Curse of the Shadowmage - Mark Anthony [48]
"We've got to free the others," Morhion said urgently, waving his knife at an advancing gibberling.
"I suppose you want me to go," Cormik complained as he eviscerated another of the creatures. "Very well, but do cover me. And remember, gibberlings don't like bright lights."
One of the disgusting creatures clambered onto the slab right in front of Morhion, its open maw dripping saliva. The mage kicked out, shattering its jaw and throwing it backward. Concentrating for a moment, he muttered the arcane words of a spell. A spark shot up from his hand, bursting overhead in a ball of radiance that hovered in the air like a tiny sun.
Immediately, the gibberlings descended into bedlam. The creatures cowered against the light, yowling and whining piteously, frantically running around in small circles. Cormik wasted no time. He hiked up his robe in distaste, stepping on the flat heads of some of the sniveling, prostrate creatures, knocking others aside as he made his way toward the stone cage where Mari, Kellen, and Jewel were imprisoned.
A huge boulder covered the only exit from the prison. "It took a score of them to push the boulder into place," Mari shouted through a gap in the stones. "We'll never be able to move it!"
"I wasn't thinking of moving it," Cormik replied. Grunting, he picked up a large rock and hurled it against the cage's stalagmite bars. The thin columns of stone cracked. Face puffed and red with effort, Cormik hefted another rock and heaved it at the cage. This time two of the stalagmites shattered, creating an opening wide enough for the three to scramble through.
"Thanks for getting the door, Cormik," Jewel said brightly as she climbed out of the cage. "You're a perfect gentleman."
"I think I've given myself a hernia," Cormik groaned. The gibberlings still cowered under the brilliant magical light. and Morhion took the opportunity to climb off the platform. Something crunched beneath his boot. He looked down and saw that it was an old skull. A human skull. Bones were strewn around the stone slab, along with bits of armor and rusted weapons-the remains of past meals. A glint of silver caught Morhion's eye. Bending down, he picked up a metal cylinder. A wax seal covered one end of the silver tube. Morhion broke the seal, and a curled piece of parchment slipped out. Carefully unrolling the paper, he saw that it was covered with the spidery writing of magic. A wizard's scroll. The spell inscribed there was not one that Morhion recognized. It seemed to have something to do with… feathers.
"Morhion!" Mari cried out. "The gibberlings are getting used to the light."
Morhion looked up, shoving the scroll into a pocket of his vest. Mari was right. Shading their beady eyes with clawed hands, some of the furry creatures were climbing to their feet. Others were already shambling forward. Their hunger was stronger than their fear. A few of the braver gibberlings advanced on Mari and the others, gnashing yellow fangs. Hastily, Morhion cast another spell, and a flurry of blazing purple sparks whirled in the air. The sparks quickly sizzled through fur to the creatures' tender flesh. The gibberlings snarled and rolled, batting their paws against their smoldering pelts.
Morhion quickly moved toward the others.
"Duck!" Mari shouted as he drew near.
Without hesitating, he crouched down. Mari swung her short sword, neatly decapitating two gibberlings who had been just about to pounce on the mage's back.
"We have to get back to the bridge!" Jewel exclaimed, waving a curved dagger to keep a slavering gibberling away from a wide-eyed Kellen.
Morhion concurred, but now dozens of the creatures were braving the light to close in around the