The abbess retained the item, for she needed it to prepare her miracle. Her fake throwing motion succeeded in backing Petrow away even as Trestan stumbled. Stepping backward, into the archway exiting the room, she uttered a quick prayer.
“DeLaris, hear me! Shadows that once existed, faces loved, obscure the vision of those here!”
A red mist expanded out of her hand so fast that Trestan and Petrow were enveloped before they could react. The mist spread to include much of that side of the throne room. The young men stumbled in a dark haze, unable to see more than a foot in front of their faces. They shouted to each other; neither located the dark cleric in the mist, nor could they see each other.
Shortly after the red cloud rose about the two men, Trestan saw a shadowy figure walking up to him. He poised his sword for a strike, but dared not attack blindly. He preceived a female form, and believed it to be the abbess. He let out another war cry, but a moment later his voice faltered.
The shadowy figure was that of his long dead mother.
* * * * *
Salgor never had a chance of getting to Revwar in time, but the dwarf covered much of the distance before the elf’s spell finished. The bearded warrior raised shield before him, expecting a deadly energy blast or a blaze of fire. A point of light did spring forth from the mage’s hand, landing on the ground in front of the dwarf. Salgor was mindful enough to worry about the possible threat, so he slightly changed direction.
The spell mutated into something bigger. Light faded into a blooming mass of fur and hide, forming a creature. Salgor glowered at it as the dwarf could see claws and fangs forming. The dwarf put his head forward, raised his mace, and roared in fury. He did not fear summoned creatures, and committed to destroying it before it could react.
The monster grew larger than most dogs, and it was vaguely shaped like one despite some differences. Its muscles and legs tended to move more like the grace of a cat, but the snarling visage was definitely dog-like. Saliva dripped from fangs as claws stretched forth from its paws. Black eyes looked upon the charging dwarf. The tail that proved the oddest sight: a crab-like claw appendage poised and curled forward scorpion-like over the creatures back. It was ready to attack the dwarf even as Salgor barged into it.
“Damn wizard abominations!”
Salgor slammed into it with his shield, though the monster side-stepped most of the blow. A canine jaw snuck around the side and snapped at the dwarf’s legs. Salgor could feel sharp teeth sinking through the chain armor, and he responded with a heavy hit from his mace. The creature let out a yip and released him. Salgor roared in rage as he tried more hits to the creature. Slinking with cat-like grace, it kept its distance for some time, sizing up the reach of its opponent. Finally the creature pounced straight at the dwarf.
The heavy creature knocked Salgor down. The dwarf had kept his shield up high, and now the wizard pet tried to claw the shield’s surface to get at him. The dwarf rolled about the floor and moved his shield around to keep the thing from getting a good bite out of him. Salgor swung his mace, but it wasn’t easy to get in a good hit. The creature started snapping at the dwarf’s face. Spit and bad breath assaulted the warrior of Daerkfyre. The dwarf raised his shield too high, so the creature shifted to bite his legs again. A strong kick snapped the canine maw shut.
Salgor got to his feet as the monster reeled from the metal-tipped boot. He held his mace ready for another strike, as he and the creature circled each other warily again. In a sudden surprise both combatants were attacked by other enemies. Cat’s bolt sunk into the back of the summoned creature, sending it into a brief panic. The jaws reached around and pulled the offending bolt from it’s hide. Blood matted the creature’s fur, but did not seem to slow it enough.
Meanwhile, Salgor heard Revwar chanting another spell, for the elf had a shot at the warrior’s back. Salgor turned to face the elf as a magical bolt surged forth. Crested shield rose to meet and deflect the blast, though it still knocked Salgor back a bit. The dwarf scowled over the rim of his blackened shield.
“I’ll deal with you soon enough! Just sit back and grab an ale ‘til I get there, ‘cause it will be yer last!”
