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dnd200
“Who are you planning on carrying the bottle?” Ragnor asked.“I will carry it,” Aballister quickly put in.He knew as soon as he heard his own words that his claim sounded desperate, a last attempt to salvage his own position of power.Barjin shot him an incredulous look.“It was I who met Talona’s avatar,” Aballister insisted, “and I who discovered the recipe for the Most Fatal Horror.”“For that, we thank you,” remarked the priest in a condescending tone.Aballister started to protest, but sank back in his chair as a magical message was whispered into his ear: Do not fight with me over this, wizard.Aballister knew that the critical moment was upon him.If he gave in, he felt he might never recover his standing in Castle Trinity, but if he argued against Barjin, against the religious fury that the priest had inspired, he would surely split the order and might find himself badly outnumbered.“The priests of Talona will carry the bottle, of course,” Barjin answered Ragnor.“We are the true disciples.”“You are one leg of a ruling triumvirate,” Aballister dared to remind him.“Do not claim the Most Fatal Horror solely as your own.”Ragnor didn’t see things quite the same way.“Leave it to the priests,” the ogrillon demanded.Aballister’s surprise disappeared as soon as he realized that the brutish fighter, suspicious of magic, was simply relieved that he would not have to carry the bottle.“Agreed,” Barjin quickly put in.Aballister started to speak out, but Dorigen put a hand over his arm and gave him a look that begged him to let it go.“You have something to say, good wizard?” Barjin asked.Aballister shook his head and sank even deeper into his chair—and even deeper into despair.“Then it’s settled,” said Barjin.“The Most Fatal Horror will descend upon our enemies, carried by my second—” he nodded to the priests on his right and on his left—“and my third.”“No!” Aballister blurted, seeing a way to salvage something from the disaster.All gazes descended upon him, and he saw Ragnor put a hand to his sword hilt.“Your second?” the wizard asked, and it was his turn to feign an incredulous tone.“Your third?” Aballister rose from his chair and held his arms outstretched.“Is this not the direct agent of our goddess?” he preached.“Is this not the beginning of our greatest ambitions?No, only Barjin is fit to carry such a precious artifact.Only Barjin can properly begin the reign of chaos.”The gathering turned as one to Barjin, and Aballister returned to his seat, thinking that he had at last outmaneuvered the clever priest.If he could get Barjin out of Castle Trinity for a time, he could reestablish his claim as the chief speaker for the brotherhood.Unexpectedly, the priest didn’t argue.“I will carry it,” he said.He looked to the other, startled clerics and added, “and I will go alone.”“All the fun for you?” Ragnor complained.“Merely the first skirmish of the war,” Barjin responded.“My warriors desire battle,” Ragnor pressed.“They hunger for blood!”“They will have all they can drink and more!” Barjin snapped.“But I will go first and cripple our enemies.
“Who are you planning on carrying the bottle?” Ragnor asked.“I will carry it,” Aballister quickly put in.He knew as soon as he heard his own words that his claim sounded desperate, a last attempt to salvage his own position of power.Barjin shot him an incredulous look.“It was I who met Talona’s avatar,” Aballister insisted, “and I who discovered the recipe for the Most Fatal Horror.”“For that, we thank you,” remarked the priest in a condescending tone.Aballister started to protest, but sank back in his chair as a magical message was whispered into his ear: Do not fight with me over this, wizard.Aballister knew that the critical moment was upon him.If he gave in, he felt he might never recover his standing in Castle Trinity, but if he argued against Barjin, against the religious fury that the priest had inspired, he would surely split the order and might find himself badly outnumbered.“The priests of Talona will carry the bottle, of course,” Barjin answered Ragnor.“We are the true disciples.”“You are one leg of a ruling triumvirate,” Aballister dared to remind him.“Do not claim the Most Fatal Horror solely as your own.”Ragnor didn’t see things quite the same way.“Leave it to the priests,” the ogrillon demanded.Aballister’s surprise disappeared as soon as he realized that the brutish fighter, suspicious of magic, was simply relieved that he would not have to carry the bottle.“Agreed,” Barjin quickly put in.Aballister started to speak out, but Dorigen put a hand over his arm and gave him a look that begged him to let it go.“You have something to say, good wizard?” Barjin asked.Aballister shook his head and sank even deeper into his chair—and even deeper into despair.“Then it’s settled,” said Barjin.“The Most Fatal Horror will descend upon our enemies, carried by my second—” he nodded to the priests on his right and on his left—“and my third.”“No!” Aballister blurted, seeing a way to salvage something from the disaster.All gazes descended upon him, and he saw Ragnor put a hand to his sword hilt.“Your second?” the wizard asked, and it was his turn to feign an incredulous tone.“Your third?” Aballister rose from his chair and held his arms outstretched.“Is this not the direct agent of our goddess?” he preached.“Is this not the beginning of our greatest ambitions?No, only Barjin is fit to carry such a precious artifact.Only Barjin can properly begin the reign of chaos.”The gathering turned as one to Barjin, and Aballister returned to his seat, thinking that he had at last outmaneuvered the clever priest.If he could get Barjin out of Castle Trinity for a time, he could reestablish his claim as the chief speaker for the brotherhood.Unexpectedly, the priest didn’t argue.“I will carry it,” he said.He looked to the other, startled clerics and added, “and I will go alone.”“All the fun for you?” Ragnor complained.“Merely the first skirmish of the war,” Barjin responded.“My warriors desire battle,” Ragnor pressed.“They hunger for blood!”“They will have all they can drink and more!” Barjin snapped.“But I will go first and cripple our enemies.
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dnd201
When I return, you can lead the second assault.”That seemed to satisfy the ogrillon, and Aballister finally understood Barjin’s salvaging ploy.By going alone, the priest would not only leave his clerical cohorts to keep an eye on things, but he would leave Ragnor and his soldiers.Always vying for power, the ogrillon, with the prodding of the remaining clerics, would not allow Aballister and the wizards to regain a firm foothold.“Where will you loose it?” Aballister asked.“And when?”“There are preparations to be made before I leave,” Barjin answered, “things that only a priest, a true disciple, would understand.As to where, let it be of no concern to you.”“But—” Aballister started, only to be interrupted sharply.“Talona alone will tell me,” Barjin growled with finality.Aballister glared in outrage but didn’t respond.Barjin was a slippery opponent.Every time Aballister had him cornered, he merely invoked the name of the goddess, as if that answered everything.“It is decided,” Barjin continued, seeing no response forthcoming.“This meeting is at an end.”“Oh, go away,” Druzil slurred, both audibly and telepathically.Aballister was looking for him, trying to get into his thoughts.Druzil smiled at his superiority in keeping the wizard out and lazily rolled over.Then the imp realized what Aballister’s call might signify.He sat up with a start and looked into Aballister’s mind just long enough to see that the wizard had returned to his own room.Druzil hadn’t meant to sleep so long, had wanted to be far away before the meeting adjourned.Druzil held very still when the door opened and Barjin entered the room.If he had been more attentive, the priest might have sensed the invisible presence.Barjin had other things on his mind, though.He rushed for the bed and Druzil recoiled, thinking Barjin meant to attack him.But Barjin dropped to his knees and reached eagerly for his pack and his enchanted mace.“You and I,” Barjin said to the weapon, holding it out before him, “will spread the word of their goddess and reap the rewards of chaos.It has been too long since you feasted on the blood of humans, my pet, far too long.” The mace couldn’t audibly reply, of course, but Druzil thought he saw a smile widen on the pretty girl’s sculpted face.“And you,” Barjin said into the backpack, to the ceramic, ash-filled flask.“Prince Khalif.Could it be the time for you to live again?” Barjin snapped the backpack shut and roared with such sincere and exuberant laughter that Druzil almost joined in.The imp promptly reminded himself that he and Barjin were not, as yet, formally allied, and that Barjin would most definitely prove a dangerous enemy.Fortunately for the imp, Barjin, in his haste, had not closed the door behind him.Druzil crawled off the bed, using Barjin’s laughter as cover, and slipped out the door, wisely uttering the password for the warding glyph as he crossed the threshold.Barjin left Castle Trinity five days later, bearing the ever-smoking bottle.He traveled with a small entourage of Ragnor’s fighters, but they would only serve as escorts as far as the human settlement of Carradoon, near Impresk Lake on the southeastern edge of the Snowflake Mountains.
When I return, you can lead the second assault.”That seemed to satisfy the ogrillon, and Aballister finally understood Barjin’s salvaging ploy.By going alone, the priest would not only leave his clerical cohorts to keep an eye on things, but he would leave Ragnor and his soldiers.Always vying for power, the ogrillon, with the prodding of the remaining clerics, would not allow Aballister and the wizards to regain a firm foothold.“Where will you loose it?” Aballister asked.“And when?”“There are preparations to be made before I leave,” Barjin answered, “things that only a priest, a true disciple, would understand.As to where, let it be of no concern to you.”“But—” Aballister started, only to be interrupted sharply.“Talona alone will tell me,” Barjin growled with finality.Aballister glared in outrage but didn’t respond.Barjin was a slippery opponent.Every time Aballister had him cornered, he merely invoked the name of the goddess, as if that answered everything.“It is decided,” Barjin continued, seeing no response forthcoming.“This meeting is at an end.”“Oh, go away,” Druzil slurred, both audibly and telepathically.Aballister was looking for him, trying to get into his thoughts.Druzil smiled at his superiority in keeping the wizard out and lazily rolled over.Then the imp realized what Aballister’s call might signify.He sat up with a start and looked into Aballister’s mind just long enough to see that the wizard had returned to his own room.Druzil hadn’t meant to sleep so long, had wanted to be far away before the meeting adjourned.Druzil held very still when the door opened and Barjin entered the room.If he had been more attentive, the priest might have sensed the invisible presence.Barjin had other things on his mind, though.He rushed for the bed and Druzil recoiled, thinking Barjin meant to attack him.But Barjin dropped to his knees and reached eagerly for his pack and his enchanted mace.“You and I,” Barjin said to the weapon, holding it out before him, “will spread the word of their goddess and reap the rewards of chaos.It has been too long since you feasted on the blood of humans, my pet, far too long.” The mace couldn’t audibly reply, of course, but Druzil thought he saw a smile widen on the pretty girl’s sculpted face.“And you,” Barjin said into the backpack, to the ceramic, ash-filled flask.“Prince Khalif.Could it be the time for you to live again?” Barjin snapped the backpack shut and roared with such sincere and exuberant laughter that Druzil almost joined in.The imp promptly reminded himself that he and Barjin were not, as yet, formally allied, and that Barjin would most definitely prove a dangerous enemy.Fortunately for the imp, Barjin, in his haste, had not closed the door behind him.Druzil crawled off the bed, using Barjin’s laughter as cover, and slipped out the door, wisely uttering the password for the warding glyph as he crossed the threshold.Barjin left Castle Trinity five days later, bearing the ever-smoking bottle.He traveled with a small entourage of Ragnor’s fighters, but they would only serve as escorts as far as the human settlement of Carradoon, near Impresk Lake on the southeastern edge of the Snowflake Mountains.
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dnd202
Barjin would go alone from there to his final destination, which he and his clerical conspirators would still not reveal to the other leaders of Castle Trinity.Back at the fortress, Aballister and the wizards waited as patiently as possible, confident that their turn would come.Ragnor’s force was not so patient, though.The ogrillon wanted battle, wanted to begin the offensive right away.Ragnor was not a stupid creature, though.He knew that his small force, only a few hundred strong unless he managed to entice the neighboring goblinoid tribes to join in, would not have an easy time of conquering the lake, the mountains, and the forest.Still, and despite all his reasoning, Ragnor was hungry.Since his very first day at Castle Trinity, nearly five years before, the ogrillon had vowed revenge on Shilmista Forest, on the elves who had defeated his tribe and driven him and the other refugees far from the wood.Every member of Castle Trinity, from lowly soldier to wizard to priest, had spoken often of the day they would rise from their disguised holes and blacken the region.All now held their breath, awaiting Barjin’s return, awaiting confirmation that the conquest had begun.SIXWATER AND DUSTThe cloaked figure moved slowly toward Danica.Thinking it a monk of some obscure and eccentric sect—and such monks were usually hostile and dangerous, determined to prove their fighting prowess against any other monks they encountered—the woman gathered up the pile of parchment she had been studying and quickly moved to another table.The tall figure, cowl pulled low to hide its face, turned to pursue, its feet making unrecognizable scuffling noises on the stone floor.Danica looked around.It was late, and the study hall on the second floor above the library, was nearly empty.Danica decided it might be time for her to retire, too.She realized she was exhausted, and wondered if she might be imagining things.The figure came on, slowly, menacingly, and Danica was less sure that it was another monk.What horrors might that low cowl be hiding?she wondered.She gathered the parchment again and started boldly for the main aisle, though that course meant passing right by the figure.A hand shot out and caught her shoulder.Danica stifled a startled cry and spun to face the shadowy cowl, losing many of her scrolls in the process.As she collected her wits, though, Danica realized that it was no skeletal apparition holding her in an icy, undead grip.It was a human hand, warm and gentle, and showing signs of ink near the fingernails.The hand of a scribe.“Fear not!” the specter rasped.Danica knew that voice too well to be deceived by the breathless mask.She scowled and crossed her arms over her chest.Cadderly removed his hand from Danica’s shoulder and quickly pulled back the cowl.“Greetings!” he said, smiling widely into Danica’s frown as though he hoped his mirth to be a contagious thing.“I thought I might find you here.”Danica’s silence promised no warmth.“Do you like my disguise?” Cadderly went on.“It had to be convincing for me to get past Avery’s spies.They’re everywhere, and Rufo watches my every move even more closely now, though he shared equal punishment.”“You both deserved it,” Danica snapped back, “after your behavior in the great hall.”“So now we clean,” Cadderly agreed with a resigned shrug.“Everywhere, every day.
Barjin would go alone from there to his final destination, which he and his clerical conspirators would still not reveal to the other leaders of Castle Trinity.Back at the fortress, Aballister and the wizards waited as patiently as possible, confident that their turn would come.Ragnor’s force was not so patient, though.The ogrillon wanted battle, wanted to begin the offensive right away.Ragnor was not a stupid creature, though.He knew that his small force, only a few hundred strong unless he managed to entice the neighboring goblinoid tribes to join in, would not have an easy time of conquering the lake, the mountains, and the forest.Still, and despite all his reasoning, Ragnor was hungry.Since his very first day at Castle Trinity, nearly five years before, the ogrillon had vowed revenge on Shilmista Forest, on the elves who had defeated his tribe and driven him and the other refugees far from the wood.Every member of Castle Trinity, from lowly soldier to wizard to priest, had spoken often of the day they would rise from their disguised holes and blacken the region.All now held their breath, awaiting Barjin’s return, awaiting confirmation that the conquest had begun.SIXWATER AND DUSTThe cloaked figure moved slowly toward Danica.Thinking it a monk of some obscure and eccentric sect—and such monks were usually hostile and dangerous, determined to prove their fighting prowess against any other monks they encountered—the woman gathered up the pile of parchment she had been studying and quickly moved to another table.The tall figure, cowl pulled low to hide its face, turned to pursue, its feet making unrecognizable scuffling noises on the stone floor.Danica looked around.It was late, and the study hall on the second floor above the library, was nearly empty.Danica decided it might be time for her to retire, too.She realized she was exhausted, and wondered if she might be imagining things.The figure came on, slowly, menacingly, and Danica was less sure that it was another monk.What horrors might that low cowl be hiding?she wondered.She gathered the parchment again and started boldly for the main aisle, though that course meant passing right by the figure.A hand shot out and caught her shoulder.Danica stifled a startled cry and spun to face the shadowy cowl, losing many of her scrolls in the process.As she collected her wits, though, Danica realized that it was no skeletal apparition holding her in an icy, undead grip.It was a human hand, warm and gentle, and showing signs of ink near the fingernails.The hand of a scribe.“Fear not!” the specter rasped.Danica knew that voice too well to be deceived by the breathless mask.She scowled and crossed her arms over her chest.Cadderly removed his hand from Danica’s shoulder and quickly pulled back the cowl.“Greetings!” he said, smiling widely into Danica’s frown as though he hoped his mirth to be a contagious thing.“I thought I might find you here.”Danica’s silence promised no warmth.“Do you like my disguise?” Cadderly went on.“It had to be convincing for me to get past Avery’s spies.They’re everywhere, and Rufo watches my every move even more closely now, though he shared equal punishment.”“You both deserved it,” Danica snapped back, “after your behavior in the great hall.”“So now we clean,” Cadderly agreed with a resigned shrug.“Everywhere, every day.
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dnd203
It’s been a long tenday and a half, with just as long still to come.”“More than that if Headmaster Avery catches you here,” Danica warned.Cadderly shook his head and threw up his hands.“I was cleaning the kitchen,” he explained.“Ivan and Pikel threw me out.‘It’s me kitchen, boy!’ ” Cadderly said in his best dwarf’s voice, slamming his fists on his hips and puffing out his chest.“ ‘If there’s any cleanin’ to be done, it’ll be done by meself!I’m not needing a …’ ”Danica reminded him where he was to quiet him and pulled him to the side, behind the cover of some book racks.“That was Ivan,” Cadderly said.“Pikel did not say much.So the kitchen will be cleaned by the dwarves if it is to be cleaned at all, and a good thing, I say.An afternoon in there could put an end to my appetite for some time to come!”“That does not excuse you from your work,” Danica protested.“I am working,” Cadderly retorted.He pulled aside the front of his heavy woolen cloak and lifted a foot, revealing a sandal that was half shoe and half scrubbing brush.“Every step I take cleans the library a little bit more.”Danica couldn’t argue with Cadderly’s unending stream of personalized logic.In truth, she was glad that Cadderly had come to visit her.She hadn’t seen much of him in the last fifteen days and found that she missed him dearly.Also, on a more practical level, Danica was having trouble deciphering some important scrolls and Cadderly was just the person to help her.“Could you look at these?” she asked, retrieving the fallen scrolls.“Master Penpahg D’Ahn?” Cadderly replied, hardly surprised.He knew that Danica had come to the Edificant Library more than a year before to study the collected notes of Penpahg D’Ahn of Ashanath, the grandmaster monk who had died five hundred years before.Danica’s order was small and secretive, and few in Faerûn had ever heard of Penpahg D’Ahn.But those who studied the grandmaster’s fighting and concentration techniques gave their lives over to his philosophies wholeheartedly.Cadderly had only seen a fraction of Danica’s notes, but those had intrigued him, and he certainly couldn’t dispute Danica’s fighting prowess.More than half of the proud Oghmanyte clerics had been walking around rubbing numerous bruises since the fiery young woman had come to the library.“I’m not quite certain of this interpretation,” Danica explained, spreading a sheet of parchment over a table.Cadderly moved to her side and examined the scroll.It began with a picture of crossed fists, which indicated that it was a battle technique, but then showed the single open eye indicating a concentration technique.Cadderly read on.
It’s been a long tenday and a half, with just as long still to come.”“More than that if Headmaster Avery catches you here,” Danica warned.Cadderly shook his head and threw up his hands.“I was cleaning the kitchen,” he explained.“Ivan and Pikel threw me out.‘It’s me kitchen, boy!’ ” Cadderly said in his best dwarf’s voice, slamming his fists on his hips and puffing out his chest.“ ‘If there’s any cleanin’ to be done, it’ll be done by meself!I’m not needing a …’ ”Danica reminded him where he was to quiet him and pulled him to the side, behind the cover of some book racks.“That was Ivan,” Cadderly said.“Pikel did not say much.So the kitchen will be cleaned by the dwarves if it is to be cleaned at all, and a good thing, I say.An afternoon in there could put an end to my appetite for some time to come!”“That does not excuse you from your work,” Danica protested.“I am working,” Cadderly retorted.He pulled aside the front of his heavy woolen cloak and lifted a foot, revealing a sandal that was half shoe and half scrubbing brush.“Every step I take cleans the library a little bit more.”Danica couldn’t argue with Cadderly’s unending stream of personalized logic.In truth, she was glad that Cadderly had come to visit her.She hadn’t seen much of him in the last fifteen days and found that she missed him dearly.Also, on a more practical level, Danica was having trouble deciphering some important scrolls and Cadderly was just the person to help her.“Could you look at these?” she asked, retrieving the fallen scrolls.“Master Penpahg D’Ahn?” Cadderly replied, hardly surprised.He knew that Danica had come to the Edificant Library more than a year before to study the collected notes of Penpahg D’Ahn of Ashanath, the grandmaster monk who had died five hundred years before.Danica’s order was small and secretive, and few in Faerûn had ever heard of Penpahg D’Ahn.But those who studied the grandmaster’s fighting and concentration techniques gave their lives over to his philosophies wholeheartedly.Cadderly had only seen a fraction of Danica’s notes, but those had intrigued him, and he certainly couldn’t dispute Danica’s fighting prowess.More than half of the proud Oghmanyte clerics had been walking around rubbing numerous bruises since the fiery young woman had come to the library.“I’m not quite certain of this interpretation,” Danica explained, spreading a sheet of parchment over a table.Cadderly moved to her side and examined the scroll.It began with a picture of crossed fists, which indicated that it was a battle technique, but then showed the single open eye indicating a concentration technique.Cadderly read on.
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dnd204
“Gigel Nugel,” he said aloud, then he thought that over for a moment.“Iron Skull.The maneuver is called Iron Skull.”Danica banged a fist onto the table.“As I believed!” she said.Cadderly was almost afraid to ask.“What is it?”Danica held the parchment up over the table’s lamp, emphasizing a small, nearly lost sketch in the lower corner.Cadderly eyed it closely.It appeared to be a large rock sitting atop a man’s head.“Is that supposed to be a representation of Penpahg D’Ahn?” he asked.Danica nodded.“So now we know how he died,” Cadderly snickered.Danica snapped the parchment away, not appreciating the humor.Sometimes Cadderly’s irreverence crossed the boundaries of her considerable tolerance.“I am sorry,” Cadderly apologized with a low bow.“Truly Penpahg D’Ahn was an amazing person, but are you saying he could break stone with his head?”“It is a test of discipline,” Danica replied, her voice edged with mounting excitement.“As are all of Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn’s teachings.The grandmaster was in complete control of his body, of his very being.”“I am quite certain you would forget my very name if Master Penpahg D’Ahn returned from the grave,” Cadderly said.“Forget who’s name?” Danica replied calmly, not playing into his game.Cadderly cast a hard glare at her but smiled as she smiled, unable to resist her charms.The young scholar grew suddenly serious, though, and looked back to the parchment.“Promise me you’re not intending to smash your face into a stone,” he said.Danica crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head in an obstinate way, silently telling Cadderly to mind his own business.“Danica,” Cadderly said firmly.In reply, Danica extended one finger and placed it down on the table.Her thoughts turned inward; her concentration had to be complete.She lifted herself by that single extended digit, bending at the waist and bringing her legs up even with the table top.She held the pose for some time, glad for Cadderly’s amazed gape.“The powers of the body are beyond our comprehension and expectations,” Danica remarked, shifting to a sitting position on the table and wiggling her finger to show Cadderly that it had suffered no damage.“Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn understood them and learned to channel them to fit his needs.I will not go out this night, nor any night soon, and attempt the Iron Skull, that much I can promise you.You must understand that Iron Skull is but a minor test compared to what I came here to achieve.”“Physical suspension,” Cadderly muttered with obvious distaste.Danica’s face brightened.“Think of it!” she said.
“Gigel Nugel,” he said aloud, then he thought that over for a moment.“Iron Skull.The maneuver is called Iron Skull.”Danica banged a fist onto the table.“As I believed!” she said.Cadderly was almost afraid to ask.“What is it?”Danica held the parchment up over the table’s lamp, emphasizing a small, nearly lost sketch in the lower corner.Cadderly eyed it closely.It appeared to be a large rock sitting atop a man’s head.“Is that supposed to be a representation of Penpahg D’Ahn?” he asked.Danica nodded.“So now we know how he died,” Cadderly snickered.Danica snapped the parchment away, not appreciating the humor.Sometimes Cadderly’s irreverence crossed the boundaries of her considerable tolerance.“I am sorry,” Cadderly apologized with a low bow.“Truly Penpahg D’Ahn was an amazing person, but are you saying he could break stone with his head?”“It is a test of discipline,” Danica replied, her voice edged with mounting excitement.“As are all of Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn’s teachings.The grandmaster was in complete control of his body, of his very being.”“I am quite certain you would forget my very name if Master Penpahg D’Ahn returned from the grave,” Cadderly said.“Forget who’s name?” Danica replied calmly, not playing into his game.Cadderly cast a hard glare at her but smiled as she smiled, unable to resist her charms.The young scholar grew suddenly serious, though, and looked back to the parchment.“Promise me you’re not intending to smash your face into a stone,” he said.Danica crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head in an obstinate way, silently telling Cadderly to mind his own business.“Danica,” Cadderly said firmly.In reply, Danica extended one finger and placed it down on the table.Her thoughts turned inward; her concentration had to be complete.She lifted herself by that single extended digit, bending at the waist and bringing her legs up even with the table top.She held the pose for some time, glad for Cadderly’s amazed gape.“The powers of the body are beyond our comprehension and expectations,” Danica remarked, shifting to a sitting position on the table and wiggling her finger to show Cadderly that it had suffered no damage.“Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn understood them and learned to channel them to fit his needs.I will not go out this night, nor any night soon, and attempt the Iron Skull, that much I can promise you.You must understand that Iron Skull is but a minor test compared to what I came here to achieve.”“Physical suspension,” Cadderly muttered with obvious distaste.Danica’s face brightened.“Think of it!” she said.
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dnd205
“The grandmaster was able to stop his heart, to suspend his very breathing.”“There are priests who can do the very same thing,” Cadderly reminded her, “and wizards, too.I saw the spell in the book I—”“This is not a spell,” Danica retorted.“Wizards and priests call upon powers beyond their own minds and bodies.Think, though, of the control necessary to do as Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn did.He could stop his heart from beating at any time, using only his own understanding of his physical being.You above all should appreciate that.”“I do,” Cadderly replied sincerely.His visage softened and he ran the back of his hand gently across Danica’s soft cheek.“But you scare me, Danica.You’re relying on tomes a half millennium old for techniques that could kill you.I don’t remember with fondness how my life was before I met you, and I don’t want to imagine what it would be like without you.”“I cannot change who I am,” Danica replied quietly, but without compromise, “nor will I surrender the path I have chosen for my life.”Cadderly considered her words for a few moments, weighing them against his own feelings.He respected everything about Danica, and above all else it was her fire, her willingness to accept and defeat all challenges, that he most loved.To tame her, to put out that fire, Cadderly knew, would be to kill this Danica, his Danica, more surely than any of Penpahg D’Ahn’s seemingly impossible tests ever could.“I cannot change,” Danica said again.Cadderly’s reply came straight from his heart.“I wouldn’t want you to.”Barjin knew he couldn’t enter the ivy-streaked building through any of its windows or doors.While the Edificant Library was always open to scholars of all goodly sects, warding glyphs had been placed over every known entrance to protect against those not invited—persons, such as Barjin, dedicated to the spread of chaos and misery.The Edificant Library was an ancient building, and Barjin knew that ancient buildings usually held secrets even from their present inhabitants.The priest held the red-glowing bottle aloft before his eyes.“We have come to our destination,” he said, speaking as if the bottle could hear him, “to where I will secure my position of rulership over Castle Trinity, and over all the Southern Heartlands once our conquest is completed.”Barjin wanted to rush in, find his catalyst, and set the events in motion.He really didn’t believe the elixir was an agent of Talona, but then, Barjin didn’t consider himself an agent of Talona either, though he had joined her clerical order.He had adopted the goddess for convenience, for mutual benefit, and knew that as long as his actions furthered the Lady of Poison’s evil designs, she would be content.Barjin spent the rest of the day, which was drizzly and dreary for late spring, in the shadows behind the trees lining the wide road.He heard the midday canticle, then watched many priests and other scholars exit alone or in groups for an early afternoon stroll.The priest took a few precautionary measures, casting simple spells that would help him blend into his background and remain undetected.He listened to the casual banter of the passing groups, wondering with amusement how their words might change when he loosed the Most Fatal Horror in their midst.The figure that soon caught Barjin’s attention, though, was neither priest nor scholar.Disheveled and gray haired, with a dirty and stubbly face and skin wrinkled and browned from many years in the sun, Mullivy, the groundskeeper, went about his routines as he had for four decades, sweeping the road and the stairs to the front doors, heedless of the drizzle.Barjin’s wicked grin spread wide.If there was a secret way into the Edificant Library, the old man would know of it.The clouds had broken by sunset, and a beautiful crimson patina lined the mountains west of the library.
“The grandmaster was able to stop his heart, to suspend his very breathing.”“There are priests who can do the very same thing,” Cadderly reminded her, “and wizards, too.I saw the spell in the book I—”“This is not a spell,” Danica retorted.“Wizards and priests call upon powers beyond their own minds and bodies.Think, though, of the control necessary to do as Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn did.He could stop his heart from beating at any time, using only his own understanding of his physical being.You above all should appreciate that.”“I do,” Cadderly replied sincerely.His visage softened and he ran the back of his hand gently across Danica’s soft cheek.“But you scare me, Danica.You’re relying on tomes a half millennium old for techniques that could kill you.I don’t remember with fondness how my life was before I met you, and I don’t want to imagine what it would be like without you.”“I cannot change who I am,” Danica replied quietly, but without compromise, “nor will I surrender the path I have chosen for my life.”Cadderly considered her words for a few moments, weighing them against his own feelings.He respected everything about Danica, and above all else it was her fire, her willingness to accept and defeat all challenges, that he most loved.To tame her, to put out that fire, Cadderly knew, would be to kill this Danica, his Danica, more surely than any of Penpahg D’Ahn’s seemingly impossible tests ever could.“I cannot change,” Danica said again.Cadderly’s reply came straight from his heart.“I wouldn’t want you to.”Barjin knew he couldn’t enter the ivy-streaked building through any of its windows or doors.While the Edificant Library was always open to scholars of all goodly sects, warding glyphs had been placed over every known entrance to protect against those not invited—persons, such as Barjin, dedicated to the spread of chaos and misery.The Edificant Library was an ancient building, and Barjin knew that ancient buildings usually held secrets even from their present inhabitants.The priest held the red-glowing bottle aloft before his eyes.“We have come to our destination,” he said, speaking as if the bottle could hear him, “to where I will secure my position of rulership over Castle Trinity, and over all the Southern Heartlands once our conquest is completed.”Barjin wanted to rush in, find his catalyst, and set the events in motion.He really didn’t believe the elixir was an agent of Talona, but then, Barjin didn’t consider himself an agent of Talona either, though he had joined her clerical order.He had adopted the goddess for convenience, for mutual benefit, and knew that as long as his actions furthered the Lady of Poison’s evil designs, she would be content.Barjin spent the rest of the day, which was drizzly and dreary for late spring, in the shadows behind the trees lining the wide road.He heard the midday canticle, then watched many priests and other scholars exit alone or in groups for an early afternoon stroll.The priest took a few precautionary measures, casting simple spells that would help him blend into his background and remain undetected.He listened to the casual banter of the passing groups, wondering with amusement how their words might change when he loosed the Most Fatal Horror in their midst.The figure that soon caught Barjin’s attention, though, was neither priest nor scholar.Disheveled and gray haired, with a dirty and stubbly face and skin wrinkled and browned from many years in the sun, Mullivy, the groundskeeper, went about his routines as he had for four decades, sweeping the road and the stairs to the front doors, heedless of the drizzle.Barjin’s wicked grin spread wide.If there was a secret way into the Edificant Library, the old man would know of it.The clouds had broken by sunset, and a beautiful crimson patina lined the mountains west of the library.
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dnd206
Mullivy hardly noticed it, though, having seen too many sunsets to be impressed anymore.He stretched the aches out of his old bones and strolled to his small workshed off to the side of the library’s huge main building.“You’re getting old, too,” the groundskeeper said to the shack as the door opened with a loud creak.He reached inside, meaning to replace his broom, then stopped abruptly, frozen in place by some power he did not understand.A hand reached around him, prying the broom from his stubborn grasp.Mullivy’s mind shouted warnings, but he could not bring his body to react, could not shout or spin to face the person guiding that unexpected hand.He then was pushed into the shed—fell face down, not able to lift an arm to break the fall—and the door closed behind him.He knew he was not alone.“You will tell me,” the sinister voice promised from the darkness.Mullivy hung by his wrists, as he had for some time.The room was totally black, but the groundskeeper sensed the awful presence all too near.“I could kill you and ask your corpse,” Barjin said with a chuckle.“Dead men talk, I assure you, and they do not lie.”“There’s no other way in,” Mullivy said for perhaps the hundredth time.Barjin knew the old man was lying.At the beginning of the interrogation, the priest had cast spells to distinguish truth from falsehood and Mullivy had failed that test.Barjin reached out and gently grabbed the groundskeeper’s stomach in one hand.“No!No!” he begged, thrashing and trying to wiggle out of that grip.Barjin held tight and began a soft chant, and soon Mullivy’s insides felt as if they were on fire, his stomach ripped by agony that no man could endure.His screams were primal, hopeless, and helpless.“Do cry out,” Barjin chided him.“All about the shed is a spell of silence, old fool.You will not disturb the slumber of those within the library.But then, why would you care for their sleep?” Barjin asked quietly, his voice filled with feigned sympathy.He released his grip and softly stroked Mullivy’s wounded belly.Mullivy stopped thrashing and screaming, though the pain of the sinister spell lingered.“To them you are insignificant,” Barjin purred, and his suggestion carried the weight of magical influence.“The priests think themselves your betters.They allow you to sweep for them and keep the rain gutters clean, but do they care for your pain?You are out here suffering terribly, but do any of them rush to your aid?”Mullivy’s heaving breaths settled into a calmer rhythm.“Still you defend them so stubbornly,” Barjin purred, knowing that his torture was beginning to wear the groundskeeper down.“They would not defend you, and still you will not show me your secret, at the cost of your life.”Even in his most lucid state, Mullivy was not a powerful thinker.His best friend most often was a bottle of stolen wine, and in his agony-racked jumble of thoughts, his unseen assailant’s words rang loudly of truth.
Mullivy hardly noticed it, though, having seen too many sunsets to be impressed anymore.He stretched the aches out of his old bones and strolled to his small workshed off to the side of the library’s huge main building.“You’re getting old, too,” the groundskeeper said to the shack as the door opened with a loud creak.He reached inside, meaning to replace his broom, then stopped abruptly, frozen in place by some power he did not understand.A hand reached around him, prying the broom from his stubborn grasp.Mullivy’s mind shouted warnings, but he could not bring his body to react, could not shout or spin to face the person guiding that unexpected hand.He then was pushed into the shed—fell face down, not able to lift an arm to break the fall—and the door closed behind him.He knew he was not alone.“You will tell me,” the sinister voice promised from the darkness.Mullivy hung by his wrists, as he had for some time.The room was totally black, but the groundskeeper sensed the awful presence all too near.“I could kill you and ask your corpse,” Barjin said with a chuckle.“Dead men talk, I assure you, and they do not lie.”“There’s no other way in,” Mullivy said for perhaps the hundredth time.Barjin knew the old man was lying.At the beginning of the interrogation, the priest had cast spells to distinguish truth from falsehood and Mullivy had failed that test.Barjin reached out and gently grabbed the groundskeeper’s stomach in one hand.“No!No!” he begged, thrashing and trying to wiggle out of that grip.Barjin held tight and began a soft chant, and soon Mullivy’s insides felt as if they were on fire, his stomach ripped by agony that no man could endure.His screams were primal, hopeless, and helpless.“Do cry out,” Barjin chided him.“All about the shed is a spell of silence, old fool.You will not disturb the slumber of those within the library.But then, why would you care for their sleep?” Barjin asked quietly, his voice filled with feigned sympathy.He released his grip and softly stroked Mullivy’s wounded belly.Mullivy stopped thrashing and screaming, though the pain of the sinister spell lingered.“To them you are insignificant,” Barjin purred, and his suggestion carried the weight of magical influence.“The priests think themselves your betters.They allow you to sweep for them and keep the rain gutters clean, but do they care for your pain?You are out here suffering terribly, but do any of them rush to your aid?”Mullivy’s heaving breaths settled into a calmer rhythm.“Still you defend them so stubbornly,” Barjin purred, knowing that his torture was beginning to wear the groundskeeper down.“They would not defend you, and still you will not show me your secret, at the cost of your life.”Even in his most lucid state, Mullivy was not a powerful thinker.His best friend most often was a bottle of stolen wine, and in his agony-racked jumble of thoughts, his unseen assailant’s words rang loudly of truth.
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dnd207
Why shouldn’t he show the man his secret, the damp, moss- and spider-filled dirt tunnel that led to the lowest level of the library complex, the ancient, unused catacombs below the wine cellar and the upper dungeon level?As Barjin had planned, the appearance of Mullivy’s unseen assailant softened in his imagination.In his desperation, the groundskeeper needed to believe that his tormentor could actually be his ally.“You won’t tell them?” Mullivy asked.“They will be the last to know,” Barjin promised.“You won’t stop me from getting at the wine?”Barjin backed off a step, surprised.He understood the old man’s initial hesitance.The groundskeeper’s secret way into the library led to the wine cellar, a stash that the wretch would not easily part with.“Dear man,” Barjin purred, “you may have all the wine you desire and much more—so much more.”They had barely entered the tunnel when Mullivy, carrying the torch, turned and waved it threateningly at Barjin.Barjin’s laughter mocked him, but Mullivy’s voice remained firm.“I showed you the way,” the groundskeeper declared.“Now I’m leaving.”“No,” Barjin replied evenly.A shrug sent the priest’s traveling cloak to the floor, revealing him in all his splendor.He wore his new vestments, the purple silken robes depicting a trident capped by three red flasks.On his belt was his peculiar mace, its head a sculpture of a young girl.“You have joined me now,” Barjin explained.“You will never be leaving.”Terror drove Mullivy’s movements.He slapped the burning torch against Barjin’s shoulder and tried to push by, but the priest had prepared himself well before handing the torch to the groundskeeper.The flames did not touch Barjin, didn’t even singe his magnificent vestments, for they were defeated by a protection spell.Mullivy tried a different tactic, slamming the torch like a club, but the vestments carried a magical armor as solid as plate mail and the wooden torch bounced off Barjin’s shoulder without so much as causing the priest to flinch.“Come now, dear Mullivy,” Barjin cajoled, taking no offense.“You do not want me as an enemy.”Mullivy fell back and nearly dropped the torch.It took him a long moment to get past his terror, to even find his breath.“Lead on,” Barjin bade him.“You know this tunnel and the passages beyond.Show them to me.”Barjin liked the catacombs—dusty and private and filled with the remains of long-dead priests, some embalmed and others only cobweb-covered skeletons.He would have use for them.Mullivy, calmed by Barjin’s magic once more, led him through a tour of the dungeons, including the rickety stairwell that led up to the library’s wine cellar and a chamber that once had been used as a study for the original library.Barjin thought that room an excellent place to set up his unholy altar, but first he had to see exactly how useful the groundskeeper might prove.They lit several torches and set them in wall sconces then Barjin led Mullivy to an ancient table, one of many furnishings in the room, and produced his precious baggage.
Why shouldn’t he show the man his secret, the damp, moss- and spider-filled dirt tunnel that led to the lowest level of the library complex, the ancient, unused catacombs below the wine cellar and the upper dungeon level?As Barjin had planned, the appearance of Mullivy’s unseen assailant softened in his imagination.In his desperation, the groundskeeper needed to believe that his tormentor could actually be his ally.“You won’t tell them?” Mullivy asked.“They will be the last to know,” Barjin promised.“You won’t stop me from getting at the wine?”Barjin backed off a step, surprised.He understood the old man’s initial hesitance.The groundskeeper’s secret way into the library led to the wine cellar, a stash that the wretch would not easily part with.“Dear man,” Barjin purred, “you may have all the wine you desire and much more—so much more.”They had barely entered the tunnel when Mullivy, carrying the torch, turned and waved it threateningly at Barjin.Barjin’s laughter mocked him, but Mullivy’s voice remained firm.“I showed you the way,” the groundskeeper declared.“Now I’m leaving.”“No,” Barjin replied evenly.A shrug sent the priest’s traveling cloak to the floor, revealing him in all his splendor.He wore his new vestments, the purple silken robes depicting a trident capped by three red flasks.On his belt was his peculiar mace, its head a sculpture of a young girl.“You have joined me now,” Barjin explained.“You will never be leaving.”Terror drove Mullivy’s movements.He slapped the burning torch against Barjin’s shoulder and tried to push by, but the priest had prepared himself well before handing the torch to the groundskeeper.The flames did not touch Barjin, didn’t even singe his magnificent vestments, for they were defeated by a protection spell.Mullivy tried a different tactic, slamming the torch like a club, but the vestments carried a magical armor as solid as plate mail and the wooden torch bounced off Barjin’s shoulder without so much as causing the priest to flinch.“Come now, dear Mullivy,” Barjin cajoled, taking no offense.“You do not want me as an enemy.”Mullivy fell back and nearly dropped the torch.It took him a long moment to get past his terror, to even find his breath.“Lead on,” Barjin bade him.“You know this tunnel and the passages beyond.Show them to me.”Barjin liked the catacombs—dusty and private and filled with the remains of long-dead priests, some embalmed and others only cobweb-covered skeletons.He would have use for them.Mullivy, calmed by Barjin’s magic once more, led him through a tour of the dungeons, including the rickety stairwell that led up to the library’s wine cellar and a chamber that once had been used as a study for the original library.Barjin thought that room an excellent place to set up his unholy altar, but first he had to see exactly how useful the groundskeeper might prove.They lit several torches and set them in wall sconces then Barjin led Mullivy to an ancient table, one of many furnishings in the room, and produced his precious baggage.
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dnd208
The bottle had been heavily warded back at Castle Trinity.Only disciples of Talona or someone of pure heart could even touch it, and only the latter could open it.Like Aballister, Barjin knew that to be an obstacle, but unlike the wizard, the priest believed it a fitting one.What better irony than to have one of pure heart loose the chaos curse?“Open it, I pray you,” Barjin said.The groundskeeper studied the flask for a moment then looked curiously at the priest.Barjin knew Mullivy’s weak spot.“It is ambrosia,” the priest lied.“The drink of the gods.One taste of it and forever after wines will taste to you ten times as sweet, for the lingering effects of ambrosia will never diminish.Drink, I pray you.You have certainly earned your reward.”Mullivy licked his lips eagerly, took one final look at Barjin, then reached for the glowing bottle.A jolt of electricity shot into him as he touched it, blackening his fingers and throwing him across the room to where he slammed into a wall.Barjin went over and dropped one arm under Mullivy’s shoulder to help him stand.“I thought not,” the priest muttered to himself.Still twitching from the blast, his hair dancing wildly with lingering static, Mullivy was unable to find his voice to reply.“Fear not,” Barjin assured him.“You will serve me in other ways.”Mullivy noticed then that the priest held his girl’s-head mace in his other hand.The groundskeeper fell back against the wall and put his arms up defensively, but they were hardly protection from Barjin’s foul weapon.The innocent looking head swung in at the doomed groundskeeper, transforming as it went.The weapon’s image became angular, evil, the Screaming Maiden, her mouth opening impossibly wide, to reveal long, venom-tipped fangs.She bit hungrily through the bone in Mullivy’s forearm and plowed on, crushing and tearing into the man’s chest.He twitched wildly for several agonizing moments then slid down the wall and died.Barjin, with many preparations still to make, paid him no heed.Aballister leaned back in his chair, breaking his concentration from his magical mirror but not breaking the connection he had made.He had located Barjin and had recognized the priest’s surroundings: the Edificant Library.Aballister rubbed his hands through his thinning hair and considered the revelation, news that he found more than a little disturbing.The wizard had mixed emotions concerning the library, unresolved feelings that he did not care to examine at such an important time.Aballister had actually studied there once, many years before, but his curiosity with denizens of the lower planes had ended that relationship.The host priests thought it a pity that one of Aballister’s potential had to be asked to leave, but they expressed their concerns that Aballister had some trouble distinguishing between good and evil, between proper studies and dangerous practices.The expulsion did not end Aballister’s relationship with the Edificant Library, though.
The bottle had been heavily warded back at Castle Trinity.Only disciples of Talona or someone of pure heart could even touch it, and only the latter could open it.Like Aballister, Barjin knew that to be an obstacle, but unlike the wizard, the priest believed it a fitting one.What better irony than to have one of pure heart loose the chaos curse?“Open it, I pray you,” Barjin said.The groundskeeper studied the flask for a moment then looked curiously at the priest.Barjin knew Mullivy’s weak spot.“It is ambrosia,” the priest lied.“The drink of the gods.One taste of it and forever after wines will taste to you ten times as sweet, for the lingering effects of ambrosia will never diminish.Drink, I pray you.You have certainly earned your reward.”Mullivy licked his lips eagerly, took one final look at Barjin, then reached for the glowing bottle.A jolt of electricity shot into him as he touched it, blackening his fingers and throwing him across the room to where he slammed into a wall.Barjin went over and dropped one arm under Mullivy’s shoulder to help him stand.“I thought not,” the priest muttered to himself.Still twitching from the blast, his hair dancing wildly with lingering static, Mullivy was unable to find his voice to reply.“Fear not,” Barjin assured him.“You will serve me in other ways.”Mullivy noticed then that the priest held his girl’s-head mace in his other hand.The groundskeeper fell back against the wall and put his arms up defensively, but they were hardly protection from Barjin’s foul weapon.The innocent looking head swung in at the doomed groundskeeper, transforming as it went.The weapon’s image became angular, evil, the Screaming Maiden, her mouth opening impossibly wide, to reveal long, venom-tipped fangs.She bit hungrily through the bone in Mullivy’s forearm and plowed on, crushing and tearing into the man’s chest.He twitched wildly for several agonizing moments then slid down the wall and died.Barjin, with many preparations still to make, paid him no heed.Aballister leaned back in his chair, breaking his concentration from his magical mirror but not breaking the connection he had made.He had located Barjin and had recognized the priest’s surroundings: the Edificant Library.Aballister rubbed his hands through his thinning hair and considered the revelation, news that he found more than a little disturbing.The wizard had mixed emotions concerning the library, unresolved feelings that he did not care to examine at such an important time.Aballister had actually studied there once, many years before, but his curiosity with denizens of the lower planes had ended that relationship.The host priests thought it a pity that one of Aballister’s potential had to be asked to leave, but they expressed their concerns that Aballister had some trouble distinguishing between good and evil, between proper studies and dangerous practices.The expulsion did not end Aballister’s relationship with the Edificant Library, though.
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dnd209
Other events over the ensuing years had served to increase the wizard’s ambiguous feelings toward the place.Now, in the overall plan of regional conquest, Aballister would have greatly preferred to leave the library for last, with him personally directing the attack.He never would have guessed that Barjin would be so daring as to go after the place in the initial assault, believing that the priest would venture to Shilmista, or to some vital spot in Carradoon.“Well?” came a question from across the room.“He is in the Edificant Library,” Aballister answered.“The priest has chosen to begin our campaign against our most powerful enemies.”Aballister anticipated Druzil’s reply well enough to mouth “bene tellemara” along with the imp.“Find him,” Druzil demanded.“What is he thinking?”Aballister sent a curious gaze the imp’s way, but if he had any notion to reprimand Druzil, it was lost in his agreement with the demand.He leaned forward again toward the large mirror and scried deeper, into the library’s lower levels, through the cobweb-covered tunnels to the room where Barjin had built his altar.Barjin glanced around nervously for a moment then apparently recognized the source of the mental connection.“Well met, Aballister,” the priest said smugly.“You take great chances,” the wizard remarked.“Do you doubt the power of Tuanta Quiro Miancay?” Barjin asked.“The agent of Talona?”Aballister had no intention of reopening that unresolvable debate.Before he could respond, another figure moved into the picture, pallid and unblinking, with one broken arm hanging grotesquely and blood covering the left side of its chest.“My first soldier,” Barjin explained, pulling the body close to his side.“I have a hundred more awaiting my call.”Aballister recognized the “soldier” as an animated corpse, a zombie, and knowing that Barjin was in catacombs no doubt laced with burial vaults, the wizard didn’t have to ask where he intended to find his army.Suddenly Barjin’s choice to assault the library didn’t seem so foolhardy.Aballister had to wonder just how powerful his conniving rival might be, or might become.Again the wizard’s mixed feelings about the Edificant Library flooded over him.Aballister wanted to order Barjin out of the place at once, but of course, he had not the power to enforce the demand.“Do not underestimate me,” Barjin said, as though he had read the wizard’s mind.“Once the library is defeated, all the Southern Heartlands will be opened to us.Now be gone from here.I have duties to attend that a simple wizard cannot understand.”Aballister wanted to voice his protest at Barjin’s demeaning tone, but again, he knew that words would carry no real weight.He broke the connection and fell back in his chair, memories welling inside him.“Bene tellemara,” Druzil said again.Aballister looked over to the imp.“Barjin may bring us a great victory much earlier than we expected,” the wizard said, but there was little excitement in his voice.“It is an unnecessary risk,” Druzil spat back.“With Ragnor’s forces ready to march, Barjin could have found a better target.
Other events over the ensuing years had served to increase the wizard’s ambiguous feelings toward the place.Now, in the overall plan of regional conquest, Aballister would have greatly preferred to leave the library for last, with him personally directing the attack.He never would have guessed that Barjin would be so daring as to go after the place in the initial assault, believing that the priest would venture to Shilmista, or to some vital spot in Carradoon.“Well?” came a question from across the room.“He is in the Edificant Library,” Aballister answered.“The priest has chosen to begin our campaign against our most powerful enemies.”Aballister anticipated Druzil’s reply well enough to mouth “bene tellemara” along with the imp.“Find him,” Druzil demanded.“What is he thinking?”Aballister sent a curious gaze the imp’s way, but if he had any notion to reprimand Druzil, it was lost in his agreement with the demand.He leaned forward again toward the large mirror and scried deeper, into the library’s lower levels, through the cobweb-covered tunnels to the room where Barjin had built his altar.Barjin glanced around nervously for a moment then apparently recognized the source of the mental connection.“Well met, Aballister,” the priest said smugly.“You take great chances,” the wizard remarked.“Do you doubt the power of Tuanta Quiro Miancay?” Barjin asked.“The agent of Talona?”Aballister had no intention of reopening that unresolvable debate.Before he could respond, another figure moved into the picture, pallid and unblinking, with one broken arm hanging grotesquely and blood covering the left side of its chest.“My first soldier,” Barjin explained, pulling the body close to his side.“I have a hundred more awaiting my call.”Aballister recognized the “soldier” as an animated corpse, a zombie, and knowing that Barjin was in catacombs no doubt laced with burial vaults, the wizard didn’t have to ask where he intended to find his army.Suddenly Barjin’s choice to assault the library didn’t seem so foolhardy.Aballister had to wonder just how powerful his conniving rival might be, or might become.Again the wizard’s mixed feelings about the Edificant Library flooded over him.Aballister wanted to order Barjin out of the place at once, but of course, he had not the power to enforce the demand.“Do not underestimate me,” Barjin said, as though he had read the wizard’s mind.“Once the library is defeated, all the Southern Heartlands will be opened to us.Now be gone from here.I have duties to attend that a simple wizard cannot understand.”Aballister wanted to voice his protest at Barjin’s demeaning tone, but again, he knew that words would carry no real weight.He broke the connection and fell back in his chair, memories welling inside him.“Bene tellemara,” Druzil said again.Aballister looked over to the imp.“Barjin may bring us a great victory much earlier than we expected,” the wizard said, but there was little excitement in his voice.“It is an unnecessary risk,” Druzil spat back.“With Ragnor’s forces ready to march, Barjin could have found a better target.
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dnd210
He could have gone to the elves and loosed the curse there—Ragnor certainly hates them and intends to make them his first target.If we took Shilmista Forest, we could march south around the mountains to isolate the priests, surround the powerful library before they ever even realized that trouble had come to their land.”Aballister did not argue and wondered again if he had been wise in so easily relinquishing control of the elixir to Barjin.He had justified each action, each failing, but he knew in his heart that his cowardice had betrayed him.“I must go to him,” Druzil remarked.After taking a moment to consider the request, Aballister decided not to contest it.Sending Druzil would be a risk, the wizard knew, but he realized, too, that if he had found the strength to take more risks in his earlier meetings with Barjin, he might not have ended up in so awkward a position.“Dorigen informed me that Barjin carried an enchanted brazier with him,” the wizard said, rising and taking up his staff.“She will know if Barjin opens a gate to the lower planes in search of allies.When Dorigen confirms the opening, I will open a gate here.Your journey will be a short one.Barjin will not know you as my emissary and will think he summoned you and that it is he who controls you.”Druzil snapped his batlike wings around him and wisely held his tongue until Aballister had exited the room.“Your emissary?” the imp snarled at the closed door.Aballister had a lot to learn.SEVENSUNLIGHT AND DARKNESSNewander felt invigorated as soon as he walked out the building’s front doors, into the morning sunshine.He had just completed his turn at translating the ancient moss tome, hours huddled over the book with walls closing in around him.He was supposed to be in the small chamber, resting, while Cleo worked at the book and Arcite performed the daily druidic rituals.Newander didn’t often go against Arcite’s orders, but he could justify a simple transgression; he was much more at rest walking along the mountain trails than in any room, no matter how comfortable its bed.The druid found Percival skipping through the branches along the tree-lined lane.“Will you come and talk with me, white one?” Newander called.The squirrel looked Newander’s way then glanced back to a different tree.Following his gaze, Newander saw another squirrel, a normal gray female, sitting very still and watching him.“A thousand pardons,” Newander piped to Percival.“I didn’t know you were engaged, so to speak.” He gave a low bow and went on his merry way down the mountain road.Percival chattered at the departing druid for a few moments then hopped back toward his mate.The morning turned into afternoon and still the druid walked, away from the Edificant Library.He had broken off the main road some time ago, following a deer trail deep into the wilderness.There he was at home and at peace, and he was confident that no animal would rise against him.Clouds gathered over distant ridges, promising another of the common spring thunderstorms.As with the animals, the druid did not fear the weather.He would walk in a downpour and call it a bath, skip and slide along snow-covered trails and call it play.While the gathering storm clouds failed to deter the druid, they did remind him that he still had duties back at the library and that Arcite and Cleo soon would realize that he was gone.“Just a little bit farther,” he promised himself.He meant to turn back a short while later but caught sight of an eagle soaring high on the warm updrafts.The eagle spotted him, too, and swooped down low at him, cawing angrily.At first, Newander thought the bird meant to attack, but then he sorted through enough of its excited chatter to realize that it had recognized him as a friend.“What is your trouble?” Newander asked the bird.
He could have gone to the elves and loosed the curse there—Ragnor certainly hates them and intends to make them his first target.If we took Shilmista Forest, we could march south around the mountains to isolate the priests, surround the powerful library before they ever even realized that trouble had come to their land.”Aballister did not argue and wondered again if he had been wise in so easily relinquishing control of the elixir to Barjin.He had justified each action, each failing, but he knew in his heart that his cowardice had betrayed him.“I must go to him,” Druzil remarked.After taking a moment to consider the request, Aballister decided not to contest it.Sending Druzil would be a risk, the wizard knew, but he realized, too, that if he had found the strength to take more risks in his earlier meetings with Barjin, he might not have ended up in so awkward a position.“Dorigen informed me that Barjin carried an enchanted brazier with him,” the wizard said, rising and taking up his staff.“She will know if Barjin opens a gate to the lower planes in search of allies.When Dorigen confirms the opening, I will open a gate here.Your journey will be a short one.Barjin will not know you as my emissary and will think he summoned you and that it is he who controls you.”Druzil snapped his batlike wings around him and wisely held his tongue until Aballister had exited the room.“Your emissary?” the imp snarled at the closed door.Aballister had a lot to learn.SEVENSUNLIGHT AND DARKNESSNewander felt invigorated as soon as he walked out the building’s front doors, into the morning sunshine.He had just completed his turn at translating the ancient moss tome, hours huddled over the book with walls closing in around him.He was supposed to be in the small chamber, resting, while Cleo worked at the book and Arcite performed the daily druidic rituals.Newander didn’t often go against Arcite’s orders, but he could justify a simple transgression; he was much more at rest walking along the mountain trails than in any room, no matter how comfortable its bed.The druid found Percival skipping through the branches along the tree-lined lane.“Will you come and talk with me, white one?” Newander called.The squirrel looked Newander’s way then glanced back to a different tree.Following his gaze, Newander saw another squirrel, a normal gray female, sitting very still and watching him.“A thousand pardons,” Newander piped to Percival.“I didn’t know you were engaged, so to speak.” He gave a low bow and went on his merry way down the mountain road.Percival chattered at the departing druid for a few moments then hopped back toward his mate.The morning turned into afternoon and still the druid walked, away from the Edificant Library.He had broken off the main road some time ago, following a deer trail deep into the wilderness.There he was at home and at peace, and he was confident that no animal would rise against him.Clouds gathered over distant ridges, promising another of the common spring thunderstorms.As with the animals, the druid did not fear the weather.He would walk in a downpour and call it a bath, skip and slide along snow-covered trails and call it play.While the gathering storm clouds failed to deter the druid, they did remind him that he still had duties back at the library and that Arcite and Cleo soon would realize that he was gone.“Just a little bit farther,” he promised himself.He meant to turn back a short while later but caught sight of an eagle soaring high on the warm updrafts.The eagle spotted him, too, and swooped down low at him, cawing angrily.At first, Newander thought the bird meant to attack, but then he sorted through enough of its excited chatter to realize that it had recognized him as a friend.“What is your trouble?” Newander asked the bird.
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dnd211
He was fairly adept at understanding bird calls, but the eagle was too agitated and spoke too rapidly for Newander to hear anything but a clear warning of danger.“Show me,” the druid replied, and he whistled and cawed to ensure that the eagle understood.The great bird rushed off, climbing high into the sky so that Newander would not lose sight of it as it soared ever deeper, and ever higher, into the mountains.When he came out on a high, treeless ridge, the wind buffeted his green cloak fiercely and the druid realized the cause of the eagle’s distress.Across a deep ravine, three filthy gray, monkeylike creatures scrambled up the side of a tall, sheer cliff, using their prehensile tails and four clawed paws to gain a secure hold on even the tiniest juts and cracks.On a shallow ledge near the top of the cliff sat a great pile of twigs and sticks, an eagle aerie.Newander could guess what was inside that nest.The infuriated eagle dived at the intruders repeatedly, but the monsters only spat at it as it helplessly passed, or swiped at it with their formidable claws.Newander recognized the creatures as su-monsters, but he had no direct knowledge of them and had never encountered them before.It was widely agreed that they were vicious and bloodthirsty, but the druids had taken no formal stance concerning them.Were they an intelligent, evil group, or just a superbly adapted predator, feared because of their fighting prowess?To many, the distinction would mean nothing, but to a druid, that question concerned the very tenets of his religion.If the su-monsters were animals, terms such as “evil” did not apply to them and Newander could play no role in aiding the pitiful eagle.But watching their eager climb, saliva dripping from their toothy maws, Newander knew that he must do something.He called out a few of the more common natural warning cries, and the su-monsters stopped and looked at him, apparently noticing him for the first time.They hooted, spat, and waved their claws threateningly then resumed their climb.Newander called out again.The su-monsters ignored him.“Guide me, Silvanus,” Newander begged, closing his eyes.He knew that the greatest druids of his order had held council about those rare but nightmarish creatures, and that they had come to no definite conclusions.Thus, the common practice among the order, though no edict had been issued, was to interfere with su-monsters only if threatened directly.In his heart, though, Newander knew that the scene before him was unnatural.He called again to Silvanus, the Oak Father, and to his utter amazement, he believed that he was answered.He looked to the nearest thunderhead, gauging the distance, then back to the su-monsters.“Halt!” Newander cried out.“Go no farther!”The su-monsters turned at once, startled perhaps by the urgency, the power, in the druid’s voice.One found a loose stone and heaved it Newander’s way, but the ravine was wide as well as deep and the missile fell harmlessly.“I warn you again,” the druid cried, sincerely desiring no battle.“I have no fight with you, but you’ll not get to the aerie.”The monsters spat again and clawed ferociously at the empty air.“Be gone from here!” Newander cried.Their reply came in the form of spittle and they turned and started up again.Newander had seen enough.The su-monsters were too close to the aerie for him to waste any more time screaming warnings.He closed his eyes, clutched the oak leaf holy symbol hanging on a leather cord around his neck, and called out to the thunderstorm.The su-monsters paid him no heed, intent on the egg-filled nest just a few dozen yards above them.Druids considered themselves the guardians of nature and the natural order.Unlike wizards and priests of many other sects, druids accepted that they were the watchdogs of the world and that the powers they brought were more a call for help to nature than any manifestation of their own internal power.So it was as Newander called again to the heavy black cloud, directing its fury.The thunderstroke shook the mountains for many miles around, sent the surprised eagle spinning away blindly, and nearly knocked Newander from his feet.
He was fairly adept at understanding bird calls, but the eagle was too agitated and spoke too rapidly for Newander to hear anything but a clear warning of danger.“Show me,” the druid replied, and he whistled and cawed to ensure that the eagle understood.The great bird rushed off, climbing high into the sky so that Newander would not lose sight of it as it soared ever deeper, and ever higher, into the mountains.When he came out on a high, treeless ridge, the wind buffeted his green cloak fiercely and the druid realized the cause of the eagle’s distress.Across a deep ravine, three filthy gray, monkeylike creatures scrambled up the side of a tall, sheer cliff, using their prehensile tails and four clawed paws to gain a secure hold on even the tiniest juts and cracks.On a shallow ledge near the top of the cliff sat a great pile of twigs and sticks, an eagle aerie.Newander could guess what was inside that nest.The infuriated eagle dived at the intruders repeatedly, but the monsters only spat at it as it helplessly passed, or swiped at it with their formidable claws.Newander recognized the creatures as su-monsters, but he had no direct knowledge of them and had never encountered them before.It was widely agreed that they were vicious and bloodthirsty, but the druids had taken no formal stance concerning them.Were they an intelligent, evil group, or just a superbly adapted predator, feared because of their fighting prowess?To many, the distinction would mean nothing, but to a druid, that question concerned the very tenets of his religion.If the su-monsters were animals, terms such as “evil” did not apply to them and Newander could play no role in aiding the pitiful eagle.But watching their eager climb, saliva dripping from their toothy maws, Newander knew that he must do something.He called out a few of the more common natural warning cries, and the su-monsters stopped and looked at him, apparently noticing him for the first time.They hooted, spat, and waved their claws threateningly then resumed their climb.Newander called out again.The su-monsters ignored him.“Guide me, Silvanus,” Newander begged, closing his eyes.He knew that the greatest druids of his order had held council about those rare but nightmarish creatures, and that they had come to no definite conclusions.Thus, the common practice among the order, though no edict had been issued, was to interfere with su-monsters only if threatened directly.In his heart, though, Newander knew that the scene before him was unnatural.He called again to Silvanus, the Oak Father, and to his utter amazement, he believed that he was answered.He looked to the nearest thunderhead, gauging the distance, then back to the su-monsters.“Halt!” Newander cried out.“Go no farther!”The su-monsters turned at once, startled perhaps by the urgency, the power, in the druid’s voice.One found a loose stone and heaved it Newander’s way, but the ravine was wide as well as deep and the missile fell harmlessly.“I warn you again,” the druid cried, sincerely desiring no battle.“I have no fight with you, but you’ll not get to the aerie.”The monsters spat again and clawed ferociously at the empty air.“Be gone from here!” Newander cried.Their reply came in the form of spittle and they turned and started up again.Newander had seen enough.The su-monsters were too close to the aerie for him to waste any more time screaming warnings.He closed his eyes, clutched the oak leaf holy symbol hanging on a leather cord around his neck, and called out to the thunderstorm.The su-monsters paid him no heed, intent on the egg-filled nest just a few dozen yards above them.Druids considered themselves the guardians of nature and the natural order.Unlike wizards and priests of many other sects, druids accepted that they were the watchdogs of the world and that the powers they brought were more a call for help to nature than any manifestation of their own internal power.So it was as Newander called again to the heavy black cloud, directing its fury.The thunderstroke shook the mountains for many miles around, sent the surprised eagle spinning away blindly, and nearly knocked Newander from his feet.
