Pool of Radiance_ Ruins of Myth Drannor - Carrie Bebris [10]
She began to pull herself forward. Corran released her and also grabbed the rope. As the portal rumbled and flashed orange light, they desperately pulled themselves hand over hand, the rope trailing behind them as they reached the exit. They tumbled through. Kestrel rolled to an abrupt stop, striking a solid object.
A body.
She sat up, quickly assessing the scene. Three more bodies-all of them motionless-lay sprawled in the street. A band of five orcs scavenged two of the corpses.
They’d arrived too late.
“Get your filthy claws off them!” Ghleanna shouted from behind her. She turned in time to see the mage lift her hands and send three bursts of magical energy speeding toward the snouted humanoids.
The orcs dove to the ground, but the missiles corrected their course and hit three of the creatures. One orc, struck in the head, died instantly. The other two suffered chest wounds but managed to climb back to their feet, axes in hand. With a cry of retribution, all four remaining orcs now rushed Ghleanna.
Kestrel rolled out of their path, yanked a dagger from her boot and threw it. The weapon caught one of the orcs in the neck. Her victim sank to its knees, but with a series of inhuman grunts, it struggled to its feet. Tightly gripping its short sword, the beast staggered toward Kestrel. Its eyes held the expression of a mad animal.
Kestrel bent to reach her second dagger. A second hit would finish off the humanoid. Before she withdrew the blade, however, the orc collapsed.
She glanced around to see whether any of the remaining orcs approached. Corran, who’d landed several yards away when he tumbled out of the gate, had engaged two of the beasts. The skill with which he deflected the orcs’ blows bespoke the superior training of a nobleman. He fought with controlled, precise strokes that countered his opponents’ brute swings.
A thunderclap boomed so loud that it shook the street. Kestrel spun to discover the sound came from the gate, which now wavered violently and glowed flaming red. The rope attached to her grappling hook still trailed inside. What would happen to her tool if the portal shut with the rope still inside? The gods only knew when they might need it next.
A quick glance toward Ghleanna, who was releasing another volley of sorcerous missiles, indicated that the mage held her own for the moment. Kestrel grasped the rope and tugged.
It was stuck.
She pulled harder. The rope remained taut, but she could feel vibrations along it coming from within the gate. What was going on inside?
A moment later, a familiar figure tumbled through and landed at her feet. Kestrel yanked the rope out of the portal. Within seconds, the gate shuddered and imploded, disappearing from sight. At the same time, the sounds of combat ceased.
She offered Durwyn a hand. “I thought you weren’t going to leave your post?”
He grasped her arm and rose. “I got lonely.”
She looked toward Ghleanna and Corran, who had dispatched the last of the orcs. “I can think of many places I’d rather seek company than here,” Kestrel said, turning back to Durwyn. “We’re lucky we even made it.”
He nodded toward her grappling hook. “I saw you and Corran ahead of me and grabbed the rope as soon as I could. That was quick thinking on your part. I never would have made it out in time.”
“None of us would have.” She harbored a bellyful of resentment toward Corran. How dare he force her into that malfunctioning magical gate, nearly killing them both? She shuddered to think of her fate had she been trapped inside during the final implosion.
Durwyn joined Corran and Ghleanna, who were checking the fallen adventurers for signs of life. Kestrel hung back. As she coiled her rope, she thought about how much she wanted to wrap it around Corran’s neck. Instead she stowed it and the grappling hook in her pack. She retrieved her dagger, noting her surroundings as she cleaned it.
They’d arrived on a street lined with buildings in various states of destruction. Even in its ruined condition Kestrel could see that Myth Drannor had once been a city of