The creature rushed Salgor again. This time it went in low, trying to bite under his shield. Salgor got the shield down low, and tried attacking over it with his mace. He brought the weapon overhead, but a sudden jerk halted its path. The tail crab-claw of the creature had reached up and grabbed the shaft of the mace. Salgor cursed as he tried to pull his weapon back. The monster was well-rehearsed on this move, as its tail was meant to disarm opponents as well as for rear defense. The muscular tail pulled back, and the front portion of the creature lifted up to push away the dwarf. It shoved Salgor backward, while his mace ended up firmly in the grip of the claw. The monster threw the mace away without a second thought. It readied another leap at Salgor.
The dwarf kept his shield up, while looking about for another weapon. His axe lay some distance behind him, if he could just get to it in time.
* * * * *
Cat put another bolt in place, and wanted it to send it through the wizard’s heart more than anyone else. She had helped the dwarf, but it was the wizard that needed to be brought down. Loung still stood protectively next to him, so Cat had to think of another way. The half-elf crept further down the balcony, hidden behind the stone guardrail. She picked another angle by which she might shoot at Revwar before Loung could react.
Cat held her crossbow ready and raised her body enough to see the room below. Revwar was finishing another spell, and the result dashed her hopes for any kind of shot. The misty barrier appeared in a half-circle around the wizard, blocking any angle from Cat’s side of the room. Loung still stood near to the mage, but was no longer needed unless Cat ran to the other side of the room. She could not see the abbess or the two young men through the dense, red cloud covering that end of the throne room.
She picked a new target. Bortun stood on his feet, in a position behind Salgor. The dwarf was already in trouble from the summoned creature, and Bortun could charge him at any moment. Her green eyes sighted down her crossbow at the minotaur’s back. She let fly her shot, which also alerted Loung to her new position.
The bolt hit Bortun in the back, sending a roar of pain from the minotaur. He turned around and yanked the bolt from his thick hide. Bortun saw the half-elf but could not reach her. Loung pointed her out to Revwar, and the wizard turned to face the only companion that hadn’t been directly attacked. Cat knew she would have to dodge a spell very soon.
* * * * *
Petrow saw images through the dark red cloud. His parents were there, just as he remembered from his youth. They hadn’t changed, despite the years. They called to him, motioning to follow. He vaguely heard Trestan calling out to his mother, even as Petrow watched his own parents in confusion. There was no way they could be here, much as his heart had ached to see them again.
The young man remembered the words uttered by the cleric, “Shadows that once existed, faces loved…”
He was seeing an illusion. Somehow the abbess of the Death Goddess could create images of those long dead that were dear to him. As much as he ached to see his parents again, these images were just phantoms of his own imagination, concealing the cleric somewhere in the cloud.
From nearby, he heard Trestan, “Sir Wilhelm! I thought you were dead?”
“Don’t believe what you see Tres!” Petrow shouted, “This is an illusion spawned by the cleric! We have to find her before she casts a deadlier miracle.”
Petrow brought his axe across the images of his parents. The blade sliced through the mist, and the forms melted into the insubstantial cloud. Believing that the tricks on his mind had been trying to turn him away from the cleric, he turned and went the other direction. Other images soon called to him, begging him to turn around. One such face was that of a childhood friend, killed in an accident years ago. Every image caused him to hesitate as he looked to see if it was the cleric. Petrow turned a
way from them all, listening through the red fog for any sounds of footsteps.
He heard a set of boots, but decided that it belonged to Trestan. From the same direction came a grunt, as the young smith swung his sword at something in the cloud. Petrow at first thought it was the cleric, but then he heard a lighter set of footsteps from another direction. He was glad that Trestan was seeing the illusions for what they really were, and rejecting their presence.
Petrow bumped into a stone wall. He hadn’t seen it until it was only a few inches from his face. Pausing to consider his next move, he again detected the sound of a lighter pair of boots moving off to one side. Petrow readjusted his grip on his axe, and followed the wall in that direction. Sooner or later he would find where that woman was hiding.
* * * * *
Cat ducked low as she moved to a new position on the balcony. She could hear the sounds of the struggle below, and that hastened her. She loaded her crossbow as she moved. Twenty paces or more down the balcony, the bolt was ready and she decided to try another shot.
