"I am a fighter—purely a fighter. I do not mix the calling of my life with lies of gentleness and love."—A.E., THG
CHAPTER THREE
Tai held his magical dagger ready, and the thin blade flashed silver, as though echoing his determination. Three allips had emerged from the shadows of the tavern, floating through the tables toward his position. From the corner of his vision, Tai could see a fourth allip at the top of the stairs. He bit his lip, calling once again upon his god for help and strength and feeling his connection to Hoar light like a flame.
Tai had learned his lesson the first two times: he could not allow himself to be touched, nor could he allow one to sneak up behind him. This meant dividing up his battlefield and using the layout of the inn to his advantage. With a plan quickly forming in his mind, the priest sprinted for the stairwell. Jerking open a pouch on his belt, Tai dipped his fingers in one of his most priceless blessed materials—diamond powder—and used the fine substance to write a divine symbol on the wood. Tracing two back-to-back spirals with his finger, Tai prayed and warded the doorway with divine power. The three allips behind him were almost within arm's distance, so he jumped up the stairs and met the fourth one head-on.
The fourth allip swung its arms at him like clubs, trying to smash in his head. Tai ducked the blows as though they could do actual physical damage, using every ounce of his training and agility to avoid the confusion the monster's touch would bring. Unfortunately, the allip had the high ground, granting it an advantage. Tai's was assisted only by the creature's madness. While the monster struck wildly, he withdrew and struck strategically, using his blade to empty blasts of electricity into his opponent's wavering form.
Behind him, the other three allips tried to enter the stairwell, only to be blasted backward by Tai's ward. Lacking the sense to retreat, the creatures continued to press forward, harming themselves repeatedly in the process. Fortunately, the divine power would hold indefinitely unless Tai discharged it, so the only creature Tai had to face was the one before him—unless others slipped in upstairs.
Ducking another swipe from his opponent, Tai called upon the connection between him and his god to draw more power. "Emolite," he prayed, closing his fist and then snapping it open, splaying his fingers wide. A burst of white light, nearly tangible in its power, blasted outward from Tai's palm in a 360 degree radius, illuminating every shadow in the tavern and striking the allips like a lightning bolt hurled from the heavens. All four creatures shrieked with pain, cowering as though their bodies were still made of flesh. Taking advantage of the opening, Tai sprang up the stairs and slashed through his opponent multiple times, causing the misty form to waver and then dissipate.
Below him, a burst of freezing rain and snow suddenly blasted through the room, slicing through the remaining allips and dispelling their forms. Tai hesitated, unsure at first what he was seeing, then realized that the source of the magic had to be Jarlaxle. Apparently the drow had seen Tai's flare and had come to help. Feeling reassured, he made his way back down the stairs to assess the situation.
Jarlaxle was grinning. "I see you received another friendly visit from the undead." He stowed a blue and silver wand in his belt. "I'm unsure which one of us they prefer more—you or me."
Tai paused, then decided to try for a humorous response to the drow's words. "And I'm equally unsure as to why anyone should prefer you over me, even if they are undead," he said, venturing to tease the elf. Jarlaxle's story concerning Tebryn Pharn had enabled Tai to understand both Jarlaxle and the drow race better—in fact, it had likely revealed a bit more than the mercenary had intended. In response, Tai had decided to reach out to him and try to build a friendship.
Jarlaxle blinked but seemed to quickly recover. His smile lit his entire face. "Because I have more style, of course!"
Tai chuckled, but his reply was cut short as Entreri ran, blades drawn, into the tavern. After one quick glance, he apparently determined the danger was past because his posture relaxed and he stowed his weapons. Realizing that Entreri would have taken care of any allips outside, Tai relaxed as well, although his connection to Hoar still seemed to hum in his chest.
"I was just about to tell Tai that I'd rushed to his aid only to find he had the situation under control," Jarlaxle said.
Entreri nodded once, as though nothing less could be expected from anyone he allowed to travel with him.
But Jarlaxle's eyes were glinting in amusement. "No doubt, it's due to your mentorship."
Entreri immediately squared his shoulders. "Your mouth. Shut it," he snapped.
The drow laughed. "It's hardly a bad thing! Our little band is growing stronger by the day thanks to your efforts."
"Your tongue is heading toward tassel-dom," the assassin said.
