Temple Hill - Drew Karpyshyn [41]
A blinding white light of unbearable agony shredded the dark, soothing veil. Fire surged through his body; blazing, burning, searing, purging. With a rush the blood erupted through his veins and his heart began a frantic pounding to keep up with the flow.
As the violence of the living world battered back the peace of the grave, a coughing fit wracked Corin's chest. His body convulsed and heaved until he hacked up a mass of gummy, sticky slime from his lungs. Air rushed in to fill the void, and Corin breathed again.
His inner consciousness vanished, pushed out by the overwhelming sensations of the exterior world. His body lay on the cold cobblestone street, his head resting in someone's lap. Small, delicate hands gently cradled him, and he could feel the brush of a silk sleeve against his cheek. He caught a whiff of expensive perfume.
He blinked open his eyes to reveal a face framed by the shadowy background of the early evening sky. A face etched with concern. A wrinkled, balding, face with a bulbous nose, oversized ears and a wispy gray beard. Fendel was standing over him.
"Welcome back," the gnome said, the worry being replaced by a smile. "We almost lost you. If Lhasha had got me here a couple minutes later you would have been beyond my skill to save."
Corin struggled to rise, but the gnome reached out a gnarled hand and pushed him back down.
"Lie still," a soft female voice said. It was Lhasha who was holding his head in her lap. "The poison's gone, but you've still lost a lot of blood. Let Fendel help you."
Tm not sure how much I can do," the gnome said as he rubbed his hands together. "Like I said before, healing isn't Gond's specialty, but I can take away some of the sting."
The gnome began a soft chant, his hands and fingers forming elaborate patterns in the air. He reached down and placed his palm on Corin's wounded shoulder. This time there was no surge of fire, no agonizing purging of his essence. There was just a warmth, then a slight tingle, and then it was done.
Corin reached up with his left hand and gingerly felt his shoulder. No pain. He pressed harder, and still felt nothing. He pulled the bandage down and traced his finger over what remained of the wound. Just a slight scab, no worse than a child's scraped knee.
Fendel smiled broadly. "Didn't even leave a scar! Not bad for a two bit cleric, huh?"
Corin leaned forward and rose to his feet, leaning slightly on Lhasha as he stood up. Even the minor bumps and bruises from the battle seemed to be less painful now.
"I owe you my life, Fendel. If there's anything I can ever do to repay you…"
"Just look after my little Lhasha-love, that's all I ask."
Lhasha was up on her feet now, standing beside him.
"Don't worry, Fendel. Corin's doing a fine job of looking after me. He actually saved me from a squad of assassins earlier today."
"Purple Masks?" Fendel asked, frowning slightly.
Corin nodded
"Who else?" said Lhasha.
"This isn't good," Fendel muttered with a shake of his head. "Not good at all. We have to get you off the street while I think of what to do."
"Do you think you can walk?" Lhasha asked Corin.
Tm fine," Corin replied as he scooped up the bag that held the few personal items Lhasha had grabbed from their rooms at the Golden Staff. She had just dropped the bag on the street beside Corin's unconscious body when she had ran off to get Fendel. Fortunately no one had stolen them in the ten minutes it had taken her to bring the gnome back to her injured friend. "In fact, I feel better than I have in a long, long time."
The half-elf gave him a skeptical look.
"Are you sure? In the last hour you've been attacked by trained assassins, stabbed in the shoulder, and nearly died from