Stardeep_ The Dungeons - Bruce R. Cordell [47]
The blade, dulled and cold, trembled at her words. Strength continued to pour from her exposed skin into the murmuring clutch of dead shades. Why wasn't he helping her?
"I'm dying, you rusted reject from a halfling's smithy! I-"
The sword trembled again, as if straining… then ignited with cerulean incandescence. He pulled power from a source that had always seemed inexhaustible. Whether that strength had its origin within Angul himself, or in some external font of moral power, Kiril had never before wondered. The sword was always equal to every task, capable of keeping its wielder alive no matter the threat.
Was Sathta's power of shadow inimical to Angul, or was he, after all these yeats, dtawing to the end of his enchanted lifespan?
Angul's certainty sought to whelm in her once more, becoming the balm she'd fought to hold heiself aloof from during the last decade. Het newfound doubt about the weapon's longevity transformed her usual sentiment of dread to relief. The blade was still up to its old tricks. She wanted-
No, she needed to ask Sathra about Nangulis! But that desire was washed away in Angul's all-encompassing belief that nothing he-and by extension his wielder-did required explanation.
The necromancer's shadowy influence burned away in blue celestial fire, revealing the light of day and a surprised-looking Sathra. Kiril stood up where the necromancer's last blast had flung her. She intoned Angul's words. "Suffer not abomination, nor she who gives up her soul to evil."
Kiril sprinted back up the slope, her sword's fire pumping her limbs with boundless energy.
Sathra spoke anew, her voice a series of unfathomable vocalizations that smoked into reality, her hands frantically waving in rhythm with the foul syllables. Kifil recognized enough spellcasting to identify the cadence of a magical escape.
Sathra wasn't quick enough.
The career of the most-feared crime lord of Laothkund ended in the snowy eaves of the Yuirwood.
An interminable sea of discomfort slowly focused, finally shrinking to the size of his skull. Dull throbs, the stings of scrapes and cuts, and three sharp pinches told him the position of his body; he lay in a splayed posture, facedown on a hard surface. He tasted dirt and bark in his mouth.
He yet lived! Gage throttled his first instinct to groan. Better not to reveal that life hadn't fully departed if enemies lurked nearby. He opened one eye the merest slit to recon-noiter the situation.
Stolsin lay not far from him, cut into three or four bloodless pieces. Closer stood Kiril, tending a small fire. Her pet construct perched on her shoulder. He sucked in his breath when he recalled his last few conscious moments. The elf's head turned. She gazed at him, one eyebrow going up in speculation. She said, "You awake?"
Gage considered. Better not to dissemble, just in case. He let out a loud groan and let his eyes flutter open. When the pain tedoubled, he realized he wouldn't have to put up much of an act.
"What happened? That damn walking corpse clipped me with his hammer. Last thing I remember." He levered himself up so his back was supported by a log. A very familiar log. A log much the wotse for wear. He'd be happy to see the last of it.
"I'll tell you what happened. A whote came out of nowhere and tried to kill me-which is ptetty flecking odd since you told me Sathra was dead!" Kiril moved until she stood a foot from Gage, her eyes narrowed and wild. Xet flew up from her shoulder, chiming a rebuke at her sudden movement.
The thief held up his left hand. "Hold on! You think I lied to you? I thought Sathra was dead-I left her as good as. How could I know someone would pull her out of the sewer and fix her up?" It was as compelling a scenario as he could invent on the spot. He was good at it, but would the enraged elf buy his story? More importantly…
"Did you ask her the questions you wanted, Kiril?" Gage asked, anxiety straining his faked credulity. "Did you ask about Nangulis?"
The elf clenched both her fists, neithet of which, luckily, was wtapped around her sword.