mouth ought to be. And the fetid stink of the thing was gagging.
Vambran lurched to his feet as the monster advanced, drawing his sword up and gripping it with both hands. He kept the point level with the thing's chest, but it didn't seem to care. It simply ambled forward, and Vambran stepped into a smooth, strong swing that slashed the beast across the chest and one forearm. Blood and ichor sprayed from the gash, but the creature didn't slow down one whit. Eyes wide, Vambran rebalanced and tried for another hard hit, but he wasn't fast enough.
The creature lunged at Vambran, trying to get its huge, slimy arms around his neck. He ducked, causing the beast to miss with its bear hug, but it still managed to kick at him as he rolled out of the way. He grunted in pain from a sudden burning sensation across his forearm and managed to come up to his feet again in another corner. Vambran glanced down at his arm and saw that his shirt sleeve had been shredded, and there were numerous tiny scratches across the surface of his skin, all of which were bleeding steadily. Shaking the burning sensation off, Vambran readied for another lunge from the thing.
Out of the corner of his eye, the lieutenant saw movement and glanced that way. Horial was struggling to his feet, his face bloody from where the creature had decked him earlier, and the sanguine flow seemed to be dripping into his eyes. Vambran recognized an opportunity for his companion to get behind and maybe surprise the beast, so he stepped a little closer and began to stab and slash at the thing, feinting rapidly, hoping to keep its attention fixed on him.
The beast, apparently heedless of the danger it was in, sidled forward again, taking a gash from Vambran's blade in the process, and tried to wrap its huge arms around the lieutenant once more. Horial took advantage of that moment to come in quickly and silently from behind, his blade drawn back for a severe strike.
Again, though, the creature seemed to sense a foe near it, even coming from the rear. It spun at the last moment and lashed out. Horial, caught off guard by his enemy's sudden defensive move, was unable to dodge the blow and took another solid hit, that time in the shoulder. Worse yet, the creature simply let its own momentum carry it around, bringing its other appendage to bear on the sergeant. In a single, smooth motion, it had Horial wrapped in a death-grip. As the scores of leeches all over the beast's body began to sink their tiny fangs into the mercenary, he threw his head back and howled in agony, thrashing to get free all the while.
Vambran dived straight at the thing, yanking quick cuts across its back, shoulders, and rump with his blade. He seemed to be scoring some serious injuries, but the creature didn't seem the least bit fazed. It merely retreated from the attacks, spinning around so that Horial was between it and Vambran.
'Damn you!' Vambran cried out, feinting and lunging, trying to get clean hits on the beast without harming his companion. Horial was already unconscious, slumped limply in the creature's grip. Vambran faked to the right, then spun his way back to the left, cutting across the beast's flank with his sword. He scored another hit, but he also nicked his sergeant. It didn't seem to matter, though. Horial didn't flinch, and the creature ignored the blow.
Breathing hard, Vambran was beginning to despair. Even though it was clear that his strikes were injuring the creature in some way, it seemed impervious to the wounds' effects. And both Horial and Adyan were quite possibly dead, or very near to it. He was running out of ideas. As the creature lumbered toward him, keeping Horial up as a makeshift shield, Vambran had a sudden inspiration.
Desperately, he reached for his holy coin hanging from the chain and held it forth while he began to recite the words of another special prayer. Calling on the favor of Waukeen, he jerked and darted his hands in front of himself, moving the coin in a complex motion. He finished the prayer in a shout, thrusting the coin forward once more.
A thunderclap resonated outward from the coin, aimed directly at the monster right in front of the lieutenant. The noise was horrid, more so because of the confines of the space where they had been battling. The cacophony seemed to shake it, though, for it jerked stiffly at the sound and dropped Horial, then spasmed and retreated from the perceived threat, cowering in the corner, up against the crates.
