T.H. Lain - Oath of Nerull

Neither Hennet nor Nebin had previously attended the Duel Arcane, held in New Koratia every three years. Both knew of it for years, though, and had thought about it since taking up studying the craft, each after his own fashion. The Duel Arcane was the most prestigious magical competition in the region. Merely attending the event was an honor. They were both nervous, but neither would admit that to the other. At least Hennet wouldn't-he wasn't entirely sure if Nebin's bravado was real or feigned. Their arguments, with their bluster and straightforward hauteur, helped to keep nervousness at bay.

Hennet looked back at the gnome. Nebin had been speaking, hut Hennet wasn't sure of the topic. To rattle his friend, Hennet broke in, interrupting the gnome's speech.

"Nebin," he said, "I've been meaning to ask you-do those rven do anything?"

Hennet waved a finger at the goggles the gnome wore pushed up onto his forehead. It was the gnome's habit (another one) to pull them down over his eyes when he faced a dangerous situation.

Nebin paused mid-speech, looked vaguely disturbed, then continued where he had left off, ignoring Hennet's question altogether.

Hennet grinned, trying to take in the gnome's point. It was the classic sorcerer versus wizard argument, something they'd talked to death many times. By round-about fashion, the gnome would imply that sorcerers like Hennet could never truly experience the wonder a wizard (such as the gnome) felt upon discovering a new spell and scribing it into his spellbook.

To forestall another pat on the book, Hennet interrupted his friend once more, but this time with a serious question: "Do you think either of us has a chance at winning the Golden Wand?"

The prize awarded at the conclusion of a Duel Arcane was highly coveted, even though it was awarded only to mages competing as novices. The prize earned by experienced mages was a closely guarded secret, known only to those who had won. Both Hennett and Nebin expected to someday learn for themselves. For now, the Golden Wand was their goal.

"It should be a snap," said Nebin, displaying his characteristic overconfidence. "Though I apologize in advance for taking that honor from you, my friend."

Nebin laughed good-naturedly, showing his statement was meant as a joke. Hennet joined in, then finished his drink.

After more talk about the competition, the two mages retired to their shared room. Neither was flush with cash, and the city of New Koratia, where the duel was to be held, would be expensive.

The Fair Maiden had a second story filled with clean rooms set aside for travelers. That nightnight, all the rooms were filled, so they felt lucky not to be camping alongside the road, as they had done too many times in the past.

Nebin shrugged out of his coat and kicked off his boots, then took to his cot immediately. Hennet sat on his cot, boots off and legs folded, and began his nightly reflection before sleep. He mentally examined secrets of power and magic he knew, and used those secrets to probe for deeper secrets that lay latent within him. Most nights, he came away with nothing, but not always. Sometimes a new insight, a new twist on old knowledge, blossomed under his inner scrutiny. Such was the way of sorcery. Soon enough, he would drift into sleep, perhaps with a tiny, new coal of arcane power smoldering at the back of his mind.

A noise woke Nebin from sound sleep. He cocked his head, listening for it again-nothing. He smiled, all too familiar with the figments of his mind. Then he frowned. He was sure he heard something scratching at the door.

What an unnerving possibility, he thought. Should I check to make sure? I'll never get to sleep otherwise, the gnome realized.

He considered waking Hennet, but decided against it. If it was nothing, he would only have disturbed his friend's rest.

Better to check first, Nebin decided.

The gnome's fingers trailed across his spellbook as he quietly slipped from bed. He'd cast one of his spells earlier, and it would take too long to renew it. Contrary to what he'd told Hennet, the enchantment he'd loosed earlier in the tavern's common room was one of his most potent illusions. He always felt a little naked without its subtle presence in the back of his mind.

The gnome minced across the cold floor toward the door. With his small stature and without his leather boots, he made no sound. The door was bolted on the inside. Nebin listened for just a moment, making sure the hall was silent, then he drew the bolt back, pulling it so slowly he could barely see it move. He pulled the door toward himself until a sliver of black appeared between it and the the jamb. The hallway, which would have looked black as pitch to Hennett's human eyes, stood out in dim but distinct outlines to the gnome. Nebin's problem was that, peering through the tiny crack, he could see less than half the hallway. Most of it extended the opposite direction.

Mustering his nerve, he eased the door open wider and slipped his head through the opening into the hall. He quickly scanned both directions. Three small skylights allowed waning moonlight into the corridor, casting soft, almost imperceptible shadows. Nebin could see a blot at the far end of the hallway, but in that near-total darkness, even he could not make out what it was. A large pack, perhaps? Nebin briefly wondered if one of the inn's patrons, having drunk too much wine, eaten too little food, or simply walked too many miles, might have dropped a big, bulging sack and forgotten it.

The more he stared at it, however, the more he questioned whether it really was a pack. It looked more like a sack.

No, not a sack, he thought, but a very, very large cocoon. But that was ridiculous.

With thoughts of giant cocoons in his head, Nebin's heart skipped a beat when the object suddenly appeared to shift.

Is it moving, he wondered? Is it…looking at me?

Nebin uttered a whispery squeak and snapped back into his room. In his fright, he banged his ear on the door frame, jammed his thumb as he pushed the bolt home, and stubbed his toe leaping into bed. He rolled in his blanket, shivering and gazing at the door with large, unblinking eyes. Nebin did not like that sack. He didn't believe he would ever like any sack that had eyes.

Hennet continued to sleep, undisturbed.

Seconds turned to minutes, and the silence remained unbroken.

Maintaining terror in the absence of threat, real or imagined, is a chore. Gradually the gnome convinced himself that he had seen only a discarded sack after all. It wouldn't be the first time his imagination conjured frightful things in the night. It was a good thing he hadn't awakened Hennett, he decided. The sorcerer would have enjoyed a good laugh at the gnome's expense-frightened by a sack! Finally, white-knuckled, sheet-clutching fingers relaxed and shivering gave way to snoring. Nebin's sleep was untroubled the rest of the night.

A scream, loud and shrill, roused the guests of the Fair Warrior at dawn.

Hennet jumped from his bed. He grabbed his cape for a robe and dashed for the door. Nebin sat up bleary-eyed, questioning.

"Hennet, are you going out for breakfast?"

Hennet shook his head and stepped into the hallway.

He hissed back at Nebin, "There's trouble, be ready!"

A few other groggy travelers milled about, and more exited into the hallway from their rooms looking as disheveled as Hennett. The largest group stood near a door at the end of the hall. A small, human woman pushing a cleaning cart was crying loudly. People were comforting her. Hennet pushed his way through the press. No one hindered him, and he peered into the far room. It was another guest room, very much like his own-except for the body.

A woman lay half-on, half-off her cot. She was clearly dead. Her left leg was missing from mid-thigh on down. What remained of the stump was tattered and charred, as if it had somehow been melted away. Hennet felt bile rising in his throat, so he turned away. Looking back down the hallway toward his own room, he saw Nebin gazing out with wide eyes. The sorcerer shook his head sadly and made a slashing motion across his neck. Nebin's eyes narrowed to slits.