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dnd212
When his sight returned, the druid saw that the cliff face was clear, the aerie was safe.The su-monsters were nowhere to be seen, and the only evidence that they had ever been there was a long scorch mark, a dripping crimson stain along the mountain wall, and a small tuft of fur, a severed tail perhaps, burning on a shallow ledge.The eagle flew to its nest, squawked happily, and soared down to thank the druid.“You are very welcome,” the druid assured the bird.In conversing with the eagle, he felt much better about his own destructive actions.Like most druids, Newander was a gentle sort, and he was always uncomfortable when called to battle.The fact that the cloud had answered his summons, a calling power that he believed came from Silvanus, also gave him confidence that he had acted correctly, that the su-monsters were indeed monsters and not natural predators.Newander interpreted the next series of the eagle’s caws as an invitation to join the bird at its aerie.The druid would have loved that, but the cliff across the way was too formidable a barrier with night fast approaching.“Another day,” he replied.The eagle cackled a few more thanks, explaining that many preparations were still needed for the coming brood, bade the druid farewell, and soared off.Newander watched the bird fly away with sincere lament.He wished he was more skilled at his religion; druids of higher rank, including both Arcite and Cleo, could actually assume the form of animals.If Newander were as skilled as either of them, he could simply shed his light robes and transform himself into an eagle, joining his new friend on the high, shallow ledge.Even more enticing, as an eagle Newander could explore the majestic mountains from a much improved viewpoint, with the wind breaking over his wings and eyes sharp enough to sort out the movements of a field mouse from a mile up.He shook his head and shook away, too, his laments for what could not be.It was a beautiful day, with a cleansing shower close at hand, full of new-blossoming flowers, chattering birds, fresh air on a chill breeze, and clear, cold mountain spring water around every bend—all the things the druid loved best.He stripped off his robes and put them under a thick bush, then sat cross-legged out on a high, open perch, awaiting the rain.It came in a torrential downpour, and Newander considered its patter on the stones the sweetest of nature’s many songs.The storm broke in time for a wondrous sunset, scarlet fading to pink, and filling every break in the towering mountain peaks to the west.“I fear that I am late in returning,” Newander said to himself.He gave a resigned shrug and could not prevent a boyish grin from spreading over his face.“The library will still be there on the morrow,” he rationalized as he retrieved his robes, found a comfortable spot, and settled in for the night.Barjin hung the brazier in place on the tripod and put in the special mixture of wood chips and incense blocks.He didn’t light the brazier yet, uncertain of how long it would take him to find a proper catalyst for the chaos curse.Denizens of the lower planes could be powerful allies, but they were usually a wearisome lot, demanding more of their summoner’s time and energy than Barjin had to give.Similarly, Barjin kept his necromancer’s stone tightly wrapped in the shielding cloth.As with extraplanar creatures, some types of undead could prove difficult to control, and like the gate created by the enchanted brazier, the necromancer’s stone could summon an assortment of monsters, anything from the lowliest, unthinking skeletons and zombies to cunning ghosts.For all his glyphs and wards, Barjin felt insecure about leaving the altar room, and the precious bottle, with nothing more intelligent and powerful than the zombie Mullivy to stand guard.He needed an ally, and he knew where to find it.“Khalif,” the Talonite priest muttered, retrieving the ceramic flask he had carried for years, even before his days in Vaasa and before he had turned to Talona.He had found the ash urn among some ancient ruins while working as an apprentice wizard.Barjin, by the terms of his apprenticeship, was not supposed to claim any discoveries as his own, but then, Barjin had never played by any rules save his own.He had kept the ceramic urn, filled with the ashes of Prince Khalif—a noble of some ancient civilization, according to the accompanying parchment—private and safe through many years.Barjin hadn’t fully come to appreciate the potential value of such a find until after he began his training in clerical magic.Once he understood what he could do with the ashes, all he needed was a proper receptacle.He led Mullivy out into the passageway, a wide corridor lined with alcoves, burial vaults of the highest-ranking founders of the Edificant Library.
When his sight returned, the druid saw that the cliff face was clear, the aerie was safe.The su-monsters were nowhere to be seen, and the only evidence that they had ever been there was a long scorch mark, a dripping crimson stain along the mountain wall, and a small tuft of fur, a severed tail perhaps, burning on a shallow ledge.The eagle flew to its nest, squawked happily, and soared down to thank the druid.“You are very welcome,” the druid assured the bird.In conversing with the eagle, he felt much better about his own destructive actions.Like most druids, Newander was a gentle sort, and he was always uncomfortable when called to battle.The fact that the cloud had answered his summons, a calling power that he believed came from Silvanus, also gave him confidence that he had acted correctly, that the su-monsters were indeed monsters and not natural predators.Newander interpreted the next series of the eagle’s caws as an invitation to join the bird at its aerie.The druid would have loved that, but the cliff across the way was too formidable a barrier with night fast approaching.“Another day,” he replied.The eagle cackled a few more thanks, explaining that many preparations were still needed for the coming brood, bade the druid farewell, and soared off.Newander watched the bird fly away with sincere lament.He wished he was more skilled at his religion; druids of higher rank, including both Arcite and Cleo, could actually assume the form of animals.If Newander were as skilled as either of them, he could simply shed his light robes and transform himself into an eagle, joining his new friend on the high, shallow ledge.Even more enticing, as an eagle Newander could explore the majestic mountains from a much improved viewpoint, with the wind breaking over his wings and eyes sharp enough to sort out the movements of a field mouse from a mile up.He shook his head and shook away, too, his laments for what could not be.It was a beautiful day, with a cleansing shower close at hand, full of new-blossoming flowers, chattering birds, fresh air on a chill breeze, and clear, cold mountain spring water around every bend—all the things the druid loved best.He stripped off his robes and put them under a thick bush, then sat cross-legged out on a high, open perch, awaiting the rain.It came in a torrential downpour, and Newander considered its patter on the stones the sweetest of nature’s many songs.The storm broke in time for a wondrous sunset, scarlet fading to pink, and filling every break in the towering mountain peaks to the west.“I fear that I am late in returning,” Newander said to himself.He gave a resigned shrug and could not prevent a boyish grin from spreading over his face.“The library will still be there on the morrow,” he rationalized as he retrieved his robes, found a comfortable spot, and settled in for the night.Barjin hung the brazier in place on the tripod and put in the special mixture of wood chips and incense blocks.He didn’t light the brazier yet, uncertain of how long it would take him to find a proper catalyst for the chaos curse.Denizens of the lower planes could be powerful allies, but they were usually a wearisome lot, demanding more of their summoner’s time and energy than Barjin had to give.Similarly, Barjin kept his necromancer’s stone tightly wrapped in the shielding cloth.As with extraplanar creatures, some types of undead could prove difficult to control, and like the gate created by the enchanted brazier, the necromancer’s stone could summon an assortment of monsters, anything from the lowliest, unthinking skeletons and zombies to cunning ghosts.For all his glyphs and wards, Barjin felt insecure about leaving the altar room, and the precious bottle, with nothing more intelligent and powerful than the zombie Mullivy to stand guard.He needed an ally, and he knew where to find it.“Khalif,” the Talonite priest muttered, retrieving the ceramic flask he had carried for years, even before his days in Vaasa and before he had turned to Talona.He had found the ash urn among some ancient ruins while working as an apprentice wizard.Barjin, by the terms of his apprenticeship, was not supposed to claim any discoveries as his own, but then, Barjin had never played by any rules save his own.He had kept the ceramic urn, filled with the ashes of Prince Khalif—a noble of some ancient civilization, according to the accompanying parchment—private and safe through many years.Barjin hadn’t fully come to appreciate the potential value of such a find until after he began his training in clerical magic.Once he understood what he could do with the ashes, all he needed was a proper receptacle.He led Mullivy out into the passageway, a wide corridor lined with alcoves, burial vaults of the highest-ranking founders of the Edificant Library.
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dnd213
Unlike the other vaults there, they were not open niches in the shape of chairs, but elaborately designed sarcophagi, gem-studded and extravagant.Barjin could only hope, as he instructed Mullivy to open the closest sarcophagus, that the early scholars had spared no expenses on the contents within the casket as well, that they had used more sophisticated embalming techniques.Mullivy, for all his strength, could not begin to open the first sarcophagus, its lock and hinges had rusted fast.The zombie had better luck with the second, its cover simply fell away under Mullivy’s heavy tug.As soon as the door opened, a long tentacle shot out at Mullivy, followed by a second and a third.They did no real damage, but Barjin was glad that the zombie, and not he, had opened the lid.Inside was a carrion crawler, a monstrous wormlike beast with eight tentacles tipped with paralyzing poison.Undead Mullivy could not be affected by such an attack, and beyond the tentacles the carrion crawler was virtually defenseless.“Kill it!” Barjin instructed.Mullivy pounded away with his one good arm.The carrion crawler was no more than a lifeless lump at the bottom of the casket when the zombie at last backed away.“This one will not do,” Barjin mumbled, inspecting the empty husk inside the sarcophagus.There was no dismay in his voice, though, for the body, ruined by the carrion crawler, had been carefully wrapped in thick linen, a sure sign that the ancient scholars had used reasonable embalming techniques.Barjin also found a small hole at the back of the sarcophagus, and he correctly assumed that the carrion crawler had come in there, gorged itself for months, perhaps even years, on the full corpse, then had grown too large to crawl back out.Barjin pulled Mullivy along eagerly, seeking another sarcophagus, one with no obvious holes.The third time paid for all, as the saying goes, for, with help from the Screaming Maiden, Barjin and Mullivy were able to break through the locks of the next casket.Inside, wrapped in linen, lay a well-preserved corpse, the receptacle that Barjin needed.Barjin instructed Mullivy to carry the corpse into the altar room—he didn’t want to touch the scabrous thing himself—then to rearrange the sarcophagi so that his would be closest to the altar room door.Barjin shut the door behind his zombie, not wanting to be distracted by the noises outside.He took out his spellbook, turned to the section on necromantic practices, and took out his necromancer’s stone.The priest’s chanting went on for quite some time, and all the while he dropped pinches of the ash onto the wrapped corpse.When the ceramic urn was emptied, the priest broke it apart, rubbing it clean on the receptacle body’s linen.Khalif’s spirit had been contained in the whole of the ash; the absence of the slightest motes could prove disastrous.Barjin became distracted by the necromancer’s stone when it began to glow with an eerie, purple-black light.The priest snapped his gaze back to the mummy, his attention caught by a sudden red glow as two dots of light appeared behind the linen wrappings that covered the corpse’s eyes.Barjin covered his hand in clean cloth and carefully pulled away the linen.He fell back with a start.The mummy rose before him.It looked upon the priest with utter hatred, its eyes burning as bright red dots.Barjin knew that mummies, like most monsters of the netherworld, hated all living things, and Barjin, for the moment anyway, was a living thing.“Back, Khalif!” Barjin commanded as forcefully as he could manage.The mummy took another stiff-legged step forward.“Back, I say!” Barjin snarled, replacing his fear with determined anger.“It was I who retrieved your spirit, and here in my service you shall stay until I, Barjin, release you to your eternal rest!”He thought his words pitifully inept, but the mummy responded, sliding back to its original position.“Turn away!” Barjin cried, and the mummy did.A smile spread wide over the priest’s face.He had dealt with denizens of the lower planes many times before and had animated simple undead monsters, like Mullivy, but the mummy was a new and higher step for him.
Unlike the other vaults there, they were not open niches in the shape of chairs, but elaborately designed sarcophagi, gem-studded and extravagant.Barjin could only hope, as he instructed Mullivy to open the closest sarcophagus, that the early scholars had spared no expenses on the contents within the casket as well, that they had used more sophisticated embalming techniques.Mullivy, for all his strength, could not begin to open the first sarcophagus, its lock and hinges had rusted fast.The zombie had better luck with the second, its cover simply fell away under Mullivy’s heavy tug.As soon as the door opened, a long tentacle shot out at Mullivy, followed by a second and a third.They did no real damage, but Barjin was glad that the zombie, and not he, had opened the lid.Inside was a carrion crawler, a monstrous wormlike beast with eight tentacles tipped with paralyzing poison.Undead Mullivy could not be affected by such an attack, and beyond the tentacles the carrion crawler was virtually defenseless.“Kill it!” Barjin instructed.Mullivy pounded away with his one good arm.The carrion crawler was no more than a lifeless lump at the bottom of the casket when the zombie at last backed away.“This one will not do,” Barjin mumbled, inspecting the empty husk inside the sarcophagus.There was no dismay in his voice, though, for the body, ruined by the carrion crawler, had been carefully wrapped in thick linen, a sure sign that the ancient scholars had used reasonable embalming techniques.Barjin also found a small hole at the back of the sarcophagus, and he correctly assumed that the carrion crawler had come in there, gorged itself for months, perhaps even years, on the full corpse, then had grown too large to crawl back out.Barjin pulled Mullivy along eagerly, seeking another sarcophagus, one with no obvious holes.The third time paid for all, as the saying goes, for, with help from the Screaming Maiden, Barjin and Mullivy were able to break through the locks of the next casket.Inside, wrapped in linen, lay a well-preserved corpse, the receptacle that Barjin needed.Barjin instructed Mullivy to carry the corpse into the altar room—he didn’t want to touch the scabrous thing himself—then to rearrange the sarcophagi so that his would be closest to the altar room door.Barjin shut the door behind his zombie, not wanting to be distracted by the noises outside.He took out his spellbook, turned to the section on necromantic practices, and took out his necromancer’s stone.The priest’s chanting went on for quite some time, and all the while he dropped pinches of the ash onto the wrapped corpse.When the ceramic urn was emptied, the priest broke it apart, rubbing it clean on the receptacle body’s linen.Khalif’s spirit had been contained in the whole of the ash; the absence of the slightest motes could prove disastrous.Barjin became distracted by the necromancer’s stone when it began to glow with an eerie, purple-black light.The priest snapped his gaze back to the mummy, his attention caught by a sudden red glow as two dots of light appeared behind the linen wrappings that covered the corpse’s eyes.Barjin covered his hand in clean cloth and carefully pulled away the linen.He fell back with a start.The mummy rose before him.It looked upon the priest with utter hatred, its eyes burning as bright red dots.Barjin knew that mummies, like most monsters of the netherworld, hated all living things, and Barjin, for the moment anyway, was a living thing.“Back, Khalif!” Barjin commanded as forcefully as he could manage.The mummy took another stiff-legged step forward.“Back, I say!” Barjin snarled, replacing his fear with determined anger.“It was I who retrieved your spirit, and here in my service you shall stay until I, Barjin, release you to your eternal rest!”He thought his words pitifully inept, but the mummy responded, sliding back to its original position.“Turn away!” Barjin cried, and the mummy did.A smile spread wide over the priest’s face.He had dealt with denizens of the lower planes many times before and had animated simple undead monsters, like Mullivy, but the mummy was a new and higher step for him.
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dnd214
He had called to a powerful spirit, torn it from the grave, and forced it under his control.Barjin moved back to the door.“Come in, Mullivy,” he ordered in a mirthful tone.“Come and meet your new brother.”EIGHTCATALYSTPikel shook his hairy head and continued stirring the cauldron’s contents with his huge wooden spoon as Cadderly considered Ivan’s grim news.“Can you finish the crossbow?” Cadderly asked.“I can,” Ivan replied, “but me thinkin’s that you should be more worried about yer own fate, boy.The headmistress was not smiling much when she found her tapestry in my kitchen—not smiling a bit when she saw that Pikel had spilled gravy on one corner.”Cadderly flinched at that remark.Headmistress Pertelope was a tolerant woman, especially of Cadderly and his inventions, but she prized her art collection above all else.The tapestry depicting the elven war was one of her favorites.“I’m sorry if I’ve caused you two any problems,” Cadderly said, though the honest lament didn’t stop him from dipping his fingers into a bowl that Ivan had recently used for cake baking.“I did not believe …”Ivan waved his concerns away.“Not a problem,” the dwarf grunted.“We just blamed everything on yerself.”“Just finish the crossbow,” Cadderly instructed with a halfhearted chuckle.“I will go to Headmistress Pertelope and set things right.”“Perhaps Headmistress Pertelope will come to you,” came a woman’s voice from the kitchen’s doorway, behind Cadderly.The young scholar turned slowly and winced even more when he saw that Headmaster Avery stood beside Pertelope.“So you have elevated your mischief to theft,” Avery remarked.“I fear your time in the library may be drawing to an end, Brother Cadderly, though that unfortunate conclusion was not entirely unexpected, given your heri—”“You must be given the opportunity to explain,” Pertelope interrupted, flashing a sudden dark glare Avery’s way.“I am not pleased, whatever excuse you might offer.”“I had …” Cadderly stuttered.“I meant to …”“Enough!” Avery commanded, glowering at both Cadderly and the headmistress.“You may explain about Headmistress Pertelope’s tapestry later,” he said to Cadderly.“First, do tell me why you are here.Have you no work to do?I thought I had given you enough to keep you busy, but if I thought wrong, I can surely correct the situation.”“I am busy,” Cadderly insisted.“I only wanted to check on the kitchen, to make certain that I hadn’t missed anything in my cleaning.” As soon as Cadderly glanced around, he realized how ludicrous his claim sounded.Ivan and Pikel never kept an overly neat shop.Half the floor was covered with spilled flour, the other half with assorted herbs and sauces.
He had called to a powerful spirit, torn it from the grave, and forced it under his control.Barjin moved back to the door.“Come in, Mullivy,” he ordered in a mirthful tone.“Come and meet your new brother.”EIGHTCATALYSTPikel shook his hairy head and continued stirring the cauldron’s contents with his huge wooden spoon as Cadderly considered Ivan’s grim news.“Can you finish the crossbow?” Cadderly asked.“I can,” Ivan replied, “but me thinkin’s that you should be more worried about yer own fate, boy.The headmistress was not smiling much when she found her tapestry in my kitchen—not smiling a bit when she saw that Pikel had spilled gravy on one corner.”Cadderly flinched at that remark.Headmistress Pertelope was a tolerant woman, especially of Cadderly and his inventions, but she prized her art collection above all else.The tapestry depicting the elven war was one of her favorites.“I’m sorry if I’ve caused you two any problems,” Cadderly said, though the honest lament didn’t stop him from dipping his fingers into a bowl that Ivan had recently used for cake baking.“I did not believe …”Ivan waved his concerns away.“Not a problem,” the dwarf grunted.“We just blamed everything on yerself.”“Just finish the crossbow,” Cadderly instructed with a halfhearted chuckle.“I will go to Headmistress Pertelope and set things right.”“Perhaps Headmistress Pertelope will come to you,” came a woman’s voice from the kitchen’s doorway, behind Cadderly.The young scholar turned slowly and winced even more when he saw that Headmaster Avery stood beside Pertelope.“So you have elevated your mischief to theft,” Avery remarked.“I fear your time in the library may be drawing to an end, Brother Cadderly, though that unfortunate conclusion was not entirely unexpected, given your heri—”“You must be given the opportunity to explain,” Pertelope interrupted, flashing a sudden dark glare Avery’s way.“I am not pleased, whatever excuse you might offer.”“I had …” Cadderly stuttered.“I meant to …”“Enough!” Avery commanded, glowering at both Cadderly and the headmistress.“You may explain about Headmistress Pertelope’s tapestry later,” he said to Cadderly.“First, do tell me why you are here.Have you no work to do?I thought I had given you enough to keep you busy, but if I thought wrong, I can surely correct the situation.”“I am busy,” Cadderly insisted.“I only wanted to check on the kitchen, to make certain that I hadn’t missed anything in my cleaning.” As soon as Cadderly glanced around, he realized how ludicrous his claim sounded.Ivan and Pikel never kept an overly neat shop.Half the floor was covered with spilled flour, the other half with assorted herbs and sauces.
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dnd215
Fungus-lined bowls, some empty and some half full of the last tenday’s meals—some from meals even older than that—sat on every available space, counter, or table.Avery’s brow crinkled as he recognized the lie for what it was.“Do make certain that the task was done correctly, Brother Cadderly,” the headmaster crooned with dripping sarcasm.“Then you may join Brother Rufo in his inventory of the wine cellar.You will be informed of how Dean Thobicus will proceed concerning your greater transgression.” Avery turned and stalked away, but Pertelope did not immediately follow.“I know you meant to return the tapestry,” the stately older woman said.“Might I know why you saw the need to appropriate it at all?You might have asked.”“We only needed it for a few days,” Cadderly replied.He looked to Ivan and indicated the drawer, and the dwarf reached into it and produced the nearly completed crossbow.“For this.”Pertelope’s hazel eyes sparkled at the sight.She moved across the room and tentatively took the small weapon from the dwarf.“Exquisite,” she muttered, truly awed by the reproduction.“My thanks,” Ivan replied proudly.“Oo oi!” Pikel added in a triumphant tone.“I would have shown it to you,” Cadderly explained, “but I thought the surprise would prove more pleasurable when it was completed.”Pertelope smiled warmly at Cadderly.“Can you complete it without the tapestry?”Cadderly nodded.“I will want to see it then, when it’s done,” said the headmistress.“You should have asked for the tapestry,” she scolded.Then she glanced around and added under her breath, “Do not be overly fearful of Headmaster Avery.He’s excitable, but he forgets quickly.He likes you, whatever his bluster.Go, now, to your duties.”Barjin crept from cask to cask, studying the angular man at work sorting wine bottles.The Talonite priest had suspected his victim, the catalyst for the chaos curse, would come from the cellar, but he was no less delighted when he found a man unexpectedly at work there on his very first trip up the rickety stairway.The door to the lower dungeons was cleverly concealed—no doubt by the thirsty groundskeeper—in a thickly packed corner of the huge chamber.The portal probably had been long forgotten by the priests of the library, allowing Barjin easy and secret access.Barjin’s delight diminished considerably when he worked his way far enough around the room to cast some detection spells on the man.The same spells had been ambiguous on the groundskeeper—Barjin had not known for certain whether the old wretch would suffice until the warding glyphs had blown him back from the bottle—but the spells were not so ambiguous concerning the newcomer.
Fungus-lined bowls, some empty and some half full of the last tenday’s meals—some from meals even older than that—sat on every available space, counter, or table.Avery’s brow crinkled as he recognized the lie for what it was.“Do make certain that the task was done correctly, Brother Cadderly,” the headmaster crooned with dripping sarcasm.“Then you may join Brother Rufo in his inventory of the wine cellar.You will be informed of how Dean Thobicus will proceed concerning your greater transgression.” Avery turned and stalked away, but Pertelope did not immediately follow.“I know you meant to return the tapestry,” the stately older woman said.“Might I know why you saw the need to appropriate it at all?You might have asked.”“We only needed it for a few days,” Cadderly replied.He looked to Ivan and indicated the drawer, and the dwarf reached into it and produced the nearly completed crossbow.“For this.”Pertelope’s hazel eyes sparkled at the sight.She moved across the room and tentatively took the small weapon from the dwarf.“Exquisite,” she muttered, truly awed by the reproduction.“My thanks,” Ivan replied proudly.“Oo oi!” Pikel added in a triumphant tone.“I would have shown it to you,” Cadderly explained, “but I thought the surprise would prove more pleasurable when it was completed.”Pertelope smiled warmly at Cadderly.“Can you complete it without the tapestry?”Cadderly nodded.“I will want to see it then, when it’s done,” said the headmistress.“You should have asked for the tapestry,” she scolded.Then she glanced around and added under her breath, “Do not be overly fearful of Headmaster Avery.He’s excitable, but he forgets quickly.He likes you, whatever his bluster.Go, now, to your duties.”Barjin crept from cask to cask, studying the angular man at work sorting wine bottles.The Talonite priest had suspected his victim, the catalyst for the chaos curse, would come from the cellar, but he was no less delighted when he found a man unexpectedly at work there on his very first trip up the rickety stairway.The door to the lower dungeons was cleverly concealed—no doubt by the thirsty groundskeeper—in a thickly packed corner of the huge chamber.The portal probably had been long forgotten by the priests of the library, allowing Barjin easy and secret access.Barjin’s delight diminished considerably when he worked his way far enough around the room to cast some detection spells on the man.The same spells had been ambiguous on the groundskeeper—Barjin had not known for certain whether the old wretch would suffice until the warding glyphs had blown him back from the bottle—but the spells were not so ambiguous concerning the newcomer.
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dnd216
The man was not possessed of innocence and would have no more luck with the magic bottle than did the groundskeeper.“Hypocrite,” Barjin grumbled silently.He rested back in the shadows and wondered how he might still find some use for the angular man.Certainly visitors to the wine cellar were uncommon and Barjin couldn’t allow anyone to pass through without extracting some benefit.He was still contemplating things when a second priest unexpectedly came skipping down the stairwell.Barjin watched curiously as the smiling young man, hair bouncing around his shoulders under a wide-brimmed hat, moved to confer with the angular worker.Barjin’s detection spells had not yet expired and when he focused on the new arrival, his curiosity turned to delight.There was his catalyst.He watched a bit longer—long enough to discern that there was some tension between the two—then sneaked back to the concealed door.He knew that his next critical moves must be planned carefully.“Should we work together?” Cadderly offered in an exaggerated, bubbly voice.Kierkan Rufo glared at him.“Have you any tricks planned for me now?” he asked.“Any new baubles to show off at my expense?”“Are you saying you didn’t deserve it?” Cadderly asked.“You started the battle when you brought Avery to my room.”“Pity the mighty scribe,” came the sarcastic reply.Cadderly started to respond, but held his tongue.He sympathized with Rufo, truly an attentive priest.Cadderly knew that the headmasters had pushed Rufo aside after Cadderly’s success with the wizard’s spellbook.The wound was too fresh to mend it then, Cadderly knew, and neither he nor Rufo had any desire to work together.Rufo explained his logging system for the inventory so that their lists would be compatible.Cadderly saw several possibilities for improvement but again said nothing.“Do you understand?” Rufo asked, handing Cadderly a counting chart.Cadderly nodded.“A good system,” he offered.Rufo bruskly waved him away and continued his inventory, working his way slowly around the long, shadowy racks.A flash of light in a distant corner caught the man’s attention, but it was gone as fast as it had appeared.Rufo cocked his head, took up his torch, and inched his way over.A wall of casks confronted him, but he noticed an opening around to the side.“Is anyone there?” Rufo asked, a bit nervously.Torch leading the way, he peeked into the opening and saw the ancient portal.“What is it?” came a voice behind him.Rufo jumped in surprise, dropped his torch at his feet, and upset a cask as he danced away from the flames.He was not comforted when the crashing had ended and he looked back into Cadderly’s grinning face.“It’s a door,” Rufo replied through gritted teeth.Cadderly picked up the torch and peered in.“Now where might that lead?” he asked.“It is none of our concern,” Rufo said.“Of course it is,” Cadderly retorted.“It’s part of the library and the library is our concern.”“We must tell a headmaster and let him decide the proper way to investigate it,” Rufo offered.
The man was not possessed of innocence and would have no more luck with the magic bottle than did the groundskeeper.“Hypocrite,” Barjin grumbled silently.He rested back in the shadows and wondered how he might still find some use for the angular man.Certainly visitors to the wine cellar were uncommon and Barjin couldn’t allow anyone to pass through without extracting some benefit.He was still contemplating things when a second priest unexpectedly came skipping down the stairwell.Barjin watched curiously as the smiling young man, hair bouncing around his shoulders under a wide-brimmed hat, moved to confer with the angular worker.Barjin’s detection spells had not yet expired and when he focused on the new arrival, his curiosity turned to delight.There was his catalyst.He watched a bit longer—long enough to discern that there was some tension between the two—then sneaked back to the concealed door.He knew that his next critical moves must be planned carefully.“Should we work together?” Cadderly offered in an exaggerated, bubbly voice.Kierkan Rufo glared at him.“Have you any tricks planned for me now?” he asked.“Any new baubles to show off at my expense?”“Are you saying you didn’t deserve it?” Cadderly asked.“You started the battle when you brought Avery to my room.”“Pity the mighty scribe,” came the sarcastic reply.Cadderly started to respond, but held his tongue.He sympathized with Rufo, truly an attentive priest.Cadderly knew that the headmasters had pushed Rufo aside after Cadderly’s success with the wizard’s spellbook.The wound was too fresh to mend it then, Cadderly knew, and neither he nor Rufo had any desire to work together.Rufo explained his logging system for the inventory so that their lists would be compatible.Cadderly saw several possibilities for improvement but again said nothing.“Do you understand?” Rufo asked, handing Cadderly a counting chart.Cadderly nodded.“A good system,” he offered.Rufo bruskly waved him away and continued his inventory, working his way slowly around the long, shadowy racks.A flash of light in a distant corner caught the man’s attention, but it was gone as fast as it had appeared.Rufo cocked his head, took up his torch, and inched his way over.A wall of casks confronted him, but he noticed an opening around to the side.“Is anyone there?” Rufo asked, a bit nervously.Torch leading the way, he peeked into the opening and saw the ancient portal.“What is it?” came a voice behind him.Rufo jumped in surprise, dropped his torch at his feet, and upset a cask as he danced away from the flames.He was not comforted when the crashing had ended and he looked back into Cadderly’s grinning face.“It’s a door,” Rufo replied through gritted teeth.Cadderly picked up the torch and peered in.“Now where might that lead?” he asked.“It is none of our concern,” Rufo said.“Of course it is,” Cadderly retorted.“It’s part of the library and the library is our concern.”“We must tell a headmaster and let him decide the proper way to investigate it,” Rufo offered.
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dnd217
“Now give me the torch.”Cadderly ignored him and advanced to the small wooden portal.It opened easily, revealing a descending stairway, and Cadderly was surprised and delighted once more.“You surely will get us into even more trouble!” Rufo complained at his back.“Do you wish to count and clean until your hundredth birthday?”“To the lowest levels?” Cadderly said excitedly, ignoring the warning.He looked back at Rufo, his face glowing brightly in the torchlight.The nervous Rufo backed away from the weirdly shadowed specter.He seemed not to understand his companion’s excitement.“The lowest levels,” Cadderly repeated as though those words should hold some significance.“When the library was originally built, most of it was below ground.The Snowflakes were wilder back then, and the founders thought an underground complex more easily defended.The lowest catacombs were abandoned as the mountains were tamed and the building expanded, and eventually it was believed that all the exits had been sealed.” He looked back to the enticing stair.“Apparently that was not the case.”“Then we must tell a headmaster,” Rufo declared nervously.“It is not our place to investigate hidden doorways.”Cadderly shot him an incredulous stare, hardly believing the man could be so childish.“We will tell them,” the young scholar agreed, poking his head through the dusty opening.“In time.”A short distance away, Barjin watched the two men with nervous anticipation, one hand holding tightly to the security of his cruel mace.The priest knew that he had taken quite a chance in calling up the magical light signaling the portal’s location.If the two men decided to go and tell their masters, Barjin would have to intercept them—forcefully.But Barjin had never been patient, which was why he had come directly to the Edificant Library in the first place.There was a degree of danger in his gambles, but the potential gains of both actions could not be ignored.If the two scholars decided to explore the hidden space Barjin would be one giant step closer to realizing his desires.They disappeared from sight around the casks, so Barjin crept closer.“The stairs are fairly solid, though they’re ancient,” he heard the younger of the two call back, “and they go down a long, long way.”Appearing skeptical, even afraid, the older scholar slowly backed out of the concealed area.“The headmaster,” he muttered softly and turned abruptly for the stairs.Barjin stepped out before him.Before the man could even cry out, the Talonite priest’s spell fell over him.His gaze locked fast to the priest’s dark eyes, held in place by Barjin’s hypnotic stare.In his studies of wizardry, enhantments had always been the charismatic Barjin’s strength.
“Now give me the torch.”Cadderly ignored him and advanced to the small wooden portal.It opened easily, revealing a descending stairway, and Cadderly was surprised and delighted once more.“You surely will get us into even more trouble!” Rufo complained at his back.“Do you wish to count and clean until your hundredth birthday?”“To the lowest levels?” Cadderly said excitedly, ignoring the warning.He looked back at Rufo, his face glowing brightly in the torchlight.The nervous Rufo backed away from the weirdly shadowed specter.He seemed not to understand his companion’s excitement.“The lowest levels,” Cadderly repeated as though those words should hold some significance.“When the library was originally built, most of it was below ground.The Snowflakes were wilder back then, and the founders thought an underground complex more easily defended.The lowest catacombs were abandoned as the mountains were tamed and the building expanded, and eventually it was believed that all the exits had been sealed.” He looked back to the enticing stair.“Apparently that was not the case.”“Then we must tell a headmaster,” Rufo declared nervously.“It is not our place to investigate hidden doorways.”Cadderly shot him an incredulous stare, hardly believing the man could be so childish.“We will tell them,” the young scholar agreed, poking his head through the dusty opening.“In time.”A short distance away, Barjin watched the two men with nervous anticipation, one hand holding tightly to the security of his cruel mace.The priest knew that he had taken quite a chance in calling up the magical light signaling the portal’s location.If the two men decided to go and tell their masters, Barjin would have to intercept them—forcefully.But Barjin had never been patient, which was why he had come directly to the Edificant Library in the first place.There was a degree of danger in his gambles, but the potential gains of both actions could not be ignored.If the two scholars decided to explore the hidden space Barjin would be one giant step closer to realizing his desires.They disappeared from sight around the casks, so Barjin crept closer.“The stairs are fairly solid, though they’re ancient,” he heard the younger of the two call back, “and they go down a long, long way.”Appearing skeptical, even afraid, the older scholar slowly backed out of the concealed area.“The headmaster,” he muttered softly and turned abruptly for the stairs.Barjin stepped out before him.Before the man could even cry out, the Talonite priest’s spell fell over him.His gaze locked fast to the priest’s dark eyes, held in place by Barjin’s hypnotic stare.In his studies of wizardry, enhantments had always been the charismatic Barjin’s strength.
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dnd218
His adoption of Talona had not diminished that touch, though the Lady of Poison’s clerics were not normally adept at such magic, and the scholar was not a difficult opponent.Nor were Barjin’s magically enhanced suggestions to the enthralled man contrary to the scholar’s deepest desires.Cadderly creeped slowly toward the open door, never taking his gaze from the enticing blackness beyond the meager limits of his torchlight.What wonders remained down there in the oldest rooms of the Edificant Library?he wondered.What secrets long forgotten about the founders?“We should investigate—we’ll be working down here for many days,” Cadderly said, leaning forward and peering over the stairs.“No one would have to know until we decided to tell them.”Despite his consuming curiosity for the mysteries before him, Cadderly kept enough wits about him to realize that he had been betrayed as soon as he felt a boot against his lower back.He grabbed the flimsy railing, but the wood broke away in his hand.He managed to look back for just an instant and saw Rufo crouched in the low doorway, a weird, emotionless expression on his dark and hollowed face.Cadderly’s torch flew away, and he tumbled into the blackness, bouncing down the stairs and coming to rest heavily on the stone floor below.All the world fell into blackness; he did not hear the door close above him.Kierkan Rufo went right from the wine cellar to his room that night, wanting to confront no one and respond to no questions.The recent events were but a blur to the charmed man.He vaguely remembered what he had done to Cadderly, though he couldn’t be certain if it had been real or a dream.He remembered, too, closing and blocking off the hidden door.There was something else, or someone else, though, in the picture, hovering off to the side in the shadows, just out of reach of Rufo’s consciousness.Try as he may, poor Rufo could not remember anything about the shadowy figure.In the back of his mind, Rufo retained the strange sensation that he had made a friend this night, one who understood his frustrations and who agreed that Cadderly was an unworthy upstart.NINEBARJIN’S WORLDCadderly awoke in utter darkness.He couldn’t his hand if he waved his fingers just an inch in front of his face.His other senses told him much, though.He could smell the thick dust and feel the sticky lines of cobwebs.“Rufo!” he called, but his voice carried nowhere in the dead air, just reminded him that he was alone in the dark.He crawled to his knees and found that he was sore in a dozen places, particularly on the side of his head, and that his tunic was crusted as if with dried blood.His torch lay beside him, but it was cool to the touch.Cadderly realized that it had burned out some time ago.Cadderly snapped his fingers then reached down to his belt.A moment later, he popped the cap from a cylindrical tube and a ray of light cut through the darkness.Even to Cadderly, the light seemed like an intruder in corridors that had known only darkness for centuries uncounted.A dozen small creatures scuttled away on the edges of Cadderly’s vision, just out of the light.Better to have them scurry away, Cadderly thought, than to have them lay in wait in the darkness for him to pass.Cadderly examined his immediate surroundings with the light tube’s aperture wide open, mostly focusing on the shattered stairway beside him.Several stairs remained attached at the top, near the closed door, but most of the boards lay scattered about, apparently shattered by Cadderly’s heavy descent.
His adoption of Talona had not diminished that touch, though the Lady of Poison’s clerics were not normally adept at such magic, and the scholar was not a difficult opponent.Nor were Barjin’s magically enhanced suggestions to the enthralled man contrary to the scholar’s deepest desires.Cadderly creeped slowly toward the open door, never taking his gaze from the enticing blackness beyond the meager limits of his torchlight.What wonders remained down there in the oldest rooms of the Edificant Library?he wondered.What secrets long forgotten about the founders?“We should investigate—we’ll be working down here for many days,” Cadderly said, leaning forward and peering over the stairs.“No one would have to know until we decided to tell them.”Despite his consuming curiosity for the mysteries before him, Cadderly kept enough wits about him to realize that he had been betrayed as soon as he felt a boot against his lower back.He grabbed the flimsy railing, but the wood broke away in his hand.He managed to look back for just an instant and saw Rufo crouched in the low doorway, a weird, emotionless expression on his dark and hollowed face.Cadderly’s torch flew away, and he tumbled into the blackness, bouncing down the stairs and coming to rest heavily on the stone floor below.All the world fell into blackness; he did not hear the door close above him.Kierkan Rufo went right from the wine cellar to his room that night, wanting to confront no one and respond to no questions.The recent events were but a blur to the charmed man.He vaguely remembered what he had done to Cadderly, though he couldn’t be certain if it had been real or a dream.He remembered, too, closing and blocking off the hidden door.There was something else, or someone else, though, in the picture, hovering off to the side in the shadows, just out of reach of Rufo’s consciousness.Try as he may, poor Rufo could not remember anything about the shadowy figure.In the back of his mind, Rufo retained the strange sensation that he had made a friend this night, one who understood his frustrations and who agreed that Cadderly was an unworthy upstart.NINEBARJIN’S WORLDCadderly awoke in utter darkness.He couldn’t his hand if he waved his fingers just an inch in front of his face.His other senses told him much, though.He could smell the thick dust and feel the sticky lines of cobwebs.“Rufo!” he called, but his voice carried nowhere in the dead air, just reminded him that he was alone in the dark.He crawled to his knees and found that he was sore in a dozen places, particularly on the side of his head, and that his tunic was crusted as if with dried blood.His torch lay beside him, but it was cool to the touch.Cadderly realized that it had burned out some time ago.Cadderly snapped his fingers then reached down to his belt.A moment later, he popped the cap from a cylindrical tube and a ray of light cut through the darkness.Even to Cadderly, the light seemed like an intruder in corridors that had known only darkness for centuries uncounted.A dozen small creatures scuttled away on the edges of Cadderly’s vision, just out of the light.Better to have them scurry away, Cadderly thought, than to have them lay in wait in the darkness for him to pass.Cadderly examined his immediate surroundings with the light tube’s aperture wide open, mostly focusing on the shattered stairway beside him.Several stairs remained attached at the top, near the closed door, but most of the boards lay scattered about, apparently shattered by Cadderly’s heavy descent.
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dnd219
No easy path back that way, he told himself, and he narrowed the beam to see down the greater distances.He was in a corridor, one of many crisscrossing and weaving together to form a honeycomb-type maze, judging from the many passages lining both walls.The supporting arches were similar to those of the library above, but being an earlier architectural design they were even thicker and lower, and seemed lower still covered with layers of dust, hanging webs, and promises of crawly things.When Cadderly took the time to examine himself, he saw that his tunic was, as he expected, crusted with his own blood.He noticed a broken board lying next to him, sharply splintered and darkly stained.Tentatively, the young priest unbuttoned his tunic and pulled it aside, expecting a garish wound.What he found instead was a scab and a bruise.Though the more dutiful priests of Deneir, even those Cadderly’s age, were accomplished healers, Cadderly was hardly practiced in the medicinal arts.He could tell, though, by the stains on the splintered board, that his wound had been deep and it was obvious from his soaked shirt alone that he had lost quite a bit of blood.The wound was undeniably on the mend, though.“Rufo?” Cadderly called again, wondering if his companion had come down behind him and healed him.There was no answer, not a sound in the dusty corridor.“If not Rufo, then who?” Cadderly asked himself softly.He shrugged his shoulders a moment later; the riddle was quite beyond him.“Young and strong,” Cadderly congratulated himself, having no other answer.He stretched the rest of his aches out and finished his survey of the area, wondering if there might be some way to reconstruct enough of the stairway to get back near the door.He set his light tube on the floor and pieced together some boards.The wood was terribly deteriorated and smashed beyond repair—too much so, Cadderly thought, to have been caused just by his fall.Several pieces were no more than splinters, as though they had been battered repeatedly.After a short while, Cadderly gave up the idea of going back through the wine cellar.The old, rotted wood would never support his weight even if he could find some way to piece it back together.“It could be worse,” he whispered aloud, picking up his light tube and taking his spindle-disks from a pouch.He took a deep breath to steady himself and started off—any way seemed as good as another.Crawling things darted to dark holes on the perimeter of the light beam, and a shudder coursed along Cadderly’s spine as he imagined again what this journey might be like in darkness.The walls were of brickwork in most of the passages, crushed under uncountable tonnage and cracked in many places.Bas-reliefs had worn away, the lines of an artist’s chisel filled in by the dust of centuries, the fine detail of sculptures replaced by the artwork of spiderwebs.Somewhere in the dark distance, Cadderly heard the drip of water, a dull, dead thump-thump.“The heartbeat of the catacombs,” Cadderly muttered grimly, and the thought did nothing to comfort him.He wandered for a while, trying to formulate some logical scheme for conquering the tunnels.While the builders of the original library had been an orderly group and had carefully thought out the catacomb design, the initial purposes and courses of the various tunnels had been adapted over the decades to fit the changing needs of the structure above.Every time Cadderly thought he had some sense of where he might be, the next corner showed him differently.He moved along one low, wide corridor, taking care to keep away from the rotting crates lining the walls.If he was in a storage area, he reasoned, there might be an outside exit nearby, a tunnel large enough for wagons, perhaps.The corridor ended at a wide arch that fanned out diagonally under two smaller arches to the left and the right.
No easy path back that way, he told himself, and he narrowed the beam to see down the greater distances.He was in a corridor, one of many crisscrossing and weaving together to form a honeycomb-type maze, judging from the many passages lining both walls.The supporting arches were similar to those of the library above, but being an earlier architectural design they were even thicker and lower, and seemed lower still covered with layers of dust, hanging webs, and promises of crawly things.When Cadderly took the time to examine himself, he saw that his tunic was, as he expected, crusted with his own blood.He noticed a broken board lying next to him, sharply splintered and darkly stained.Tentatively, the young priest unbuttoned his tunic and pulled it aside, expecting a garish wound.What he found instead was a scab and a bruise.Though the more dutiful priests of Deneir, even those Cadderly’s age, were accomplished healers, Cadderly was hardly practiced in the medicinal arts.He could tell, though, by the stains on the splintered board, that his wound had been deep and it was obvious from his soaked shirt alone that he had lost quite a bit of blood.The wound was undeniably on the mend, though.“Rufo?” Cadderly called again, wondering if his companion had come down behind him and healed him.There was no answer, not a sound in the dusty corridor.“If not Rufo, then who?” Cadderly asked himself softly.He shrugged his shoulders a moment later; the riddle was quite beyond him.“Young and strong,” Cadderly congratulated himself, having no other answer.He stretched the rest of his aches out and finished his survey of the area, wondering if there might be some way to reconstruct enough of the stairway to get back near the door.He set his light tube on the floor and pieced together some boards.The wood was terribly deteriorated and smashed beyond repair—too much so, Cadderly thought, to have been caused just by his fall.Several pieces were no more than splinters, as though they had been battered repeatedly.After a short while, Cadderly gave up the idea of going back through the wine cellar.The old, rotted wood would never support his weight even if he could find some way to piece it back together.“It could be worse,” he whispered aloud, picking up his light tube and taking his spindle-disks from a pouch.He took a deep breath to steady himself and started off—any way seemed as good as another.Crawling things darted to dark holes on the perimeter of the light beam, and a shudder coursed along Cadderly’s spine as he imagined again what this journey might be like in darkness.The walls were of brickwork in most of the passages, crushed under uncountable tonnage and cracked in many places.Bas-reliefs had worn away, the lines of an artist’s chisel filled in by the dust of centuries, the fine detail of sculptures replaced by the artwork of spiderwebs.Somewhere in the dark distance, Cadderly heard the drip of water, a dull, dead thump-thump.“The heartbeat of the catacombs,” Cadderly muttered grimly, and the thought did nothing to comfort him.He wandered for a while, trying to formulate some logical scheme for conquering the tunnels.While the builders of the original library had been an orderly group and had carefully thought out the catacomb design, the initial purposes and courses of the various tunnels had been adapted over the decades to fit the changing needs of the structure above.Every time Cadderly thought he had some sense of where he might be, the next corner showed him differently.He moved along one low, wide corridor, taking care to keep away from the rotting crates lining the walls.If he was in a storage area, he reasoned, there might be an outside exit nearby, a tunnel large enough for wagons, perhaps.The corridor ended at a wide arch that fanned out diagonally under two smaller arches to the left and the right.
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dnd220
They were congested by webs so thick that Cadderly had to pull a plank from the crates just to poke his way through.The passages beyond the arched intersection were identical layered stonework and only half as wide as the corridor he’d just traversed.His instinct told him to go left, but it was just a guess.In the winding ways Cadderly really had little idea where he was in relation to the buildings above him.He kept his pace swift, following the narrow beam faithfully and trying to ignore the rat squeaks and imagined perils to the sides and behind him.His fears were persistent, though, and each step came with more effort.He shifted the beam from side to side and saw that this passage’s walls were lined with dark holes and alcoves—hiding places, Cadderly imagined, for crouched monsters.Cadderly turned slowly, bringing his light to bear, and realized that in his narrow focus on the path ahead, he had crossed the first few sets of these alcoves.A shudder ran through his spine.He figured out the purpose of the alcoves before his light ever angled properly for him to see inside one.Cadderly jumped back.The distant thump-thump of the catacomb heartbeat remained steady, but the young scholar’s own heart missed a few beats, for the beam of light fell upon a seated skeleton just a few feet to Cadderly’s side.If the passage had been intended for storage, its goods were macabre indeed!Where once may have been stored crates of food, there was only food for the carrion eaters.Cadderly had entered the crypts, the burial vaults for the earliest scholars of the Edificant Library.The skeleton sat impassive and oblivious in its tattered shroud, hand bones crossed over its lap.Webs extended from a dozen angles in the small alcove, seeming to support the skeleton in its upright posture.Cadderly sublimated his mounting terror, reminded himself that they were simply natural remains, the remains of great men, good-hearted and thinking men, and that he, too, one day would resemble the skeleton seated before him.He looked back and counted four alcoves on either side of the corridor behind him and considered whether he should turn back.Stubbornly, Cadderly dismissed all his fears as irrational and focused again on the path before him.He kept his light in the middle of the passage, not wanting to look into any more of the alcoves, not wanting to test his determination any further.But his eyes inevitably glanced to the side, to the hushed darkness.He imagined skeletal heads turning slowly to watch him pass.Some fears were not so easily conquered.A scuffle behind and to his left spun Cadderly around, his spindle-disks at the ready.His defensive reflexes launched the weapon before his mind could register the source of the noise: a small rat crawling across a wobbling skull.The rodent flew away into webs and darkness when the disks struck full on the skull’s forehead.The wobbly skull flew, too, rebounding off the alcove’s back wall, rolling down the front of its former body, and coming to a rattling stop between the seated skeleton’s legs.A chuckle burst from Cadderly’s mouth, relieved laughter at his own cowardice.The sound died away quickly as the dusty stillness reclaimed the ancient passage, and Cadderly relaxed … until the skeleton reached down between its legs and retrieved its fallen head.Cadderly stumbled backward against the opposite wall—and promptly felt a bony grip on his elbow.He tore away, snapped his spindle-disks at this newest foe, and turned to flee, not pausing to note the damage his weapon had exacted.
They were congested by webs so thick that Cadderly had to pull a plank from the crates just to poke his way through.The passages beyond the arched intersection were identical layered stonework and only half as wide as the corridor he’d just traversed.His instinct told him to go left, but it was just a guess.In the winding ways Cadderly really had little idea where he was in relation to the buildings above him.He kept his pace swift, following the narrow beam faithfully and trying to ignore the rat squeaks and imagined perils to the sides and behind him.His fears were persistent, though, and each step came with more effort.He shifted the beam from side to side and saw that this passage’s walls were lined with dark holes and alcoves—hiding places, Cadderly imagined, for crouched monsters.Cadderly turned slowly, bringing his light to bear, and realized that in his narrow focus on the path ahead, he had crossed the first few sets of these alcoves.A shudder ran through his spine.He figured out the purpose of the alcoves before his light ever angled properly for him to see inside one.Cadderly jumped back.The distant thump-thump of the catacomb heartbeat remained steady, but the young scholar’s own heart missed a few beats, for the beam of light fell upon a seated skeleton just a few feet to Cadderly’s side.If the passage had been intended for storage, its goods were macabre indeed!Where once may have been stored crates of food, there was only food for the carrion eaters.Cadderly had entered the crypts, the burial vaults for the earliest scholars of the Edificant Library.The skeleton sat impassive and oblivious in its tattered shroud, hand bones crossed over its lap.Webs extended from a dozen angles in the small alcove, seeming to support the skeleton in its upright posture.Cadderly sublimated his mounting terror, reminded himself that they were simply natural remains, the remains of great men, good-hearted and thinking men, and that he, too, one day would resemble the skeleton seated before him.He looked back and counted four alcoves on either side of the corridor behind him and considered whether he should turn back.Stubbornly, Cadderly dismissed all his fears as irrational and focused again on the path before him.He kept his light in the middle of the passage, not wanting to look into any more of the alcoves, not wanting to test his determination any further.But his eyes inevitably glanced to the side, to the hushed darkness.He imagined skeletal heads turning slowly to watch him pass.Some fears were not so easily conquered.A scuffle behind and to his left spun Cadderly around, his spindle-disks at the ready.His defensive reflexes launched the weapon before his mind could register the source of the noise: a small rat crawling across a wobbling skull.The rodent flew away into webs and darkness when the disks struck full on the skull’s forehead.The wobbly skull flew, too, rebounding off the alcove’s back wall, rolling down the front of its former body, and coming to a rattling stop between the seated skeleton’s legs.A chuckle burst from Cadderly’s mouth, relieved laughter at his own cowardice.The sound died away quickly as the dusty stillness reclaimed the ancient passage, and Cadderly relaxed … until the skeleton reached down between its legs and retrieved its fallen head.Cadderly stumbled backward against the opposite wall—and promptly felt a bony grip on his elbow.He tore away, snapped his spindle-disks at this newest foe, and turned to flee, not pausing to note the damage his weapon had exacted.
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dnd221
As his light swung around, though, Cadderly saw that the skeletons he had passed had risen and congregated in the corridor.They advanced, their faces locked in lipless grins, their arms outstretched as though they meant to pull Cadderly fully into their dark realm.He had only one path open and he went with all speed, trying to keep his eyes ahead, trying to ignore the rattling of still more skeletons rising from every alcove he passed.He could only hope that no monstrous spiders were nearby as he charged right through another heavily webbed archway, tasting webs and spitting them out in disgust.He stumbled and fell more than once but always scrambled back to his feet, running blindly, knowing not where he should run, only what he must keep behind him.More passages.More crypts.The rattling mounted behind him and he heard again, startlingly clear, the thump-thump water-drop heartbeat of the catacombs.He burst through another webbed archway, then another, then came to a three-way intersection.He turned to the left but saw that the skeletons down that passage had already risen to block his way.He ran to the right, too afraid to sort out any patterns, too distracted to realize that he was being herded.He came to another low archway, noted that it had no webs, but hadn’t the time to pause to consider the implications.He was in a wider, higher passage, a grander hall, and saw that the alcoves here were filled not by raggedly shrouded skeletons, but by standing sarcophagi, exquisitely detailed and gilded in precious metals and gemstones.Cadderly only noticed them for a moment, for down at the end of the long hallway he saw light—not daylight, which he would have welcomed with open arms, but light nonetheless—peeking out at him from the cracks and loosened seals of an ancient door.The rattling intensified, booming all around him.An eerie red mist appeared at Cadderly’s feet, following his progress, adding a surreal and dreamlike quality.Reality and nightmare battled in his rushing thoughts, reason fighting fear.The resolution to that battle lay in the light, Cadderly knew.The young scholar staggered forward, his feet dragging as though the mist itself weighed heavily upon them.He lowered his shoulder, meaning to push right through the door, to charge right into the light.The door squeaked open just before he collided, and he stumbled in, sinking down to his knees on the clean floor within.Then the door swung closed of its own accord, leaving the red mist and the macabre rattle out in the darkness.Cadderly remained very still for a long moment, confused and trying to slow his racing heart.After a moment, Cadderly rose shakily to survey the room, hardly even registering that the door had closed behind him.He was struck by the cleanliness of the room, so out of place in the rest of the dungeons.He recognized the place as a former study hall.It was similar in design and contained similar furniture to those still in use in the library proper.Several small cabinets, work tables, and free-standing two-sided bookcases sat at regular intervals in the room, and a brazier rested on a tripod along the right-hand wall.Torches burned in two sconces, and the walls were lined with bookshelves, empty except for a few scattered scrolls, yellow with age, and an occasional small sculpture, once a book end, perhaps.Cadderly’s gaze went to the brazier first, thinking it oddly out of place, but it was the display in the center that ultimately commanded his attention.A long, narrow table had been placed there, with a purple and crimson blanket spread over it hanging down the front and sides.Atop the table was a podium on which sat a clear bottle sealed with a large cork and filled with some red glowing substance.
As his light swung around, though, Cadderly saw that the skeletons he had passed had risen and congregated in the corridor.They advanced, their faces locked in lipless grins, their arms outstretched as though they meant to pull Cadderly fully into their dark realm.He had only one path open and he went with all speed, trying to keep his eyes ahead, trying to ignore the rattling of still more skeletons rising from every alcove he passed.He could only hope that no monstrous spiders were nearby as he charged right through another heavily webbed archway, tasting webs and spitting them out in disgust.He stumbled and fell more than once but always scrambled back to his feet, running blindly, knowing not where he should run, only what he must keep behind him.More passages.More crypts.The rattling mounted behind him and he heard again, startlingly clear, the thump-thump water-drop heartbeat of the catacombs.He burst through another webbed archway, then another, then came to a three-way intersection.He turned to the left but saw that the skeletons down that passage had already risen to block his way.He ran to the right, too afraid to sort out any patterns, too distracted to realize that he was being herded.He came to another low archway, noted that it had no webs, but hadn’t the time to pause to consider the implications.He was in a wider, higher passage, a grander hall, and saw that the alcoves here were filled not by raggedly shrouded skeletons, but by standing sarcophagi, exquisitely detailed and gilded in precious metals and gemstones.Cadderly only noticed them for a moment, for down at the end of the long hallway he saw light—not daylight, which he would have welcomed with open arms, but light nonetheless—peeking out at him from the cracks and loosened seals of an ancient door.The rattling intensified, booming all around him.An eerie red mist appeared at Cadderly’s feet, following his progress, adding a surreal and dreamlike quality.Reality and nightmare battled in his rushing thoughts, reason fighting fear.The resolution to that battle lay in the light, Cadderly knew.The young scholar staggered forward, his feet dragging as though the mist itself weighed heavily upon them.He lowered his shoulder, meaning to push right through the door, to charge right into the light.The door squeaked open just before he collided, and he stumbled in, sinking down to his knees on the clean floor within.Then the door swung closed of its own accord, leaving the red mist and the macabre rattle out in the darkness.Cadderly remained very still for a long moment, confused and trying to slow his racing heart.After a moment, Cadderly rose shakily to survey the room, hardly even registering that the door had closed behind him.He was struck by the cleanliness of the room, so out of place in the rest of the dungeons.He recognized the place as a former study hall.It was similar in design and contained similar furniture to those still in use in the library proper.Several small cabinets, work tables, and free-standing two-sided bookcases sat at regular intervals in the room, and a brazier rested on a tripod along the right-hand wall.Torches burned in two sconces, and the walls were lined with bookshelves, empty except for a few scattered scrolls, yellow with age, and an occasional small sculpture, once a book end, perhaps.Cadderly’s gaze went to the brazier first, thinking it oddly out of place, but it was the display in the center that ultimately commanded his attention.A long, narrow table had been placed there, with a purple and crimson blanket spread over it hanging down the front and sides.Atop the table was a podium on which sat a clear bottle sealed with a large cork and filled with some red glowing substance.
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dnd222
In front of the bottle was a silvery bowl, platinum perhaps, intricately designed and covered with strange runes.Cadderly was hardly surprised, or alarmed, at the blue mist he noted covering the floors and swirling around his legs.The entire adventure had taken on a blurry feeling of unreality to him.Rationally, he could tell himself that he was wide awake, but the dull ache on the side of his skull made him wonder just how badly he had banged his head.Whatever was happening, though, Cadderly was more intrigued than afraid, so with great effort he forced himself to his feet and took a cautious step toward the table.There were designs, tridents capped by three bottles, woven into the blanket.He noticed that the bottles of the designs were similar to the real one atop the table.Cadderly thought he knew most of the major holy symbols and alliance crests of the central Realms, but that one was totally foreign.He wished he had prepared some spells that might reveal more of the strange altar, if it was an altar.Cadderly smiled at his own ineptitude.He rarely prepared any spells at all, and even when he took the time, his accomplishments with clerical magic were far from highly regarded.Cadderly was more scholar than priest, and he viewed his vows to Deneir more as an agreement of attitude and priorities than a pledge of devotion.As he approached the table, he saw that the silvery bowl was filled with a clear liquid—probably water, though Cadderly did not dare dip his fingers into it.More intrigued by the glowing bottle behind it, Cadderly meant to pay it little heed at all, but the reflection of the flask in that strange rune-covered bowl captured his attention suddenly and for some reason would not let go.Cadderly felt himself drawn toward that reflected image.He moved right up to the bowl and bent low, his face nearly touching the liquid.Then, as if a tiny pebble had fallen into the bowl, little circular ripples rolled out from the exact center.Far from breaking Cadderly’s concentration on the reflection, the watery dance only enhanced it.The light bounced and rolled around the tiny waves and the image of the bottle elongated and bent side to side.Cadderly knew somehow that the water was pleasantly warm.He wanted to immerse himself in the bowl, to silence all the noises of the world around him in watery stillness and feel nothing but that warmth.Still there was the image, swaying enticingly, capturing Cadderly’s thoughts.Cadderly looked up from the bowl to the bottle.Somewhere deep inside him he knew that something was amiss and that he should resist the strangely comforting sensations.Inanimate objects were not supposed to offer suggestions.Open the bottle, came a call within his head.He didn’t recognize the soothing voice, but it promised only pleasure.Open the bottle.Before he realized what he was doing, Cadderly had the bottle in his hands.
In front of the bottle was a silvery bowl, platinum perhaps, intricately designed and covered with strange runes.Cadderly was hardly surprised, or alarmed, at the blue mist he noted covering the floors and swirling around his legs.The entire adventure had taken on a blurry feeling of unreality to him.Rationally, he could tell himself that he was wide awake, but the dull ache on the side of his skull made him wonder just how badly he had banged his head.Whatever was happening, though, Cadderly was more intrigued than afraid, so with great effort he forced himself to his feet and took a cautious step toward the table.There were designs, tridents capped by three bottles, woven into the blanket.He noticed that the bottles of the designs were similar to the real one atop the table.Cadderly thought he knew most of the major holy symbols and alliance crests of the central Realms, but that one was totally foreign.He wished he had prepared some spells that might reveal more of the strange altar, if it was an altar.Cadderly smiled at his own ineptitude.He rarely prepared any spells at all, and even when he took the time, his accomplishments with clerical magic were far from highly regarded.Cadderly was more scholar than priest, and he viewed his vows to Deneir more as an agreement of attitude and priorities than a pledge of devotion.As he approached the table, he saw that the silvery bowl was filled with a clear liquid—probably water, though Cadderly did not dare dip his fingers into it.More intrigued by the glowing bottle behind it, Cadderly meant to pay it little heed at all, but the reflection of the flask in that strange rune-covered bowl captured his attention suddenly and for some reason would not let go.Cadderly felt himself drawn toward that reflected image.He moved right up to the bowl and bent low, his face nearly touching the liquid.Then, as if a tiny pebble had fallen into the bowl, little circular ripples rolled out from the exact center.Far from breaking Cadderly’s concentration on the reflection, the watery dance only enhanced it.The light bounced and rolled around the tiny waves and the image of the bottle elongated and bent side to side.Cadderly knew somehow that the water was pleasantly warm.He wanted to immerse himself in the bowl, to silence all the noises of the world around him in watery stillness and feel nothing but that warmth.Still there was the image, swaying enticingly, capturing Cadderly’s thoughts.Cadderly looked up from the bowl to the bottle.Somewhere deep inside him he knew that something was amiss and that he should resist the strangely comforting sensations.Inanimate objects were not supposed to offer suggestions.Open the bottle, came a call within his head.He didn’t recognize the soothing voice, but it promised only pleasure.Open the bottle.Before he realized what he was doing, Cadderly had the bottle in his hands.
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dnd223
He had no idea what the bottle truly was, or how and why that unknown altar had been set up.There was danger there—Cadderly sensed it—but he couldn’t sort it out; the ripples in the silvery bowl had been so enthralling.Open the bottle, came the quiet suggestion a third time.Cadderly simply could not determine whether or not he should resist, and that indecision weakened his resolve.The cork stopper was stubborn, but not overly so, and it came out with a loud foomp!That sound cut through the smoky confusion in the young scholar’s brain, rang out like a clarion call of reality, warning him of the risk he had taken, but it was too late.Red smoke poured out of the flask, engulfing Cadderly and spreading to fill the room.Cadderly realized his error at once and he moved to replace the cork, but watching from behind the cabinet, an unseen enemy was already at work.“Hold!” came an undeniable command from the side of the room.Cadderly had the cork almost back in the bottle when his hands stopped moving.Still the smoke poured out.Cadderly could not react, could not move at all, could not even make his eyes look away.His whole body grew weirdly numb, tingling in the grasp of a magical grip.A moment later, Cadderly saw a hand reach around him but couldn’t feel the bottle being pried from his grasp.Then he was forcefully turned around to face a man he didn’t know.The man was waving and chanting, though Cadderly couldn’t hear the words.He recognized the movements as some sort of spellcasting and knew that he was in dire peril.His mind struggled against the paralysis that had overcome him.It was a futile effort.Cadderly felt his eyes drooping.The sensations suddenly came rushing back to his limbs, but all the world grew dark around him and he felt himself falling, forever falling.“Come, groundskeeper,” Barjin called.From out of the same cabinet in which Barjin had hidden came Mullivy’s pallid corpse.Barjin spent a moment inspecting his latest victim.Cadderly’s light tube and spindle-disks, along with a dozen other curiosities, intrigued the priest, but Barjin quickly dismissed the idea of taking anything.He had used the same spell of forgetfulness on the young man as he had on the tall, angular man back in the wine cellar.Barjin knew that the younger man, unlike the other, was strong of mind and will, and would unconsciously battle such a spell.Missing items might aid his fight to regain the blocked parts of his memory, and for the priest, alone and beneath a virtual army of enemies, that could prove disastrous.Barjin dropped a hand to his hungry mace.Perhaps he should kill the scholar immediately, add the young priest to his undead army so that he would bring Barjin no trouble in the future.The Talonite priest dismissed the idea as quickly as it had come to him; his goddess, a deity of chaos, would not approve of eliminating the excruciating irony.The young man had served as catalyst for the curse; let him see the destruction wrought of his own hands!“Bring him,” Barjin instructed, dropping Cadderly to his zombie.With one stiff arm and little effort, Mullivy lifted Cadderly from the floor.“And bring the old ladder,” Barjin added.
He had no idea what the bottle truly was, or how and why that unknown altar had been set up.There was danger there—Cadderly sensed it—but he couldn’t sort it out; the ripples in the silvery bowl had been so enthralling.Open the bottle, came the quiet suggestion a third time.Cadderly simply could not determine whether or not he should resist, and that indecision weakened his resolve.The cork stopper was stubborn, but not overly so, and it came out with a loud foomp!That sound cut through the smoky confusion in the young scholar’s brain, rang out like a clarion call of reality, warning him of the risk he had taken, but it was too late.Red smoke poured out of the flask, engulfing Cadderly and spreading to fill the room.Cadderly realized his error at once and he moved to replace the cork, but watching from behind the cabinet, an unseen enemy was already at work.“Hold!” came an undeniable command from the side of the room.Cadderly had the cork almost back in the bottle when his hands stopped moving.Still the smoke poured out.Cadderly could not react, could not move at all, could not even make his eyes look away.His whole body grew weirdly numb, tingling in the grasp of a magical grip.A moment later, Cadderly saw a hand reach around him but couldn’t feel the bottle being pried from his grasp.Then he was forcefully turned around to face a man he didn’t know.The man was waving and chanting, though Cadderly couldn’t hear the words.He recognized the movements as some sort of spellcasting and knew that he was in dire peril.His mind struggled against the paralysis that had overcome him.It was a futile effort.Cadderly felt his eyes drooping.The sensations suddenly came rushing back to his limbs, but all the world grew dark around him and he felt himself falling, forever falling.“Come, groundskeeper,” Barjin called.From out of the same cabinet in which Barjin had hidden came Mullivy’s pallid corpse.Barjin spent a moment inspecting his latest victim.Cadderly’s light tube and spindle-disks, along with a dozen other curiosities, intrigued the priest, but Barjin quickly dismissed the idea of taking anything.He had used the same spell of forgetfulness on the young man as he had on the tall, angular man back in the wine cellar.Barjin knew that the younger man, unlike the other, was strong of mind and will, and would unconsciously battle such a spell.Missing items might aid his fight to regain the blocked parts of his memory, and for the priest, alone and beneath a virtual army of enemies, that could prove disastrous.Barjin dropped a hand to his hungry mace.Perhaps he should kill the scholar immediately, add the young priest to his undead army so that he would bring Barjin no trouble in the future.The Talonite priest dismissed the idea as quickly as it had come to him; his goddess, a deity of chaos, would not approve of eliminating the excruciating irony.The young man had served as catalyst for the curse; let him see the destruction wrought of his own hands!“Bring him,” Barjin instructed, dropping Cadderly to his zombie.With one stiff arm and little effort, Mullivy lifted Cadderly from the floor.“And bring the old ladder,” Barjin added.