Bortun and Loung were scanning the balcony for her, looking the wrong way. Neither opponent had much chance at actually getting at her. She could see that Revwar was still protected by a magical field. Cat was about to target Bortun, but she saw Salgor backpedaling from the claw-tailed creature. It snapped time and again at the dwarf, but Salgor kept his shield in the way of its bite. Cat turned her crossbow upon the monster. Salgor was near his axe, but not quite able to pick it up.
The monster yipped in surprise and spun around as the crossbow bolt tagged its flank. The creature ran a quick circle as it looked for an attacker that wasn’t to be found. The thing snapped its maw on the bolt and pulled it free. The distraction was long enough for Salgor. The dwarf rolled over the axe and jumped to his feet with it ready. Now the bearded warrior advanced on his attacker.
Cat’s efforts had not gone unnoticed from below. Revwar moved to the table alongside the podium stand. He reached one hand into the bag there, and pulled forth one of the stolen holy relics. The stone reflected light off of its green surface as the elf held it towards Cat’s perch. The half-elf prepared to dive right or left to dodge whatever might follow. Revwar chanted a few words into the stone. A pale green light flashed towards the balcony. Cat ducked behind the stone railing, though she saw the light spread over her. Outwardly, she noticed no effect on herself.
Cracking and splitting noises assaulted her ears. She watched in amazement as cracks spread on the balcony and the stone railing. Green light still bathed the area, but the effect was not meant directly for her. The stone of the balcony crumbled under the strange magical assault. Stone chunks broke apart and fell away. Cat tried to get to her feet and move, but the floor underneath became very unstable. How would the residents of Troutbrook react if they discovered their holy relic had the power to sunder stone? Suddenly a rending tear was heard as a large section of the balcony came free of the wall. Cat’s perch broke apart in a rain of boulders and dust, cascading down into the floor of the throne room. Every handhold fell away. Cat tumbled along with a shower of loose rock. The black clad infiltrator bounced along with several stones, dropping into the throne room in a sprawl.
The Tariykan ran to finish off the woman. From a different part of the room, the minotaur ignored the dwarf in favor of also killing the archer that had stung him earlier. Both enemies charged after the prone half-elf with deadly intent.
* * * * *
Trestan, lost in a fog of darkness and false loved ones, no longer knew where Petrow or the abbess might be. He stumbled blindly while ignoring distracting visions. Ahead the mist seemed to thin out. He could hear sounds of battle, and above all was the sound of cracking, tumbling stone. Moving past a few pleading friends and relatives, all long dead, he broke away into the light.
Immediately Trestan saw the source of the noise. Through a pall of dust, he saw the remains of a portion of the balcony dashed to the room’s floor. He spotted someone moving in the rubble of stone. Katressa, bruised and hurt among the cascade of rocks, groaned as she attempted to get back to her feet. White powder coated her black leathers. Trestan’s concern and alarm mounted when he realized two foes were converging on her.
Trestan gave little thought to what he did next, he simply reacted. Jareth had always said that a warrior of Abriana is there to protect his friends and all else that he loves. The young smith from Troutbrook moved to protect Cat. Trestan put on a burst of speed, coming at his closest opponent from the side. It didn’t unnerve Trestan that he was charging a minotaur, but he wasn’t really stopping to consider his actions. Bortun was less imposing when you charged him from ambush.
The young man launched himself at the creature, and Bortun realized the threat at the last moment. The minotaur tried to evading, but Trestan dove across his legs. The move by the minotaur probably saved the limb from being gravely injured, but the elvish blade succeeded in drawing a line of blood across his calf.
Trestan rolled past his opponent and sprang back to his feet. He held the magic blade ready over his head. Bortun glared at the man, and then flexed his axe arm. Blood trickling down his leg, he roared in rage. The minotaur raised the great axe and advanced towards the smaller human. Trestan’s fear showed plainly, as he had just put himself face to face with the eight foot, half ton monster.
