Elminster in Myth Drannor - Ed Greenwood [23]
He could sprint with ease around and around this slithering whatever-it-was. On impulse he dodged back toward the way he'd come. The monster followed.
He turned around again, risking the time to cast a simple dispel. Almost the last magic of any consequence he had, though the gem seemed to hold much more. A beast so chaotic, so made of tumbling magics, would surely fall apart at the touch of…
His magic blazed forth. The many-clawed, slithering thing flickered once, shook itself, and kept coming.
El ducked his head and started to run in earnest, sprinting through the trees, ducking around mossy rock outcrops and leaping over roots and suspicious-looking mushrooms. The hissing and burbling never ceased behind him.
The last prince of Athalantar felt a little chill as he realized how much faster it was than he'd thought it could be.
Well, he had one little weapon of magic left-a spell that sent a jet of flame leaping from the caster's hand. It was a thing for starting fires or singeing beasts into retreating, not a battle magic, but…
El stepped behind a tree, caught his breath, and started to climb it. His new longer, slender fingers found fissures in the bark his human hands couldn't have entered, and his lighter body clung to holds that could not have held Elminster the human. The hissing, slithering thing was close behind, now, as El reached a bough he judged large enough.
When the thing came around the tree, it seemed to sense him, looking up without hesitation. Elminster put his little jet of flame right into its many eyes, and swung back up out of the way of any leaps.
He expected a squalling and thrashing, or at least a recoiling-but the thing never hesitated, snapping at his hand right through the flame. If anything, it seemed larger and more vigorous, not harmed or in any sort of pain.
Claws cut the air in a whistling frenzy; El took one look and decided a higher branch would be prudent. He'd barely begun to climb when the tree quivered beneath him. The thing had slashed through bark and wood beneath as easily as it had cut the air, carving out a claw-hold. A single raking blow cut another as he watched, and without pause the thing hauled itself up the trunk to cut more. El watched in fascination; it was slashing its way up the tree as fast as an armored man could climb a rope!
It would reach him in a few breaths. In the meantime, it was right under him, and would have to take whatever he dropped on it. Not that he had anything left but a few odd spells not concerned with matters of war at all, nor time to learn what the gem could do.
It looked like he'd be jumping soon. On impulse he dodged around the trunk. The many-clawed thing followed rather clumsily, gouging its way around the curve of the tree. Good; he'd not have to worry about it scrambling across the trunk in time to catch him as he fell past. El went back to his former branch-a better perch-and held tight. When the thing clawed its way back into view around his side of the tree, he hurled a light spell right into its eyes.
Light blazed forth, and then faded instantly. The clawed thing never hesitated, and El's eyes narrowed. Yes, it did seem even larger, and somehow more… solid.
As it climbed toward him, he cast a minor detection spell at it-to gain lore he did not need.
The spell reached it… and faded away, granting him none of the information it was supposed to. The clawed thing grew slightly larger.
It fed on spells! This thing must be a magekiller, something he'd heard of long ago, in his days with the Brave Blades adventuring band. Magekillers were creations of magic, wrought by rare, suppressed spells. Their purpose was to slay wizards who only knew one way to do battle-hurl spells at things.
His magic, no matter how desperate, could only make it stronger, not harm it. Slayer of Magelords and Chosen of Mystra he