Black wizards - Douglas Niles [82]
"Perhaps eight or ten. I have been here for several hours, awaiting your return, so I am not certain. The wood sprite told me that you had gone to the south."
A small sparrow darted between them and settled to the ground. It quickly grew into a man wearing a plain brown robe like Isolde's.
"Waine, come with us please," said the Great Druid, not even pausing as the man fell into step beside them.
Robyn held back, slightly awestruck at the gathering of these mighty druids. The youngest of her order, she had never attended a druidic council before.
Genna led them between the vast stone arches that ringed the Moonwell, and here they found ten more of the druids, waiting patiently for their leader. Genna strode to the edge of the pool. There the milky glow from the sacred water illuminated her, even in the brightness of the morning sun. Each druid turned to the well and bowed, whispering a soft prayer to the goddess.
Robyn expected to see a ritual, a dramatic affirmation of their faith, and a stirring evocation by Genna of the danger facing them. She was disappointed when her teacher, very hurriedly, told the druids of the army that marched upon them, emphasizing the imminence of the danger. With a final word of hope, she sent them off to the fringes of the grove to work on whatever preparations they could make before the attack.
Robyn used her power to raise tall hedges of thorns across the clearings and to entangle the branches of the trees and bushes wherever they grew close together. Newt and Yazilliclick kept a guard out for the approaching horror.
Finally the grove was surrounded, and Robyn returned to find that Genna had sent most of the animals away to the north. Only the wolves, foxes, badgers and weasels – the creatures with sharp teeth – remained, as well as several sturdy bucks and grizzled boars, and of course, Grunt. Legions of hawks, owls, and blackbirds swarmed through the sky, flying to the south and circling loudly over the enemy force. Other druids arrived, soberly joining ranks with their leader. By the end of the day, all of the druids of Myrloch Vale – nearly three dozen strong – had arrived.
And as the day waned into evening, the circling flock of birds could be seen close to the south. Their cawing and squawking was clearly audible in the grove.
The army would be upon them that night.
* * * * *
Bhaal arose from his steaming lava bath, where he had been watching the drama unfold in Myrloch Vale. The god was pleased to see that Hobarth now carried the Heart of Kazgoroth.
Acidic drool hissed to the ground as the god contemplated the young druid surrounded by death. When Hobarth brought her to the Altar of Bhaal, her blood would provide sweet sustenance.
And, too, it would be another milestone in the effort to rid the Isles of the druids. As the power of the new gods gradually dominated the faith of the Ffolk, there would be great struggles for primacy. In effect, a new pantheon of gods would be created.
And Bhaal would sit at its head.
XII
Desecration
"Here they c-come – they come!" Yazilliclick clutched his tiny bow, stringing one of his slender arrows nervously. "N-Newt, wake up!" He prodded the little dragon's flank.
"Hello! Is it time to eat?" Newt lifted his head, blinking.
"N-no! We must tell Genna – tell Genna! They c-come!"
"Wait!" Newt peered with interest into the pre-dawn darkness. The sprite's keen eyes had seen the approaching figures clearly, but the faerie dragon had to squint and stare. Finally, he saw several shambling figures clumping steadily through the forest. A continuous rustling of brush told him that many more followed.
"I have an idea!" he said. "Follow me. It'll be great fun!" Blinking into invisibility, Newt bounced from their high limb and darted toward the undead army.
"N-no! Wait! Stop!" Yazilliclick whispered, but the dragon was out of earshot. The sprite's tiny, pointed ears twitched in agitation. His two antennae wriggled miserably. But then he, too, blinked out of sight. He could see Newt's outline ahead, and he frantically buzzed behind