[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
."He reached into the tattered cloak he wore and drew out a small leather bag.Improbable though it was, the mohrg opened the bag and shoved his whole arm inside.There was a momentary pause, then Borran Kiosk pulled his arm back out.His hand gripped a small, shiny, red jewel that glowed even in the dim light provided under the leafy canopies."I have found a means to defeat the druids," said Borran Kiosk, "as well as to bring the whole of the Vilhon Reach to its knees."His hands worked with surprising speed, dismanthng the jewel into several pieces.I don't know what that is, the quiet voice replied to Tohl's unspoken question, but I can feel even from here, through you and across the years separating this place, that whatever Borran Kiosk has contains great power.Trembling in ill-contained fear, Tohl felt trapped as he gazed at the mohrg.Even with his limited ability to sense the magical nature of the world through his ties to his chosen goddess, he could feel something.wrong.about Borran Kiosk's prize."I cannot yet bring forth the powers held in these devices, but the time will come.Malar has given me his blessings, and I know I will be made triumphant."Borran Kiosk took a step forward, sinking knee-deep in the muck and the mire of the marshlands.The pieces of the jewel glittered in his hands in the dank shadows."I have carried this for years, assembling it over that time.Now, with the Emerald Enclave abandoning their neutral position regarding the fate of the civilizations ofthe Vilhon Reach, I am in danger.So I call upon you, my lieutenants, to carry what I no longer dare to possess."Five shambling mockeries of human beings stepped forward from the undead army around the mohrg.Four of them were men, one was a young woman with long, dark hair.She could not have been dead for long because she was intact and unblemished.The four men had been dead much longer and showed the worse for wear.The druids pride themselves on their knowledge of the cycle of life," Borran Kiosk said.They untangle the webs of life and seek to address a balance that only they can see." The mohrg approached the first of the men."But Malar has given me the seeds to disrupt the work of the druids.I can tear apart the fabric of their existence, and I will, as soon as the power I need grows larger.""Malar has been kind to you," the woman said in a clear voice that carried across the watery land."Malar has been kind to us all," Borran Kiosk agreed, "but he is a most demanding god.We will succeed in this endeavor on his behalf or he will see to our eternal destruction.""What would Malar have us do?" another zombie lieutenant asked."Guard that which I am about to give you," Borran Kiosk said."Guard it until my return.I have one final battle which needs to be fought.""We will go with you," the zombie woman said."No." Borran Kiosk shook his head."We can't afford to lose that which I am about to give you.You must stay here."Then give us what you will, Borran Kiosk."Borran Kiosk turned to the zombie that had spoken."Prepare yourself."The zombie stood before the mohrg with its arms loose.Without hesitation, Borran Kiosk held one of the jewel pieces in his fist.He mouthed words that couldn't be translated by whatever spell Tohl was under.A lavender glow surrounded Borran Kiosk's hand.When the brightness leveled off, the mohrg rammed his fist into the zombie's chest.Tohl quavered and grew sick at the sucking, oozing sound Borran Kiosk's fist made inside the zombie.He controlled his stomach with effort.A moment more and Borran Kiosk withdrew his hand.The jewel piece glinted within the obscene recesses of the zombie's chest."What I have given," Borran Kiosk said, "you will defend."The zombie bowed its head."What you have given, I will defend."The undead creature pulled its broken chest back together, then it tore the ragged breeches it wore into strips and used them to bind its chest.In quick succession, Borran Kiosk implanted the jewel pieces into the other zombies, including the female one.All of them repeated the litany the mohrg spouted, and Brother Tohl knew it had to be part of a binding spell.Lady, I thought all of Borran Kiosk's minions weren't capable of thinking.As did I, the quiet voice agreed.It's apparent there were things about Borran Kiosk that we didn't know, but they are known now.If this has all happened before, why didn't you know about it then?Brother Tohl, there are mysteries even unto the gods.The declaration was unnerving, made more so because the quiet voice said it with such calm.All of his life, Tohl had believed in the virtuous strength of Eldath.To hear that the Quiet One didn't know everything was almost sacrilegious.Lady, what are we to do here?We will watch, Brother Tohl, and learn.Then I shall decide how we are to act.Tohl puzzled over the events unfolding before them.If these things happened hundreds of years ago, said the priest, as they must have, why do we have to know them?Malar is making a bid to gain more power in the Vilhon Reach.The events of the undersea war waged by the sahua-gin and the being called the Taker has unbalanced manythings within the Sea of Fallen Stars.Beliefs change as blame is sought.Tohl knew that was true.Eldath's following was gaining ground.Even a number of followers in the depths of the Sea of Fallen Stars had stood to recognize the Quiet One as their chosen goddess.In the marshlands, Borran Kiosk returned his attention to his first lieutenant.The mohrg said words that Tohl felt certain were never intended for human or living tongues.The wet muck at the zombie's feet yawned open, sucking down water, mud, and the undead creature.An instant later, the yawning chasm closed as if it had never existed.Continuing to chant, Borran Kiosk buried the remaining zombies.The earth sucked and shifted, and water gurgled.Are the jewel pieces still there, then? Tohl watched as Borran Kiosk chanted prayers and spread his hands out across the foaming water.I don't know, the quiet voice admitted
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]