Tai tried not to smile. He couldn't understand why Jarlaxle insisted on implying he was Entreri Junior when their friendship was more brotherly—especially since Entreri never reacted well to being reminded that they shared any relationship at all. And yet, despite his protests, Entreri's soul seemed to be forcing its way in around the edges of his defenses. This must have been what Hoar had seen in the man and the reason why Hoar had—and still did—compel Tai to recruit Entreri to the path of poetic justice. However, there were times to speak and times to stay silent, and now was not the time to speak. Persistence was divine, nagging an abomination, and free will . . . Free will was the inherent right of any soul, even if it led to damnation.
"Master Entreri will choose his own path," Tai said suddenly, voicing the smaller part of his thoughts.
The two mercenaries stared at him, as if surprised to find he understood the game they were playing with each other . . . the game they were playing over him.
"Truly," Tai continued as though they were discussing the weather. "Encouragement is a fine thing, but you can't force Master Entreri to help me if he doesn't wish to."
The stares continued, although Jarlaxle spoke first. "I am not trying to force Artemis to do anything, I assure you. I was merely teasing him."
Tai nodded, overcome with that ageless peaceful feeling, that stillness that used to come over him regularly before the rape. The feeling reminded him of communing with Hoar. "That is good to hear, Master Jarlaxle, for true acts of friendship have no ulterior motives."
Entreri slanted a look at the drow. "What did you say about Tai when we first met him? 'Hoar abides deeply in this one's heart?'"
Jarlaxle smiled. "You heard it also?"
"Speaking about someone who is present is a sign of disrespect," Tai said without a single trace of anger. The profound peace was sifting through the layers of his soul, soothing each one and making colors seem brighter and sounds clearer. The dark pine wood of the tavern's floor and walls seemed a chocolate color now, and from the distance, crickets' chirps seemed to surround the inn in a chorus.
"Your god speaks through you," Jarlaxle said. "It has been a long time since I've heard it so keenly, and I'm quite pleased. Perhaps you should reconsider your denial of the possibility that you are the Chosen of Hoar."
With a smile, Tai put his hand over his heart, warming that spot on his chest. Strangely, he could feel his pulse in his fingertips, accompanied by the strong sense of order and justice that always accompanied Hoar's presence. "I wouldn't presume such a thing, although Hoar has recently suggested to me that I have a special task to accomplish in my life. If it is so, I will know it when the time is right." Tai smiled at the memory of that communion, which had occurred right before he had questioned Jarlaxle over the rape. Hoar had sent the message that he was enraged over Tai's treatment along with the hint that Tai had a special role to fulfill. Yet, for all he knew, his role was to assist the Chosen, not be the Chosen.
Entreri was staring off to the side with a frown, as though uncomfortable with the spiritual bent of the conversation. His gaze snapped back to Tai abruptly. "I told you to call me Entreri. You have no need to stand on ceremony."
Jarlaxle shook his head at the assassin. "You have no grace with your words. We were talking of Tai's destiny!"
"You abruptly change topics quite frequently," Entreri said.
Tai was still smiling. "Of course, Artemis. I'm sorry."
And most telling of all, perhaps, was that Entreri didn't even seem to notice that Tai had said his first name—and Jarlaxle managed not to comment on it.
"Never mind," Entreri said. "I found a man and learned several things you both should hear."
The old woman stood just inside the doorway and watched Nyx pack. "It would be most unwise for you to leave."
Impatiently, Nyx tossed her long hair out of her face and looked at the high monk. Her second vision had come to her during her morning bath, leaving her rushing about her room with wet, unbraided hair. "I apologize, Grandmaster. But even you agreed that my second vision was a portent of immediate danger."
The grandmaster didn't react; her face remained calm, lined only with wisdom and age. "I sympathize with your concern. And it is true that you have learned enough to finish mastering the technique on your own. However, by leaving at this point, you run the risk of not completing the training. Life can become hectic and complicated very quickly—especially when one travels with companions. You must actively set aside extra time each night to practice your new technique."
Nyx glanced up from her backpack, into which she had begun shoving several changes of clothes. "I understand, Grandmaster. I will be diligent so the time and effort you and the other monks have given me will not be wasted."
"It is not we you will hurt," the old warrior replied. "It is yourself. Take care, and go with your god." She bowed to Nyx.
Nyx bowed in return. "And may your goddess keep you healthy and strong."
The Grandmaster left Nyx to her packing, which the monk continued with grim determination. Her second vision had been equally violent as the first—a vision of her friends drowning. Nyx knew she couldn't wait, yet even as she prepared to leave, she felt oddly hesitant about seeing Entreri again. Her own thoughts over the last few days had made her feel uncertain. It was almost as though she thought that if Entreri knew her feelings, he'd laugh at her. That she wasn't pretty enough . . . woman enough . . . to attract a man. Any man.
