'How could I have, when I had not yet found you?' With that, Silverwind danced around and started up the passage at a trot. Though the pace seemed gentle enough for the bariaur, it was all Jayk and the Amnesian Hero could do to keep up. The Thrasson clumped along beside the bariaur's rear quarters, one hand holding his sword and the other trailing the golden thread. He did his best to maintain a watch, but whenever he turned to look over his shoulder, he fell a step behind. His throat felt like it was growing smaller with every scorching breath, while the leg lifting his brick foot began to throb with a dull, deep ache.
Jayk did better than the Amnesian Hero, running alongside the bariaur with a steady, fluid stride. She complained frequently about her throbbing head, and also about how the constant jarring aggravated her pain. After a while, the tiefling stopped pumping her arms for balance so she could keep her fingers pressed to her temples. Not long after that, she started to stumble.
Still, their guide ran on through the storm. How Silverwind navigated all the twists and turns so confidently, the Amnesian Hero could not comprehend. He could barely see from the bariaur's rear quarters to his curling horns, yet the old fellow rushed through the hail and the fog as though he could see a hundred paces ahead. He would suddenly turn down a broad corridor masked by a curtain of gray hail, then dart toward a solid wall of iron, only to round a hidden buttress and rush into a network of narrow, twisting passages. Never did the old bariaur lead them into a dead-end blind, nor, as far as the Amnesian Hero could tell, circle back upon a path they had already taken.
The golden line dangling from the Thrasson's wrist always remained taut, but no matter how convoluted their course became, or how many comers they rounded, it never seemed to snag or drag. The Amnesian Hero took this to mean that he was dragging the broken lance along behind him, though he realized there might be other explanations. The thread was obviously magic, for instance, and perhaps that prevented it from tangling.
At last, the inevitable happened: Jayk stumbled and disappeared into the fog. There was a groan and two slaps, then the tiefling began to wail. Silverwind halted and turned around, and the Amnesian Hero kneeled at her side.
'Jayk, quiet!' The Thrasson feared her cries would draw the monster of the labyrinth. 'I'm here.'
'Zoombee! The spots, there are too many of them in my eyes!'
The Amnesian Hero pulled the tiefling to her feet. Her dark eyes remained unfocused and glassy, even when he poked his fingertips at them.
'She's lost her sight,' said Silverwind. 'I can carry her. Put her on my back.'
The Thrasson made no move to do as the bariaur requested. 'Her headache has been getting worse.'
'Of course – she banged her skull,' said Silverwind. 'But I can't do anything about it here. When we get to a quiet place, I'll take care of it.'
Jayk clutched the Amnesian Hero's arm and nodded. 'I am strong enough to hold his waist, Zoombee. I only panicked because I felt lost. As long as I know you will not leave me in this place, I will be fine.'
'Never! I promise, Jayk.'
The tiefling managed a weak smile. 'Then I am not worried.'
The Thrasson helped her onto Silverwind's back, and the small company resumed its flight. The Amnesian Hero clumped along at the bariaur's flank, keeping a wary watch over his shoulder and expecting their guide to duck into some sheltered hiding place at any moment. Silverwind merely continued to trot along, picking his way through the comers and intersections with never a doubt
After what seemed an eternity of running, the Amnesian Hero could take no more. His parched throat seemed in danger of bursting into flames with every breath, even his good leg was trembling with fatigue, and it was all he could do to drag his brick foot along behind him.
'Silverwind, stop!' The croaking words sounded more slaad than human. 'I can't… keep this up.'
The bariaur did not slow. 'Only a little farther. I can almost picture the conjunction now.'
The Thrasson tripped and fell. For a moment, he allowed himself to believe he was too tired to stand – then he felt a tug on the golden thread and thought of the monster of the labyrinth. If it was following, now would be the perfect time for it to attack. He drew a fiery breath into his aching lungs and, with a terrific growl, pushed himself to his feet
Silverwind stood a few paces ahead, waiting impatiently. The Amnesian Hero spun away from him, half- expecting to see the monster charging out of the storm.
There was nothing but hail.
Silverwind clopped to the Thrasson's side. Jayk sat slumped against the bariaur's back, eyes closed and winsome face entirely blank; only her arms, still locked about the bariaur's waist, suggested that she remained conscious. There could be no doubt about Tessali's wakefulness, however; the constant lament of pain that poured from his lips sent shivers down the Amnesian Hero's spine.
Silverwind shook his head in disappointment, at the same time eyeing the Thrasson. 'Why do I always do this to myself? I almost have the conjunction in mind, and now I lose my concentration.'
'Too… tired,' the Amnesian Hero croaked. 'Worried… about… the monster.'
The bariaur peered into the hail, then snorted and shook his head. 'Don't start imagining that again.' Silverwind was speaking to himself, not the Thrasson. 'The thing is out of mind.'
'Stop… it!' The Amnesian Hero's patience was as exhausted as his body. 'You are not imagining this! It's really happening to you – to us!'
Silverwind's bushy eyebrows came together. 'Of course it's really happening. It's really happening because I'm really imagining it.'
'No! Do you feel this?' The Amnesian Hero slapped the bariaur's leg with the flat of his blade. 'I did it-not your imagination.'
Silverwind's eyes grew watery. 'It's happening to me again!' He dropped Tessali into the fog, drawing a howl of pain, then started beating himself about the head. 'Why can't I control my own thoughts?'
