went into the wilderness soon great patches of forest began to wither and die as they waged a terrible war he created us his champions to lead the armies of the cleansing wars said the oba rajat told us to destroy all the new races or they would spawn monsters like him and overrun the world the forests steadily vanished leaving most of atas the barren and lifeless place that rikers knew so well then abruptly the destruction ceased and the champions returned to the pristine tower we had almost won said androponis then we realized rajat was mad he sounded regretful perhaps even angry that they had not finished the war we stopped fighting you didn't stop because rajat was mad that had to be clear all along sadira said you stopped because you learned the truth about who would survive when he returned the world to the blue age that's right admitted the oba all during the cleansing wars rajat told us that humans would be the only race left when we finished we didn't learn that he was lying until it was almost too late and then you rebelled imprisoning rajat finished sadera and droppiness allowed his spell to fade i see you know the rest of the story not all of it said sedhira how did boris lose the dark lens i'd think he would be more careful with something so valuable the transformation into a dragon is a difficult one and so the oba shortly after we changed him boris lost his mental balance and went on a rampage no one realized the lens had been stolen until he recovered a century later i don't believe this tale of viewers riker said if rajat was trying to give the world back to the halflings why did he make his champions humans why didn't he use halflings he couldn't make them sorceress answer the oba because their race harkens back to the blue age before the art of sorcery existed they cannot become sorceress you're lying riker said i've seen halflings use magic elemental magic yes like kylem's sun magic or magnus's wind singing said sedhira they draw their powers directly from the inanimate forces of the world wind heat water and rock but normal sorcery draws its power from the life force of plants and animals ranchers started to object that sadera drew her power from the sun then thought better of it her sorcery could no longer be considered normal i think the sorcerer kings have told us the truth sedira said then give us the lens said hamanu moving forward it's the only way we can keep rajat imprisoned the dark lens isn't here replied sadira tithian took it sakha and wyan told tythian that rajat would make him a sorcerer king the mall added we think he's on his way to free rajat how unfortunate for you sneered nibene the sorcerer king stepped toward the slope emboldened now that he was sure they did not have the dark lens then there's nothing to stop me from repaying the mull for my injury the oba grabbed him by the stub that had sprouted from his severed arm leave them for later she ordered looking toward the cliff rising above the edge of the plane if the usurper freeze rajat we'll need your help it would be a shame if we didn't have it because they were lucky enough to kill you nibine jerked away leaving his freshly grown stub in the oba's hand it wasn't your arm he cut off then attack if you wish but you'll do it alone the sorcerer queen pointed at the distant cliff where a dark spout of energy was rising into the sky it had punched a hole in the stormy red clouds of the ash storm through this breach poured the golden light of the aphasian moons casting eerie shadows over the edge of the plains the rest of us have other concerns and dropping is cursed the fool usurper has taken the lens into the city and droppiness started toward the city at a run simultaneously preparing to cast a spell the other sorcerer kings turned and followed only nibenae lingered behind his palm turned toward the ground this won't take a moment he hissed rankus grabbed the scourge's hilt and hurled the broken sword at the sorcerer king the weapon tumbled end over end beads of black resin flying off the blade and creating a line of dark spatters down the slope nibene lunged away rolling over his shoulder across the course scoria the shard clanged to the ground two paces behind him the sorcerer king jumped to his feet and looked toward rikus he started to speak an incantation but suddenly stopped and stared at the hillside in horror the black bubbles from the scourge had connected with each other and had stretched into a long thin line the two sides pulled apart like lips revealing a mouthful of huge fangs the mouth said it was using the name by which nibine had gone when he had been a champion very soon a long green tongue shot from the dark fisher lashing out for the sorcerer king nibine cried out an alarm and pointed his finger at the thing screaming his incantation a red bolt streaked from his finger blasting the appendage into a hundred pieces the mouth laughed and another tongue snaked out from between its lips backed away then turned and ran after the other sorcerer kings 17. udraxa the serpent's body coiled tightly about the dark lens tiffy and lay beneath a looming wall of granite just outside the tunnel he had bored through an enormous foundation block before him stood a silent thicket of trees with supple trunks that quietly swayed in the moonlit night like slave dancers welcoming him to the city each had only a single blue leaf as large as a sail and stretched tight over a dome-shaped network of branches neatly groomed paths curved through the shadows beneath their boughs suggesting he had entered some sort of park tithian hardly noticed the beauty of the place his attention remained fixed entirely on the dark lens when he had emerged from his tunnel a surge of energy had risen from the ground through him and into the lens dozens of smoky tendrils had begun to dance over the top of the orb they had twined themselves together in a crackling spout of force and had risen into the sky parting the red storm raging overhead good moving said sakha floating through the tunnel as the head's words carried into the thicket ahead they faded without an echo the sorcerer kings are flying across the plain tithian gestured at the black spout something's wrong he said i didn't do this sakha rolled his sunken eyes trying not to be such a he said rajat's watching tithian began to uncoil himself keeping the lens gripped in his tail what's happening the lens is overloaded so it's discharging its excess energy overloaded you're near rajat's prison the lens is drawing energy from the spell that keeps it intact sakha explained his tone deliberately patronizing did you think the lens took its power from the sun alone as a matter of fact that was exactly what tythian had thought but he did not give sacha the pleasure of hearing him confess his mistake which way now he asked looking deeper into the silent park how would i know demanded sakha how many times do you think i've been to a uh slipped from behind one of the trees ahead he wore a peculiar suit of armor fashioned from brightly painted human ribs with a massive helmet carved from the squarish skull of some fang'd race of half-man the stranger carried a steel halberd with an ornately shaped blade that looked more suitable for displaying on a palace wall than fighting though the man moved with no particular care his footsteps fell as softly as those of an elven hunter leading the king to suspect the woods eerie silence had more to do with magic than tranquility the newcomer pointed his weapon at tithian and motioned for him to lie on the ground when the king did not obey the man raised his halbert and a hundred more warriors stepped from behind the trees their leather armor was not so fine as that of their leader but the spears they carried looked much more practical than the man's halberd we don't have time for this sakha snarled kill him deciding to take a lesson from the dragon tithian visualized a great storm of fire erupting from his mouth an incredible surge of energy gushed from the dark lens blazing through the king's body with such ferocity that he feared he would explode a blinding white cone of flame erupted from his mouth engulfing the officer and the warriors behind him tiffian did not even see the thicket burn the huge leaves and the branches vanished in a flash then the ground was littered with scorched bowls and blackened skulls only the edges of the small wood had escaped the instant devastation and even they were starting to burn well done said a voice at tithian's side the king whipped his head around at first he did not see the speaker then he glimpsed a pair of flickering blue eyes they were looking up at him from the faint shadow his moonlit body cast on the ground as tythian watched the silhouette slowly peeled itself off the dirt and changed into a more man-like form though it was only about the size and shape of a halfling who are you tithing watched a nose and a pair of lips form on the thing's face how quickly you forget the silhouette responded i led you through the black less than an hour ago he'd ah tithian gasped i thought you were a giant of course not you imbecile sakha chided the shadow people are descended from the last of rajah's halfling servants shadows play strange tricks with sighs do they not kidar added grinning he now had a fully featured face with short cropped hair blue eyes an upturned nose and bright white teeth your ignorance is understandable there weren't many of our people most halflings of the green age wanted nothing to do with the cleansing wars tithian ran his eyes over the devastated park not at all interested in the history of the shadow people i don't suppose you can tell me where to find rajat kidar pointed a black finger toward the edge of the burning thicket although the hapling's head was now completely solid the rest of his body remained a mere shadow rajad has told me you must look for him in the heart of udraksa kidar said when those trees are gone you'll see a great boulevard running toward the center of the city my scouts tell me that it ends beneath a great arch embedded in the inner wall what then tithian asked by the time you reach it we will know for certain whether rajat lies beyond he said if so one of us will take you to the other side tithian shook his head if i slither down a major street with the lens in my tail i'm going to attract a lot of attention the king illustrated the problem by sending a series of squirms down his serpentine body so disguise yourself snapped sucker as what tiffy encountered anything large enough to carry the lens will draw attention i can probably destroy whatever they send at me but it'll take time we don't have don't worry about a disguise said kedar i'll make certain the draxans are too busy to concern themselves with you besides until you destroy rajat's prison completely my people can emerge from the black only partially with us wandering through the city you'll be only one of many strange things loose in the streets the halfling led the way toward the burning trees at the edge of the park crossing the plain took longer than sedira had expected she and vrykus ran until her breath came in painful gulps filling her lungs with fire and racking her ribs with agony they slowed their pace continuing until fatigue so numb to the sorceress's legs that she could hardly stumble along wait better walk for a while she said breathing hard if i turn an ankle we won't catch tythian at all the mole slowed his pace and came to her side i don't suppose you've any magic left sedera shook her head i've already used the enchantments that could help us during the day when she was imbued with the sun's power sedira could shape her magic with little more than a thought but at night she was like any other sorceress she could use only spells whose mystic runes she had impressed on her mind through hours of rigorous study unfortunately speaking an enchantment's incantation erased its runes from the mind so the caster could not use the spell a second time until she studied it again there's no use worrying said rikus before he can free rajat tithian will have to find him and with the sorcerer kings after him that could take some time that's hope so sadera glanced at the sky ahead the black spout still rose from the top of the cliff and she could see by the lengthening gap in the red clouds that it had begun to move the sorceress returned her gaze to the ground picking her way across the jagged stones as quickly as she could after a few steps sedira said there's something i need to say