Was that the source of her hesitance? It was a disturbing thought. Could she not be strong, a Holy Javelin of Hoar, and be sexual at the same time? Or did she need to have lovely gowns, sweet perfumes, and a touch of makeup? She wasn't sure, but she did know she had never been overtly feminine. She had nothing against noble ladies and thought they looked beautiful, but her attire was practical. She didn't even own perfume, makeup, or dresses, and her only source of pride was her hair. Could a man find a woman warrior sexy?
She pushed the thoughts away. She had been trained to live her life utterly alone. Why was she even thinking about such things? Especially now, when her friends were apparently in danger?
Having packed the last of her possessions, Nyx tied up her backpack and headed downstairs, not stopping to even tie back her wet hair. Her friends needed her; she couldn't waste a moment.
Entreri sat in the corner of the abandoned inn, watching Tai and Jarlaxle gather the components necessary for recreating the seal. The moonlight seeped through the window slats, illuminating Jarlaxle's garish purple hat and creating a blue sheen to Tai's black hair, but the light failed to brighten the room itself, leaving the corners doused in darkness. Despite the fire burning in the chimney, the shadows seemed to swell along the edges of the room, and Entreri kept his side vision trained on those spots, watching for the sign of allips. The rest of his attention he turned to polishing his dagger.
The day had passed uneventfully as the men impatiently waited for midnight—the most powerful hour to pray to Hoar, and therefore the best time for Tai recreate the seal. Entreri and his companions had spent most of the time gathering and preparing components they had to 'sacrifice' to Helm and revisiting the old man Entreri had found the previous day. The elderly scribe, who they learned was named Edwin Garner, had explained the prophecy once again and recounted the original acts of evil and destruction that had brought Helm's wrath down upon the townspeople 500 years earlier. He'd even revealed the recent disturbing trends he thought had brought the prophecy to fulfillment, leaving Tai upset over stories of robberies, beatings, and killings.
"Are you finished yet?" the assassin asked his companions.
Tai looked up from the table where he and Jarlaxle were working. "Almost. We have the incense and salt ready, and I've caught the dove." He shuddered. "I can't believe I have to kill a bird. Still, I've gone over the directions a dozen times. All I have to do is bless the water, and we'll be ready to go."
Entreri kept an eye on the darkness rolling in the corners of the room. "I suggest you hurry, or we'll be fighting the monsters long before we reach the broken seal." He pointed to the shadows using the tip of his dagger. "I'd say the allips are beginning to amass."
Tai nodded and gestured at the floor, which shown with silver dust and holy water. "I'll hurry, but I did pray over this room and the court yard, just in case."
"Better that we not need the divine power," Entreri replied.
Tai quickly turned back to the water and began praying over it. Jarlaxle, though, looked less than worried. He hummed to himself as he packed all the supplies into various pouches and trapped the bird in a potato bag, almost as though he were happy at the thought of another fight. Entreri watched the drow work, noting Jarlaxle's wide smile and his red eyes, sparkling with excitement. That silly oversized hat and that confident swagger . . .
With a sudden shock, the assassin realized he didn't want to imagine the owner of that hat cold and dead, the red eyes glassy and unseeing. Never had Entreri considered a person's life as a spark which could be doused, a light which could leave the world darker when it was gone. It was imagery he had always found ridiculous and overly sentimental, and yet when he looked at the smiling, charismatic drow, he could grasp a small corner of that vision—even if it was only for a moment. After all the adventures, all the battles with Waylein, Socor, and Mordecai, the assassin found he did not look forward to the day when all that was left of Jarlaxle's smile were cold, stiff lips.
The realization was so startling all Entreri wanted to do was bury it.
Jarlaxle handed all the pouches to Tai and then walked over to the assassin as though to conference with him. However, the elf hesitated before he spoke and gave him a strange look, which made Entreri realize he must have had an odd expression on his face. "What are you thinking about, my friend?" the drow asked.
Entreri could not say, of course, and yet he found himself wishing he could utter the faintest hint of the unusual emotions he was discovering. "I suspect we'll have to fight our way to the clearing." He smirked at the drow. "Do not do something rash or foolish along the way."
Jarlaxle grew quite still for a moment, the trace of a genuinely joyful smile slowing etching itself onto his lips. He grinned suddenly—a blinding, honest smile—and squeezed Entreri's shoulder. "Nothing more foolish than you," he said.