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dnd224
“We must get back up to the wine cellar.We have much work to do before dawn.”Barjin wrung his hands with mounting excitement.The primary component of the ritual had been executed easily.All that remained to complete the curse, to fully loose the Most Fatal Horror upon the Edificant Library, were a few minor ceremonies.TENTHE PUZZLEDanica knew by the approaching headmaster’s expression, and by the fact that Kierkan Rufo shuffled along at Avery’s heels, that Cadderly had done something wrong again.She pushed away the book she was reading and folded her arms on the table in front of her.Avery, normally polite to guests of the library, came quickly and bluntly to his point.“Where is he?” the headmaster demanded.“He?” Danica replied.She knew perfectly well that Avery was referring to Cadderly, but she didn’t appreciate the headmaster’s tone.“You know …” Avery began loudly, caught himself, looked around, and blushed with embarrassment.“I’m sorry, Lady Danica,” he apologized.“I had only thought … I mean, you and …” He stomped hard with one foot to steady himself and proclaimed, “That Cadderly frustrates me so!”Danica accepted the apology with a grin and a nod, understanding, even sympathizing, with Avery’s feelings.Cadderly was an easily distracted free spirit, and like most formal religious organizations, the Order of Deneir was firmly based on discipline.It was not a difficult task for Danica to remember just a few of the many times she had waited for Cadderly at an appointed place and time, only to eventually give up and go back to her chambers alone, cursing the day she ever saw his boyish smile and inquisitive eyes.For all her frustrations, though, the young woman couldn’t deny the pangs in her heart whenever she looked upon Cadderly.Her smile only widened as she thought of him flying in the face of Avery’s bubbling anger.As soon as Danica turned her attention back to the present and looked over Avery’s shoulder, though, her grin disappeared.There stood Kierkan Rufo, leaning slightly to one side, as always, but wearing a mask of concern rather than the normally smug expression he displayed whenever he felt he had one-upped his rival.Danica locked stares with the man, her unconscious grimace revealing her true feelings toward him.She knew he was Cadderly’s friend—sort of—and she never spoke out against him to Cadderly, but she didn’t trust the man, not at all.Rufo had made many advances on Danica, beginning on her very first day at the Edificant Library, the first time the two had ever met.Danica was young and pretty and not unused to such advances, but Rufo had unnerved her on that occasion.When she had politely turned Rufo down, he just stood towering over her, tilting his head and staring for a long moment with that same frozen, unblinking stare on his face.Danica didn’t know exactly what it was that had caused her to rebuff Rufo way back then, but she suspected it was his dark, deepset eyes.They showed the same inner light of intelligence as Cadderly’s, but if Cadderly’s were inquisitive, then Rufo’s were conniving.Cadderly’s eyes sparkled joyfully as if in search of answers to the uncounted mysteries of the world; Rufo’s, too, collected information, but his, Danica believed, searched for advantage.Rufo had never given up on Danica, even after her budding relationship with Cadderly had become common talk in the library.Rufo still approached her often, and still she sent him away, but sometimes she saw him, out of the corner of her eye, sitting across the room and staring at her, studying her as though she were some amusing book.“Do you know where he is?” Avery asked her, his tone more controlled.“Who?” Danica answered, hardly hearing the question.“Cadderly!” cried the flustered headmaster.Danica looked at him, surprised by the sudden outburst.“Cadderly,” Avery said again, regaining his composure.“Do you know where Cadderly might be found?”Danica paused and considered the question and the look on Rufo’s face, wondering if she should be worried.
“We must get back up to the wine cellar.We have much work to do before dawn.”Barjin wrung his hands with mounting excitement.The primary component of the ritual had been executed easily.All that remained to complete the curse, to fully loose the Most Fatal Horror upon the Edificant Library, were a few minor ceremonies.TENTHE PUZZLEDanica knew by the approaching headmaster’s expression, and by the fact that Kierkan Rufo shuffled along at Avery’s heels, that Cadderly had done something wrong again.She pushed away the book she was reading and folded her arms on the table in front of her.Avery, normally polite to guests of the library, came quickly and bluntly to his point.“Where is he?” the headmaster demanded.“He?” Danica replied.She knew perfectly well that Avery was referring to Cadderly, but she didn’t appreciate the headmaster’s tone.“You know …” Avery began loudly, caught himself, looked around, and blushed with embarrassment.“I’m sorry, Lady Danica,” he apologized.“I had only thought … I mean, you and …” He stomped hard with one foot to steady himself and proclaimed, “That Cadderly frustrates me so!”Danica accepted the apology with a grin and a nod, understanding, even sympathizing, with Avery’s feelings.Cadderly was an easily distracted free spirit, and like most formal religious organizations, the Order of Deneir was firmly based on discipline.It was not a difficult task for Danica to remember just a few of the many times she had waited for Cadderly at an appointed place and time, only to eventually give up and go back to her chambers alone, cursing the day she ever saw his boyish smile and inquisitive eyes.For all her frustrations, though, the young woman couldn’t deny the pangs in her heart whenever she looked upon Cadderly.Her smile only widened as she thought of him flying in the face of Avery’s bubbling anger.As soon as Danica turned her attention back to the present and looked over Avery’s shoulder, though, her grin disappeared.There stood Kierkan Rufo, leaning slightly to one side, as always, but wearing a mask of concern rather than the normally smug expression he displayed whenever he felt he had one-upped his rival.Danica locked stares with the man, her unconscious grimace revealing her true feelings toward him.She knew he was Cadderly’s friend—sort of—and she never spoke out against him to Cadderly, but she didn’t trust the man, not at all.Rufo had made many advances on Danica, beginning on her very first day at the Edificant Library, the first time the two had ever met.Danica was young and pretty and not unused to such advances, but Rufo had unnerved her on that occasion.When she had politely turned Rufo down, he just stood towering over her, tilting his head and staring for a long moment with that same frozen, unblinking stare on his face.Danica didn’t know exactly what it was that had caused her to rebuff Rufo way back then, but she suspected it was his dark, deepset eyes.They showed the same inner light of intelligence as Cadderly’s, but if Cadderly’s were inquisitive, then Rufo’s were conniving.Cadderly’s eyes sparkled joyfully as if in search of answers to the uncounted mysteries of the world; Rufo’s, too, collected information, but his, Danica believed, searched for advantage.Rufo had never given up on Danica, even after her budding relationship with Cadderly had become common talk in the library.Rufo still approached her often, and still she sent him away, but sometimes she saw him, out of the corner of her eye, sitting across the room and staring at her, studying her as though she were some amusing book.“Do you know where he is?” Avery asked her, his tone more controlled.“Who?” Danica answered, hardly hearing the question.“Cadderly!” cried the flustered headmaster.Danica looked at him, surprised by the sudden outburst.“Cadderly,” Avery said again, regaining his composure.“Do you know where Cadderly might be found?”Danica paused and considered the question and the look on Rufo’s face, wondering if she should be worried.
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dnd225
As far as she knew, Avery was the one directing Cadderly’s movements.“I haven’t seen him this morning,” she answered honestly.“I thought you put him to work—in the wine cellar, by the words of the dwarf brothers.”Avery nodded.“So, too, did I believe, but it seems as if our dear Cadderly has had enough of his labors.He didn’t report to me this morning, as he had been instructed, nor was he in his room when I went to find him.”“Had he been in his room at all this morning?” Danica asked.She found her gaze again drawn to Kierkan Rufo, fearing for Cadderly and somehow guessing that if trouble had befallen him, Rufo was involved.Rufo’s reaction did not diminish her suspicions.He blinked—one of the few times Danica had ever seen him blink—and tried hard to appear unconcerned as he looked away.“I cannot say,” Avery replied and he, too, turned to Rufo for some answers.The angular man only shrugged.“I left him in the wine cellar,” he said.“I was down there working long before he arrived.I thought it fitting that I retire earlier than he.”Before Avery could even suggest that they go search the wine cellar, Danica had pushed past him and started on her way.The darkness and the weight.Those were the two facts of Cadderly’s predicament: the darkness and the weight.And the pain.There was pain, too.He didn’t know where he was or how he had gotten to that dark place or why he couldn’t move.He was lying face down on the stone floor, buried by something.He tried calling out several times but found little breath.Images of walking skeletons and thick spiderwebs flitted about his consciousness as he lay there, but they had no real definition, nor any solid place in his memory.Somewhere—in a dream?—he had seen them, but whether that place had anything to do with where he’d awakened, he couldn’t guess.Then he saw the flicker of torchlight, far away but coming down toward him, and as the shadows revealed tall and open racks, he at last recognized his surroundings.“The wine cellar,” Cadderly grunted, though the effort sorely hurt.“Rufo?”It was all a blur.He remembered coming down from the kitchen to join Rufo in his inventory, and remembered beginning his work, but that was all.Something obviously had happened subsequent to that, but Cadderly had no recollection of it, or of how he might possibly have gotten in his current predicament.“Cadderly?” came a call, Danica’s voice.Not one, but three torches had entered the large wine cellar.“Here!” Cadderly gasped with all his breath, though the wheeze was not nearly loud enough to be heard.The torches fanned out in different directions, sometimes disappearing from Cadderly’s sight, other times flickering at regular intervals as they moved behind the open, bottle-filled racks.
As far as she knew, Avery was the one directing Cadderly’s movements.“I haven’t seen him this morning,” she answered honestly.“I thought you put him to work—in the wine cellar, by the words of the dwarf brothers.”Avery nodded.“So, too, did I believe, but it seems as if our dear Cadderly has had enough of his labors.He didn’t report to me this morning, as he had been instructed, nor was he in his room when I went to find him.”“Had he been in his room at all this morning?” Danica asked.She found her gaze again drawn to Kierkan Rufo, fearing for Cadderly and somehow guessing that if trouble had befallen him, Rufo was involved.Rufo’s reaction did not diminish her suspicions.He blinked—one of the few times Danica had ever seen him blink—and tried hard to appear unconcerned as he looked away.“I cannot say,” Avery replied and he, too, turned to Rufo for some answers.The angular man only shrugged.“I left him in the wine cellar,” he said.“I was down there working long before he arrived.I thought it fitting that I retire earlier than he.”Before Avery could even suggest that they go search the wine cellar, Danica had pushed past him and started on her way.The darkness and the weight.Those were the two facts of Cadderly’s predicament: the darkness and the weight.And the pain.There was pain, too.He didn’t know where he was or how he had gotten to that dark place or why he couldn’t move.He was lying face down on the stone floor, buried by something.He tried calling out several times but found little breath.Images of walking skeletons and thick spiderwebs flitted about his consciousness as he lay there, but they had no real definition, nor any solid place in his memory.Somewhere—in a dream?—he had seen them, but whether that place had anything to do with where he’d awakened, he couldn’t guess.Then he saw the flicker of torchlight, far away but coming down toward him, and as the shadows revealed tall and open racks, he at last recognized his surroundings.“The wine cellar,” Cadderly grunted, though the effort sorely hurt.“Rufo?”It was all a blur.He remembered coming down from the kitchen to join Rufo in his inventory, and remembered beginning his work, but that was all.Something obviously had happened subsequent to that, but Cadderly had no recollection of it, or of how he might possibly have gotten in his current predicament.“Cadderly?” came a call, Danica’s voice.Not one, but three torches had entered the large wine cellar.“Here!” Cadderly gasped with all his breath, though the wheeze was not nearly loud enough to be heard.The torches fanned out in different directions, sometimes disappearing from Cadderly’s sight, other times flickering at regular intervals as they moved behind the open, bottle-filled racks.
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dnd226
All three bearers—Avery, Rufo, and Danica—called out for him.“Here!” he gasped as often as he could.Still, the cellar was wide and sectioned by dozens of tall wine racks, and a long time passed before Cadderly’s call was heard.Kierkan Rufo found him.The tall man seemed more ghastly than ever to Cadderly as he looked up at the shadows splayed across Rufo’s angular features.Rufo appeared surprised to find Cadderly, and he glanced around as if undecided as to how to react.“Could you …” Cadderly began, pausing to catch his breath, “please get … me … Get this off me.”Still Rufo hesitated, confusion and concern crossing his face.“Over here,” he called out finally.“I found him.”Cadderly didn’t hear much relief in Rufo’s tone.Rufo laid his torch down and began removing the pile of casks that pinned Cadderly.Over his shoulder, Cadderly noticed Rufo tipping one heavy cask over him, and the thought came to him for just an instant that the man had tilted it purposely and meant to drop it on his head.Then Danica came running up, and she helped Rufo push it away.All the casks were cleared before Headmaster Avery ever got there, and Cadderly started to rise.Danica held him down.“Don’t move!” she instructed firmly.Her expression was grave, her brown almond eyes intense and uncompromising.“Not until I’ve inspected your wounds.”“I’m all right,” Cadderly tried to insist, but he knew his words fell on deaf ears.Danica had been scared, and the stubborn woman rarely bothered to argue when she was scared.Cadderly tried halfheartedly to rise again, but Danica’s strong hand stopped him, pressing on a particularly vulnerable area on the back of his neck.“I have ways of stopping you from struggling,” Danica promised, and Cadderly didn’t doubt her.He put his cheek down on folded arms.“How did this happen?” demanded the chubby, redfaced Avery, huffing up to join them.“He was counting bottles when I left,” Rufo offered, nervous.Cadderly’s face crinkled in confusion as he tried again to sort through the blur of his memories.He got the uncomfortable feeling that Rufo expected his explanation to sound like an accusation, and Cadderly himself wondered what part Rufo might have had in his troubles.A feeling of something hard—a boot?—against his back slipped past him too quickly to make any sense.“I know not,” Cadderly answered honestly.“I just cannot remember.I was counting …” He stopped there and shook his head in frustration.Cadderly’s existence depended on knowledge; he didn’t like illogical puzzles.“And you wandered away,” Avery finished for him.“You went exploring when you should have been working.”“The wounds are not too severe,” Danica cut in.Cadderly knew that she had purposely deflected the headmaster’s rising agitation, and he smiled his thanks as Danica helped him to his feet.It felt good to be standing again, though Cadderly had to lean on Danica for support for a moment.Somehow Avery’s supposition didn’t fit into Cadderly’s memories—whatever they might be.He didn’t believe that he’d just “wandered away” to fall into trouble.“No,” he declared.
All three bearers—Avery, Rufo, and Danica—called out for him.“Here!” he gasped as often as he could.Still, the cellar was wide and sectioned by dozens of tall wine racks, and a long time passed before Cadderly’s call was heard.Kierkan Rufo found him.The tall man seemed more ghastly than ever to Cadderly as he looked up at the shadows splayed across Rufo’s angular features.Rufo appeared surprised to find Cadderly, and he glanced around as if undecided as to how to react.“Could you …” Cadderly began, pausing to catch his breath, “please get … me … Get this off me.”Still Rufo hesitated, confusion and concern crossing his face.“Over here,” he called out finally.“I found him.”Cadderly didn’t hear much relief in Rufo’s tone.Rufo laid his torch down and began removing the pile of casks that pinned Cadderly.Over his shoulder, Cadderly noticed Rufo tipping one heavy cask over him, and the thought came to him for just an instant that the man had tilted it purposely and meant to drop it on his head.Then Danica came running up, and she helped Rufo push it away.All the casks were cleared before Headmaster Avery ever got there, and Cadderly started to rise.Danica held him down.“Don’t move!” she instructed firmly.Her expression was grave, her brown almond eyes intense and uncompromising.“Not until I’ve inspected your wounds.”“I’m all right,” Cadderly tried to insist, but he knew his words fell on deaf ears.Danica had been scared, and the stubborn woman rarely bothered to argue when she was scared.Cadderly tried halfheartedly to rise again, but Danica’s strong hand stopped him, pressing on a particularly vulnerable area on the back of his neck.“I have ways of stopping you from struggling,” Danica promised, and Cadderly didn’t doubt her.He put his cheek down on folded arms.“How did this happen?” demanded the chubby, redfaced Avery, huffing up to join them.“He was counting bottles when I left,” Rufo offered, nervous.Cadderly’s face crinkled in confusion as he tried again to sort through the blur of his memories.He got the uncomfortable feeling that Rufo expected his explanation to sound like an accusation, and Cadderly himself wondered what part Rufo might have had in his troubles.A feeling of something hard—a boot?—against his back slipped past him too quickly to make any sense.“I know not,” Cadderly answered honestly.“I just cannot remember.I was counting …” He stopped there and shook his head in frustration.Cadderly’s existence depended on knowledge; he didn’t like illogical puzzles.“And you wandered away,” Avery finished for him.“You went exploring when you should have been working.”“The wounds are not too severe,” Danica cut in.Cadderly knew that she had purposely deflected the headmaster’s rising agitation, and he smiled his thanks as Danica helped him to his feet.It felt good to be standing again, though Cadderly had to lean on Danica for support for a moment.Somehow Avery’s supposition didn’t fit into Cadderly’s memories—whatever they might be.He didn’t believe that he’d just “wandered away” to fall into trouble.“No,” he declared.
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dnd227
“Not like that.There was something here.” He looked at Danica then to Rufo.“A light?”Hearing the word triggered another memory for Cadderly.“The door!” he cried.If the torchlight had been stronger, they all would have noticed the blood drain from Kierkan Rufo’s face.“The door,” Cadderly said again.“Behind the wall of casks.”“What door?” Avery demanded.Cadderly paused and thought for a moment but had no answers.His considerable willpower subconsciously battled Barjin’s memory blocking spell, but all he could remember was a door, some door, somewhere.And wherever that portal might have led, Cadderly could only guess.He resolved to find out again, as soon as he rounded the casks and opened it.It was gone.Cadderly stood for a long while, staring at the dusty bricks of the solid wall.“What door?” the impatient headmaster asked again.“It was here,” Cadderly insisted with as much conviction as he could muster.He moved closer to the wall and felt it.That, too, proved futile.“I remember …” Cadderly started to protest.He felt an arm reach under his shoulder.“You have been hurt in the head,” Danica said quietly.“Confusion is not unexpected after such a blow, nor usually lasting,” she added quickly to comfort him.“No, no,” Cadderly protested, but he let Danica lead him out.“What door?” the flustered Avery asked a third time.“He hurt his head,” Danica interjected.“I thought …” Cadderly began.“It must have been a dream—” he looked at Avery—“but what a strange dream.”Rufo’s sigh was audible.“He’s not hurt too badly?” the tall man asked when curious expressions turned toward him.“Not too badly,” replied Danica, the tone of her voice indicating her suspicions.Cadderly hardly noticed, too engrossed was he with trying to remember.“What would be below here?” he asked on impulse.“Nothing to concern you,” Avery replied sharply.Skeletons walked intangibly through Cadderly’s subconscious again.“Crypts?” he asked.“Nothing to concern you!” Avery answered.“I grow tired of your curiosity, Brother.”Cadderly, too, was annoyed.Avery’s glare was uncompromising, but Cadderly was too upset to be scared off.“Sssh!” Cadderly hissed sarcastically, putting a finger to his pursed lips.“You would not want Deneir, whose edict is the seeking of knowledge, to hear you say that.”Avery’s face turned so red Cadderly expected it to burst.“Go and see the healers,” the headmaster growled at Cadderly, “then come back to see me.
“Not like that.There was something here.” He looked at Danica then to Rufo.“A light?”Hearing the word triggered another memory for Cadderly.“The door!” he cried.If the torchlight had been stronger, they all would have noticed the blood drain from Kierkan Rufo’s face.“The door,” Cadderly said again.“Behind the wall of casks.”“What door?” Avery demanded.Cadderly paused and thought for a moment but had no answers.His considerable willpower subconsciously battled Barjin’s memory blocking spell, but all he could remember was a door, some door, somewhere.And wherever that portal might have led, Cadderly could only guess.He resolved to find out again, as soon as he rounded the casks and opened it.It was gone.Cadderly stood for a long while, staring at the dusty bricks of the solid wall.“What door?” the impatient headmaster asked again.“It was here,” Cadderly insisted with as much conviction as he could muster.He moved closer to the wall and felt it.That, too, proved futile.“I remember …” Cadderly started to protest.He felt an arm reach under his shoulder.“You have been hurt in the head,” Danica said quietly.“Confusion is not unexpected after such a blow, nor usually lasting,” she added quickly to comfort him.“No, no,” Cadderly protested, but he let Danica lead him out.“What door?” the flustered Avery asked a third time.“He hurt his head,” Danica interjected.“I thought …” Cadderly began.“It must have been a dream—” he looked at Avery—“but what a strange dream.”Rufo’s sigh was audible.“He’s not hurt too badly?” the tall man asked when curious expressions turned toward him.“Not too badly,” replied Danica, the tone of her voice indicating her suspicions.Cadderly hardly noticed, too engrossed was he with trying to remember.“What would be below here?” he asked on impulse.“Nothing to concern you,” Avery replied sharply.Skeletons walked intangibly through Cadderly’s subconscious again.“Crypts?” he asked.“Nothing to concern you!” Avery answered.“I grow tired of your curiosity, Brother.”Cadderly, too, was annoyed.Avery’s glare was uncompromising, but Cadderly was too upset to be scared off.“Sssh!” Cadderly hissed sarcastically, putting a finger to his pursed lips.“You would not want Deneir, whose edict is the seeking of knowledge, to hear you say that.”Avery’s face turned so red Cadderly expected it to burst.“Go and see the healers,” the headmaster growled at Cadderly, “then come back to see me.
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dnd228
I have a thousand tasks prepared for you.” He spun about and stormed away, Rufo close on his heels, though all the way to the stairs, Rufo kept glancing back over his shoulder.Danica gave Cadderly a forceful nudge—and a painful one against his sorely bruised ribs.“You never know when to hold your tongue,” she scolded.“If you keep talking so to Headmaster Avery, we’ll never have an opportunity to see each other!” With her torch in one hand and her other wrapped around Cadderly’s waist, she pulled him toward the distant stairs.Cadderly looked down at her, thinking he owed her an apology, but he saw that Danica was biting back laughter and he realized that she hadn’t truly disapproved of his sarcasm.Barjin watched the steady stream of reddish smoke rise from the opened flask and slip into cracks in the ceiling, making its way up into the library above.The priest still had several ceremonies to perform to complete the formal ritual, as agreed upon back in Castle Trinity, but those were merely formalities.The Most Fatal Horror had been released, and the chaos curse was under way.It would take longer to exact a toll at the library, Barjin knew, than it had with Haverly back at Castle Trinity.According to Aballister, Haverly had taken a concentrated dose right in the face.Producing the elixir was far too expensive to duplicate those effects on enemy after enemy, thus the mixture in the ever-smoking bottle had been greatly diluted.The scholars would absorb the elixir gradually, each breath bringing them closer to the edge of doom.Barjin held no reservations, though.He believed in the power of the elixir, in the power of his goddess—particularly with himself serving as her agent.“Let us see how these pious fools behave when their truest emotions are revealed,” he snickered to Mullivy.The zombie did not respond, of course.He just stood very still, unblinking and unmoving.Barjin gave him a sour look and turned his gaze back to the ever-smoking bottle.“The next day will be the most dangerous,” he whispered to himself.“Beyond that, the priests will have no power to stand against me.” He looked back to Mullivy and grinned wickedly.“We will be ready,” Barjin promised.He had already animated dozens of skeletons and had enacted further spells upon Mullivy’s corpse to strengthen it.And, of course, there was Khalif, Barjin’s prized soldier, awaiting the priest’s command from the sarcophagus just outside the altar room door.Barjin meant to add new and more horrible monsters to his growing army.First, he would uncover the necromancer’s stone and see what undead allies it might bring in.Then, taking Aballister’s advice, he would open a gate to the least of the lower planes, summoning minor monsters to serve as advisers and scouts for his expanding network.“Let the foolish priests come after us,” Barjin said, taking an ancient and evil tome, a book of sorcery and necromancy, out of the folds of his robes.“Let them see the horror that has befallen them!”ELEVENODDITIESCadderly sat before his open window, watching the dawn and feeding Percival cacasa-nut-and-butter biscuits.The Shining Plains lived up to their name that morning, with dew-speckled grass catching the morning sunlight and throwing it back to the sky in a dazzling dance.The sun climbed higher and the line of brightness moved up into the foothills of the Snowflake Mountains.
I have a thousand tasks prepared for you.” He spun about and stormed away, Rufo close on his heels, though all the way to the stairs, Rufo kept glancing back over his shoulder.Danica gave Cadderly a forceful nudge—and a painful one against his sorely bruised ribs.“You never know when to hold your tongue,” she scolded.“If you keep talking so to Headmaster Avery, we’ll never have an opportunity to see each other!” With her torch in one hand and her other wrapped around Cadderly’s waist, she pulled him toward the distant stairs.Cadderly looked down at her, thinking he owed her an apology, but he saw that Danica was biting back laughter and he realized that she hadn’t truly disapproved of his sarcasm.Barjin watched the steady stream of reddish smoke rise from the opened flask and slip into cracks in the ceiling, making its way up into the library above.The priest still had several ceremonies to perform to complete the formal ritual, as agreed upon back in Castle Trinity, but those were merely formalities.The Most Fatal Horror had been released, and the chaos curse was under way.It would take longer to exact a toll at the library, Barjin knew, than it had with Haverly back at Castle Trinity.According to Aballister, Haverly had taken a concentrated dose right in the face.Producing the elixir was far too expensive to duplicate those effects on enemy after enemy, thus the mixture in the ever-smoking bottle had been greatly diluted.The scholars would absorb the elixir gradually, each breath bringing them closer to the edge of doom.Barjin held no reservations, though.He believed in the power of the elixir, in the power of his goddess—particularly with himself serving as her agent.“Let us see how these pious fools behave when their truest emotions are revealed,” he snickered to Mullivy.The zombie did not respond, of course.He just stood very still, unblinking and unmoving.Barjin gave him a sour look and turned his gaze back to the ever-smoking bottle.“The next day will be the most dangerous,” he whispered to himself.“Beyond that, the priests will have no power to stand against me.” He looked back to Mullivy and grinned wickedly.“We will be ready,” Barjin promised.He had already animated dozens of skeletons and had enacted further spells upon Mullivy’s corpse to strengthen it.And, of course, there was Khalif, Barjin’s prized soldier, awaiting the priest’s command from the sarcophagus just outside the altar room door.Barjin meant to add new and more horrible monsters to his growing army.First, he would uncover the necromancer’s stone and see what undead allies it might bring in.Then, taking Aballister’s advice, he would open a gate to the least of the lower planes, summoning minor monsters to serve as advisers and scouts for his expanding network.“Let the foolish priests come after us,” Barjin said, taking an ancient and evil tome, a book of sorcery and necromancy, out of the folds of his robes.“Let them see the horror that has befallen them!”ELEVENODDITIESCadderly sat before his open window, watching the dawn and feeding Percival cacasa-nut-and-butter biscuits.The Shining Plains lived up to their name that morning, with dew-speckled grass catching the morning sunlight and throwing it back to the sky in a dazzling dance.The sun climbed higher and the line of brightness moved up into the foothills of the Snowflake Mountains.
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dnd229
Valleys dotted the region and a wispy mist rose to the south from the Impresk River, feeding the wide lake to the east.“Ow!” Cadderly cried, pulling his hand away from the hungry squirrel.Percival had gotten a bit too eager, nipping through the biscuit and into Cadderly’s palm.Cadderly pinched the wound between his thumb and forefinger to stem the blood flow.Busily licking the last of the cacasa-nut from his paws, Percival hardly seemed to notice Cadderly’s discomfort.“It’s my own fault, I suppose,” Cadderly admitted.“I cannot expect you to behave rationally when there is cacasa-nut and butter to be won!”Percival’s tail twitched excitedly, but that was the only indication Cadderly had that the squirrel was even listening.The young man turned his attention again to the world outside.The daylight had reached the library, and though Cadderly had to squint against its fresh brightness, it felt warm and wonderful upon his face.“It will be another beautiful day,” he remarked, and even as he spoke the words, he realized that he probably would spend the whole of it in the dark and dreary wine cellar, or in some other hole that Headmaster Avery found for him.“Perhaps I can trick him into letting me tend the grounds this morning,” Cadderly said to the squirrel.“I could help old Mullivy.”Percival chittered excitedly at the mention of the groundskeeper.“I know,” Cadderly offered.“You don’t like Mullivy.” Cadderly shrugged and smiled, remembering the time he had seen the crooked old groundskeeper waving a rake and spitting threats at the tree that Percival and other squirrels were sitting in, complaining about the mess of acorn husks all over his freshly raked ground.“Here you go, Percival,” Cadderly said, pushing the rest of the biscuit to the windowsill.“I have many things to attend to before Avery catches up with me.”He left Percival sitting on the sill, and the squirrel went on munching and crunching and licking his paws, and basking in the warm daylight, apparently having already dismissed any uneasiness at the mention of Mullivy.“Ye’re bats!” Ivan yelled.“Ye can’t be one of them!”“Doo-dad!” Pikel replied indignantly.“Ye think they’d have ye?” Ivan roared.“Tell him, boy!” he cried at Cadderly, who had just entered the kitchen.“Tell the fool that dwarves can’t be druids!”“You want to be a druid?” Cadderly asked with interest.“Oo oi!” piped a happy Pikel.“Doo-dad!”Ivan had heard enough.He hoisted a frying pan—dumping its half-cooked eggs on the floor—and heaved it at his brother.Pikel wasn’t quick enough to get out of the way of the missile, but he managed to bow into it, taking the blow on the top of his head and suffering no serious damage.Still fuming, Ivan reached for another pan, but Cadderly grabbed his arm to stop him.“Wait!” Cadderly pleaded.Ivan paused for just a moment, even whistled to show his patience, then cried, “Long enough!” and pushed Cadderly to the floor.The dwarf hoisted the pan and charged, but Pikel, similarly armed, was ready for him.Cadderly had read many tales of valor describing the ring of iron on iron, but he had never imagined the sound attributed to two dwarves sparring with frying pans.Ivan got the first strike in, a wicked smash to Pikel’s forearm.Pikel grunted and retaliated, slamming his pan straight down on top of Ivan’s head.Ivan backed up a step, trying to stop his eyes from spinning.He looked to the side, to a littered table, and was struck with a sudden inspiration, no doubt from the head blow.Pikel returned his smile.“Pots?” Ivan asked.Pikel nodded eagerly and the two rushed to the table to find one that fit properly.Food went flying everywhere, followed by pots that had proven too small or too big.Then Ivan and Pikel faced off again, wielding their trusty pans and helmeted in the cookware of last night’s stew.Cadderly watched it all in blank amazement, not quite certain of how to take the actions.
Valleys dotted the region and a wispy mist rose to the south from the Impresk River, feeding the wide lake to the east.“Ow!” Cadderly cried, pulling his hand away from the hungry squirrel.Percival had gotten a bit too eager, nipping through the biscuit and into Cadderly’s palm.Cadderly pinched the wound between his thumb and forefinger to stem the blood flow.Busily licking the last of the cacasa-nut from his paws, Percival hardly seemed to notice Cadderly’s discomfort.“It’s my own fault, I suppose,” Cadderly admitted.“I cannot expect you to behave rationally when there is cacasa-nut and butter to be won!”Percival’s tail twitched excitedly, but that was the only indication Cadderly had that the squirrel was even listening.The young man turned his attention again to the world outside.The daylight had reached the library, and though Cadderly had to squint against its fresh brightness, it felt warm and wonderful upon his face.“It will be another beautiful day,” he remarked, and even as he spoke the words, he realized that he probably would spend the whole of it in the dark and dreary wine cellar, or in some other hole that Headmaster Avery found for him.“Perhaps I can trick him into letting me tend the grounds this morning,” Cadderly said to the squirrel.“I could help old Mullivy.”Percival chittered excitedly at the mention of the groundskeeper.“I know,” Cadderly offered.“You don’t like Mullivy.” Cadderly shrugged and smiled, remembering the time he had seen the crooked old groundskeeper waving a rake and spitting threats at the tree that Percival and other squirrels were sitting in, complaining about the mess of acorn husks all over his freshly raked ground.“Here you go, Percival,” Cadderly said, pushing the rest of the biscuit to the windowsill.“I have many things to attend to before Avery catches up with me.”He left Percival sitting on the sill, and the squirrel went on munching and crunching and licking his paws, and basking in the warm daylight, apparently having already dismissed any uneasiness at the mention of Mullivy.“Ye’re bats!” Ivan yelled.“Ye can’t be one of them!”“Doo-dad!” Pikel replied indignantly.“Ye think they’d have ye?” Ivan roared.“Tell him, boy!” he cried at Cadderly, who had just entered the kitchen.“Tell the fool that dwarves can’t be druids!”“You want to be a druid?” Cadderly asked with interest.“Oo oi!” piped a happy Pikel.“Doo-dad!”Ivan had heard enough.He hoisted a frying pan—dumping its half-cooked eggs on the floor—and heaved it at his brother.Pikel wasn’t quick enough to get out of the way of the missile, but he managed to bow into it, taking the blow on the top of his head and suffering no serious damage.Still fuming, Ivan reached for another pan, but Cadderly grabbed his arm to stop him.“Wait!” Cadderly pleaded.Ivan paused for just a moment, even whistled to show his patience, then cried, “Long enough!” and pushed Cadderly to the floor.The dwarf hoisted the pan and charged, but Pikel, similarly armed, was ready for him.Cadderly had read many tales of valor describing the ring of iron on iron, but he had never imagined the sound attributed to two dwarves sparring with frying pans.Ivan got the first strike in, a wicked smash to Pikel’s forearm.Pikel grunted and retaliated, slamming his pan straight down on top of Ivan’s head.Ivan backed up a step, trying to stop his eyes from spinning.He looked to the side, to a littered table, and was struck with a sudden inspiration, no doubt from the head blow.Pikel returned his smile.“Pots?” Ivan asked.Pikel nodded eagerly and the two rushed to the table to find one that fit properly.Food went flying everywhere, followed by pots that had proven too small or too big.Then Ivan and Pikel faced off again, wielding their trusty pans and helmeted in the cookware of last night’s stew.Cadderly watched it all in blank amazement, not quite certain of how to take the actions.
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dnd230
It seemed a comedy at times, but the growing welts and bruises on Ivan and Pikel’s arms and faces told a different tale.Cadderly had seen the brothers argue before, and certainly he had come to expect all sorts of strange things from dwarves, but their brawl was too wild, even for Ivan and Pikel.“Stop it!” Cadderly yelled at them.Pikel’s answer came in the form of a hurled cleaver that narrowly missed Cadderly’s head and buried itself an inch deep in the door beside him.Cadderly stared in disbelief at the deadly instrument, still shuddering from the force of Pikel’s throw, and knew that something was terribly wrong, and terribly dangerous.The young priest didn’t give up, though.He just redirected his efforts.“I know a better way to fight!” he cried, moving cautiously toward the dwarves.“Eh?” asked Pikel.“Better way?” Ivan added.“For fighting?”Ivan seemed already convinced—Pikel was winning the cookware battle—but Pikel only used Ivan’s ensuing hesitation to press him even harder.Pikel’s pan hummed as it dived in at a wide arc, smashing Ivan’s elbow and knocking the yellow bearded dwarf off balance.Pikel recognized his advantage.His wicked pan went up high again for a follow-up strike.“Druids don’t fight with metal weapons!” Cadderly yelled.“Oo,” Pikel said, halting in midswing.The brothers looked at each other, shrugged once, and tossed their pots and pans to the ground.Cadderly had to think quickly.He brushed off a section of the long table.“Sit here,” he instructed Ivan, pulling up a stool.“And you over here,” he said to Pikel, indicating a second seat across from Ivan.“Put the elbows of your right arms on the table,” Cadderly explained.“Arm-pulling?” Ivan scoffed incredulously.“Get me back me pan!”“No!” Cadderly shouted.“No.This is a better way, a true test of strength.”“Bah!” snorted Ivan.“I’ll clobber him!”“Oh?” said Pikel.They clasped hands roughly and started pulling before Cadderly could give any signal, or even line them up.He considered them for a moment, wanting to stay and see things through, but the brothers were evenly matched, and their contest might last a while.Cadderly heard other priests shuffling by outside the open kitchen door.It was time for the midday canticle.Whatever the emergency, Cadderly simply could not be late for the required ceremony again.
It seemed a comedy at times, but the growing welts and bruises on Ivan and Pikel’s arms and faces told a different tale.Cadderly had seen the brothers argue before, and certainly he had come to expect all sorts of strange things from dwarves, but their brawl was too wild, even for Ivan and Pikel.“Stop it!” Cadderly yelled at them.Pikel’s answer came in the form of a hurled cleaver that narrowly missed Cadderly’s head and buried itself an inch deep in the door beside him.Cadderly stared in disbelief at the deadly instrument, still shuddering from the force of Pikel’s throw, and knew that something was terribly wrong, and terribly dangerous.The young priest didn’t give up, though.He just redirected his efforts.“I know a better way to fight!” he cried, moving cautiously toward the dwarves.“Eh?” asked Pikel.“Better way?” Ivan added.“For fighting?”Ivan seemed already convinced—Pikel was winning the cookware battle—but Pikel only used Ivan’s ensuing hesitation to press him even harder.Pikel’s pan hummed as it dived in at a wide arc, smashing Ivan’s elbow and knocking the yellow bearded dwarf off balance.Pikel recognized his advantage.His wicked pan went up high again for a follow-up strike.“Druids don’t fight with metal weapons!” Cadderly yelled.“Oo,” Pikel said, halting in midswing.The brothers looked at each other, shrugged once, and tossed their pots and pans to the ground.Cadderly had to think quickly.He brushed off a section of the long table.“Sit here,” he instructed Ivan, pulling up a stool.“And you over here,” he said to Pikel, indicating a second seat across from Ivan.“Put the elbows of your right arms on the table,” Cadderly explained.“Arm-pulling?” Ivan scoffed incredulously.“Get me back me pan!”“No!” Cadderly shouted.“No.This is a better way, a true test of strength.”“Bah!” snorted Ivan.“I’ll clobber him!”“Oh?” said Pikel.They clasped hands roughly and started pulling before Cadderly could give any signal, or even line them up.He considered them for a moment, wanting to stay and see things through, but the brothers were evenly matched, and their contest might last a while.Cadderly heard other priests shuffling by outside the open kitchen door.It was time for the midday canticle.Whatever the emergency, Cadderly simply could not be late for the required ceremony again.
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dnd231
He watched the struggle a moment longer to ensure that the dwarves were fully engaged then shook his head in confusion and walked away.He had known Ivan and Pikel for more than a decade, since his childhood days, and had never seen either one of them raise a hand to the other.If that wasn’t bad enough, the cleaver, still wobbling in the door, vividly proved that something was terribly out of sorts.Brother Chaunticleer’s voice rang out with its usual quality, filling the great hall with perfect notes and swelling the gathering of priests and scholars with sincere pleasure.But those most observant among the group, Cadderly included, glanced around at the crowd’s reaction, as if they noticed something missing in Chaunticleer’s delivery.The key was perfect and the words correct, but there seemed to be a lacking in the strength of the song.Chaunticleer didn’t notice them.He performed as always, the same songs he had sung at midday for years.But Chaunticleer was indeed distracted.His thoughts drifted down to the rivers in the mountain foothills, still swollen from the winter melt and teeming with trout and silver perch.It had always been said that fishing was second only to singing in Brother Chaunticleer’s heart.The priest was learning that the perceived order of his desires might not be so correct.Then it happened.Brother Chaunticleer forgot the words.He stood at the podium of the great hall, perplexed, as undeniable images of rushing water and leaping fish added to his confusion and put the song farther from his thoughts.Whispers sprang up throughout the hall; mouths dropped open in disbelief.Dean Thobicus, never an excitable man, calmly moved up toward the podium.“Do go on, Brother Chaunticleer,” he said softly, soothingly.Chaunticleer could not continue.The song of Deneir was no match for the joyful sound of leaping trout.The whispers turned to quiet giggles.Dean Thobicus waited a few moments then whispered into Headmaster Avery’s ear, and Avery, obviously more shaken than his superior, dismissed the gathering.He turned back to question Chaunticleer, but the priest was already gone, running for his hook and line.Cadderly used the confusion in the great hall to get out from under Avery’s watchful eye.He had spent a dreary morning scrubbing floors, but had completed the tasks and was free, at least until Avery found him idle and issued new orders.Avery was busy trying to figure out what had happened to Brother Chaunticleer.If Cadderly correctly understood the gravity of Chaunticleer’s misfortunes, the headmaster would be busy with him for some time.Chaunticleer was considered among the most devout priests in the order of Deneir, and his highest duty, his only real priority, was the midday canticle.Cadderly, too, was concerned by the events at the ceremony, especially after his visit with the dwarves that morning.More disturbing than Chaunticleer’s problem with the song, Danica had not been at the canticle.She wasn’t associated with either the Oghmanyte or Deneirrath sects and therefore not required to attend, but she rarely missed the event, and never before without telling Cadderly first.Even more disquieting, Kierkan Rufo had not been in attendance.Since the main library was on the first floor, not far from the great hall, Cadderly decided to begin his search there.
He watched the struggle a moment longer to ensure that the dwarves were fully engaged then shook his head in confusion and walked away.He had known Ivan and Pikel for more than a decade, since his childhood days, and had never seen either one of them raise a hand to the other.If that wasn’t bad enough, the cleaver, still wobbling in the door, vividly proved that something was terribly out of sorts.Brother Chaunticleer’s voice rang out with its usual quality, filling the great hall with perfect notes and swelling the gathering of priests and scholars with sincere pleasure.But those most observant among the group, Cadderly included, glanced around at the crowd’s reaction, as if they noticed something missing in Chaunticleer’s delivery.The key was perfect and the words correct, but there seemed to be a lacking in the strength of the song.Chaunticleer didn’t notice them.He performed as always, the same songs he had sung at midday for years.But Chaunticleer was indeed distracted.His thoughts drifted down to the rivers in the mountain foothills, still swollen from the winter melt and teeming with trout and silver perch.It had always been said that fishing was second only to singing in Brother Chaunticleer’s heart.The priest was learning that the perceived order of his desires might not be so correct.Then it happened.Brother Chaunticleer forgot the words.He stood at the podium of the great hall, perplexed, as undeniable images of rushing water and leaping fish added to his confusion and put the song farther from his thoughts.Whispers sprang up throughout the hall; mouths dropped open in disbelief.Dean Thobicus, never an excitable man, calmly moved up toward the podium.“Do go on, Brother Chaunticleer,” he said softly, soothingly.Chaunticleer could not continue.The song of Deneir was no match for the joyful sound of leaping trout.The whispers turned to quiet giggles.Dean Thobicus waited a few moments then whispered into Headmaster Avery’s ear, and Avery, obviously more shaken than his superior, dismissed the gathering.He turned back to question Chaunticleer, but the priest was already gone, running for his hook and line.Cadderly used the confusion in the great hall to get out from under Avery’s watchful eye.He had spent a dreary morning scrubbing floors, but had completed the tasks and was free, at least until Avery found him idle and issued new orders.Avery was busy trying to figure out what had happened to Brother Chaunticleer.If Cadderly correctly understood the gravity of Chaunticleer’s misfortunes, the headmaster would be busy with him for some time.Chaunticleer was considered among the most devout priests in the order of Deneir, and his highest duty, his only real priority, was the midday canticle.Cadderly, too, was concerned by the events at the ceremony, especially after his visit with the dwarves that morning.More disturbing than Chaunticleer’s problem with the song, Danica had not been at the canticle.She wasn’t associated with either the Oghmanyte or Deneirrath sects and therefore not required to attend, but she rarely missed the event, and never before without telling Cadderly first.Even more disquieting, Kierkan Rufo had not been in attendance.Since the main library was on the first floor, not far from the great hall, Cadderly decided to begin his search there.
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dnd232
He skipped along briskly, his pace quickening as his suspicions continued to gnaw at him.A moaning sound from a side corridor stopped him.Cadderly peeked around the corner to see Kierkan Rufo coming down the stairs, leaning heavily on the wall.Rufo seemed barely coherent.His face was covered in blood and he nearly toppled with each step.“What happened?” Cadderly asked, rushing to help the man.A wild light came into Rufo’s eyes and he slapped Cadderly’s hands away.The action cost the disoriented man his balance and he tumbled down the last few steps to the floor.The manner in which Rufo fell revealed much to Cadderly.Rufo had reached out to catch himself with one arm, the same arm he had used to slap at Cadderly, but his other arm remained limp at his side, useless.“Where is she?” Cadderly demanded, suddenly terrified.He grabbed Rufo by the collar, despite the man’s protests, and pulled him to his feet, viewing up close the damage to his face.Blood continued to flow from Rufo’s broken nose, and one of his eyes was swollen and purple and nearly closed.The man had numerous other bruises, and the way he flinched when Cadderly straightened him indicated other wounds in his abdomen or a little lower.“Where is she?” Cadderly said again.Rufo gritted his teeth and turned away.Cadderly forcibly turned him back.“What is wrong with you?” he demanded.Rufo spat in his face.Cadderly resisted the urge to strike out.There had always been tension in his friendship with Rufo, an element of rivalry that had only heightened when Danica came to the library.Cadderly knew that he often upset Rufo, but never before had the tall man shown him such open hostility.“If you hurt Danica, I will come back to find you,” Cadderly warned, though he thought that highly improbable.He let go of Rufo’s wet tunic and ran up the stairs.Rufo’s blood trail led him to the south wing of the third floor, the library’s guest quarters.Despite his urgency, Cadderly stopped as he neared Histra’s room.He heard cries emanating from within.At first Cadderly thought the priestess of Sune to be in peril, but as he reached for the door handle, he recognized the sounds as something other than pain.Down the hall he rushed, too worried to be embarrassed.The blood trail led to Danica’s door, as he had feared it would.He knocked loudly on the door and called out, “Danica?”No answer.Cadderly banged more urgently.“Danica!” he yelled.“Are you in there?”Still no answer.Cadderly lowered his shoulder and easily plowed through the unlocked door.Danica stood perfectly still in the middle of the small room, on the thick carpet she used for exercising.She held her open hands out in front of her in a meditative pose, and she didn’t even acknowledge that someone had entered the room.Her concentration was straight ahead, on a solid block of stone supported between two sawhorses.“Danica?” Cadderly asked again.“Are you all right?” He moved over to her tentatively.Danica turned her head, and her blank stare fell over him.“Of course,” she said.“Why would I not be?”Her blond locks were matted with sweat and her hands were caked in drying blood.“I just saw Kierkan Rufo,” Cadderly remarked.“As did I,” Danica said calmly.“What happened to him?”“He tried to put his hands where they did not belong,” Danica said casually, turning to stare back at the stone block.
He skipped along briskly, his pace quickening as his suspicions continued to gnaw at him.A moaning sound from a side corridor stopped him.Cadderly peeked around the corner to see Kierkan Rufo coming down the stairs, leaning heavily on the wall.Rufo seemed barely coherent.His face was covered in blood and he nearly toppled with each step.“What happened?” Cadderly asked, rushing to help the man.A wild light came into Rufo’s eyes and he slapped Cadderly’s hands away.The action cost the disoriented man his balance and he tumbled down the last few steps to the floor.The manner in which Rufo fell revealed much to Cadderly.Rufo had reached out to catch himself with one arm, the same arm he had used to slap at Cadderly, but his other arm remained limp at his side, useless.“Where is she?” Cadderly demanded, suddenly terrified.He grabbed Rufo by the collar, despite the man’s protests, and pulled him to his feet, viewing up close the damage to his face.Blood continued to flow from Rufo’s broken nose, and one of his eyes was swollen and purple and nearly closed.The man had numerous other bruises, and the way he flinched when Cadderly straightened him indicated other wounds in his abdomen or a little lower.“Where is she?” Cadderly said again.Rufo gritted his teeth and turned away.Cadderly forcibly turned him back.“What is wrong with you?” he demanded.Rufo spat in his face.Cadderly resisted the urge to strike out.There had always been tension in his friendship with Rufo, an element of rivalry that had only heightened when Danica came to the library.Cadderly knew that he often upset Rufo, but never before had the tall man shown him such open hostility.“If you hurt Danica, I will come back to find you,” Cadderly warned, though he thought that highly improbable.He let go of Rufo’s wet tunic and ran up the stairs.Rufo’s blood trail led him to the south wing of the third floor, the library’s guest quarters.Despite his urgency, Cadderly stopped as he neared Histra’s room.He heard cries emanating from within.At first Cadderly thought the priestess of Sune to be in peril, but as he reached for the door handle, he recognized the sounds as something other than pain.Down the hall he rushed, too worried to be embarrassed.The blood trail led to Danica’s door, as he had feared it would.He knocked loudly on the door and called out, “Danica?”No answer.Cadderly banged more urgently.“Danica!” he yelled.“Are you in there?”Still no answer.Cadderly lowered his shoulder and easily plowed through the unlocked door.Danica stood perfectly still in the middle of the small room, on the thick carpet she used for exercising.She held her open hands out in front of her in a meditative pose, and she didn’t even acknowledge that someone had entered the room.Her concentration was straight ahead, on a solid block of stone supported between two sawhorses.“Danica?” Cadderly asked again.“Are you all right?” He moved over to her tentatively.Danica turned her head, and her blank stare fell over him.“Of course,” she said.“Why would I not be?”Her blond locks were matted with sweat and her hands were caked in drying blood.“I just saw Kierkan Rufo,” Cadderly remarked.“As did I,” Danica said calmly.“What happened to him?”“He tried to put his hands where they did not belong,” Danica said casually, turning to stare back at the stone block.
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dnd233
“I stopped him.”None of it made any sense to Cadderly.Rufo had leered and stared, but had never been foolish enough to make a move toward Danica.“Rufo attacked you?” he asked.Danica laughed hysterically, and that, too, unnerved the young priest.“He tried to touch me, I said.”Cadderly scratched his head and looked around the room for some further clues as to what had transpired.He still couldn’t believe that Rufo would make an open advance toward Danica, but even more remarkable had been Danica’s response.She was a controlled and disciplined warrior.Cadderly would never expect such overkill as the beating she had apparently given Rufo.“You hurt him badly,” Cadderly said, needing to hear Danica’s explanation.“He will recover,” the woman replied.Cadderly grabbed her arm, meaning to turn her to face him.Danica was too quick.Her arm flicked back and forth, breaking the hold, then she snapped her hand onto Cadderly’s thumb and bent it backward, nearly driving him to his knees.Her ensuing glare alone would have backed Cadderly away, and he honestly believed she would break his finger.Then Danica’s look softened, as if she suddenly recognized the man at her side.She released her grip on his thumb and grabbed around his head instead, pulling him close.“Oh Cadderly!” she cried between kisses.“Did I hurt you?”Cadderly pushed her back to arm’s length and stared at her for a long while.She appeared fine, except for Rufo’s blood on her hands and a curious, urgent look in her eyes.“Have you been drinking wine?” Cadderly asked.“Of course not,” Danica replied, surprised by the question.“You know I’m allowed only one glass …” Her voice trailed off as the hard glare returned.“Are you doubting my loyalty to that oath?” she asked.Cadderly’s face crinkled in confusion.“Let go of me.”Her tone was serious, and when the stunned Cadderly didn’t immediately respond, she accentuated her point.She and Cadderly were only standing about two feet apart, but the limber monk kicked her foot up between them, and waved it in Cadderly’s face.Cadderly released her and fell back.“What is wrong with you?” he demanded.Danica’s visage softened again.“You beat Rufo.Badly,” Cadderly said.“If he made inappropriate advances—”“He interrupted me!” Danica cut him off.
“I stopped him.”None of it made any sense to Cadderly.Rufo had leered and stared, but had never been foolish enough to make a move toward Danica.“Rufo attacked you?” he asked.Danica laughed hysterically, and that, too, unnerved the young priest.“He tried to touch me, I said.”Cadderly scratched his head and looked around the room for some further clues as to what had transpired.He still couldn’t believe that Rufo would make an open advance toward Danica, but even more remarkable had been Danica’s response.She was a controlled and disciplined warrior.Cadderly would never expect such overkill as the beating she had apparently given Rufo.“You hurt him badly,” Cadderly said, needing to hear Danica’s explanation.“He will recover,” the woman replied.Cadderly grabbed her arm, meaning to turn her to face him.Danica was too quick.Her arm flicked back and forth, breaking the hold, then she snapped her hand onto Cadderly’s thumb and bent it backward, nearly driving him to his knees.Her ensuing glare alone would have backed Cadderly away, and he honestly believed she would break his finger.Then Danica’s look softened, as if she suddenly recognized the man at her side.She released her grip on his thumb and grabbed around his head instead, pulling him close.“Oh Cadderly!” she cried between kisses.“Did I hurt you?”Cadderly pushed her back to arm’s length and stared at her for a long while.She appeared fine, except for Rufo’s blood on her hands and a curious, urgent look in her eyes.“Have you been drinking wine?” Cadderly asked.“Of course not,” Danica replied, surprised by the question.“You know I’m allowed only one glass …” Her voice trailed off as the hard glare returned.“Are you doubting my loyalty to that oath?” she asked.Cadderly’s face crinkled in confusion.“Let go of me.”Her tone was serious, and when the stunned Cadderly didn’t immediately respond, she accentuated her point.She and Cadderly were only standing about two feet apart, but the limber monk kicked her foot up between them, and waved it in Cadderly’s face.Cadderly released her and fell back.“What is wrong with you?” he demanded.Danica’s visage softened again.“You beat Rufo.Badly,” Cadderly said.“If he made inappropriate advances—”“He interrupted me!” Danica cut him off.
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dnd234
“He …” She looked to the block of stone then back to Cadderly, again glowering.“And now you are interrupting me.”Cadderly backed away.“I will go,” he promised, studying the block, “if you tell me what I’m interrupting.”“I am a true disciple of Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn!” Danica cried as though that answered everything.“Of course you are,” said Cadderly.His agreement calmed Danica.“The time has come for Gigel Nugel,” she said, “Iron Skull, but I must not be interrupted in my concentration!”Cadderly regarded the solid block for a moment—a block far larger than the one in the sketch of Penpahg D’Ahn—then eyed Danica’s delicate face, trying unsuccessfully to digest the news.“You plan to smash that block with your head?”“I am a true disciple,” Danica reiterated.Cadderly nearly swooned.“Do not,” he begged, reaching for Danica.Seeing her impending reaction, Cadderly pulled his arms back and qualified his statement.“Not yet,” he pleaded.“This is a great event in the history of the library.Dean Thobicus should be informed.We shall make it a public showing.”“This is a private matter,” Danica replied.“It is not a curiosity show for the pleasures of unbelievers.”“Unbelievers?” Cadderly whispered, and at that strange moment he knew that the label fit him, but for more reasons than his and Danica’s differing faiths.He had to think quickly.“But,” he improvised, “surely the event must be properly witnessed and recorded.”Danica looked at him curiously.“For future disciples,” Cadderly explained.“Who will come to study Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn in a hundred years?Would that disciple not also benefit from the practices and successes of Grandmistress Danica?You cannot be selfish with this achievement.Surely that would not be in accord with Penpahg D’Ahn’s teachings.”Danica mulled over his words.“It would be selfish,” she admitted.Even her acquiescence reinforced Cadderly’s fears that something was terribly wrong.Danica was sharp thinking and never before so easily manipulated.“I will wait for you to make the arrangements,” she agreed, “but not for long!The time has come for Iron Skull.This I know is true.
“He …” She looked to the block of stone then back to Cadderly, again glowering.“And now you are interrupting me.”Cadderly backed away.“I will go,” he promised, studying the block, “if you tell me what I’m interrupting.”“I am a true disciple of Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn!” Danica cried as though that answered everything.“Of course you are,” said Cadderly.His agreement calmed Danica.“The time has come for Gigel Nugel,” she said, “Iron Skull, but I must not be interrupted in my concentration!”Cadderly regarded the solid block for a moment—a block far larger than the one in the sketch of Penpahg D’Ahn—then eyed Danica’s delicate face, trying unsuccessfully to digest the news.“You plan to smash that block with your head?”“I am a true disciple,” Danica reiterated.Cadderly nearly swooned.“Do not,” he begged, reaching for Danica.Seeing her impending reaction, Cadderly pulled his arms back and qualified his statement.“Not yet,” he pleaded.“This is a great event in the history of the library.Dean Thobicus should be informed.We shall make it a public showing.”“This is a private matter,” Danica replied.“It is not a curiosity show for the pleasures of unbelievers.”“Unbelievers?” Cadderly whispered, and at that strange moment he knew that the label fit him, but for more reasons than his and Danica’s differing faiths.He had to think quickly.“But,” he improvised, “surely the event must be properly witnessed and recorded.”Danica looked at him curiously.“For future disciples,” Cadderly explained.“Who will come to study Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn in a hundred years?Would that disciple not also benefit from the practices and successes of Grandmistress Danica?You cannot be selfish with this achievement.Surely that would not be in accord with Penpahg D’Ahn’s teachings.”Danica mulled over his words.“It would be selfish,” she admitted.Even her acquiescence reinforced Cadderly’s fears that something was terribly wrong.Danica was sharp thinking and never before so easily manipulated.“I will wait for you to make the arrangements,” she agreed, “but not for long!The time has come for Iron Skull.This I know is true.
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dnd235
I am a true disciple of Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn.”Cadderly did not know how to proceed.He sensed that if he left Danica, she would go right back to her attempt.He looked all around, his gaze finally settling on Danica’s bed.“It would be well for you to rest,” he offered.Danica looked to the bed then back to Cadderly, a sly look on her face.“I know something better than rest,” she purred, moving much closer.The urgency of her unexpected kiss weakened Cadderly in the knees and promised him many wonderful things.But not like that.He reminded himself that something was wrong with Danica, that something was apparently wrong with almost everything around him.“I have to go,” he said, pulling away.“To Dean Thobicus, to make the arrangements.You rest now.Surely you will need your strength.”Danica let him go, honestly torn between her perception of duty and the needs of love.Cadderly stumbled back down to the first level.The hallways were unnervingly empty and quiet, and Cadderly wasn’t certain of where he should turn.He had few close friends in the library—he wasn’t about to go to Kierkan Rufo, and he wanted to keep far away from the living and working quarters of Dean Thobicus and the headmasters, fearing an encounter with Avery.In the end, he went back to the kitchen and found Pikel and Ivan, nearly collapsed with exhaustion, still stubbornly arm wrestling at the table.Cadderly knew that the dwarves were headstrong, but half the afternoon had passed since they had begun their match.When Cadderly approached, shaking his head in disbelief, he saw just how headstrong the Bouldershoulder brothers could be.Purplish bruises from popped veins lined their arms and their entire bodies trembled violently under the continuing strain, but their visages were unyieldingly locked.“I’ll put ye down!” Ivan snarled.Pikel growled back and strained harder at the pull.“Stop it!” Cadderly demanded.Both dwarves looked up from the match, realizing only then that someone had entered the kitchen.“I can take him,” Ivan assured Cadderly.“Why are you fighting?” Cadderly asked, guessing that the dwarves would not remember.“Yerself was here,” Ivan replied.“Ye saw he was the one what started it.”“Oh?” Pikel piped in sarcastically.“What did he start?” Cadderly asked.“The fight!” growled an exasperated Ivan.“How?”Ivan had run out of answers.He looked at Pikel, who only shrugged in reply.“Then why are you fighting?” Cadderly asked again with no answer forthcoming.Both dwarves stopped at the same time and sat looking across the table at each other.“Me brother!” Ivan cried suddenly, springing over the table.Pikel caught him in midflight and their hugs and pats on the back were nearly as vicious as the arm wrestling had been.Ivan turned happily on Cadderly.“He’s me brother!” the dwarf announced.Cadderly strained a smile and figured that it might be best to divert the dwarves as he had diverted Danica.“It is not so far from suppertime,” was all he had to say.“Supper?” Ivan bellowed.“Oo oi!” added Pikel, and they were off, whirling like little bearded tornados, sweeping the kitchen into order in preparation of the evening meal.Cadderly waited just a moment, to make sure the dwarves wouldn’t go back to their fighting, then he slipped out and headed back to check on Danica.He found her in her room, sleeping contentedly.
I am a true disciple of Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn.”Cadderly did not know how to proceed.He sensed that if he left Danica, she would go right back to her attempt.He looked all around, his gaze finally settling on Danica’s bed.“It would be well for you to rest,” he offered.Danica looked to the bed then back to Cadderly, a sly look on her face.“I know something better than rest,” she purred, moving much closer.The urgency of her unexpected kiss weakened Cadderly in the knees and promised him many wonderful things.But not like that.He reminded himself that something was wrong with Danica, that something was apparently wrong with almost everything around him.“I have to go,” he said, pulling away.“To Dean Thobicus, to make the arrangements.You rest now.Surely you will need your strength.”Danica let him go, honestly torn between her perception of duty and the needs of love.Cadderly stumbled back down to the first level.The hallways were unnervingly empty and quiet, and Cadderly wasn’t certain of where he should turn.He had few close friends in the library—he wasn’t about to go to Kierkan Rufo, and he wanted to keep far away from the living and working quarters of Dean Thobicus and the headmasters, fearing an encounter with Avery.In the end, he went back to the kitchen and found Pikel and Ivan, nearly collapsed with exhaustion, still stubbornly arm wrestling at the table.Cadderly knew that the dwarves were headstrong, but half the afternoon had passed since they had begun their match.When Cadderly approached, shaking his head in disbelief, he saw just how headstrong the Bouldershoulder brothers could be.Purplish bruises from popped veins lined their arms and their entire bodies trembled violently under the continuing strain, but their visages were unyieldingly locked.“I’ll put ye down!” Ivan snarled.Pikel growled back and strained harder at the pull.“Stop it!” Cadderly demanded.Both dwarves looked up from the match, realizing only then that someone had entered the kitchen.“I can take him,” Ivan assured Cadderly.“Why are you fighting?” Cadderly asked, guessing that the dwarves would not remember.“Yerself was here,” Ivan replied.“Ye saw he was the one what started it.”“Oh?” Pikel piped in sarcastically.“What did he start?” Cadderly asked.“The fight!” growled an exasperated Ivan.“How?”Ivan had run out of answers.He looked at Pikel, who only shrugged in reply.“Then why are you fighting?” Cadderly asked again with no answer forthcoming.Both dwarves stopped at the same time and sat looking across the table at each other.“Me brother!” Ivan cried suddenly, springing over the table.Pikel caught him in midflight and their hugs and pats on the back were nearly as vicious as the arm wrestling had been.Ivan turned happily on Cadderly.“He’s me brother!” the dwarf announced.Cadderly strained a smile and figured that it might be best to divert the dwarves as he had diverted Danica.“It is not so far from suppertime,” was all he had to say.“Supper?” Ivan bellowed.“Oo oi!” added Pikel, and they were off, whirling like little bearded tornados, sweeping the kitchen into order in preparation of the evening meal.Cadderly waited just a moment, to make sure the dwarves wouldn’t go back to their fighting, then he slipped out and headed back to check on Danica.He found her in her room, sleeping contentedly.
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dnd236
He pulled her blankets up over her, then went to the stone to see if he could find some way to remove it.“How did you ever get this up here?” he asked, staring at the heavy block.It would take at least two strong men to move it, and even then, or even with three men, the stairs would not be easily negotiated.For the time being, Cadderly figured he could just drop the block down from the sawhorses, put it on the floor to stop Danica from making her Iron Skull attempt.He went back to the bed and took the heaviest blankets.He tied them together and wrapped them around the block then threw both ends over a rafter in the low room.Cadderly grabbed the dangling ends and hoisted himself right off the floor to kick at the block.The sawhorses leaned, then toppled and the rafter creaked in protest, but Cadderly’s counterbalancing weight brought the blanketed block down slowly and quietly.Using the sawhorse legs as levers, he managed to wiggle the blankets out from under the stone.Then he tucked Danica back in and headed away, his mind racing to find some logical reason for all the illogical events of the day.It was a wondrous oak, a most excellent tree indeed, and Newander gently stroked each of its spreading branches as he made his way higher.The view from the uppermost branches was splendid, a scene that sent shivers of delight along the druid’s spine.When he turned to regard the mountains to the southwest, though, Newander’s smile disappeared.There sat the Edificant Library, a barely seen square block far in the distance.Newander hadn’t meant to be gone so long.For all the freedom and individuality their order offered, he knew Arcite would not be pleased.A bird flitted down and landed not far from the druid’s head.“I should be getting back,” the druid said to it, though he wanted to remain out in the wilderness, away from the temptations of civilization.Newander started reluctantly down the tree.With the distant library removed from sight, he nearly headed off again in the opposite direction.He didn’t, though.Chastising himself for his fears and weaknesses, he grudgingly started back toward the library, back to his duties.Cadderly meant to lie down and rest for only a short while when he returned to his room.The afternoon was barely half over, but it already had been an exhausting day.Soon the young priest was snoring loudly.But not contentedly.From the depths of his mist-filled dreams came the walking dead, skeletons and gruesome ghouls, reaching for him with sharp, bony hands and rotting fingers.He sat up in pitch blackness.Cold trails of sweat lined his face, and his blankets were moist and clammy.He heard a noise to the side of the bed.He hadn’t undressed when he lay down, and he fumbled around, finding his spindle-disks then his light tube.Something was close.The end cap popped off and the light streamed out.Cadderly nearly flicked his spindle-disks out of sheer terror, but he managed to forego his attack when he recognized the white fur of a friend.As startled as Cadderly, Percival rushed across the room, upsetting all sorts of things, and darted under the bed.