rikers them all raised an eyebrow but kept his attention fixed on the broken ground what is it i owe you an apology sedira said when i found out august was gone i felt guilty for letting him die without the air he wanted i've been using you as a scapegoat for those feelings telling myself that the only reason i didn't carry his baby was because it would make you jealous rikus continued forward was that the reason sadira hesitated before answering she had made her apology as she had promised neva and did not know if it was necessary to discuss her feelings any further then i'm the one who owes you an apology said rikus if i stopped you from giving august something so important that wasn't why i refused sedhira interrupted i didn't want a baby because i was afraid afraid them all scoffed how can the woman who braved the pristine tower who faced down the dragon be frightened of something as common as childbirth common or not childbirth's no little thing sadera scolded but you're right the pain isn't what worried me it was the trust by having a child i'd be giving myself to august forever and trusting him to do the same and that would have meant leaving me that's what i told myself she said but the truth is after fenney on abandoned my mother i've never really trusted love august was no elf he'd never have left you or his child i'm not saying he would have he was much too loyal sedira said but people change and so do their feelings the love might have vanished then we would have been stuck with each other and it might not have you can't predict what happens in life but that's no reason to retreat from it the mole paused for a moment then came closer and took her arm but children aren't a concern for us even if you wanted one i couldn't give you a baby let's just go on like before sedera shook her head i'm not sure that's a good idea she said for me or for you wreck is frowned what do you mean it wasn't until after august died that i realized i needed him and you don't need me regis asked looking hurt sadera smiled weakly that's not what i mean she said but there are others who need you and you need them too if you're talking about never not just about neva sedera said this is useless riku said he released her arm if you think we can decide for neva i'm not deciding for neva sedhira interrupted but i know what she and or card will need rikus looked away uncomfortable what they need is for us to catch tithian and get back to them he said starting to trot if you're up to running again we'd better move on sedhira fell in behind them all by concentrating on where his feet landed she found it easier to secure her own footing and they crossed the plane at a steady pace as they approached the cliff it became clear that the precipice was not natural but a wall constructed of granite blocks as large as houses with seams so tight a dagger blade could not have slipped between the stones crackling forks of lightning shot down from the ash storm overhead to lick at the rampart's loftiest heights and the summit itself was lost in the boiling red clouds i can't believe tythian would fly over this wall sedera said lens or no lens if one of those bolts hit him he'd be scorched to cinders i don't think he went over the mole pointed down the way where a black circle of a tunnel opened into the bottom of the wall they veered toward the entrance they soon saw that it was perfectly round with smooth edges and a glass-like finish it had been driven through the heart of a granite block and was so long that the light at the other end was only about as large as a thumb sedhira followed rikus into the passage when they emerged on the other side the sorceress saw that they had entered the corner of what had once been a forested preserve though it no longer bore much semblance to a park a fiery blast had ripped through the area toppling the trees and leaving them limbless and smoking scattered among their blackened bowls were hundreds of charred skeletons along with the cracked obsidian points of incinerated spears wherever they were they weren't much of a challenge for tythian and the lens ragus observed doesn't look like they even slowed him down sedhira pointed into the distance where the energy spout from the dark lens continued to rip through the storm overhead the black pillar seemed only slightly less distant than it had when they started across the plain we'd better hurry they picked their way across the devastated park emerging on a processional boulevard that ran straight toward the heart of the city to the sorceress it appeared incredibly long passing through an endless series of arches and vaults that had no apparent purpose except ostentatious decoration hundreds and hundreds of monuments to stern-faced warriors and shrewd-looking bureaucrats lined the great avenue given the softness of the light descending from the golden moons the edifices cast surprisingly harsh shadows across the street behind the statues rose the high towers and looming emporiums of a great and ancient city though its sharp and blocky architecture seemed designed to belittle rather than impress its observers the citizens of the city or at least those sadera could see were rioting terrified nobles wearing suits of painted bone armor ran haphazardly through tile streets swinging obsidian swords and axes at mobs of slaves dressed in nothing but hemp breech cloths and carrying pieces of wood for weapons here and there small groups of warriors were trying to mount counter-attacks against their rebelling subjects but the oppressors were too badly outnumbered and sodhira knew it would only be a matter of time before the slaves put them all to the blade rikus and sedira started down the bustling avenue the mull using the shaft of his axe to part the crowd while the sorceress kept her eye on the black energy spout although tithian and presumably the sorcerer kings were too far ahead to see she did not worry they would be difficult to find the rift in the clouds was directly over the great boulevard and it pointed like an arrow straight ahead something about this doesn't make sense said sedhira she was sticking close to the mall's back it should take longer than this for the city to come unravelled how can the slaves already know that the dragon is dead and even if they do how did they overthrow their masters so quickly the mull shrugged the sorcerer king seemed upset about tithing bringing the lens into the city maybe it has something to do with that he said but who cares as long as slaves are winning their freedom sedera shook her head the rebellion's just a symptom if the revolt bothered the sorcerer kings there wouldn't be a slave left alive on this avenue as the pair advanced down the boulevard they were occasionally accosted by riot frenzied slaves or panicked nobles when they were attacked by slaves rikers simply disarmed the aggressors and sent them on their way when nobles assaulted them sadera and the mall did not hesitate to kill happy to assist in the city's liberation soon they came upon three strange beings leading a dozen slaves after a portly templar the creatures resembled the ancient halflings of the blue age save that they were part shadow and part person the leader had a material head and a shadowy body while another had solid limbs but nothing else the third was split down the center half silhouette and half physical when the leader of the half shadows saw rikus and sedhira he called out in the strange language of the city though she did not understand the words the sorceress recognized the voice speaking them guitar the halfling led his two fellows and the slaves toward her you would have been wiser to have left after you killed boris he said rajyat is not fond of half breeds like you and your husband the slaves spread out preparing to come at rikers and sedira from all sides most were armed with wooden sticks but three had obsidian axes and one carried a steel sword get out of here rikers motioned the slaves back with his axe i'd hate to have to hurt you the slaves began jabbering at each other no more capable of understanding them all than he was of understanding them call them off kidar sediro ordered slipping one hand into her pocket and using the other to summon the energy for a spell they'll only get killed kedar hissed something at the slaves in their own language and they launched themselves forward eight went for the mall while the other four all armed with sticks circled around to come at siddhira the sorceress saw rika swing his borrowed axe smashing the flat of the blade into the swordsman's skull as the unconscious slave dropped to the ground the mull continued his swing severing the heads of two obsidian axes with his steel blade at the same time he sent the third axe man tumbling away with a stomp kick to the chest then the club wielders were on him having slipped past rikus the other four slaves charged sedira she pulled a handful of sand from her pocket and flung it in a wide arc before three of them uttering her incantation a mesmerizing golden light glimmered over the grains capturing the gazes of the three men their heads slowly tilted forward as they watched the sand drop when it hit the ground their eyes closed and they fell on their faces fast asleep screaming some draxon curse that sedira did not understand the fourth halfling brought his club down in a vicious overhand strike the sorceress twisted her body to the side and slipped inside the attack blocking at the wrist just as rikus had made her practice a thousand times she looped her hand over the warrior's arm guiding the elbow down toward her own knee which she was bringing up beneath the joint the elbow snapped with a sharp crack and the slave's hand opened sadira caught his club as it fell then drove the point of her elbow into the screaming halfling's throat he stumbled away gasping for breath and the sorceress stepped toward her husband sadera could hardly see rikus beneath the flailing clubs yet the maul still seemed intent on defeating his attackers without killing them three of the eight lay on the ground unconscious but showing no sign of an axe wound she saw one of the warriors double over and stumble away then the hilt of her husband's axe flashed up beneath his chin knocking him off his feet the slave shook his head and started to rise again you don't have to be so careful sedhira yelled she smashed the bud end of her club into the man's temple his eyes rolled back in his head then the sorceress waded into the fray with her husband though she did not deliberately try to kill anyone neither did she take pains to safeguard them she knocked one slave unconscious by smashing her stick across the back of his head snapping the club off at the midpoint then drove the jagged end deep into the small of another man's back he dropped to his knees instantly in too much pain to scream a wave of bone numbing cold shot through the sorceress's wrist she looked down and saw a black shadow creeping up the arm then heard khidar's voice i can still take you to the black he said come along sedhira spun toward the half shadow and raked her fingers across his eyes her nails bit deep and kedar screamed but he remained attached to her the dark stain of his cold touch slipped up over her elbow and it was no longer possible to tell where his hand ended and her arm began the sorceress drew back to strike again and felt another icy hand grip her shoulder she looked back to see another halfling the one who was split down the center grasping her by the collar a terrible numbness began to creep through her torso rikus she yelled her husband had problems of his own although he had knocked the last two slaves unconscious the third half shadow had thrown himself on the mall's back rikus was whirling around madly trying to hurl his attacker off the halfling's arms and legs were flailing wildly but he and the maul remained joined at the torso then she remembered ragus description of his fight with umbra even with the scourge the maul had been unable to defeat the shadow giant until he had dropped his torch the weakness of kirar's people she realized was that without light there could not be shadow sedera turned her palm toward the ground preparing to cast a darkness spell she felt the energy flowing up her arm then the familiar tingle abruptly vanished when it reached the black stain on her shoulder the half shadow gripping her by the collar screamed in pain then suddenly released his grip and fell away he looked as though a bolt of lightning had blasted away part