The assassin wondered if he had managed to communicate too much, but the more pressing question of the moment was why he was thinking of such things. Did it have something to do with Tai's death and resuscitation in the saurian ruins? He shook the idea from his head. Far too many of these types of thoughts had been assaulting him over the past year, as though they were amassing in order to force him to face a long-ignored truth.
Tai had stowed all his pouches and turned toward them. "I'm ready."
"Then we must leave immediately," Entreri said, sheathing his dagger and standing.
The door to the inn burst open, and the men whirled toward the entrance, drawing wands or weapons, as a figure ran into the room.
"It's me," Nyx said breathlessly, stopping just inside the door and holding up her hands.
"Nyx!" Tai yelled in surprise. "What . . .?"
Entreri stared at her, momentarily taken off guard. She looked different somehow. He glanced over her, distracted, and realized her hair was down. It seemed to change her face.
Nyx had continued speaking. "I came as soon as I could. I had two visions that you all were in danger, and when I couldn't find you right away, I began to worry. In fact, if it hadn't been for the single line of smoke coming from this chimney, I'm not sure I would have located you here."
Further shocked, Tai stood up straighter. "Vision?"
Entreri interrupted them. "You two can discuss that later. We need to get to that broken seal immediately."
Jarlaxle gestured for Nyx to lead the away out the door. "We'll explain as we walk, but time is of the essence. We—" He stopped abruptly, turning his head to the side like a cat trying to hone in on a sound.
Several breathless moments passed as the three humans all strained their ears, and then they heard what had obviously captured Jarlaxle's attention: whispering. Waves of whispering filtering through the cracks in the windows and doors, mixing with the popping of the fire like rusty laughter.
Entreri drew his weapons as the shadows in the room's corners elongated and rose up around them like black fence slats. Bony hands reached out from the darkness; the whispering crescendoed abruptly, cresting into a dull roar that broke over the group like a wave.
Jarlaxle drew a wand, and Nyx closed flank with Tai as the shadows pressed inwards.
"Forget the explanation," Jarlaxle said. "They are already here."
Entreri reacted first, stepping forward and slashing his enchanted sword through the outstretched arms of the first allip. He really didn't want to be surrounded by a horde of the creatures, even if they weren't powerful individually. The thought being driven mad or senseless by their babbling or their touch left him feeling vaguely chilled.
Tai had grabbed Nyx's new nunchuku, an enchanted pair she'd had crafted during his recovery, and pressed them into her hands. "Don't let them touch you!" he explained. "Only use magical weapons—nothing else can hurt them."
Nyx nodded and snapped the nunchuku tight in her fists.
Jarlaxle aimed his wand at his nearest attacker and let loose a blast of freezing rain and snow, disabling the creature with the magic more than the cold, and Entreri cut his dagger through his attacker once again. However, the assassin quickly saw that the situation was direr than he'd assumed.
Six allips converged upon Jarlaxle and him, and four more were surrounded Nyx and Tai. Four allips would have been no problem. Even eight would have made reasonable odds. But ten? And that chorus of maddening babble! The air fairly vibrated with sing-song voices and mumbles, shrieks and snarls. Entreri growled, wishing he had wax to stuff in his ears. He and his companions would have to kill the creatures quickly or risk a state worse than death.
"Get out into the courtyard!" Tai yelled. "I've consecrated both the tavern and the yard—all I have to do say the word!"
Entreri understood immediately. They would force the allips through the consecrated tavern and then hit them again with the consecrated yard. He motioned for Jarlaxle and Nyx to go first, so they ran out the door. He stayed and waited for Tai, who made cross shapes in the air with each hand and then prayed. The silver dust and holy water on the floor seemed to detonate, emitting a flash of silvery light that pierced the corners of the room. Entreri squinted, and the monsters shrieked.
Tai sprinted toward the assassin, grabbing his arm as he passed, and Entreri ran out with him. "It only weakens them," the priest said.
"Anything that helps," Entreri muttered, and as they joined Nyx and Jarlaxle in the courtyard, he had to second his own notion. The monk and drow were already engaged in battle with two more allips.
"Oh, joy," Entreri said as he joined Jarlaxle, his sarcasm getting the better of him. "A dozen madness-inducing undead monsters. I do so enjoy our adventures together."
The drow grinned as he fired a bolt of electricity through his attacker. "Come now, this will be fun!"
He's not serious! Entreri thought, turning to meet the charge of weakened allips that had followed Tai and him. "Well, since you're already mad, I guess you have nothing to fear."