The axe swept across at Trestan, and the young man dodged. A second later the smith tried to attack, but he was forced away again as the minotaur swung the axe with its long reach. Trestan tried moving to attack from one side and then the other, but the minotaur’s stride cut off such flanking maneuvers easily. Bortun limped a bit from his injured leg, but did not seem to surrender any major advantage. Trestan couldn’t reach the minotaur, so he tried to attack the axe in the same way he had cleaved the enemy’s hammer during the bluff battle. The axe, magically forged and strengthened, sent shock waves up Trestan’s arms upon impact.
Jareth once complimented Trestan that he was probably the best swordsman in the village, aside from himself and Sahbin. Trestan never seriously regarded that comment, for at the time he had never even wielded a sword in actual combat. By coincidence, the two villagers that were supposed to be better than Trestan had both fought this same minotaur. Both were dead from their encounters, Sahbin because of the same problem Trestan now faced: the long reach of the monster.
These thoughts flitted in the back of his mind, for the young man was more concerned with backing out of the way of that mighty axe. He dodged swings to attempt a strike of his own, but many times he fell short, and then found himself evading the axe again. Trestan needed an opening to get in close, but at the time he was too busy trying to avoid getting hit.
Then Trestan backed into a wall.
Bortun went for a savage blow that should have caught Trestan between axe and wall, but the young man used one of his evasive moves once practiced in the woods during his imaginary swordplay. The smith dropped and dove to one side, rolling away from the tight spot. The minotaur’s axe chipped the ancient stone wall. Trestan stumbled to his feet, using a doorframe for support. He turned to face Bortun again, only to find the creature coming at him as before.
Trestan went through the open exit to avoid another impressive blow from the axe. The swing collided with the edges of the open arch, sending more stone chips flying to the dusty floor. The young man didn’t want to be pulled away from the throne room and the rest of the fight, but once forced through the opening the minotaur’s bulk blocked any path back. Bortun would not let up in his attack, and Trestan could do nothing but retreat in the face of the creature’s relentless assault.
Before he even had time to consider any further tactics, Trestan found himself turning and running. Bortun stayed on his heels, as the two of them ran down a corridor.
* * * * *
The summoned monster sprang through the air at the dwarf warrior. Salgor raised his shield to block the brunt of it. The leaping body knocked the dwarf to the ground, but now Salgor h
ad his axe in hand and readied. Even as his left arm had held the shield high, his right hand swung the axe underhanded, passing underneath. Though the dwarf was knocked to his back, the pouncing monster found its vulnerable belly sliced open. It hopped ungracefully off of the dwarf.
Salgor sprang to his feet and launched his own attack. He punched outward with his shield, slamming the four-legged monster to the ground. Even as it scrambled to get to its feet, the dwarf dropped the shield in favor of grabbing the creature by its clawed tail. Dwarven muscles flexed as the claw snapped near the end of his beard. The creature’s claws skittered against the floor of the room as it sought to be free of the iron hold. Salgor’s right arm raised his axe high.
The deity-blessed weapon came down hard, severing the claw-tail from the hindquarters.
It made a pitiful scream as it flopped on to the floor. Salgor wasn’t about grant pity. The monster made a move to leap away, but Salgor wrapped his left arm around the creature and held on. It succeeded in a short leap, but as it landed the axe came slicing down at it again.
And again.
And again.
Salgor blew out a tired breath as he jerked his axe blade free of the carcass. The pieces of the creature became mist, as it returned to the energies which spawned it. There seemed to be chunks of bone and blood splattering the dwarf, but those also turned to vapor. He didn’t have time to revel at this victory, for his opponents still controlled the room. The dwarf turned a glare at the elf wizard.
“That effort was all for nothing, mage!” Salgor bellowed, “I’ve eaten bigger and tougher things just for dessert!”
Salgor advanced, but Revwar still had a trick at his disposal. Though the wizard had no more bodyguards nearby, he had the power to create more. The elvish wizard once again held up the holy relic, this time facing the dwarf. Salgor worried that the wizard was going to cause damage to the stone floor. The effect of his next casting revealed another unknown power of the green stone relic.
The Earthrin Stones 1 of 3: Inheritance of a Sword and a Path Page 48
