could feel that the damage was extensive. The thief’sblade had sliced through his kidney and probably punctured his stomach.
A movement off to his right stopped his next question. There, rising up from a pool of blood, was Phathas. The mage’s breath came heavy andlabored, but he struggled to his feet. “Kill the cleric,” he wheezed, andpointed at a balding figure who held a black object in one hand. “Let the othershandle the thief.”
“What of the golem?” Kaerion asked.
“Leave… to me,” was all the mage said. Kaerion was takenaback at the fierceness of his tone. “Do it!”
Shaking his head, he moved away from the deadly construct and searched the room for signs of the thief.
“Remember me, my friend,” the mage said softly, momentsbefore he lunged at the golem. Before the monsters muscled arms could enclose him in its deadly embrace, he took his staff and broke it in half. Eldritch energy exploded from the item with concussive force. The power from the staff’sdestruction beat against Galadorn’s wards, but the sword’s protective magicheld.
Kaerion ran toward the evil cleric, but before he could reach him, a red robed figure blocked his path. “This ends here,” Kaerion growled atthe monk, who merely nodded in response. The paladin lashed out with a diagonal slice of his holy sword-and barely saved the blade from flying from his hand ashis opponent delivered a spinning kick that struck the weapon. His effort to hold the blade securely left an opening for the monk to strike, and strike he did. Two vicious open hand blows struck Kaerion in the face, one nearly smashing the cartilage in his throat. Reeling, Kaerion could not raise his battered shield in time to block the monk’s snapping kick-which knocked him to his knees.
The response from Galadorn was instantaneous. The sword glowed brighter for just a moment, and Kaerion felt his blood quicken as holy power increased his own mortal reflexes beyond their natural speed. He rose to his feet just as the monk launched a blinding flurry of blows-and Kaerionmanaged to avoid every one of them. The fourth time he blocked the monk’sknife-edged hand attack, he had the satisfaction of watching his opponent’s eyeswiden in surprise.
Not wishing to delay the battle any longer, Kaerion launched his own offensive, his holy sword weaving a trail of purest energy as he struck out at the monk. His first strike missed as the red-robed man danced nimbly out of the way, but his second stroke caught his opponent across the ribs. Galadorn flared in response as the monk’s blood spilled on to the floor.
Sensing victory, Kaerion closed the distance and thrust forward with his blade. The monk stumbled in his attempt to avoid the attack and, summoning the power of Heironeous once again, Kaerion brought his sword down and to the side for a swift, killing blow. Energy flared along the blade’slength in response to the white-hot power that flowed through him. The monk leapt to avoid the strike, but he could not evade Kaerion’s attack. Righteousanger and grief strengthened the paladin’s sword arm.
“For Majandra!” he shouted as his blade pierced the monk’schest. Blinding light erupted from the weapon, as Kaerion felt the powerful release of god-energy. When the light dissipated, he could only see bits of his opponent’s body scattered across the room.
Durgoth watched in horror as the paladin’s bladedisintegrated Jhagren’s body. In any other situation, he would have felt a waveof satisfaction at the monk’s demise.
But not now.
With the demi-lich’s skull destroyed and his own constructdefeated by the mage’s cursed heroics, the cleric knew that the careful plans hehad spent years building were falling down around him. He knew that his mistake had been in trusting in the skills of others. Even now, he could see Eltanel slinking into the shadows, and he had no doubt that the damned thief was in the process of skulking back to Rel Mord.
And Sydra, whose sorcerous powers were quite formidable, now found herself battling for her life against the very pup she had so recently controlled. The young nobleman was bloodied and bruised, but he attacked the sorceress with near-mindless intensity. A powerful bolt of lightning arced toward the man from Sydra’s outstretched hand. To Durgoth’s surprise, the fooldidn’t even try to avoid it. The blast caught him full in the chest, but hesimply stumbled forward and thrust his sword through Sydra’s throat, only tocollapse himself a moment later.
Durgoth cursed this turn of events. He could feel the paladin advancing, the force of Heironeous’ power drawing closer to strike at him likea storm of bees. With a wave of his hand, Durgoth sent a column of flame roaring down from the ceding to strike at the damnable fighter.
“Burn, you damned lackey of a cowardly god!” he shouted.
But the paladin didn’t burn.
Instead, the holy fighter raised his god-powered sword and advanced. The flames passed harmlessly over him. Durgoth could almost hear the triumphant song of the holy sword as it deflected his spell.
He knew there was no hope of escape. Instead of filling him with fear, the realization crystallized the cleric’s resolve. He may have failedto release his Master, but there was still something he could do.
Raising the
Durgoth was about to utter the words to release the spell and destroy his enemies when he felt a sudden shift within the Nothingness. The codex, his source of power these many years, flared once with purplish incandescence-and then disappeared. Unbelievably, he felt the raging energy hehad recently summoned slough off like a riverbed whose water was diverted. No longer a conduit of a vengeful god, Durgoth was simply an empty channel, bereft of any power. As the paladin advanced, blade burning with holy fury, Durgoth Shem knew he had paid the price for his failure.
Tharizdun had abandoned him.
“Who are you?” he shrieked at the man before him.
The paladin hesitated only a moment before replying. “I amKaerion Whitehart, servant of Heironeous,” he said. “I condemn you in the nameof the Valorous One. May you spend eternity chained before His Throne.”
The man swung his holy sword.
White-hot light exploded into Durgoth’s vision. He drew back,trying to avoid the fiery incandescence. It grew brighter, knifing into his brain, laying bare the dark places of his soul. He screamed once in agony-
And then surrendered to the light.
Kaerion slumped to the ground.
He felt, in the wake of the god’s anger, a bone-deepweariness. The last of his tears spilled to the blood- spattered ground as physical and emotional exhaustion took their toll. The treasure of several kingdoms lay strewn around him, gold and platinum coins gleaming in the range of Galadorn’s ever-present light. The sight did little to cheer him. They had won,succeeded in their quest, but at what cost?
He was conscious of Gerwyth and Landra, the only other survivors of their expedition, gathering up the bodies of the dead. Memories of his companions filled his mind. Phathas, Bredeth, Majandra-all of them weregone. Silently, Kaerion lifted them up in prayer to Heironeous. He felt an answering pulse from Galadorn and knew that the Arch Paladin watched over them.