Tai was drawing another two crosses in the air and was praying again.
"Flash!" Entreri yelled, and then the silver dust crunching under his feet ignited like a miniature supernova. The assassin could hear Nyx's cry of surprise, but none of the warriors dared to pause in their fight. Nyx swung her enchanted nunchuku through her attacker's head a half-dozen times in one second, and Jarlaxle now had a wand in each hand, alternating his blasts. Tai had already drawn his magical stiletto dagger to face his first allip, and Entreri had sword and dagger in hand, ready to meet the two monsters rushing toward him.
Even as Entreri cut through his victims, stinging them with the magic of his blades, he sized up his battlefield. The courtyard itself was only a patch of ground twenty feet by twenty feet in size. A wooden street fence blocked off the courtyard from the cobblestone street. This made the area too hemmed in for four fighters and twelve allips; Entreri decided to maneuver for more room.
Jarlaxle apparently had the same idea because he leapt the fence, drawing four undead with him. Nyx followed suit, vaulting the fence with a mere snap of her legs and luring two allips with her. That left Entreri and Tai facing six in the consecrated courtyard, which lowered the odds to his liking.
Entreri slashed through one allip in a crisscross move, then whirled to the side, leveling his sword and slicing it through the necks of two others. The battle was faintly frustrating, for there was no impact upon the blades, no dropping bodies. The undead did not bleed and die, they simply fluttered like a gutted candle flame. Still, Entreri slashed through them again, targeting vulnerable areas like stomachs, knees, and necks out of pure habit. The vaporous forms fluttered again, and with another set of strikes, all three forms dissipated. Satisfied, Entreri turned toward Tai, who had apparently destroyed one of his three attackers, and charged forward. In his peripheral vision, he saw Jarlaxle had eliminated two of his attackers, and Nyx one of hers. The battle was going well.
Yet before Entreri could reach the priest, another four allips emerged from the shadowy recesses of the street and converged upon the group. With a curse, the assassin skidded to a stop, quickly accessing who was in the most danger.
Tai had been backed into the corner of the fence by his two attackers, but he jumped over, drawing the monsters behind him. Nyx now had three attackers, and Jarlaxle had four once again. Decision instantly made, Entreri leapt and landed on fence with feline precision. He took the fence at a dead run, converging on Nyx and Tai's position. The last fate he'd wish upon his friends was madness, so he increased his speed and vaulted over Tai's head, slashing through an allip with his sword as he landed. Immediately, he pivoted and cut through one of the creatures attacking Nyx, and he simultaneously used his dagger to backstab through one of Tai's opponents. Two of the undead forms wavered and dissipated, leaving three. Satisfied that the priest and monk could finish off their attackers, Entreri glanced across at Jarlaxle.
Seeing the drow still surrounded by four allips, Entreri sprinted to his aid. Carefully avoiding the blasts from Jarlaxle's wands, Entreri targeted one monster at the edge of the group and rained four consecutive blows upon it in an instant—blows that would have cut open the skull, slashed through both jugular veins, and then disemboweled a living human. Sensing the allip that approached him from behind, he then reversed his sword to stab straight backwards, impaling the creature with the magic of his blade. Whirling in a tight circle, Entreri angled his blades in a corkscrew pattern, slashing through the monsters a half-dozen more times and dissipating their forms.
Even as Jarlaxle destroyed his two remaining attackers, a rolling mass of black clouds blotted out the moon. The air felt charged with electricity and heavy with a veil of evil. Jarlaxle snapped a glance at Entreri, his expression suddenly horrified.
Entreri took in the sight of Jarlaxle's widened eyes with unease. "What?"
Jarlaxle bolted toward Tai and Nyx, who had turned their attentions on their final attacker. "Don't destroy that allip!"
The monk and priest jumped backward, putting distance between themselves and the creature.
"Why?" Nyx asked as Jarlaxle joined them.
"I just figured it out," the drow said a touch breathlessly. "When we kill the last allip, the second wave of monsters will be summoned."
Tai began backing further away as the monster turned toward him. "Are you sure? Master Garner didn't mention anything along those lines."
"Drow's intuition," Jarlaxle said. "And the second wave may come anyway—we have basically defeated the horde. We must get to the clearing immediately. I'd say we have less than five minutes to create the new seal."
Entreri glanced at the inky sky as a ferocious bolt of lightning pierced the blackness. "I'd say your right."
Without further discussion, the group raced out of town and toward the edge of the forest.
