Lady of Poison_ The Priests - Bruce R. Cordell [31]
Again the slime bubble rose up and absorbed the blast, or at least part of it. This time, a trickle of light played across the blightlord's form. Gameliel cried out then cursed as he lost the weave of his spell.
The volodnis continued their attack on Gunggari and Elowen across a quarter span of the Mucklestones bowl, not Marrec's concern right then.
What about… soot and coal!
His glance back revealed Ususi squirming in the troll's grasp. With both hands clamped upon the wizard, the troll was attempting to pull her into two pieces.
Justlance appeared once more in Marrec's hand, and in a single liquid movement he cast the spear directly into the troll's back.
The green behemoth screamed, dropping Ususi. The woman scuttled backward on all fours, bloodied but still alive. The troll whirled, searching for its attacker an instant before fixing its hungry gaze on Marrec. It charged, its powerful arms raised high, its claws promising a lethal rain. Marrec spurred his horse, tried to get it to sidestep the charging monster, but his mount reared in a sudden panic, throwing the cleric to the ground. The fall jolted the wind from him.
"Whose plan was this, anyway?" Marrec muttered as he attempted to regain his feet, only to be bowled over by the troll. Its claws sought crevices in his armor but were only partially successful. A thread of pain pulsed on the side of Marrec's face where one of the troll's claws scored.
Again, Justlance shimmered back to his hand, giving the troll a moment's pause. Armed again, his confidence ticked back up a notch. He used the spear's shaft to quickly lever himself to his feet. The sour, rotten smell of the troll's breath rolled over him, nearly a presence in and of itself, hardly less lethal than the monster.
Marrec groaned as he felt something touch him from behind through his armor. The blightlord, untended, had gotten another nasty hex off, and he was the target. Whatever it was, it seemed to be growing below his armor second by second. It itched as if a colony of ants were running across his back. He yelped in surprise, or if truth be told, alarm.
A crack of thunder rode the heels of a crazy line of electric light that zagged past Marrec and struck Gameliel a grazing shot. Ususi was on her feet again, but her aim was a little off. The blightlord snarled with pain but dramatically clutched his empty fist, as if squeezing something. In response, pain blistered across Marrec's body. The pain issued from the spot he'd seconds before felt the itching. As if pain were sprouting roots across his body, the agony grew.
Marrec realized he had been infected with the blightlord's touch. Some sort of hyper-quick rot or disease, he presumed. He fumbled in his belt pouch and brought out a small vial filled with fizzing blue-white liquid. Though his directly granted spells were nearly spent, he was not without one or two additional resources. Uncorking the vial with his teeth, he gulped down its contents. The divine balm spread through him like cool water, quenching the pain and driving the infection from his body. He gasped out thanks to Lurue.
The troll took advantage of Marrec's distraction with another claw-tipped swing, forcing him back behind the point of his spear. He risked another glance at the blightlord. Gameliel spent another second clutching the air before realizing the action was futile. Marrec's brief infection was cleansed.
Gameliel said, "You seem resistant to the lesser rots. Let's see how you fare against the Corruption of…"
He broke off when he saw the pale green beam of light touch dead center upon his chest. The beam was projected by Ususi, still standing just outside the ring of the bowl.
"Is that…?" was Gameliel's last utterance.
The blightlord burst asunder. The pool of slime began to boil then wisped away like morning fog. The black halberd he had been clutching in one hand continued to stand of its own accord for a moment then slowly dissipated, like a hole in mud closing