of his body with wisps of black smoke streaming off the empty place where there had once been the silhouette of a shoulder at first sedera did not understand but then she realized what had happened shadow people had no life force of their own they existed only as silhouettes marking the absence of energy usually in the form of light so direct contact with a mystic power one of the most potent forms of energy annihilated them sedera turned her palm toward the ground again already rikus's entire back had turned black with the stain rapidly spreading around his ribs and down over his hips let go kedar the sorceress hissed pulling more magical energy into her body why so you can save rikers he sneered you might escape but your husband comes with us no sadera threw herself forward she thrust her hand into the stain on rikus's back the half shadow did not even scream his body simply exploded into black vapor casting his arms and legs still material in all directions the blast hurled sadera through the air then she heard a loud crack as the back of her skull slammed into the cobblestone street her vision started to dim and a terrible ringing filled her ears the sorceress pushed herself upright fighting back the curtain of oblivion that threatened to descend over her fine said kedar he reached across sadira's body and grabbed her free hand we'll take you instead of rikers sedhira turned her palm toward the ground already her hand was swaddled in shadow up to her wrist she began to pull trying to summon more magic sadera succeeded in drawing nothing but a bone-numbing chill into her body don't be afraid kidar hissed his blue eyes locking onto hers you'll grow accustomed to the cold not likely said rikus stepping up behind the halfling the mole brought his hands down on either side of kedar's head driving his palm heels into the ears the halfling's eyes bulged out then his skull collapsed with a loud crack the black ceased to spread from beneath his shadowy hands raku stepped back pulling kedar's head away the black came with it peeling off sadira's body like wet silk the mall tossed kedar's lifeless head aside at least we know we're not too late rika said sedhira rubbed the lump that had appeared where the back of her skull had hit the cobblestones and why is that they wouldn't have attacked unless they thought we could stop tiffy and them all answered he pulled her to her feet and started down the street all we have to do is figure out why they were so worried a searing wave of pain hissed through tiffian's serpentine body he contracted into a tangled knot of coils his scales rose on end and quivered bending back against their natural pattern to point toward his head fighting to keep his tail wrapped around the dark lens the king clenched his teeth and waited for the spasm to pass he was in the dragon's sanctum a beautiful grove of a thousand exotic trees they were tall conifers with red needles as long as daggers stubby palms each topped by a spray of barbed fronds and majestic hardwoods with crowns as white and billowy as clouds a carpet of blue moths covered the forest floor decorated at odd intervals by a blossoming bush or a curving hedge of brightly colored leaves an eerie calm hung over the place for there was no wind and the king had not heard the cry of a single bird insect or creature of any kind don't stop now sakha's screech shattered the ghostly silence we're almost there a short distance ahead two more paths emerged from the silent forest and joined this one to form a circle of polished jet in the middle of this plaza a dull black sphere hovered in the center of a sable sheened basin the orb was pulsing madly and spinning in all directions at once torrents of dark energy poured from it into the hollow below then came billowing out to gush toward the dark lens in a roiling stream crawl worm commanded sakha use the way tithing closed his eyes and visualized himself on coiling slowly stretching forward he felt no surge of energy from the dark lens but his body slowly stretched out utilizing the energy already pouring through it once he had pushed his head forward the king allowed his muscles to contract dragging himself closer to the black sphere progress came slowly for tythian had to call upon the way each time he stretched out his belly scales would not lie flat and they began to break off as he dragged himself forward the pain searing through his body grew steadily worse as he neared rajat's prison and he felt sure he would burst into flame when he reached the edge of the plaza the dark lens turned crimson the black spout stopped rising from its glassy surface dark fumes began to swirl off the king's scales streaming into the pit ahead the heat of boiling blood filled tithian's body and he screamed crawl urged sacha the dark lens has drawn away the magic of the caging spell touch the black and rajat will be free tithian pulled himself forward and reached across the pit he lowered his hand and his fingers brushed the numbing cold of the black a crimson glow flashed from the king's flesh and his body erupted into fiery pain his teeth clenched so tightly that several of them cracked and his muscles clamped down on his bones so hard that he feared they would break the black sphere burst open spraying wisps of cold gloom in every direction a seething cloud of blue steam boiled up into tithian's face from beneath the protective shadows of an ornamental tunnel vault sadir appeared over rikus's shoulder 50 yards ahead a granite wall blocked the way though it seemed incorrect to say that the boulevard ended there the cobblestone pavement ran clear to the base of the rampart passing beneath an embedded arch as though the street continued on the other side of the wall before the arch stood four of the sorcerer kings their gaze is fixed on the stone blocks in their path as sedhira and rikus watched and droppiness floated down from the top of the wall he shook his head and said something they could not hear though sadera guessed that he was telling the others they could not fly over the wall this seemed to anger hamanu who cast a ray of golden light against the stones beneath the arch the beam sprayed back over the monarchs showering the street with flickering yellow sparks that ate through the cobblestones as though they were cloth when hamanu finally lowered his hand sadera saw that the spell had not even scorched the wall or he sealed it against even them sedhira whispered he must not have trusted his sorcerer kings entirely or never thought that they would need to get inside without his help riku suggested perhaps but if five sorcerer kings can't get past the wall how could typhian the same way he and i crossed the lava sea with kedar's help ragus answered do you think you can get us to the other side perhaps when the sun the crack of a distant explosion interrupted sedhira it came from somewhere far beyond the arch and the sorceress could tell from its sharp report that the blast was a powerful one a patchwork of cracks raced through the granite wall then the entire rampart blew apart with a deafening boom the sorcerer kings vanished beneath a maelstrom of billowing dust and flying boulders sadera grabbed rikus before she could turn to run a tremendous shock wave slammed them to the ground the vault blew off its foundations the walls clattered down at their sides and the arch crashed onto the street behind them sedira covered her head and curled into a tight ball protecting herself from the dozens of fist-sized stones that rained down on her body when the bruising shower ended she found herself choking on a thick cloud of rock dust rikus's strong hand grasped her arm are you hurt i'm fine sedira said allowing the mull to pull her up the sorceress saw that they were surrounded by an arc-shaped pile of debris they had escaped serious injury only because they had been standing at the front of the arch when the explosion blew it over backward at the end of the street it did not look as though the sorcerer kings had been so lucky the wall they had been trying to cross was now a mountain of rubble sedira saw no sign that any of their enemies had escaped the devastation what's that the mole pointed over the top of the boulder heap in the distance beyond a blue spout of water was rising into view for a moment the sparkling pillar held steady its frothing white cap just visible above the rubble ahead then seeming to gather strength the shimmering column shot toward the boiling ash storm above it struck the red clouds with an almighty crash then swept the billowing ash from the sky on the tide of a cerulean storm 18. the cerulean storm tithian opened his eyes to a turquoise dawn he blinked several times trying to clear his vision but the firmament did not change color he saw that it was streaked with blazing rays of azure light while a bank of puffy blue clouds slowly formed overhead the king sat up and looked eastward he did not recognize the luminous sphere he found hanging just above the horizon the orb resembled a huge sapphire with shining blue facets and an azure fire burning deep in its heart it was the sun but not the sun he knew tithian stared at the blue sphere in amazement until his eyes began to ache and he realized the glow would blind him if he stared too long he forced himself to look away and saw that the forest all around him had been utterly destroyed the trees all lay on the ground their tips pointing away from the grove's center and their bowls ripped clean of limbs in the far distance there was no sign of the huge wall that had once surrounded the sanctum or of the great edifices that had stood outside it as he surveyed the devastation the king saw that he still sat in the plaza where he had found rajat's prison the dark lens lay on the cracked cobblestones at his feet murky and cold tithing remembered using his serpent's tail to cling to it when the black exploded anchoring himself to the ground and calling upon its energy to keep himself from being torn apart by the blast the effort had finally proven too much for his body and he had fallen unconscious as the storm began to subside on the other side of the dark lens lay the marble basin that had held rajat's prison the bowl was now filled with a bubbling fowl-smelling icker as black as obsidian in the center the yellowed bones of a hand protruded above the pool its crooked digits looked more like talons than fingers slightly curled and ending in barbed tips what are you waiting for snarled a familiar voice tiffin looked over his shoulder and saw sacha floating toward him the head was badly battered with deep lacerations on his scalp a smashed nose and yellow bruises covering his face pull him out saga demanded tythian lay down at the edge of the basin and stretched an arm across the bubbling soup he closed his fingers around the hand's naked bones and tried to draw the thing out but only succeeded in pulling himself toward the icker the king opened his grip then hissed in pain as the hand dug its barbed talons into his palm it dragged him forward until his shoulder and head both hung over the dark sludge tithian saved himself by thrusting the fingertips of his freehand into a cracked paving stone he stopped his slide and slowly drew himself back onto the plaza once he had anchored himself securely in place he began pulling the hand toward him first the arm then the shoulder and finally the head rose from the icker the skeleton had a flat grossly elongated skull with a sharp ridge crest and a sloped forehead beneath its heavy brow crooked forks of blue light glimmered deep in each eye socket wisps of white mist puffed from its nasal cavity its jaws were lined with curved yellow needles while a huge mass of knobby bone formed a long drooping chin rajyat tithian gasped who else answered sakha rajat sank the talons of his free hand into the stone he ripped his other claw free and drove it down on the other side of the king pulling himself to the basin's rim tithian scrambled back on all fours barely saving himself from being stepped on as rajat pulled himself from the dark pool the ancient sorceress frame was about as tall as an elf and completely skeletal with hunched shoulders gangling arms and ivory-colored thigh bones as twisted as they were thick the creatures eyes lingered on tithian's face for an instant then flickered over the barren trees lying around the plaza's edge and finally returned to the dark lens rajat stared at the black orb for several seconds before finally looking skyward the fleshless jaws parted