He pulled her blankets up over her, then went to the stone to see if he could find some way to remove it.“How did you ever get this up here?” he asked, staring at the heavy block.It would take at least two strong men to move it, and even then, or even with three men, the stairs would not be easily negotiated.For the time being, Cadderly figured he could just drop the block down from the sawhorses, put it on the floor to stop Danica from making her Iron Skull attempt.He went back to the bed and took the heaviest blankets.He tied them together and wrapped them around the block then threw both ends over a rafter in the low room.Cadderly grabbed the dangling ends and hoisted himself right off the floor to kick at the block.The sawhorses leaned, then toppled and the rafter creaked in protest, but Cadderly’s counterbalancing weight brought the blanketed block down slowly and quietly.Using the sawhorse legs as levers, he managed to wiggle the blankets out from under the stone.Then he tucked Danica back in and headed away, his mind racing to find some logical reason for all the illogical events of the day.It was a wondrous oak, a most excellent tree indeed, and Newander gently stroked each of its spreading branches as he made his way higher.The view from the uppermost branches was splendid, a scene that sent shivers of delight along the druid’s spine.When he turned to regard the mountains to the southwest, though, Newander’s smile disappeared.There sat the Edificant Library, a barely seen square block far in the distance.Newander hadn’t meant to be gone so long.For all the freedom and individuality their order offered, he knew Arcite would not be pleased.A bird flitted down and landed not far from the druid’s head.“I should be getting back,” the druid said to it, though he wanted to remain out in the wilderness, away from the temptations of civilization.Newander started reluctantly down the tree.With the distant library removed from sight, he nearly headed off again in the opposite direction.He didn’t, though.Chastising himself for his fears and weaknesses, he grudgingly started back toward the library, back to his duties.Cadderly meant to lie down and rest for only a short while when he returned to his room.The afternoon was barely half over, but it already had been an exhausting day.Soon the young priest was snoring loudly.But not contentedly.From the depths of his mist-filled dreams came the walking dead, skeletons and gruesome ghouls, reaching for him with sharp, bony hands and rotting fingers.He sat up in pitch blackness.Cold trails of sweat lined his face, and his blankets were moist and clammy.He heard a noise to the side of the bed.He hadn’t undressed when he lay down, and he fumbled around, finding his spindle-disks then his light tube.Something was close.The end cap popped off and the light streamed out.Cadderly nearly flicked his spindle-disks out of sheer terror, but he managed to forego his attack when he recognized the white fur of a friend.As startled as Cadderly, Percival rushed across the room, upsetting all sorts of things, and darted under the bed.
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dnd237
The squirrel came up tentatively a moment later at Cadderly’s feet and slowly moved up to nestle in the pit of the man’s arm.Cadderly was glad for the company.He recapped his light, but kept it in his hand, and soon was fast asleep.The walking dead were waiting for him.TWELVETHE TIME TO ACTBarjin is preparing to open the gate,” Dorigen told Aballister.“My contacts on the lower planes sense the beginnings of the portal.”“How long?” the wizard asked.Aballister was glad that Druzil would soon be close to Barjin, keeping an eye on the dangerous man, but he was not pleased that Barjin had so quickly advanced to so high a level of preparedness.If Barjin meant to open a gate, then his plans were probably in full swing.Dorigen shrugged.“Not long at all,” she replied.“I can’t know which methods of sorcery the priest will employ.” She looked over to Druzil, sitting comfortably atop Aballister’s desk, appearing impassive, though both wizards knew better than to think that.“Do you really believe it’s necessary to send the imp?”“Do you trust Barjin?” Aballister answered.“Talona would not have allowed him to take the elixir if he was not loyal to the cause,” Dorigen replied.“Don’t presume that the goddess is so directly interested in our cause,” warned Aballister, rising from and walking nervously around his chair.“The Time of Troubles has passed and much has changed.Talona’s avatar was pleased to bring me into her dark fold, but I am not her only concern, and I do not presume to be her chief concern.She directed me to Druzil, and he provided the chaos curse.Its fate is in my … in our hands now.”“But if Barjin was not of Talona’s clergy …” Dorigen argued, shifting tentatively from foot to foot and letting her companion complete the warning for himself.Aballister considered Dorigen for a long moment, surprised that she was as fearful as he about Barjin.She was a middle-aged wizard, thin and drawn, with darting eyes and a tangle of graying black hair that she never bothered to brush.“Perhaps he is of Talona’s clergy,” Aballister replied.“I believe that he is.” Aballister had considered numerous scenarios over the past few days.“But don’t let that comfort you.If Barjin stuck a poisoned dagger into my heart, Talona would not be pleased, but neither would she seek vengeance on the priest.That is the price of serving a goddess such as ours.”Dorigen considered those words for a few moments then nodded her agreement.“We vie for power with the priests,” Aballister went on.“It has been that way since the beginning of Castle Trinity, and that contest intensified with Barjin’s arrival.He gained control of the elixir from me.I admit my own failure in not anticipating his cunning, but I have not conceded defeat, I promise you.
The squirrel came up tentatively a moment later at Cadderly’s feet and slowly moved up to nestle in the pit of the man’s arm.Cadderly was glad for the company.He recapped his light, but kept it in his hand, and soon was fast asleep.The walking dead were waiting for him.TWELVETHE TIME TO ACTBarjin is preparing to open the gate,” Dorigen told Aballister.“My contacts on the lower planes sense the beginnings of the portal.”“How long?” the wizard asked.Aballister was glad that Druzil would soon be close to Barjin, keeping an eye on the dangerous man, but he was not pleased that Barjin had so quickly advanced to so high a level of preparedness.If Barjin meant to open a gate, then his plans were probably in full swing.Dorigen shrugged.“Not long at all,” she replied.“I can’t know which methods of sorcery the priest will employ.” She looked over to Druzil, sitting comfortably atop Aballister’s desk, appearing impassive, though both wizards knew better than to think that.“Do you really believe it’s necessary to send the imp?”“Do you trust Barjin?” Aballister answered.“Talona would not have allowed him to take the elixir if he was not loyal to the cause,” Dorigen replied.“Don’t presume that the goddess is so directly interested in our cause,” warned Aballister, rising from and walking nervously around his chair.“The Time of Troubles has passed and much has changed.Talona’s avatar was pleased to bring me into her dark fold, but I am not her only concern, and I do not presume to be her chief concern.She directed me to Druzil, and he provided the chaos curse.Its fate is in my … in our hands now.”“But if Barjin was not of Talona’s clergy …” Dorigen argued, shifting tentatively from foot to foot and letting her companion complete the warning for himself.Aballister considered Dorigen for a long moment, surprised that she was as fearful as he about Barjin.She was a middle-aged wizard, thin and drawn, with darting eyes and a tangle of graying black hair that she never bothered to brush.“Perhaps he is of Talona’s clergy,” Aballister replied.“I believe that he is.” Aballister had considered numerous scenarios over the past few days.“But don’t let that comfort you.If Barjin stuck a poisoned dagger into my heart, Talona would not be pleased, but neither would she seek vengeance on the priest.That is the price of serving a goddess such as ours.”Dorigen considered those words for a few moments then nodded her agreement.“We vie for power with the priests,” Aballister went on.“It has been that way since the beginning of Castle Trinity, and that contest intensified with Barjin’s arrival.He gained control of the elixir from me.I admit my own failure in not anticipating his cunning, but I have not conceded defeat, I promise you.
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dnd238
Now, go back to your chambers and converse with your contacts.Inform me at once if there is any change in Barjin’s gate.”Aballister looked over to his magical mirror and considered whether he should scry into Barjin’s altar room to confirm what Dorigen had told him.He decided against it, though, knowing that Barjin would easily sense the scrying and recognize its source.Aballister didn’t want Barjin to know how concerned he was, didn’t want the priest to understand how great an advantage he was gaining in their competition.The wizard looked over his shoulder and nodded to Druzil.“The priest is a daring one,” Druzil remarked, “to open a gate right below so many enemies of magical power.Bene tellemara.If the priests of the library discover the gate …”“It was not unexpected,” Aballister retorted.“We knew that Barjin was taking materials for sorcery.”“If he is opening the gate already,” Druzil put in, “then perhaps the curse has begun!” The imp rubbed his pudgy, leathery hands eagerly at that prospect.“Or perhaps Barjin’s situation has become desperate,” Aballister quickly replied.Druzil wisely disguised his excitement.“We must get the brazier prepared,” Aballister said, “and quickly.We must be ready before Barjin begins his summoning.” He moved over to his own burning brazier and picked up the closest bag, checking to ensure that the powder inside was blue.“I will provide you with two powders,” the wizard explained.“One to close Barjin’s gate behind you as you pass through to join him, another to reopen it so that you may return to me.”“To ensure that I am his only catch?” Druzil asked, cocking his dog-faced head curiously.“I am not as confident of Barjin’s powers as he appears to be,” Aballister replied.“If he summons too many denizens of the lower planes, even minor ones to serve him, his control will be sorely taxed.No doubt he’s raising undead to serve him as well.That type of army could be beyond him when the priests of the Edificant Library strike back.Barjin may be reaching too far.I fear it all could crumble around him.”“Fear?” Druzil asked slyly.“Or hope?”Aballister’s hollowed eyes narrowed.“Examine the situation from another point of view, my dear Druzil,” he purred.“From your own.Do you wish to find competitors from your filthy home at Barjin’s side?Might not another imp, or a midge perhaps, know you and know that you have been in service to me?”The wizard enjoyed the way the imp’s features suddenly seemed to droop.“Barjin would know you as my agent then,” Aballister went on.“If you were fortunate, he would only banish you.”Druzil looked over to Aballister’s brazier and nodded his agreement.“Get through as soon as Barjin opens his gate,” Aballister instructed, dumping the blue powder into the burning brazier.The flames roared and shifted through the colors of the spectrum.
Now, go back to your chambers and converse with your contacts.Inform me at once if there is any change in Barjin’s gate.”Aballister looked over to his magical mirror and considered whether he should scry into Barjin’s altar room to confirm what Dorigen had told him.He decided against it, though, knowing that Barjin would easily sense the scrying and recognize its source.Aballister didn’t want Barjin to know how concerned he was, didn’t want the priest to understand how great an advantage he was gaining in their competition.The wizard looked over his shoulder and nodded to Druzil.“The priest is a daring one,” Druzil remarked, “to open a gate right below so many enemies of magical power.Bene tellemara.If the priests of the library discover the gate …”“It was not unexpected,” Aballister retorted.“We knew that Barjin was taking materials for sorcery.”“If he is opening the gate already,” Druzil put in, “then perhaps the curse has begun!” The imp rubbed his pudgy, leathery hands eagerly at that prospect.“Or perhaps Barjin’s situation has become desperate,” Aballister quickly replied.Druzil wisely disguised his excitement.“We must get the brazier prepared,” Aballister said, “and quickly.We must be ready before Barjin begins his summoning.” He moved over to his own burning brazier and picked up the closest bag, checking to ensure that the powder inside was blue.“I will provide you with two powders,” the wizard explained.“One to close Barjin’s gate behind you as you pass through to join him, another to reopen it so that you may return to me.”“To ensure that I am his only catch?” Druzil asked, cocking his dog-faced head curiously.“I am not as confident of Barjin’s powers as he appears to be,” Aballister replied.“If he summons too many denizens of the lower planes, even minor ones to serve him, his control will be sorely taxed.No doubt he’s raising undead to serve him as well.That type of army could be beyond him when the priests of the Edificant Library strike back.Barjin may be reaching too far.I fear it all could crumble around him.”“Fear?” Druzil asked slyly.“Or hope?”Aballister’s hollowed eyes narrowed.“Examine the situation from another point of view, my dear Druzil,” he purred.“From your own.Do you wish to find competitors from your filthy home at Barjin’s side?Might not another imp, or a midge perhaps, know you and know that you have been in service to me?”The wizard enjoyed the way the imp’s features suddenly seemed to droop.“Barjin would know you as my agent then,” Aballister went on.“If you were fortunate, he would only banish you.”Druzil looked over to Aballister’s brazier and nodded his agreement.“Get through as soon as Barjin opens his gate,” Aballister instructed, dumping the blue powder into the burning brazier.The flames roared and shifted through the colors of the spectrum.
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dnd239
Druzil walked by the wizard, taking the two tiny bags and looping them over the foreclaws on his wing.“Close Barjin’s gate as you step out of the flames,” Aballister continued.“He will not understand the sudden shift in his fire’s hue.He will think it is the result of your passing.”Again Druzil nodded.Eager to be away from Aballister and even more eager to see exactly what was going on at the library, he jumped into the brazier and was gone.“Aballister’s plans serve everyone,” Druzil muttered to himself a few moments later as he floated in the black void at the edge of the Prime Material Plane, just waiting for Barjin’s gate to open.The imp realized, too, that other things—jealousy and fear—guided the wizard’s actions.Barjin had shown no signs of weakness throughout and Aballister knew as well as Druzil did that a gate to the lower planes would not seriously threaten the priest’s successes.Still, Druzil was more than happy when he looked down at the magical powders Aballister had provided.The imp remained intrigued by Barjin’s brashness and confidence.The priest’s preliminary victories, both at Castle Trinity, against Aballister, and possibly in the dungeons of the library, could not easily be dismissed.While Aballister might fear for his own position, Druzil’s only concern was the chaos curse, the alchemy he had waited so very long to exploit.Where the chaos curse was concerned, Barjin deserved some serious attention.The terrible, clawed hand grabbed at Cadderly’s heart.He dived to the side, his arms flailing in futile defense.He woke up when he hit the floor and spent several long moments trying to orient himself.It was morning, and Cadderly’s nightmares faded fast under the sun’s enlightening rays.Cadderly tried to hold on to them so that he might better decipher any hidden meaning, but they could not withstand the light of day.With a resigned shrug, Cadderly focused his thoughts back to the previous afternoon, remembering the events before he had come for some rest.Some rest!How much time had passed?he wondered frantically, looking at his clocking measurements on the floor.Fifteen hours?Percival was still in the room but apparently had been up and about for some time.The squirrel sat on Cadderly’s desk just inside the window, contentedly munching on an acorn.Below him lay the discarded husks of a dozen appetizers.Cadderly sat up beside the bed and tried again to recover the fading blur of his dreams, seeking some clue to the confusion that had so suddenly come into his life.His light tube, opened and glowing faintly, lay under the thick jumble of bed covers.“There is something here,” Cadderly remarked to Percival, absently grabbing and recapping the tube.“Something I cannot yet understand.” There was more confusion than determination in Cadderly’s voice.Yesterday seemed a long time ago, and he seriously wondered where his memories ended and his dreams began.
Druzil walked by the wizard, taking the two tiny bags and looping them over the foreclaws on his wing.“Close Barjin’s gate as you step out of the flames,” Aballister continued.“He will not understand the sudden shift in his fire’s hue.He will think it is the result of your passing.”Again Druzil nodded.Eager to be away from Aballister and even more eager to see exactly what was going on at the library, he jumped into the brazier and was gone.“Aballister’s plans serve everyone,” Druzil muttered to himself a few moments later as he floated in the black void at the edge of the Prime Material Plane, just waiting for Barjin’s gate to open.The imp realized, too, that other things—jealousy and fear—guided the wizard’s actions.Barjin had shown no signs of weakness throughout and Aballister knew as well as Druzil did that a gate to the lower planes would not seriously threaten the priest’s successes.Still, Druzil was more than happy when he looked down at the magical powders Aballister had provided.The imp remained intrigued by Barjin’s brashness and confidence.The priest’s preliminary victories, both at Castle Trinity, against Aballister, and possibly in the dungeons of the library, could not easily be dismissed.While Aballister might fear for his own position, Druzil’s only concern was the chaos curse, the alchemy he had waited so very long to exploit.Where the chaos curse was concerned, Barjin deserved some serious attention.The terrible, clawed hand grabbed at Cadderly’s heart.He dived to the side, his arms flailing in futile defense.He woke up when he hit the floor and spent several long moments trying to orient himself.It was morning, and Cadderly’s nightmares faded fast under the sun’s enlightening rays.Cadderly tried to hold on to them so that he might better decipher any hidden meaning, but they could not withstand the light of day.With a resigned shrug, Cadderly focused his thoughts back to the previous afternoon, remembering the events before he had come for some rest.Some rest!How much time had passed?he wondered frantically, looking at his clocking measurements on the floor.Fifteen hours?Percival was still in the room but apparently had been up and about for some time.The squirrel sat on Cadderly’s desk just inside the window, contentedly munching on an acorn.Below him lay the discarded husks of a dozen appetizers.Cadderly sat up beside the bed and tried again to recover the fading blur of his dreams, seeking some clue to the confusion that had so suddenly come into his life.His light tube, opened and glowing faintly, lay under the thick jumble of bed covers.“There is something here,” Cadderly remarked to Percival, absently grabbing and recapping the tube.“Something I cannot yet understand.” There was more confusion than determination in Cadderly’s voice.Yesterday seemed a long time ago, and he seriously wondered where his memories ended and his dreams began.
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dnd240
How unusual had the day’s events really been?How much of the apparent strangeness was a product of no more than Cadderly’s own fear?Danica could be a stubborn one, after all, he reminded himself, and who could predict the actions of dwarves?Unconsciously, Cadderly rubbed the deep bruise on the side of his head.The daylight streaming into his room made everything seem in order.They made all of his fears that something had gone awry in the secure library seem almost childish.A moment later, he realized a new fear, one based surely in reality.There came a knock on his door and the call of a familiar voice.“Cadderly?Cadderly, boy, are you in there?”Headmaster Avery.Percival popped the acorn into a chubby cheek and skittered out the window.Cadderly hadn’t gotten to his feet when the headmaster entered.“Cadderly!” Avery cried, rushing to him.“Are you all right, my boy?”“It is nothing,” Cadderly replied, keeping out of Avery’s reaching hands.“I just fell out of bed.”Avery’s distress did not diminish.“That is terrible!” the headmaster cried.“We cannot have that, oh, no!” Avery’s eyes darted about frantically then he snapped his fingers and smiled widely.“We will get the dwarves to put up a railing.Yes, that’s it!We cannot have you falling out of bed and injuring yourself.You’re much too valuable an asset to the Order of Deneir for us to allow such potential tragedy!”“It’s nothing,” a timid Cadderly replied.“Oh, yes,” Avery spouted, “you would say that.Such a fine lad!Never concerned for your own safety!” Avery’s exuberant pat on the back hurt Cadderly more than the fall.“You’ve come to give me my list of duties,” Cadderly reasoned, eager to change the subject.Somehow he liked Avery better when the headmaster was screaming at him.
How unusual had the day’s events really been?How much of the apparent strangeness was a product of no more than Cadderly’s own fear?Danica could be a stubborn one, after all, he reminded himself, and who could predict the actions of dwarves?Unconsciously, Cadderly rubbed the deep bruise on the side of his head.The daylight streaming into his room made everything seem in order.They made all of his fears that something had gone awry in the secure library seem almost childish.A moment later, he realized a new fear, one based surely in reality.There came a knock on his door and the call of a familiar voice.“Cadderly?Cadderly, boy, are you in there?”Headmaster Avery.Percival popped the acorn into a chubby cheek and skittered out the window.Cadderly hadn’t gotten to his feet when the headmaster entered.“Cadderly!” Avery cried, rushing to him.“Are you all right, my boy?”“It is nothing,” Cadderly replied, keeping out of Avery’s reaching hands.“I just fell out of bed.”Avery’s distress did not diminish.“That is terrible!” the headmaster cried.“We cannot have that, oh, no!” Avery’s eyes darted about frantically then he snapped his fingers and smiled widely.“We will get the dwarves to put up a railing.Yes, that’s it!We cannot have you falling out of bed and injuring yourself.You’re much too valuable an asset to the Order of Deneir for us to allow such potential tragedy!”“It’s nothing,” a timid Cadderly replied.“Oh, yes,” Avery spouted, “you would say that.Such a fine lad!Never concerned for your own safety!” Avery’s exuberant pat on the back hurt Cadderly more than the fall.“You’ve come to give me my list of duties,” Cadderly reasoned, eager to change the subject.Somehow he liked Avery better when the headmaster was screaming at him.
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dnd241
At least then he could be certain of Avery’s intent.“Duties?” Avery asked, seeming sincerely confused.“Why, I do not believe you have any this day.Or, if you do, ignore them.We cannot have one of your potential busied by menial tasks.Make your own routines.Certainly you know better than any where you might be of greatest value.”Cadderly didn’t believe a word of it.Or if he did allow himself to believe Avery’s sincerity, he couldn’t quite comprehend it.“Then why are you here?” he asked.“Do I need a reason to look in on my most prized acolyte?” Avery answered, giving Cadderly a second rough pat.“No, no reason.I just came to say good morning, and I say it now.Good morning!” He started away then stopped, spun, and wrapped Cadderly in a bear hug.“Good morning indeed!”Avery, his eyes misted, put him out at arm’s length.“I knew when first you came to us you would grow to be a fine lad,” he said.Cadderly expected him to change the subject, as he always did when speaking of Cadderly’s early days at the Edificant Library, but Avery rambled on.“We feared you would end up like your father—he was an intelligent one, just like you.But he had no guidance, you see.” Avery’s laughter erupted straight from his belly.“I called him a Gondsman!” the priest roared, slapping Cadderly’s shoulder.Cadderly failed to see the humor, but he was truly intrigued to hear about his father.That subject had always been avoided at the library, and Cadderly, with no recollections at all before his arrival, had never pressed it seriously.“And indeed he was,” Avery continued, becoming calm and grim.“Or worse, I fear.He could not remain here, you see.We could not allow him to take our knowledge and put it to destructive practice.”“Where did he go?” Cadderly asked.“I know not.That was twenty years ago!” Avery replied.
At least then he could be certain of Avery’s intent.“Duties?” Avery asked, seeming sincerely confused.“Why, I do not believe you have any this day.Or, if you do, ignore them.We cannot have one of your potential busied by menial tasks.Make your own routines.Certainly you know better than any where you might be of greatest value.”Cadderly didn’t believe a word of it.Or if he did allow himself to believe Avery’s sincerity, he couldn’t quite comprehend it.“Then why are you here?” he asked.“Do I need a reason to look in on my most prized acolyte?” Avery answered, giving Cadderly a second rough pat.“No, no reason.I just came to say good morning, and I say it now.Good morning!” He started away then stopped, spun, and wrapped Cadderly in a bear hug.“Good morning indeed!”Avery, his eyes misted, put him out at arm’s length.“I knew when first you came to us you would grow to be a fine lad,” he said.Cadderly expected him to change the subject, as he always did when speaking of Cadderly’s early days at the Edificant Library, but Avery rambled on.“We feared you would end up like your father—he was an intelligent one, just like you.But he had no guidance, you see.” Avery’s laughter erupted straight from his belly.“I called him a Gondsman!” the priest roared, slapping Cadderly’s shoulder.Cadderly failed to see the humor, but he was truly intrigued to hear about his father.That subject had always been avoided at the library, and Cadderly, with no recollections at all before his arrival, had never pressed it seriously.“And indeed he was,” Avery continued, becoming calm and grim.“Or worse, I fear.He could not remain here, you see.We could not allow him to take our knowledge and put it to destructive practice.”“Where did he go?” Cadderly asked.“I know not.That was twenty years ago!” Avery replied.
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dnd242
“We saw him only once after that, the day he presented Dean Thobicus with his son.Do you understand, then, my boy, why I am always chasing after you, why I fear your course might lead you astray?”Cadderly didn’t even try to find a voice to respond with, though he would have liked to learn more while he had the headmaster in so talkative a mood.He quickly reminded himself that Avery was out of sorts, and just further confirmation that something was going wrong.“Well, then,” the headmaster said.He slammed Cadderly with one more hug then pushed the young man away, spinning briskly for the door.“Don’t waste too much of this glorious day!” he roared as he entered the hall.Percival came back to the window, working on a new acorn.“Do not even ask,” Cadderly warned him, but if the squirrel cared at all, he didn’t show it.“So much for dreams,” Cadderly remarked.If ever he doubted his memories of the previous day, he didn’t any more, not in light of Avery’s outburst.Cadderly dressed quickly.He would have to check on Ivan and Pikel to make sure they weren’t back at their fighting, and on Kierkan Rufo to make sure the man had no further designs against Danica.The hallway was strangely quiet, though the morning was in full swing.Cadderly started for the kitchen but changed his direction when he got to the spiral stairway.The only change in the daily routine, the only unusual occurrence at the library before the inexplicable weirdness, had been the arrival of the druids.They had been housed on the fourth floor.Normally that level was reserved for the novice priests of the host sects, the servants, and for storage, but the druids had expressed a desire to be away from the rest of the gathered scholars.Not without reservations, for he didn’t want to disturb the xenophobic group, Cadderly started up the stairs instead of down.He didn’t really believe that Arcite, Newander, and Cleo were the source of the problems, but they were wise and experienced and might have some insight about what was going on.The first sign Cadderly noticed that something up there, too, was amiss, was a growl and a scraping noise.He stood outside the door to the druids’ quarters in a remote corner of the north wing, uncertain if he should continue, wondering whether the woodland priests might be engaged in some private ritual.But memories of Danica, Avery, and Brother Chaunticleer spurred him on.He knocked on the door.No answer.Cadderly turned the handle and opened the door a crack.The room was a mess, the work of an obviously agitated brown bear.The creature squatted on the bed, which had broken under its great weight, and was casually tearing apart a down-filled pillow.Shuffling slowly across the floor in front of it was a huge tortoise.The bear seemed to pay little attention to him, so Cadderly opened the door a bit wider.Newander sat on the windowsill, staring with despair at the distant mountains, his blond hair hanging limply about his shoulders.“Arcite and Cleo,” the druid remarked offhandedly.“Arcite is the bear.”“A ritual?” Cadderly asked.He remembered when the druid named Shannon had enacted such physical changes before his eyes years ago, and he knew that the shapechanging ability was common for the most powerful druids.Actually witnessing it again amazed him nonetheless.Newander shrugged, not really knowing the answer.
“We saw him only once after that, the day he presented Dean Thobicus with his son.Do you understand, then, my boy, why I am always chasing after you, why I fear your course might lead you astray?”Cadderly didn’t even try to find a voice to respond with, though he would have liked to learn more while he had the headmaster in so talkative a mood.He quickly reminded himself that Avery was out of sorts, and just further confirmation that something was going wrong.“Well, then,” the headmaster said.He slammed Cadderly with one more hug then pushed the young man away, spinning briskly for the door.“Don’t waste too much of this glorious day!” he roared as he entered the hall.Percival came back to the window, working on a new acorn.“Do not even ask,” Cadderly warned him, but if the squirrel cared at all, he didn’t show it.“So much for dreams,” Cadderly remarked.If ever he doubted his memories of the previous day, he didn’t any more, not in light of Avery’s outburst.Cadderly dressed quickly.He would have to check on Ivan and Pikel to make sure they weren’t back at their fighting, and on Kierkan Rufo to make sure the man had no further designs against Danica.The hallway was strangely quiet, though the morning was in full swing.Cadderly started for the kitchen but changed his direction when he got to the spiral stairway.The only change in the daily routine, the only unusual occurrence at the library before the inexplicable weirdness, had been the arrival of the druids.They had been housed on the fourth floor.Normally that level was reserved for the novice priests of the host sects, the servants, and for storage, but the druids had expressed a desire to be away from the rest of the gathered scholars.Not without reservations, for he didn’t want to disturb the xenophobic group, Cadderly started up the stairs instead of down.He didn’t really believe that Arcite, Newander, and Cleo were the source of the problems, but they were wise and experienced and might have some insight about what was going on.The first sign Cadderly noticed that something up there, too, was amiss, was a growl and a scraping noise.He stood outside the door to the druids’ quarters in a remote corner of the north wing, uncertain if he should continue, wondering whether the woodland priests might be engaged in some private ritual.But memories of Danica, Avery, and Brother Chaunticleer spurred him on.He knocked on the door.No answer.Cadderly turned the handle and opened the door a crack.The room was a mess, the work of an obviously agitated brown bear.The creature squatted on the bed, which had broken under its great weight, and was casually tearing apart a down-filled pillow.Shuffling slowly across the floor in front of it was a huge tortoise.The bear seemed to pay little attention to him, so Cadderly opened the door a bit wider.Newander sat on the windowsill, staring with despair at the distant mountains, his blond hair hanging limply about his shoulders.“Arcite and Cleo,” the druid remarked offhandedly.“Arcite is the bear.”“A ritual?” Cadderly asked.He remembered when the druid named Shannon had enacted such physical changes before his eyes years ago, and he knew that the shapechanging ability was common for the most powerful druids.Actually witnessing it again amazed him nonetheless.Newander shrugged, not really knowing the answer.
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dnd243
He looked at Cadderly, a saddened expression on his face.Cadderly started to go to him, but Arcite, the bear, didn’t seem to like that idea.He stood high and issued a growl that turned Cadderly around.“Keep yourself safely back from him,” Newander explained.“I am not yet certain of his intentions.”“Have you asked?”“He won’t answer,” Newander replied.“Then can you be sure it’s really Arcite?” Cadderly asked.Shannon had explained to him that the druidic shapechange was purely physical, with retention of the woodland priest’s mental facilities.Shapechanged druids could even converse in the common tongue.“It was,” Newander replied, “and is.I recognize the animal.Perhaps it is Arcite now, more truly Arcite than he ever was as a human.”Cadderly could not exactly decipher those words, but he thought he understood the druid’s basic meaning.“The turtle, then, is Cleo?” he asked.“Or is Cleo really the turtle?”“Yes,” Newander answered.“Both ways, as far as I can discern.”“Why are you still human?” Cadderly pressed, guessing the source of Newander’s despair.But when he saw that his question had wounded the druid, he bowed quickly, exited, and closed the door.He started to walk away, but changed his mind and ran instead.Newander sat back against the windowsill and looked at his animal companions.Something had happened while he was gone, though he still wasn’t certain whether it had been a good or a bad thing.Newander feared for his comrades, but he envied them, too.Had they found some secret while he was away, some measure by which they could slip fully into the natural order?He had seen Arcite in bear form before, and clearly recognized the druid, but never had the transformation been so complete.The bear resisted Newander’s every attempt to communicate.The same held true of Cleo, the turtle.Newander remained a human, alone in a house of tempting civilization.He hoped his friends would return soon; he feared he would lose his way without their guidance.Newander looked back out the window, back to the majestic mountains and the world he so loved.For all of that love, though, the druid still did not know where he fit in.When he arrived at the kitchen, Cadderly found that the dwarves had resumed their fighting.Pots, pans, and kitchen knives hummed about the room, smashing ceramic items, clanging against iron ones, and knocking holes in the walls.“Ivan!” Cadderly screamed, and the desperation in his voice actually stopped the barrage.Ivan looked at Cadderly blankly, and from across the room, Pikel added, “Oo.”“What are you fighting about now?” Cadderly asked.“That one’s fault!” Ivan growled.“He spoiled me soup.Put in roots and leaves and grass and things.
He looked at Cadderly, a saddened expression on his face.Cadderly started to go to him, but Arcite, the bear, didn’t seem to like that idea.He stood high and issued a growl that turned Cadderly around.“Keep yourself safely back from him,” Newander explained.“I am not yet certain of his intentions.”“Have you asked?”“He won’t answer,” Newander replied.“Then can you be sure it’s really Arcite?” Cadderly asked.Shannon had explained to him that the druidic shapechange was purely physical, with retention of the woodland priest’s mental facilities.Shapechanged druids could even converse in the common tongue.“It was,” Newander replied, “and is.I recognize the animal.Perhaps it is Arcite now, more truly Arcite than he ever was as a human.”Cadderly could not exactly decipher those words, but he thought he understood the druid’s basic meaning.“The turtle, then, is Cleo?” he asked.“Or is Cleo really the turtle?”“Yes,” Newander answered.“Both ways, as far as I can discern.”“Why are you still human?” Cadderly pressed, guessing the source of Newander’s despair.But when he saw that his question had wounded the druid, he bowed quickly, exited, and closed the door.He started to walk away, but changed his mind and ran instead.Newander sat back against the windowsill and looked at his animal companions.Something had happened while he was gone, though he still wasn’t certain whether it had been a good or a bad thing.Newander feared for his comrades, but he envied them, too.Had they found some secret while he was away, some measure by which they could slip fully into the natural order?He had seen Arcite in bear form before, and clearly recognized the druid, but never had the transformation been so complete.The bear resisted Newander’s every attempt to communicate.The same held true of Cleo, the turtle.Newander remained a human, alone in a house of tempting civilization.He hoped his friends would return soon; he feared he would lose his way without their guidance.Newander looked back out the window, back to the majestic mountains and the world he so loved.For all of that love, though, the druid still did not know where he fit in.When he arrived at the kitchen, Cadderly found that the dwarves had resumed their fighting.Pots, pans, and kitchen knives hummed about the room, smashing ceramic items, clanging against iron ones, and knocking holes in the walls.“Ivan!” Cadderly screamed, and the desperation in his voice actually stopped the barrage.Ivan looked at Cadderly blankly, and from across the room, Pikel added, “Oo.”“What are you fighting about now?” Cadderly asked.“That one’s fault!” Ivan growled.“He spoiled me soup.Put in roots and leaves and grass and things.
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dnd244
Says it’s druidlike that way.Bah!A dwarf druid!”“Put your desires on hold, Pikel,” Cadderly advised solemnly.“Now is not the time to be thinking of joining a druidic order.”Pikel’s big, round eyes narrowed dangerously.“The druids are not in the mood for visitors,” Cadderly explained, “even for aspiring druids.I just came from them.” Cadderly shook his head.“Something very wrong is going on,” he said to Ivan.“Look at you two, fighting.Never have you done that in all the years I’ve known you.”“Never before did me stupid brother claim he’s a druid!” Ivan replied.“Doo-dad,” Pikel pointedly added.“Granted,” said Cadderly, glancing curiously at Pikel, “but look around at the destruction in this kitchen.Don’t you think this is a bit out of hand?”Tears flooded both Ivan and Pikel’s eyes when they took a moment to survey their prized kitchen.Every pot had been upset; the spice rack was thoroughly smashed and all spices lost; their oven, Pikel’s own design, was damaged so badly that it couldn’t possibly be repaired.Cadderly was glad his appeal had been heard, but the dwarves’ tears made him shake his head in continued disbelief.“Everyone has gone mad,” he said.“The druids are up in their room, pretending to be animals.Headmaster Avery acts as if I’m his favorite protégé.Even Danica is out of sorts.She nearly crippled Rufo yesterday and has it in her mind to try this Iron Skull maneuver.”“That’d explain the block,” remarked Ivan.“You know about that?” Cadderly asked.“Brought it up yesterday,” Ivan explained.“Solid and heavy, that one!Yer lady was here this morning, needing to put the thing back up on the sawhorses.”“You didn’t …”“ ’Course we did,” Ivan replied, puffing out his chest.“Who else’d be able to lift the thing …?” The dwarf stopped abruptly.Cadderly was already gone.The renewed clamor from Histra’s room haunted Cadderly when he got back to the third level.The priestess of Sune’s cries had only intensified, taking on a primordial urgency that truly frightened Cadderly and made every running stride toward Danica’s room seem a futile, dream-weighted step.He burst through Danica’s door, not even slowing to knock.He knew in his heart what he would find.Danica lay on her back in the center of the floor, her forehead covered in blood.
Says it’s druidlike that way.Bah!A dwarf druid!”“Put your desires on hold, Pikel,” Cadderly advised solemnly.“Now is not the time to be thinking of joining a druidic order.”Pikel’s big, round eyes narrowed dangerously.“The druids are not in the mood for visitors,” Cadderly explained, “even for aspiring druids.I just came from them.” Cadderly shook his head.“Something very wrong is going on,” he said to Ivan.“Look at you two, fighting.Never have you done that in all the years I’ve known you.”“Never before did me stupid brother claim he’s a druid!” Ivan replied.“Doo-dad,” Pikel pointedly added.“Granted,” said Cadderly, glancing curiously at Pikel, “but look around at the destruction in this kitchen.Don’t you think this is a bit out of hand?”Tears flooded both Ivan and Pikel’s eyes when they took a moment to survey their prized kitchen.Every pot had been upset; the spice rack was thoroughly smashed and all spices lost; their oven, Pikel’s own design, was damaged so badly that it couldn’t possibly be repaired.Cadderly was glad his appeal had been heard, but the dwarves’ tears made him shake his head in continued disbelief.“Everyone has gone mad,” he said.“The druids are up in their room, pretending to be animals.Headmaster Avery acts as if I’m his favorite protégé.Even Danica is out of sorts.She nearly crippled Rufo yesterday and has it in her mind to try this Iron Skull maneuver.”“That’d explain the block,” remarked Ivan.“You know about that?” Cadderly asked.“Brought it up yesterday,” Ivan explained.“Solid and heavy, that one!Yer lady was here this morning, needing to put the thing back up on the sawhorses.”“You didn’t …”“ ’Course we did,” Ivan replied, puffing out his chest.“Who else’d be able to lift the thing …?” The dwarf stopped abruptly.Cadderly was already gone.The renewed clamor from Histra’s room haunted Cadderly when he got back to the third level.The priestess of Sune’s cries had only intensified, taking on a primordial urgency that truly frightened Cadderly and made every running stride toward Danica’s room seem a futile, dream-weighted step.He burst through Danica’s door, not even slowing to knock.He knew in his heart what he would find.Danica lay on her back in the center of the floor, her forehead covered in blood.
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dnd245
The stone block was not broken, but her pounding had moved the sawhorses back a few feet.Like Danica, the block was caked in blood in several places, indicating that the monk had slammed it repeatedly, even after splitting open her head.“Danica,” Cadderly breathed, moving to her.He tilted her head back and stroked her face, still delicate beneath her swollen and battered forehead.Danica stirred just a bit, managing to drape one arm weakly over Cadderly’s shoulder.One of her almond eyes cracked open, but Cadderly didn’t think she saw anything.“What have you done to her?” came a cry from the doorway.Cadderly turned to see Newander glaring at him, quarterstaff leveled at the ready.“I did nothing,” Cadderly retorted.“Danica did it to herself.Against that block.” He pointed to the bloodied stone, and the druid relaxed his grip on the staff.“What’s happening?” Cadderly demanded.“With your friends?With Danica?With everyone, Newander?Something’s wrong!”Newander shook his head.“This is a cursed place,” he agreed, dropping his gaze to the floor.“I’ve sensed it since my return.”“It?” Cadderly asked, wondering what Newander knew that he didn’t.“A … a perversion,” the druid tried to explain.He stuttered over the words as though he himself had not yet come to understand his fears.“Something out of the natural order, something …”“Yes,” Cadderly agreed.“Something not as it should be.”“A cursed place,” Newander said again.“We must figure out how it’s cursed,” reasoned Cadderly, “and why.”“Not we,” Newander corrected.“I am a failure, good lad.You must find your own answers.”Cadderly wasn’t even surprised anymore at the unexpected and uncharacteristic response, nor did he try to argue.He gently lifted Danica in his arms and carried her over to the bed, where Newander joined them.“Her wounds are not too serious,” the druid announced after a quick inspection.
The stone block was not broken, but her pounding had moved the sawhorses back a few feet.Like Danica, the block was caked in blood in several places, indicating that the monk had slammed it repeatedly, even after splitting open her head.“Danica,” Cadderly breathed, moving to her.He tilted her head back and stroked her face, still delicate beneath her swollen and battered forehead.Danica stirred just a bit, managing to drape one arm weakly over Cadderly’s shoulder.One of her almond eyes cracked open, but Cadderly didn’t think she saw anything.“What have you done to her?” came a cry from the doorway.Cadderly turned to see Newander glaring at him, quarterstaff leveled at the ready.“I did nothing,” Cadderly retorted.“Danica did it to herself.Against that block.” He pointed to the bloodied stone, and the druid relaxed his grip on the staff.“What’s happening?” Cadderly demanded.“With your friends?With Danica?With everyone, Newander?Something’s wrong!”Newander shook his head.“This is a cursed place,” he agreed, dropping his gaze to the floor.“I’ve sensed it since my return.”“It?” Cadderly asked, wondering what Newander knew that he didn’t.“A … a perversion,” the druid tried to explain.He stuttered over the words as though he himself had not yet come to understand his fears.“Something out of the natural order, something …”“Yes,” Cadderly agreed.“Something not as it should be.”“A cursed place,” Newander said again.“We must figure out how it’s cursed,” reasoned Cadderly, “and why.”“Not we,” Newander corrected.“I am a failure, good lad.You must find your own answers.”Cadderly wasn’t even surprised anymore at the unexpected and uncharacteristic response, nor did he try to argue.He gently lifted Danica in his arms and carried her over to the bed, where Newander joined them.“Her wounds are not too serious,” the druid announced after a quick inspection.
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dnd246
“I have some healing herbs.” He reached into a belt pouch.Cadderly grabbed his wrist.“What’s happening?” he asked again, quietly.“Have all the priests gone mad?”Newander pulled away and sniffled.“I care nothing for your priests,” he said.“It is for my own order that I fear, and for myself!”“Arcite and Cleo,” Cadderly remarked.“Can you help them?”“Help them?” Newander replied.“Surely it is not they who need help.It’s me.They’re of the order.Their hearts lie with the animals.Pity me, I say.I have found my voice and it’s neither bay nor growl, nor even the cackle of a bird!”Cadderly’s face crinkled at the absurd words.The druid considered himself a failure because he had not changed into some beast to crawl about on the floor.“Newander, the druid,” Newander went on, fully absorbed in self-pity.“Not so, I say.Not a druid by my own measure.”Cadderly had a definite feeling that time was running out for all of them.He had awakened that morning full of hope, but things certainly had not improved.He looked closely at Newander.The druid considered himself a failure, but by Cadderly’s observation, he remained the most rational person at the library.Cadderly needed help.“Then be Newander, the healer” he said.“Tend to Danica—on your word.”Newander nodded.“Heal her, and don’t let her back at that block!” As if in response to his own words, Cadderly rushed across the room and pushed the stone over, not even caring about the resounding crash or the damage to the floor.“Don’t let her do anything,” Cadderly added firmly.“Would you put your trust in a failure?” the pitiful Newander asked.Cadderly didn’t hesitate.
“I have some healing herbs.” He reached into a belt pouch.Cadderly grabbed his wrist.“What’s happening?” he asked again, quietly.“Have all the priests gone mad?”Newander pulled away and sniffled.“I care nothing for your priests,” he said.“It is for my own order that I fear, and for myself!”“Arcite and Cleo,” Cadderly remarked.“Can you help them?”“Help them?” Newander replied.“Surely it is not they who need help.It’s me.They’re of the order.Their hearts lie with the animals.Pity me, I say.I have found my voice and it’s neither bay nor growl, nor even the cackle of a bird!”Cadderly’s face crinkled at the absurd words.The druid considered himself a failure because he had not changed into some beast to crawl about on the floor.“Newander, the druid,” Newander went on, fully absorbed in self-pity.“Not so, I say.Not a druid by my own measure.”Cadderly had a definite feeling that time was running out for all of them.He had awakened that morning full of hope, but things certainly had not improved.He looked closely at Newander.The druid considered himself a failure, but by Cadderly’s observation, he remained the most rational person at the library.Cadderly needed help.“Then be Newander, the healer” he said.“Tend to Danica—on your word.”Newander nodded.“Heal her, and don’t let her back at that block!” As if in response to his own words, Cadderly rushed across the room and pushed the stone over, not even caring about the resounding crash or the damage to the floor.“Don’t let her do anything,” Cadderly added firmly.“Would you put your trust in a failure?” the pitiful Newander asked.Cadderly didn’t hesitate.
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dnd247
“Self-pity does not become you,” he scolded.He grabbed the druid roughly by the front of his green cloak.“Danica is the most important person in all the world to me,” he said, “but I have some things I must do, though I fear I don’t yet understand what they might be.Newander will care for Danica—there is no one else—on his word and with my trust.”Newander nodded gravely and put his hand back into his pouch.Cadderly moved swiftly to the door, paused, and looked back at the druid.He didn’t feel comfortable leaving Danica, even with Newander, whom he trusted despite the druid’s self-doubts.Cadderly dismissed his protective urges.If he really wanted to help Danica, to help everyone in the library, he would have to find out what was going on, find the source of the infection that had apparently come over the place, and not merely bandage its symptoms.It was up to him, he decided.He nodded to Newander and headed for his room.THIRTEENCRYPTICThe tunnel was fiery and swirling, but not harmful to the imp.They were summoning flames and don’t burn a creature of Druzil’s otherworldly constitution.Barjin had opened his interplanar gate, exactly as Dorigen had predicted, and Druzil was quick to rush to the cleric’s call.A puff of red smoke—Druzil dropping the powder to effectively shut the gate behind him—signaled Barjin that his first summoned ally had arrived.He stared deeply into the brazier’s orange flames at the grotesque face taking form.A batlike wing extended from the side of the brazier, then another, and a moment later Druzil hopped through.“Who has dared to call me?” the imp snorted, playing the part of an unwitting extraplanar creature caught by Barjin’s summons.“An imp?” the priest retorted derisively.“I have extended all my efforts for the sake of summoning a mere imp?”Druzil folded his wings around him and snarled, not appreciating Barjin’s tone.If Barjin exhibited sarcastic disdain, Druzil knew that that, too, was part of the summoning game.As with the summoned creature, if the summoner accepted the situation without grumbles, he would be giving a definite advantage to his counterpart.The magic of conjuring creatures from other planes, was a contest of wills, where perceived strength was often more important than actual strength.Druzil knew the priest was thrilled that his first call had been answered at all, and an imp, resourceful and clever, was no small catch.But Barjin had to seem disappointed, had to make Druzil believe he was capable of calling and controlling much larger and stronger fiends.Druzil didn’t appear impressed.“I may go?” he replied as he turned back to the brazier.“Hold!” Barjin shouted at him.“Do not assume anything, I warn you.I have not dismissed you, nor shall I for many days to come.What is your name?”“Cueltar qui tellermar gwi,” Druzil replied.“ ‘Lackey of the stupid one?’ ” Barjin translated, laughing, though he did not fully understand the connotations of Druzil’s words.“Surely you can concoct a better title than that for yourself.”Druzil rocked back on his clawed feet, hardly believing that Barjin could understand Abyssal, the language of the lower planes.
“Self-pity does not become you,” he scolded.He grabbed the druid roughly by the front of his green cloak.“Danica is the most important person in all the world to me,” he said, “but I have some things I must do, though I fear I don’t yet understand what they might be.Newander will care for Danica—there is no one else—on his word and with my trust.”Newander nodded gravely and put his hand back into his pouch.Cadderly moved swiftly to the door, paused, and looked back at the druid.He didn’t feel comfortable leaving Danica, even with Newander, whom he trusted despite the druid’s self-doubts.Cadderly dismissed his protective urges.If he really wanted to help Danica, to help everyone in the library, he would have to find out what was going on, find the source of the infection that had apparently come over the place, and not merely bandage its symptoms.It was up to him, he decided.He nodded to Newander and headed for his room.THIRTEENCRYPTICThe tunnel was fiery and swirling, but not harmful to the imp.They were summoning flames and don’t burn a creature of Druzil’s otherworldly constitution.Barjin had opened his interplanar gate, exactly as Dorigen had predicted, and Druzil was quick to rush to the cleric’s call.A puff of red smoke—Druzil dropping the powder to effectively shut the gate behind him—signaled Barjin that his first summoned ally had arrived.He stared deeply into the brazier’s orange flames at the grotesque face taking form.A batlike wing extended from the side of the brazier, then another, and a moment later Druzil hopped through.“Who has dared to call me?” the imp snorted, playing the part of an unwitting extraplanar creature caught by Barjin’s summons.“An imp?” the priest retorted derisively.“I have extended all my efforts for the sake of summoning a mere imp?”Druzil folded his wings around him and snarled, not appreciating Barjin’s tone.If Barjin exhibited sarcastic disdain, Druzil knew that that, too, was part of the summoning game.As with the summoned creature, if the summoner accepted the situation without grumbles, he would be giving a definite advantage to his counterpart.The magic of conjuring creatures from other planes, was a contest of wills, where perceived strength was often more important than actual strength.Druzil knew the priest was thrilled that his first call had been answered at all, and an imp, resourceful and clever, was no small catch.But Barjin had to seem disappointed, had to make Druzil believe he was capable of calling and controlling much larger and stronger fiends.Druzil didn’t appear impressed.“I may go?” he replied as he turned back to the brazier.“Hold!” Barjin shouted at him.“Do not assume anything, I warn you.I have not dismissed you, nor shall I for many days to come.What is your name?”“Cueltar qui tellermar gwi,” Druzil replied.“ ‘Lackey of the stupid one?’ ” Barjin translated, laughing, though he did not fully understand the connotations of Druzil’s words.“Surely you can concoct a better title than that for yourself.”Druzil rocked back on his clawed feet, hardly believing that Barjin could understand Abyssal, the language of the lower planes.
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dnd248
This priest was full of surprises.“Druzil,” the imp replied suddenly, though he didn’t quite understand why he had revealed his true name.Barjin’s quiet chuckle told him that the priest might have mentally compelled such a truthful response.Yes, Druzil thought again, this priest is full of surprises.“Druzil,” Barjin muttered, as though he had heard the name before, a fact that did not please the imp.“Welcome, Druzil,” Barjin said, “and be glad that I have called you to my side.You are a creature of chaos, and you will not be disappointed by what you witness in your short stay here.”“I am born of the limitless Abyss,” Druzil reminded him.“You cannot imagine the wonders there.”Barjin conceded the point with a nod.No matter how completely the Most Fatal Horror engulfed the priests of the Edificant Library, it could not, of course, rival the unending hellish chaos of the Abyss.“We are in the dungeons of a bastion dedicated to order and goodness,” Barjin explained.Druzil crinkled his bulbous nose sourly, acting as though Barjin had revealed something he did not already know.“That is about to change,” Barjin assured him.“A curse has befallen this place, one that will bring the goodly priests to their knees.Even an imp who has witnessed the Abyss should enjoy that spectacle.”The glimmer in Druzil’s black eyes was genuine.Aballister had expressed concerns, even distress over Barjin’s choice of target and Barjin’s apparent successes, but Druzil was not Aballister’s stooge.If Barjin could indeed take down the Edificant Library, then Druzil would be much closer to realizing his hopes of throwing an entire region of Faerûn into absolute disarray.He looked around at the altar room, impressed by Barjin’s work, particularly by the setup around the precious bottle.His gaze then went to the door, and he was truly amazed.There stood Barjin’s newest bodyguard, wrapped head to toe in graying linen.Some of the cloth had slipped, revealing part of the mummy’s face, dried and hollowed skin on bone with several lesions where the skilled preservation techniques had not held up to the test of centuries.“Do you like him?” Barjin asked.Druzil had no idea how to respond.A mummy!Mummies were among the most powerful of the undead, strong and disease ridden, hateful of all living things and nearly invulnerable to most attacks.Few could animate such a monster; fewer still would dare to, fearing that they could not begin to keep the monster under control.“The priests and scholars above soon will be helpless, lost in their own confusion,” Barjin explained, “then they will meet my army.Look at him, my new friend, Druzil,” the priest said triumphantly, moving over to Khalif.He started to drape an arm over the scabrous thing, then apparently reconsidered the act and prudently pulled back.“Is he not beautiful?He does love me so.” To illustrate his power, Barjin turned to the mummy and commanded, “Khalif, kneel!”The monster stiffly dropped to its knees.“There are other preserved corpses that offer similar promise,” Barjin bluffed.He had no other ashes, and any attempt to animate a mummified corpse without such aid would prove futile or produce nothing more powerful than a simple zombie.Druzil’s growing admiration for Barjin did not diminish when the priest led him out on a tour of the catacombs.
This priest was full of surprises.“Druzil,” the imp replied suddenly, though he didn’t quite understand why he had revealed his true name.Barjin’s quiet chuckle told him that the priest might have mentally compelled such a truthful response.Yes, Druzil thought again, this priest is full of surprises.“Druzil,” Barjin muttered, as though he had heard the name before, a fact that did not please the imp.“Welcome, Druzil,” Barjin said, “and be glad that I have called you to my side.You are a creature of chaos, and you will not be disappointed by what you witness in your short stay here.”“I am born of the limitless Abyss,” Druzil reminded him.“You cannot imagine the wonders there.”Barjin conceded the point with a nod.No matter how completely the Most Fatal Horror engulfed the priests of the Edificant Library, it could not, of course, rival the unending hellish chaos of the Abyss.“We are in the dungeons of a bastion dedicated to order and goodness,” Barjin explained.Druzil crinkled his bulbous nose sourly, acting as though Barjin had revealed something he did not already know.“That is about to change,” Barjin assured him.“A curse has befallen this place, one that will bring the goodly priests to their knees.Even an imp who has witnessed the Abyss should enjoy that spectacle.”The glimmer in Druzil’s black eyes was genuine.Aballister had expressed concerns, even distress over Barjin’s choice of target and Barjin’s apparent successes, but Druzil was not Aballister’s stooge.If Barjin could indeed take down the Edificant Library, then Druzil would be much closer to realizing his hopes of throwing an entire region of Faerûn into absolute disarray.He looked around at the altar room, impressed by Barjin’s work, particularly by the setup around the precious bottle.His gaze then went to the door, and he was truly amazed.There stood Barjin’s newest bodyguard, wrapped head to toe in graying linen.Some of the cloth had slipped, revealing part of the mummy’s face, dried and hollowed skin on bone with several lesions where the skilled preservation techniques had not held up to the test of centuries.“Do you like him?” Barjin asked.Druzil had no idea how to respond.A mummy!Mummies were among the most powerful of the undead, strong and disease ridden, hateful of all living things and nearly invulnerable to most attacks.Few could animate such a monster; fewer still would dare to, fearing that they could not begin to keep the monster under control.“The priests and scholars above soon will be helpless, lost in their own confusion,” Barjin explained, “then they will meet my army.Look at him, my new friend, Druzil,” the priest said triumphantly, moving over to Khalif.He started to drape an arm over the scabrous thing, then apparently reconsidered the act and prudently pulled back.“Is he not beautiful?He does love me so.” To illustrate his power, Barjin turned to the mummy and commanded, “Khalif, kneel!”The monster stiffly dropped to its knees.“There are other preserved corpses that offer similar promise,” Barjin bluffed.He had no other ashes, and any attempt to animate a mummified corpse without such aid would prove futile or produce nothing more powerful than a simple zombie.Druzil’s growing admiration for Barjin did not diminish when the priest led him out on a tour of the catacombs.
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dnd249
Cunning, explosive glyphs, both fiery and electrical, had been placed at strategic positions, and a virtual army of animated skeletons sat patiently in their open tombs, awaiting Barjin’s commands or the predetermined conditions for action the priest had set upon them.Druzil didn’t need to be reminded that all those precautions could well be unnecessary.If the chaos curse continued to work effectively in the library above, no enemies would be likely to find their way down to bother Barjin.“Caution,” Barjin muttered as though he had read Druzil’s thoughts when the two had returned to the altar room.“I always assume the worst, thus am I pleasantly surprised if anything better occurs.”Druzil could hide neither his agreement or his excitement.Barjin’s plans had been complete; the priest had taken no chances.“This library soon will be mine,” Barjin assured the imp, and Druzil did not doubt his boasts.“With the Edificant Library, the very cornerstone of the Impresk region, defeated, all the land from Shilmista Forest to Impresk Lake will fall before me.”Druzil liked what he heard, but Barjin’s reference to “me” and not to the triumvirate was a bit unnerving.Druzil didn’t want open warfare among the ruling factions of Castle Trinity, but if it did come, the imp had to make certain that he chose the winning side.He was even more glad that Aballister had chosen to send him to Barjin, glad he could view both sides of the coming storm.“It is almost done,” Barjin reiterated.“The curse grabs at the sensibilities of the priests above and the library soon will fall.”“How can you know what happens above?” Druzil asked him, for the tour had not included any windows or passages up into the library.The one stairway Barjin had shown him had been smashed into pieces, and the door it once had led to had been recently bricked off.The only apparent weakness in Barjin’s setup was isolation, not knowing the exact sequence of events in the library above.“I have only indications,” Barjin admitted.“Behind the new wall I showed you lies the library’s wine cellar.I have heard many priests passing through there for more than a day now, grabbing bottles at random—some of which are extraordinarily expensive—and apparently guzzling them down.Their talk and actions speak loudly of the growing chaos, for this certainly is not within the rules of behavior in the disciplined library.Yet you are correct in your observations, friend imp.I do indeed require more details concerning the events above.”“So you have summoned me,” said Druzil.“So I have opened the gate,” Barjin corrected, flashing a sly look Druzil’s way.“I had hoped for a more powerful ally.”More of the summoner’s facade, Druzil thought, but he did not question Barjin’s claims.Anxious to see for himself what effects the curse was having, Druzil was more than willing to serve as Barjin’s scout.“Please, my master,” the imp whined.“Let me go and see for you.Please, oh, please!”“Yes, yes,” Barjin chuckled.
Cunning, explosive glyphs, both fiery and electrical, had been placed at strategic positions, and a virtual army of animated skeletons sat patiently in their open tombs, awaiting Barjin’s commands or the predetermined conditions for action the priest had set upon them.Druzil didn’t need to be reminded that all those precautions could well be unnecessary.If the chaos curse continued to work effectively in the library above, no enemies would be likely to find their way down to bother Barjin.“Caution,” Barjin muttered as though he had read Druzil’s thoughts when the two had returned to the altar room.“I always assume the worst, thus am I pleasantly surprised if anything better occurs.”Druzil could hide neither his agreement or his excitement.Barjin’s plans had been complete; the priest had taken no chances.“This library soon will be mine,” Barjin assured the imp, and Druzil did not doubt his boasts.“With the Edificant Library, the very cornerstone of the Impresk region, defeated, all the land from Shilmista Forest to Impresk Lake will fall before me.”Druzil liked what he heard, but Barjin’s reference to “me” and not to the triumvirate was a bit unnerving.Druzil didn’t want open warfare among the ruling factions of Castle Trinity, but if it did come, the imp had to make certain that he chose the winning side.He was even more glad that Aballister had chosen to send him to Barjin, glad he could view both sides of the coming storm.“It is almost done,” Barjin reiterated.“The curse grabs at the sensibilities of the priests above and the library soon will fall.”“How can you know what happens above?” Druzil asked him, for the tour had not included any windows or passages up into the library.The one stairway Barjin had shown him had been smashed into pieces, and the door it once had led to had been recently bricked off.The only apparent weakness in Barjin’s setup was isolation, not knowing the exact sequence of events in the library above.“I have only indications,” Barjin admitted.“Behind the new wall I showed you lies the library’s wine cellar.I have heard many priests passing through there for more than a day now, grabbing bottles at random—some of which are extraordinarily expensive—and apparently guzzling them down.Their talk and actions speak loudly of the growing chaos, for this certainly is not within the rules of behavior in the disciplined library.Yet you are correct in your observations, friend imp.I do indeed require more details concerning the events above.”“So you have summoned me,” said Druzil.“So I have opened the gate,” Barjin corrected, flashing a sly look Druzil’s way.“I had hoped for a more powerful ally.”More of the summoner’s facade, Druzil thought, but he did not question Barjin’s claims.Anxious to see for himself what effects the curse was having, Druzil was more than willing to serve as Barjin’s scout.“Please, my master,” the imp whined.“Let me go and see for you.Please, oh, please!”“Yes, yes,” Barjin chuckled.
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dnd250
“You may go above while I bring more allies through the gate.”“Does a path remain through the wine cellar?” the imp asked.“No,” Barjin explained, grabbing Mullivy by the arm.“My good groundskeeper has sealed that door well.Take my imp out the western tunnel,” Barjin instructed the zombie.“Then return to me.”Mullivy’s stinking, bloated corpse shuffled, stiff-legged, out of its guard position and through the altar room door.Not revolted in the least by the disgusting thing, Druzil flapped over and found a perch on Mullivy’s shoulder.“Take care, for it is daylight above,” Barjin called after him.In response, Druzil chuckled, whispered an arcane phrase, and became invisible.Barjin moved back to the gate, hoping for continued good fortune in his summoning.An imp was a prized catch for so small a gate, though if Barjin had known the identity of that particular imp and his wizard master, or that Druzil had sealed the gate behind his entry, he would not have been so thrilled.He tried for some time, calling out general spells of summoning and the names of every minor denizen he knew.Flames leaped and danced, but no forms appeared within their orange glow.Barjin wasn’t too concerned.The brazier would burn for many days, and the necromancer’s stone, though it had not yet produced results, continued to send out its call for undead.The priest would find many opportunities to add to his force.Cadderly wandered the hallways of the building, stunned by the emptiness, the brooding quiet.Many priests, both visitors and those of the host sects, such as Brother Chaunticleer, had left the library without explanation, and many of those who had remained apparently preferred the solitude of their rooms.Cadderly did find Ivan and Pikel in the kitchen, busily cooking a variety of dishes.“Your fights have ended?” Cadderly asked, grabbing a biscuit as he entered.He realized then that he hadn’t eaten much in nearly a day, and that Danica and Newander no doubt would be hungry also.“Fights?” Ivan balked.“No time for fighting, boy!Been cooking since the eve.Not a many for supper, but them that’s there won’t go away.”A terrible, sick feeling washed over Cadderly.He moved through the kitchen to peek out the other door, which led to the library’s large dining hall.A score of people were in there, Headmaster Avery among them, stuffing themselves hand over hand.Several had fallen to the fIoor, so full they could hardly move, but still trying to shove more food into their eager mouths.“You’re killing them, you know,” Cadderly remarked to the dwarves, his tone resigned.The young scholar was beginning to get an idea of what was going on.He thought of Histra and her unending passion, of Danica’s sudden obsession with lessons that were beyond her level of achievement, and of the druids, Arcite and Cleo, so fanatic to their tenets that they had lost their very identities.“They will eat as long as you put food before them,” Cadderly explained.“They will gorge themselves until they die.”Both Ivan and Pikel stopped their stirring and stared long and hard at the young priest.“Slow the meals down,” Cadderly instructed them.For the first time in a while, Cadderly noted some measure of comprehension.
“You may go above while I bring more allies through the gate.”“Does a path remain through the wine cellar?” the imp asked.“No,” Barjin explained, grabbing Mullivy by the arm.“My good groundskeeper has sealed that door well.Take my imp out the western tunnel,” Barjin instructed the zombie.“Then return to me.”Mullivy’s stinking, bloated corpse shuffled, stiff-legged, out of its guard position and through the altar room door.Not revolted in the least by the disgusting thing, Druzil flapped over and found a perch on Mullivy’s shoulder.“Take care, for it is daylight above,” Barjin called after him.In response, Druzil chuckled, whispered an arcane phrase, and became invisible.Barjin moved back to the gate, hoping for continued good fortune in his summoning.An imp was a prized catch for so small a gate, though if Barjin had known the identity of that particular imp and his wizard master, or that Druzil had sealed the gate behind his entry, he would not have been so thrilled.He tried for some time, calling out general spells of summoning and the names of every minor denizen he knew.Flames leaped and danced, but no forms appeared within their orange glow.Barjin wasn’t too concerned.The brazier would burn for many days, and the necromancer’s stone, though it had not yet produced results, continued to send out its call for undead.The priest would find many opportunities to add to his force.Cadderly wandered the hallways of the building, stunned by the emptiness, the brooding quiet.Many priests, both visitors and those of the host sects, such as Brother Chaunticleer, had left the library without explanation, and many of those who had remained apparently preferred the solitude of their rooms.Cadderly did find Ivan and Pikel in the kitchen, busily cooking a variety of dishes.“Your fights have ended?” Cadderly asked, grabbing a biscuit as he entered.He realized then that he hadn’t eaten much in nearly a day, and that Danica and Newander no doubt would be hungry also.“Fights?” Ivan balked.“No time for fighting, boy!Been cooking since the eve.Not a many for supper, but them that’s there won’t go away.”A terrible, sick feeling washed over Cadderly.He moved through the kitchen to peek out the other door, which led to the library’s large dining hall.A score of people were in there, Headmaster Avery among them, stuffing themselves hand over hand.Several had fallen to the fIoor, so full they could hardly move, but still trying to shove more food into their eager mouths.“You’re killing them, you know,” Cadderly remarked to the dwarves, his tone resigned.The young scholar was beginning to get an idea of what was going on.He thought of Histra and her unending passion, of Danica’s sudden obsession with lessons that were beyond her level of achievement, and of the druids, Arcite and Cleo, so fanatic to their tenets that they had lost their very identities.“They will eat as long as you put food before them,” Cadderly explained.“They will gorge themselves until they die.”Both Ivan and Pikel stopped their stirring and stared long and hard at the young priest.“Slow the meals down,” Cadderly instructed them.For the first time in a while, Cadderly noted some measure of comprehension.
