Black wizards - Douglas Niles [38]
"Somehow, I never realized that there were quite so many of them," said the king hesitantly. "They really make up quite a force, don't they?"
"Indeed, Your Majesty. They are an army mightier than any upon the Moonshaes, and they will do your bidding alone." The wizard smirked a little as he said it.
"We had better send them off, hadn't we?" blurted the king. "You do think they'll catch him, don't you?"
"I'm certain they will, Sire. The Prince of Corwell shall have a very short visit to Alaron. A very short visit indeed."
* * * * *
"Teacher, I'm frightened."
Robyn spoke quietly, not certain that Genna was awake. The Great Druid lay muffled in a down quilt, though the day was warm. Her steady breathing was her only sign of life.
"It's Acorn," Robyn continued, pulling her shawl more tightly across her shoulders at the vivid memories. As far as she knew, the stranger was still spellbound, standing stupidly beside the pond. Nevertheless, she had latched the door of the cottage when she entered, for she knew that the spell would eventually lose its potency.
Genna's eyes flickered open, and she turned to gaze intently at her pupil. Her gray hair, pulled back from her face, emphasized her severe expression. She struggled to sit up, and Robyn helped her, placing pillows behind her back.
"Evil!" she hissed. She stared at Robyn, but it seemed to her that the Great Druid actually looked right through her. "He is evil!" she said again. It was the most articulate statement she had made in many days.
"Acorn?" Robyn said. "But, I thought… Oh Genna, what should I do? Help me!"
This time the older woman looked at her niece with an intensity that made Robyn squirm. Genna coughed once, a dry, rasping sound, before she spoke again.
"You must kill him!"
* * * * *
Bhaal watched the Heart of Kazgoroth carefully, feeling its thrumming power. The shred of the Beast had begun its work. Soon, now, the task would be complete.
He took note of the feeble earthmagic of the druid and sneered. Her strength, and the might of her dying goddess, could not hope to stand against him, as he had demonstrated upon Alaron.
There, he had commanded his cleric to destroy the druids. Hobarth had used the ambitious wizard to help, even convincing Cyndre that the plan was the sorcerer's own idea. One by one, the druids of Alaron had died, drawn out by Hobarth's power, slain by magic or the cold steel of the assassin's blade. Their mutilated bodies had been used to pollute and defile the Moonwells from which they drew so much of their power.
That power was now broken forever. The next to fall would be the Druids of Gwynneth, the keepers of Myrloch Vale.
VI
Alaron
The sound of Canthus barking savagely brought Tristan back to his senses. Immediately he felt the tremors in the floor below him. He staggered forward, turning to run like a drunk from Queen Allisynn's tomb as the marble surface heaved and rocked. He charged down the short corridor and into the great hall beyond.
Canthus bounded before him, racing for a great double door leading to the courtyard. Daryth had just reached the door. Tristan saw that he now carried a sword.
"All I could find," he gasped as Tristan ran to his side, helping to pull open the huge portal. His eyes widened at the sight of the Sword of Cymrych Hugh, girded again at the prince's side, but the Calishite said nothing. The castle shook once more, sending them stumbling.
The door creaked open stubbornly. Tristan was about to run through the door when Daryth's voice halted him.
"Wait!" The Calishite probed the flagstones before them with his trident. The iron barbs clunked against the surface several times, and Tristan was startled by a sudden "click."
Two sections of floor gave way, swinging freely inward to reveal a long, dark shaft. Uneasily, the prince stepped back.
"Same kind of trap," the Calishite smiled ruefully. He stepped nimbly along the side of the pit. The prince jumped after him and made it through the door with no difficulty.
They found Pontswain where