Troy Denning - The Verdant Passage

To the untrained eye, it might have appeared Sadira was extracting her magic from the ground, but that was not the case. While it was true that she drew the power for her magic from the life force of Athas itself, like all sorcerers she could only tap this mystic power through plants. The energy flowing into her body came to her from the smoketrees, needlebushes, and hornbushes surrounding Tithian’s slave compound. The ground was only a medium for transferring it.

When Sadira had gathered enough power for her spell, she closed her hand and cut off the flow of energy. If she took too much power too rapidly, the plants from which she was drawing the life force would die and the ground holding their roots would become sterile and barren. Unfortunately, few sorcerers were so careful with their powers, and it was their carelessness that had reduced Athas to a wasteland.

Now that Sadira had gathered enough mystic energy, she uttered the incantation that would give shape and direction to her magic, then threw a handful of sand at her target. A flashing cone of scarlet and gold spouted from her fingers and shot toward the gaj’s head in a sparkling beam of radiance. As it reached the beast, the stream broke into a froth of emerald bubbles, each of which burst into a spray of red or blue or yellow or any of a hundred other vibrant colors. Even to Sadira, who knew what to expect, the display was dazzling. The brilliance of all the clashing colors set her mind to reeling, and only the fact that she had known what the spell would do saved her from being stunned by the resplendent spectacle.

The gaj’s tentacles became flaccid, releasing Rikus’s head and wrists. Its red eyes faded to dull maroon. Then it retracted its sticklike legs, and its scaly shell sank to the ground. Unfortunately the pincers remained closed, with Rikus’s limp body still locked in the powerful mandibles. Where the gaj’s antennae had held him, red welts covered the gladiator’s skin.

Both Neeva and Yarig looked from Sadira to the motionless beast. “What happened?” asked the husky dwarf.

“It’s stunned,” Sadira replied, stepping toward the thing’s mandibles. “I cast a spell on it.”

The jaws of both gladiators fell slack. “That will mean your death!” Neeva uttered. “You’d do that for Rikus?”

“I already have,” Sadira replied.

On top of the wall, Boaz screamed, “What happened to the gaj? Lord Tithian will have your head!”

The scullery slave ignored him and tugged at a mandible. It did not open. “We’ve got to get Rikus free,” she said. “The gaj will recover soon.”

Neeva stepped to Sadira’s side and inserted a spear between the the mandibles. “Rikus never told me you were a sorceress.”

“I try not to tell all my secrets,” Sadira answered.

Neeva braced her foot against a mandible and pried with her spear. As the pincers slowly opened, Yarig laid aside his own weapon and started to pull Rikus free. The barbs, still piercing the mul’s abdomen, tore at the gladiator’s stomach.

“Wait!” Sadira said, laying one of her soft hands on the dwarf’s arm. “Neeva must open those pincers farther.”

“Can’t,” came the strained reply.

“What are you doing to the gaj?” Boaz demanded from the wall. “Stop! Don’t hurt it any worse.”

The guards shuffled toward the rope and started repeating their superior’s command to leave the gaj alone, but they did not move to enforce the order. Their hesitation did not surprise Sadira. Their fighting skills could not compare to those of the gladiators, and none of them was anxious to take the initiative in using force against the slaves.

Yarig retrieved his spear and placed it between the pincers, next to Neeva’s weapon. As the dwarf lent his ample strength to the effort, the mandibles opened another two feet. The barbs came out of Rikus’s stomach and blood poured from the wounds.

Sadira grabbed the big gladiator’s shoulders and pulled, but the mul was far too heavy for her.

“Anezka, help me!”

The halfling slowly stepped to her side and took one of Rikus’s arms. The two women pulled him from the pincers.

When the unconscious mul was free, Neeva and Yarig abandoned their weapons and allowed the pincers to close. Each grabbed one of Rikus’s arms, then dragged him toward the edge of the fighting pit. Sadira and Anezka followed a step behind, both glancing over their shoulders at the stunned beast, checking for signs of movement.

By the time they reached the wall, the gaj’s tentacles were beginning to twitch. Yarig grabbed the rope and climbed up, only to find Boaz waiting for him at the top. “I should leave you down there for the gaj,” the trainer hissed.

“We’d have to kill it,” Yarig replied simply, hesitating at the top of the rope. “Should I go back down?”

Boaz regarded the obstinate dwarf for a moment, annoyed at his own uncertainty. Finally the trainer stepped aside. “No. I’ll think of a more fitting punishment for your disobedience later.”

As Yarig scrambled out of the pit, Neeva picked Rikus up and lifted him as high as she could. Yarig turned and lowered himself onto his belly, then reached down for the unconscious mul. The dwarf’s arms were too short to bridge the gap, but Anezka took care of the problem by scrambling halfway up the rope and passing Rikus’s heavy arms to her partner.

“Got him!” Yarig said, struggling to pull the mul toward the deck, with Neeva pushing from below.

Behind Sadira, in the center of the pit, the gaj clacked its pincers loudly, snapping the abandoned spears with a series of sharp cracks.

Neeva gave a loud grunt, then heaved Rikus up over her head. Yarig seized the opportunity to gather his feet beneath him, then pulled the bulky mul to safety. Immediately, Anezka scrambled the rest of the way up the rope. Sadira dared to look over her shoulder. The gaj had risen to its feet and was pointing its hairy tentacles in the group’s direction.

“We’ve got to hurry,” Sadira called. “It’s awake!”

No sooner had she spoken than a pair of strong hands seized her by the waist. Before the half-elf realized what was happening, Neeva had passed her to Yarig, who effortlessly hoisted her to safety.

When Yarig set her atop the wall, Sadira spun around. The gaj was scuttling across the sandy floor of the fighting pit and was already halfway to the wall. Neeva leaped up and grabbed the rope, but Sadira doubted that the woman would reach the top before the creature caught her.

Since she had likely exposed herself as a sorceress earlier, Sadira decided she would do no additional harm by using her magic to save Rikus’s partner. She pointed toward the gaj and began to recite an incantation, preparing to shoot a bolt of magical energy into the beast’s head.

Just before she could cast the spell, Boaz shouted, “Stop her!”

The shaft of a guard’s spear came crashing down across Sadira’s forearm, misdirecting her attack. A burst of golden energy flashed from her fingertips and blasted into the pit, striking well to the gaj’s left. A geyser of sand sprayed thirty feet into the air.

The gaj ignored the blast and continued its charge, loudly clacking its mandibles and angrily waving its antennae. One of Neeva’s hands crested the wall, and Yarig grabbed her arm.

As the gaj reached the edge of the pit, it lifted the front end of its shell and began scraping at the base of the stones in a futile attempt to follow. The creature’s head lay only a few feet below Neeva’s ankles. Her other hand crested the wall, and she started to pull herself free of the pit.

One of the gaj’s tentacles lashed out and entwined Neeva’s bare calf. The woman cried out in pain and surprise. Her fingers slipped from the wall, but Yarig caught her arm and held it fast. Neeva regained her grip with the other hand. Still screaming in pain, she fought to drag herself up the wall.