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dnd251
Both dwarves seemed almost repulsed by their own participation in the food orgy.Together they backed away from their respective pots.“Slow the meals down,” Cadderly asked again.Ivan nodded gravely.“Oo,” added Pikel.Cadderly studied the brothers for a long moment, sensing that they had regained their sanity, that he could trust them as he had trusted Newander.“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he promised.He took a couple of plates, packed a meal, and took his leave.Anyone watching would have noticed a profound difference in the strides of the young scholar as he left the kitchen.Cadderly had come down tentatively, afraid of something he could not understand.He still hadn’t figured out the curse or its cause, nor could he remember his trials in the lower catacombs, but more and more it was becoming evident to Cadderly that fate had placed a great burden upon him, and the price of his success or failure was terrifying indeed.To his relief, Newander had the situation in Danica’s room under control.Danica was still in her bed, conscious but unable to move, for the druid had compelled long vines of ivy to come in through the window and wrap the woman where she lay.Newander, too, seemed in better spirits, and his face brightened even more when Cadderly handed him the supper plate.“You have done well,” Cadderly remarked.“Minor magic,” the druid answered.“Her wounds were not so bad.What have you learned?”Cadderly shrugged.“Little,” he answered.“Whatever’s wrong in this place grows worse by the moment.I have an idea, though, a way that I might learn what’s happening.”Newander perked up, expecting some revelation.“I’m going to go to sleep,” the young priest said.The druid’s fair face crinkled in confusion, but Cadderly’s confident smile deflected any further questions.Newander took the plate and began eating, mumbling to himself with every bite.Cadderly knelt beside Danica.She seemed barely coherent, but she managed to whisper, “Iron Skull.”“Forget Iron Skull,” Cadderly replied quietly.“You must rest and heal.Something is wrong here, Danica, wrong with you and with all the library.I don’t know why, but I seem to have been unaffected.” He paused, searching for the words.“I think I did something,” he said.Newander shuffled uneasily behind him.“I cannot explain.… I don’t understand, but I have this feeling, this vagrant thought, that I somehow caused all of this.”“Surely you cannot blame yourself,” Newander said.Cadderly turned on him.“I am not looking to place any blame at all,” he replied evenly, “but I believe I played a part in this growing catastrophe, whatever it might be.
Both dwarves seemed almost repulsed by their own participation in the food orgy.Together they backed away from their respective pots.“Slow the meals down,” Cadderly asked again.Ivan nodded gravely.“Oo,” added Pikel.Cadderly studied the brothers for a long moment, sensing that they had regained their sanity, that he could trust them as he had trusted Newander.“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he promised.He took a couple of plates, packed a meal, and took his leave.Anyone watching would have noticed a profound difference in the strides of the young scholar as he left the kitchen.Cadderly had come down tentatively, afraid of something he could not understand.He still hadn’t figured out the curse or its cause, nor could he remember his trials in the lower catacombs, but more and more it was becoming evident to Cadderly that fate had placed a great burden upon him, and the price of his success or failure was terrifying indeed.To his relief, Newander had the situation in Danica’s room under control.Danica was still in her bed, conscious but unable to move, for the druid had compelled long vines of ivy to come in through the window and wrap the woman where she lay.Newander, too, seemed in better spirits, and his face brightened even more when Cadderly handed him the supper plate.“You have done well,” Cadderly remarked.“Minor magic,” the druid answered.“Her wounds were not so bad.What have you learned?”Cadderly shrugged.“Little,” he answered.“Whatever’s wrong in this place grows worse by the moment.I have an idea, though, a way that I might learn what’s happening.”Newander perked up, expecting some revelation.“I’m going to go to sleep,” the young priest said.The druid’s fair face crinkled in confusion, but Cadderly’s confident smile deflected any further questions.Newander took the plate and began eating, mumbling to himself with every bite.Cadderly knelt beside Danica.She seemed barely coherent, but she managed to whisper, “Iron Skull.”“Forget Iron Skull,” Cadderly replied quietly.“You must rest and heal.Something is wrong here, Danica, wrong with you and with all the library.I don’t know why, but I seem to have been unaffected.” He paused, searching for the words.“I think I did something,” he said.Newander shuffled uneasily behind him.“I cannot explain.… I don’t understand, but I have this feeling, this vagrant thought, that I somehow caused all of this.”“Surely you cannot blame yourself,” Newander said.Cadderly turned on him.“I am not looking to place any blame at all,” he replied evenly, “but I believe I played a part in this growing catastrophe, whatever it might be.
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dnd252
If I did then I must accept that fact and search, not for blame, but for a solution.”“How do you mean to search?” the druid asked.His tone turned sarcastic.“By going to sleep?”“It’s hard to explain,” Cadderly replied to the druid’s stare.“I’ve been dreaming—vivid dreams.I feel there is a connection.I cannot explain.”Newander’s visage softened.“You need not explain,” he said, no longer doubting.“Dreams sometimes do have the power of prophecy, and we have no clearer trail to follow.Take your rest, then.I will watch over you.”Cadderly kissed Danica’s pale cheek.“Iron Skull,” the woman whispered.More determined than ever, Cadderly pulled a blanket to the corner of the room and lay down, placing an inkwell, quill, and a few sheets of parchment beside him.He threw an arm across his eyes and filled his thoughts with skeletons and ghouls, beckoning the nightmare to him.The skeletons were waiting for him.Cadderly could smell the rot and the thick dust, and hear the scuffle of fleshless feet on the hard stone.He ran in a red fog, his legs heavy, too heavy.He saw a door down a long hallway, and there was light peeking through its cracks.His legs were too heavy; he couldn’t get there.Cold beads of sweat caked Cadderly’s clothing and streaked his face.His eyes popped open and there, hovering over him, stood the druid.“What have you seen, boy?” Newander asked.The druid quickly handed him the writing materials.Cadderly tried to articulate the gruesome scene, but it was fast fading from his thoughts.He snatched up the quill and began writing and sketching, capturing as many of the images as he could, forcing his thoughts back into the dimming recesses of his nightmare.Then it was daytime again, midafternoon, and the dream was no more.Cadderly remembered the skeletons and the smell of dust, but the details were foggy and indistinct.He looked down to the parchment and was surprised by what he saw, as if someone else had done the writing.
If I did then I must accept that fact and search, not for blame, but for a solution.”“How do you mean to search?” the druid asked.His tone turned sarcastic.“By going to sleep?”“It’s hard to explain,” Cadderly replied to the druid’s stare.“I’ve been dreaming—vivid dreams.I feel there is a connection.I cannot explain.”Newander’s visage softened.“You need not explain,” he said, no longer doubting.“Dreams sometimes do have the power of prophecy, and we have no clearer trail to follow.Take your rest, then.I will watch over you.”Cadderly kissed Danica’s pale cheek.“Iron Skull,” the woman whispered.More determined than ever, Cadderly pulled a blanket to the corner of the room and lay down, placing an inkwell, quill, and a few sheets of parchment beside him.He threw an arm across his eyes and filled his thoughts with skeletons and ghouls, beckoning the nightmare to him.The skeletons were waiting for him.Cadderly could smell the rot and the thick dust, and hear the scuffle of fleshless feet on the hard stone.He ran in a red fog, his legs heavy, too heavy.He saw a door down a long hallway, and there was light peeking through its cracks.His legs were too heavy; he couldn’t get there.Cold beads of sweat caked Cadderly’s clothing and streaked his face.His eyes popped open and there, hovering over him, stood the druid.“What have you seen, boy?” Newander asked.The druid quickly handed him the writing materials.Cadderly tried to articulate the gruesome scene, but it was fast fading from his thoughts.He snatched up the quill and began writing and sketching, capturing as many of the images as he could, forcing his thoughts back into the dimming recesses of his nightmare.Then it was daytime again, midafternoon, and the dream was no more.Cadderly remembered the skeletons and the smell of dust, but the details were foggy and indistinct.He looked down to the parchment and was surprised by what he saw, as if someone else had done the writing.
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dnd253
At the top of the scroll were the words, “slow … red fog … reaching for me … too close!” and below was a sketch of a long hallway, its sides lined by sarcophagi-filled alcoves and with a cracked door at its end.“I know this place,” Cadderly began, but he stopped abruptly, his elation and train of thought disrupted by Barjin’s insidious memory-blocking spell.Before Cadderly could fight back against the sudden lapse, a scream from the hallway froze him where he sat.He looked at Newander, who was equally disturbed.“That was not the priestess of Sune,” the druid remarked.They rushed through the door and into the hallway.There stood a gray-capped priest, holding his entrails in his hands, an eerie, almost ecstatic expression on his face.His tunic, too, was gray, though most of it was blood-stained, and still more blood poured out of the man’s opened belly with each passing second.Cadderly and Newander could not immediately find the strength to go to him, knowing the futility of it.They watched in blank horror as the priest fell face down, a pool of blood widening around him.FOURTEENDISTURBING ANSWERSMullivy was hardly a swift walker, and Druzil used the time away from Barjin to reestablish contact with his master.He sent his thoughts out across the miles to Castle Trinity and found an eager recipient awaiting them.Greetings, my master, the imp communicated.You have found Barjin?In the catacombs, as you believed, Druzil replied.The fool.Druzil wasn’t certain that he shared Aballister’s appraisal, but the wizard didn’t need to know that.He has other allies, the imp imparted.Undead allies, including a mummy.Druzil smiled widely as he sensed Aballister’s reaction to that bit of news.The wizard didn’t mean to communicate his next thoughts, but Druzil was deeply enough into his mind to hear them anyway.I never would have believed that Barjin could achieve that.Many emotions accompanied those words, Druzil knew, and fear was not the least among them.The mighty Edificant Library is in peril, Druzil added, just to prod the wizard.If Barjin succeeds, then the Most Fatal Horror will have put us on the path toward a great victory.All the Heartlands will fall without the guidance of the library’s clerics.Aballister was wondering if the price was too high, Druzil realized, and the imp decided that he had told the wizard enough for one day.Besides, he could see the daylight up ahead as his zombie chauffeur neared the tunnel exit.He broke off direct communication, though he let the wizard remain in his mind and view through the imp’s eyes.Druzil wanted Aballister to get a good look at the glory of the chaos curse.The white squirrel kept high in the branches, unsure of what its keen senses were telling it.An undead thing came to the edge of the earthen tunnel then immediately turned around and disappeared back into it.Another scent, an unfamiliar scent, lingered.Percival saw nothing, but like other foraging animals, low on the food chain, the squirrel had learned quickly to trust more than just its eyes.Percival followed the scent—it was moving—to the treelined lane.The road was quiet, as it had been for the last two days, though the sun shone bright and warm in a clear blue sky.The squirrel’s ears perked up and twitched nervously as the library’s door opened, seemingly of its own accord, and the strange scent moved inside.The unusualness of it all kept the squirrel sitting nervously still for many moments, but the sun was warm and the nuts and berries in the trees and shrubs were abundant, just waiting to be plucked.Percival rarely kept a single thought for any length of time, and when he spotted a pile of acorns lying unattended on the ground, he was too relieved that the groundskeeper had stayed in the tunnel to worry about anything else.Druzil’s perceptions of the state of the Edificant Library were far different from Cadderly’s.Unlike the young scholar, the imp thought the rising, paralyzing chaos a marvelous thing.He found just a few priests in the study halls, sitting unmoving in front of open books, so riveted by their studies that they barely remembered to draw breath.Druzil understood the hold of the chaos curse better than any; if Barjin entered the hall with a host of skeletons at his back, the priests would offer no resistance, would probably not even notice.Druzil enjoyed the spectacle in the dining hall most of all, where gluttonous priests sat on chairs set back from the table to accommodate their swelling bellies, and other priests lay semiconscious on the floor.
At the top of the scroll were the words, “slow … red fog … reaching for me … too close!” and below was a sketch of a long hallway, its sides lined by sarcophagi-filled alcoves and with a cracked door at its end.“I know this place,” Cadderly began, but he stopped abruptly, his elation and train of thought disrupted by Barjin’s insidious memory-blocking spell.Before Cadderly could fight back against the sudden lapse, a scream from the hallway froze him where he sat.He looked at Newander, who was equally disturbed.“That was not the priestess of Sune,” the druid remarked.They rushed through the door and into the hallway.There stood a gray-capped priest, holding his entrails in his hands, an eerie, almost ecstatic expression on his face.His tunic, too, was gray, though most of it was blood-stained, and still more blood poured out of the man’s opened belly with each passing second.Cadderly and Newander could not immediately find the strength to go to him, knowing the futility of it.They watched in blank horror as the priest fell face down, a pool of blood widening around him.FOURTEENDISTURBING ANSWERSMullivy was hardly a swift walker, and Druzil used the time away from Barjin to reestablish contact with his master.He sent his thoughts out across the miles to Castle Trinity and found an eager recipient awaiting them.Greetings, my master, the imp communicated.You have found Barjin?In the catacombs, as you believed, Druzil replied.The fool.Druzil wasn’t certain that he shared Aballister’s appraisal, but the wizard didn’t need to know that.He has other allies, the imp imparted.Undead allies, including a mummy.Druzil smiled widely as he sensed Aballister’s reaction to that bit of news.The wizard didn’t mean to communicate his next thoughts, but Druzil was deeply enough into his mind to hear them anyway.I never would have believed that Barjin could achieve that.Many emotions accompanied those words, Druzil knew, and fear was not the least among them.The mighty Edificant Library is in peril, Druzil added, just to prod the wizard.If Barjin succeeds, then the Most Fatal Horror will have put us on the path toward a great victory.All the Heartlands will fall without the guidance of the library’s clerics.Aballister was wondering if the price was too high, Druzil realized, and the imp decided that he had told the wizard enough for one day.Besides, he could see the daylight up ahead as his zombie chauffeur neared the tunnel exit.He broke off direct communication, though he let the wizard remain in his mind and view through the imp’s eyes.Druzil wanted Aballister to get a good look at the glory of the chaos curse.The white squirrel kept high in the branches, unsure of what its keen senses were telling it.An undead thing came to the edge of the earthen tunnel then immediately turned around and disappeared back into it.Another scent, an unfamiliar scent, lingered.Percival saw nothing, but like other foraging animals, low on the food chain, the squirrel had learned quickly to trust more than just its eyes.Percival followed the scent—it was moving—to the treelined lane.The road was quiet, as it had been for the last two days, though the sun shone bright and warm in a clear blue sky.The squirrel’s ears perked up and twitched nervously as the library’s door opened, seemingly of its own accord, and the strange scent moved inside.The unusualness of it all kept the squirrel sitting nervously still for many moments, but the sun was warm and the nuts and berries in the trees and shrubs were abundant, just waiting to be plucked.Percival rarely kept a single thought for any length of time, and when he spotted a pile of acorns lying unattended on the ground, he was too relieved that the groundskeeper had stayed in the tunnel to worry about anything else.Druzil’s perceptions of the state of the Edificant Library were far different from Cadderly’s.Unlike the young scholar, the imp thought the rising, paralyzing chaos a marvelous thing.He found just a few priests in the study halls, sitting unmoving in front of open books, so riveted by their studies that they barely remembered to draw breath.Druzil understood the hold of the chaos curse better than any; if Barjin entered the hall with a host of skeletons at his back, the priests would offer no resistance, would probably not even notice.Druzil enjoyed the spectacle in the dining hall most of all, where gluttonous priests sat on chairs set back from the table to accommodate their swelling bellies, and other priests lay semiconscious on the floor.
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dnd254
At one end of the table, three priests were engaged in mortal combat over a single remaining turkey leg.Arguments, particularly between priests of differing faiths, were general throughout the building, often escalating out of control.The least faithful or studious simply wandered away from the library all together, and few had a care to stop them.Those most faithful were so absorbed in their rituals that they seemed to notice nothing else.In another of the second-floor study chambers, Druzil found a pile of Oghmanyte priests heaped together in a great ball, having wrestled until they were too exhausted even to move.When Druzil left to report to Barjin, he was quite satisfied that the chaos curse had done its work to unpredictable perfection.He felt the first insistent demands of his master when he rounded the northern side of the building, approaching the tunnel.You have seen?his thoughts asked Aballister.He knew that if Aballister had been paying attention, the wizard would know the state of the library as well as Druzil did.The Most Fatal Horror, Aballister remarked somewhat sourly.Barjin has brought us a great victory, Druzil promptly reminded the ever-skeptical wizard.Aballister was quick to reply.The library is not yet won.Do not count our victory until Barjin is actually in control there.Druzil replied by shutting the wizard completely out of his thoughts in mid-conversation.“Tellemara,” the imp muttered to himself.The curse was working.Already the few score priests remaining at the library probably wouldn’t be able to fend off Barjin’s undead forces, and their potential for resistance lessened with each passing moment.Soon, many of them likely would kill each other and many others would simply wander away.How much more control did the wizard require before claiming victory?Druzil paid no heed to Aballister’s final warning.Barjin would win the library, the imp decided, and he was thinking, too, that maybe he could find extra gains in his mission from Aballister, in spying on the powerful priest.Ever since the magical elixir had been dubbed an agent of Talona, the priests of Castle Trinity had enjoyed a more prominent role in the triumvirate.With the Edificant Library in Barjin’s hands, and with Barjin controlling a strong undead army, that domination would only increase.Aballister was an acceptable “master,” as masters went, but Druzil was an imp from the domain of chaos, and imps owed no loyalty to anyone except themselves.It was too early to make a definitive judgment, of course, but already Druzil was beginning to suspect that he would find more pleasure and more chaos at Barjin’s side than at Aballister’s.“Do something for him!” Cadderly pleaded, but Newander only shook his head, helpless.“Ilmater!” gasped the dying priest.“The … pain,” he stammered.“It is so won—” He shuddered one final time and fell limp in Cadderly’s arms.“Who could have done this?” Cadderly asked, though he feared he knew the answer.“Is not Ilmater the Crying God, a deity dedicated to suffering?” the druid asked, leading Cadderly to a clear conclusion.Cadderly nodded gravely.“Priests of Ilmater often engage in self-flagellation, but it’s usually a minor ritual of no serious consequence.”“Until now,” Newander remarked.“Come on,” Cadderly said, laying the dead priest on the floor.The blood trail was easily followed, and both Cadderly and Newander could have guessed where it led.Cadderly didn’t even bother knocking on the partly opened door.He pushed it in then turned away, too horrified to enter.In the middle of the floor lay the remaining five priests of the Ilmatari delegation, torn and bloodied.Newander rushed in to check on them but returned in only a few moments, shaking his head grimly.“Priests of Ilmater never carry it this far,” Cadderly said, as much to himself as to the druid, “and druids never go so far as to become, heart and body, their favored animals.” He looked up at the druid, his gray eyes revealing that he thought his words important.
At one end of the table, three priests were engaged in mortal combat over a single remaining turkey leg.Arguments, particularly between priests of differing faiths, were general throughout the building, often escalating out of control.The least faithful or studious simply wandered away from the library all together, and few had a care to stop them.Those most faithful were so absorbed in their rituals that they seemed to notice nothing else.In another of the second-floor study chambers, Druzil found a pile of Oghmanyte priests heaped together in a great ball, having wrestled until they were too exhausted even to move.When Druzil left to report to Barjin, he was quite satisfied that the chaos curse had done its work to unpredictable perfection.He felt the first insistent demands of his master when he rounded the northern side of the building, approaching the tunnel.You have seen?his thoughts asked Aballister.He knew that if Aballister had been paying attention, the wizard would know the state of the library as well as Druzil did.The Most Fatal Horror, Aballister remarked somewhat sourly.Barjin has brought us a great victory, Druzil promptly reminded the ever-skeptical wizard.Aballister was quick to reply.The library is not yet won.Do not count our victory until Barjin is actually in control there.Druzil replied by shutting the wizard completely out of his thoughts in mid-conversation.“Tellemara,” the imp muttered to himself.The curse was working.Already the few score priests remaining at the library probably wouldn’t be able to fend off Barjin’s undead forces, and their potential for resistance lessened with each passing moment.Soon, many of them likely would kill each other and many others would simply wander away.How much more control did the wizard require before claiming victory?Druzil paid no heed to Aballister’s final warning.Barjin would win the library, the imp decided, and he was thinking, too, that maybe he could find extra gains in his mission from Aballister, in spying on the powerful priest.Ever since the magical elixir had been dubbed an agent of Talona, the priests of Castle Trinity had enjoyed a more prominent role in the triumvirate.With the Edificant Library in Barjin’s hands, and with Barjin controlling a strong undead army, that domination would only increase.Aballister was an acceptable “master,” as masters went, but Druzil was an imp from the domain of chaos, and imps owed no loyalty to anyone except themselves.It was too early to make a definitive judgment, of course, but already Druzil was beginning to suspect that he would find more pleasure and more chaos at Barjin’s side than at Aballister’s.“Do something for him!” Cadderly pleaded, but Newander only shook his head, helpless.“Ilmater!” gasped the dying priest.“The … pain,” he stammered.“It is so won—” He shuddered one final time and fell limp in Cadderly’s arms.“Who could have done this?” Cadderly asked, though he feared he knew the answer.“Is not Ilmater the Crying God, a deity dedicated to suffering?” the druid asked, leading Cadderly to a clear conclusion.Cadderly nodded gravely.“Priests of Ilmater often engage in self-flagellation, but it’s usually a minor ritual of no serious consequence.”“Until now,” Newander remarked.“Come on,” Cadderly said, laying the dead priest on the floor.The blood trail was easily followed, and both Cadderly and Newander could have guessed where it led.Cadderly didn’t even bother knocking on the partly opened door.He pushed it in then turned away, too horrified to enter.In the middle of the floor lay the remaining five priests of the Ilmatari delegation, torn and bloodied.Newander rushed in to check on them but returned in only a few moments, shaking his head grimly.“Priests of Ilmater never carry it this far,” Cadderly said, as much to himself as to the druid, “and druids never go so far as to become, heart and body, their favored animals.” He looked up at the druid, his gray eyes revealing that he thought his words important.
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dnd255
“Danica was never so obsessed as to repeatedly slam her face into a stone block.”Newander was beginning to catch on.“Why were we not affected?” Cadderly asked.“I fear that I have been,” replied the sullen druid.When Cadderly looked more closely at Newander, he understood.The druid continued to fear not for his transformed friends, but for himself.“I have not the true heart for my chosen calling,” explained the druid.“You make too many judgments,” Cadderly scolded.“We know that something is wrong—” he waved toward the room of carnage “—terribly wrong.You have heard the priestess of Sune.You have seen these priests, and your own druid brothers.For some reason, we two have been spared—and perhaps I know of two others who have not been so badly affected—and that’s not cause to lament.Whatever has happened threatens the whole library.”“You are wise for one so young,” admitted Newander, “but what are we to do?Surely my druid brothers and the girl will be of no help.”“We will go to Dean Thobicus,” Cadderly said.“He has overseen the library for many years.Perhaps he will know what to do.” Cadderly didn’t have to speak his hopes that Dean Thobicus, aged and wise, had not fallen under the curse as well.The journey down to the second floor only increased the companions’ apprehension.The halls were quiet and empty, until a group of drunken rowdies appeared down at the other end of a long hallway.As soon as the mob spotted Cadderly and Newander, they set out after them.Cadderly and the druid didn’t know if the men meant to attack them or coerce them into joining the party, but neither of them had any intentions of finding out.Newander turned back after rounding one corner and cast a simple spell.The group came in fast pursuit, but the druid had laid a magical tripwire and the intoxicated mob had no defense against such a subtle attack.They tumbled in a twisting and squirming heap, and came up too busily wrestling with each other to remember that they’d been chasing somebody.Cadderly considered the headmasters’ wing his best hope until he and Newander crossed through the large double doors at the southern end of the second level.The place was eerily quiet, with no one to be seen.Dean Thobicus’s office door was among the few that were not open.Cadderly moved up slowly and knocked.He knew in his heart that he would get no response.Dean Thobicus was never an excitable man.His love was introspection, spending nights on end staring at the stars, or at nothing at all.Thobicus’s loves were in his own mind, and when Cadderly and Newander entered his office, that was exactly where they found him.
“Danica was never so obsessed as to repeatedly slam her face into a stone block.”Newander was beginning to catch on.“Why were we not affected?” Cadderly asked.“I fear that I have been,” replied the sullen druid.When Cadderly looked more closely at Newander, he understood.The druid continued to fear not for his transformed friends, but for himself.“I have not the true heart for my chosen calling,” explained the druid.“You make too many judgments,” Cadderly scolded.“We know that something is wrong—” he waved toward the room of carnage “—terribly wrong.You have heard the priestess of Sune.You have seen these priests, and your own druid brothers.For some reason, we two have been spared—and perhaps I know of two others who have not been so badly affected—and that’s not cause to lament.Whatever has happened threatens the whole library.”“You are wise for one so young,” admitted Newander, “but what are we to do?Surely my druid brothers and the girl will be of no help.”“We will go to Dean Thobicus,” Cadderly said.“He has overseen the library for many years.Perhaps he will know what to do.” Cadderly didn’t have to speak his hopes that Dean Thobicus, aged and wise, had not fallen under the curse as well.The journey down to the second floor only increased the companions’ apprehension.The halls were quiet and empty, until a group of drunken rowdies appeared down at the other end of a long hallway.As soon as the mob spotted Cadderly and Newander, they set out after them.Cadderly and the druid didn’t know if the men meant to attack them or coerce them into joining the party, but neither of them had any intentions of finding out.Newander turned back after rounding one corner and cast a simple spell.The group came in fast pursuit, but the druid had laid a magical tripwire and the intoxicated mob had no defense against such a subtle attack.They tumbled in a twisting and squirming heap, and came up too busily wrestling with each other to remember that they’d been chasing somebody.Cadderly considered the headmasters’ wing his best hope until he and Newander crossed through the large double doors at the southern end of the second level.The place was eerily quiet, with no one to be seen.Dean Thobicus’s office door was among the few that were not open.Cadderly moved up slowly and knocked.He knew in his heart that he would get no response.Dean Thobicus was never an excitable man.His love was introspection, spending nights on end staring at the stars, or at nothing at all.Thobicus’s loves were in his own mind, and when Cadderly and Newander entered his office, that was exactly where they found him.
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dnd256
He sat very still behind his large oaken desk and apparently hadn’t moved for quite a while.He had soiled himself, and his lips were dry and parched, though a beaker full of water sat only inches away on his desk.Cadderly called to him several times and shook him roughly, but the dean showed no sign of having heard him.Cadderly gave him one last shake, and Thobicus fell over and remained where he dropped.Newander bent to examine the man.“We’ll get no answers from this one,” he announced.“We’re running out of places to look,” Cadderly replied.“Let’s get back to the girl,” said the druid.“No good staying here, and I’m afraid for Danica with that drunken mob roaming the halls.”They were relieved to find no sign of the drunken men as they exited the headmasters’ wing, and their return trip through the quiet, empty hallways was uneventful.Their sighs of relief upon entering Danica’s room would have been lessened considerably if either of them had noticed the dark figure lurking in the shadows, eyeing Cadderly with utter hatred.Danica was awake but unblinking when the two men returned to her.Newander started toward her, concerned and thinking that she had fallen into the same catatonic state as the dean, but Cadderly recognized the difference.“She’s meditating,” Cadderly explained, and even as he spoke the words, he realized what Danica had in mind.“She’s fighting whatever it is that compels her.”“You cannot know that,” reasoned Newander.Cadderly refused to yield.“Look at her closely,” he observed, “at her concentration.”The claim was beyond Newander’s experience, either to agree or refute, so he accepted Cadderly’s logic without further argument.“You said you know of others who might have escaped?” he said, wanting to get back to the business at hand.“The dwarf cooks,” replied Cadderly, “Ivan and Pikel Bouldershoulder.They have been acting strangely, I admit, but each time I’ve been able to bring them to reason.”Newander thought for a few minutes, chuckling quietly when he remembered Pikel, the green-bearded dwarf that so badly wanted to join the druidical order.The notion was absurd, of course, but Pikel was an appealing chap—for a dwarf.Newander snapped his fingers and allowed himself a smile of hope as he found a clue in Cadderly’s report.“Magical,” he said, looking back to Cadderly.“It is said by all who know that dwarves are a tough lot against magical enchantments.Might it be that the cooks can resist where men cannot?”Cadderly nodded and looked to the vine-covered bed.“And Danica will resist in time, I know,” he said, turning back to Newander.“But what about us?Why have we been spared?”“As I told you,” replied Newander, “it might well be that I have not been spared.I was gone all of yesterday, out walking in the sunshine and feeling the mountain breezes.I found Arcite and Cleo, bear and tortoise, upon my return, but since I came back, I must admit that I, too, have felt … compulsions.”“But you have resisted them,” said Cadderly.“Perhaps,” Newander corrected.“I cannot be sure.My heart of late has not been for nature, as seemingly were the hearts of my druid kin.”“And so you doubt your calling,” Cadderly remarked.Newander nodded.
He sat very still behind his large oaken desk and apparently hadn’t moved for quite a while.He had soiled himself, and his lips were dry and parched, though a beaker full of water sat only inches away on his desk.Cadderly called to him several times and shook him roughly, but the dean showed no sign of having heard him.Cadderly gave him one last shake, and Thobicus fell over and remained where he dropped.Newander bent to examine the man.“We’ll get no answers from this one,” he announced.“We’re running out of places to look,” Cadderly replied.“Let’s get back to the girl,” said the druid.“No good staying here, and I’m afraid for Danica with that drunken mob roaming the halls.”They were relieved to find no sign of the drunken men as they exited the headmasters’ wing, and their return trip through the quiet, empty hallways was uneventful.Their sighs of relief upon entering Danica’s room would have been lessened considerably if either of them had noticed the dark figure lurking in the shadows, eyeing Cadderly with utter hatred.Danica was awake but unblinking when the two men returned to her.Newander started toward her, concerned and thinking that she had fallen into the same catatonic state as the dean, but Cadderly recognized the difference.“She’s meditating,” Cadderly explained, and even as he spoke the words, he realized what Danica had in mind.“She’s fighting whatever it is that compels her.”“You cannot know that,” reasoned Newander.Cadderly refused to yield.“Look at her closely,” he observed, “at her concentration.”The claim was beyond Newander’s experience, either to agree or refute, so he accepted Cadderly’s logic without further argument.“You said you know of others who might have escaped?” he said, wanting to get back to the business at hand.“The dwarf cooks,” replied Cadderly, “Ivan and Pikel Bouldershoulder.They have been acting strangely, I admit, but each time I’ve been able to bring them to reason.”Newander thought for a few minutes, chuckling quietly when he remembered Pikel, the green-bearded dwarf that so badly wanted to join the druidical order.The notion was absurd, of course, but Pikel was an appealing chap—for a dwarf.Newander snapped his fingers and allowed himself a smile of hope as he found a clue in Cadderly’s report.“Magical,” he said, looking back to Cadderly.“It is said by all who know that dwarves are a tough lot against magical enchantments.Might it be that the cooks can resist where men cannot?”Cadderly nodded and looked to the vine-covered bed.“And Danica will resist in time, I know,” he said, turning back to Newander.“But what about us?Why have we been spared?”“As I told you,” replied Newander, “it might well be that I have not been spared.I was gone all of yesterday, out walking in the sunshine and feeling the mountain breezes.I found Arcite and Cleo, bear and tortoise, upon my return, but since I came back, I must admit that I, too, have felt … compulsions.”“But you have resisted them,” said Cadderly.“Perhaps,” Newander corrected.“I cannot be sure.My heart of late has not been for nature, as seemingly were the hearts of my druid kin.”“And so you doubt your calling,” Cadderly remarked.Newander nodded.
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dnd257
“It is a difficult thing.I so badly wish to join Arcite and Cleo, to join the search they have begun for the natural order, but I want, too …”“Go on,” Cadderly prompted as though he believed the revelations were vital.“I want to learn of Deneir and the other gods,” Newander admitted.“I want to watch the progress of the world, the rise of cities.I want to … I want,” Newander shook his head suddenly.“I don’t know what I want!”Cadderly’s gray eyes lit up.“Even in your own heart you don’t know what’s in your own heart,” he said.“That’s a rare thing, and it’s saved you, unless I miss my guess.That, and the fact that you hadn’t been here for very long before this all began.”“What do you know?” Newander asked, a sharp edge in his voice.He softened quickly, though, wondering how much truth was in the young scholar’s words.Cadderly only shrugged in response.“It’s only a theory.”“What of you?” Newander asked.“Why aren’t you affected?”Cadderly nearly laughed for lack of a suitable answer.“I cannot say,” he honestly admitted.He looked to Danica again.“But I know now how I might find out.”Newander followed the young scholar’s gaze to the meditating woman.“Are you going back to sleep?”Cadderly gave him a sly wink.“Sort of.”Newander didn’t argue.He wanted the time alone anyway to consider his own predicament.He couldn’t accept Cadderly’s reasoning concerning his exclusion from whatever was cursing the library, though he hoped it was as simple as that.Newander suspected that something else was going on, something he couldn’t begin to understand, something wonderful or terrible—he couldn’t be sure.For all his thinking, though, the druid couldn’t rid himself of the image of Arcite and Cleo, contented and natural, and neither could he dismiss his fear that ambivalence had caused him to fail Silvanus in a time of dire need.Cadderly sat crosslegged with his eyes closed for a long time, relaxing each part of his body in turn, causing his mind to sink within his physical self.He had learned the technique from Danica—one of the few things she had revealed about her religion—and had found them quite useful, restful, and enjoyable.But the meditation had taken on a more important role.Cadderly opened his eyes slowly and viewed the room, seeing it in surreal tones.
“It is a difficult thing.I so badly wish to join Arcite and Cleo, to join the search they have begun for the natural order, but I want, too …”“Go on,” Cadderly prompted as though he believed the revelations were vital.“I want to learn of Deneir and the other gods,” Newander admitted.“I want to watch the progress of the world, the rise of cities.I want to … I want,” Newander shook his head suddenly.“I don’t know what I want!”Cadderly’s gray eyes lit up.“Even in your own heart you don’t know what’s in your own heart,” he said.“That’s a rare thing, and it’s saved you, unless I miss my guess.That, and the fact that you hadn’t been here for very long before this all began.”“What do you know?” Newander asked, a sharp edge in his voice.He softened quickly, though, wondering how much truth was in the young scholar’s words.Cadderly only shrugged in response.“It’s only a theory.”“What of you?” Newander asked.“Why aren’t you affected?”Cadderly nearly laughed for lack of a suitable answer.“I cannot say,” he honestly admitted.He looked to Danica again.“But I know now how I might find out.”Newander followed the young scholar’s gaze to the meditating woman.“Are you going back to sleep?”Cadderly gave him a sly wink.“Sort of.”Newander didn’t argue.He wanted the time alone anyway to consider his own predicament.He couldn’t accept Cadderly’s reasoning concerning his exclusion from whatever was cursing the library, though he hoped it was as simple as that.Newander suspected that something else was going on, something he couldn’t begin to understand, something wonderful or terrible—he couldn’t be sure.For all his thinking, though, the druid couldn’t rid himself of the image of Arcite and Cleo, contented and natural, and neither could he dismiss his fear that ambivalence had caused him to fail Silvanus in a time of dire need.Cadderly sat crosslegged with his eyes closed for a long time, relaxing each part of his body in turn, causing his mind to sink within his physical self.He had learned the technique from Danica—one of the few things she had revealed about her religion—and had found them quite useful, restful, and enjoyable.But the meditation had taken on a more important role.Cadderly opened his eyes slowly and viewed the room, seeing it in surreal tones.
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dnd258
He focused first on the block of stone, stained with his dear Danica’s blood.It sat between the downed sawhorses then it was gone, removed to blackness.Behind it was Danica’s cabinet and wardrobe then they, too, were gone.He glanced left, to the door and Newander keeping a watchful guard.The druid watched him curiously, but Cadderly hardly noticed.A moment later, both druid and door were holes of blackness.Then his vision eliminated the rest of the room: Danica’s desk and her weapons, two crystalline daggers, in their boot sheaths against the wall; the window, bright with late morning light; and lastly, Danica herself, still deep in her own meditation on the vine-wrapped bed.“Dear Danica,” Cadderly muttered, though even he didn’t hear the words.Then Danica, too, and everything else, was out of his thoughts.Again he returned to relaxation—toes then feet then legs; fingers then hands then arms—until he had achieved a sedated state.His breathing came slowly and easily.His eyes were open, but they saw nothing.There was only quiet blackness, calm.Cadderly could summon no thoughts in such a state.He had to hope that answers would flow to him, that his subconscious would give him images and clues.He had no concept of time passing, but it seemed a long while of emptiness, of simple, uncluttered existence.The walking dead were alongside him then in the blackness.Unlike his dreams, he saw the skeletal figures as no threat now, as though he were an unattached observer instead of an active participant.They scuffled along on his mental journey, falling behind him, leaving him in a hallway.There was the familiar door, cracked and showing lines of light, always the ending image of his nightmare.The picture faded, as if some unseen force were trying to stop him from proceeding, a mental barrier that he believed to be a spell.The images became a gray blur for just a moment then focused again, and he was at, then through the door.The altar room!Cadderly watched, hopeful and afraid, as the room darkened, leaving only a single, red-glowing object—a bottle—visible before him.He saw the bottle up close then, and he saw hands, his own hands, twisting off the stopper.Red smoke exploded all around him, stealing every other image.Cadderly looked again on Danica’s room, the image identical to the one he had blocked out—even Newander remained at his position near the door—except that there hung in the air an almost imperceptible pink haze.Cadderly felt his heart quicken as the purpose of that haze became all too clear.His gaze fell over Danica, still deep in her own meditation.Cadderly’s thoughts reached out to Danica and were answered.She was battling, as he had suspected, fighting back against that permeating pink haze, trying to recover her sensibilities against its debilitating effects.“Fight, Danica!” he heard himself say, and the words broke his trance.He looked over to Newander, his expression desperate.“I was the cause,” he said, holding up his hands as though they were covered in blood.“I opened it!”Newander rushed over and knelt beside Cadderly, trying to calm him.“Opened what?”“Th-the bottle,” Cadderly stammered.“The bottle!
He focused first on the block of stone, stained with his dear Danica’s blood.It sat between the downed sawhorses then it was gone, removed to blackness.Behind it was Danica’s cabinet and wardrobe then they, too, were gone.He glanced left, to the door and Newander keeping a watchful guard.The druid watched him curiously, but Cadderly hardly noticed.A moment later, both druid and door were holes of blackness.Then his vision eliminated the rest of the room: Danica’s desk and her weapons, two crystalline daggers, in their boot sheaths against the wall; the window, bright with late morning light; and lastly, Danica herself, still deep in her own meditation on the vine-wrapped bed.“Dear Danica,” Cadderly muttered, though even he didn’t hear the words.Then Danica, too, and everything else, was out of his thoughts.Again he returned to relaxation—toes then feet then legs; fingers then hands then arms—until he had achieved a sedated state.His breathing came slowly and easily.His eyes were open, but they saw nothing.There was only quiet blackness, calm.Cadderly could summon no thoughts in such a state.He had to hope that answers would flow to him, that his subconscious would give him images and clues.He had no concept of time passing, but it seemed a long while of emptiness, of simple, uncluttered existence.The walking dead were alongside him then in the blackness.Unlike his dreams, he saw the skeletal figures as no threat now, as though he were an unattached observer instead of an active participant.They scuffled along on his mental journey, falling behind him, leaving him in a hallway.There was the familiar door, cracked and showing lines of light, always the ending image of his nightmare.The picture faded, as if some unseen force were trying to stop him from proceeding, a mental barrier that he believed to be a spell.The images became a gray blur for just a moment then focused again, and he was at, then through the door.The altar room!Cadderly watched, hopeful and afraid, as the room darkened, leaving only a single, red-glowing object—a bottle—visible before him.He saw the bottle up close then, and he saw hands, his own hands, twisting off the stopper.Red smoke exploded all around him, stealing every other image.Cadderly looked again on Danica’s room, the image identical to the one he had blocked out—even Newander remained at his position near the door—except that there hung in the air an almost imperceptible pink haze.Cadderly felt his heart quicken as the purpose of that haze became all too clear.His gaze fell over Danica, still deep in her own meditation.Cadderly’s thoughts reached out to Danica and were answered.She was battling, as he had suspected, fighting back against that permeating pink haze, trying to recover her sensibilities against its debilitating effects.“Fight, Danica!” he heard himself say, and the words broke his trance.He looked over to Newander, his expression desperate.“I was the cause,” he said, holding up his hands as though they were covered in blood.“I opened it!”Newander rushed over and knelt beside Cadderly, trying to calm him.“Opened what?”“Th-the bottle,” Cadderly stammered.“The bottle!
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dnd259
The red glowing bottle.The mist—do you see the mist?”Newander glanced around then shook his head.“It’s there … here,” Cadderly said, grabbing the druid’s arm and using it to help him to his feet.“We have to close that bottle!”“Where?” the druid asked.Cadderly stopped suddenly, considering the question.He remembered the skeletons, the dusty smell, the corridors lined with alcoves.“There really was a door in the wine cellar,” he said at length, “a door to the lowest catacombs, those dungeons no longer used by the library.”“We must go there to close this … bottle?” asked Newander, rising beside Cadderly.“No,” Cadderly cautioned, “not yet.The catacombs are not empty.We have to prepare.” He looked to Danica again, seeing her in a new light, finally understanding her mental struggles.“Will she be fighting beside us?” Newander asked, noticing Cadderly’s focus.“Danica is fighting now,” Cadderly assured him, “but the mist hangs all around us, and it is insistent.” He gave Newander a confused look.“I still don’t know why I’ve been spared its effects.”“If you were indeed the cause, as you believe,” replied the druid, who had lengthy experience with magical practices, “then that fact alone might have spared you.”Cadderly considered the words for a moment, but they hardly seemed to matter.“Whatever the reason” he said with grim determination, “we—I—have to close that bottle.” He spent a few minutes trying to recall the obstacles before him and imagining even more frightening monsters that might be lurking just outside his nightmarish visions.Cadderly knew he would need allies, powerful allies, to help him get back to the altar room.“Ivan and Pikel,” he said to Newander.“The dwarves are more resistant, as you said.They will help us.”“Go to them,” the druid bade him.“You stay with Danica,” Cadderly replied.“Let no one, except for me and the dwarf brothers, into this room.”“I have ways of keeping the world out,” Newander assured him.As soon as he entered the hallway, Cadderly heard the druid chanting softly.Danica’s door, suddenly brought to life by Newander’s spell, warped and expanded, wedging tightly, immovably, into its frame.Ivan and Pikel were not fighting when Cadderly entered the kitchen, but neither were they cooking.They sat quietly, somberly, at the room’s main table opposite each other.As soon as he noticed Cadderly, Ivan absently handed him the one-handed crossbow, finished to perfection.“Had an urge,” the dwarf explained, not giving the magnificent item a second look.Cadderly was not surprised.It seemed that many people in the Edificant Library were having “urges” of late.“What’s it about?” Ivan asked suddenly.Cadderly did not understand.Pikel, a grim expression on his normally carefree features, pointed to the door leading into the dining room.Cadderly crossed the kitchen tentatively and when he looked into the adjoining room, he came to realize the reason for the dwarves’ somber mood.Half the gluttonous priests, Avery included, remained at the table, hardly able to move.
The red glowing bottle.The mist—do you see the mist?”Newander glanced around then shook his head.“It’s there … here,” Cadderly said, grabbing the druid’s arm and using it to help him to his feet.“We have to close that bottle!”“Where?” the druid asked.Cadderly stopped suddenly, considering the question.He remembered the skeletons, the dusty smell, the corridors lined with alcoves.“There really was a door in the wine cellar,” he said at length, “a door to the lowest catacombs, those dungeons no longer used by the library.”“We must go there to close this … bottle?” asked Newander, rising beside Cadderly.“No,” Cadderly cautioned, “not yet.The catacombs are not empty.We have to prepare.” He looked to Danica again, seeing her in a new light, finally understanding her mental struggles.“Will she be fighting beside us?” Newander asked, noticing Cadderly’s focus.“Danica is fighting now,” Cadderly assured him, “but the mist hangs all around us, and it is insistent.” He gave Newander a confused look.“I still don’t know why I’ve been spared its effects.”“If you were indeed the cause, as you believe,” replied the druid, who had lengthy experience with magical practices, “then that fact alone might have spared you.”Cadderly considered the words for a moment, but they hardly seemed to matter.“Whatever the reason” he said with grim determination, “we—I—have to close that bottle.” He spent a few minutes trying to recall the obstacles before him and imagining even more frightening monsters that might be lurking just outside his nightmarish visions.Cadderly knew he would need allies, powerful allies, to help him get back to the altar room.“Ivan and Pikel,” he said to Newander.“The dwarves are more resistant, as you said.They will help us.”“Go to them,” the druid bade him.“You stay with Danica,” Cadderly replied.“Let no one, except for me and the dwarf brothers, into this room.”“I have ways of keeping the world out,” Newander assured him.As soon as he entered the hallway, Cadderly heard the druid chanting softly.Danica’s door, suddenly brought to life by Newander’s spell, warped and expanded, wedging tightly, immovably, into its frame.Ivan and Pikel were not fighting when Cadderly entered the kitchen, but neither were they cooking.They sat quietly, somberly, at the room’s main table opposite each other.As soon as he noticed Cadderly, Ivan absently handed him the one-handed crossbow, finished to perfection.“Had an urge,” the dwarf explained, not giving the magnificent item a second look.Cadderly was not surprised.It seemed that many people in the Edificant Library were having “urges” of late.“What’s it about?” Ivan asked suddenly.Cadderly did not understand.Pikel, a grim expression on his normally carefree features, pointed to the door leading into the dining room.Cadderly crossed the kitchen tentatively and when he looked into the adjoining room, he came to realize the reason for the dwarves’ somber mood.Half the gluttonous priests, Avery included, remained at the table, hardly able to move.
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dnd260
The other half were worse yet, lying on the floor in their own vomit.Cadderly knew without going to them that several were dead, and his face, too, was ashen when he turned back into the kitchen.“So what’s it about?” Ivan asked again.Cadderly looked at him long and hard, unsure of how he could begin to explain the mysterious bottle and his own, still unclear actions.Finally, he said, “I am not certain what has happened, but I believe I know how to stop it.”He thought his proclamation would excite the dwarves, but they hardly stirred at the news.“Will you help me?” Cadderly asked.“I cannot do it alone.”“What do ye need?” Ivan asked offhandedly.“You,” Cadderly replied, “and your brother.The curse—and it is a curse—comes from below the cellars.I have to go down there to end it, but I fear the place is guarded.”“Guarded?” Ivan balked.“How can ye guess that?”“Just trust me, I beg,” replied Cadderly.“I am not so skilled with weapons, but I have witnessed you two fighting and could use your strong arms.Will you come with me?”The dwarves exchanged bored looks and shrugs.“I’d rather be cooking,” Ivan remarked.“Gave up me adventuring pack long ago.Pikel’d rather be …” He stopped and eyed his brother intently.Pikel fixed a smug look on his face, reached up, and waggled one side of his green beard.“A druid!” Ivan yelled, hopping to his feet and grabbing a nearby pan.“Ye stupid bird, loving, oak-kissin’ …!”“Oo oi!” Pikel exclaimed, arming himself with a rolling pin.Cadderly was between them in an instant.“It’s all part of the curse!” he cried.“Can you not see that?It makes you argue and fight.”Both dwarves jumped back a step and lowered their makeshift weapons.“Oo?” muttered Pikel curiously.“If you want to fight a true enemy,” Cadderly began, “then come to my room and help me prepare.There is something below the cellars, something horrible and evil.If we fail to stop it, all the library is doomed.”Ivan leaned to the side and looked around the young scholar to his similarly leaning brother.They shared a shrug and simultaneously heaved their cookware-weapons across to the other side of the room.“Let us go to the gluttons first,” Cadderly instructed.“We should leave them as comfortable as we can.”“Then I’ll get me axe,” Ivan declared, “and me brother’ll get his tree!”“Tree?” Cadderly echoed quietly at the departing dwarves’ backs.
The other half were worse yet, lying on the floor in their own vomit.Cadderly knew without going to them that several were dead, and his face, too, was ashen when he turned back into the kitchen.“So what’s it about?” Ivan asked again.Cadderly looked at him long and hard, unsure of how he could begin to explain the mysterious bottle and his own, still unclear actions.Finally, he said, “I am not certain what has happened, but I believe I know how to stop it.”He thought his proclamation would excite the dwarves, but they hardly stirred at the news.“Will you help me?” Cadderly asked.“I cannot do it alone.”“What do ye need?” Ivan asked offhandedly.“You,” Cadderly replied, “and your brother.The curse—and it is a curse—comes from below the cellars.I have to go down there to end it, but I fear the place is guarded.”“Guarded?” Ivan balked.“How can ye guess that?”“Just trust me, I beg,” replied Cadderly.“I am not so skilled with weapons, but I have witnessed you two fighting and could use your strong arms.Will you come with me?”The dwarves exchanged bored looks and shrugs.“I’d rather be cooking,” Ivan remarked.“Gave up me adventuring pack long ago.Pikel’d rather be …” He stopped and eyed his brother intently.Pikel fixed a smug look on his face, reached up, and waggled one side of his green beard.“A druid!” Ivan yelled, hopping to his feet and grabbing a nearby pan.“Ye stupid bird, loving, oak-kissin’ …!”“Oo oi!” Pikel exclaimed, arming himself with a rolling pin.Cadderly was between them in an instant.“It’s all part of the curse!” he cried.“Can you not see that?It makes you argue and fight.”Both dwarves jumped back a step and lowered their makeshift weapons.“Oo?” muttered Pikel curiously.“If you want to fight a true enemy,” Cadderly began, “then come to my room and help me prepare.There is something below the cellars, something horrible and evil.If we fail to stop it, all the library is doomed.”Ivan leaned to the side and looked around the young scholar to his similarly leaning brother.They shared a shrug and simultaneously heaved their cookware-weapons across to the other side of the room.“Let us go to the gluttons first,” Cadderly instructed.“We should leave them as comfortable as we can.”“Then I’ll get me axe,” Ivan declared, “and me brother’ll get his tree!”“Tree?” Cadderly echoed quietly at the departing dwarves’ backs.
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dnd261
One look at Pikel’s green-dyed braid bouncing halfway down the dwarf’s back and his huge, gnarly, smelly feet flopping out every which way from his delicate sandals told Cadderly not even to bother pressing the question.FIFTEENBLOOD ON HIS HANDSCadderly sorted through the many leather straps hanging in his wardrobe, finally pulling out a belt with a strangely shaped, wide and shallow leather sheath on one side.The fit of the small crossbow was perfect—there was even a place for the loading pin.As usual, Ivan and Pikel had crafted the metal to exact specifications.Cadderly drew the crossbow out again as soon as he had put it in.He tested the pin next, cranking the bow and firing several times.The action was smooth and easy.Cadderly even managed, without too much difficulty, to manipulate the weapon enough to crank it with one hand.Next Cadderly took out a bandoleer and slung it over his shoulder, carefully lining up the sixteen loaded darts in front of him, within easy reach.He winced when he wondered what damage a blow to his chest might cause, but he held faith that the darts and the bandoleer had been properly constructed.He felt better when he saw himself in the mirror, as if wearing his latest inventions had returned to him some control over his surroundings.Any smile he felt welling was quickly dismissed, though, when he remembered the dangerous task ahead.This is no game, he reminded himself.Already, and because of my own actions, several men have died and the library itself is threatened.Cadderly moved across the room, behind the door, to a sealed iron box.He fitted a key into the lock, then paused for a long moment, considering carefully the precise steps he had to follow once the box was opened.He’d practiced the maneuver many times, but never before had he believed he would ever actually need it.As soon as the box was open, the space around Cadderly fell into a globe of absolute darkness.It was no surprise to the young scholar; Cadderly had paid Histra handsomely for placing that spell within the box.It was inconvenient—and Cadderly didn’t really enjoy dealing with Histra—but necessary to protect one of Cadderly’s most prized possessions.In an ancient tome, Cadderly had stumbled upon the formula for the very potent sleep poison used by the drow.The exotic ingredients had not been easy to find.One fungus in particular could only be found in deep tunnels far below Toril’s surface.And making the arrangements to mix them—which the alchemist Belago had done, deep underground—had been even more difficult.But Cadderly had persevered.With the blessings and backing of Dean Thobicus, his efforts had produced five tiny vials of the poison.At least, Cadderly hoped it was the poison—one seldom finds the opportunity to test such things.Even with the apparent success of the alchemy, though, there remained one severe limitation.
One look at Pikel’s green-dyed braid bouncing halfway down the dwarf’s back and his huge, gnarly, smelly feet flopping out every which way from his delicate sandals told Cadderly not even to bother pressing the question.FIFTEENBLOOD ON HIS HANDSCadderly sorted through the many leather straps hanging in his wardrobe, finally pulling out a belt with a strangely shaped, wide and shallow leather sheath on one side.The fit of the small crossbow was perfect—there was even a place for the loading pin.As usual, Ivan and Pikel had crafted the metal to exact specifications.Cadderly drew the crossbow out again as soon as he had put it in.He tested the pin next, cranking the bow and firing several times.The action was smooth and easy.Cadderly even managed, without too much difficulty, to manipulate the weapon enough to crank it with one hand.Next Cadderly took out a bandoleer and slung it over his shoulder, carefully lining up the sixteen loaded darts in front of him, within easy reach.He winced when he wondered what damage a blow to his chest might cause, but he held faith that the darts and the bandoleer had been properly constructed.He felt better when he saw himself in the mirror, as if wearing his latest inventions had returned to him some control over his surroundings.Any smile he felt welling was quickly dismissed, though, when he remembered the dangerous task ahead.This is no game, he reminded himself.Already, and because of my own actions, several men have died and the library itself is threatened.Cadderly moved across the room, behind the door, to a sealed iron box.He fitted a key into the lock, then paused for a long moment, considering carefully the precise steps he had to follow once the box was opened.He’d practiced the maneuver many times, but never before had he believed he would ever actually need it.As soon as the box was open, the space around Cadderly fell into a globe of absolute darkness.It was no surprise to the young scholar; Cadderly had paid Histra handsomely for placing that spell within the box.It was inconvenient—and Cadderly didn’t really enjoy dealing with Histra—but necessary to protect one of Cadderly’s most prized possessions.In an ancient tome, Cadderly had stumbled upon the formula for the very potent sleep poison used by the drow.The exotic ingredients had not been easy to find.One fungus in particular could only be found in deep tunnels far below Toril’s surface.And making the arrangements to mix them—which the alchemist Belago had done, deep underground—had been even more difficult.But Cadderly had persevered.With the blessings and backing of Dean Thobicus, his efforts had produced five tiny vials of the poison.At least, Cadderly hoped it was the poison—one seldom finds the opportunity to test such things.Even with the apparent success of the alchemy, though, there remained one severe limitation.
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dnd262
The potion was a drow mix, brewed in the strange magical emanations found only in the Underdark, the lightless world beneath Toril’s surface.It was a well-known fact that if drow poison was exposed to the sun, even for a moment, it would become useless in a very short while.The open air alone could destroy the expensive mixture, so Cadderly had taken great steps, like the spell of darkness, to protect his investment.He closed his eyes and worked from memory.First he unscrewed the tiny compartment of his feathered ring and laid the top in a predetermined place to the side then he removed one of the vials from the box, carefully popping its cork.He poured the gooey contents into his open ring then found and replaced the feathered top.Cadderly breathed easier.If he had slipped at all, he would have wasted perhaps a thousand gold pieces’ worth of ingredients and many weeks of labor.Also, if he had spilled even a drop of the poison onto his hand, and if it had found its way into a tiny scratch or nick, he no doubt would be snoozing soundly right beside the box.None of that had happened.Cadderly was precise and disciplined when he needed to be, and his many practice sessions with vials of water had paid off.The darkness disappeared within the confines of the sealed box when Cadderly closed the lid.Ivan and Pikel were already in the room, surrounding the young scholar, weapons ready and faces grim at the sight of the unexpected darkness.“Just yourself, then,” Ivan grumbled, relaxing his grip on his heavy, two-headed axe.Cadderly could not immediately find his breath to reply.He just sat and stared at the brothers.Both wore armor of interlocking rings, dusty from decades of idleness and rusted in several spots.Ivan wore a helm fashioned with deer antlers—an eight-pointer—while Pikel wore a cooking pot!For all his armor, Pikel still wore his open-toed sandals.Most amazing of all, though, was Pikel’s weapon.Looking upon it, Cadderly understood Ivan’s earlier reference.It was indeed a “tree,” the polished trunk of some black and smoothbarked variety that Cadderly didn’t recognize.The club was fully four feet long, nearly as tall as Pikel, a foot in diameter on the wide end, and less than half that on the narrow, gripping end.Looped leather hand-grips were nailed on at various intervals to aid the wielder, but still it seemed an awkward and cumbersome thing.As if he sensed Cadderly’s doubts, Pikel whipped the club through several attack and defense routines with obvious ease.Cadderly nodded his appreciation, sincerely relieved that he had not been on the receiving end of any of Pikel’s mock strikes.“Are ye set to go?” Ivan asked, adjusting his armor.“Almost,” Cadderly answered.“I have just a few more minor preparations, and I want to look in on Danica before we go.”“How can we help ye?” offered Ivan.Cadderly could see that the dwarves were anxious to get on with it.He knew it had been many years since the Bouldershoulder brothers had walked into adventure, many years spent cooking meals in the haven that was the Edificant Library.It wasn’t a bad life by anyone’s measure, but the thought of imminent danger and adventure obviously had worked an enchantment over the dwarves.
The potion was a drow mix, brewed in the strange magical emanations found only in the Underdark, the lightless world beneath Toril’s surface.It was a well-known fact that if drow poison was exposed to the sun, even for a moment, it would become useless in a very short while.The open air alone could destroy the expensive mixture, so Cadderly had taken great steps, like the spell of darkness, to protect his investment.He closed his eyes and worked from memory.First he unscrewed the tiny compartment of his feathered ring and laid the top in a predetermined place to the side then he removed one of the vials from the box, carefully popping its cork.He poured the gooey contents into his open ring then found and replaced the feathered top.Cadderly breathed easier.If he had slipped at all, he would have wasted perhaps a thousand gold pieces’ worth of ingredients and many weeks of labor.Also, if he had spilled even a drop of the poison onto his hand, and if it had found its way into a tiny scratch or nick, he no doubt would be snoozing soundly right beside the box.None of that had happened.Cadderly was precise and disciplined when he needed to be, and his many practice sessions with vials of water had paid off.The darkness disappeared within the confines of the sealed box when Cadderly closed the lid.Ivan and Pikel were already in the room, surrounding the young scholar, weapons ready and faces grim at the sight of the unexpected darkness.“Just yourself, then,” Ivan grumbled, relaxing his grip on his heavy, two-headed axe.Cadderly could not immediately find his breath to reply.He just sat and stared at the brothers.Both wore armor of interlocking rings, dusty from decades of idleness and rusted in several spots.Ivan wore a helm fashioned with deer antlers—an eight-pointer—while Pikel wore a cooking pot!For all his armor, Pikel still wore his open-toed sandals.Most amazing of all, though, was Pikel’s weapon.Looking upon it, Cadderly understood Ivan’s earlier reference.It was indeed a “tree,” the polished trunk of some black and smoothbarked variety that Cadderly didn’t recognize.The club was fully four feet long, nearly as tall as Pikel, a foot in diameter on the wide end, and less than half that on the narrow, gripping end.Looped leather hand-grips were nailed on at various intervals to aid the wielder, but still it seemed an awkward and cumbersome thing.As if he sensed Cadderly’s doubts, Pikel whipped the club through several attack and defense routines with obvious ease.Cadderly nodded his appreciation, sincerely relieved that he had not been on the receiving end of any of Pikel’s mock strikes.“Are ye set to go?” Ivan asked, adjusting his armor.“Almost,” Cadderly answered.“I have just a few more minor preparations, and I want to look in on Danica before we go.”“How can we help ye?” offered Ivan.Cadderly could see that the dwarves were anxious to get on with it.He knew it had been many years since the Bouldershoulder brothers had walked into adventure, many years spent cooking meals in the haven that was the Edificant Library.It wasn’t a bad life by anyone’s measure, but the thought of imminent danger and adventure obviously had worked an enchantment over the dwarves.
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dnd263
There was an unmistakable luster to their dark eyes and their movements were agitated and nervous.“Go to Belago’s alchemy shop,” Cadderly replied, thinking it best to keep the dwarves busy.He described the distillation equipment and the potion that Belago was brewing for him.“If he has any more for me, bring it back,” Cadderly instructed, thinking the task simple enough.The dwarves already had hopped off down the hallway when Cadderly realized that he hadn’t seen Belago lately, not since before the curse had taken hold of the library.What had happened to the alchemist?Cadderly wondered.Was the shop still operational?Were the proper mixtures for blending his oil of impact still slipping in the precise amounts through the hoppers?Cadderly shrugged away his worries, trusting in Ivan and Pikel to use their best judgment.Percival was at the window again, chittering with his customary excitement.Cadderly went over and leaned on the sill, bending to put his face close to his little friend’s and listening intently.Cadderly couldn’t understand the squirrel’s talk, of course, no more than a child could understand a pet dog’s, but he and Percival had developed quite an emotive rapport, and he knew well enough that Percival comprehended some simple words or phrases, mostly those pertaining to food.“I will be gone for a while,” Cadderly said.The squirrel probably wouldn’t understand so complex a message, he realized, but talking to Percival often helped Cadderly sort through his own confusion.Percival never really provided any answers, but Cadderly often found them hidden within his own words.Percival sat up on his hind legs, licking his forepaws and running them quickly over his face.“Something bad has happened,” Cadderly tried to explain, “something that I caused.Now I am going to fix it.”His somber tone, if not his words, had a calming effect on the rodent.Percival stopped licking and sat very still.“So I will be gone,” Cadderly continued, “down below the library, in the deep tunnels that are no longer used.”Something he said apparently struck the squirrel profoundly.Percival ran in tight circles, chattering and clicking, and it was a very long while before Cadderly could calm the beast down.He knew that Percival had something important—by Percival’s standards—to tell him, but he had no time for the squirrel’s distractions.“Don’t worry,” Cadderly said, as much to himself as to Percival.“I’ll return soon, and all will be as it was.”His own words sounded hollow to him.Things would not be as they had been.Even if he managed to close the smoking bottle, and even if that simple act removed the curse, it wouldn’t bring back the priests of Ilmater or the dead gluttons in the dining room.Cadderly shook those dark thoughts away.He couldn’t hope to succeed if he began his quest in despair.“Don’t worry!” he said again, firmly.Again the squirrel went crazy, and Cadderly finally realized, from the direction of Percival’s gaze, the source of the excitement.
There was an unmistakable luster to their dark eyes and their movements were agitated and nervous.“Go to Belago’s alchemy shop,” Cadderly replied, thinking it best to keep the dwarves busy.He described the distillation equipment and the potion that Belago was brewing for him.“If he has any more for me, bring it back,” Cadderly instructed, thinking the task simple enough.The dwarves already had hopped off down the hallway when Cadderly realized that he hadn’t seen Belago lately, not since before the curse had taken hold of the library.What had happened to the alchemist?Cadderly wondered.Was the shop still operational?Were the proper mixtures for blending his oil of impact still slipping in the precise amounts through the hoppers?Cadderly shrugged away his worries, trusting in Ivan and Pikel to use their best judgment.Percival was at the window again, chittering with his customary excitement.Cadderly went over and leaned on the sill, bending to put his face close to his little friend’s and listening intently.Cadderly couldn’t understand the squirrel’s talk, of course, no more than a child could understand a pet dog’s, but he and Percival had developed quite an emotive rapport, and he knew well enough that Percival comprehended some simple words or phrases, mostly those pertaining to food.“I will be gone for a while,” Cadderly said.The squirrel probably wouldn’t understand so complex a message, he realized, but talking to Percival often helped Cadderly sort through his own confusion.Percival never really provided any answers, but Cadderly often found them hidden within his own words.Percival sat up on his hind legs, licking his forepaws and running them quickly over his face.“Something bad has happened,” Cadderly tried to explain, “something that I caused.Now I am going to fix it.”His somber tone, if not his words, had a calming effect on the rodent.Percival stopped licking and sat very still.“So I will be gone,” Cadderly continued, “down below the library, in the deep tunnels that are no longer used.”Something he said apparently struck the squirrel profoundly.Percival ran in tight circles, chattering and clicking, and it was a very long while before Cadderly could calm the beast down.He knew that Percival had something important—by Percival’s standards—to tell him, but he had no time for the squirrel’s distractions.“Don’t worry,” Cadderly said, as much to himself as to Percival.“I’ll return soon, and all will be as it was.”His own words sounded hollow to him.Things would not be as they had been.Even if he managed to close the smoking bottle, and even if that simple act removed the curse, it wouldn’t bring back the priests of Ilmater or the dead gluttons in the dining room.Cadderly shook those dark thoughts away.He couldn’t hope to succeed if he began his quest in despair.“Don’t worry!” he said again, firmly.Again the squirrel went crazy, and Cadderly finally realized, from the direction of Percival’s gaze, the source of the excitement.
