Ironhelm - Douglas Niles [77]
"You humans complain about the most ridiculous things! You don't understand things tha'tshould be obvious to an infant!" The voice was a menacing growl in their minds.
"The True World stands at the brink of disaster. Evil threatens life upon all sides, from all directions. And you bicker proudly about your might and your fierceness!
"It is in your power to do things, to act against this blanketing scourge. You, Captain Halloran, face a quandary. You are not an evil man, yet great evils shall be asked of you.
"Onlyyou, Erixitl, once ofPalul, have touched the spirit of Our Esteemed Father!' The creature directed its gaze to Erixitl, and all four humans could feel the focus of its attention change, even in the inky darkness of the chamber. "And even you have been reluctant, not showing gratitude proper for one who owes so much.
"So I wiU leave all of you to think upon my words. Only when the true blossom of understanding shrouds you can the will of the Feathered One become life.
"But still, for the spirit you have shown me, however briefly-the serpent again hissed softly to Erix-"I will give you a gift… a gift of learning"
They all felt a brief pulse of power, something that seemed to twist the air in the cavern and then vanish. "Sorcery!" grunted Daggrande.
"It is sorcery in truth, short man," said Erix. The three males gaped at her in awe, for the words were carefully pronounced in stilted Commonspeech, the language of Waterdeep and the Realms.
"How is it you speak the words of the strangers?" gasped Kachin.
"This is the gift of Chitikas Couatl," replied Erix in amazement. She spoke in Payit, then turned and repeated the words in Common.
"Where'd Twisty go, anyhow?" grunted Daggrande, the first to notice that the snake seemed to be gone.
"You should show Chitikas more respect," Erix chided Daggrande gently, then turned to look at Halloran with that frank curiosity that he found so unsettling.
Halloran returned her stare, half in challenge and half in confusion. Even in the darkness, her luminous eyes were visible, studying him with bold intelligence and a hint of reproach. He wanted to rage at this savage woman and her companion, wanted to curse them for their obscene god. But even so, he remembered her act of kindness, when she had used her feathered necklace to free him from his bonds.
"Why did you free me?" Hal asked slowly. He pulled the snakeskin from his belt and held it toward her. "This held fast against our sharpest steel."
"I do not know what'steel' is, but the-" Erix paused and searched for a word in her new language-"the hishna, the magic of scale and claw and fang, stands in opposition to pluma, the magic of feathers and air. I freed you because my necklace of pluma gives me power over hishna"
Erix pondered for a moment, puzzled. "I do not truly know why I chose to use this power to come to your aid. You are certainly the most frightening men I have ever seen. And in truth, you smell as though you have not bathed in many days.
"Chitikas told me to help you, but I did not want to. It was only when the Payit attacked that I desired you to have a chance to at least fight for your life."
"Thank you" said Halloran, as puzzled as Erix by her decision.
Daggrande had walked over to the doorway and looked at the sky. Now he turned back with a more practical concern.
"Does anyone know where we are?"
Spirali sat cross-legged upon the altar. The heart that had been torn from Martine lay beside him, cold and still. The Ancient One slowly worked his magic, seeking through the night the power that would tell him where his enemy had gone.
The appearance of the couatl had surprised and angered Spirali. Not one of the creatures had been detected in over two centuries, and Spirali's dark-dwelling leaders had pronounced them extinct. They would be displeased by Spirali's report.
But they would be very pleased with Spirali if he could announce that the beast was dead, presumably extinct again. So now he sought