in a crude imitation of a smile then rajat opened his mouth wide free he bellowed his voice rumbling over the sanctum like thunder streamers of blue fog gushed from his mouth condensing into tiny droplets and falling to the ground like rain let the traitors tremble and wail i have returned and my retribution shall be bloody and painful as rajat spoke a strange ripple ran through his warped thighs then through his ribs arms and the rest of his bones before tithian's eyes his yellowed skeleton grew to the size of a half giant the king gathered himself up then took a deep breath and walked forward he stopped before rajat and bowed i am tiffian he said not looking up i opened your prison rajan stepped over the king's head without answering the black icker trailed after his heels rising out of the basin and spreading itself over the ground like a shadow tithian leaped back not wanting to have any contact with the foul smelling stuff then spun around to request his reward wait advised sakha staring at rajat with an astonished expression the ancient sorcerer now stood at least two full heads taller than any half giant although he had only a skeleton for a body the icker serving as his shadow had arranged itself into the silhouette of a man-like figure fully fleshed and with an immensely powerful build as tithian watched rajat raised an arm into the sky as though reaching for something far above a turquoise cloud vanished from sight then reappeared in his grasp the ancient sorcerer began to work it with both hands flattening it out like bread dough then stretching it into a thin sheet once he seemed satisfied with its consistency he stooped down and pressed it over his foot the misty fabric stretched over his bones like flesh sacha's jaw fell open he's changed a knowing smile crept across the head's lips and he said this time he won't fail arthas shall return to the blue age another wave of ripples rolled through rajat's yellow bones and he grew to the height of a shipmast the ancient sorcerer took a few more steps positioning himself beneath another cloud then he reached up and plucked it from the sky he began to work it like the first fashioning another piece of skin behind rajat the ground became porous and white wherever his shadow passed a moment later circles of brilliant color scarlet sapphire saffron emerald and a dozen others burst across the surface rising from somewhere deep inside the stone in the center of these vibrant circles sprouted round nubs like the seedlings of some strange plant rajad continued to walk around the sanctum plucking cloud after cloud from the sky and using them to cover his skeleton soon he stood half again the height of a giant with no indication that he would quit growing anytime soon tithian waited until the ancient sorcerer wandered back near him then moved boldly forward to present himself he turned a palm toward the ground to prepare a spell that would amplify his voice before the king could begin to draw energy rajat looked down at him and boomed no not here the ancient sorcerer waved an enormous hand at the strange rock plants that had sprouted from his shadow never in the blue lands tithing closed his hand satisfied that he had finally won rajat's attention i am king tiffian of tyr i know who you are the ancient sorcerer replied he looked away from tithian and plucked another cloud from the sky then began to work it without paying the king any more attention and do you also know of the promises that were made to me tithian asked in a polite voice rajat fixed his diamond-shaped eyes on the king and said nothing another series of ripples rolled through his body and he grew even larger can i expect you to honor those promises tithian called if you wish to serve me you must learn patience rajat said stepping away serve him tithian hissed quietly he turned to sakha that wasn't part of our bargain raja surprised the king by turning around you do not wish to serve me he asked a malicious light glimmering in his eyes i wish what i was promised typhian said swallowing nervously the powers of an immortal sorcerer king the gleam in rajat's eyes grew warmer in time he promised the sorcerer held a closed fist far above typhian's head the king looked up and saw the hand open high above a cascade of salty water poured down from the enormous palm hitting with such force that it swept him off his feet the deluge did not stop for many moments until tythian felt a frothing tide of water rising beneath him sader appeared over the tangle of floating logs studying the looming figure she took to be rajat he stood twice as tall as any giant with a crown of lightning crackling around his head a constant crash of thunder belched forth from his fang-toothed mouth and whenever he exhaled billowing blue fog shot from his gaping nostrils and dissolved in a torrent of rain his entire body was swaddled in roiling clouds the color of turquoise and great torrents of salty water poured from the claws at the ends of his gangling arms even his shadow was part of the tempest causing the water to churn and froth wherever it fell how are we going to kill that asked riker scrouching at sedira's side he's a walking storm the sorceress shook her head i don't know but we'd better think of something fast she said this water isn't getting any shallower using the log tangle as camouflage sedira and the mull were wading through a shallow lake that not long before had been a vast grove of trees it was filled with fish and strange scuttling creatures that vaguely resembled scorpions the sorceress pushed the heavy load of timber before them since her ebony skin and magical powers had returned with the peculiar blue dawn the mull devoted most of his efforts to his axe trying to keep it out of the water without letting it show above the logs glowing eddies of red and green light swirled over the blade the result of a magical spell sedera hoped would prove effective against rajat's vapor covered form there's tiffian riku said the mole pointed at a jumble of logs about 50 yards away and sticking out of the lake at all angles in the center of the heaps at the king resting cross-legged atop the dark lens the black orb seemed strangely dark and murky with only a flicker of blue light showing deep within it attithian's side hovered sakha both the king and the disembodied head were watching rajat and so far they seemed oblivious to the presence of sadera and rikus sadera pushed the log tangle in tithian's direction sending a school of fish with squarish heads and writhing tentacles scurrying away we'll take the lens first good thinking that'll keep tiffian out of the fight agreed rikus then what i'll try fire sedhira said it makes sense given what rajat's made of ragus agreed still i'm beginning to wish the sorcerer kings were doing this instead of us be careful what you wish for sedira said a little thing like being trapped under a collapsed wall isn't going to kill the sorcerer kings rag is frowned i suppose that's true he said maybe we should wait and let them attack first so they can send rajon back to his prison and make another dragon to keep him there sadira scoffed i'd rather take our chances attacking him ourselves ragus gave a reluctant nod and they continued toward tithian in silence as the pair approached they saw that the logs around the king were covered with a lumpy brown crust of minerals and shells sedira cursed silently they had seen several areas where the tree trunks were covered by similar crusts such places were usually surrounded by hedges of submerged rock stem brightly colored plants that grew in finger-like formations as hard as rock and as sharp as obsidian sedera heard a muffled clack as one of her logs hid a finger of the rock stem she and rykas ducked down watching through the tangle as tythian and sakha spun around the king in the head peered in their direction for several moments finally tithian's voice drifted across the water to sedera's ears it's nothing just floating logs the king said facing rajat again sedhira motioned for rikus to ready himself then pulled a splinter off of a log and held it in her open palm as she whispered her mystic syllables the sliver floated out of her hand growing to the size of a warlance red smoke poured from all along its shaft and scarlet sparks shot from its end the sorceress leveled her finger at the king's head and the spear sizzled away the lance had hardly passed out of the log tangle when rajat's head snapped around a blue spark flashed in his eyes as his gaze fell on the sputtering shaft then he flicked a finger toward it an enormous bug-eyed fish leaped out of the lake and snatched the weapon from midair the spear exploded in the creature's mouth blowing its head into a thousand small bits tiffian is my servant boomed the ancient sorcerer only i may destroy him rajat stepped towards sadera and rikers crossing two dozen yards of water with a single stride go rikus as she spoke sedhira slipped a hand into the pocket of her wet cloak rankus stepped forward swinging his axe at the rock stem the blade's enchantment sent great geysers of water spiraling into the sky and the mall smashed a large notch into the top of the hedge tithing leaped off the dark lens and disappeared into the tangle of crusted trees sedira pulled a ball of wax and sulfur from her pocket and threw it toward rajat crying out her spell the yellow ball erupted into a huge sphere of flame it streaked up to rajat's face and engulfed his head then began to sputter as soon as it contacted the clouds serving as the ancient sorcerer's skin the fireball died away without raising so much as a puff of steam rajat reached for sadhira with his claw-fingered hand ranka stepped away from the submerged hedge and swung his axe at the ancient sorcerer's wispy wrist the steel passed through harmlessly with no geysers of vapor or swirling fountains of cloud to suggest that sadera's magic was working in fact it came out the other side clean and shiny the enchantments on its blade dispelled sedira tried to dive away but rajat's fingers closed around her waist before she could submerge herself the enormous hand felt wet and soft yet as unyielding as her own dark flesh the ancient sorcerer lifted her up before his blue eyes and studied her from the high vantage point siddhira could see much of herdraxa it was a huge city of forests and magnificent buildings with a wide band of destruction encircling the clear waters of rajat's spreading lake stupid half breed hissed the ancient sorcerer pelting her with a gale of cold rain did you really think to use my own magic against me he squeezed filling sediro with pain she pushed against his crushing grip with both arms it was all she could do to keep her ribs from collapsing as strong as her sun-enhanced muscles were rajat was far more powerful sedira looked down and saw rikus far below thrashing about madly in the crystalline waters as he vainly chopped at her captor's ankle it was like trying to cut smoke save that the blade did not even cause an eddy as it passed through she tried to yell at him to run but she could not expand her chest far enough to draw air into her lungs rajat continued to squeeze for several more moments forks of lightning dancing in his diamond-shaped eyes then as sadira's muscles began to quiver with fatigue he relaxed his grip he looked away from his prisoner and gazed down at the lake below a school of five huge fish was slipping through the gap rikus had opened in the rock stem hedge and was swimming toward the dark lens rajat smiled and in a voice so soft sadera could hardly hear it whispered finally the traitors have come the sorceress felt rajat's hand to tense and realized he was about to throw her she dug both hands into her captor's vaporish flesh then the ancient sorcerer hurled her down toward the dark lens a wisp of turquoise cloud came away in sedira's hand as she spoke the single word of her incantation the vapor spread out beneath her stopping her fall at the height of rajat's waist the ancient sorcerer took an absent-minded swipe at her sending her cloud drifting away on an invisible tide of air then fixed his attention on the water at his feet the crown of lightning around his head began to crackle and dance more madly sader appeared over the edge of her cushion and saw king tech rising from beneath the waters with the dark lens balanced on his back he turned toward rajat and stared up at the ancient sorcerer his beak clattering a short distance away the water boiled around nibene and hamanu as they