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dnd264
Cadderly looked back over his shoulder, expecting to see that Ivan and Pikel had returned.He saw instead Kierkan Rufo, and more pointedly, the dagger in Rufo’s hand.“What is it?” Cadderly asked weakly, but he needed no answer to decipher the man’s intent.Rufo’s left eye was still bruised and closed, and his nose pointed as much toward his cheek as straight ahead.His ugly wounds only accentuated the look of sheer hatred in his cold, dark eyes.“Where is your light now?” the tall man sneered.“But then, it wouldn’t do you much good, would it?” He limped noticeably, but his approach was steady.“What are you doing?” Cadderly asked him.“Is not the mighty Cadderly smart enough to figure that out?” Rufo mocked him.“You don’t want to do this,” Cadderly said as calmly as he could.“There are … consequences …”“Want?” Rufo cried wildly.“Oh, but I do indeed want to do this.I want to hold your heart in my hands.I want to bring it to your dear Danica and show her who was the stronger.”Cadderly looked for some retort.He thought of mentioning the obvious weakness in Rufo’s plan—if he did bring Cadderly’s heart to Danica, she would kill him—but even that, Cadderly guessed, would not stop Kierkan Rufo.Rufo was fully under the curse, following its devious call with no regard for consequences.Reluctantly, but with no apparent options, Cadderly slipped one finger inside the loop of his spindle-disk cord and moved up against the side of his bed.Rufo came straight in, dagger leading, and Cadderly rolled sideways across the bed, just getting out of the man’s long reach.Rufo jumped back quickly, faster than Cadderly expected he could move, to cut off Cadderly’s angle for the door.He rushed around the bottom of the bed, launching a wide, arcing swing at Cadderly’s belly.Cadderly easily kept back out of the dagger’s reach then he retaliated, snapping his spindle-disks above Rufo’s swinging arm.Rufo’s already broken nose cracked under the impact and a new stream of blood flowed thickly over the dried stains on his lip.Rufo, obsessed with utter hatred, shook away the minor injury and came on.Though the blow had not been very solid, it still had almost broken the rhythm of Cadderly’s wrist.He managed to coax the disks back to his hand, but the cord was loosely wound and he couldn’t immediately strike again.Rufo seemed to sense his weakness.He grinned wickedly and came in again.Percival saved Cadderly’s life, leaping from the window to land squarely on Rufo’s face.With a single swipe, Rufo sent the squirrel flying across the room.Percival had done no real damage, but Cadderly hadn’t wasted the time.With Rufo distracted, he snapped the spindle-disks straight down and back up several times to realign and tighten the cord.Rufo seemed not to even notice the twin lines of blood running down his face from his newest wound, a small bite on his cheek from Percival.“I will hold your heart in my hands!” he promised again, laughing insanely.Cadderly jerked his arm once, then again, feigning a throw to keep Rufo off guard.Between dodges, Rufo managed a few weak thrusts that did not come near to hitting the mark.Cadderly launched the disks finally, in a long and wide throw that brought them to the very end of their reach.He flicked his wrist, bringing the disks back to his grasp, but not with the usual suddenness.Rufo measured the pace of the throws and bided his time.The disks came on again, and Rufo leaned back, then rushed toward Cadderly right behind them as they retracted.Cadderly’s bait had worked.He had shortened up on the cord, bringing the spindle-disks smacking back into his palm much more quickly than Rufo had anticipated.Rufo had barely taken his first step when the young scholar’s weapon shot out again, deliberately low.
Cadderly looked back over his shoulder, expecting to see that Ivan and Pikel had returned.He saw instead Kierkan Rufo, and more pointedly, the dagger in Rufo’s hand.“What is it?” Cadderly asked weakly, but he needed no answer to decipher the man’s intent.Rufo’s left eye was still bruised and closed, and his nose pointed as much toward his cheek as straight ahead.His ugly wounds only accentuated the look of sheer hatred in his cold, dark eyes.“Where is your light now?” the tall man sneered.“But then, it wouldn’t do you much good, would it?” He limped noticeably, but his approach was steady.“What are you doing?” Cadderly asked him.“Is not the mighty Cadderly smart enough to figure that out?” Rufo mocked him.“You don’t want to do this,” Cadderly said as calmly as he could.“There are … consequences …”“Want?” Rufo cried wildly.“Oh, but I do indeed want to do this.I want to hold your heart in my hands.I want to bring it to your dear Danica and show her who was the stronger.”Cadderly looked for some retort.He thought of mentioning the obvious weakness in Rufo’s plan—if he did bring Cadderly’s heart to Danica, she would kill him—but even that, Cadderly guessed, would not stop Kierkan Rufo.Rufo was fully under the curse, following its devious call with no regard for consequences.Reluctantly, but with no apparent options, Cadderly slipped one finger inside the loop of his spindle-disk cord and moved up against the side of his bed.Rufo came straight in, dagger leading, and Cadderly rolled sideways across the bed, just getting out of the man’s long reach.Rufo jumped back quickly, faster than Cadderly expected he could move, to cut off Cadderly’s angle for the door.He rushed around the bottom of the bed, launching a wide, arcing swing at Cadderly’s belly.Cadderly easily kept back out of the dagger’s reach then he retaliated, snapping his spindle-disks above Rufo’s swinging arm.Rufo’s already broken nose cracked under the impact and a new stream of blood flowed thickly over the dried stains on his lip.Rufo, obsessed with utter hatred, shook away the minor injury and came on.Though the blow had not been very solid, it still had almost broken the rhythm of Cadderly’s wrist.He managed to coax the disks back to his hand, but the cord was loosely wound and he couldn’t immediately strike again.Rufo seemed to sense his weakness.He grinned wickedly and came in again.Percival saved Cadderly’s life, leaping from the window to land squarely on Rufo’s face.With a single swipe, Rufo sent the squirrel flying across the room.Percival had done no real damage, but Cadderly hadn’t wasted the time.With Rufo distracted, he snapped the spindle-disks straight down and back up several times to realign and tighten the cord.Rufo seemed not to even notice the twin lines of blood running down his face from his newest wound, a small bite on his cheek from Percival.“I will hold your heart in my hands!” he promised again, laughing insanely.Cadderly jerked his arm once, then again, feigning a throw to keep Rufo off guard.Between dodges, Rufo managed a few weak thrusts that did not come near to hitting the mark.Cadderly launched the disks finally, in a long and wide throw that brought them to the very end of their reach.He flicked his wrist, bringing the disks back to his grasp, but not with the usual suddenness.Rufo measured the pace of the throws and bided his time.The disks came on again, and Rufo leaned back, then rushed toward Cadderly right behind them as they retracted.Cadderly’s bait had worked.He had shortened up on the cord, bringing the spindle-disks smacking back into his palm much more quickly than Rufo had anticipated.Rufo had barely taken his first step when the young scholar’s weapon shot out again, deliberately low.
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dnd265
Rufo squealed in shock and pain and grasped at his smashed kneecap, his leg nearly buckling.He was under the influences of the curse, though, and nearly impervious to pain.His squeal became a growl and he plowed ahead, slashing wildly.Again Cadderly had to dive across the bed to avoid the blade, but when he came up, Kierkan Rufo had already circled the bottom of the bed and stood facing him.Cadderly knew he was in trouble.He couldn’t trade hits, dagger against spindle-disks.Normally, the disks might have proven effective, but in Rufo’s state of mind, nothing short of a perfect and powerful strike would slow him.That type of attack would be risky indeed for Cadderly, and he doubted he could even get one through his wild opponent’s defenses.They traded feints and teasing lunges for a few moments, Rufo grinning and Cadderly wondering if he had a better chance by diving out the window.Then the whole building shook suddenly as if it had been hit by lightning.The explosion roiled on for several seconds and Cadderly understood its source when he heard a single word from the corridor.“Oo!”Rufo hesitated, glancing over his shoulder to the open door.Cadderly realized that his sudden advantage wasn’t really fair, but decided to worry about that later.He cocked his arm and let go with all his strength.Rufo turned back just in time to catch the soaring disks right between the eyes.Rufo’s head snapped straight back, and when he righted himself again, he was no longer grinning.A startled, stupefied look came over him and his eyes crossed, as if they were both straining to see the newest bruise.Cadderly, too transfixed to take his gaze from Rufo’s contorted features, heard the dagger hit the floor.A moment later, Rufo followed it down with a crash.Still Cadderly did not react.He just stood there, his spindle-disks hanging by his side at the end of their cord, spinning end-around-end.When Cadderly finally reached down to wind his weapon, his stomach turned over.The spindle-disks were covered in blood and one had a piece of Rufo’s eyebrow glued onto it by the thick red fluid.Cadderly slipped down to the bed and let the disks fall to the floor.He felt betrayed, by himself and by his toy.All priests of the library were required to train with some weapon, usually a more conventional one such as the quarterstaff, mace, or club.Cadderly had begun with the staff, and could use his ram-headed walking stick fairly well if the occasion arose, but he was never really comfortable with carrying any weapon.
Rufo squealed in shock and pain and grasped at his smashed kneecap, his leg nearly buckling.He was under the influences of the curse, though, and nearly impervious to pain.His squeal became a growl and he plowed ahead, slashing wildly.Again Cadderly had to dive across the bed to avoid the blade, but when he came up, Kierkan Rufo had already circled the bottom of the bed and stood facing him.Cadderly knew he was in trouble.He couldn’t trade hits, dagger against spindle-disks.Normally, the disks might have proven effective, but in Rufo’s state of mind, nothing short of a perfect and powerful strike would slow him.That type of attack would be risky indeed for Cadderly, and he doubted he could even get one through his wild opponent’s defenses.They traded feints and teasing lunges for a few moments, Rufo grinning and Cadderly wondering if he had a better chance by diving out the window.Then the whole building shook suddenly as if it had been hit by lightning.The explosion roiled on for several seconds and Cadderly understood its source when he heard a single word from the corridor.“Oo!”Rufo hesitated, glancing over his shoulder to the open door.Cadderly realized that his sudden advantage wasn’t really fair, but decided to worry about that later.He cocked his arm and let go with all his strength.Rufo turned back just in time to catch the soaring disks right between the eyes.Rufo’s head snapped straight back, and when he righted himself again, he was no longer grinning.A startled, stupefied look came over him and his eyes crossed, as if they were both straining to see the newest bruise.Cadderly, too transfixed to take his gaze from Rufo’s contorted features, heard the dagger hit the floor.A moment later, Rufo followed it down with a crash.Still Cadderly did not react.He just stood there, his spindle-disks hanging by his side at the end of their cord, spinning end-around-end.When Cadderly finally reached down to wind his weapon, his stomach turned over.The spindle-disks were covered in blood and one had a piece of Rufo’s eyebrow glued onto it by the thick red fluid.Cadderly slipped down to the bed and let the disks fall to the floor.He felt betrayed, by himself and by his toy.All priests of the library were required to train with some weapon, usually a more conventional one such as the quarterstaff, mace, or club.Cadderly had begun with the staff, and could use his ram-headed walking stick fairly well if the occasion arose, but he was never really comfortable with carrying any weapon.
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dnd266
He lived in a dangerous world, so he was told, but he had spent the majority of his life in the secure confines of the Edificant Library.He had never even seen a goblin, except for a dead one once, that being one of the library’s most wretched servants, who was said to be a half-breed.The headmasters had not allowed him to bend that rule, though; every priest was required to train.Cadderly had come across the spindle-disks in an archaic halfling treatise, and had quickly constructed his own.Some of the headmasters balked at his new choice, calling it more a toy than a weapon, but it fit all of the requirements set out in the ethical codes of Deneir.The vocal opposition, particularly Headmaster Avery’s, only strengthened Cadderly’s resolve to use the ancient weapon.For Cadderly, the spindle-disks had replaced afternoons of savage fighting with afternoons of enjoyable playing.He learned a dozen tricks, tests of skill that didn’t hurt anybody, with his new toy, for a toy he, too, secretly considered it.But covered in Rufo’s blood, the spindle-disks didn’t seem so amusing.Rufo groaned and shifted slightly, and Cadderly was glad he was still alive.He took a deep breath and reached down for the disks, reminding himself of the gravity of the task ahead, and that he would have to be brave and thick-skinned to see it through.Percival was on the bed at his side, lending further support.Cadderly rubbed a finger down the white squirrel’s smooth coat then nodded gravely and rewound his weapon.“He dead?” asked Ivan, entering the room with a smoldering Pikel at his heels.Percival darted out the open window, and Cadderly, when he looked up at the brothers, nearly joined him.Ivan’s antlers, face, and beard, which stuck out wildly in several directions, were blackened with soot, and one of his heavy boots was now as open-toed as his brother’s sandals.Pikel wasn’t much better off.Flecks of ceramics dotted his sooty face, his smile showed a missing tooth, and a shard of glass had actually embedded itself into his iron pot helmet.“Belago was not in?” Cadderly asked.Ivan shrugged.“Not a sign of that one,” he replied, “but me brother found yer potion—what little there was of it.”He held up the small catch basin.“We figured ye’d be wanting more, so we …”“Turned up the spigot,” Cadderly finished for him.“Boom!” added Pikel.“He dead?” Ivan asked again, and the casual tone of the question sent a shudder through Cadderly.Both dwarves noted the young scholar’s discomfort.They glanced at each other and shook their heads.“Ye’d best get the belly for it,” Ivan said.“If ye mean to go adventuring, things like that are likely to be falling yer way.” He led Cadderly’s gaze back to Kierkan Rufo.“Or at yer feet!”“I never meant to go adventuring,” Cadderly replied, somewhat sourly.“And I never meant to be a cook,” retorted Ivan, “but that’s what I got, ain’t it?Ye said we got a job to do, and so we do.Let’s get doing what needs doing, and if some try to get in our way, well …”“He’s not dead,” Cadderly interjected.“Please put him on the bed and tie him there.”Again Ivan and Pikel exchanged glances, but nodded in deference to Cadderly’s determined tone.“Oo,” remarked Pikel, obviously impressed.Cadderly wiped his spindle-disks clean, picked up his ram-headed walking stick and a waterskin, and headed down the hall.He was relieved to see Danica’s door still warped and tightly wedged, and even more relieved to hear Newander’s calm voice answering his knock.“How is she?” Cadderly asked.“She’s still deep in meditation,” Newander replied, “but she appears comfortable enough.”Cadderly conjured his meditative image of Danica, fighting back the insidious red haze.“I can reverse the spell and let you in,” the druid offered.“No,” Cadderly replied, though he wanted to see Danica again.His last image of Danica was a comforting one; he could not take the chance that something she did would worry him and steal his heart from his coming trials.
He lived in a dangerous world, so he was told, but he had spent the majority of his life in the secure confines of the Edificant Library.He had never even seen a goblin, except for a dead one once, that being one of the library’s most wretched servants, who was said to be a half-breed.The headmasters had not allowed him to bend that rule, though; every priest was required to train.Cadderly had come across the spindle-disks in an archaic halfling treatise, and had quickly constructed his own.Some of the headmasters balked at his new choice, calling it more a toy than a weapon, but it fit all of the requirements set out in the ethical codes of Deneir.The vocal opposition, particularly Headmaster Avery’s, only strengthened Cadderly’s resolve to use the ancient weapon.For Cadderly, the spindle-disks had replaced afternoons of savage fighting with afternoons of enjoyable playing.He learned a dozen tricks, tests of skill that didn’t hurt anybody, with his new toy, for a toy he, too, secretly considered it.But covered in Rufo’s blood, the spindle-disks didn’t seem so amusing.Rufo groaned and shifted slightly, and Cadderly was glad he was still alive.He took a deep breath and reached down for the disks, reminding himself of the gravity of the task ahead, and that he would have to be brave and thick-skinned to see it through.Percival was on the bed at his side, lending further support.Cadderly rubbed a finger down the white squirrel’s smooth coat then nodded gravely and rewound his weapon.“He dead?” asked Ivan, entering the room with a smoldering Pikel at his heels.Percival darted out the open window, and Cadderly, when he looked up at the brothers, nearly joined him.Ivan’s antlers, face, and beard, which stuck out wildly in several directions, were blackened with soot, and one of his heavy boots was now as open-toed as his brother’s sandals.Pikel wasn’t much better off.Flecks of ceramics dotted his sooty face, his smile showed a missing tooth, and a shard of glass had actually embedded itself into his iron pot helmet.“Belago was not in?” Cadderly asked.Ivan shrugged.“Not a sign of that one,” he replied, “but me brother found yer potion—what little there was of it.”He held up the small catch basin.“We figured ye’d be wanting more, so we …”“Turned up the spigot,” Cadderly finished for him.“Boom!” added Pikel.“He dead?” Ivan asked again, and the casual tone of the question sent a shudder through Cadderly.Both dwarves noted the young scholar’s discomfort.They glanced at each other and shook their heads.“Ye’d best get the belly for it,” Ivan said.“If ye mean to go adventuring, things like that are likely to be falling yer way.” He led Cadderly’s gaze back to Kierkan Rufo.“Or at yer feet!”“I never meant to go adventuring,” Cadderly replied, somewhat sourly.“And I never meant to be a cook,” retorted Ivan, “but that’s what I got, ain’t it?Ye said we got a job to do, and so we do.Let’s get doing what needs doing, and if some try to get in our way, well …”“He’s not dead,” Cadderly interjected.“Please put him on the bed and tie him there.”Again Ivan and Pikel exchanged glances, but nodded in deference to Cadderly’s determined tone.“Oo,” remarked Pikel, obviously impressed.Cadderly wiped his spindle-disks clean, picked up his ram-headed walking stick and a waterskin, and headed down the hall.He was relieved to see Danica’s door still warped and tightly wedged, and even more relieved to hear Newander’s calm voice answering his knock.“How is she?” Cadderly asked.“She’s still deep in meditation,” Newander replied, “but she appears comfortable enough.”Cadderly conjured his meditative image of Danica, fighting back the insidious red haze.“I can reverse the spell and let you in,” the druid offered.“No,” Cadderly replied, though he wanted to see Danica again.His last image of Danica was a comforting one; he could not take the chance that something she did would worry him and steal his heart from his coming trials.
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dnd267
On a more practical level, Cadderly thought it best to let Newander preserve his magical energies.“When I return, perhaps your spell will no longer be needed,” he said.“Then you want me to stay with Danica?”“I have the dwarves with me,” Cadderly explained.“They are better suited to the underground tunnels than a druid would be.Stay with her and keep her safe.”Ivan and Pikel came up then, and by the eager gleam in their eyes, Cadderly knew that the time had come to set off.Cadderly glanced back at Danica’s door several times as they walked away, emotionally torn.A large part of him argued against his journey, reasoned that his best course would be to go with his armed friends, sit by Danica’s side, and ride out the nightmare to its conclusion.But men were dying all around him.How many more Kierkan Rufos lurked in the shadows, murder in their hearts?“Dear Cadderly,” came a purring voice that only reinforced the young scholar’s determination.Histra stood behind her chamber’s door, opened just a crack, but that was enough to show Cadderly and the dwarves that she wore no more than a filmy, transparent negligee.“Do come in and sit with me.”“Oo!” said Pikel.“She’s wanting more than sitting, boy,” chuckled Ivan.Cadderly ignored them all and ran right by the door.He felt Histra grab at him as he passed and heard her door creak open wider.“Come back here!” the priestess of Sune screamed, jumping into the middle of the hall.“Oo!” an admiring Pikel remarked again.Histra concentrated deeply, meaning to utter a magical command for her would-be lover to “Return!” But Pikel, for all his obvious enchantment, kept a pragmatic attitude about the situation.As Histra began her spell, he clamped a sooty hand onto her rump and casually tossed her back into her room.“Oo,” Pikel uttered a third time when he moved into the room to close the door, and Ivan, standing right behind his brother, whole-heartedly agreed.A dozen young men lay sprawled about the room, exhausted by their exploits.“Are you so certain you want to leave?” Histra purred at the dwarf brothers.By the time the blushing dwarves caught up to Cadderly, he was down to the first floor, dipping his waterskin into a font in the great hall.“Wretched stuff,” Ivan whispered to Pikel.“Oils and water.Tried drinking it once.” He hung his floppy tongue out in disgust.Cadderly smiled at the dwarf’s remarks.He had better uses than drinking in mind for the holy water.When the skin was full, he took out a narrow tube, fitted on one end with a rubbery ball of some gooey substance.He popped it onto the open tip of his water skin and capped it with a smaller ball of the same goo.“You will understand in time,” was all the explanation he offered to the curious dwarves.The Bouldershoulder brothers grew alarmed when the group entered the kitchen and found the place full of priests.Headmaster Avery led the impromptu chefs, though their progress was limited since each of them spent more time stuffing food into his mouth than actually cooking anything.More alarming to Cadderly than the eating frenzy was his companions’ reactions.Both seemed on the verge of abandoning the quest, as though some greater compulsion pulled at them.“Fight it,” Cadderly said to them, recognizing their growing desires as curse-induced.Ivan and Pikel were protective of their kitchen, and both took extreme satisfaction in keeping the hungriest priests of the library fed to contentment.They looked around at the messy kitchen and the gluttonous priests, and for a moment Cadderly feared that he would be traveling down to the lower catacombs alone.But Newander’s claims of the dwarves’ resistance to magical enchantment held true.
On a more practical level, Cadderly thought it best to let Newander preserve his magical energies.“When I return, perhaps your spell will no longer be needed,” he said.“Then you want me to stay with Danica?”“I have the dwarves with me,” Cadderly explained.“They are better suited to the underground tunnels than a druid would be.Stay with her and keep her safe.”Ivan and Pikel came up then, and by the eager gleam in their eyes, Cadderly knew that the time had come to set off.Cadderly glanced back at Danica’s door several times as they walked away, emotionally torn.A large part of him argued against his journey, reasoned that his best course would be to go with his armed friends, sit by Danica’s side, and ride out the nightmare to its conclusion.But men were dying all around him.How many more Kierkan Rufos lurked in the shadows, murder in their hearts?“Dear Cadderly,” came a purring voice that only reinforced the young scholar’s determination.Histra stood behind her chamber’s door, opened just a crack, but that was enough to show Cadderly and the dwarves that she wore no more than a filmy, transparent negligee.“Do come in and sit with me.”“Oo!” said Pikel.“She’s wanting more than sitting, boy,” chuckled Ivan.Cadderly ignored them all and ran right by the door.He felt Histra grab at him as he passed and heard her door creak open wider.“Come back here!” the priestess of Sune screamed, jumping into the middle of the hall.“Oo!” an admiring Pikel remarked again.Histra concentrated deeply, meaning to utter a magical command for her would-be lover to “Return!” But Pikel, for all his obvious enchantment, kept a pragmatic attitude about the situation.As Histra began her spell, he clamped a sooty hand onto her rump and casually tossed her back into her room.“Oo,” Pikel uttered a third time when he moved into the room to close the door, and Ivan, standing right behind his brother, whole-heartedly agreed.A dozen young men lay sprawled about the room, exhausted by their exploits.“Are you so certain you want to leave?” Histra purred at the dwarf brothers.By the time the blushing dwarves caught up to Cadderly, he was down to the first floor, dipping his waterskin into a font in the great hall.“Wretched stuff,” Ivan whispered to Pikel.“Oils and water.Tried drinking it once.” He hung his floppy tongue out in disgust.Cadderly smiled at the dwarf’s remarks.He had better uses than drinking in mind for the holy water.When the skin was full, he took out a narrow tube, fitted on one end with a rubbery ball of some gooey substance.He popped it onto the open tip of his water skin and capped it with a smaller ball of the same goo.“You will understand in time,” was all the explanation he offered to the curious dwarves.The Bouldershoulder brothers grew alarmed when the group entered the kitchen and found the place full of priests.Headmaster Avery led the impromptu chefs, though their progress was limited since each of them spent more time stuffing food into his mouth than actually cooking anything.More alarming to Cadderly than the eating frenzy was his companions’ reactions.Both seemed on the verge of abandoning the quest, as though some greater compulsion pulled at them.“Fight it,” Cadderly said to them, recognizing their growing desires as curse-induced.Ivan and Pikel were protective of their kitchen, and both took extreme satisfaction in keeping the hungriest priests of the library fed to contentment.They looked around at the messy kitchen and the gluttonous priests, and for a moment Cadderly feared that he would be traveling down to the lower catacombs alone.But Newander’s claims of the dwarves’ resistance to magical enchantment held true.
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dnd268
The Bouldershoulders shrugged unhappily at the disaster that had befallen their space, but pushed Cadderly on, prodding him toward the door to the wine cellar.The musty stairs were dark and quiet; the torches lining the wall had not been tended.Cadderly opened his light tube and moved down a few steps, waiting there for the brothers to strike torches.Ivan came in last and closed and bolted the iron-bound door, even taking the trouble to slide an iron locking bar into place.“We’ve as much trouble behind as ahead,” the dwarf explained to Cadderly’s questioning look.“If that group gets as thirsty as they are hungry, they’ll only bring trouble along with them!”The reasoning seemed sound enough, so Cadderly turned and started down.Pikel grabbed him, though, and took up the lead, tapping his heavy club to his pot helmet.“Keep yerself between us,” Ivan explained.“We’ve been on this road before!”His confidence comforted Cadderly, but the clamor as the bulky dwarves thumped and rattled down the stairs did not.Their lights intruded into absolute darkness as they came down, but all three sensed that they were not alone.Beside the first wine rack, they found their first clues that someone else had come that way.Broken glass covered the floor and many bottles—bottles that Cadderly had inventoried only a few days before—were missing.The trail led to yet another dead priest.His stomach grossly distended, he lay curled on the floor, surrounded by empty bottles.They heard a shuffle to the side and Cadderly put a narrow beam of light down between the wine racks.Another priest was in there, trying to stand.He was too drunk to even notice the light, and his stomach, too, bulged and sloshed.Despite his stupor, he still held a bottle to his lips, stubbornly forcing more liquid down his throat.Cadderly started toward the drunk, but Ivan held him back.“Show me yer door,” Ivan said to him then the dwarf nodded to Pikel.As Cadderly and Ivan headed deeper into the cellar, Pikel moved the other way, between the racks.Cadderly soon heard a thump, a groan, and a bottle breaking on the stone floor.“For his own good,” Ivan explained.They came to the casks where Cadderly had been found, and once again, the young scholar grew confused and frustrated that there was no door to be found.Ivan and Pikel shoved all the casks away, and the three of them searched every inch of the wall.Cadderly stuttered an apology; perhaps his entire theory was misguided.Ivan and Pikel stubbornly continued their search, though, keeping faith in their friend.They found their answers not on the unremarkable wall, but on a series of scratches in the floor.“The casks were dragged,” Ivan asserted.He bent low to study the dust, the absence of dust, in the marks.“Not too long ago.”Cadderly’s focused beam made the tracking easy and as they moved across the room, he began to get more excited.“How could I have missed this?” he said.
The Bouldershoulders shrugged unhappily at the disaster that had befallen their space, but pushed Cadderly on, prodding him toward the door to the wine cellar.The musty stairs were dark and quiet; the torches lining the wall had not been tended.Cadderly opened his light tube and moved down a few steps, waiting there for the brothers to strike torches.Ivan came in last and closed and bolted the iron-bound door, even taking the trouble to slide an iron locking bar into place.“We’ve as much trouble behind as ahead,” the dwarf explained to Cadderly’s questioning look.“If that group gets as thirsty as they are hungry, they’ll only bring trouble along with them!”The reasoning seemed sound enough, so Cadderly turned and started down.Pikel grabbed him, though, and took up the lead, tapping his heavy club to his pot helmet.“Keep yerself between us,” Ivan explained.“We’ve been on this road before!”His confidence comforted Cadderly, but the clamor as the bulky dwarves thumped and rattled down the stairs did not.Their lights intruded into absolute darkness as they came down, but all three sensed that they were not alone.Beside the first wine rack, they found their first clues that someone else had come that way.Broken glass covered the floor and many bottles—bottles that Cadderly had inventoried only a few days before—were missing.The trail led to yet another dead priest.His stomach grossly distended, he lay curled on the floor, surrounded by empty bottles.They heard a shuffle to the side and Cadderly put a narrow beam of light down between the wine racks.Another priest was in there, trying to stand.He was too drunk to even notice the light, and his stomach, too, bulged and sloshed.Despite his stupor, he still held a bottle to his lips, stubbornly forcing more liquid down his throat.Cadderly started toward the drunk, but Ivan held him back.“Show me yer door,” Ivan said to him then the dwarf nodded to Pikel.As Cadderly and Ivan headed deeper into the cellar, Pikel moved the other way, between the racks.Cadderly soon heard a thump, a groan, and a bottle breaking on the stone floor.“For his own good,” Ivan explained.They came to the casks where Cadderly had been found, and once again, the young scholar grew confused and frustrated that there was no door to be found.Ivan and Pikel shoved all the casks away, and the three of them searched every inch of the wall.Cadderly stuttered an apology; perhaps his entire theory was misguided.Ivan and Pikel stubbornly continued their search, though, keeping faith in their friend.They found their answers not on the unremarkable wall, but on a series of scratches in the floor.“The casks were dragged,” Ivan asserted.He bent low to study the dust, the absence of dust, in the marks.“Not too long ago.”Cadderly’s focused beam made the tracking easy and as they moved across the room, he began to get more excited.“How could I have missed this?” he said.
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dnd269
He turned the light back to the wine racks.“We—Rufo and I—came from over there, so the door could not have been back where we found the piled casks.It was a purposeful deception.I should have known.”“Ye took a hit on the head,” Ivan reminded him.“And it’s a clever trick.”The trail led to yet another cask, tight up against the wall.The companions knew before Ivan even kicked it aside that the mysterious door would indeed be found behind it.Ivan, nodding and smiling, moved up to the door and pulled on it, but it did not budge.“Locked,” the dwarf grunted, examining a keyhole above the pull ring.He looked to his brother, who nodded eagerly.“Pikel’s one for unlocking doors,” Ivan explained to Cadderly, and Cadderly got the point when Pikel leveled his tree trunk like a battering ram and lined himself up with the door.“Hold!” Cadderly said.“I have a better way.”“Ye’re a lockpick, too?” Ivan asked.“Oh,” groaned a disappointed Pikel.“You could say that,” Cadderly replied smugly, but instead of instruments for picking locks, he produced the hand-held crossbow.Cadderly had been hoping that he would get to try out his newest invention, and he was hardly able to keep from shaking as he cranked the bow and loaded a dart.“Stand back,” he warned, taking aim at the keyhole.The crossbow clicked and the dart plunked in.A split second later, the momentum of the dart collapsed its weak middle section, crushing the vial of oil of impact, and the ensuing explosion left a blackened hole where the lock had been.The door creaked open only an inch but hung there loosely.“Oh, I’m wanting one of those!” Ivan cried.“Oo oi!” agreed Pikel.Their glee was short-lived, for behind the open door they found not the top of the broken stairway, as Cadderly had predicted, but a brick wall.“New work,” Ivan muttered after a quick inspection.He cast a sly glance Cadderly’s way.“Ye got a dart for this one, boy?”Ivan didn’t wait to hear an answer.He ran his hands over the wall, pushing at certain points as though he was testing its strength.“Pikel’s got the key,” he declared and he moved out of the way.Cadderly started to protest, but Pikel paid him no heed.The dwarf began a curious whining sound and his stubby legs churned up and down, running in place as though he were winding himself up like a spring.Then, with a grunt, Pikel charged, his battering ram tight against his side.Bricks and mortar flew.Several fiery explosions indicated that warding glyphs had been placed on the other side of the wall, but Pikel’s furious charge was slowed by neither the flimsy wall or the magical wards.Neither was Pikel able to halt his momentum.
He turned the light back to the wine racks.“We—Rufo and I—came from over there, so the door could not have been back where we found the piled casks.It was a purposeful deception.I should have known.”“Ye took a hit on the head,” Ivan reminded him.“And it’s a clever trick.”The trail led to yet another cask, tight up against the wall.The companions knew before Ivan even kicked it aside that the mysterious door would indeed be found behind it.Ivan, nodding and smiling, moved up to the door and pulled on it, but it did not budge.“Locked,” the dwarf grunted, examining a keyhole above the pull ring.He looked to his brother, who nodded eagerly.“Pikel’s one for unlocking doors,” Ivan explained to Cadderly, and Cadderly got the point when Pikel leveled his tree trunk like a battering ram and lined himself up with the door.“Hold!” Cadderly said.“I have a better way.”“Ye’re a lockpick, too?” Ivan asked.“Oh,” groaned a disappointed Pikel.“You could say that,” Cadderly replied smugly, but instead of instruments for picking locks, he produced the hand-held crossbow.Cadderly had been hoping that he would get to try out his newest invention, and he was hardly able to keep from shaking as he cranked the bow and loaded a dart.“Stand back,” he warned, taking aim at the keyhole.The crossbow clicked and the dart plunked in.A split second later, the momentum of the dart collapsed its weak middle section, crushing the vial of oil of impact, and the ensuing explosion left a blackened hole where the lock had been.The door creaked open only an inch but hung there loosely.“Oh, I’m wanting one of those!” Ivan cried.“Oo oi!” agreed Pikel.Their glee was short-lived, for behind the open door they found not the top of the broken stairway, as Cadderly had predicted, but a brick wall.“New work,” Ivan muttered after a quick inspection.He cast a sly glance Cadderly’s way.“Ye got a dart for this one, boy?”Ivan didn’t wait to hear an answer.He ran his hands over the wall, pushing at certain points as though he was testing its strength.“Pikel’s got the key,” he declared and he moved out of the way.Cadderly started to protest, but Pikel paid him no heed.The dwarf began a curious whining sound and his stubby legs churned up and down, running in place as though he were winding himself up like a spring.Then, with a grunt, Pikel charged, his battering ram tight against his side.Bricks and mortar flew.Several fiery explosions indicated that warding glyphs had been placed on the other side of the wall, but Pikel’s furious charge was slowed by neither the flimsy wall or the magical wards.Neither was Pikel able to halt his momentum.
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dnd270
As Cadderly had told them before, and as he’d tried to warn them again, the stairway beyond the short landing was down.“Ooooooooo!” came Pikel’s diminishing wail, followed by a dull thump.“Me brother!” Ivan cried, and before Cadderly could stop him, he, too, charged through the opening.His torch flared in the dust cloud for just a moment then both the light and the dwarf dropped from sight.Cadderly winced and shuddered at Ivan’s final words: “I can see the grou—!”SIXTEENTHE WALKING DEADCadderly came down the rope slowly and in control, using a technique he had seen illustrated in a manuscript.He held the rope both in front of and behind him, looping it under one thigh and using his legs to control his descent.He had heard the dwarf brothers grumbling while he was tying off the rope, so he knew that they had survived the fall.That fact offered some comfort, at least.As he neared the stone floor, within the area of torchlight, he saw Pikel running around in circles with Ivan close on his heels, smacking out the last wisps of smoke from his brother’s smoldering behind.“Oo, oo, oo, oo!” Pikel cried, slapping at his own rump whenever he got the chance.“Hold still, ye stinking oak kisser!” Ivan bellowed, whacking wildly.“Quiet,” Cadderly cautioned them as he dropped down to the tunnel.“Oo,” Pikel replied, giving one last brisk rub.The dwarf then noticed the stonework in the walls and forgot all about the sting.He wandered off happily to investigate.“Somebody wanted to keep us outa here,” Ivan reasoned.“His fire-wards got me brother good, right on the backside!”Cadderly agreed with the dwarf’s conclusion and sensed that he should know who had set out the glyphs, that he had seen someone in the same room as the bottle.…He couldn’t remember, though, and he had no time to meditate and explore his suspicions.More importantly, neither dwarf had suffered any real damage; Ivan’s antler-topped helmet had even been cleaned a bit by the jolt.“How far to yer cursed flask?” Ivan asked.“Do ye think we’ll be seeing more of the magical barriers?” Ivan’s face lit up at the notion.“You gotta let a dwarf walk first if you think so, ye know.” He pounded a fist onto his breastplate.“A dwarf can take it.A dwarf can eat it up and spit it back at the one who set it!Do ye think we’ll be meeting that one?The one who put the fire-ward up there?I’ve a word to speak with that one.He burned me brother!No, I’m not for letting one go and burn me brother!”The look in Ivan’s eyes grew ever more distant as he spoke, and Cadderly realized that the dwarf was walking a tentative line of control.Off to the side, Pikel, too, had become overly consumed.
As Cadderly had told them before, and as he’d tried to warn them again, the stairway beyond the short landing was down.“Ooooooooo!” came Pikel’s diminishing wail, followed by a dull thump.“Me brother!” Ivan cried, and before Cadderly could stop him, he, too, charged through the opening.His torch flared in the dust cloud for just a moment then both the light and the dwarf dropped from sight.Cadderly winced and shuddered at Ivan’s final words: “I can see the grou—!”SIXTEENTHE WALKING DEADCadderly came down the rope slowly and in control, using a technique he had seen illustrated in a manuscript.He held the rope both in front of and behind him, looping it under one thigh and using his legs to control his descent.He had heard the dwarf brothers grumbling while he was tying off the rope, so he knew that they had survived the fall.That fact offered some comfort, at least.As he neared the stone floor, within the area of torchlight, he saw Pikel running around in circles with Ivan close on his heels, smacking out the last wisps of smoke from his brother’s smoldering behind.“Oo, oo, oo, oo!” Pikel cried, slapping at his own rump whenever he got the chance.“Hold still, ye stinking oak kisser!” Ivan bellowed, whacking wildly.“Quiet,” Cadderly cautioned them as he dropped down to the tunnel.“Oo,” Pikel replied, giving one last brisk rub.The dwarf then noticed the stonework in the walls and forgot all about the sting.He wandered off happily to investigate.“Somebody wanted to keep us outa here,” Ivan reasoned.“His fire-wards got me brother good, right on the backside!”Cadderly agreed with the dwarf’s conclusion and sensed that he should know who had set out the glyphs, that he had seen someone in the same room as the bottle.…He couldn’t remember, though, and he had no time to meditate and explore his suspicions.More importantly, neither dwarf had suffered any real damage; Ivan’s antler-topped helmet had even been cleaned a bit by the jolt.“How far to yer cursed flask?” Ivan asked.“Do ye think we’ll be seeing more of the magical barriers?” Ivan’s face lit up at the notion.“You gotta let a dwarf walk first if you think so, ye know.” He pounded a fist onto his breastplate.“A dwarf can take it.A dwarf can eat it up and spit it back at the one who set it!Do ye think we’ll be meeting that one?The one who put the fire-ward up there?I’ve a word to speak with that one.He burned me brother!No, I’m not for letting one go and burn me brother!”The look in Ivan’s eyes grew ever more distant as he spoke, and Cadderly realized that the dwarf was walking a tentative line of control.Off to the side, Pikel, too, had become overly consumed.
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dnd271
He was down on his hands and knees, sniffing at the cracks in the wall and uttering an excited “Oo!” every so often.A dozen frantic spiders scurried to get free of their own webs, hopelessly entangled in Pikel’s tough beard.Cadderly set his rock crystal spindle-disks spinning end-around-end in front of Ivan’s face and used his light tube to focus a narrow beam on them.The dwarf’s talking faded away as he fell more and more into the mesmerizing dance of the light on the disks’ many facets.“Remember why we are here,” Cadderly prompted the dwarf.“Concentrate, Ivan Bouldershoulder.If we do not remove the curse, then all the library, the Edificant Library, will be lost.” Cadderly couldn’t be certain whether his words or the dancing light on the disks had reminded Ivan to resist the stubborn curse, but whatever the cause, the dwarf’s eyes popped wide, as if he’d just awakened from a deep slumber, and he shook his head so wildly that he had to lean on his doublebladed axe to keep from falling over.“Which way, lad?” the lucid dwarf asked.“That’s more to the point,” Cadderly remarked under his breath.Cadderly looked down at the floor, searching for some sign of his previous passing, but found nothing.He sent his light down to either side of the bricked corridor, but both ways seemed identical and jogged no memories for him.“This way,” he decided simply to get them moving, and he stepped past Ivan.“Do bring your brother.” Cadderly heard a clang over his shoulder—axe on cooking pot, he supposed—and Ivan and Pikel came hustling up to his side a moment later.After many dead ends and circular treks that brought them right back to where they’d started, they came to an ancient storage area of wide corridors lined with rotted crates.“I was here,” Cadderly insisted, speaking the words aloud in an attempt to jog his memory.Ivan dropped to the floor, seeking to confirm Cadderly’s declaration.As with all the corridors, though, no clear tracks were discernable.Clearly the dust had been disturbed, but either someone had deliberately brushed away any sure signs or simply too many had passed for the dwarf to track any one of them.Cadderly closed his eyes and tried to envision his previous passage.Many images of his wanderings in the tunnels flooded through him, scenes of skeletons and corridors lined with sinister-looking alcoves, but they wouldn’t connect in any logical pattern.They had no focal point, no starting ground where Cadderly could begin to sort them out.Then he heard the heartbeat.Somewhere in the unseen distance, water dripped, steadily, rhythmically.It came from no particular direction, and he had not used it as any sort of a guiding beacon his first time through, but he realized it could guide his memory.Though its interval was constant, its volume became louder and more insistent at some bends in the passages, softer and more distant at others.Too engaged with other pressing problems his first time through, Cadderly had only noticed it on a subconscious level, but that had left an imprint on his memory.Cadderly trusted his instincts.Instead of cluttering his consciousness with futile worries, he moved along and let his subconscious memories guide his steps.Ivan and Pikel didn’t question him; they had nothing better to suggest.It wasn’t until they came to a three-way arch, and Cadderly’s face brightened noticeably, that even Cadderly really believed he knew where he was going.“To the left,” Cadderly insisted, and indeed the left archway was less thick with cobwebs than the right, as if someone had passed through there.Cadderly turned back to the dwarves just as he started under the archway, a look of trepidation, even outright dread, on his face.“What’ve ye seen?” Ivan demanded, and he pushed his way past Cadderly, under the arches.“The skeletons …” Cadderly started to explain.Pikel hopped to his guard, and Ivan held his torch far out in front, peering into the dusty gloom.“I see no skeletons!” Ivan remarked after a short pause.The encounter with the walking dead remained a nightmarish blur for Cadderly.He couldn’t quite remember where he’d encountered the skeletons, and he didn’t know why the thought had suddenly come to him again.“They might be in this area,” he offered in a whisper.
He was down on his hands and knees, sniffing at the cracks in the wall and uttering an excited “Oo!” every so often.A dozen frantic spiders scurried to get free of their own webs, hopelessly entangled in Pikel’s tough beard.Cadderly set his rock crystal spindle-disks spinning end-around-end in front of Ivan’s face and used his light tube to focus a narrow beam on them.The dwarf’s talking faded away as he fell more and more into the mesmerizing dance of the light on the disks’ many facets.“Remember why we are here,” Cadderly prompted the dwarf.“Concentrate, Ivan Bouldershoulder.If we do not remove the curse, then all the library, the Edificant Library, will be lost.” Cadderly couldn’t be certain whether his words or the dancing light on the disks had reminded Ivan to resist the stubborn curse, but whatever the cause, the dwarf’s eyes popped wide, as if he’d just awakened from a deep slumber, and he shook his head so wildly that he had to lean on his doublebladed axe to keep from falling over.“Which way, lad?” the lucid dwarf asked.“That’s more to the point,” Cadderly remarked under his breath.Cadderly looked down at the floor, searching for some sign of his previous passing, but found nothing.He sent his light down to either side of the bricked corridor, but both ways seemed identical and jogged no memories for him.“This way,” he decided simply to get them moving, and he stepped past Ivan.“Do bring your brother.” Cadderly heard a clang over his shoulder—axe on cooking pot, he supposed—and Ivan and Pikel came hustling up to his side a moment later.After many dead ends and circular treks that brought them right back to where they’d started, they came to an ancient storage area of wide corridors lined with rotted crates.“I was here,” Cadderly insisted, speaking the words aloud in an attempt to jog his memory.Ivan dropped to the floor, seeking to confirm Cadderly’s declaration.As with all the corridors, though, no clear tracks were discernable.Clearly the dust had been disturbed, but either someone had deliberately brushed away any sure signs or simply too many had passed for the dwarf to track any one of them.Cadderly closed his eyes and tried to envision his previous passage.Many images of his wanderings in the tunnels flooded through him, scenes of skeletons and corridors lined with sinister-looking alcoves, but they wouldn’t connect in any logical pattern.They had no focal point, no starting ground where Cadderly could begin to sort them out.Then he heard the heartbeat.Somewhere in the unseen distance, water dripped, steadily, rhythmically.It came from no particular direction, and he had not used it as any sort of a guiding beacon his first time through, but he realized it could guide his memory.Though its interval was constant, its volume became louder and more insistent at some bends in the passages, softer and more distant at others.Too engaged with other pressing problems his first time through, Cadderly had only noticed it on a subconscious level, but that had left an imprint on his memory.Cadderly trusted his instincts.Instead of cluttering his consciousness with futile worries, he moved along and let his subconscious memories guide his steps.Ivan and Pikel didn’t question him; they had nothing better to suggest.It wasn’t until they came to a three-way arch, and Cadderly’s face brightened noticeably, that even Cadderly really believed he knew where he was going.“To the left,” Cadderly insisted, and indeed the left archway was less thick with cobwebs than the right, as if someone had passed through there.Cadderly turned back to the dwarves just as he started under the archway, a look of trepidation, even outright dread, on his face.“What’ve ye seen?” Ivan demanded, and he pushed his way past Cadderly, under the arches.“The skeletons …” Cadderly started to explain.Pikel hopped to his guard, and Ivan held his torch far out in front, peering into the dusty gloom.“I see no skeletons!” Ivan remarked after a short pause.The encounter with the walking dead remained a nightmarish blur for Cadderly.He couldn’t quite remember where he’d encountered the skeletons, and he didn’t know why the thought had suddenly come to him again.“They might be in this area,” he offered in a whisper.
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dnd272
“Something makes me believe they’re nearby.”Ivan and Pikel relaxed visibly and leaned to the side in unison to glance at each other around the young scholar.“Come on, then,” Ivan huffed, following his torch’s clearing fire into the left passage.“The skeletons,” Cadderly announced again as soon as he came through the archway.He knew the place, a crate-lined corridor wide enough for ten to walk abreast.A bit farther, alcoves lined the corridor’s walls on both sides.“Ye going to start that again?” asked Ivan.Cadderly waved his light beam in the direction of the alcoves.“In there,” he explained.His warning seemed ominous, at least to him, but the dwarves reacted to it as though it was an invitation.Rather than dim the lights and creep along, they both leaped out in front and strode defiantly down the center of the corridor, stopping in front of the first alcove.“Oo oi,” remarked Pikel.“Ye’re right, lad,” agreed Ivan.“It’s a skeleton.” He propped his axe up on one shoulder, put his other hand on his hip, and walked right up to the alcove.“Well?” he cried at the bones.“Are ye going to just sit there and rot, or are you going to come out and block me way?”Cadderly came up tentatively, despite the dwarves’ bravado.“Just as ye said,” Ivan said to him when he arrived, “but not moving about much, as I see it.”“They were moving,” Cadderly insisted, “chasing me.”The brothers leaned to the side—they were getting used to that maneuver—and glanced at each other around Cadderly.“I did not dream it!” Cadderly snarled at them, taking a step to the side to block their exchanged stares.“Look!” He started for the skeleton then had second thoughts about that course and put his light beam into the alcove instead.“See the cobwebs hanging in there?And the bits of web on the bones?They were attached, but now the webs hang free.Either this skeleton has been out of the alcove recently, or someone came down here and cut the strands from it to make it look as though it has been out of the alcove.”“Yerself was the only one down here,” Ivan blurted before he even realized the accusatory connotations of his statement.“Do you believe I cut the strands?” Cadderly cried.“I wouldn’t want to go near the thing.Why would I waste the time and effort to do that?”Again came the dwarves’ lean-and-look maneuver, but when Ivan came up straight, his expression was less doubting.“Then why are they sitting tight?” he asked.“If they want a fight, why—?”“Because we did not attack them!” Cadderly interrupted.“Of course,” he continued, the revelation coming clearer.“The skeletons did not rise against me until I attacked one of them.”“Why’d ye hit a pile of bones?” Ivan had to ask.“I-I didn’t,” Cadderly stuttered.“I mean … I thought I saw it move.”“Aha!” cried Pikel.Ivan elaborated on his excited brother’s conclusion.
“Something makes me believe they’re nearby.”Ivan and Pikel relaxed visibly and leaned to the side in unison to glance at each other around the young scholar.“Come on, then,” Ivan huffed, following his torch’s clearing fire into the left passage.“The skeletons,” Cadderly announced again as soon as he came through the archway.He knew the place, a crate-lined corridor wide enough for ten to walk abreast.A bit farther, alcoves lined the corridor’s walls on both sides.“Ye going to start that again?” asked Ivan.Cadderly waved his light beam in the direction of the alcoves.“In there,” he explained.His warning seemed ominous, at least to him, but the dwarves reacted to it as though it was an invitation.Rather than dim the lights and creep along, they both leaped out in front and strode defiantly down the center of the corridor, stopping in front of the first alcove.“Oo oi,” remarked Pikel.“Ye’re right, lad,” agreed Ivan.“It’s a skeleton.” He propped his axe up on one shoulder, put his other hand on his hip, and walked right up to the alcove.“Well?” he cried at the bones.“Are ye going to just sit there and rot, or are you going to come out and block me way?”Cadderly came up tentatively, despite the dwarves’ bravado.“Just as ye said,” Ivan said to him when he arrived, “but not moving about much, as I see it.”“They were moving,” Cadderly insisted, “chasing me.”The brothers leaned to the side—they were getting used to that maneuver—and glanced at each other around Cadderly.“I did not dream it!” Cadderly snarled at them, taking a step to the side to block their exchanged stares.“Look!” He started for the skeleton then had second thoughts about that course and put his light beam into the alcove instead.“See the cobwebs hanging in there?And the bits of web on the bones?They were attached, but now the webs hang free.Either this skeleton has been out of the alcove recently, or someone came down here and cut the strands from it to make it look as though it has been out of the alcove.”“Yerself was the only one down here,” Ivan blurted before he even realized the accusatory connotations of his statement.“Do you believe I cut the strands?” Cadderly cried.“I wouldn’t want to go near the thing.Why would I waste the time and effort to do that?”Again came the dwarves’ lean-and-look maneuver, but when Ivan came up straight, his expression was less doubting.“Then why are they sitting tight?” he asked.“If they want a fight, why—?”“Because we did not attack them!” Cadderly interrupted.“Of course,” he continued, the revelation coming clearer.“The skeletons did not rise against me until I attacked one of them.”“Why’d ye hit a pile of bones?” Ivan had to ask.“I-I didn’t,” Cadderly stuttered.“I mean … I thought I saw it move.”“Aha!” cried Pikel.Ivan elaborated on his excited brother’s conclusion.
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dnd273
“Then the skeleton moved before ye hit it, and ye’re wrong now in yer thinking.”“No, it did not move!” Cadderly shot back.“I thought it had, but it was only a rat or a mouse, or something like that.”“Mouses don’t look like bones,” Ivan said dryly.Cadderly expected the remark.Pikel squeaked and crinkled his nose, putting on his best rodent face.“If we just leave them alone, they might let us pass,” Cadderly reasoned.“Whoever animated them probably gave them instructions to defend themselves.”Ivan thought about it for a moment then nodded.The reasoning seemed sound enough.He motioned to his brother, and Pikel understood the silent request.The green-bearded dwarf pushed Cadderly out of the way, lowered his club like a battering ram, and before the startled young scholar could move to stop him, charged full speed into the alcove.The terrific impact reduced the skull to a pile of flecks and dust and Pikel’s continuing momentum scattered the rest of the bones in every direction.“That one won’t be getting up to fight us,” remarked a satisfied Ivan, brushing a rib off his brother’s shoulder as Pikel came back out.Cadderly stood perfectly still, his mouth hanging open in absolute disbelief.“We had to check it,” Ivan insisted.“Ye want to be leaving walking skeletons behind us?”“Uh oh,” groaned Pikel.Cadderly and Ivan turned at the call, Cadderly’s light beam showing the source of Pikel’s dismay.This skeleton would not rise to fight them, as Ivan had said, but dozens of others were already up and moving.Ivan clapped Cadderly hard on the back.“Good thinking, lad!” the dwarf congratulated him.“Ye were right!It took a hit to rouse ’em!”“That is a good thing?” Cadderly asked.Images of his last trip through the catacombs came rushing back to him, particularly when he had backed away from the first skeleton he had struck, into the waiting grasp of another.Cadderly spun to the side.The skeleton from across the corridor was nearly upon him.Pikel had seen it, too.Undaunted, the dwarf grasped his club with both hands down low on the handle and stepped in with a mighty roundhouse swing, catching the monster on the side of its head and sending the skull soaring down the corridor behind them.The remaining bones just stood shakily for the moment it took Pikel to smash them down.Cadderly watched the batted skull until it disappeared into the darkness then he shouted, “Run!”“Run!” Ivan echoed, dropping his torch, and he and Pikel charged down the corridor, straight at the advancing host.That wasn’t exactly what Cadderly had in mind, but when he realized that there was no way he was going to turn the wild brothers around, he shrugged, took out his spindle-disks, and followed, seriously pondering the value of friendship when weighed against the burdens.The closest skeletons did not react quickly enough to the dwarves’ charge.Ivan sliced one cleanly in half with a great cut of his axe, but then, on his back swing, snagged the weapon’s other head in the rib cage of his next intended victim.
“Then the skeleton moved before ye hit it, and ye’re wrong now in yer thinking.”“No, it did not move!” Cadderly shot back.“I thought it had, but it was only a rat or a mouse, or something like that.”“Mouses don’t look like bones,” Ivan said dryly.Cadderly expected the remark.Pikel squeaked and crinkled his nose, putting on his best rodent face.“If we just leave them alone, they might let us pass,” Cadderly reasoned.“Whoever animated them probably gave them instructions to defend themselves.”Ivan thought about it for a moment then nodded.The reasoning seemed sound enough.He motioned to his brother, and Pikel understood the silent request.The green-bearded dwarf pushed Cadderly out of the way, lowered his club like a battering ram, and before the startled young scholar could move to stop him, charged full speed into the alcove.The terrific impact reduced the skull to a pile of flecks and dust and Pikel’s continuing momentum scattered the rest of the bones in every direction.“That one won’t be getting up to fight us,” remarked a satisfied Ivan, brushing a rib off his brother’s shoulder as Pikel came back out.Cadderly stood perfectly still, his mouth hanging open in absolute disbelief.“We had to check it,” Ivan insisted.“Ye want to be leaving walking skeletons behind us?”“Uh oh,” groaned Pikel.Cadderly and Ivan turned at the call, Cadderly’s light beam showing the source of Pikel’s dismay.This skeleton would not rise to fight them, as Ivan had said, but dozens of others were already up and moving.Ivan clapped Cadderly hard on the back.“Good thinking, lad!” the dwarf congratulated him.“Ye were right!It took a hit to rouse ’em!”“That is a good thing?” Cadderly asked.Images of his last trip through the catacombs came rushing back to him, particularly when he had backed away from the first skeleton he had struck, into the waiting grasp of another.Cadderly spun to the side.The skeleton from across the corridor was nearly upon him.Pikel had seen it, too.Undaunted, the dwarf grasped his club with both hands down low on the handle and stepped in with a mighty roundhouse swing, catching the monster on the side of its head and sending the skull soaring down the corridor behind them.The remaining bones just stood shakily for the moment it took Pikel to smash them down.Cadderly watched the batted skull until it disappeared into the darkness then he shouted, “Run!”“Run!” Ivan echoed, dropping his torch, and he and Pikel charged down the corridor, straight at the advancing host.That wasn’t exactly what Cadderly had in mind, but when he realized that there was no way he was going to turn the wild brothers around, he shrugged, took out his spindle-disks, and followed, seriously pondering the value of friendship when weighed against the burdens.The closest skeletons did not react quickly enough to the dwarves’ charge.Ivan sliced one cleanly in half with a great cut of his axe, but then, on his back swing, snagged the weapon’s other head in the rib cage of his next intended victim.
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dnd274
Never one to quibble over finesse, the dwarf heaved mightily, pulling his weapon and the entangled skeleton into the air around him then slamming the whole jumble into the next nearest monster.The two skeletons were hopelessly hooked together, but so was Ivan’s axe.“I need ye, me brother!” Ivan cried as yet another skeleton moved in on him, reaching for his face with dirty, sharp finger bones.Pikel had fared better initially, plowing into the first ranks like a boulder bouncing down a mountainside, breaking three skeletons apart and pushing the rest back several feet.The rush had not been without consequences, though, for Pikel stumbled down to one knee before he could halt his momentum.The fearless undead came in all around the dwarf, advancing from every angle.Pikel grasped his club down low, held it out to arm’s length, and began turning fast circles.The skeletons were mindless creatures, not thinking fighters.Their outstretched arms leading, they came right in fearlessly, stupidly, and Pikel’s whirling club whittled them down, fingers, hands, and arms.The dwarf laughed wildly as each bone went humming away, thinking he could keep it up forever.Then Pikel heard his brother’s call.He stopped his spin and tried to discern the right direction then sent his stubby legs pumping in place, building momentum.“Oooo!” the dwarf roared, and off he sprang, bursting out the side of the skeletal ring.Unfortunately, his dizziness had deceived him, and as soon as he broke clear of the ring, he slammed headfirst into the corridor’s brick wall.“Oo,” came a hollow echo from under the pot helmet of the suddenly seated Pikel.Only a single skeleton had slipped between the dwarves to face Cadderly, odds the young scholar thought he could handle.He danced about, up on the balls of his feet as Danica once had shown him, flicking out a few warning shots with his spindle-disks.The skeleton paid no heed to his dancing feints, or the harmless throws, and continued straight in for Cadderly’s mass.The spindle-disks smacked into its cheekbone and spun its head right around so that is was looking behind itself.Still the skeleton came on, and Cadderly fired again, trying to break the thing’s body.As soon as he threw, he realized his error.The disks slipped through the skeleton’s rib cage, but got tangled when Cadderly tried to retract them.To make matters worse, the sudden tug of the snag tightened the loop on Cadderly’s finger, binding him to the skeleton.Blindly, the monster swiped out at him.Cadderly dived straight for the floor, took up his walking stick, and shoved it through the rib cage, hoping to dislodge his spindle-disks.As soon as the tip of the stick wedged into the skeleton’s backbone, the crafty young scholar changed tactics.An image of a fulcrum and lever popped into his mind and he let go of his walking stick then slammed its head with all his might.The rib fulcrum held firm and the shock of Cadderly’s downward blow shot up along the skeleton’s backbone and sent its head straight into the air where it ricocheted off the corridor ceiling.The shattering jolt broke apart the rest of the undead thing.Cadderly congratulated himself many times as he worked both his weapons free, but his relief lasted only until he looked farther down the corridor, into the flickering light of Ivan’s dropped torch.Both dwarves were down.Ivan, unarmed, tried to keep out of one skeleton’s reach, and Pikel sat near the other wall, his pot down to his shoulders, with a whole host of skeletons advancing on him.Druzil peered suspiciously from between his folded bat wings at the dark and quiet altar room.The brazier fire was down to embers—Barjin would not leave an interplanar gate burning while he slept—and there was no other light source.
Never one to quibble over finesse, the dwarf heaved mightily, pulling his weapon and the entangled skeleton into the air around him then slamming the whole jumble into the next nearest monster.The two skeletons were hopelessly hooked together, but so was Ivan’s axe.“I need ye, me brother!” Ivan cried as yet another skeleton moved in on him, reaching for his face with dirty, sharp finger bones.Pikel had fared better initially, plowing into the first ranks like a boulder bouncing down a mountainside, breaking three skeletons apart and pushing the rest back several feet.The rush had not been without consequences, though, for Pikel stumbled down to one knee before he could halt his momentum.The fearless undead came in all around the dwarf, advancing from every angle.Pikel grasped his club down low, held it out to arm’s length, and began turning fast circles.The skeletons were mindless creatures, not thinking fighters.Their outstretched arms leading, they came right in fearlessly, stupidly, and Pikel’s whirling club whittled them down, fingers, hands, and arms.The dwarf laughed wildly as each bone went humming away, thinking he could keep it up forever.Then Pikel heard his brother’s call.He stopped his spin and tried to discern the right direction then sent his stubby legs pumping in place, building momentum.“Oooo!” the dwarf roared, and off he sprang, bursting out the side of the skeletal ring.Unfortunately, his dizziness had deceived him, and as soon as he broke clear of the ring, he slammed headfirst into the corridor’s brick wall.“Oo,” came a hollow echo from under the pot helmet of the suddenly seated Pikel.Only a single skeleton had slipped between the dwarves to face Cadderly, odds the young scholar thought he could handle.He danced about, up on the balls of his feet as Danica once had shown him, flicking out a few warning shots with his spindle-disks.The skeleton paid no heed to his dancing feints, or the harmless throws, and continued straight in for Cadderly’s mass.The spindle-disks smacked into its cheekbone and spun its head right around so that is was looking behind itself.Still the skeleton came on, and Cadderly fired again, trying to break the thing’s body.As soon as he threw, he realized his error.The disks slipped through the skeleton’s rib cage, but got tangled when Cadderly tried to retract them.To make matters worse, the sudden tug of the snag tightened the loop on Cadderly’s finger, binding him to the skeleton.Blindly, the monster swiped out at him.Cadderly dived straight for the floor, took up his walking stick, and shoved it through the rib cage, hoping to dislodge his spindle-disks.As soon as the tip of the stick wedged into the skeleton’s backbone, the crafty young scholar changed tactics.An image of a fulcrum and lever popped into his mind and he let go of his walking stick then slammed its head with all his might.The rib fulcrum held firm and the shock of Cadderly’s downward blow shot up along the skeleton’s backbone and sent its head straight into the air where it ricocheted off the corridor ceiling.The shattering jolt broke apart the rest of the undead thing.Cadderly congratulated himself many times as he worked both his weapons free, but his relief lasted only until he looked farther down the corridor, into the flickering light of Ivan’s dropped torch.Both dwarves were down.Ivan, unarmed, tried to keep out of one skeleton’s reach, and Pikel sat near the other wall, his pot down to his shoulders, with a whole host of skeletons advancing on him.Druzil peered suspiciously from between his folded bat wings at the dark and quiet altar room.The brazier fire was down to embers—Barjin would not leave an interplanar gate burning while he slept—and there was no other light source.
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dnd275
That hardly hindered the imp, who had spent eons wandering the gloom of the lower planes.All seemed as it should.To the side of the room, Barjin slept peacefully, confident that his victory was at hand.Mullivy and Khalif flanked the doorway, as still as death and instructed not to move unless one of the conditions set by Barjin had been met.To Druzil’s uneasy relief, none of those conditions apparently had.No intruders had entered the room, the door remained shut fast, and Druzil sensed no probing wizard eyes nor any distant call from Aballister.The altar room’s serenity did nothing to diminish the imp’s sense that something was amiss, though.Something had disturbed Druzil’s slumber; he had thought it another call from that persistent Aballister.Druzil tightened his wings and sank within himself, turning from his physical senses to the more subtle inner feelings, empathic sensations, that served an imp as well as eyes might serve a human.He pictured the area beyond the closed door, mentally probing the maze of twisting corridors.The imp’s bat wings popped open suddenly.The skeletons were up!Druzil reached into his magical energies and faded to invisibility.A single flap of his wings carried him between Mullivy and the mummy, and he quickly uttered the keyword to prevent Barjin’s series of warding glyphs from exploding as he slipped out of the room.Then he was off, flying sometimes, creeping on clawed toes at others, picking his way carefully toward the outermost burial chambers.Already his physical hearing had confirmed what he had sensed, for a battle was in full swing.The imp paused and considered the options before him.The skeletons were fighting, there could be no doubt, and that could only mean that intruders had come down to that forgotten level.Perhaps they had simply wandered down there in their curse-induced stupor, vagabond priests soon to be dispatched by the undead force, but Druzil could not dismiss the possibility that whoever it was had come with a more definite purpose in mind.Druzil glanced over his shoulder, down the corridors that would take him back to Barjin.He was torn.If he sent his thoughts to Barjin, established that personal familiar-master telepathic link, he would be bringing his relationship with the priest to a level Aballister certainly would not approve of.If the wizard back at Castle Trinity ever found out, he might well banish Druzil back to his home plane—a fate that the imp, with the chaos curse finally unleashed on the world, certainly did not desire.Yet it was Barjin, the imp reminded himself, not Aballister, who had taken the fore.Resourceful Barjin, the powerful priest, was the one who had struck boldly and effectively against the heart of law in the Snowflakes.Druzil sent his thoughts careening down the corridors, into the altar room, and into the sleeping priest’s mind.Barjin was awake with a start, and a moment later he understood that danger had come to his domain.I will divert them if they get past the skeletons, Druzil assured the priest, but prepare your defenses!Ivan knew he was running out of room.One hand raked at his shoulder, and all he got for his retaliatory punch was a torn fingernail.The experienced dwarf decided to use his head.He tucked his powerful little legs under him, and the next time the pursuing skeleton lunged for him, he sprang forward.Ivan’s helmet was fitted with the antlers of an eight-point deer, a trophy Ivan had bagged with a “dwarven bow”—that being a hammer balanced for long-range throwing—in a challenge hunt against a visiting elf from Shilmista Forest.
