Temple Hill - Drew Karpyshyn [109]
Several hundred yards into the well-lit, perfectly symmetrical tunnel Azlar's magic had formed, Fendel came to a stop, wheezing and bending over to brace his hands on his knees as he struggled to catch a second wind. Lhasha pulled up beside him, her own breath ‹Mming in quick, short gasps. A few seconds later, Corin stumbled to a stop just a few feet away, nearly collapsing from the strain of their extended sprint.
Fendel motioned with his hand, urging the other two to clear a path from the center of the passage. Panting, the trio pressed themselves up against a wall, trying to stay out of the way of the small groups of terrified soldiers still streaming past every few seconds. The panicked cultists, intent only on escaping the terror of the main cavern, paid no heed to the three figures huddled off to the side of the passage.
The gnome, despite his age, was the first to recover enough to speak. "We should be safe here. For a while."
From back down the passage the chilling screams of those trapped in the main cavern could still be heard.
"What… the Abyss… happened?" Corin managed between gulps of air.
"Beholder. Big one. Came up through the trapdoor in the floor and started killing everything in the room. Even turned the medusa into a pile of dust."
"Xiliath?" Corin asked.
Fendel nodded. That'd be my guess. Probably been hiding out in these tunnels for the last few years, working through front men to keep his existence a secret. We have to get out of here so we can warn the authorities. They won't want him floating around loose under the streets."
"Wait a minute!" Lhasha protested, more than slightly annoyed. "How come you wanted to take care of the medusa yourself, but you're willing to dump the beholder off on someone else? Don't tell me you've got some kind of double standard working here."
"Don't scold me like a child," Fendel replied, without any real malice in his voice. "My actions made perfect sense, if you think about it. A medusa can hide in a crowd. With her hood up, she looks like any ordinary citizen. If I didn't do something about her when I had the chance, the Maces would never have found her until after Yanseldara had been turned into a statue. By then it would have been too late.
"But a beholder won't be sneaking up on anyone. As soon as the city guard finds out what Xiliath really is, they'll have patrols scouring the tunnels to hunt him down."
"Won't the patrols just get slaughtered?" Lhasha countered, a hint of accusation in her words.
"Not if they're properly prepared," Corin interjected, coming to Fendel's defense. "Get a squadron of well-trained soldiers, arm them with crossbows and other ranged weapons, throw in a few battle mages to cast protective magics over them, and the patrol will be able to deal with just about anything. Even an eye tyrant."
Lhasha chewed thoughtfully on her hp for a few seconds. "I guess it makes sense," she reluctantly admitted. Then, after a few seconds she added, Tm sorry Fendel. I don't know what came over me. I just… I didn't mean to snap at you."
The old gnome leaned over and gave her a long, reassuring hug. Think nothing of it, Lhasha. Anyone who's been through what you have is entitled to be a little out of sorts."
"Besides," he added, giving her a grin and tweaking her small nose to try to cheer her up. Til be the first to admit I was running scared. With my glasses to keep me from turning to stone, I knew I could face the medusa. But a beholder's a little more than I can handle. When I saw that thing hovering over the battle, I just wanted to get out before one of those eyes turned in