Lady of Poison_ The Priests - Bruce R. Cordell [106]
Justlance. Perhaps he could pin the elusive blightlord in place…
Damanda screamed as she received a cut from Dymondheart across the stomach. The flesh crackled and smoked as if the light of the sun itself had touched her.
"We've got her," said Gunggari.
Damanda shrieked and spun, put her head down, and ran directly into the wall behind her. The ancient masonry, already unstable, gave way before the vampire's supernatural strength. Hardly checking her speed, Damanda burst through a hole of her own making, bricks, mortar, and larger stone blocks falling around her. Damanda had made her own exit.
Through the breach in the wall, all could see the ruined street of Dun Tharos. Elowen and Gunggari raced each other to see who would be first after the vampire; Elowen won. Marrec brought up the rear, noticeably slower than his two friends.
The forest-infested ruin of Dun Tharos was silent in the gathering night. There was no sign of the blightlord.
Marrec screamed in frustration. Then, thinking Damanda might be playing them for idiots, he rushed back into the smaller antechamber, then on into the warehouse. Ash remained, as did Ususi, who had apparently recovered from her shock.
She asked Marrec, "What happened?"
The cleric continued forward until he stood again at Ash's side. Then he said, "The blightlord escaped, again, but we destroyed her last servant." He pointed with his spear where the final fragments of Bonehammer lay.
"Are you ok? I saw her try to lock gazes with you."
"I'm fine," answered the wizard. "Just took me a few moments to clear my head."
Elowen and Gunggari returned.
Elowen said, "We are near to the center of Dun Tharos. I can nearly see the great trees that surround the Nentyarch's old seat. Great trees, filled with life and energy, each one so tall and grand that you wondered how such a thing could exist…" The elf seemed overcome for a moment with memory.
Gunggari said, "If we are so hear, we should press forward, before the escaping blightlord can warn her master, and he can mount an answering defense."
"The time has come, eh?" Marrec questioned his friend, strangely reluctant now that it had come to it.
His weakness persisted. His thoughts were muddied, and even Justlance seemed heavy in his hand. He didn't want to come up against what would likely be his greatest test in such a condition, but there was no choice. He would endeavor to ignore his state. It was the final push.
The cleric took Ash's hand again, intending to ask her if she was ready, though he knew she wouldn't respond.
Ash surprised him by squeezing back, as if truly feeling the pressure of his grip. She looked at him, truly met his eye for just one amazing moment. In those eyes, Marrec found rest and the promise of renewed strength. He gasped, but already Ash's grip had slackened to its usual flaccid strength.
Once more, Ash had shown forth her secret, inner power. The strength promised in her eyes grew and blossomed in the cleric's flesh. Marrec felt hale and whole of body and mind. Moreover, for a fleeting moment, it felt as if his nascent connection with Lurue herself might return. The momentary bonding weakened immediately then winked out, but it left a lingering feeling of hope, and his renewed vigor didn't hurt.
"Yes, the time has come to face the Rotting Man, even here in his place of power," Marrec told Gunggari, but loudly enough to address everyone. "With Ash at our side, I believe we have a chance."
"One moment, though," cautioned Gunggari. He looked over to Ususi. "What of her? She met the vampire's gaze. She could be under the blightlord's influence."
"Don't be an idiot," barked Ususi.
"It's not idiotic to enumerate our weaknesses prior to battle."
Ususi responded, "No simple glance by a blightlord can suborn my mind; I am stronger willed than that. She merely caught me off guard-had I been any less strong, yes, she might have had me. What you perceived as weakness