summoned the energy to cast a spell leaving a huge expanse of rock stem colorless and defiled in the process the oba and andropinis stood nearby staring intently into the lens as they prepared to use the way tythian and sakha abandoned their hiding places and started toward the dark lens rikus who had continued hacking at rajat's ankle until sadira was freed stepped away from the ancient sorcerer and moved to attack the king rikus no sedhira reached into her cloak pocket from the way rajad had reacted when he first saw the sorcerer kings the sorceress suspected he would attack before the traitors could execute their plan she did not want rikus near the dark lens when that happened the ancient sorcerer's crown of lightning suddenly fell silent his gaze went vacant and a tempest of sapphire hailstones began to build in his diamond-shaped eyes sedira tossed the tough belly scale of a rock at her toward her husband uttering her incantation as it fell a shimmering grey shield appeared over the entire area surrounding him two streams of smoking hailstones hissed down from rajat's eyes with a deafening roar the pellets crashed off the sorceress's shield and bounced away they dropped into the lake many yards away sending steaming plumes of water high into the air when the storm subsided rajat's eyes were almost white with anger he raised a foot to step towards sadera flashing sheets of lightning crackling off his crown amanu and nibine pointed toward the dark lens roaring the incantations to cast their spells tiny streams of absolute blackness shot from their fingertips into the orb the currents came out on the other side magnified into great rivers and washed over rajat swallowing rikus and typhian on the way the oba and androponis attacked next facing each other and moving their hands through the empty air they kept their eyes fixed on the ebony murk that had engulfed rajat and soon the dark mass began to assume the shape of a sphere when the globe was perfectly round the two sorcerers moved closer together the black orb holding rajat began to shrink sadira felt far from relieved the sorcerer king's plan had been an efficient one and her intervention on rikus's behalf had kept rajat's counter-attack from interrupting it still the ancient sorcerer had clearly been expecting the sorcerer kings even looking forward to their arrival given that it seemed strange that he had relied on only one spell to stop them and that his last act before being captured had been to come after her this battle the sorceress suspected was far from over nevertheless she had learned something valuable from it the dark lens was not only a mind bender's tool the sorcerer kings had used it to increase the power of their spells a hundred fold unfortunately sadera had already seen that her own magic had very little effect on rajat and she did not think the lens would change that but she knew of someone else who might be able to use the orb to good effect sedhira took a deep breath and turned and uttered a soft incantation when she exhaled her cloud began to move as though a stiff wind were blowing it across the sky the sorceress cupped one hand and held it out to her side her flying cushion turned toward the dark lens keeping a watchful eye on the source of her kings she flew over and slowly encircled the area nibbane raised a hand to wave her down you've served us well he said you have nothing to fear from us sadera did not fly any lower watching both him and hamanu even more closely she asked and what a vrykus in there with the usurper and rajat said hamanu gesturing at the black sphere the oba and androponis had already managed to squeeze the globe down so that it was no taller than a small giant sedera tried not to be afraid she had retrieved people from the black before and she saw no reason that she would not be able to do it again her hopes must have shown on her face nibbanae said don't think that your powers can call your husband back he's beneath the black not part of it what's the difference sedira asked the black is shadow it shows what is by what is missing explained hamano but beneath the black is the hollow where nothing is missing because nothing remains not the future not the past not even the grey nothing simply nothing now come down here as i told you to do nibbene commanded his voice growing irritated it will be better for you and us if we declare a truce pretending to accept the sorcerer king's offer sedhira circled around to have one last look for her husband she angled her hands so that her cloud descended swooping low over rajat's new prison in the dark lens when she saw nothing but the white lifeless rock stem that nibine and hamanu had defiled the sorceress curved away that was when she noticed a black shadow swimming through the water behind androponis though only about the size of an elf the silhouette retained rajat's basic shape it was slithering along the bottom of the defiled lake so that only someone looking down from directly above was likely to see it rajat had learned a new trick in his prison while the sorcerer kings had concentrated on capturing his body he had been lurking in his own shadow all along sadira smiled to herself now she knew how to defeat rajat all she had to do was steal the lens and return to the crater with it nibine turned his palm downward and defiled more rock stem preparing to cast a spell the sorceress continued to fly trying not to watch rajat's shadow the sorcerer king raised his hand pointing towards sadira in the same instant rajat's shadow emerged from the water and threw his dripping arms around androponos throat for you eternal confinement rajad hissed and dropping his screamed in alarm as his ancient master silhouette swallowed him the sorcerer king's cry fell silent almost at once and no sign of him remained nibbene changed his aim from sadira to rajat and fairly screamed his incantation a net of pulsing white energy shot from his hand it passed through the ancient sorcerer's shadowy form without effect but the oba who had been standing across from androponis when he was seized had to duck to avoid being hit deprived of any chance to cast a spell or use the way against her former master she dropped into the water and pushed herself away from him rajat ignored the sorcerer queen and stepped toward the dark lens which was still being supported on king tech's back nibine and hamanu standing between the ancient sorcerer and the lens retreated in opposite directions one summoning the energy for a spell and the other furrowing his brow as he prepared to use the way sadera circled around and lined herself up behind rajat she moved toward the back of her clouds so there would be room for the dark lens then angled the nose downward and started to descend on the other side of the lens the black stopped shrinking i need help king tech yelled still trying to keep the lens focused on the shadowy sphere rajat stepped up behind him plucking the dark lens off his back for you death he brought the orb down tech's skull split with a tremendous bang spraying foul-smelling smoke and sizzling drops of fiery red blood in all directions sedira smiled she was coming up directly behind rajat the sorceress hoped to lift the dark lens out of his grasp as her cloud passed through his shadowy body but if her tactic resulted in a collision instead she would have a better chance than anyone of recovering the dark lens with her body imbued by the sun's power the impact would not harm her and at least she was anticipating it rajant faced nibbane raising the lens in both hands for you a thousand years of torment rajan stepped toward the sorcerer king causing sedhira to pull up the front of her cloud and execute a tight bank she rose along the side of the ancient sorcerer's shoulder for an instant the sorceress feared he would glimpse her in his peripheral vision then she was staring up at the dark lens the cloud lifted the heavy orb out of rajat's hands then abruptly dived as the extra weight pushed the nose down sadera found herself dropping straight toward the dark sphere in which rikus and tithian were imprisoned behind her rajat cried out in surprise and sorcerer kings began shouting orders the sorceress hardly heard them for she was too busy trying to pull the dark lens toward the rear of the cloud so the nose would rise as sedhira approached the black a surge of searing energy rushed up from the depths of the dark lens forks of blue lightning crackled over her body and she began to suffer muscle spasms surprised she could not prevent her cloud from continuing its dive and it crashed straight into the murky sphere the sorcerer kings had created sadera saw a black flash the explosion that followed was not as large as the one that had destroyed the dragon's sanctum for the lens was only partially charged still the sorceress found herself soaring through the air backwards she splashed into the shallow lake some distance away with the dark lens pressing down on her chest and water filling her lungs 19 flood waters rikers kicked off the hip bone of a massive skeleton and sailed through the colorless ether he grabbed tythian by his long braid of gray hair and used it to pull them together then slipped an arm around the king's throat and squeezed the king coughed and rasped for breath digging his fingers into the mall's arm in a futile attempt to free himself rikus only tightened his grip the mole the king and sakha were floating inside a black sphere with a huge skeleton rikus assumed to be rajats it was impossible to tell the size of their prison the place seemed entirely filled by the ancient sorcerer's yellowed bones yet tithian had tried several times to push off an ankle or hand and float out to the dark walls he had never seemed able to reach them and when rikers caught up with him they had always seemed to be next to the skeleton rankis glimpsed sakha floating toward his back from behind a thigh bone the mole gave his torso a sharp twist but used too much power and spun himself past the disembodied head more accustomed to maneuvering through the air sacha took advantage of the mistake to streak forward he clamped his teeth around the warrior's ear and began to rip screaming in pain rikers shoved tithian away and with a stomp kick to the back sent the king tumbling toward the skeleton's skull the mole reached up grasping sakha by the nose with one hand and by the chin with the other he snapped his attacker's mouth open drawing a loud crack from the lower jaw then brought his knee up and smashed sakha against it sakha's eyes went glassy in blank then brown foul-smelling ooze began to pour from his nostrils and ears tossed sacha's crushed skull aside then turned back toward tithian the king was floating near the skeleton's head his dark eyes locked on the mull fearing that the king was preparing to attack with the way riker stuck under the skeleton's leg as rikers started to pull himself forward crooked lines of lightning began dancing across the walls of the black sphere his first thought was that tythian was responsible he peered over the skeleton's torso and found the king staring in confusion at the dark shell of their prison the lightning cord suddenly connected with each other forming a crackling net of energy with a shrill hiss the black walls dissolved into wisps of shadow a blinding blue flash filled the sphere then the mole felt himself being drawn upward rakus tumbled through the air for what seemed a long time his eyes filled with spots finally he began to arc downward and through his erratic vision he saw turquoise clouds and a blue sun above him he hit the water so hard that it felt as if he had slammed into a granite plane instead of splashing into a lake the air rushed from his lungs and he went under rikus felt himself touch bottom then he pushed off and shot back to the surface of the lake he came up coughing water and flailing his arms somehow he managed to keep his head above water long enough to see a floating tree trunk then swam toward it with choppy uneven strokes when he reached his goal rikus threw his arms over the log and spent several moments clearing his lungs of water his flesh stung and his joints ached from the impact of the fall but he did not feel any serious injuries a loud boom echoed across the lake from behind rikus fearing a magical attack from tithy and the mall twisted around more than 50 paces away he saw a black orb streaking into the sky sitting on top of it was the figure of an ebony skinned woman for long amber hair waving in the wind