Tim Waggoner - Lady Ruin

Was the tentacle whip hinting that she had the same power? She hadn’t been touched by the daelkyr as Elidyr had, but the power of Xoriat had been flowing through the portal while the Overmantle had been active. Perhaps the chaos energy had affected her more than she’d realized. Then again, perhaps her symbiont was toying with her, building up her hopes for its own amusement, just so it could see them dashed when she attempted to use a power she didn’t possess.

Lirra didn’t see what other option she had though. She swung her sword in a wide arc before her in order to push back the nearest dolgrims, and then she thrust out her free hand-the tentacle whip lashing the air to keep more dolgrims at bay-and, without a clue how she might release a power within her that she didn’t know for certain she possessed, she concentrated. At first, nothing happened. But then she became aware of a stirring deep inside her, as if she was tapping into a vast reservoir of power that she hadn’t known existed. The air around her hand began to waver, and then she felt a sudden surge of energy rush through her arm and blast forth from her hand.

A dozen dolgrims were caught in the line of fire, and Lirra could sense the chaos energy rolling over the creatures like a wall of flame. They staggered backward, swaying on legs suddenly grown too weak to support them, dropping their weapons and falling to the ground, where they lay twitching and mewling like newborn kittens. The Outguard defenders wasted no time wondering what had caused so many dolgrims to collapse all at once. They moved forward swiftly and killed the creatures while they were disabled. Not the most honorable of combat techniques, perhaps, but imminently practical given their current situation.

Lirra was able to release two more blasts of chaos energy, each less potent than the first, before she could do no more. The power simply wasn’t there for her to draw on anymore. Still, it did its work. By the time she was finished, thirty or more dolgrims had been slain, and twice that number had fled in terror of the wild-eyed woman who commanded the power of Xoriat itself. Those few dolgrims who had the discipline-or perhaps simply the bad judgment-to stay and fight were easily dealt with by the Outguard.

One dolgrim remained alive, however. While the others were being killed by her companions, she selected one at random-one that had not been reshaped by Elidyr’s flesh-molding power-and kneeled down next to it. The creature stank, just like Ranja had said earlier. Rotten mushrooms and snail slime. The dolgrim lay on the forest floor, arms and legs quivering as it struggled to overcome the debilitating effects of the chaos energy and get back on its feet, whether to fight or, more likely, to flee. Lirra sheathed her sword and kneeled by the dolgrim’s side. She commanded the tentacle whip to lower its barbed tip to within an inch of the creature’s right eye, and as an extra touch, she told the whip to allow a bead of poison to form on the tip. The dolgrim looked up at the barb with wide, terrified eyes, its breathing rapid and shallow.

Doing her best to ignore the creature’s stench, Lirra leaned her head close to its ear.

“Can you talk?” she asked.

The dolgrim opened its upper mouth once, swallowed, and then tried again.

“Y-yessss …” it hissed.

“Good. Now listen to me very carefully. All of your friends are dead, dying, or gone. You are alone. The only chance you have of surviving is if you answer my questions quickly and completely. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

The creature’s speech sounded clearer, and Lirra knew she had to hurry before the effects of the chaos energy wore off.

“A man named Elidyr sent you to kill us. Tell me how to find him and you get to live.”

The creature opened its upper mouth to reply, but it lower one spoke first.

“Don’t listen to her! She’ll just kill us when we tell her what she wants!”

“If you don’t answer, you will definitely die,” she said, making sure to keep her tone icy cold. “Answering me is the only chance for survival you have. And the longer you take to start talking, the slimmer that chance gets.”

The lips of both mouths moved silently then, and Lirra had the impression that an internal debate was taking place within the dolgrim’s mind. She’d recently come to learn what that was like, and she waited for the two minds inside the creature to reach a decision.

“Two miles northwest is a clearing with a rocky hill in the center. At the base is an entrance to a series of caves. Elidyr is inside.”

Lirra started to give the dolgrim her thanks, but before she could speak, the tentacle whip pulled back its barb to strike.

“No!”

Lirra reached out with her right hand and grabbed hold of the tentacle whip before it could sink its barb into the dolgrim’s eye.

“I gave him my word that he could go free if he cooperated!”

So he can run and tell Elidyr that we’re coming? the thought-voice asked.

Lirra hated to admit it, but the whip had a point. Can you give him a low dose of poison? Enough to render him unconscious but leave him alive?

The symbiont seemed to consider for a moment, and then Lirra felt its reluctant agreement.

She spoke aloud to the dolgrim.

“I’m going to put you to sleep for a time.” She took in the surrounding area, noting all the dead, both dolgrims and soldiers. The bodies of those dolgrims who Elidyr had transformed were starting to liquefy, just as the creature formed from the combined white-eyes had back in Geirrid. The bodies of the normal dolgrims, however, remained intact. “I’ll move you to a safer location so that any predators drawn to this place will not find you. With any luck, you’ll awaken safe and sound.”

The dolgrim’s lower mouth said, “See? I told you she was going to kill us!”

Don’t betray me on this , Lirra thought to the tentacle whip, or I’ll start keeping you on an even tighter leash! And don’t sting him in the eye!

The whip did as she ordered, injecting its poison into one of the dolgrim’s spindly arms. The creature stiffened, then his eyes closed and he fell limp. Lirra placed her fingers on one of the dolgrim’s wrists, and she felt a pulse. A strange pulse, actually, since it seemed to have dual beats. Then she remembered: two hearts. She released the dolgrim’s wrist and stood.

Ranja, in human form once more, came over to stand beside her, and Osten hurried to join them. The shifter looked down at the unconscious dolgrim.

“Nicely handled,” Ranja said. “You know, I think you’d do well in my profession.”

Osten frowned. “What does questioning a dolgrim have to do with being a scout?”

Lirra fought to keep a smile from her face as Ranja sidled up next to the young warrior.

“If you’re truly interested, perhaps the two of us can have a private conversation about it later,” she suggested.

Osten’s frown deepened into a scowl and he stepped away from the shifter. Ranja seemed amused, but she didn’t tease Osten any further.

Vaddon and Ksana came over then, the two warforged following after. All of them were splattered with foul-smelling dolgrim blood-Longstrider and Shatterfist, especially-but none appeared to be seriously wounded.

“Did you learn anything useful?” Vaddon asked, and Lirra told him what the dolgrim had said. She also told him of her mounting suspicions about the creatures Elidyr reshaped for his own purposes.

“It’s as if his power to rework flesh has its limits,” she said. “I wonder if his creatures would decay on their own, given enough time.”

“Let us hope that’s the case,” Vaddon said. “If the distorted monsters my brother can now create have a limited lifespan, that’s a huge advantage in our favor. But enough talk. We need to get moving. Our horses are gone, so we’ll have to proceed the rest of the way on foot.”