Black wizards - Douglas Niles [31]
Canthus yelped as his opponent succeeded in pushing the dog to the side, but then the moorhound growled and lunged into the attack. The pair rolled several times across the wet stones, neither gaining a clear advantage. The monster attacking the two men darted forward aggressively, flicking its trident first at one, then the other. His weariness forgotten, the prince crouched to face the monster. "We'll do it same as we got the Northmen!" he panted to Daryth.
The Calishite remembered that battle well. "Ready!" he answered quickly.
Tristan darted to the side, and the trident followed him. At the same time Daryth dove and rolled. The creature swung his weapon back, but it passed cleanly over the Calishite, who came out of his roll to smash his head into the creature's midriff.
Tristan dashed at the monster, and now both of its opponents were closer than the dangerous end of the weapon. The prince seized the wooden haft and wrested the trident from the creature's grip as Daryth tackled it.
Daryth lay across the monster's abdomen, as its claws dug into his back. Tristan dropped his knees upon the thing's chest and then brought the heft of the trident down heavily upon its neck. He heard the cracking of bone. The monster's eyes bulged briefly outward before it stiffened and died.
The prince leaned to his feet, ready to run to the aid of his dog, but Canthus arose from the body of the other fish-man and shook himself. His wounds did not look too deep.
"Pontswain?" Tristan asked, kneeling beside the motionless lord. He saw that the man was breathing, but his eyes were closed. A deep purple bruise spread across his temple and cheek.
"What happened?" Daryth asked, joining Tristan.
"He saved my life – at least, he took a blow intended for me. Perhaps I underestimated him."
"More likely he didn't think it through before he acted," suggested the Calishite.
"What were those things?" Tristan asked, after determining that Daryth was not hurt seriously either.
"I've never seen them before, but I've heard about creatures like them called sahuagin. They're supposed to live underwater. Sometimes they come out to raid ships or land. They're very bloodthirsty."
"You won't get any argument out of me." Though the fight had drained him physically, Tristan began to feel more confident than he had since they had taken to the water.
"At least we're armed now," mused Daryth, picking up the trident of the second sahuagin. They gently moved Pontswain into a small alcove in the wall of the keep, out of sight from the main courtyard. They could do no more for him at the moment.
"The keep, then," the prince suggested.
They stepped forward and each grasped one of the huge bronze rings hanging from the doors. To their amazement, each of the heavy portals swung smoothly open. Before them they saw a long hall with scattered pools of water on the stone floor and several pairs of doors along either wall.
Then they fell.
With the first shock, Tristan thought that the castle had begun to sink again, but he quickly saw that only he, Daryth, and Canthus were falling – not the entire castle. They plummeted down a wide shaft, a trap that had been triggered when they opened the doors to the keep, Tristan realized.
Abruptly, they smashed into a pool of cold water, hitting the surface with stunning force. Tristan felt the trident slip from his hands as he struggled to reach the surface. Daryth and Canthus quickly surfaced beside him, Daryth still holding his trident. Gasping and choking, it was all Tristan could do to simply stay afloat.
"That was stupid," coughed the Calishite. "I should have seen that from a mile away. Damn my carelessness!"
"Let's find a way out of here," said the prince. "And don't blame yourself – I didn't notice anything either."
They were