sedera had recovered the dark lens raccoos started to call out for her to come back but stopped when he saw the figures of three sorcerer kings rising from the lake to go after her he could hear their voices shouting but was too distant to understand their words two of them turned their palms downward and frothing spouts of water rose toward their hands as they summoned the energy to cast spells rikus cursed his inability to aid sedhira then he watched as the sorcerer kings closed their hands and pointed toward his wife sadera watch yourself as the maul called the words rajat's skeleton rose out of the lake between the sorcerer kings and sedira it was not as large as when rikus had first seen it now standing only about as high as a full giant no boomed rajat's angry voice you shall wait here for your punishment the skeleton pointed three of its curled talons at the sorcerer kings glittering blue bubbles shot from the digits and each engulfed one of the figures flying after sedira the shimmering balls of water brought their prisoners to a quick halt they began to drift over the lake in a lazy circle small bulges appearing in their liquid walls as the occupants tried to free themselves with magic spells the way and physical blows after watching them for a moment rajat's skeleton turned around sadira had already disappeared with the lens the ancient sorceress stared after her for a moment finally he plucked a cloud from the sky and began to flatten it into a sheet of vaporish skin walking after sadera as he worked rank his pushed himself to the end of his tree and began to kick his legs but quickly realized there was no need a brisk tide was flowing after rajat carrying the maul and an ever-growing jumble of logs along with it rankes tried to raise himself above the debris searching for a glimpse of what he hoped would be tythian's dead body raku saw no sign of the king and soon he could not afford to look the current was beginning to froth and bang logs against each other it took all of his strength just to keep his head above water and not lose his grip on his makeshift raft as the current carried tythian out of the shadows a sharp crack sounded from the roof of the arch the king ducked under the frothing waters narrowly escaping before a shower of splinters erupted from his log the river throbbed with the pulse of the blast battering his ears with the terrible pangs of agony staying submerged the king swung under his log and came up on the other side looking toward the top of the arch he saw the small figure of a halfling male the man was peering into the tangle of logs no doubt searching for tythian's body and at the same time slipping a cone-shaped pellet into the groove of a tiny crossbow tithian ducked back under the water knowing from experience how deadly the little crossbows could be during his short float trip down what had once been ordraxa's processional avenue he'd seen dozens of halflings using the weapons indiscriminately killing the former residents of the city they seemed entirely determined to murder every non-halfling in sight once the king judged the floodwaters had carried him safely out of range he pulled himself onto his log and gasped for breath although he was using the way to augment his strength the effort of clinging to the tree in roiling floodwaters was wearing on his old man's body if this chase did not end soon he feared he would be in no condition to steal the lens back from sadera tithian propped himself up on his log and looked ahead all he could see in front of him was a bizarre watery city that had once been urdraksa the stern architecture had been replaced by flowing bends and gentle curves with not a sharp corner in sight the granite arches and marble buildings were now made of colorful rock stem while the monuments lining the avenue depicted mild-mannered halflings instead of axes and swords these small heroes held riding quills and vials of peculiar shapes their placid expressions and serene smiles strangely at odds with the murderous behavior of the bloodthirsty warriors now roaming the canals finally tithian spotted rajat's looming form at the end of the avenue a walking storm of cerulean clouds once again a crown of lightning crackled around his head and gales of rain poured from his hands as tithian watched the ancient sorcerer lifted a foot and kicked open the enormous gates rajat ducked beneath the keystone and vanished from the king's sight the floodwaters rushed after him pouring onto the plane beyond sadera descended toward the crater and saw that the lake of bubbling black goo had evaporated from the basin leaving the interior as smooth as a glass bowl in places the sheen rose almost as high as the rim reflecting the rays of the blue sun back into the center of the valley there the azure beams gathered in an ethereal ball that the sorceress found as disconcerting as the new color of the heavens as beautiful as they were blue skies and blue suns had no place above the deserts of athas they hearkened back to a gentler age an age that could only be restored by killing most of what now lived on the dusty planet as much as sedhira longed for a better world she would not pay the price that rajat demanded she had to stop him as the sorceress circled the basin cold fingers of apprehension spread through her chest for she saw no sign of neva's hiding place the rocks where rikus had concealed the warrior were gone fused into the lustrous veneer of the cauldron sedira tried to stay calm by reminding herself of ricard's strength the boy was more than strong enough to carry his mother to safety assuming that whatever had scoured the crater clean had allowed him the chance with an increasingly heavy heart sedhira crossed to the outside slope of the rim and continued her search she did not call out a gentle breeze was blowing toward the city and it would not do to have it carry her voice across the plane she could already see that rajat's towering form had left urdraksa and was coming toward her and the last thing she wanted was for him to hear her calling for urkard and neva sedhira landed on the north side of the crater where a high section in the opposite rim would shelter her from rajat's view she climbed up to a notch in the crest and deposited the dark lens in the nook she filled the gaps around the orb with dirt and rocks her magic enhanced strength making quick work of the task the sorceress was not trying to hide the lens so much as prop it up and camouflage it well enough to keep it from being seen at first glance after pausing to look around the area one last time sedhira climbed up to the rim's crest she slowly circled back toward udraksa scanning the exterior slope of the crater and forcing herself to resist the temptation to call the young mole's name the sorceress did not know what she would do if the boy had left or had died she was counting on his spell to do what she could not exterminate rajat sadera's powers based as they were on the ancient sorcerer's own magic would be of little use in the coming battle but urkhard's powers were the opposite of rajats they were based in the element of fire while the ancient sorcerer was closely allied with the element of water if anything could destroy rajat it would be magic the sorceress stepped around a jagged crag and the ramparts of udraksa came into sight glowing scarlet and emerald with the brilliant hues of living rock stem rajad had already crossed most of the plane as he came forward forks of lightning shot down from his crown to strike at the ground and torrents of rain poured from his hands thunder rumbled from his mouth and dark seething plumes of vapor shot from his nostrils on his heels came a frothing wall of water rolling across the broken ground and rapidly flooding the whole plane sadera ducked back behind the crag to prepare for the coming battle where's rikus whispered a familiar voice sadera bitter tongue to keep from yelling and spun around her cards stood a few steps away crouching behind a small boulder the sorceress went to his side i was afraid i thought you had left she whispered hugging him tight is your mother safe the boy nodded the black stuff started to boil and we had to move she sent me up to get you he said where's rikus we'll look for him later sedhira said standing right now i need your help tears weld in urcard's eyes rekkus isn't coming back is he he asked he's dead just like my father sadera kneeled in front of the boy we don't know that she snapped grasping his shoulders tightly but we have to worry about ourselves and your mother now rajat's coming and i need your help to stop him her card looked away and bit his lip gathering himself together what do you want me to do nothing you haven't done many times before siddhira guided him toward the dark lens explaining her plan as they walked when she finished she made the young mole repeat it twice the sorceress did not think or card would have trouble understanding what she required for the task was simple and he was a smart boy she just wanted to make sure he knew that the plan would work even if she were killed after helping her card find a good hiding place sadera climbed a quarter of the way around the crater when she came to a place where the outside slope fell away in a sheer drop she stopped this would be a good place to wait she could jump behind the crater rim to shelter herself from rajat's magic while her eben-skinned body would not be harmed by the plunge to the sharp rocks below rajat's flashing crown appeared above the opposite rim filling the cauldron with echoes of crackling lightning the entire basin shook with the power of his thunderous bellows the ancient sorceress started to climb and frothing floodwaters began to whirl around the base of the crater sedira turned a palm toward the ground summoning the power to cast a normal spell as the energy flowed into her body she pulled a stick of incense from her pocket and watched rajat's head appear above the far crest his vaporish skin hung from his face in billowing folds with dark creases that gave him a fierce and sinister appearance from the size of his eyes and the diameter of his crown she guessed the ancient sorcerer was about the size of a giant sadera waited until rajat had stepped onto the crest of the ridge then she pointed the incense at him and uttered her incantation the end of the stick flared and started to burn as the smoke rose into the air plumes of steam began to trail off the ancient sorcerer's misty flesh long gashes and round holes quickly opened exposing the yellowed bones underneath rajat waved a wispy claw over his body and muttered a counterspell the incense in sedira's hand went out and the steam stopped rising from the wounds on his body the ancient sorcerer stepped into the crater when his feet slipped on the slick sides he spread his arms and floated down the steep slope like fog he never took his eyes off sadera i created sorcery raja hissed stepping across the basin how can you think your beautiful skill's a match for mine rajat pointed a curved talon at her head sedhira spun away confident her plan would work as she intended another step forward would bring her foe into perfect position for akkad's spell a string of mystic syllables rumbled from rajat's mouth the throbbing roar of a mighty whirlwind held over the basin and a spout of dark clouds shot from the ancient sorceress finger it streaked toward sadera hurling lightning and pounding columns of water at her side of the crater the sorceress jumped off the cliff the spinning winds hit behind her ripping the rim into an explosion of broken rock the storm caught sadera before she hit the ground and lifted her into a swirling tempest of boulders and water lightning bolts stabbed at her from every direction when they struck they did not die away but crackled over her body in an endless loop she was quickly enclosed in a sizzling cage of energy which flashed twice around the whirlwind and disappeared into the dark clouds the cyclone sped out across the flooded plain a quarter of the way around the crater arcade peered over the dark lens and watched the storm disappear his breath came in gasps and his heart was pounding so hard his chest hurt but he forced himself to stay calm and concentrate on what he had to do hercard turned his gaze into the crater where rajat's cloud-wrapped figure stood in the middle of the basin the ancient sorcerer's shadow lay against the western rim looking distinctly insignificant resisting the temptation to attack and not at all