The Nether Scroll - Lynn Abbey [0]
Forgotten Realms - Lost
Empires 04 - Lynn Abbey -
The Nether Scroll
The Nether Scroll
Book 4 of Lost Empires series
A Forgotten Realms novel
by Lynn Abbey
A Proofpack release Proofed and formatted by BW-SciFi Ebook version 1.0 Release Date: January, 11 th , 2005
The victim broke free. About the size of a goat, it charged toward the doorway's freedom and collided with Druhallen, who was blocking it. He looked down: a battered and bleeding half-grown goblin clung to his leg.
"Kick it back over here," one of the batterers commanded.
An ugly, little face, made uglier by blood and bruises, peered up at him.
Point of fact: Druhallen didn't much like youngsters of any species.
THE NETHER SCROLL
Lost Empires
?2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc
All Rights Reserved. All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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Distributed in the United States by St. Martin 's Press. Distributed in Canada by Fenn Ltd.
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Distributed worldwide by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and regional distributors.
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All rights reserved. Made in the U.S.A.
Cover art by Alan Pollack
First Printing: September 2000
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 00-101632
987654321
ISBN: 0-7869-1566-8
620-T21566
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1
12 Flamerule, the Year of the Arch
(1353 DR)
Along the Vilhon Reach
"Do you think she wants to marry him? I hear he's half snake… the wrong half."
The question and comments rolled off the tongue of Galimer Longfingers, journeyman and wizard, as he and Druhallen of Sunderath, also a journeyman and wizard, fidgeted in their saddles while watching other men repair a broken cartwheel.
"Which half would be the right half?" Druhallen joked, then turned serious. "There's no point to wishes. What's cut, stays cut. We've been hired to get her to Hlondeth. What happens afterward is none of our concern."
Afoot, Druhallen was a handspan shorter than Galimer, though that wasn't obvious when they were astride. Nothing about Druhallen was obvious. His hair was a drab shade of brown that framed his squarish face with a ragged fringe. He had a larger-than-average mouth and nose, and his otherwise attractive hazel eyes were shadowed by heavy brows that were darker than his hair. Dressed in homespun and leather, Druhallen was often mistaken for his friend's varlet.
Galimer Longfingers cut an impressive figure, even in the middle of nowhere or on an empty road across the Vilhon Reach-which was almost the same thing. If the young woman under discussion was looking for a handsome, all-human suitor, she'd certainly cast a measuring glance in Galimer's direction. His wine-colored tunic and gray moleskin breeches had been tailored in the best Scornubel establishments and were as sturdy as they were fashionably expensive. His idly curling hair was the color of Aglarond cider, his eyes were gemstone blue, and his features were delicate without being either elven or feminine. His fingers, sheathed in leather gloves dyed to match his eyes, were elegant and long.
Wizard hands, Ansoain, his mother, labeled them-because long, slender fingers were presumed to be an asset in a profession that relied on gesture and precision.