Temple Hill - Drew Karpyshyn [93]
With great gasps he swallowed the dank air, flooding his burning lungs and feeding his starving muscles with stale oxygen. He rolled onto his side, opened his eyes, and glanced back over his shoulder. Fendel's glowing staff still lay on the ground behind them-he could just make out the pinpoint of its light through the brown cloud. Corin had managed to drag himself and Fendel only a short distance beyond the edge of the deadly fog, but the magic that had conjured the mist kept it tightly concentrated, and there were no signs that the vapors would spread any farther.
Hopefully it wasn't too late. Like Corin, Fendel's exposed skin was red, raw, and festering with sores. The warrior checked his smaller companion for some sign of breath and was relieved to find a steady rhythm of air coming in and out. He rolled the gnome onto his stomach and began to pound him on the back. After a few quick strikes the gnome wretched, hacking up long strings of black, sticky phlegm before going into a prolonged coughing fit. The warrior waited patiently for the fit to pass, grateful his guide was still alive.
"Are you all right?" Corin asked once Fendel had regained his composure. His voice was hoarse and rasping, his throat ragged and swollen from the effects of the gas.
"I'll… I'll be all right," the gnome answered, rubbing his own throat.
Corin rose to his feet and helped the wrinkled little man stand up as well.
"So, how do we get by this?" The billowing cloud showed no signs of dissipating.
"I can handle it," Fendel assured him. "Just give me a moment to catch my breath."
The gnome cleared his throat, wincing at the pain as he did so. He spat out another glob of the dark phlegm, then spoke in the arcane, indecipherable language of spellcasters.
As the magic gathered, Corin first felt, then heard, the rushing wind. It grew from a whispering zephyr to a roaring crescendo in mere seconds, the currents so strong they nearly ripped the clothes from Corin's back as they whipped through the tunnel.
Corin's ears popped continuously with the changing pressure in the tunnel as the force of the tempest rose, tearing great holes in the cloud, rending the fabric of the mist like the garments of a grieving mourner. The wall of fog disintegrated into mere wisps and puffs before being swept away altogether. As suddenly as it had risen, the storm broke.
The gnome stood with his hands braced on his hips, his hair tousled and tangled from the winds, his face breaking into a broad grin as the last vestiges of his spell dissolved away.
He caught Corin's eye and gave the warrior a grin.
"I love that spell," he said before going over and retrieving his glowing staff.
The injuries of both men were minor-a few quick healing spells from Fendel and their skin was restored to a healthy, pink-hued glow. They continued on.
"If my calculations are correct," the gnome said after another twenty minutes of cautious, trap-free advancement, "we're almost there. I suspect there'll be another surprise before we get to the end, though."
Corin's grip on his twin swords tightened. Traps were well and good, but the warrior knew the best protection was a living, thinking guardian-whether man or beast.
If they were close to their goal, his instincts said, the last hurdle would have to be something he could fight. Trusting his instincts, Corin squinted into the shadows ahead, searching out the foe he knew was awaiting them.
They heard the guardian long before they saw it.
It began with what sounded like conversation, dozens of voices speaking simultaneously, their nonsensical chatter overlapping and merging into a single, incoherent whole. The incomprehensible din quickly rose to a deafening cacophony, reverberating throughout the narrow tunnel.
The very thoughts in Corin's mind were pushed out of his skull by the babbling chaos. The noise grew louder as the creature approached, but