certainly was doing the right thing the young mole waited he did not take his eyes off his target for even an instant and hardly dared to blink sedhira had said that rajat would chase her and that arkad should not cast his spell until the ancient sorcerer's silhouette fell across the bottom of the crater it was the shadow they wanted to destroy not the cloudy body raja did not go after sadera instead he remained in the crater pulling blue clouds out of the sky and using them to patch his wounds watched with an open mouth more in wonder than fear the ancient sorcerer continued to heal himself for several moments stopping only when he had covered all the holes on his body rickard braced himself for the attack ready to call on the sun's power as soon as his foe moved to follow sadera raja did not cooperate not even glancing toward the distant cyclone the sorcerer ran his gaze over the interior of the crater searching for the dark lens ricard touched his hand to the sun mark on his forehead not trusting the strange blue orb in the sky to supply the magic he needed he considered casting his spell at that moment before his enemy's glowing eyes could fall on the lens then he remembered what sadera had told him about how the sorcerer kings had imprisoned the cloud only to be attacked by the shadow a few moments later rajat isn't like us he doesn't give form to his shadow she had said it shapes him urcard studied his foe's shadow more carefully from the other side of the dark lens he could angle his spell to strike the silhouette where it lay now hoping this small change wouldn't ruin sadira's plan but seeing no other way to do as she had instructed he crawled across the hot surface of the lens to the other side he would have gone around the bottom of the orb but it was so big that he would not have been able to see rajat and no matter what happened he was determined not to take his eyes off his prey rajon locked his eyes onto her card's face and stepped toward him although the boy could still see most of rajat's shadow one flank and part of a leg were hidden behind the sorcerer's body give me my lens filthy child rajat growled he gestured at the dark lens with a clawed finger the young mole pressed his palm to the warm obsidian and cast his son's spell rajat's eyes flared white though the boy could not say whether it was with alarm or anger then a ruby light flared deep inside the orb arcade did not expect what happened next the lens flashed scarlet then searing red flames spread over the surface the boy cried out an alarm and backed away as the dark lens erupted into a miniature version of the crimson sun neva heard a booming voice from inside the crater i created sorcery it said how can you think your pitiful skills a match for mine the warrior looked up from her hiding place on the uphill side of a boulder she could see both sedira and her son the sorceress stood on top of a small cliff about a quarter of the way around the crater rim from where urcard hid with the dark lens neva could not see the speaker though she felt certain from what she had heard that it was rajat a string of mystic syllables rumbled from inside the crater then neva heard the throbbing roar of a whirlwind sedira jumped off the cliff her feet had barely left the rim before a dark cyclone ripped it apart a ball of lightning formed around the sorceress as the spinning winds swallowed her up then the storm raced away over the flooded plain no neva gasped the warrior pushed herself up bracing her back against the boulder the effort of standing made her cold legs ache to the bone while the small of her back felt like someone had plunged a burning dagger into it still neva was thankful that she could stand at all when her son had cast his healing spell on her at sunrise it had taken a long time for the feeling to return below her waist and she had begun to fear that her injuries were too serious for him to repair leaning against the boulder never turned to watch the cyclone hoping to see what became of sedira instead she saw a gaunt and bedraggled figure pulling himself from the floodwaters even from 20 paces away she could see that he had a hooked nose and a long braid of gray hair typhian she hissed the king looked up the hill toward urkard whose attention was raptly fixed on the crater basin not even pausing to gather his breath tithy and rosen started up the slope on trembling legs neva grabbed a fist-sized rock and gritting her teeth against the pain took her first step across the slippery hillside her card had told her that it was risky for her to walk but with tythian on the loose she knew it was more dangerous not to the warrior managed half a dozen steps before the king glimpsed her and stopped tithian faced her and sneered turning his palm toward the ground i thought you'd be dead by now neva braced her feet and threw the rock in her hand aiming for the throat tithian ducked and the stone struck him in the temple with a sharp crack the king dropped to the ground though it was possible the blow had killed her target outright the warrior knew better than to count on that she hobbled over to her prey and found his eyes rolled back in the sockets she grabbed a large stone and raised it over his head taking no chances with the treacherous king tithian's hand suddenly shot up directing a brilliant flash into the warrior's eyes neva's vision instantly went white she slammed the stone down and heard it clatter harmlessly off the ground the warrior went into a blind fighting pattern she pivoted away from the last place she had seen the king and circled her hands in front of her body frequently changing directions to prevent her enemy from predicting where the gaps would appear the cruel chuckle sounded at neva's side sweeping her arm around in a circular trapping motion she stepped toward the sound then stumbled and nearly fell when her lethargic legs did not respond as she expected the warrior felt tithing's hot breath on the back of her neck and realized that he had used a spell to throw his voice expecting to feel the bite of a dagger blade in her kidneys at any moment the warrior arched her stomach forward and swung her head back she heard a loud crack as her skull smashed the king's nose then she felt his arm drape across her shoulder he had been trying to cut her throat neva drove her hand up inside tithian's arm and forced his wrist away from her neck she bent forward pulling him over her back and heard him land in a heap in front of her neva tried to raise her foot to stomp the king's head but succeeded only in sending a fiery pang of agony shooting through her leg tithian clattered across the rocky ground rolling or crawling away and the warrior lost track of his exact location grey spots were beginning to appear in the white glare of her vision but she still could not see the king stopped moving and fell silent never felt sure that he was preparing a spell but she had no idea how to avoid it she heard something rising out of the water then rikus's voice shouted dive roll quarter right the command called for a maneuver they had used during their days in the arena together and even knew exactly what it meant she threw herself forward at an angle crashing into tiffy and soft midsection before she hit the ground the king cried out in surprise she heard the hiss of mystic energy discharging into the air then she came down on top of his body the air left tithian's lungs in a sharp grunt but he did not stop fighting neva felt him pull both arms out from beneath her body she raised her arm to block the right one assuming it held the dagger no left rakus called by the sound of his voice he was almost upon them neva could not switch blocks so she rolled toward the king's left arm and pinned it beneath her weight she brought her hand down and found his wrist then gave it a sharp twist and heard the hollow pop of a bone coming out of its socket tithing cried out in pain then smashed his right hand into his attacker's back and shoved her off neva heard him scrambling away then found the dagger on the ground where he had dropped it her vision was now growing clear enough that she could make it out as a gray blur lying on the black smudge of the ground tithian began to run up the hill toward her card as neva could tell by the sound of the rocks clattering beneath his feet at the same time she heard rikus's heavy steps charging up from her other side neva took the dagger by the blade knight francis neva flipped the dagger into the air angling her throws so it flew toward riku's hilt first an instant later the weapon came hissing back above her head tiffian screamed but she did not hear him fall damn rikers snapped stopping at her side neva felt them all take her arm and pull her up terrible pain shot through her legs as her weight returned to them but they did not collapse beneath her she also discovered that she had recovered her vision well enough to see the mull's face he looked as haggard and weary as had tythian with beads of water running off his body in dark circles beneath his eyes i've been trying to catch tiffian since rajat flooded with roxanna now he's disappeared again riker said neva pointed toward the dark lens i doubt it she said he was trying for the lens when i attacked him the mole's face went white then he started up the hill at a sprint neva followed more slowly each step was a struggle but she was determined not to wait idly by while tithian took the lens a few steps up the slope she confirmed her suspicions a trail of blood led toward the dark lens neva looked up preparing to call a warning she did not have the chance her son had crawled over the lens to the other side and was staring into the basin his attention consumed by rajat the ancient sorcerer's crown of lightning showed above the top of the lens but that was all neva could see of him give me my lens filthy child growled rajat's booming voice burkard pressed his palm to the dark lens and cast his son's spell a ruby light flared deep inside the orb in the entire lens flashed scarlet neva caught a glimpse of tithian's gaunt form pressed against the bottom half of the obsidian globe his arms spread wide and gripping the lens the king screamed in agony searing red flames burst over the dark lenses glassy surface and the orb erupted into a miniature version of the crimson sun tithian's silhouette vanished into the inferno urcard heard tithians scream and glanced down in time to see the king's silhouette disappear into the flames the boy wondered briefly where tythian had come from then he cowered down behind the crater rim waiting for rajat to cast the spell that would obliterate him and half the hillside the ancient sorcerer did not attack instead he reached for the crimson fireball that was the dark lens when his hands came near the scarlet flames suddenly left the surface of the orb and shot across the basin as the fire stream passed rajat the flame evaporated half the clouds on his torso then washed over the far wall with a tremendous roar rajat's shadow vanished beneath the firestorm his cloud-covered body stopped moving and his arms froze in place over the lens the fire curled back toward the center of the basin and formed a roiling ball of flame a dozen yards behind rajat the fiery ball did not look so different from her card's normal sun spell except that it was a hundred times as large and a thousand times as bright squinting against the brilliant light the young mall stood to get a better look over the rim what are you doing cried a familiar voice get down a pair of powerful arms seized her card by the waist and pulled him away from the rim rikus the boy twisted around and threw his arms around the warrior's neck in the distance beyond her card noticed that the storm that had carried sedhira away was breaking up you're alive of course i am let's make your mother happy and keep you that way too rakus responded what's going on here rankis pointed at rajat's hands which were still hanging motionless over the dark lens the lens itself was no longer burning but its surface was glowing red there was no sign of typhians say for a puddle of liquid steel that had once been his dagger i'm not sure what happened ricard answered i cast my spell at rajat's shadow just like sedhira said but i don't think it worked he just stopped moving rikers frowned we'd better have a look together they crawled to the top of the rim and peered over rajat's cloud-covered body was beginning to boil away in the heat of arcard's giant sun spell the fireball was blazing so