That hardly hindered the imp, who had spent eons wandering the gloom of the lower planes.All seemed as it should.To the side of the room, Barjin slept peacefully, confident that his victory was at hand.Mullivy and Khalif flanked the doorway, as still as death and instructed not to move unless one of the conditions set by Barjin had been met.To Druzil’s uneasy relief, none of those conditions apparently had.No intruders had entered the room, the door remained shut fast, and Druzil sensed no probing wizard eyes nor any distant call from Aballister.The altar room’s serenity did nothing to diminish the imp’s sense that something was amiss, though.Something had disturbed Druzil’s slumber; he had thought it another call from that persistent Aballister.Druzil tightened his wings and sank within himself, turning from his physical senses to the more subtle inner feelings, empathic sensations, that served an imp as well as eyes might serve a human.He pictured the area beyond the closed door, mentally probing the maze of twisting corridors.The imp’s bat wings popped open suddenly.The skeletons were up!Druzil reached into his magical energies and faded to invisibility.A single flap of his wings carried him between Mullivy and the mummy, and he quickly uttered the keyword to prevent Barjin’s series of warding glyphs from exploding as he slipped out of the room.Then he was off, flying sometimes, creeping on clawed toes at others, picking his way carefully toward the outermost burial chambers.Already his physical hearing had confirmed what he had sensed, for a battle was in full swing.The imp paused and considered the options before him.The skeletons were fighting, there could be no doubt, and that could only mean that intruders had come down to that forgotten level.Perhaps they had simply wandered down there in their curse-induced stupor, vagabond priests soon to be dispatched by the undead force, but Druzil could not dismiss the possibility that whoever it was had come with a more definite purpose in mind.Druzil glanced over his shoulder, down the corridors that would take him back to Barjin.He was torn.If he sent his thoughts to Barjin, established that personal familiar-master telepathic link, he would be bringing his relationship with the priest to a level Aballister certainly would not approve of.If the wizard back at Castle Trinity ever found out, he might well banish Druzil back to his home plane—a fate that the imp, with the chaos curse finally unleashed on the world, certainly did not desire.Yet it was Barjin, the imp reminded himself, not Aballister, who had taken the fore.Resourceful Barjin, the powerful priest, was the one who had struck boldly and effectively against the heart of law in the Snowflakes.Druzil sent his thoughts careening down the corridors, into the altar room, and into the sleeping priest’s mind.Barjin was awake with a start, and a moment later he understood that danger had come to his domain.I will divert them if they get past the skeletons, Druzil assured the priest, but prepare your defenses!Ivan knew he was running out of room.One hand raked at his shoulder, and all he got for his retaliatory punch was a torn fingernail.The experienced dwarf decided to use his head.He tucked his powerful little legs under him, and the next time the pursuing skeleton lunged for him, he sprang forward.Ivan’s helmet was fitted with the antlers of an eight-point deer, a trophy Ivan had bagged with a “dwarven bow”—that being a hammer balanced for long-range throwing—in a challenge hunt against a visiting elf from Shilmista Forest.
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dnd276
In mounting the horns on his helmet, clever Ivan had used an old lacquering trick involving several different metals, and he prayed they would prove strong enough.He drove into the skeleton’s chest, knowing that his horns would likely be entangled, then he stood up and straightened his neck, hoisting the skeleton overhead.Ivan wasn’t certain how much his maneuver had gained him, though, for the skeleton, suspended perpendicularly across the dwarf’s shoulders, continued its raking attacks.Ivan whipped his head back and forth, but the skeleton’s sharp fingers found a hold on the side of his neck and dug a deep cut.Others were advancing.Ivan found his answer along the side of the corridor, in an alcove.He could slip in there easily enough, but could the skeleton fit through, laid out sideways?Ivan lowered his head and charged, nearly bursting with laughter.The impact as the skeleton’s head and legs connected with the arch surrounding the alcove slowed the dwarf only a step.Bones, dust, and webs flew, and Ivan’s helmet nearly tore free of his head as the dwarf tumbled in headlong.He came back out into the corridor a moment later with half a rib cage and several web strands hanging loosely from his horns.He had defeated the immediate threat, but a whole corridor of enemies still remained.Cadderly saved Pikel.The dazed dwarf sat near the wall, with a ringing in his ears that would last for a long time, and with a host of skeletons swiftly closing.“Druid, Pikel!” Cadderly yelled, trying to find something that would shake the dwarf back to reality.“Think like a druid.Envision the animals.Become an animal!”Pikel lifted the front of his pot helmet and glanced absently at Cadderly.“Eh?”“Animals!” Cadderly screamed.“Druids and animals.An animal could get up and away.Spring … snake, Pikel.Spring like a coiled snake!”The pot helmet went back down over the dwarf’s eyes, but Cadderly was not dismayed, for he heard a hissing sound coming from under it and he noticed the slight movement as Pikel tensed the muscles in his arms and legs.A dozen skeletons reached for him.And the coiled snake snapped.Pikel came up in a wild rush, batting with both arms, kicking with both legs, even gnawing on one skeleton’s forearm.As soon as he regained his footing, the dwarf scooped up his club and began the most vicious and frantic assault Cadderly had ever witnessed.He took a dozen hits but didn’t care.
In mounting the horns on his helmet, clever Ivan had used an old lacquering trick involving several different metals, and he prayed they would prove strong enough.He drove into the skeleton’s chest, knowing that his horns would likely be entangled, then he stood up and straightened his neck, hoisting the skeleton overhead.Ivan wasn’t certain how much his maneuver had gained him, though, for the skeleton, suspended perpendicularly across the dwarf’s shoulders, continued its raking attacks.Ivan whipped his head back and forth, but the skeleton’s sharp fingers found a hold on the side of his neck and dug a deep cut.Others were advancing.Ivan found his answer along the side of the corridor, in an alcove.He could slip in there easily enough, but could the skeleton fit through, laid out sideways?Ivan lowered his head and charged, nearly bursting with laughter.The impact as the skeleton’s head and legs connected with the arch surrounding the alcove slowed the dwarf only a step.Bones, dust, and webs flew, and Ivan’s helmet nearly tore free of his head as the dwarf tumbled in headlong.He came back out into the corridor a moment later with half a rib cage and several web strands hanging loosely from his horns.He had defeated the immediate threat, but a whole corridor of enemies still remained.Cadderly saved Pikel.The dazed dwarf sat near the wall, with a ringing in his ears that would last for a long time, and with a host of skeletons swiftly closing.“Druid, Pikel!” Cadderly yelled, trying to find something that would shake the dwarf back to reality.“Think like a druid.Envision the animals.Become an animal!”Pikel lifted the front of his pot helmet and glanced absently at Cadderly.“Eh?”“Animals!” Cadderly screamed.“Druids and animals.An animal could get up and away.Spring … snake, Pikel.Spring like a coiled snake!”The pot helmet went back down over the dwarf’s eyes, but Cadderly was not dismayed, for he heard a hissing sound coming from under it and he noticed the slight movement as Pikel tensed the muscles in his arms and legs.A dozen skeletons reached for him.And the coiled snake snapped.Pikel came up in a wild rush, batting with both arms, kicking with both legs, even gnawing on one skeleton’s forearm.As soon as he regained his footing, the dwarf scooped up his club and began the most vicious and frantic assault Cadderly had ever witnessed.He took a dozen hits but didn’t care.
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dnd277
Only one thought, the memory that his brother had called for him, rang clear in the would-be druid’s mind.He saw Ivan coming out of the alcove and spotted Ivan’s axe caught fast in the tangle of two skeletons making their unsteady way toward Ivan.Pikel caught up to them long before they reached his brother.The tree trunk club smashed again and again, beating the skeletons, punishing them for stealing Ivan’s weapon.“That’ll be enough, Brother,” Ivan cried happily, scooping his axe from the bone pile.“There are walking foes still to smash!”Cadderly outmaneuvered the slow-moving skeletons to rejoin the dwarves.“Which way?” he gasped.“Forward,” Ivan replied without hesitation.“Oo oi!” Pikel agreed.“Just get between us,” growled Ivan, blasting the skull from a skeleton who had ventured too near.As they worked their way down the corridor, Cadderly’s tactics improved.He kept his spindle-disks flying for skulls only—less chance of getting them hooked that way—and used his walking stick to ward off the reaching monsters.Much more devastating to the skeletons were the two fighters flanking the young scholar.Pikel growled like a bear, barked like a dog, hooted like an owl, and hissed like a snake, but whatever sound came from his mouth did not alter his crushing attack routines with his tree trunk club.Ivan was no less furious.The dwarf accepted a hit for every hit he gave out, but while the skeletons managed to inflict sometimes painful scratches, each of Ivan’s strikes shattered another of their ranks into scattered and useless bones.The trio worked its way through one archway, around several sharp corners, and through yet another archway.Soon more of the skeletal host was behind them than in front, and the gap only widened as less and less resistance stood to hinder their way.The dwarves seemed to enjoy the lopsided fight and Cadderly had to continually remind them of their more important mission in order to prevent them from turning back to find more skeletons to whack.Finally they came clear of the threat and Cadderly had a moment to pause and try to get his bearings.He knew the door, the critical door with the light shining through, could not be too far, but the crisscrossing corridors offered few landmarks to jog his memory.Druzil concluded from the sheer quantity of smashed skeletons that the invaders were not stupefied victims of the chaos curse.He quickly closed in behind the fleeing intruders, taking care, even though he was invisible, to keep to the safety of the shadows.Never allowing the human and the dwarves to get out of his sight, the imp used his telepathy to contact Barjin again.Give me the commands for the skeletons, Druzil demanded.Barjin hesitated, his own malign methods forcing him to consider whether or not the imp might be attempting to wrest control of his minions from him.Give the words to me or prepare to face a formidable band, Druzil warned.I can serve you well now, my master, but only if you choose wisely.Barjin had come out of his sleep to find danger suddenly close, and he meant to take no chances of losing what he had so painstakingly achieved.He still didn’t trust the imp—no wise master ever would—but he figured he could handle Druzil if it came down to that.Besides, if the imp tried to turn the skeletons against him, he could surely exert his own will and wrest back control of them.Destroy the intruders!came Barjin’s telepathic command, and he followed it with a careful recounting of all the command words and phrases recognizable by his skeletal force.Druzil needed no prodding from Barjin; protecting the flask of his precious chaos curse was more important to him than it ever could be to the priest.He memorized all the proper phrases and inflections for handling the skeletons, then seeing that the priest and the dwarves had stopped to rest in an out-of-the-way passage, went back to retrieve the remaining undead.The next time the intruders met them, the skeletons would not be a disorganized and directionless band.“We will surround and strike in unison,” Druzil vowed to the skeletons, though the words meant nothing to the unthinking monsters.“We will tear apart the dwarves and the human,” the imp went on, growing more excited.The chaotic imp couldn’t contain his hopes, pondering the possibilities of taking the skeletal host against Barjin.
Only one thought, the memory that his brother had called for him, rang clear in the would-be druid’s mind.He saw Ivan coming out of the alcove and spotted Ivan’s axe caught fast in the tangle of two skeletons making their unsteady way toward Ivan.Pikel caught up to them long before they reached his brother.The tree trunk club smashed again and again, beating the skeletons, punishing them for stealing Ivan’s weapon.“That’ll be enough, Brother,” Ivan cried happily, scooping his axe from the bone pile.“There are walking foes still to smash!”Cadderly outmaneuvered the slow-moving skeletons to rejoin the dwarves.“Which way?” he gasped.“Forward,” Ivan replied without hesitation.“Oo oi!” Pikel agreed.“Just get between us,” growled Ivan, blasting the skull from a skeleton who had ventured too near.As they worked their way down the corridor, Cadderly’s tactics improved.He kept his spindle-disks flying for skulls only—less chance of getting them hooked that way—and used his walking stick to ward off the reaching monsters.Much more devastating to the skeletons were the two fighters flanking the young scholar.Pikel growled like a bear, barked like a dog, hooted like an owl, and hissed like a snake, but whatever sound came from his mouth did not alter his crushing attack routines with his tree trunk club.Ivan was no less furious.The dwarf accepted a hit for every hit he gave out, but while the skeletons managed to inflict sometimes painful scratches, each of Ivan’s strikes shattered another of their ranks into scattered and useless bones.The trio worked its way through one archway, around several sharp corners, and through yet another archway.Soon more of the skeletal host was behind them than in front, and the gap only widened as less and less resistance stood to hinder their way.The dwarves seemed to enjoy the lopsided fight and Cadderly had to continually remind them of their more important mission in order to prevent them from turning back to find more skeletons to whack.Finally they came clear of the threat and Cadderly had a moment to pause and try to get his bearings.He knew the door, the critical door with the light shining through, could not be too far, but the crisscrossing corridors offered few landmarks to jog his memory.Druzil concluded from the sheer quantity of smashed skeletons that the invaders were not stupefied victims of the chaos curse.He quickly closed in behind the fleeing intruders, taking care, even though he was invisible, to keep to the safety of the shadows.Never allowing the human and the dwarves to get out of his sight, the imp used his telepathy to contact Barjin again.Give me the commands for the skeletons, Druzil demanded.Barjin hesitated, his own malign methods forcing him to consider whether or not the imp might be attempting to wrest control of his minions from him.Give the words to me or prepare to face a formidable band, Druzil warned.I can serve you well now, my master, but only if you choose wisely.Barjin had come out of his sleep to find danger suddenly close, and he meant to take no chances of losing what he had so painstakingly achieved.He still didn’t trust the imp—no wise master ever would—but he figured he could handle Druzil if it came down to that.Besides, if the imp tried to turn the skeletons against him, he could surely exert his own will and wrest back control of them.Destroy the intruders!came Barjin’s telepathic command, and he followed it with a careful recounting of all the command words and phrases recognizable by his skeletal force.Druzil needed no prodding from Barjin; protecting the flask of his precious chaos curse was more important to him than it ever could be to the priest.He memorized all the proper phrases and inflections for handling the skeletons, then seeing that the priest and the dwarves had stopped to rest in an out-of-the-way passage, went back to retrieve the remaining undead.The next time the intruders met them, the skeletons would not be a disorganized and directionless band.“We will surround and strike in unison,” Druzil vowed to the skeletons, though the words meant nothing to the unthinking monsters.“We will tear apart the dwarves and the human,” the imp went on, growing more excited.The chaotic imp couldn’t contain his hopes, pondering the possibilities of taking the skeletal host against Barjin.
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dnd278
Druzil dismissed the absurd notion as soon as he thought of it.Barjin served him well for the time being, as Aballister had done.But who could guess what the future might hold?SEVENTEENDANICA’S BATTLEShe found herself in the throes of alien urges, building to overwhelming crescendos then dying away to be replaced by other strange impulses.It was Danica’s definition of Hell, the discipline and strict codes of her beloved religion swept away by waves of sheer chaos.She tried to hold back those waves, to dismiss the images of Iron Skull, the urges she had felt when Cadderly had touched her, and the many other obsessions, but she found no secure foothold in her violently shifting thoughts.Danica touched upon something that even the chaos could not disrupt.To fight the battle of the present, the young woman sent her thoughts into the simpler past.She saw her father, Pavel, again, his small but powerful frame and blond hair turning to white on the temples.Mostly, Danica saw his gray eyes, always tender when they looked upon his little girl.There, too, was her mother and namesake, solid, immovable, and wildly in love with her father.Danica was the exact image of that woman, except that her mother’s hair was raven black, not blond, showing closer resemblance to the woman’s partially eastern background.She was petite and fair like her daughter, with the same clear, brown, almond eyes, not dark but almost tan, that could sparkle with innocence or turn quickly to show unbreakable determination.The images of her parents faded and were replaced by the wrinkled, wizened image of mysterious Master Turkel.His skin was thick, leathery, from uncounted days spent sitting in the sun and meditating atop a mountain, high above the lines of shading trees.Truly he was a man of extremes, of explosive fighting abilities buried under seemingly limitless serenity.His ferocity during sparring matches often frightened Danica, made her think the man was out of control.But Danica had learned better than to believe that; Master Turkel was never out of control.Discipline was at the core of his religion, the same discipline that Danica found herself so in need of.She had labored beside her dear master for six years, until that day when Turkel honestly admitted that he could give no more to her.Despite her anticipation at studying the actual works of Penpahg D’Ahn, it had been a sad day for Danica when she left Westgate and started down the long road to the Edificant Library.Then she had found Cadderly.Cadderly!She loved him from the first moment she had ever seen him, chasing a white squirrel along the groves lining the winding road to the library’s front door.Cadderly hadn’t noticed Danica right away, not until he tumbled headlong into a bush of clinging burrs.That first look struck Danica profoundly both then and as she battled to reclaim her identity.Cadderly had been embarrassed, to be sure, but the sudden flash of light in his eyes, eyes even purer gray than Danica’s father’s, and the way his mouth dropped open just a hint then widened in a sheepish, boyish smile, had sent a curious, warm sensation through Danica’s whole body.The courtship had been equally thrilling and unpredictable.Danica never knew what ingenious event Cadderly would spring on her next.But entrenched beside Cadderly’s unpredictability was a rock-solid foundation that Danica could depend upon.Cadderly gave her friendship, an ear for her problems and excitement alike, and most of all, respect for her and her studies, never competing against Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn for her time.Danica heard an echo deep in her mind, a soothing but determined call from Cadderly, urging her to fight.
Druzil dismissed the absurd notion as soon as he thought of it.Barjin served him well for the time being, as Aballister had done.But who could guess what the future might hold?SEVENTEENDANICA’S BATTLEShe found herself in the throes of alien urges, building to overwhelming crescendos then dying away to be replaced by other strange impulses.It was Danica’s definition of Hell, the discipline and strict codes of her beloved religion swept away by waves of sheer chaos.She tried to hold back those waves, to dismiss the images of Iron Skull, the urges she had felt when Cadderly had touched her, and the many other obsessions, but she found no secure foothold in her violently shifting thoughts.Danica touched upon something that even the chaos could not disrupt.To fight the battle of the present, the young woman sent her thoughts into the simpler past.She saw her father, Pavel, again, his small but powerful frame and blond hair turning to white on the temples.Mostly, Danica saw his gray eyes, always tender when they looked upon his little girl.There, too, was her mother and namesake, solid, immovable, and wildly in love with her father.Danica was the exact image of that woman, except that her mother’s hair was raven black, not blond, showing closer resemblance to the woman’s partially eastern background.She was petite and fair like her daughter, with the same clear, brown, almond eyes, not dark but almost tan, that could sparkle with innocence or turn quickly to show unbreakable determination.The images of her parents faded and were replaced by the wrinkled, wizened image of mysterious Master Turkel.His skin was thick, leathery, from uncounted days spent sitting in the sun and meditating atop a mountain, high above the lines of shading trees.Truly he was a man of extremes, of explosive fighting abilities buried under seemingly limitless serenity.His ferocity during sparring matches often frightened Danica, made her think the man was out of control.But Danica had learned better than to believe that; Master Turkel was never out of control.Discipline was at the core of his religion, the same discipline that Danica found herself so in need of.She had labored beside her dear master for six years, until that day when Turkel honestly admitted that he could give no more to her.Despite her anticipation at studying the actual works of Penpahg D’Ahn, it had been a sad day for Danica when she left Westgate and started down the long road to the Edificant Library.Then she had found Cadderly.Cadderly!She loved him from the first moment she had ever seen him, chasing a white squirrel along the groves lining the winding road to the library’s front door.Cadderly hadn’t noticed Danica right away, not until he tumbled headlong into a bush of clinging burrs.That first look struck Danica profoundly both then and as she battled to reclaim her identity.Cadderly had been embarrassed, to be sure, but the sudden flash of light in his eyes, eyes even purer gray than Danica’s father’s, and the way his mouth dropped open just a hint then widened in a sheepish, boyish smile, had sent a curious, warm sensation through Danica’s whole body.The courtship had been equally thrilling and unpredictable.Danica never knew what ingenious event Cadderly would spring on her next.But entrenched beside Cadderly’s unpredictability was a rock-solid foundation that Danica could depend upon.Cadderly gave her friendship, an ear for her problems and excitement alike, and most of all, respect for her and her studies, never competing against Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn for her time.Danica heard an echo deep in her mind, a soothing but determined call from Cadderly, urging her to fight.
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dnd279
She looked inward, to those overwhelming urges, and deeper, to their source, then she saw the manifestation, as had Cadderly.It was within her and not in the open room around her.She envisioned a red mist permeating her thoughts, an ungraspable force compelling her to its will and not her own.It was a fleeting vision, gone an instant after she glimpsed it, but Danica had always been a stubborn one.She summoned back the vision with all her will and managed to hold onto it.She had a clear enemy, something tangible against which to battle.“Fight, Danica,” Cadderly had said.She knew that; she heard the echoes.Danica formulated her thoughts in direct opposition to the mist’s urging.She denied whatever her impulses told her to do and to think.If her heart told her that something was correct, she called her heart a liar.Iron Skull, compelled a voice inside her.Danica countered with a memory of pain and warm blood running down her face, a memory that revealed to her how stupid she had been in attempting to smash the stone.It was not a call heard by physical ears; it needed neither the wind nor open air to carry it.The energy emanating from Barjin’s necromancer’s stone called to a specific group only, to monsters of the Negative Material Plane, the land of the dead.A few short miles from the Edificant Library, where once there had been a small mining town, the call was heard.A ghoulish hand, withered and filthy, tore up through the sod, reaching into the world of the living.Another followed, and another, just a short distance away.Soon the gruesome pack of ghouls was up out of their holes, drooling tongues hanging between yellow fangs.Running low, knuckles to the ground, the ghoul pack made for the stone’s call—made for the Edificant Library.Newander could only guess what inner turmoil racked the young woman.Sweat soaked Danica’s clothes and she squirmed and groaned under the tightly binding vines.At first, the druid had thought her in pain, and he quickly prepared a sedating spell to calm her.Fortunately, it occurred to Newander that Danica’s nightmare might be self-inflicted, that she might have found, as Cadderly had promised, some way to fight back the curse.Newander sat beside the bed and placed his hands gently but firmly on Danica’s arms.While he did not call to her, or do anything else that might hinder her concentration, he watched her closely, fearful lest his guess be wrong.Danica opened her eyes.“Cadderly?” she asked.Then she saw that the man over her was not Cadderly, and she realized, too, that she was tightly strapped down.She flexed her muscles and twisted as much as the vines would allow, testing their play.“Calm, dear lass,” the man said softly, sensing her growing distress.“Your Cadderly was here, but he could not stay.
She looked inward, to those overwhelming urges, and deeper, to their source, then she saw the manifestation, as had Cadderly.It was within her and not in the open room around her.She envisioned a red mist permeating her thoughts, an ungraspable force compelling her to its will and not her own.It was a fleeting vision, gone an instant after she glimpsed it, but Danica had always been a stubborn one.She summoned back the vision with all her will and managed to hold onto it.She had a clear enemy, something tangible against which to battle.“Fight, Danica,” Cadderly had said.She knew that; she heard the echoes.Danica formulated her thoughts in direct opposition to the mist’s urging.She denied whatever her impulses told her to do and to think.If her heart told her that something was correct, she called her heart a liar.Iron Skull, compelled a voice inside her.Danica countered with a memory of pain and warm blood running down her face, a memory that revealed to her how stupid she had been in attempting to smash the stone.It was not a call heard by physical ears; it needed neither the wind nor open air to carry it.The energy emanating from Barjin’s necromancer’s stone called to a specific group only, to monsters of the Negative Material Plane, the land of the dead.A few short miles from the Edificant Library, where once there had been a small mining town, the call was heard.A ghoulish hand, withered and filthy, tore up through the sod, reaching into the world of the living.Another followed, and another, just a short distance away.Soon the gruesome pack of ghouls was up out of their holes, drooling tongues hanging between yellow fangs.Running low, knuckles to the ground, the ghoul pack made for the stone’s call—made for the Edificant Library.Newander could only guess what inner turmoil racked the young woman.Sweat soaked Danica’s clothes and she squirmed and groaned under the tightly binding vines.At first, the druid had thought her in pain, and he quickly prepared a sedating spell to calm her.Fortunately, it occurred to Newander that Danica’s nightmare might be self-inflicted, that she might have found, as Cadderly had promised, some way to fight back the curse.Newander sat beside the bed and placed his hands gently but firmly on Danica’s arms.While he did not call to her, or do anything else that might hinder her concentration, he watched her closely, fearful lest his guess be wrong.Danica opened her eyes.“Cadderly?” she asked.Then she saw that the man over her was not Cadderly, and she realized, too, that she was tightly strapped down.She flexed her muscles and twisted as much as the vines would allow, testing their play.“Calm, dear lass,” the man said softly, sensing her growing distress.“Your Cadderly was here, but he could not stay.
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dnd280
He asked me to watch over you.”Danica stopped her struggling, recognizing the man’s accent.She didn’t know his name, but his dialect, and the presence of the vines, told her his profession.“You are one of the druids?” she asked.“I am Newander,” the druid replied, bowing low, “friend of your Cadderly.”Danica accepted his words without question and spent a moment reorienting herself to her surroundings.She was in her own room, she knew, the room she had lived in for a year, but something seemed terribly out of place.It wasn’t Newander, or even the vines.Something in that room, in Danica’s most secure of places, burned on the edges of the young woman’s consciousness, torturing her soul.Danica’s gaze settled on the fallen block of stone, stained on one side.The ache in her forehead told her that her dreams had been correct, that her own blood had made that stain.“How could I have been so foolish?” Danica groaned.“You were not foolish,” Newander assured her.“There has been a curse levelled on this place, a curse that Cadderly has set out to remove.”Again Danica knew instinctively that the druid spoke the truth.She envisioned her mental struggle against the insinuating red mist, a battle that had been won temporarily but was far from over.Even as she lay there, the red mist continued its assault on her mind.“Where is he?” Danica asked, near panic.“He went below,” Newander replied.“He spoke of a smoking bottle, deep in the cellars.”“The smoke,” Danica echoed.“Red mist.It’s all around us.”The druid nodded.“That is what Cadderly claimed.It was he who opened the bottle, and he means to close it.”“Alone?”“No, no,” Newander assured her.“The two dwarves went with him.They have not been as affected by the curse as the rest.”“The rest?” Danica gasped.She knew that her own resistance to such mind-affecting spells was greater than the average person’s and she suddenly feared for the other priests.If she had been driven to slam her head into a block of stone, then what tragedies might have befallen less disciplined priests?“Aye, the rest,” Newander replied grimly.
He asked me to watch over you.”Danica stopped her struggling, recognizing the man’s accent.She didn’t know his name, but his dialect, and the presence of the vines, told her his profession.“You are one of the druids?” she asked.“I am Newander,” the druid replied, bowing low, “friend of your Cadderly.”Danica accepted his words without question and spent a moment reorienting herself to her surroundings.She was in her own room, she knew, the room she had lived in for a year, but something seemed terribly out of place.It wasn’t Newander, or even the vines.Something in that room, in Danica’s most secure of places, burned on the edges of the young woman’s consciousness, torturing her soul.Danica’s gaze settled on the fallen block of stone, stained on one side.The ache in her forehead told her that her dreams had been correct, that her own blood had made that stain.“How could I have been so foolish?” Danica groaned.“You were not foolish,” Newander assured her.“There has been a curse levelled on this place, a curse that Cadderly has set out to remove.”Again Danica knew instinctively that the druid spoke the truth.She envisioned her mental struggle against the insinuating red mist, a battle that had been won temporarily but was far from over.Even as she lay there, the red mist continued its assault on her mind.“Where is he?” Danica asked, near panic.“He went below,” Newander replied.“He spoke of a smoking bottle, deep in the cellars.”“The smoke,” Danica echoed.“Red mist.It’s all around us.”The druid nodded.“That is what Cadderly claimed.It was he who opened the bottle, and he means to close it.”“Alone?”“No, no,” Newander assured her.“The two dwarves went with him.They have not been as affected by the curse as the rest.”“The rest?” Danica gasped.She knew that her own resistance to such mind-affecting spells was greater than the average person’s and she suddenly feared for the other priests.If she had been driven to slam her head into a block of stone, then what tragedies might have befallen less disciplined priests?“Aye, the rest,” Newander replied grimly.
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dnd281
“The curse is general about the library.Few, if any, have escaped it, Cadderly excepted.Dwarves are tougher than most against magic, and the brother cooks seemed in good sorts.”Danica could hardly digest what she was hearing.The last thing she could remember was finding Cadderly unconscious under the casks in the wine cellar.Everything after that seemed just a strange dream to her, fleeting images of irrational moments.Concentrating with all her willpower, she remembered Kierkan Rufo’s advances and her punishing him severely for them.Danica remembered even more vividly the block of stone, the exploding flashes of pain, and her own refusal to admit the futility of her attempt.Danica didn’t dare let her imagination conjure images of the state of the library if the druid’s words were true.She focused her thoughts instead on a more personal level, on Cadderly and his quest down in the dusty, dangerous cellars.“We must go and help him,” she declared, renewing her struggles against the stubborn vines.“No,” said Newander.“We are to stay here, by Cadderly’s own bidding.”“No,” Danica stated, shaking her head.“Of course Cadderly would say that, trying to protect me—and it seems I needed protecting, until a few moments ago.Cadderly and the dwarves might need us, and I won’t lie here under your vines while he walks into danger.Have your plants let me go, Newander, I beg you.You can remain here if you choose, but I must go to Cadderly’s side quickly, before this cursing mist regains its hold on me!”Her last statement, that the curse might fall back over her, only seemed to reinforce Newander’s conclusion that she should be kept under tight control, that her reprieve from the curse might be a temporary thing.But the druid also seemed unable to ignore the determination in the young woman’s voice.Still, the druid could not underestimate the curse’s power—the evidence was too clear all around him, and the choice to release her must surely have seemed a great risk.“What have you to gain by keeping me here?” Danica asked.“If Cadderly is not in danger then he will find and defeat the curse before I … before we, can get to him.But if he and the dwarves have found danger, then they could surely use our help.”Newander waved his hands and whistled shrilly to the vines.They jumped to his calI, releasing their hold on Danica and the bed, rolling back out the open window.Danica stretched her arms and legs for many moments before she could bring herself to stand, and even then she got up quite unsteadily, needing Newander’s support.“Are you so certain you are fit for walking?” the druid asked.“You suffered some serious wounds to the head.”Danica pulled roughly from his grasp and staggered to the middle of the room.There she began an exercise routine, falling more and more easily into the familiar movements.
“The curse is general about the library.Few, if any, have escaped it, Cadderly excepted.Dwarves are tougher than most against magic, and the brother cooks seemed in good sorts.”Danica could hardly digest what she was hearing.The last thing she could remember was finding Cadderly unconscious under the casks in the wine cellar.Everything after that seemed just a strange dream to her, fleeting images of irrational moments.Concentrating with all her willpower, she remembered Kierkan Rufo’s advances and her punishing him severely for them.Danica remembered even more vividly the block of stone, the exploding flashes of pain, and her own refusal to admit the futility of her attempt.Danica didn’t dare let her imagination conjure images of the state of the library if the druid’s words were true.She focused her thoughts instead on a more personal level, on Cadderly and his quest down in the dusty, dangerous cellars.“We must go and help him,” she declared, renewing her struggles against the stubborn vines.“No,” said Newander.“We are to stay here, by Cadderly’s own bidding.”“No,” Danica stated, shaking her head.“Of course Cadderly would say that, trying to protect me—and it seems I needed protecting, until a few moments ago.Cadderly and the dwarves might need us, and I won’t lie here under your vines while he walks into danger.Have your plants let me go, Newander, I beg you.You can remain here if you choose, but I must go to Cadderly’s side quickly, before this cursing mist regains its hold on me!”Her last statement, that the curse might fall back over her, only seemed to reinforce Newander’s conclusion that she should be kept under tight control, that her reprieve from the curse might be a temporary thing.But the druid also seemed unable to ignore the determination in the young woman’s voice.Still, the druid could not underestimate the curse’s power—the evidence was too clear all around him, and the choice to release her must surely have seemed a great risk.“What have you to gain by keeping me here?” Danica asked.“If Cadderly is not in danger then he will find and defeat the curse before I … before we, can get to him.But if he and the dwarves have found danger, then they could surely use our help.”Newander waved his hands and whistled shrilly to the vines.They jumped to his calI, releasing their hold on Danica and the bed, rolling back out the open window.Danica stretched her arms and legs for many moments before she could bring herself to stand, and even then she got up quite unsteadily, needing Newander’s support.“Are you so certain you are fit for walking?” the druid asked.“You suffered some serious wounds to the head.”Danica pulled roughly from his grasp and staggered to the middle of the room.There she began an exercise routine, falling more and more easily into the familiar movements.
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dnd282
Her arms waved and darted in perfect harmony, each guiding the other to its next position.Every now and again, one of her feet came whistling up in front of her, arcing high over her head.Newander watched her tentatively at first, then smiled and nodded his agreement that the young woman had fully regained control of her movements, movements that seemed ever so graceful and appealing, almost bestial, to the druid.“We should be going, then,” Newander offered, taking up his oaken staff and moving to the door.Renewed sounds from Histra’s room greeted them as they entered the hall.Danica glanced anxiously at Newander then started for the priestess’s door.Newander’s hand clasped her shoulder and stopped her.“The curse,” the druid explained.“But we must go to help,” Danica started to retort, but she stopped suddenly as she recognized the connotations of those cries.Danica’s blush became a deep red, and she giggled in spite of the seriousness of the situation.Newander tried to hurry her down the corridor and she did not resist.Indeed, it was Danica pulling the druid by the time they passed Histra’s closed door.Their first stop was Cadderly’s room, and they entered just as Kierkan Rufo was pulling himself free from the last of Ivan’s stubborn bindings.Danica’s eyes lit up at the sight.Vivid memories of Rufo prodding her and grabbing at her assaulted her thoughts, and a wave of sheer hatred, augmented by the red mist, nearly overwhelmed her.“Where is Cadderly?” Danica demanded through clenched teeth.Newander knew nothing of Rufo, of course, but the druid recognized immediately that Danica’s feelings for the bound man carried imminent danger.Rufo twisted his wrist free and tore away from the bed.He averted his gaze, obviously not wanting to face Danica, or anyone else at that moment.Thoroughly wretched, the beaten man wanted only to crawl under his own bed in his own dark room.He had the misfortune, though, or the poor judgment, to pass near Danica on his way out of the room.“Where is Cadderly?” Danica insisted again, stepping in Rufo’s way.Rufo sneered at her and swung a backhand that never got close.Before Newander could begin to intervene, Danica had caught Rufo’s wrist and used its own momentum, with a slight twist, to send the man lurching to the side.Newander heard the dull thud, though Danica’s next movement had been too subtle to follow.The druid wasn’t sure where Danica had hit the man, but from the curious way Rufo squealed and hopped up onto his toes, Newander could make a guess.“Danica!” the druid cried, wrapping himself around Danica’s arms and pulling her back from the tiptoeing man.“Danica,” he whispered in her ear.“It’s the curse.Remember the curse?You must fight it, girl!”Danica relaxed and let Rufo slip by.The stubborn man couldn’t resist the temptation to turn back as he passed and put one more sneer in Danica’s face.Danica’s foot caught him on the side of the head and sent him tumbling out into the hall.“I meant to do that,” Danica assured Newander, “curse or no curse!”The druid nodded, resigned to the fact that Rufo had asked for that one.He let Danica go as soon as he heard Rufo scramble away down the corridor.“He is stubborn,” Newander remarked.“Too true,” said Danica.“He must have interfered with Cadderly and the dwarves.”“Did you notice the bruises on his face?” said the druid.“It would seem he did not fare well in that fight.”Danica agreed quietly, thinking it best not to tell Newander that she was the one who had put most of those bruises on Rufo’s face.
Her arms waved and darted in perfect harmony, each guiding the other to its next position.Every now and again, one of her feet came whistling up in front of her, arcing high over her head.Newander watched her tentatively at first, then smiled and nodded his agreement that the young woman had fully regained control of her movements, movements that seemed ever so graceful and appealing, almost bestial, to the druid.“We should be going, then,” Newander offered, taking up his oaken staff and moving to the door.Renewed sounds from Histra’s room greeted them as they entered the hall.Danica glanced anxiously at Newander then started for the priestess’s door.Newander’s hand clasped her shoulder and stopped her.“The curse,” the druid explained.“But we must go to help,” Danica started to retort, but she stopped suddenly as she recognized the connotations of those cries.Danica’s blush became a deep red, and she giggled in spite of the seriousness of the situation.Newander tried to hurry her down the corridor and she did not resist.Indeed, it was Danica pulling the druid by the time they passed Histra’s closed door.Their first stop was Cadderly’s room, and they entered just as Kierkan Rufo was pulling himself free from the last of Ivan’s stubborn bindings.Danica’s eyes lit up at the sight.Vivid memories of Rufo prodding her and grabbing at her assaulted her thoughts, and a wave of sheer hatred, augmented by the red mist, nearly overwhelmed her.“Where is Cadderly?” Danica demanded through clenched teeth.Newander knew nothing of Rufo, of course, but the druid recognized immediately that Danica’s feelings for the bound man carried imminent danger.Rufo twisted his wrist free and tore away from the bed.He averted his gaze, obviously not wanting to face Danica, or anyone else at that moment.Thoroughly wretched, the beaten man wanted only to crawl under his own bed in his own dark room.He had the misfortune, though, or the poor judgment, to pass near Danica on his way out of the room.“Where is Cadderly?” Danica insisted again, stepping in Rufo’s way.Rufo sneered at her and swung a backhand that never got close.Before Newander could begin to intervene, Danica had caught Rufo’s wrist and used its own momentum, with a slight twist, to send the man lurching to the side.Newander heard the dull thud, though Danica’s next movement had been too subtle to follow.The druid wasn’t sure where Danica had hit the man, but from the curious way Rufo squealed and hopped up onto his toes, Newander could make a guess.“Danica!” the druid cried, wrapping himself around Danica’s arms and pulling her back from the tiptoeing man.“Danica,” he whispered in her ear.“It’s the curse.Remember the curse?You must fight it, girl!”Danica relaxed and let Rufo slip by.The stubborn man couldn’t resist the temptation to turn back as he passed and put one more sneer in Danica’s face.Danica’s foot caught him on the side of the head and sent him tumbling out into the hall.“I meant to do that,” Danica assured Newander, “curse or no curse!”The druid nodded, resigned to the fact that Rufo had asked for that one.He let Danica go as soon as he heard Rufo scramble away down the corridor.“He is stubborn,” Newander remarked.“Too true,” said Danica.“He must have interfered with Cadderly and the dwarves.”“Did you notice the bruises on his face?” said the druid.“It would seem he did not fare well in that fight.”Danica agreed quietly, thinking it best not to tell Newander that she was the one who had put most of those bruises on Rufo’s face.
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dnd283
“So Rufo didn’t slow them,” Danica reasoned.“They have made their way to the cellars, and we must be quick to follow.”The druid hesitated.“What is it?”“I’m afraid for you,” Newander admitted, “and of you.How free are you of the mist?Less than I first believed, by the look on your face when you saw Rufo.”“I admit that, for all my efforts, the mist remains,” replied Danica, “but your words brought me back under control, I assure you, even against Kierkan Rufo.My argument with him goes beyond this curse.I’ll not forget the way he’s stared at me, or what he tried to do to me.” A suspicious look came into Danica’s brown eyes, and she cautiously backed away from Newander.“Why aren’t you affected by this thing?And what does Cadderly possess that frees him from the influences of the red mist?”“As for myself, I know not,” Newander replied.“Your Cadderly believes I am free because there are no hidden desires in my heart, and because I came into the library after the curse first started.I knew something was amiss here as soon as I went to my friends—perhaps that warning has allowed me to fend off the effects.”Danica didn’t seem convinced.“I am a disciplined warrior,” she replied, “but the curse found its way into my thoughts easily enough, even just now, though I understand the dangers of it.”Newander shrugged, having no explanation.“That was Cadderly’s theory, not my own,” he reminded her.“What do you believe?”Again the druid shrugged.“For Cadderly,” he said, “it was he who opened the bottle, and that alone might have saved him.Often in magical curses, the bringer of the curse does not feel its sting.”Danica didn’t really appreciate the value of anything the druid said, but the sincerity in Newander’s voice was undeniable.She lowered her guard and walked out beside the man.The kitchen still belonged to the gluttons.Several more had fallen in an overstuffed stupor, but others continued to wander around, pillaging the dwarves’ well-organized cupboards.Newander and Danica tried to keep their distance as they made their way toward the cellar door, but one fat priest took more than a passing interest in the beautiful young woman.“Here’s a tasty bit still to be tried,” he slobbered between several thunderous belches.Rubbing his greasy fingers on his greasier robes, he started straight for Danica.He had nearly reached her—and Danica thought she would have to clobber the man—when a pudgy hand grabbed him on the shoulder and roughly spun him around.“Hold!” shouted Headmaster Avery.“What do you think you’re about?”The priest eyed Avery with sincere confusion, as did Danica, standing behind him.“Danica,” Avery explained to the man.“Danica and Cadderly!You keep away from her.”Before the man could make any apologies, before Danica could try to calm Avery, the pudgy headmaster swung across with his other arm, holding a hefty leg of mutton, and cracked the offending priest on the side of the head.
“So Rufo didn’t slow them,” Danica reasoned.“They have made their way to the cellars, and we must be quick to follow.”The druid hesitated.“What is it?”“I’m afraid for you,” Newander admitted, “and of you.How free are you of the mist?Less than I first believed, by the look on your face when you saw Rufo.”“I admit that, for all my efforts, the mist remains,” replied Danica, “but your words brought me back under control, I assure you, even against Kierkan Rufo.My argument with him goes beyond this curse.I’ll not forget the way he’s stared at me, or what he tried to do to me.” A suspicious look came into Danica’s brown eyes, and she cautiously backed away from Newander.“Why aren’t you affected by this thing?And what does Cadderly possess that frees him from the influences of the red mist?”“As for myself, I know not,” Newander replied.“Your Cadderly believes I am free because there are no hidden desires in my heart, and because I came into the library after the curse first started.I knew something was amiss here as soon as I went to my friends—perhaps that warning has allowed me to fend off the effects.”Danica didn’t seem convinced.“I am a disciplined warrior,” she replied, “but the curse found its way into my thoughts easily enough, even just now, though I understand the dangers of it.”Newander shrugged, having no explanation.“That was Cadderly’s theory, not my own,” he reminded her.“What do you believe?”Again the druid shrugged.“For Cadderly,” he said, “it was he who opened the bottle, and that alone might have saved him.Often in magical curses, the bringer of the curse does not feel its sting.”Danica didn’t really appreciate the value of anything the druid said, but the sincerity in Newander’s voice was undeniable.She lowered her guard and walked out beside the man.The kitchen still belonged to the gluttons.Several more had fallen in an overstuffed stupor, but others continued to wander around, pillaging the dwarves’ well-organized cupboards.Newander and Danica tried to keep their distance as they made their way toward the cellar door, but one fat priest took more than a passing interest in the beautiful young woman.“Here’s a tasty bit still to be tried,” he slobbered between several thunderous belches.Rubbing his greasy fingers on his greasier robes, he started straight for Danica.He had nearly reached her—and Danica thought she would have to clobber the man—when a pudgy hand grabbed him on the shoulder and roughly spun him around.“Hold!” shouted Headmaster Avery.“What do you think you’re about?”The priest eyed Avery with sincere confusion, as did Danica, standing behind him.“Danica,” Avery explained to the man.“Danica and Cadderly!You keep away from her.”Before the man could make any apologies, before Danica could try to calm Avery, the pudgy headmaster swung across with his other arm, holding a hefty leg of mutton, and cracked the offending priest on the side of the head.
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dnd284
The man dropped in a heap and did not move.“But Headmaster …” Danica began.Avery cut her off.“No need to thank me,” he said.“I watch out for my dear friend, Cadderly.And for his friends, too, of course.No need to thank me!” He wandered off without waiting for a reply, gorging on his mutton and searching for new stores to raid.Danica and Newander started for the fallen man, but the priest awoke with a start and shook his head briskly.He wiped a hand across the mutton-wetted side of his head, smelled his fingers curiously for a moment when he realized the wetness was not his own blood, then began licking them wildly.The two companions’ relief when they reached the heavy, iron-bound cellar door dissipated as soon as they found the portal barred.Danica worked at the jam for a few moments, trying to discover the source of the lock, while the druid prepared a spell.Newander spoke a few words—they sounded Elvish to Danica—and the door groaned as if in answer.Wood planks warped and loosened and the whole door rattled to Danica’s slightest touch.When the druid’s spell was completed, Danica went at the door more forcefully.It no longer fit neatly on any side, though the locking bar remained firmly in place behind it.Danica spent a long moment in deep concentration then lashed out with her open palm.Her blow would have dropped any man, but the door was very old, of ancient oak, and thick, and the punch had little effect.The portal had been constructed for defense in the earliest days of the library.If a goblin raid ever overpowered the outside defenses, the priests could retreat to the cellars.It had only happened twice in the history of the library, and both times, the heavy door had stopped the intruders.Neither the flames of goblin torches, nor the weight of their crude battering rams had broken through.Danica, for all her power and training, was simply overmatched.“It appears that Cadderly and the dwarves will have to get the task finished without our help,” Newander remarked grimly, though there was a hint of relief in his voice.Danica was not so willing to surrender.“Outside,” she ordered, starting back across the kitchen.“There may be a window, or some other way down.”Newander didn’t seem to think that likely, but Danica hadn’t asked for, or even waited to hear, his opinion.The druid shrugged and ran to catch up with her.They split up just outside the double doors, Danica searching along the base of the wall to the south, Newander going north.Danica had gone only a few steps when she was joined by a welcomed friend.“Percival,” the woman said happily, glad for the distraction as the white squirrel peered over the edge of the roof right above her, chattering excitedly.Danica knew that something was bothering the squirrel, but while she could sometimes figure out the connotations of a few of Percival’s basic cries, she couldn’t begin to follow his wild stream of chatter.“Oh, Percival!” she scolded loudly, interrupting the squirrel’s banter.
The man dropped in a heap and did not move.“But Headmaster …” Danica began.Avery cut her off.“No need to thank me,” he said.“I watch out for my dear friend, Cadderly.And for his friends, too, of course.No need to thank me!” He wandered off without waiting for a reply, gorging on his mutton and searching for new stores to raid.Danica and Newander started for the fallen man, but the priest awoke with a start and shook his head briskly.He wiped a hand across the mutton-wetted side of his head, smelled his fingers curiously for a moment when he realized the wetness was not his own blood, then began licking them wildly.The two companions’ relief when they reached the heavy, iron-bound cellar door dissipated as soon as they found the portal barred.Danica worked at the jam for a few moments, trying to discover the source of the lock, while the druid prepared a spell.Newander spoke a few words—they sounded Elvish to Danica—and the door groaned as if in answer.Wood planks warped and loosened and the whole door rattled to Danica’s slightest touch.When the druid’s spell was completed, Danica went at the door more forcefully.It no longer fit neatly on any side, though the locking bar remained firmly in place behind it.Danica spent a long moment in deep concentration then lashed out with her open palm.Her blow would have dropped any man, but the door was very old, of ancient oak, and thick, and the punch had little effect.The portal had been constructed for defense in the earliest days of the library.If a goblin raid ever overpowered the outside defenses, the priests could retreat to the cellars.It had only happened twice in the history of the library, and both times, the heavy door had stopped the intruders.Neither the flames of goblin torches, nor the weight of their crude battering rams had broken through.Danica, for all her power and training, was simply overmatched.“It appears that Cadderly and the dwarves will have to get the task finished without our help,” Newander remarked grimly, though there was a hint of relief in his voice.Danica was not so willing to surrender.“Outside,” she ordered, starting back across the kitchen.“There may be a window, or some other way down.”Newander didn’t seem to think that likely, but Danica hadn’t asked for, or even waited to hear, his opinion.The druid shrugged and ran to catch up with her.They split up just outside the double doors, Danica searching along the base of the wall to the south, Newander going north.Danica had gone only a few steps when she was joined by a welcomed friend.“Percival,” the woman said happily, glad for the distraction as the white squirrel peered over the edge of the roof right above her, chattering excitedly.Danica knew that something was bothering the squirrel, but while she could sometimes figure out the connotations of a few of Percival’s basic cries, she couldn’t begin to follow his wild stream of chatter.“Oh, Percival!” she scolded loudly, interrupting the squirrel’s banter.
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dnd285
“I don’t understand.”“Surely I do,” said Newander, coming up quickly behind Danica.To the squirrel, he said, “Do continue,” and he uttered a series of squeaks and clicks.Percival began again at once, at such a pace that Newander was hard pressed to keep up.“We may have found our way in,” the druid announced to Danica when Percival had finished.“That is, if we can trust the beast.”Danica studied the squirrel for a brief moment, then vouched for him.The first place Percival led them was the old work shed to the side of the library.As soon as they entered, they understood the squirrel’s noisy introduction to the place, for the chains still hung from the ceiling near to the back wall and droplets of blood had spattered the floor beneath them.“Mullivy?” Danica asked to no one in particular.Her question set Percival off on a new stream of gossip.Danica waited patiently for the squirrel to finish then turned to Newander for a translation.“This Mullivy,” the druid asked, looking around with even more concern, “might he be the caretaker?”Danica nodded.“He has been groundskeeper of the library for decades.”“Percival claims he was brought here by another man,” the druid explained, “then they both went off to the hole.”“The hole?”“Tunnel, he means, as best as I can figure,” explained Newander.“All this happened several days ago, perhaps.Percival’s grasp of time is weak.Still, it’s remarkable that the squirrel can remember the incident at all.They are not known for long memories, you know.”Percival hopped down from the shelf and raced out the door as though he had taken exception to the druid’s last remark.Danica and Newander rushed to follow, Danica pausing to collect a couple of torches that Mullivy had conveniently stocked in the work shed.It seemed as if Percival was playing a game with them as they tried to follow his darting movements along the broken ground and rough underbrush south of the library.At last, after many wrong turns, they caught up to the squirrel along a ridge.Below them, under an overhang thick with brush, they saw the ancient tunnel, heading into the mountain in the general direction of the library.“This might not get us anywhere near the cellars we seek,” Newander offered.“How long will it take us to get through the door in the kitchen?” Danica asked, mostly to remind the druid of their lack of options.To accentuate her point, she led Newander’s gaze to the west, where the sun was already disappearing behind the high peaks of the Snowflakes.Newander took a torch from her, uttered a few words, and produced a flame in his open palm.The fire didn’t burn the druid, but it lit their torches easily enough before Newander extinguished it.They walked in side by side, taking note that there were indeed prints in the dust on the tunnel floor—boot prints, possibly, though most were scraped away in a manner that neither of them could explain.Neither of them realized that zombies dragged their feet when they walked.EIGHTEENGENERAL DRUZILIvan wiped a line of blood from his brother’s neck.“Druid?” Ivan asked, and there remained little sarcasm in his tone.Pikel’s wild fighting obviously had impressed Ivan, and the dwarf had no way of knowing how much more there was to being a druid than barking animal noises during a fight.“Maybe that’d not be so bad.”Pikel nodded gratefully, his smile wide under his low hanging helmet.“Where do we go from here?” Ivan asked Cadderly, who leaned quietly against the wall.Cadderly opened his eyes.He didn’t recognize the passage and the fight had agitated him.Even concentrating on the dripping water did little to help him get his bearings.“We went mostly west,” he offered.
“I don’t understand.”“Surely I do,” said Newander, coming up quickly behind Danica.To the squirrel, he said, “Do continue,” and he uttered a series of squeaks and clicks.Percival began again at once, at such a pace that Newander was hard pressed to keep up.“We may have found our way in,” the druid announced to Danica when Percival had finished.“That is, if we can trust the beast.”Danica studied the squirrel for a brief moment, then vouched for him.The first place Percival led them was the old work shed to the side of the library.As soon as they entered, they understood the squirrel’s noisy introduction to the place, for the chains still hung from the ceiling near to the back wall and droplets of blood had spattered the floor beneath them.“Mullivy?” Danica asked to no one in particular.Her question set Percival off on a new stream of gossip.Danica waited patiently for the squirrel to finish then turned to Newander for a translation.“This Mullivy,” the druid asked, looking around with even more concern, “might he be the caretaker?”Danica nodded.“He has been groundskeeper of the library for decades.”“Percival claims he was brought here by another man,” the druid explained, “then they both went off to the hole.”“The hole?”“Tunnel, he means, as best as I can figure,” explained Newander.“All this happened several days ago, perhaps.Percival’s grasp of time is weak.Still, it’s remarkable that the squirrel can remember the incident at all.They are not known for long memories, you know.”Percival hopped down from the shelf and raced out the door as though he had taken exception to the druid’s last remark.Danica and Newander rushed to follow, Danica pausing to collect a couple of torches that Mullivy had conveniently stocked in the work shed.It seemed as if Percival was playing a game with them as they tried to follow his darting movements along the broken ground and rough underbrush south of the library.At last, after many wrong turns, they caught up to the squirrel along a ridge.Below them, under an overhang thick with brush, they saw the ancient tunnel, heading into the mountain in the general direction of the library.“This might not get us anywhere near the cellars we seek,” Newander offered.“How long will it take us to get through the door in the kitchen?” Danica asked, mostly to remind the druid of their lack of options.To accentuate her point, she led Newander’s gaze to the west, where the sun was already disappearing behind the high peaks of the Snowflakes.Newander took a torch from her, uttered a few words, and produced a flame in his open palm.The fire didn’t burn the druid, but it lit their torches easily enough before Newander extinguished it.They walked in side by side, taking note that there were indeed prints in the dust on the tunnel floor—boot prints, possibly, though most were scraped away in a manner that neither of them could explain.Neither of them realized that zombies dragged their feet when they walked.EIGHTEENGENERAL DRUZILIvan wiped a line of blood from his brother’s neck.“Druid?” Ivan asked, and there remained little sarcasm in his tone.Pikel’s wild fighting obviously had impressed Ivan, and the dwarf had no way of knowing how much more there was to being a druid than barking animal noises during a fight.“Maybe that’d not be so bad.”Pikel nodded gratefully, his smile wide under his low hanging helmet.“Where do we go from here?” Ivan asked Cadderly, who leaned quietly against the wall.Cadderly opened his eyes.He didn’t recognize the passage and the fight had agitated him.Even concentrating on the dripping water did little to help him get his bearings.“We went mostly west,” he offered.
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dnd286
“We have to come back around …”“North,” Ivan corrected, then he whispered to Pikel, “Never met a human who could tell his way underground.” That brought a chuckle from both dwarves.“Whatever the direction,” Cadderly went on, “we have to get back to where we started.We were close to our goal before the attack.I am certain of that.”“The best way back is the way we ran,” reasoned Ivan.“Uh oh,” muttered Pikel, peeking around the corner to the passage behind them.Cadderly and Ivan didn’t miss the dwarf’s point, and they understood even more clearly a moment later, when the familiar scraping-scuffing sound of approaching bony feet came from around the bend.Ivan and Pikel clasped their weapons and nodded eagerly, too eagerly by the young scholar’s estimation.Cadderly moved quickly to quench the battle-fires burning in their eyes.“We go the other way,” he ordered.“This passage must have another exit, just like all the others, and no doubt it connects to tunnels that will allow us to get behind our pursuers.”“Ye fearing a fight?” balked Ivan, narrowing his eyes with contempt.The dwarf’s suddenly gruff tone alarmed Cadderly.“The bottle,” he reminded Ivan.“That is our first and most important target.Once we close it, you can go back after all the skeletons you desire.”The answer seemed to appease Ivan, but Cadderly was hoping that once they had closed the bottle and defeated whoever or whatever was behind this whole curse, no further fighting would be necessary.The corridor went on for a long way with no side passages, and no alcoves, though some areas were lined by rotted crates.When they at last did see a turn up ahead, a bend that went back the same way as the one they had left behind, they were greeted once again by the scraping-scuffling sound.All three glanced at each other with concern; Ivan’s glare at Cadderly was not complimentary.“We left the others far behind,” the dwarf reasoned.“This must be a new group.Now they’re on both sides!I told ye we should’ve fought them when we could!”“Turn back,” Cadderly said, thinking that perhaps the dwarf was wrong.Ivan didn’t seem to like the idea.“There are more behind us,” he huffed.“Ye want to be fighting both groups at once?”Cadderly wanted to argue that perhaps there were no skeletons behind them, that perhaps the unseen group in front of them was the same as those they had left behind.He saw clearly that he wouldn’t convince the grumbling dwarves, so he didn’t waste time trying.“We have wood,” he said.“Let us at least build some defenses.”The brothers had no problem with that suggestion, and they quickly followed Cadderly a short way back down the passage, to the last grouping of rotted crates.Ivan and Pikel conferred in a private huddle for a moment then swept into action.Several of the boxes, weakened by the decades, fell apart at the touch, but soon the dwarves had two shoulder-high-to-a-man and fairly solid lines running out from one wall, forming a corridor too narrow for more than one or two skeletons to come through at a time.“Just get yerself behind me and me brother,” Ivan instructed Cadderly.“We’re better for smashing walking bones than that toy ye carry!”By then, the scuffling was quite loud in front of them and Cadderly could detect some movement just at the end of his narrow light beam.
“We have to come back around …”“North,” Ivan corrected, then he whispered to Pikel, “Never met a human who could tell his way underground.” That brought a chuckle from both dwarves.“Whatever the direction,” Cadderly went on, “we have to get back to where we started.We were close to our goal before the attack.I am certain of that.”“The best way back is the way we ran,” reasoned Ivan.“Uh oh,” muttered Pikel, peeking around the corner to the passage behind them.Cadderly and Ivan didn’t miss the dwarf’s point, and they understood even more clearly a moment later, when the familiar scraping-scuffing sound of approaching bony feet came from around the bend.Ivan and Pikel clasped their weapons and nodded eagerly, too eagerly by the young scholar’s estimation.Cadderly moved quickly to quench the battle-fires burning in their eyes.“We go the other way,” he ordered.“This passage must have another exit, just like all the others, and no doubt it connects to tunnels that will allow us to get behind our pursuers.”“Ye fearing a fight?” balked Ivan, narrowing his eyes with contempt.The dwarf’s suddenly gruff tone alarmed Cadderly.“The bottle,” he reminded Ivan.“That is our first and most important target.Once we close it, you can go back after all the skeletons you desire.”The answer seemed to appease Ivan, but Cadderly was hoping that once they had closed the bottle and defeated whoever or whatever was behind this whole curse, no further fighting would be necessary.The corridor went on for a long way with no side passages, and no alcoves, though some areas were lined by rotted crates.When they at last did see a turn up ahead, a bend that went back the same way as the one they had left behind, they were greeted once again by the scraping-scuffling sound.All three glanced at each other with concern; Ivan’s glare at Cadderly was not complimentary.“We left the others far behind,” the dwarf reasoned.“This must be a new group.Now they’re on both sides!I told ye we should’ve fought them when we could!”“Turn back,” Cadderly said, thinking that perhaps the dwarf was wrong.Ivan didn’t seem to like the idea.“There are more behind us,” he huffed.“Ye want to be fighting both groups at once?”Cadderly wanted to argue that perhaps there were no skeletons behind them, that perhaps the unseen group in front of them was the same as those they had left behind.He saw clearly that he wouldn’t convince the grumbling dwarves, so he didn’t waste time trying.“We have wood,” he said.“Let us at least build some defenses.”The brothers had no problem with that suggestion, and they quickly followed Cadderly a short way back down the passage, to the last grouping of rotted crates.Ivan and Pikel conferred in a private huddle for a moment then swept into action.Several of the boxes, weakened by the decades, fell apart at the touch, but soon the dwarves had two shoulder-high-to-a-man and fairly solid lines running out from one wall, forming a corridor too narrow for more than one or two skeletons to come through at a time.“Just get yerself behind me and me brother,” Ivan instructed Cadderly.“We’re better for smashing walking bones than that toy ye carry!”By then, the scuffling was quite loud in front of them and Cadderly could detect some movement just at the end of his narrow light beam.
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dnd287
The skeletons did not advance any farther, though.“Have they lost the trail?” Cadderly whispered.Ivan shook his head.“They know we’re here,” he insisted.“Why do they hold back?”“Uh oh,” moaned Pikel.“Ye’re right,” Ivan said to his brother.He looked up at Cadderly.“Ye should’ve left the fighting to us,” he said.“Be keeping that thought in yer head in the future.Now they’re waiting for the other group, the one we shouldn’t have left behind us, to catch up.”Cadderly rocked back on his heels.Skeletons were not thinking creatures.If Ivan’s appraisal was correct, then someone or something else was in the area, directing the attack.Shuffling noises proved the dwarves’ guess right only a few moments later and Cadderly nodded grimly.Perhaps he should have left the fighting decisions to his more seasoned companions.He took up his appointed position behind the dwarf brothers, not sounding his concerns that the undead seemed to have some organization.The skeletons came at them in a rush, a score from one side and at least that many from the other, and when they found the single opening to get at their living enemies, they banged against each other trying to get in.A single chop from Ivan’s axe dispatched the first one that made its way down.Several more followed in a tight group, and Ivan backed away and nodded to his brother.Pikel lowered his club like a battering ram and started pumping his legs frantically, building momentum.Cadderly grabbed the dwarf’s shoulder, hoping to keep their defensive posture intact, and it was Ivan, not Pikel, who knocked his hand away.“Tactics, boy, tactics,” Ivan grumbled, shaking his head incredulously.“I told ye to leave the fighting to us.”Cadderly nodded again and pulled back.Pikel sprang away, battering into the advancing skeletons like some animated ballista missile.With the general jumble of bones, it was hard to determine how many skeletons the dwarf actually had destroyed.The important factor was that many more still remained.Pikel wheeled about quickly and came rushing back, one skeleton right behind him.“Down!” Ivan yelled and Pikel dived to the ground just as Ivan’s great axe swiped around, bashing Pikel’s pursuer into little pieces.Cadderly vowed then to let the dwarves handle any future battle arrangements, humbling himself to the fact that the dwarves understood tactics far better than he ever could.Another small group of skeletons came on, and Ivan and Pikel used alternating attack routines, each playing off his brother’s feints and charges, to easily defeat them.Cadderly rested back against the wall in sincere admiration, believing that the brothers could keep that up for a long, long time.Then, suddenly, the skeletons stopped advancing.They milled about by the entrance to the crate run for a moment then systematically began dismantling the piles.“When did those things learn to think?” asked a disbelieving Ivan.“Something is guiding them,” Cadderly replied, shifting his light beam around the passage in search of the undead’s leader.No light could reveal the invisible Druzil.The imp watched impatiently and with growing concern.
The skeletons did not advance any farther, though.“Have they lost the trail?” Cadderly whispered.Ivan shook his head.“They know we’re here,” he insisted.“Why do they hold back?”“Uh oh,” moaned Pikel.“Ye’re right,” Ivan said to his brother.He looked up at Cadderly.“Ye should’ve left the fighting to us,” he said.“Be keeping that thought in yer head in the future.Now they’re waiting for the other group, the one we shouldn’t have left behind us, to catch up.”Cadderly rocked back on his heels.Skeletons were not thinking creatures.If Ivan’s appraisal was correct, then someone or something else was in the area, directing the attack.Shuffling noises proved the dwarves’ guess right only a few moments later and Cadderly nodded grimly.Perhaps he should have left the fighting decisions to his more seasoned companions.He took up his appointed position behind the dwarf brothers, not sounding his concerns that the undead seemed to have some organization.The skeletons came at them in a rush, a score from one side and at least that many from the other, and when they found the single opening to get at their living enemies, they banged against each other trying to get in.A single chop from Ivan’s axe dispatched the first one that made its way down.Several more followed in a tight group, and Ivan backed away and nodded to his brother.Pikel lowered his club like a battering ram and started pumping his legs frantically, building momentum.Cadderly grabbed the dwarf’s shoulder, hoping to keep their defensive posture intact, and it was Ivan, not Pikel, who knocked his hand away.“Tactics, boy, tactics,” Ivan grumbled, shaking his head incredulously.“I told ye to leave the fighting to us.”Cadderly nodded again and pulled back.Pikel sprang away, battering into the advancing skeletons like some animated ballista missile.With the general jumble of bones, it was hard to determine how many skeletons the dwarf actually had destroyed.The important factor was that many more still remained.Pikel wheeled about quickly and came rushing back, one skeleton right behind him.“Down!” Ivan yelled and Pikel dived to the ground just as Ivan’s great axe swiped around, bashing Pikel’s pursuer into little pieces.Cadderly vowed then to let the dwarves handle any future battle arrangements, humbling himself to the fact that the dwarves understood tactics far better than he ever could.Another small group of skeletons came on, and Ivan and Pikel used alternating attack routines, each playing off his brother’s feints and charges, to easily defeat them.Cadderly rested back against the wall in sincere admiration, believing that the brothers could keep that up for a long, long time.Then, suddenly, the skeletons stopped advancing.They milled about by the entrance to the crate run for a moment then systematically began dismantling the piles.“When did those things learn to think?” asked a disbelieving Ivan.“Something is guiding them,” Cadderly replied, shifting his light beam around the passage in search of the undead’s leader.No light could reveal the invisible Druzil.The imp watched impatiently and with growing concern.
