The Shattered Land_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [144]
As both elves drew weapons, a pair of arrows sang through the air and thudded into the staffer’s throat. Shen’kar lashed out with his spiked club, and Daine looked away; clearly this situation was under control.
At last he reached the tower. “Lei!” he called. “LEI!” She was nowhere to be seen, and the walls and soil were blackened from the blasts of mystic flame. For a moment an iron hand closed around his heart.
And then she emerged from the gate.
“Daine!” She wrapped her arms around him. “Thank the Sovereigns!”
“No time,” he said, forcing himself to push her away. “Lakashtai, link her!”
Already done.
We’re going in. Shen’kar, get your soldiers and take point. Don’t go farther than a hundred feet in, Daine thought. “Pierce, I need that ward back up!”
The Sulatar were marching across the field, and at this distance Daine guessed they were over a hundred.
“There is a problem, captain.” Pierce was kneeling down, inside the glass-lined gate.
“That’s not what I need to hear right now!”
“The firebursts have damaged the shard that raises the wards. It is not responding to my commands.”
Flame! Daine ground his teeth. Can’t anything EVER be easy? “Lei, can you fix it?”
“I don’t know, Daine. This is Xen’drik! I’ve probably never seen anything like it.”
“Get over there and find out,” Daine said, “and if you need encouragement, just look at the approaching army.” Shen’kar, what have you found?
No response.
Shen’kar?
Daine turned to Lakashtai, who was frowning. “The link has been severed,” she said. “Sharp and sudden.”
“They’re dead?” he said. Can this get any worse?
“Always,” Lakashtai replied, “but I am not certain that is the case. The tower feels … empty. Unnaturally so.”
“It is the tower, not you,” Pierce said. He had pulled a bundle of arrows from Lei’s magical pack, and now he was pushing them into the ground in front of him, preparing for the assault to come. The army was moving slowly, but the enemy would soon be in range. “Karul’tash was built during the war against the inhabitants of Dal Quor, who possessed mental powers similar to yours. The defensive enchantments of the building shield Karul’tash from mystical scrying and suppress the use of mental abilities.”
“How—” Daine began, than shook his head. “Never mind.”
“Can this shield be deactivated?” Lakashtai said. She spoke calmly, but Daine could see the tension in her eyes.
“Yes,” Pierce said, “but not from here.”
“If we don’t get those wards up, we won’t have to worry about it,” Daine said, as the drow continued to stream across the field. “Lei?”
“I’m working on it!” she snapped. “It’s a bizarre design, but … it feels familiar somehow.”
A small party had pulled ahead of the main army. “Look next to the standard-bearer, captain,” Pierce said. “I believe that is Gerrion.”
Daine squinted, but his eyes were not as keen as those of the warforged. “Do me a favor, Pierce—if this doesn’t work, kill him first.”
Pierce nodded. “It will be done.” He brought an arrow to the string. “Time runs short. The wards do not cover the entire field. They are almost at the border, and in any case, soon we will be in range of their bows.”
“Lei!” Daine said.
“I’m doing the best I can!”
“Do better.”
“All right.” She stood up. “Pierce?”
“Come inside,” Pierce said. “You do not want to be trapped beyond the door once it is sealed.” The travelers sprinted into the mouth of the tunnel and Pierce rapped against the wall.
“Dak ru’sen Karul’tash. Hasken ul tul’kas.” The ancient voice shook the tunnel.
Pierce hesitated for a moment, and when he spoke, his voice was a thunderous rasp. “Kej’dre. Isk. Han’tal. Kulas Kastoruk ru’sen Karul’tash. Drukil ejil ul siltash!”
Nothing happened. “Drukil esul ul siltash’un!” Pierce said.
Daine sighed. “Very well. Lei, get ready to—”
A blinding flash of ruddy light banished the drawing gloom of night. Cries filled the air—elven voices and shouts of alarm.
“Door?” Daine said.
“It appears to be broken,” Pierce said, “but the wards have been restored.”
“Fine. Pierce, with me, we’re going to take a look. Lei, we need