brightly that even the young sun cleric could not look at it for more than a second nevertheless what he saw in that time was more than enough to concern or card a pair of blue diamonds stared out from inside the flaming orb and they were staring straight at his face her card ducked behind the rim again pulling rikers down beside him i think rajat's caught inside my son spell rika smiled you trapped him for now he said but what happens when my spell expires we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen said sedhira's voice hercard looked back to see the sorceress stepping off a small cloud she was still dripping wet but appeared otherwise unaffected by her battle with the cyclone a few paces below sedhira the young mole's mother was laboriously climbing up the hill hercard frowned and started to chastise her for walking but rikers caught the boy's shoulder i wouldn't say anything right now the warrior advised her card nodded then asked are you well mother just fine thanks to you she said her card smiled then turned to sedhira i don't know how the dark lens will affect my spell he said but it usually only lasts for a quarter hour or so we won't need nearly that long the sorceress said she reached into her pocket and fished out a small sliver of diamond this should keep your fire burning forever sedhira stepped near the dark lens and cast her spell the diamond shard disappeared from between her fingers and a stream of white light flowed into the obsidian it emerged on the other side as a silvery river of magic energy engulfing the fiery orb of ricard's sun spell pearly wisps of flame began to shoot through the fireball and it burned with a new brilliance rajat's crown exploded into a furious storm of energy spreading a sheet of blue lightning across the sky with a deafening thunderclap the ancient sorcerer's mouth fell open spewing a stream of hail out over the flooded plain for a moment ricard feared that their enemy would free himself then rajat began to dissolve the skeleton came apart first slipping from the cloud body and clattering into the basin in a heap next the arms and legs floated away the torso flattened out into a platter-shaped wafer and the shoulders and heads slowly melted into it the ancient sorcerer's crown was the last thing to disappear forks of blue lightning still dancing in a circle as a turquoise fog spread over the entire basin the cloud hovered near the top of the rim for a moment then suddenly spun up into the heavens and spread over the entire sky bolts of lightning crackled down from the dark shroud while peels of thunder echoed off woodrax's distant walls a heavy rain began to fall pounding her card like a ruthless enemy but the boy did not care a short distance above the eastern horizon he could see the sun's halo shining through the angry tempest and it was crimson epilogue seven figures stood on the hill above the gate of doom all lost in their own thoughts neva and arcard kneeled at the edge of the cliff looking down into the valley where kylum had died their heads bowed in silent contemplation sedira sat a short distance away near rikus save that the dark lens rested on the ground between them the two sorcerer kings nibine and hamanu and the sorcerer queen the oba of gulg waded at the end of the ridge they were looking across the ring of fire at the massive wall of steam that had arisen when rajat's flood had finally overspilled the draxon plane and had cascaded into the boiling lava lake below more than anyone the rulers seemed to sense that the time had come to rethink old ways to forget all the enmities to find new approaches to the challenge of life on athas rikers found himself wondering what this moment looked like to them through cruel eyes that had already seen a countless chain of passing days they appeared neither sad nor happy and the mull wondered if it was even possible for them to have such emotions would this day be a turning point in their long lives or was it simply a time when it had become necessary to form new alliances he did not know the answer and suspected they did not either for now only one thing was important a truce had been struck and once the terms were met there would no longer be a reason to fight at least not until they had all returned home and had recovered enough to think of new reasons the oba turned to sedhira and nodded the sorceress stood and wrapped her ebony arms around the lens then picked it up rikus did not stand with her for those were not the terms of the agreement sadira had to do this alone for nibine and hamanu were as weary and mistrustful of the tyrions as the tyrions were of them as sadira started forward a thunderbolt crackled down from the sky and another torrential downpour began no one paid it much attention for it was not the first rainstorm that had burst over the valley then a sharp voice boomed stop rikers leaped up his empty hands tensed into weapons and sedira put the dark lens down already preparing to cast a spell through it hercard also stood raising his hand toward the crimson sun and even neva wincing with pain pushed herself to her feet the athasian rulers reacted just as quickly the oba and hamanu furrowing their brows as they prepared to use the way while nibine turned his palm toward the ground you can't do this said the voice something about it seemed faintly familiar but there was a strained sizzling tone that made the voice difficult for rikus to place stop i demand it a sphere of blue mist formed in the rains hovering in the space between sedira and the sorcerer kings it began to ripple and waver slowly taking on the ghostly features of an old man's gaunt sharp featured face tiffian ranchus gasped i thought you were dead another bolt of lightning danced across the sky and a peel of thunder shook the entire ridge not dead imprisoned before you destroy the lens free me to do what demanded never limping to rikus's side become king of athens no the head replied his face suddenly growing pained and lonely kill me if you wish but you can't leave me here and what will happen if we do usurper demanded nibene a crooked smile spreading across his thin snout will you make it rain on us the sorcerer king lowered his hand and chuckled hamanu and the oba also began to chortle their faces growing more relaxed and less suspicious if you can strike me down do it now said siddhira staring into tithian's watery eyes that's the only way you'll stop me the wind began to howl and the rain came down harder more thunder crashed over the ridge and forks of lightning danced through the sky all without touching sedira or anyone else i thought as much said sedhira stepping straight through the king's misty face make it storm all you like atheists needs the rain another crash of thunder rumbled overhead and more lightning danced through the dark clouds rikus chuckled then tipped his head back and opened his mouth allowing the cool water to pour into his mouth so did ricard and neva as well soon everyone on the ridge was drinking water straight from the sky making good use of tiffian's bluster tithian finally grew tired of his humiliation without me you would never have slain the dragon he said letting his image dissolve into mist all i ask is that you repay me with a merciful death you killed boris because you wanted to be immortal now you are scoffed the oba signaling sedera to come forward the rainstorm died as suddenly as it had arisen and the sorceress carried the dark lens to the edge of the ridge without pause she hurled the obsidian orb into the lava lake she and the others watched it fall when it hit a long steady rumble rolled up from deep within the ring of fire and the entire hill began to shake at last there was a deafening crash and a plume of black flame shot up from the lake it rose high into the sky piercing tithian storm clouds like an arrow and arced toward the sun when it finally disappeared the open nodded it is done she said and began to walk away nibene cast a cold glance in raqus's direction then also started toward home amanu waited a few moments before following pausing as he passed them all side i once told you that there is a difference between daring and insolence he said i trust you will remember that difference in future dealings between tyr and uric rikers nodded as long as you keep in mind the difference between men and chattel at least as far as tyrion's are concerned i always do replied the sorcerer king it is my slaves who forget amanu left leaving rikus and the others alone they watched the three rulers for a short time until the trio grew tired of walking and each took flight in a different direction once they were out of sight rikus let out a deep sigh of relief we made it this far he said we should start for home ourselves neva's mouth tightened with sadness and tears began to well in her green eyes i guess we'd better she looked away and wiped her cheeks then laid her hand on her card's shoulder and began to limp down the hill home is a long way off ragus felt sadera's hand pushing him after the warrior when the maul looked back he saw wisps of black shadow rising from the corners of her ember-like eyes she smiled with genuine joy go she whispered the mole returned her smile though with a little more sadness than hers and kissed her on the cheek i love you and i love you she replied giving him another gentle push but neva and ricard need you the mall nodded then turned and caught up to neva and her son have you given much thought to where home will be now he asked the warrior shrugged in clad i suppose she said it is arcard's home maybe he'd like to live in tear rikers suggested we could take him to camelot as often as he likes the boy's face lit up you mean we could live with you and sadira the mole frowned not quite sure how to answer this question no you'd just live with rikers in his townhouse said sadera stepping to neva's side when i return i'll stay at agus estate but you could come to visit neva looked from sadera to rikus her brow furrowed and her lips tightly pursed you two have this all worked out don't you she asked rikus felt the heat rising to his face yes he said i guess we do neva shook her head in amazement then slipped her arm through rice's and it seems her card and i have no choice in the matter she grasped sadera's hand and squeezed it warmly we'll go back to tear good said sedhira i'm looking forward to seeing you there neva frowned seeing us there she asked sadera nodded i'll be staying here for a few weeks she said there are some wards that i must place around rajat's new prison tythian is not the only mortal on atheists who lusts after immortality and i intend to be certain that i know if anyone else attempts to achieve it by freeing rajat ragus and neva glanced at each other i guess that means we'll be staying too rikus said we can't cross the sea of silt without you sedhira smiled of course you can the sorceress pursed her lips and began to blow black shadow billowed from her mouth and she used her hands to form it into the shape of a boat soon the wispy image of a dao sat before them although it had no sail or keel sedera tossed a jagged piece of black basalt into the bilge and spoke her incantation the dow turned as solid as stone then rose off the ground and hovered in the air before them don't try to fly too far in one day you have to sit down on a mud flat or island each day before dark the sorceress reached over the gunnel and pointed to the rock she had thrown into the bilge in the morning hold this stone up to the sun and the boat will form again rakus helped neva into the boat as her card climbed in beside his mother the maul faced sedira hurry back he said we'll miss you until you return sedhira took rikus's arm and guided him toward the boat's tiller you have a long journey ahead she said and remember you need to make landfall before dark the mole climbed into the stern sedira kissed him on the cheek and gave the dao a shove the little craft streaked into the sky climbing through a thin layer of clouds and into the full fury of the crimson sun this has been an audible ink production of the prism pentad book five the cerulean storm written by troy denning narrated by ray porter producer mike charzak copyright 2011 by wizards of the coast llc production copyright 2012 by audible inc audible hopes you have enjoyed this program

Channel: AudioBooks & Beyond!

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Id: -l1GJaBoiBc

Length: 602min 53sec (36173 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 11 2021