Ru Emerson - Against the Giants

The chamber was hung with purple and black drapes and was thickly carpeted. A black candle burned in a deep holder on a table partway across the room, another deep in a wall-niche.

Khlened and Bleryn were already partway across the room, advancing on a couch near the west wall and the black-skinned fellow who blinked at them sleepily.

He’s so small! Lhors thought.

Lhors’ eyes shifted briefly as Vlandar stepped away from himand threw one of his daggers. A second drow had come from behind one of the drapes, his lips moving in a spell. The dark elf ducked the dagger, and Vlandar reached for another. Rowan’s arrow sang past Lhors’ ear and caught the drowbetween shoulder and throat. The fellow’s eyes went wide with pain but his lipswere still moving. Maera ran him through with her spear.

“Well done! Get back now!” That was Nemis.

Maera freed her spear, but Rowan only had time to grab one of her arrows before the mage pulled her back.

On the other side of the chamber, Lhors could see Khlened towering over his adversary. The barbarian grinned fiercely and brought up his sword, but the drow rolled from the couch and under it, emerging on the other side as the barbarian brought the weapon down in a slashing blow that cut deeply into finely carved wood. Before he could free it, the drow snatched up a long rod from the floor and lashed out. Writhing tentacles smacked into Khlened’sarm. The barbarian sagged against the wall, gasping for air. Even with two hands, he couldn’t seem to lift his sword.

The drow chuckled and raised the weapon for another blow.

Bleryn jumped back just in time, then brought his javelin down savagely across the clerics slender wrist.

Lhors winced as he heard the unmistakable crack of bone. Bleryn shoved the fallen weapon aside with the tip of his spear and took a step forward. The drow reeled back a pace, his lips moving. Bleryn froze, weapon upraised. Khlened wasn’t moving either.

“Spell,” Nemis hissed. “Mal, watch the drape!”

The mage took a pace into the open, catching the drow’sattention. The fellow cradled his broken arm against his breast, but his lips continued to move. Nemis murmured something, then held up his hands as the cleric bared his teeth. The drow stayed that way, as if suddenly turned to stone.

“Sent the magic back at him,” the mage explained. “Leavethem, Vlandar,” he added softly as the warrior started toward Khlened. “There isnothing you can do now except fight to protect them until we are done.”

The mage moved across the room, stopping several paces from the brightly colored drape that covered most of the east wall.

Lhors tightened his grip on the daggers he’d drawn andswallowed past a dry throat. Why hadn’t this Eclavdra attacked them yet? Werethey alone? He suddenly realized he’d been holding his breath since he’d firstseen movement on that couch. The entire attack against the two drow had taken no time at all.

Nemis, Malowan, and Vlandar stood in the middle of the room facing the drape. Rowan had taken up a position near the corner and knelt to fit an arrow to the string. Maera was so near Lhors, the youth could have taken a step and touched her.

She looked at him, thought for a moment, then finally spoke. “Keep Florimund safe for me.”

He didn’t quite know what to say.

“We’ll keep ’im,” said Agya from behind Lhors.

Nemis moved to the very center of the room, gesturing for his two companions to move away from him, then he took a deep breath.

“I know you are there, Eclavdra,” he said, making no attemptat silence. “Come forth or we will set fire to the chamber.”

Silence answered them.

“We control the palace of the fire giants, Priestess. This isno longer a haven for you.”

“You do not.”

Lhors started as a resonant, low female voice wafted through the room. He hadn’t seen any movement of the drape, but she was suddenly there.

The clerics had seemed small to the youth, but Eclavdra-ifthis was truly she-was smaller than Agya. Unlike the little thief, the drow wasalmost fragile-looking. She wore a flowing black robe barely touched with silver. Sheer fabric slid smoothly over high breasts and a flat belly. Long silver hair rippled from beneath a cap the color of her skin. Tendrils of her hair slipped across her wrists and shoulders as she shook her locks back from sharp ears.

Lhors caught his breath.

Faint as the sound was, the delicately boned face turned his way and large, dark eyes met his very briefly. Her lips turned in amusement.

The youth could feel himself blushing, but Eclavdra’sattention was again fixed on Nemis.

“You do not control the palace,” she said again. “I would know.” She laughedthroatily. “But it is good to see you again, Nemis. I expected you to return tome, but scarcely like this.” She gestured. “A handful of would-be heroes to…what? Take your vengeance against one who cared for you? I did, you know. Why else did I put up with your sulks and your angers, your loathing for your uncle, and your kind touch on my-”

“Save that,” Nemis said flatly. “This is justice, notvengeance-”

Whatever else he would have said went unheard. Eclavdra’speals of laughter stopped him.

“I see. You will take vengeance against me for the sake ofgrubby peasants and ignorant herders, is that it?”

Agya gripped Lhors’ arm when the enraged youth surgedforward.

“Stay put!” the little thief hissed. “Can’t y’tell? She wantsus angered! She wants t’get Mal and Nemis so mad as they can’t think proper,then she c’n kill us all.” She kept hold of him until he took a deep breath andlet it out slowly. She was right, of course.

Lhors had missed something in listening to Agya. The sorceress had apparently said something to upset Malowan. His mouth was grim as he took a step toward her. “What can you hope to get from this? All the fieldsand cities of Oerth? They are no use to you!”

“No? We could live again on the surface, if we chose-if itwere ours. In the meantime, it will be a source of wealth, worked for us by slaves with giants to oversee the harvests, collect the cattle and sheep, even dwarves to mine for us. Of course,” she added with a tight-eyed smile inRowan’s direction, “we will do away with aberrations such as that atonce.”

The ranger merely raised her chin and sighted down her arrow.

“Do not bother with that toy,” Eclavdra added with a nastylaugh. “I can turn it against you-or better, turn it against your sister.”

The drow’s hands moved sharply.

“Mal!” Nemis shouted a warning as, with a faint cry ofprotest and pain, Rowan turned away from the drow and aimed it at her sister. She struggled against the magic, but it was of no use. She let go the arrow, and it shot through the air straight into Maera’s throat. The ranger fell, oneflawless end of the arrow protruding from under her chin, the bloodied point emerging from the back of her neck.

Lhors dropped his daggers and ran to take the half-elf’sweight in his arms. She weighed less than he would have thought. He scooped her up as gently as he could and backed away. Agya was at his side, holding his daggers and ready to throw. Lhors eased Maera back close to the wall. He set her down gently on the floor, careful not to jar the arrow. The ranger was shuddering slightly but seemed to have passed out from the shock. Lhors could just hear a faint rasping. She was still breathing!

“Don’t touch the arrow,” rasped Gerikh, who had come over tohelp. “She’ll bleed more, and it might kill her. As long as she’s breathing, thepaladin can still save her.”

Lhors couldn’t see Rowan, but he could hear her franticweeping, then even that was lost under Eclavdra’s wild laughter. The rest of theparty had been stunned into inaction at the attack upon their comrade. Even Vlandar and Malowan stood stunned, eyes wide. In that instant, the sorceress darted forward to touch Vlandar’s arm then threw herself back against the drape,Vlandar screamed and staggered, his arm bleeding from shoulder to elbow.