His own ears ringing, Vambran took advantage of the few moments he knew the creature would be stunned to grab Horial and drag him away, part of the way down the narrow path leading into the secret hollow among the crates. He dropped to one knee beside his sergeant, not even bothering to see if the man was still alive, and placed his hand upon Horial's chest. He murmured a quick prayer of healing, just a simple orison that he hoped would stop the blood loss and stabilize his companion. Then he rose again, stepped back over his friend's fallen form, and readied himself to face the monstrosity once more.
'Let's see how you do without my sergeant to protect you,' he spat at the creature.
As if understanding it was time to engage its foe again, the beast lumbered forward, ready to battle. Vambran sidestepped warily a few times, watching to see if the creature had any new tricks, but it seemed intent solely on closing in and trying to grab at the lieutenant. When Vambran was certain he understood its tactics well enough, he began to press the attack, slashing and carving his way inside the creature's reach, laying some particularly harsh wounds across its writhing, unnatural body. After five such blows, the mercenary was forced to step back, out of breath.
The leech-thing came on just as strong as ever, and Vambran groaned. When the beast reached for him again, he tried to parry the blow away, but his strength was failing him, and he didn't quite get the blade completely between himself and his opponent. A meaty fist sneaked through and pounded Vambran across the side of the head. The strike snapped his head sideways and he could feel the dozen or so tiny bites on his skin. He knew that the wounds themselves weren't too bad, but the bleeding would slowly drain him of his energy and could quite possibly blind him.
The lieutenant staggered backward, keeping his sword up as protection, but the creature lunged in again, and Vambran was too tired to fight it off. The blows knocked him to the floor, his sword skittering off to the side, out of reach. He shuddered and watched as the creature loomed over him, reaching down with both huge arms. The leeches wriggled and writhed, straining to latch on to Vambran, to suck at his blood. He was going to die there, feeding the horror. He groaned and tried once more to move clear.
'Move it!' a feminine voice called suddenly from above. 'Get out of the way!'
Blinking in confusion and unable to see much of anything past the creature, Vambran didn't react immediately, but the beast did. It stood up, ignoring its potential meal, and staggered back half a step, all of its attention on whoever was overhead. Vambran took advantage of the chance to drag himself clear.
The beast jerked and tried to move farther away, but the wounds Vambran and the others had dealt to it hindered it sufficiently that it was not fast enough. As it staggered across the floor, a cascade of white spilled down over it, like fine white sand spilling free of a broken hourglass. Vambran looked up and saw a flash of red cloth, along with a barrel being tipped over onto its side, more of the white stuff tumbling out in an ever more rapid flow.
Salt, Vambran realized. And it was burning the creature. The beast shivered and flailed madly about, trying to shake free of the powdery substance, but its slimy exterior simply let the salt cling to it, and everywhere the stuff touched the monster, there was a sizzling sound. The creature jerked and spun, trying to bat away the salt as it continued to cascade down, and it was on the floor, jerking, spasming, burning. As the last of the salt poured out of the barrel, Vambran's red-clad savior let the container slip over the side and tumble down to land atop the monster, shattering.
The beast lay still. Vambran heaved a great sigh of relief and sagged to the floor, gasping in exhaustion. He tried to wipe the sweat and blood from his face, but his arms felt like lead.
'Please,' he called out, 'I need help. My sergeants might be dying.'
There was no response from above.
Vambran couldn't walk, so he forced himself to crawl across the floor toward Adyan. It was a monumental struggle. Finally the lieutenant reached his companion and, with the last vestiges of his strength, he slipped his hand atop the other man's chest. Vambran sank his head down on his arms and closed his eyes. Then, in barely a whisper, he murmured a healing prayer, not even knowing if it was already too late. As the last words passed his lips, he felt the magic flow from him and to the sergeant, then he let blackness wash over him and settled into unconsciousness.
'Uncle Kovrim!' Emriana called from the shadows. She could see the priest walking furtively toward the warehouse her brother and his two companions had entered nearly an hour before. The priest was accompanied by five other figures, one of whom was a stout dwarf, and by the light of the lanterns they carried as they