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dnd288
Counting the skeletons back in the earlier passages, the three adventurers had destroyed more than half the undead force.Druzil was not normally a gambling creature, not when his own safety was concerned, but desperate times called for desperate measures.If the three intruders were not stopped, eventually they would get into the altar room.Who could guess what kind of damage the two wild dwarves might cause in there?Yet, it was something about the human that bothered Druzil most of all.His eyes, the imp thought, and the careful and calculating way he swept his light beam, reminded Druzil pointedly of another powerful and dangerous human.Druzil had heard of dwarves’ resistance to all magic, even potent spells such as the chaos curse, so he could understand how the two had found their way down, but the human seemed even more clear-headed, more focused, than his companions.There could be only one answer: he had been Barjin’s catalyst—the one who opened the bottle.Barjin had assured Druzil that he had put spells on the catalyst that would keep the man from remembering anything and from posing any threat.Had Barjin, perhaps, underestimated his foe?That possibility only increased Druzil’s respect for the mysterious young human.Yes, the imp decided, the human was the true threat.Druzil rubbed his hands together eagerly and stretched his wings.It was time to end that threat.“We’ve got to charge them before they rip it all down!” Ivan declared, but before he and Pikel could move, there came a sudden rush of wind.“Oo!” Pikel yelled, instinctively recognizing the sound as an attack.He grabbed the front of Cadderly’s tunic and pulled him to the ground.A split second later, Pikel yelped out in pain and grabbed at his neck.The attacker became visible as it struck, and Cadderly, though he didn’t recognize the creature precisely, knew it was a denizen of the lower planes, some sort of imp.The batwinged thing flew off, its barbed tail trailing behind, dripping Pikel’s blood.“Me brother!” shouted Ivan, but, though Pikel seemed a bit dazed, he warded off Ivan’s attempts to see to his wound.“That was an imp,” Cadderly explained, keeping the light beam in the direction the creature had flown.“Its sting is—” he stopped when he looked at the concerned brothers—“venomous.”As if on cue, Pikel began to tremble violently and both Cadderly and Ivan thought he would surely go down.Dwarves, though, were a tough lot, and Pikel was a tough dwarf.A moment later, he growled loudly and threw off the trembling in a sudden violent jolt.Straightening, he smiled at his brother, hoisted his tree trunk, and nodded toward the skeletal host, still at work taking apart the defenses.“So it was poisoned,” Ivan explained, looking pointedly at Cadderly.“Might’ve killed a human.”“My thanks,” Cadderly said to Pikel, and he would have gone on, except that other things demanded his attention at the moment.The imp had targeted him, he realized, and it most probably would be back.Cadderly released a latch on his walking stick and tilted the ram’s head backward on cleverly hidden hinges.He popped off the stick’s bottom cap, leaving him a hollow tube.“Eh?” asked Pikel, wording Ivan’s thoughts exactly.Cadderly only smiled in reply and continued his preparations.He unscrewed his feathered ring, the one filled with drow-style sleep poison, and showed the dwarves the tiny feather, its other end a cat’s claw dripping with the potent black solution.
Counting the skeletons back in the earlier passages, the three adventurers had destroyed more than half the undead force.Druzil was not normally a gambling creature, not when his own safety was concerned, but desperate times called for desperate measures.If the three intruders were not stopped, eventually they would get into the altar room.Who could guess what kind of damage the two wild dwarves might cause in there?Yet, it was something about the human that bothered Druzil most of all.His eyes, the imp thought, and the careful and calculating way he swept his light beam, reminded Druzil pointedly of another powerful and dangerous human.Druzil had heard of dwarves’ resistance to all magic, even potent spells such as the chaos curse, so he could understand how the two had found their way down, but the human seemed even more clear-headed, more focused, than his companions.There could be only one answer: he had been Barjin’s catalyst—the one who opened the bottle.Barjin had assured Druzil that he had put spells on the catalyst that would keep the man from remembering anything and from posing any threat.Had Barjin, perhaps, underestimated his foe?That possibility only increased Druzil’s respect for the mysterious young human.Yes, the imp decided, the human was the true threat.Druzil rubbed his hands together eagerly and stretched his wings.It was time to end that threat.“We’ve got to charge them before they rip it all down!” Ivan declared, but before he and Pikel could move, there came a sudden rush of wind.“Oo!” Pikel yelled, instinctively recognizing the sound as an attack.He grabbed the front of Cadderly’s tunic and pulled him to the ground.A split second later, Pikel yelped out in pain and grabbed at his neck.The attacker became visible as it struck, and Cadderly, though he didn’t recognize the creature precisely, knew it was a denizen of the lower planes, some sort of imp.The batwinged thing flew off, its barbed tail trailing behind, dripping Pikel’s blood.“Me brother!” shouted Ivan, but, though Pikel seemed a bit dazed, he warded off Ivan’s attempts to see to his wound.“That was an imp,” Cadderly explained, keeping the light beam in the direction the creature had flown.“Its sting is—” he stopped when he looked at the concerned brothers—“venomous.”As if on cue, Pikel began to tremble violently and both Cadderly and Ivan thought he would surely go down.Dwarves, though, were a tough lot, and Pikel was a tough dwarf.A moment later, he growled loudly and threw off the trembling in a sudden violent jolt.Straightening, he smiled at his brother, hoisted his tree trunk, and nodded toward the skeletal host, still at work taking apart the defenses.“So it was poisoned,” Ivan explained, looking pointedly at Cadderly.“Might’ve killed a human.”“My thanks,” Cadderly said to Pikel, and he would have gone on, except that other things demanded his attention at the moment.The imp had targeted him, he realized, and it most probably would be back.Cadderly released a latch on his walking stick and tilted the ram’s head backward on cleverly hidden hinges.He popped off the stick’s bottom cap, leaving him a hollow tube.“Eh?” asked Pikel, wording Ivan’s thoughts exactly.Cadderly only smiled in reply and continued his preparations.He unscrewed his feathered ring, the one filled with drow-style sleep poison, and showed the dwarves the tiny feather, its other end a cat’s claw dripping with the potent black solution.
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dnd289
Cadderly winked and fitted the dart into the end of his walking stick then grabbed a nearby plank and waited.The fluttering sound of bat wings returned a moment later and both dwarves hoisted their weapons to defend themselves.Cadderly had anticipated that the imp would be invisible again.He determined the general direction of the attack, and when the flapping grew near, he tossed out the plank.The agile imp dodged the heavy board, just nicking it with one wing tip as he passed.While the hit hadn’t done any real damage, it did cost the creature dearly.With his walking stick blow-gun held to pursed lips, Cadderly registered the sound of the nick, aimed, and puffed.A slight thud told him that the dart had struck home.“Oo oi!” Pikel squealed in glee as the invisible imp, stuck with a quite visible dart, fluttered overhead.“Oo oi!”Druzil wasn’t sure if he or the corridor was spinning.Whichever it was, he knew, somewhere in the back of his dreamy thoughts, that it was not a good thing.Normally poisons would not affect an imp, especially on a plane of existence other than its own.But the cat’s-claw dart that had struck Druzil was coated in drow sleep poison, which was among the most potent concoctions in all the multiverse.“My skeletons,” the imp whispered, remembering his command, and feeling that he was somehow needed in some distant battle.Druzil couldn’t sort it out; all he wanted to do was sleep.He should have landed first.He hit the wall before he realized that he was still flying, and fell with a heavy groan.The concussion shook a bit of the slumber from him and he remembered suddenly that the battle was not so distant and that he was indeed needed … but the thought of sleep felt so much better.Druzil kept enough of his wits about him to get out of the open corridor.His bones crackled in transformation, leathery skin ripped and reshaped.Soon he was a large centipede, invisible still, and he slipped in through a crack in the wall and let the slumber overtake him.When the imp fell, so did any semblance of organization in the skeletal forces.The imp’s intrusions into the undead creatures’ predetermined commands began to work against the skeletons.They were not thinking creatures and their original course had been seriously interrupted.Some skeletons wandered aimlessly away, others hung their bony arms down by their sides and stood perfectly still, while others continued their methodical dismantling of the crate barricades, though they no longer followed any purpose in their actions.Only one group remained hostile, rushing down the narrow channel at Cadderly and the dwarves, their arms reaching out eagerly.Ivan and Pikel met them squarely with powerful chops and straightforward thrusts.Even Cadderly managed to get in a few hits.He stood behind Pikel, knowing that Ivan’s antlers could foul his spindle-disks.Pikel was only about four feet tall, with another few inches added for the pot helmet, and Cadderly, standing at six feet, snapped off shots whenever the dwarf’s clubbing maneuvers allowed him an opening.At Cadderly’s suggestion, they worked their way down the channel, leaving piles of bones in their wake.The imp had been controlling the skeletons, Cadderly realized, and with the imp down—Cadderly had heard it hit the wall—Cadderly suspected that the monsters would take little initiative in the fight.With the one attacking group dispatched, Ivan and Pikel moved cautiously toward those breaking down the barricades.The skeletons offered no resistance, didn’t even look up from their work, as the dwarves smashed them into bits.
Cadderly winked and fitted the dart into the end of his walking stick then grabbed a nearby plank and waited.The fluttering sound of bat wings returned a moment later and both dwarves hoisted their weapons to defend themselves.Cadderly had anticipated that the imp would be invisible again.He determined the general direction of the attack, and when the flapping grew near, he tossed out the plank.The agile imp dodged the heavy board, just nicking it with one wing tip as he passed.While the hit hadn’t done any real damage, it did cost the creature dearly.With his walking stick blow-gun held to pursed lips, Cadderly registered the sound of the nick, aimed, and puffed.A slight thud told him that the dart had struck home.“Oo oi!” Pikel squealed in glee as the invisible imp, stuck with a quite visible dart, fluttered overhead.“Oo oi!”Druzil wasn’t sure if he or the corridor was spinning.Whichever it was, he knew, somewhere in the back of his dreamy thoughts, that it was not a good thing.Normally poisons would not affect an imp, especially on a plane of existence other than its own.But the cat’s-claw dart that had struck Druzil was coated in drow sleep poison, which was among the most potent concoctions in all the multiverse.“My skeletons,” the imp whispered, remembering his command, and feeling that he was somehow needed in some distant battle.Druzil couldn’t sort it out; all he wanted to do was sleep.He should have landed first.He hit the wall before he realized that he was still flying, and fell with a heavy groan.The concussion shook a bit of the slumber from him and he remembered suddenly that the battle was not so distant and that he was indeed needed … but the thought of sleep felt so much better.Druzil kept enough of his wits about him to get out of the open corridor.His bones crackled in transformation, leathery skin ripped and reshaped.Soon he was a large centipede, invisible still, and he slipped in through a crack in the wall and let the slumber overtake him.When the imp fell, so did any semblance of organization in the skeletal forces.The imp’s intrusions into the undead creatures’ predetermined commands began to work against the skeletons.They were not thinking creatures and their original course had been seriously interrupted.Some skeletons wandered aimlessly away, others hung their bony arms down by their sides and stood perfectly still, while others continued their methodical dismantling of the crate barricades, though they no longer followed any purpose in their actions.Only one group remained hostile, rushing down the narrow channel at Cadderly and the dwarves, their arms reaching out eagerly.Ivan and Pikel met them squarely with powerful chops and straightforward thrusts.Even Cadderly managed to get in a few hits.He stood behind Pikel, knowing that Ivan’s antlers could foul his spindle-disks.Pikel was only about four feet tall, with another few inches added for the pot helmet, and Cadderly, standing at six feet, snapped off shots whenever the dwarf’s clubbing maneuvers allowed him an opening.At Cadderly’s suggestion, they worked their way down the channel, leaving piles of bones in their wake.The imp had been controlling the skeletons, Cadderly realized, and with the imp down—Cadderly had heard it hit the wall—Cadderly suspected that the monsters would take little initiative in the fight.With the one attacking group dispatched, Ivan and Pikel moved cautiously toward those breaking down the barricades.The skeletons offered no resistance, didn’t even look up from their work, as the dwarves smashed them into bits.
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dnd290
Similarly, those skeletons still remaining in the area, those standing still and showing no signs that they had even been animated, fell easy prey to the dwarves.“That’s the lot,” Ivan announced, blasting the skull from the last standing skeleton, “except for those that are running away.We can catch them!”“Let them wander,” Cadderly offered.Ivan glared at him.“We have more important business,” Cadderly replied, his words more a suggestion than a command.He moved slowly toward where the imp had crashed, the dwarves at his side, but found no sign of the creature, not even the feathered dart.“Which way then?” asked an impatient Ivan.“Back the way we came,” Cadderly replied.“I’ll have an easier time finding the altar room if we return to tunnels I know.Now that the skeletons have been defeated …”“Oo!” chirped Pikel.Cadderly and Ivan looked around anxiously, thinking another attack imminent.“What do ye see?” asked Ivan, staring into the empty distance.“Oo!” Pikel said again, and when his brother and Cadderly looked back at him, they understood that he was responding to no outside threat.He was trembling again.“Oo!” Pikel clutched at his chest and went into a series of short hops.“Poison!” Cadderly cried to Ivan.“The excitement of battle allowed him to fight it off, but only temporarily!”“Oo!” Pikel agreed, scratching furiously at his breastplate as if he was trying to get at his own heart.Ivan ran over and grabbed him to hold him steady.“Ye’re a dwarf!” he yowled.“Ye don’t go falling to poison!”Cadderly knew better.In the same book he had found the drow recipe, he had read of many of the Realms’ known poisons.Near the top of the potency list, beside the deadly sting of a wyvern’s tail and the bite of the dreaded two-headed amphisbaena snake, were listed several poisons of lower planar denizens, among them one from the tail stingers of imps.Dwarves were as resistant to poison as to magic, but if the imp had hit Pikel solidly …“Oo!” Pikel cried one final time.His trembling mocked Ivan’s desperate efforts to hold him steady, and with a sudden burst of power he threw his brother aside and stood staring blankly ahead for just a moment.Then he fell, and both Ivan and Cadderly knew he was dead before they ever got to him.NINETEENGHOULSThey had heard the call of the necromancer’s stone; they had sensed the dead walking and knew that a crypt had been disturbed.They were hungry—they were always hungry—and the promise of flesh brought them running, hunched low on legs that once had been human.Long tongues wagged between pointy teeth, dripping lines of dirty saliva along chins and necks.They came up along the road, darting in and out of the deepening afternoon shadows as they made their way toward the large building.One man, a tall human in long gray robes, was up there milling about the great doors.The lead ghoul bent low over its bowed legs and charged, arms hanging low, knuckles dragging on the ground, and fingers twitching with excitement.Long and filthy fingernails, as sharp and tough as a wild animal’s claws, caught the unsuspecting priest on the shoulder.His agonized cries only increased the ghouls’ frenzy.He tried to fight back, but the chill of the diseased touch deadened his limbs.His features locked in a horror-filled, paralyzed contortion, and the pack fell over him, tearing him apart.One by one, the ghouls drifted away from the devoured corpse, toward the great doors and the promise of more food.But each of them veered away, shielding its eyes with raised arms as it approached, for the doors were blessed and heavily warded against intrusions by undead creatures.The ghouls wandered around for a moment, hungry and frustrated, then one of them heard the call of the stone again, to the south of the structure, and the pack swept off to find it.It was a damp place, with pools of muddy water dotting the earthen floor and mossy vines, covered by crawling things, hanging from the evenly spaced support beams.
Similarly, those skeletons still remaining in the area, those standing still and showing no signs that they had even been animated, fell easy prey to the dwarves.“That’s the lot,” Ivan announced, blasting the skull from the last standing skeleton, “except for those that are running away.We can catch them!”“Let them wander,” Cadderly offered.Ivan glared at him.“We have more important business,” Cadderly replied, his words more a suggestion than a command.He moved slowly toward where the imp had crashed, the dwarves at his side, but found no sign of the creature, not even the feathered dart.“Which way then?” asked an impatient Ivan.“Back the way we came,” Cadderly replied.“I’ll have an easier time finding the altar room if we return to tunnels I know.Now that the skeletons have been defeated …”“Oo!” chirped Pikel.Cadderly and Ivan looked around anxiously, thinking another attack imminent.“What do ye see?” asked Ivan, staring into the empty distance.“Oo!” Pikel said again, and when his brother and Cadderly looked back at him, they understood that he was responding to no outside threat.He was trembling again.“Oo!” Pikel clutched at his chest and went into a series of short hops.“Poison!” Cadderly cried to Ivan.“The excitement of battle allowed him to fight it off, but only temporarily!”“Oo!” Pikel agreed, scratching furiously at his breastplate as if he was trying to get at his own heart.Ivan ran over and grabbed him to hold him steady.“Ye’re a dwarf!” he yowled.“Ye don’t go falling to poison!”Cadderly knew better.In the same book he had found the drow recipe, he had read of many of the Realms’ known poisons.Near the top of the potency list, beside the deadly sting of a wyvern’s tail and the bite of the dreaded two-headed amphisbaena snake, were listed several poisons of lower planar denizens, among them one from the tail stingers of imps.Dwarves were as resistant to poison as to magic, but if the imp had hit Pikel solidly …“Oo!” Pikel cried one final time.His trembling mocked Ivan’s desperate efforts to hold him steady, and with a sudden burst of power he threw his brother aside and stood staring blankly ahead for just a moment.Then he fell, and both Ivan and Cadderly knew he was dead before they ever got to him.NINETEENGHOULSThey had heard the call of the necromancer’s stone; they had sensed the dead walking and knew that a crypt had been disturbed.They were hungry—they were always hungry—and the promise of flesh brought them running, hunched low on legs that once had been human.Long tongues wagged between pointy teeth, dripping lines of dirty saliva along chins and necks.They came up along the road, darting in and out of the deepening afternoon shadows as they made their way toward the large building.One man, a tall human in long gray robes, was up there milling about the great doors.The lead ghoul bent low over its bowed legs and charged, arms hanging low, knuckles dragging on the ground, and fingers twitching with excitement.Long and filthy fingernails, as sharp and tough as a wild animal’s claws, caught the unsuspecting priest on the shoulder.His agonized cries only increased the ghouls’ frenzy.He tried to fight back, but the chill of the diseased touch deadened his limbs.His features locked in a horror-filled, paralyzed contortion, and the pack fell over him, tearing him apart.One by one, the ghouls drifted away from the devoured corpse, toward the great doors and the promise of more food.But each of them veered away, shielding its eyes with raised arms as it approached, for the doors were blessed and heavily warded against intrusions by undead creatures.The ghouls wandered around for a moment, hungry and frustrated, then one of them heard the call of the stone again, to the south of the structure, and the pack swept off to find it.It was a damp place, with pools of muddy water dotting the earthen floor and mossy vines, covered by crawling things, hanging from the evenly spaced support beams.
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dnd291
Danica moved cautiously, the torch far out in front of her, and she kept as far from the sinister-looking moss as possible.Newander was less concerned with the hanging strands, for they were a natural growth, as were the insects crawling over them.Still, though, Newander seemed even more anxious than Danica.He stopped several times and looked around, as if he was trying to find something.Finally his fears infected Danica.She moved beside him, studying him closely in the torchlight.“What are you looking for?” she asked.“Something’s … wrong,” Newander replied.“Wrong?”“Cadderly told me of undead monsters walking the crypts,” Newander explained.“Though I didn’t believe him at first, now I know he was telling the truth.They are the greatest perversion of nature’s order, a blight upon life itself.”Danica could understand why a druid, whose entire life was based on the natural order, might be sensitive to the presence of undead monsters, but she was amazed that Newander could actually sense they were nearby.“They are close,” the druid warned, “too close.”“How can you know?” Danica pressed.Newander looked at her, confused.“I … I cannot,” he stammered, “and yet I do.”“The curse?” Danica wondered aloud.“My senses do not lie to me,” Newander insisted.He spun around suddenly, back toward the tunnel entrance, as if he had heard something.Just an instant later, Danica jumped in surprise as a screech sounded from the tunnel entrance, which was no more than a gray blur far behind them.She recognized the cry as Percival’s, but that fact did nothing to calm her, for even then the hunched forms appeared at the entrance, the sound of their hungry slobbers carrying all the way down to the woman and the druid.“Run, Danica!” Newander cried and turned to go.Danica did not move, unafraid of any enemy.She saw eight man-sized shapes distinctly, though she had no idea if they were priests from the library or monsters.Either way, Danica saw no advantage in stumbling down the tunnel, perhaps running into a waiting enemy and having to fight both foes at the same time.Also, Danica could not ignore Percival.She would fight for the white squirrel as surely as she would fight for any friend.“They are undead,” the druid tried to explain, and even as he spoke the words, the stench of decaying flesh filled their nostrils.“Do not let them scratch you,” Newander advised.“Their touch will freeze the marrow of your bones.”Danica crouched low, feeling the balance of the torch and tuning all her senses to her surroundings.Above her, Percival skittered along a wooden beam; behind her, Newander had begun a low chant, a spell preparation; and before her, the pack came on, hissing and sputtering, but slower, out of respect for the blazing torch.The pack came to within a dozen running strides of Danica and halted.Danica saw their yellow, sickly eyes, but unlike those of a corpse, those eyes shone with inner, hungry fires.She heard their breathless gasps and saw their long and pointy tongues, flicking like a reptile’s might.Danica crouched even lower, sensing their mounting excitement.They charged, but it was Newander who struck first.As the ghouls passed under a crossbeam, the moss came to life.
Danica moved cautiously, the torch far out in front of her, and she kept as far from the sinister-looking moss as possible.Newander was less concerned with the hanging strands, for they were a natural growth, as were the insects crawling over them.Still, though, Newander seemed even more anxious than Danica.He stopped several times and looked around, as if he was trying to find something.Finally his fears infected Danica.She moved beside him, studying him closely in the torchlight.“What are you looking for?” she asked.“Something’s … wrong,” Newander replied.“Wrong?”“Cadderly told me of undead monsters walking the crypts,” Newander explained.“Though I didn’t believe him at first, now I know he was telling the truth.They are the greatest perversion of nature’s order, a blight upon life itself.”Danica could understand why a druid, whose entire life was based on the natural order, might be sensitive to the presence of undead monsters, but she was amazed that Newander could actually sense they were nearby.“They are close,” the druid warned, “too close.”“How can you know?” Danica pressed.Newander looked at her, confused.“I … I cannot,” he stammered, “and yet I do.”“The curse?” Danica wondered aloud.“My senses do not lie to me,” Newander insisted.He spun around suddenly, back toward the tunnel entrance, as if he had heard something.Just an instant later, Danica jumped in surprise as a screech sounded from the tunnel entrance, which was no more than a gray blur far behind them.She recognized the cry as Percival’s, but that fact did nothing to calm her, for even then the hunched forms appeared at the entrance, the sound of their hungry slobbers carrying all the way down to the woman and the druid.“Run, Danica!” Newander cried and turned to go.Danica did not move, unafraid of any enemy.She saw eight man-sized shapes distinctly, though she had no idea if they were priests from the library or monsters.Either way, Danica saw no advantage in stumbling down the tunnel, perhaps running into a waiting enemy and having to fight both foes at the same time.Also, Danica could not ignore Percival.She would fight for the white squirrel as surely as she would fight for any friend.“They are undead,” the druid tried to explain, and even as he spoke the words, the stench of decaying flesh filled their nostrils.“Do not let them scratch you,” Newander advised.“Their touch will freeze the marrow of your bones.”Danica crouched low, feeling the balance of the torch and tuning all her senses to her surroundings.Above her, Percival skittered along a wooden beam; behind her, Newander had begun a low chant, a spell preparation; and before her, the pack came on, hissing and sputtering, but slower, out of respect for the blazing torch.The pack came to within a dozen running strides of Danica and halted.Danica saw their yellow, sickly eyes, but unlike those of a corpse, those eyes shone with inner, hungry fires.She heard their breathless gasps and saw their long and pointy tongues, flicking like a reptile’s might.Danica crouched even lower, sensing their mounting excitement.They charged, but it was Newander who struck first.As the ghouls passed under a crossbeam, the moss came to life.
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dnd292
Like the vines that had held Danica to her bed, the moss strands grabbed at the passing ghouls.Three of the creatures were fully entangled; two others scrambled and spat in horrifying rage, their ankles hooked, but three came right through.The lead ghoul bore down on Danica, who stood poised and unafraid.She held her unthreatening posture until the very last moment, luring the ghoul right in on her, so close that even Newander let out an alarmed cry.Danica was in perfect control of the situation.Her torch shot out suddenly, its fiery end slamming the ghoul right in the eye.The creature recoiled and let out a shriek that sent tingling shivers along Danica’s spine.She popped the ghoul in the other eye for good measure, but the move put her torch out of line for a continuing defense.A second foe appeared beside the first, its tongue hanging low and its wretched hands reaching for Danica.Danica moved to punch it but remembered Newander’s warning and knew that her own arm’s reach could not match the taller ghoul’s.Danica possessed other weapons.She threw her head backward, so far it seemed she would tumble to the ground.Her continued balance caught the still-advancing ghoul by surprise and brought an astounded gasp from Newander behind her, for Danica did not fall.She pivoted her body on one leg, her other leg shooting up before her and her foot catching the charging ghoul right under the chin.The monster’s jaw smacked shut, its severed tongue dropped to the floor, and it stopped abruptly, hideous red-green blood and mucus pouring from its mouth.Danica wasn’t nearly finished with it.She dropped her torch and leaped straight up, catching the crossbeam support, and snap-kicked one foot into the ghoul’s face, sending gore flying.Again and again Danica’s kicks pounded it.The third advancing ghoul had met equal punishment.Newander held his open palm out before him and uttered a few words to produce another ball of magical flame, similar to the one he had used to light the torch back at the tunnel entrance.As the ghoul came hobbling in, Newander launched the fiery missile.It hit the advancing monster squarely in the chest and suddenly the ghoul was more concerned with patting out the flames than attacking the druid.It had nearly put out the first fire when another ball came in, taking it in the shoulder.Then came the third missile, bursting into a shower of sparks as it hit the ghoul in the face.Danica held her position on the crossbeam and kicked one final time.She knew she’d snapped the ghoul’s neck, but the doomed creature managed to get a claw on the side of her leg.As it fell, its dirty nail dug a deep line down Danica’s calf.Danica looked at the wound in horror, feeling the paralyzing touch taking hold of her.“No!” she growled, and she used all her years of training, all her mental discipline, to fight back, to force the chill from her bones.She dropped from the beam and scooped up the torch, glad to learn that her leg could still support her.Her anger took control of her.Part of Danica’s discipline involved knowing when to let go, when to let blind rage guide her actions.
Like the vines that had held Danica to her bed, the moss strands grabbed at the passing ghouls.Three of the creatures were fully entangled; two others scrambled and spat in horrifying rage, their ankles hooked, but three came right through.The lead ghoul bore down on Danica, who stood poised and unafraid.She held her unthreatening posture until the very last moment, luring the ghoul right in on her, so close that even Newander let out an alarmed cry.Danica was in perfect control of the situation.Her torch shot out suddenly, its fiery end slamming the ghoul right in the eye.The creature recoiled and let out a shriek that sent tingling shivers along Danica’s spine.She popped the ghoul in the other eye for good measure, but the move put her torch out of line for a continuing defense.A second foe appeared beside the first, its tongue hanging low and its wretched hands reaching for Danica.Danica moved to punch it but remembered Newander’s warning and knew that her own arm’s reach could not match the taller ghoul’s.Danica possessed other weapons.She threw her head backward, so far it seemed she would tumble to the ground.Her continued balance caught the still-advancing ghoul by surprise and brought an astounded gasp from Newander behind her, for Danica did not fall.She pivoted her body on one leg, her other leg shooting up before her and her foot catching the charging ghoul right under the chin.The monster’s jaw smacked shut, its severed tongue dropped to the floor, and it stopped abruptly, hideous red-green blood and mucus pouring from its mouth.Danica wasn’t nearly finished with it.She dropped her torch and leaped straight up, catching the crossbeam support, and snap-kicked one foot into the ghoul’s face, sending gore flying.Again and again Danica’s kicks pounded it.The third advancing ghoul had met equal punishment.Newander held his open palm out before him and uttered a few words to produce another ball of magical flame, similar to the one he had used to light the torch back at the tunnel entrance.As the ghoul came hobbling in, Newander launched the fiery missile.It hit the advancing monster squarely in the chest and suddenly the ghoul was more concerned with patting out the flames than attacking the druid.It had nearly put out the first fire when another ball came in, taking it in the shoulder.Then came the third missile, bursting into a shower of sparks as it hit the ghoul in the face.Danica held her position on the crossbeam and kicked one final time.She knew she’d snapped the ghoul’s neck, but the doomed creature managed to get a claw on the side of her leg.As it fell, its dirty nail dug a deep line down Danica’s calf.Danica looked at the wound in horror, feeling the paralyzing touch taking hold of her.“No!” she growled, and she used all her years of training, all her mental discipline, to fight back, to force the chill from her bones.She dropped from the beam and scooped up the torch, glad to learn that her leg could still support her.Her anger took control of her.Part of Danica’s discipline involved knowing when to let go, when to let blind rage guide her actions.
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dnd293
The ghoul with the burned eyes spun wildly about, slashing blindly with its claws in search of something to hit.Its mouth opened wide in a hungry, vicious scream.Danica grasped the torch in both hands and rammed it with an overhead chop down the ghoul’s throat.The creature thrashed wildly, scoring several hits on Danica’s arms, but the furious woman did not relent.She drove the torch deeper down the ghoul’s gullet, twisting and grinding until the creature stopped thrashing.Hardly slowing, Danica tightened one hand and spun around, catching the ghoul battling Newander’s fires with a left hook.The blow lifted the monster from its feet and sent it crashing into the tunnel wall.Newander came on it in an instant, pounding it with his staff.The fight was far from over.Five ghouls remained, though three were still helplessly entangled by the moss strands.The other two had worked their way free and charged, paying no mind to their dead companions.Danica dropped into a low crouch, pulled her daggers from their boot sheaths, and struck before the monsters ever got close.To the lead ghoul, the coming dagger probably seemed no more than a sliver, flickering as it spun in the dim torchlight.Then the creature got the point, as the dagger buried itself to the hilt in its eye.The ghoul shrieked and teetered to the side, clutching its face.Danica’s second shot followed with equal precision, thudding into the creature’s chest, again burying to the hilt, and the ghoul tumbled, writhing in the throes of death.The second charging ghoul, not a fortunate creature, had a clear path at Danica.The monk waited again until the very last moment then sprang to grab the beam and her deadly foot flashed out.The powerful kick caught the ghoul on the forehead, stopping it cold and snapping its head backward.As the head came back, Danica’s foot met it again, then a third and a fourth time.Danica dropped from the beam, letting the momentum of her fall take her down into a low squat.Like a coiled spring, she came back up, spinning as she rose and letting one foot fly out behind her.The circle-kick maneuver caught the stunned and battered ghoul on the side of the jaw and snapped its head to the side so brutally that the ghoul was sent into an airborne somersault.It landed in a kneeling position, weirdly contorted, with its legs straight out to either side, its lifeless body hunched heavily and its head lolling sideways, looking over one shoulder.Danica’s rage was not appeased.She charged down the passage, issuing a single-toned scream all the way.The closest moss-wrapped ghoul, not Danica’s target, managed to free one arm to lash at the woman.Danica easily dived under the awkward attack, went into a roll right past the attacker, and came up a few feet in front of the next ghoul without breaking her momentum in the least.She leaped into the air and struck viciously as she descended.Eagle Talon, the attack was called, according to the scrolls of Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn, and Danica worked it to perfection as her extending fingers drove right through the ghoul’s eyes, exploding into its rotted brain.
The ghoul with the burned eyes spun wildly about, slashing blindly with its claws in search of something to hit.Its mouth opened wide in a hungry, vicious scream.Danica grasped the torch in both hands and rammed it with an overhead chop down the ghoul’s throat.The creature thrashed wildly, scoring several hits on Danica’s arms, but the furious woman did not relent.She drove the torch deeper down the ghoul’s gullet, twisting and grinding until the creature stopped thrashing.Hardly slowing, Danica tightened one hand and spun around, catching the ghoul battling Newander’s fires with a left hook.The blow lifted the monster from its feet and sent it crashing into the tunnel wall.Newander came on it in an instant, pounding it with his staff.The fight was far from over.Five ghouls remained, though three were still helplessly entangled by the moss strands.The other two had worked their way free and charged, paying no mind to their dead companions.Danica dropped into a low crouch, pulled her daggers from their boot sheaths, and struck before the monsters ever got close.To the lead ghoul, the coming dagger probably seemed no more than a sliver, flickering as it spun in the dim torchlight.Then the creature got the point, as the dagger buried itself to the hilt in its eye.The ghoul shrieked and teetered to the side, clutching its face.Danica’s second shot followed with equal precision, thudding into the creature’s chest, again burying to the hilt, and the ghoul tumbled, writhing in the throes of death.The second charging ghoul, not a fortunate creature, had a clear path at Danica.The monk waited again until the very last moment then sprang to grab the beam and her deadly foot flashed out.The powerful kick caught the ghoul on the forehead, stopping it cold and snapping its head backward.As the head came back, Danica’s foot met it again, then a third and a fourth time.Danica dropped from the beam, letting the momentum of her fall take her down into a low squat.Like a coiled spring, she came back up, spinning as she rose and letting one foot fly out behind her.The circle-kick maneuver caught the stunned and battered ghoul on the side of the jaw and snapped its head to the side so brutally that the ghoul was sent into an airborne somersault.It landed in a kneeling position, weirdly contorted, with its legs straight out to either side, its lifeless body hunched heavily and its head lolling sideways, looking over one shoulder.Danica’s rage was not appeased.She charged down the passage, issuing a single-toned scream all the way.The closest moss-wrapped ghoul, not Danica’s target, managed to free one arm to lash at the woman.Danica easily dived under the awkward attack, went into a roll right past the attacker, and came up a few feet in front of the next ghoul without breaking her momentum in the least.She leaped into the air and struck viciously as she descended.Eagle Talon, the attack was called, according to the scrolls of Grandmaster Penpahg D’Ahn, and Danica worked it to perfection as her extending fingers drove right through the ghoul’s eyes, exploding into its rotted brain.
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dnd294
It took Danica several moments to extract her hand from the creature’s shattered head, but it didn’t matter.That ghoul offered no further threat.Newander, finished with his ghoul, started toward Danica.He stopped, though, seeing that the young woman had things well under control, and went instead to retrieve the low-burning torch.Finally free, Danica went back at the ghoul that had swung at her.Her fist thudded grotesquely against the rotted flesh of the creature’s chest.Danica knew that its ribs had collapsed under the blow, but the ghoul, nearly free before the attack, fell clear of the moss with the weight of the punch.It came up screaming horribly, wailing away like a thing gone mad.Danica matched its intensity, hitting it three times for each hit she suffered.Again she felt the paralyzing chill of a ghoul’s touch and again she growled it away.Still, she could not ignore the lines of blood on her arms, and her pain and weariness were mounting.She feigned another straightforward punch, then dropped into a squat under the ghoul’s lurching swings.Her foot flashed straight out, catching the ghoul inside its knee and sending it face-first to the ground.In an instant, Danica was back up.She clutched her hands together in a double fist, reached back over her head and dropped to her knees, using the momentum of her fall to add to the power of her chop.She caught the rising ghoul on the back of the head, slamming it back to the ground.The creature bounced under the terrific impact then lay still.Danica didn’t wait to see if it would move again.She grabbed a handful of its scraggly hair, reached under to cup its chin in her other hand, and twisted its head so violently that before the cracking of neck bones had finished, the ghoul’s dead eyes were staring straight up over its back.Danica came up with an enraged scream and advanced steadily on the one remaining ghoul.The moss had lifted it clear of the ground and it hung there still, barely struggling against the impossible bonds.Danica punched it on the side of the head, sending it into a spin.As the face came around in a full circle, Danica, too, spun a circuit and circle-kicked, reversing the creature’s spin.And so it went, punch, kick, around one way then the other.“It’s dead,” Newander started to say, but he didn’t bother to press the point, understanding that Danica needed to work through her rage.Still she kicked and punched, and still the limply hanging ghoul spun.Finally, the exhausted monk dropped to her knees in front of her latest kill and put her head in her blood-soaked hands.“Druzil?” Barjin didn’t know why he had spoken the imp’s name aloud.Perhaps he’d thought the sound would help him reestablish the broken telepathic link with his familiar.
It took Danica several moments to extract her hand from the creature’s shattered head, but it didn’t matter.That ghoul offered no further threat.Newander, finished with his ghoul, started toward Danica.He stopped, though, seeing that the young woman had things well under control, and went instead to retrieve the low-burning torch.Finally free, Danica went back at the ghoul that had swung at her.Her fist thudded grotesquely against the rotted flesh of the creature’s chest.Danica knew that its ribs had collapsed under the blow, but the ghoul, nearly free before the attack, fell clear of the moss with the weight of the punch.It came up screaming horribly, wailing away like a thing gone mad.Danica matched its intensity, hitting it three times for each hit she suffered.Again she felt the paralyzing chill of a ghoul’s touch and again she growled it away.Still, she could not ignore the lines of blood on her arms, and her pain and weariness were mounting.She feigned another straightforward punch, then dropped into a squat under the ghoul’s lurching swings.Her foot flashed straight out, catching the ghoul inside its knee and sending it face-first to the ground.In an instant, Danica was back up.She clutched her hands together in a double fist, reached back over her head and dropped to her knees, using the momentum of her fall to add to the power of her chop.She caught the rising ghoul on the back of the head, slamming it back to the ground.The creature bounced under the terrific impact then lay still.Danica didn’t wait to see if it would move again.She grabbed a handful of its scraggly hair, reached under to cup its chin in her other hand, and twisted its head so violently that before the cracking of neck bones had finished, the ghoul’s dead eyes were staring straight up over its back.Danica came up with an enraged scream and advanced steadily on the one remaining ghoul.The moss had lifted it clear of the ground and it hung there still, barely struggling against the impossible bonds.Danica punched it on the side of the head, sending it into a spin.As the face came around in a full circle, Danica, too, spun a circuit and circle-kicked, reversing the creature’s spin.And so it went, punch, kick, around one way then the other.“It’s dead,” Newander started to say, but he didn’t bother to press the point, understanding that Danica needed to work through her rage.Still she kicked and punched, and still the limply hanging ghoul spun.Finally, the exhausted monk dropped to her knees in front of her latest kill and put her head in her blood-soaked hands.“Druzil?” Barjin didn’t know why he had spoken the imp’s name aloud.Perhaps he’d thought the sound would help him reestablish the broken telepathic link with his familiar.
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dnd295
“Druzil?”There was no reply, no hint that the imp maintained any link at all with the cleric.Barjin waited a moment longer, still trying to send his thoughts along the outer passageways, still hoping that Druzil would answer.Soon, the priest had to admit that his outer eyes had somehow been closed.Perhaps Druzil had been slain, or perhaps an enemy priest had banished the imp back to his own plane.With that uncomfortable thought in mind, Barjin moved to his low-burning brazier.He spoke a few command words, ordering the flames higher and trying to reopen his mysteriously unproductive interplanar gate.He called to midges and manes and lesser denizens; he called to Druzil, hoping that if the imp had been banished, he might bring him back.But the flames crackled unimpeded by any otherworldly presence.Barjin didn’t know, of course, of the magical powder Druzil had sprinkled to close the gate.The priest continued calling for a short while then realized the futility of it, and realized, too, that if Druzil had indeed been defeated, he might have some serious problems brewing.Another thought came to him then, the image of the imp returning to the altar room at the head of the skeletal force with ideas of overthrowing the priest’s leadership.Imps had never been known for their undying loyalty.In either case, Barjin needed to strengthen his own position.He moved to Mullivy first and spent a long moment considering how he might further strengthen the zombie.He had already given Mullivy a patchwork armor plating and had magically increased the zombie’s strength, but he had something more devious in mind.He took out a tiny vial and poured a drop of mercury over Mullivy, uttering an arcane chant.The spell completed, Barjin retrieved several flasks of volatile oil and soaked Mullivy’s clothes.Barjin turned to his most powerful ally, Khalif, the mummy.There was little the priest could do to enhance the already monstrous creation, so he issued a new set of unambiguous commands to it and set it in a more strategic position outside the altar room.All that remained for Barjin was his personal preparations.He donned his clerical vestments, enchanted cloth as armored as a knight’s suit of mail, and uttered a prayer to enhance their protection even more.He took up the Screaming Maiden, his devilish woman-headed mace, and rechecked the wards at the room’s single door.Let his enemies come; whether it was a traitor imp or a host of priests from above, Barjin was confident that the attackers would soon wish they had remained in the outer passages.Newander moved to comfort Danica, but Percival got there first, dropping from a crossbeam to the woman’s shoulder.Danica’s smile returned when she looked at the white squirrel, a reminder of better times, to be sure.“They sense the raising of the dead,” Newander explained, indicating the ghouls.“The meat of their table is the flesh of a corpse.”Danica shot him an incredulous look.“Even if they must create the corpse on their own,” Newander replied.“But it is the raising of the dead that brings them.” Newander seemed to doubt his own words, but he knew nothing of the necromancer’s stone and had no other explanation.“Ghouls will flock to undead from anywhere near, though where these wretches have come from, I cannot guess.”Danica struggled unsteadily to her feet.“It doesn’t matter where they came from,” she said.
“Druzil?”There was no reply, no hint that the imp maintained any link at all with the cleric.Barjin waited a moment longer, still trying to send his thoughts along the outer passageways, still hoping that Druzil would answer.Soon, the priest had to admit that his outer eyes had somehow been closed.Perhaps Druzil had been slain, or perhaps an enemy priest had banished the imp back to his own plane.With that uncomfortable thought in mind, Barjin moved to his low-burning brazier.He spoke a few command words, ordering the flames higher and trying to reopen his mysteriously unproductive interplanar gate.He called to midges and manes and lesser denizens; he called to Druzil, hoping that if the imp had been banished, he might bring him back.But the flames crackled unimpeded by any otherworldly presence.Barjin didn’t know, of course, of the magical powder Druzil had sprinkled to close the gate.The priest continued calling for a short while then realized the futility of it, and realized, too, that if Druzil had indeed been defeated, he might have some serious problems brewing.Another thought came to him then, the image of the imp returning to the altar room at the head of the skeletal force with ideas of overthrowing the priest’s leadership.Imps had never been known for their undying loyalty.In either case, Barjin needed to strengthen his own position.He moved to Mullivy first and spent a long moment considering how he might further strengthen the zombie.He had already given Mullivy a patchwork armor plating and had magically increased the zombie’s strength, but he had something more devious in mind.He took out a tiny vial and poured a drop of mercury over Mullivy, uttering an arcane chant.The spell completed, Barjin retrieved several flasks of volatile oil and soaked Mullivy’s clothes.Barjin turned to his most powerful ally, Khalif, the mummy.There was little the priest could do to enhance the already monstrous creation, so he issued a new set of unambiguous commands to it and set it in a more strategic position outside the altar room.All that remained for Barjin was his personal preparations.He donned his clerical vestments, enchanted cloth as armored as a knight’s suit of mail, and uttered a prayer to enhance their protection even more.He took up the Screaming Maiden, his devilish woman-headed mace, and rechecked the wards at the room’s single door.Let his enemies come; whether it was a traitor imp or a host of priests from above, Barjin was confident that the attackers would soon wish they had remained in the outer passages.Newander moved to comfort Danica, but Percival got there first, dropping from a crossbeam to the woman’s shoulder.Danica’s smile returned when she looked at the white squirrel, a reminder of better times, to be sure.“They sense the raising of the dead,” Newander explained, indicating the ghouls.“The meat of their table is the flesh of a corpse.”Danica shot him an incredulous look.“Even if they must create the corpse on their own,” Newander replied.“But it is the raising of the dead that brings them.” Newander seemed to doubt his own words, but he knew nothing of the necromancer’s stone and had no other explanation.“Ghouls will flock to undead from anywhere near, though where these wretches have come from, I cannot guess.”Danica struggled unsteadily to her feet.“It doesn’t matter where they came from,” she said.
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dnd296
“Only that they are dead and will stay dead this time.Let us go on.Cadderly and the dwarves might have met troubles farther in.”Newander grabbed her arm and held her back.“You cannot go,” he insisted.Danica glared at him.“My spells are nearly exhausted,” the druid explained, “but I have some salves that might help your wounds and a curative spell that can defeat any poison you might have suffered.”“We have no time,” Danica argued, pulling free.“Save that poison cure.My wounds are not so serious, but we might need that before this is ended.”“Only a moment for treating your wounds then,” Newander argued back.He took out a small pouch.“You might be needing me, Lady Danica, but I’ll not go in with you if you do not let me tend to your wounds.”Danica wanted no delays, but she didn’t doubt the stubborn druid’s resolve.She kneeled before Newander and held her torn forearms out to him.Despite her own stubbornness, she had to admit that the gashes felt much better the instant the druid applied his salves.They set off again, Newander bearing the torch and his staff, Danica holding her daggers, stained darkly with ghoul gore, and the newest member of the party, Percival, wrapped nervously around Danica’s neck and shoulders.TWENTYOH, BROTHER, ME BROTHERMe brother!” Ivan wailed, bowing over Pikel’s prostrate form.“Oh, me brother!” The dwarf sniffled and wept openly, cradling Pikel’s head in his hands.Cadderly had no words to comfort Ivan.Indeed, the young scholar was nearly as overcome as the dwarf.Pikel had been a dear friend, always ready to listen to Cadderly’s latest wild idea, and always adding an emphatic “Oo oi!” just to make Cadderly feel good.Cadderly had never known the pain of a friend’s death.His mother had died when he was very young, but he didn’t remember that.He saw the priests of Ilmater and the dead gluttons in the kitchen.They were only faces to him, distant and unknown.But looking at dear Pikel, he didn’t know how he should feel, didn’t know what he could do.It seemed a macabre game, and for the first time in his life, Cadderly understood that some things were beyond his power to control or change, that all his rationality, his intelligence, in the final estimation seemed a cold comfort.“Ye should’ve been a druid,” Ivan said quietly.“Ye always were better under the sky than the stone.” Ivan let out a great cry and buried his head in Pikel’s chest, his shoulders shuddering.Cadderly could understand the dwarf’s pain, but he was shocked nonetheless that Ivan was so openly emotional.The priest wondered if something was wrong with him for not falling over Pikel as Ivan had done, or if Ivan’s love for his brother was so much greater than his own feelings for the dwarf.
“Only that they are dead and will stay dead this time.Let us go on.Cadderly and the dwarves might have met troubles farther in.”Newander grabbed her arm and held her back.“You cannot go,” he insisted.Danica glared at him.“My spells are nearly exhausted,” the druid explained, “but I have some salves that might help your wounds and a curative spell that can defeat any poison you might have suffered.”“We have no time,” Danica argued, pulling free.“Save that poison cure.My wounds are not so serious, but we might need that before this is ended.”“Only a moment for treating your wounds then,” Newander argued back.He took out a small pouch.“You might be needing me, Lady Danica, but I’ll not go in with you if you do not let me tend to your wounds.”Danica wanted no delays, but she didn’t doubt the stubborn druid’s resolve.She kneeled before Newander and held her torn forearms out to him.Despite her own stubbornness, she had to admit that the gashes felt much better the instant the druid applied his salves.They set off again, Newander bearing the torch and his staff, Danica holding her daggers, stained darkly with ghoul gore, and the newest member of the party, Percival, wrapped nervously around Danica’s neck and shoulders.TWENTYOH, BROTHER, ME BROTHERMe brother!” Ivan wailed, bowing over Pikel’s prostrate form.“Oh, me brother!” The dwarf sniffled and wept openly, cradling Pikel’s head in his hands.Cadderly had no words to comfort Ivan.Indeed, the young scholar was nearly as overcome as the dwarf.Pikel had been a dear friend, always ready to listen to Cadderly’s latest wild idea, and always adding an emphatic “Oo oi!” just to make Cadderly feel good.Cadderly had never known the pain of a friend’s death.His mother had died when he was very young, but he didn’t remember that.He saw the priests of Ilmater and the dead gluttons in the kitchen.They were only faces to him, distant and unknown.But looking at dear Pikel, he didn’t know how he should feel, didn’t know what he could do.It seemed a macabre game, and for the first time in his life, Cadderly understood that some things were beyond his power to control or change, that all his rationality, his intelligence, in the final estimation seemed a cold comfort.“Ye should’ve been a druid,” Ivan said quietly.“Ye always were better under the sky than the stone.” Ivan let out a great cry and buried his head in Pikel’s chest, his shoulders shuddering.Cadderly could understand the dwarf’s pain, but he was shocked nonetheless that Ivan was so openly emotional.The priest wondered if something was wrong with him for not falling over Pikel as Ivan had done, or if Ivan’s love for his brother was so much greater than his own feelings for the dwarf.
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dnd297
Cadderly kept his wits about him, though.No matter how agonizing Pikel’s death was, if they didn’t move on and close the bottle, many others would share a similar fate.“We must go,” Cadderly said softly to Ivan.“Shut yer mouth!” Ivan roared, on the verge of an explosion, never taking his gaze from his brother.The response caught Cadderly by surprise, but again he didn’t understand the nature of grief, didn’t know if it was Ivan who was acting out of sorts or if he was.When the dwarf finally did look back at him, tears streaked his contorted face and Cadderly feared he saw there something more than grief.“The curse,” he muttered, breathless.As far as he could tell, the red mist worked to exaggerate one’s emotions.Apparently the curse had found a hold in Ivan’s sorrow, a chink in the tough dwarf’s magic-resistant constitution.Cadderly feared that the curse was taking hold of Ivan.The dwarf’s blubbering increased with each passing moment; he could hardly draw breath, so violent was his weeping.“Ivan,” he said, moving over to put a hand on the dwarf’s shoulder.“We can do no more for Pikel.Come away now.We have other business to attend.”Ivan snapped an angry glare on Cadderly and smacked his hands away.“Ye’re wanting me to leave him?” the dwarf cried.“Me brother!Me dead brother!No, I’m not going, never going.I’ll stay by me brother’s side.Stay here and keep me Pikel-druid warm!”“He is dead, Ivan,” Cadderly said through his own budding sniffles.“Gone.You cannot keep the warmth in his body.You cannot do anything for him.”“Shut yer mouth!” Ivan roared again, reaching for his axe.Cadderly thought the dwarf meant to chop him down, feared that Ivan blamed him for what had happened to Pikel, but Ivan never even found the strength to lift the heavy weapon and instead tumbled back down over Pikel.Cadderly realized that he would get nowhere reasoning with the grieving dwarf, but Ivan’s outburst incited other ideas in the young scholar.There was one emotion that could overrule even grief, and Ivan seemed all too willing to let that emotion take charge.“You can do nothing,” Cadderly said again, “but repay the one who did this to Pikel.”Cadderly had Ivan’s full attention.“He is down here, Ivan,” Cadderly prodded, though he didn’t like leading the dwarf on.“Pikel’s killer is down here.”“The imp!” Ivan roared, looking around wildly for the creature.“No,” Cadderly replied, “not the imp, but the imp’s master.”“The imp’s what poisoned me brother!” Ivan protested.“Yes, but the imp’s master brought the creature here, and the curse, and all the evil that led to Pikel’s demise,” replied Cadderly.
Cadderly kept his wits about him, though.No matter how agonizing Pikel’s death was, if they didn’t move on and close the bottle, many others would share a similar fate.“We must go,” Cadderly said softly to Ivan.“Shut yer mouth!” Ivan roared, on the verge of an explosion, never taking his gaze from his brother.The response caught Cadderly by surprise, but again he didn’t understand the nature of grief, didn’t know if it was Ivan who was acting out of sorts or if he was.When the dwarf finally did look back at him, tears streaked his contorted face and Cadderly feared he saw there something more than grief.“The curse,” he muttered, breathless.As far as he could tell, the red mist worked to exaggerate one’s emotions.Apparently the curse had found a hold in Ivan’s sorrow, a chink in the tough dwarf’s magic-resistant constitution.Cadderly feared that the curse was taking hold of Ivan.The dwarf’s blubbering increased with each passing moment; he could hardly draw breath, so violent was his weeping.“Ivan,” he said, moving over to put a hand on the dwarf’s shoulder.“We can do no more for Pikel.Come away now.We have other business to attend.”Ivan snapped an angry glare on Cadderly and smacked his hands away.“Ye’re wanting me to leave him?” the dwarf cried.“Me brother!Me dead brother!No, I’m not going, never going.I’ll stay by me brother’s side.Stay here and keep me Pikel-druid warm!”“He is dead, Ivan,” Cadderly said through his own budding sniffles.“Gone.You cannot keep the warmth in his body.You cannot do anything for him.”“Shut yer mouth!” Ivan roared again, reaching for his axe.Cadderly thought the dwarf meant to chop him down, feared that Ivan blamed him for what had happened to Pikel, but Ivan never even found the strength to lift the heavy weapon and instead tumbled back down over Pikel.Cadderly realized that he would get nowhere reasoning with the grieving dwarf, but Ivan’s outburst incited other ideas in the young scholar.There was one emotion that could overrule even grief, and Ivan seemed all too willing to let that emotion take charge.“You can do nothing,” Cadderly said again, “but repay the one who did this to Pikel.”Cadderly had Ivan’s full attention.“He is down here, Ivan,” Cadderly prodded, though he didn’t like leading the dwarf on.“Pikel’s killer is down here.”“The imp!” Ivan roared, looking around wildly for the creature.“No,” Cadderly replied, “not the imp, but the imp’s master.”“The imp’s what poisoned me brother!” Ivan protested.“Yes, but the imp’s master brought the creature here, and the curse, and all the evil that led to Pikel’s demise,” replied Cadderly.
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dnd298
He knew he was taking license in drawing such conclusions, but if he could get Ivan moving it would be worth the deceit.“If we can defeat the master, the imp and all the other evil will follow.The master, Ivan,” Cadderly said again, “he who brought the curse.”“Ye brought the curse,” Ivan snarled, fingering his two-headed axe again and eyeing Cadderly suspiciously.“No,” Cadderly quickly corrected, seeing his conniving tactics taking an entirely different light.“I played an unfortunate role in its release, but I did not bring it.There is one down here—there must be—who brought the curse and sent the skeletons and the imp down here after us, down here to kill your brother!”“Where is he?” Ivan cried, springing up from Pikel and clasping his heavy axe in both hands.“Where’s me brother’s killer?” The dwarf’s eyes darted wildly about, as if he expected some new monster to appear at any moment.“We must find him,” Cadderly prodded.“We should go back the way we came, back into the tunnels I remember.”“Go back?” The idea didn’t seem to please Ivan.“Just until I remember the way, Ivan,” Cadderly explained, “then we’ll go forward, to the room with the cursed bottle, to where we shall find your brother’s killer.” He could only hope his words were true and that Ivan would relax by the time they found the room.“Forward!” Ivan yelled.The dwarf scooped up one of the barely glowing torches, whipped it about to refuel the flame, and stormed off back the way they had come.Cadderly checked to make certain he had all of his belongings, said a final good-bye to Pikel, and ran to catch up.They hadn’t gone far when they came upon the first group of skeletons, five monsters wandering down a side passage.The disoriented skeletons, refugees from the imp’s disastrous battle, made no move to attack, but Ivan, blind with rage, turned on them with a fury that Cadderly had never before imagined.“Ivan, no,” Cadderly pleaded, seeing the dwarf’s intent.“Let them alone.We have more important—”Ivan never heard him.The dwarf let out a roar and a snarl and rushed at the skeletons.The two closest turned to meet the charge, but Ivan overwhelmed them.He launched a mighty side cut with his axe that cleaved one in half then shifted the weapon’s momentum as it whirled behind him and drove it straight over his head, coming down on top of the second skeleton with enough force to shatter the monster.Ivan let go of the weapon, entangled once more in bones, and caught the third skeleton with his deer-horned helmet, lifting the monster clear of the ground, shaking it wildly for a moment, then slamming it into the wall.The attack damaged the skeleton, but it also dislodged Ivan’s helmet.The clawing fingers of the fourth skeleton found an opening in the dwarf’s defenses and dug into the back of his neck.Cadderly came running down to help, readying his walking stick for a swing at Ivan’s newest attacker.Before he could get into the fray, though, Ivan took things into his own hands.He reached around and caught the skeleton by its bony wrist then pulled and spun for all his life.Cadderly dived for the ground, nearly sliced by the flying skeleton’s legs and feet.Ivan picked up momentum in his twirl and soon had the skeleton spinning straight out at arms’ length.He let the momentum build for a moment then shuffled a step closer to a wall and let the bricks do his work.
He knew he was taking license in drawing such conclusions, but if he could get Ivan moving it would be worth the deceit.“If we can defeat the master, the imp and all the other evil will follow.The master, Ivan,” Cadderly said again, “he who brought the curse.”“Ye brought the curse,” Ivan snarled, fingering his two-headed axe again and eyeing Cadderly suspiciously.“No,” Cadderly quickly corrected, seeing his conniving tactics taking an entirely different light.“I played an unfortunate role in its release, but I did not bring it.There is one down here—there must be—who brought the curse and sent the skeletons and the imp down here after us, down here to kill your brother!”“Where is he?” Ivan cried, springing up from Pikel and clasping his heavy axe in both hands.“Where’s me brother’s killer?” The dwarf’s eyes darted wildly about, as if he expected some new monster to appear at any moment.“We must find him,” Cadderly prodded.“We should go back the way we came, back into the tunnels I remember.”“Go back?” The idea didn’t seem to please Ivan.“Just until I remember the way, Ivan,” Cadderly explained, “then we’ll go forward, to the room with the cursed bottle, to where we shall find your brother’s killer.” He could only hope his words were true and that Ivan would relax by the time they found the room.“Forward!” Ivan yelled.The dwarf scooped up one of the barely glowing torches, whipped it about to refuel the flame, and stormed off back the way they had come.Cadderly checked to make certain he had all of his belongings, said a final good-bye to Pikel, and ran to catch up.They hadn’t gone far when they came upon the first group of skeletons, five monsters wandering down a side passage.The disoriented skeletons, refugees from the imp’s disastrous battle, made no move to attack, but Ivan, blind with rage, turned on them with a fury that Cadderly had never before imagined.“Ivan, no,” Cadderly pleaded, seeing the dwarf’s intent.“Let them alone.We have more important—”Ivan never heard him.The dwarf let out a roar and a snarl and rushed at the skeletons.The two closest turned to meet the charge, but Ivan overwhelmed them.He launched a mighty side cut with his axe that cleaved one in half then shifted the weapon’s momentum as it whirled behind him and drove it straight over his head, coming down on top of the second skeleton with enough force to shatter the monster.Ivan let go of the weapon, entangled once more in bones, and caught the third skeleton with his deer-horned helmet, lifting the monster clear of the ground, shaking it wildly for a moment, then slamming it into the wall.The attack damaged the skeleton, but it also dislodged Ivan’s helmet.The clawing fingers of the fourth skeleton found an opening in the dwarf’s defenses and dug into the back of his neck.Cadderly came running down to help, readying his walking stick for a swing at Ivan’s newest attacker.Before he could get into the fray, though, Ivan took things into his own hands.He reached around and caught the skeleton by its bony wrist then pulled and spun for all his life.Cadderly dived for the ground, nearly sliced by the flying skeleton’s legs and feet.Ivan picked up momentum in his twirl and soon had the skeleton spinning straight out at arms’ length.He let the momentum build for a moment then shuffled a step closer to a wall and let the bricks do his work.
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dnd299
The skeleton slammed against them and broke apart and Ivan was left holding a single bone.The last of the skeletons was on the dwarf then, and Ivan, dizzy and a bit disoriented, took the monster’s first clawing hand squarely in the face.Again Cadderly started to help his friend, but one of the other skeletons was back up and closing, still bearing Ivan’s helmet entangled in its ribs.Ivan slammed a forearm into his attacker’s midsection.The dwarf’s stubby legs pumped wildly, driving the monster back toward a wall.When it pressed in, Ivan did not stop.His every muscle tensed and snapped, launching him forward and bringing the only weapon he had available, his forehead, to bear.He slammed the skeleton in the face, and the creature’s skull exploded in the crush between the rock wall and the dwarf’s equally tough head.Bits of bone popped out to the sides, other pieces were ground into dust, and Ivan bounced back, his head badly gashed.Cadderly smacked at the remaining monster with his walking stick and twice snapped his spindle-disks into its face.The stubborn creature came on, slashing its bony fingers and forcing Cadderly to retreat.Soon, though, Cadderly felt the wall at his back and had nowhere left to run.One hand had latched onto Cadderly’s shoulder.The other slashed at his face.He got his own hand up to block but found himself helplessly pinned with the bony fingers digging deeper into his flesh.He tried desperately to hook the skeleton’s arm under his own, to twist it around and break the monster’s grasp, but Cadderly’s attack was designed to twist muscles and tendons and inflict such pain on an attacker as to disable him.Skeletons had no muscles or tendons and felt no pain.Cadderly put his one free hand against the skeleton’s face and tried to push it away—and got a wicked bite on the wrist for his efforts.Then the skeleton’s head disappeared in an instant, went flying away.Cadderly didn’t understand until Ivan’s second axe chop, a downward cut, destroyed the skeletal body.Cadderly leaned back against the wall and clutched at his bloodied wrist.He simply dismissed his own pain a moment later, thinking his wounds minor indeed when he looked upon Ivan.Pieces of skull were embedded in the dwarf’s forehead.Blood ran freely down Ivan’s face, along the sides of his neck, and from numerous cuts on his gnarly hands.Even more horrifying, a skeleton’s broken rib stuck out from the side of the dwarf’s abdomen.Cadderly could not tell how deeply the bone had gone, but the wound seemed wicked indeed and he was truly amazed that the dwarf was still standing.He reached for Ivan, meaning to support his friend, fearing that Ivan would topple.Ivan slapped his hand away.“No time for coddling,” the dwarf barked.“Where’s the one that killed me brother?”“You need help,” Cadderly replied, horrified by his friend’s condition.
The skeleton slammed against them and broke apart and Ivan was left holding a single bone.The last of the skeletons was on the dwarf then, and Ivan, dizzy and a bit disoriented, took the monster’s first clawing hand squarely in the face.Again Cadderly started to help his friend, but one of the other skeletons was back up and closing, still bearing Ivan’s helmet entangled in its ribs.Ivan slammed a forearm into his attacker’s midsection.The dwarf’s stubby legs pumped wildly, driving the monster back toward a wall.When it pressed in, Ivan did not stop.His every muscle tensed and snapped, launching him forward and bringing the only weapon he had available, his forehead, to bear.He slammed the skeleton in the face, and the creature’s skull exploded in the crush between the rock wall and the dwarf’s equally tough head.Bits of bone popped out to the sides, other pieces were ground into dust, and Ivan bounced back, his head badly gashed.Cadderly smacked at the remaining monster with his walking stick and twice snapped his spindle-disks into its face.The stubborn creature came on, slashing its bony fingers and forcing Cadderly to retreat.Soon, though, Cadderly felt the wall at his back and had nowhere left to run.One hand had latched onto Cadderly’s shoulder.The other slashed at his face.He got his own hand up to block but found himself helplessly pinned with the bony fingers digging deeper into his flesh.He tried desperately to hook the skeleton’s arm under his own, to twist it around and break the monster’s grasp, but Cadderly’s attack was designed to twist muscles and tendons and inflict such pain on an attacker as to disable him.Skeletons had no muscles or tendons and felt no pain.Cadderly put his one free hand against the skeleton’s face and tried to push it away—and got a wicked bite on the wrist for his efforts.Then the skeleton’s head disappeared in an instant, went flying away.Cadderly didn’t understand until Ivan’s second axe chop, a downward cut, destroyed the skeletal body.Cadderly leaned back against the wall and clutched at his bloodied wrist.He simply dismissed his own pain a moment later, thinking his wounds minor indeed when he looked upon Ivan.Pieces of skull were embedded in the dwarf’s forehead.Blood ran freely down Ivan’s face, along the sides of his neck, and from numerous cuts on his gnarly hands.Even more horrifying, a skeleton’s broken rib stuck out from the side of the dwarf’s abdomen.Cadderly could not tell how deeply the bone had gone, but the wound seemed wicked indeed and he was truly amazed that the dwarf was still standing.He reached for Ivan, meaning to support his friend, fearing that Ivan would topple.Ivan slapped his hand away.“No time for coddling,” the dwarf barked.“Where’s the one that killed me brother?”“You need help,” Cadderly replied, horrified by his friend’s condition.
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