fallen skeletons. The naga wrapped her tail about a stone outcropping as the rocks pelted her. The dying naga reached toward Brenna, who had begun to slide slowly down the mountain, attempting to claw the enchantress's face.
Brenna rolled to the side to avoid the naga's grasp. Her action only sped her descent down the slope, and she gritted her teeth in pain as her ribs bore the brunt of the ride. She heard the naga scream, then, glancing quickly upward, she saw a sizable rock crash into the naga's side, knocking her loose from the outcropping and sending her careening down the mountain slope.
Brenna closed her eyes, ignored the pain, and concentrated on casting a spell. The enchantress's words were nearly lost in the slide as rocks of all sizes pounded over the side of the plateau toward her. Then she felt herself being lifted gently; in moments, she was floating above the rocks and tumbling zombies and skeletons, whose bony bodies were being split apart by the slide.
Gasping for breath, the enchantress levitated toward the plateau, praying to find Galvin and Wynter alive.
The hawk flew toward the mine shaft, willing his human form to return when he was safely within the mouth of the cave. The hawk's wings melted away and grew, becoming arms, and his claws lengthened into legs. Struggling to stay on his feet as the mountain continued to tremble, Galvin reached his hand out to touch a stone face.
'Stop!' Galvin shouted, hoping to be heard above the pounding rocks. 'You'll kill everyone!'
'Tres-pass-ers die,' the rock rumbled.
'We're not trespassers!' the druid retorted, gasping for air as a shower of dirt fell from above the mine opening into his face.
'Tres-pass-ers die,' the rock repeated, reaching a rocky arm out from its body and grabbing the druid about the waist. The rock lifted Galvin off the ground, and its great stone eyes bore into his.
The druid stared back, calling on his own magic, trying to speak to the rock as he had to the wall in Maligor's tower. 'Stop this!' he croaked, straining to clear his lungs.
The rock pulled him closer, until Galvin's face was only inches from its right eye. It studied the druid for several long moments, then closed its stony eyelids and the rumbling ceased.
'We're not trespassers,' Galvin repeated, extricating himself from the rock's grasp. 'We're Harpers, and we're here to help.' Taking a step backward from the living boulder, the druid looked frantically about the plateau, searching for some sign of Brenna. His heart hammered in his chest, fearing she had been killed.
'Wynter!' Galvin cried. 'Where's Brenna?'
'I saw her go over the side,' the centaur said. 'I couldn't reach her.'
The druid bolted from the living rock, coming to a stop when he reached the edge of the plateau and saw the enchantress float into view. 'Brenna!' he called, embracing her when she glided to the ground in front of him. He held her for only a moment, then tugged her toward the mine opening.
The living boulders were watching them.
'What are you?' Wynter gasped as he faced the boulders. The pounding rocks had injured his human chest and horse underbelly, and it hurt him to breathe and talk. He gently prodded his horse side, checking for broken ribs.
'Galeb duhr,' one said slowly. Then he went on to explain in his deep voice that he was one of a race of rock creatures whose lifespans dwarfed those of Faerun's humans and demihumans.
'Guard-i-ans,' the other stated. 'We watch the mine.'
'We're not after the mine,' Wynter offered, gesturing at the mountain and the land below. 'In fact, we're here to protect it.'
The galeb duhr on the north side of the mine entrance wrinkled its craggy nose and stared past the Harpers and Brenna toward the remaining undead who were clawing their way onto the edge of the plateau. Only a handful of skeletons had survived the pummeling, and the zombies' numbers were halved. The wraiths and shadows seemed unaffected.
'The dead men will help the mine, too?' the rock's booming voice was tinged with sarcasm.
'Yes,' Brenna said, explaining their ordeal with Szass Tam and their promise to stop Maligor and his forces, who threatened the mine.
'But we can't help unless you help us. We need some information,' she continued.
The rocks stared at her quizzically.
'Has a Red Wizard been here recently?' she asked, brushing the dirt from her clothes.
'No,' came the deep reply in unison.
She inhaled sharply and pursed her lips. 'Have you seen any strange creatures? Horrid, batlike things?'
The rock on the north side of the mine opening nodded, and the ground shook again. 'Saw bat crea-tures. Hundreds, may-be more. Dark, like a cloud. Flew in-side. Cannot re-mem-ber why we did not stop them.'
Brenna positioned herself in front of the living boulder, directly between its eyes. 'Maligor could have ensorceled you. Maybe that's why you don't remember. Something's wrong here, that's certain. The tharchion I fought wasn't human.'
'Doubt-ful some-thing is wrong,' the other galeb duhr answered. 'We no-ticed noth-ing odd in the mines.'
'We've got to go inside and find out for sure,' Galvin tried. 'Please trust us.'
'Trust un-dead?'
'We'll control them,' Galvin continued, staring past the living boulders and into the mine.
'If you lie,' the other galeb duhr interjected, 'we will know. We could bring mountain down on top of you, then hollow it out again as if nothing happened.'
'You can trust us,' Galvin emphasized again.
'We trust you. But only because you know language of the earth,' the boulder answered.
Relieved that he seemed to have the approval of the rock creatures, Galvin started into the mine. Wynter and Brenna followed him cautiously. The enchantress cast a last glance at the plateau; the zombies and skeletons that had survived the rockslide were shuffling toward the shaft.
Fifteen
Szass Tam nudged Maligor's mind. The lich had been unable to find his rival Red Wizard, and the legion of undead headed by his Harper pawns had uncovered nothing substantial, nothing other than hints of Maligor's whereabouts.
Annoyed and intensely curious, the lich concentrated, probing outward with his thoughts. Szass Tam had spent the past several hours linked to his favorite crystal ball, uncharacteristically tired of waiting for word of Maligor. The ball had yielded nothing, so he had focused his efforts at communication only.
Finally the lich met with success.
'What do you want, Szass Tam?' Maligor's thoughts haughtily projected. 'I am very busy today.'
The lich strained to get inside Maligor's mind, but the wards were too strong. 'You are not with your gnolls,' Szass Tam began. 'You are not in Amruthar.'
'So you seek to know where I am?' Maligor said, feigning mild surprise. 'Beyond your grasp, lich.'
Angered, Szass Tam furrowed his brow and funneled his energies on Maligor, attempting to look through the rival wizard's eyes into his mind. But the lich saw only blackness, and he heard only Maligor's hollow, echoing laughter.
'I will live up to my part of our arrangement,' Maligor said with a chuckle. 'You will get half the lands my gnolls take. But you will not be included in future endeavors if you press me.'
The lich ran his bony hand over the smooth surface of the crystal ball, the hot pinpoints of light staring out of his sockets reflected on the crystal's surface.
'You will not best me, Maligor,' Szass Tam said simply.
'And you will not interfere with my dealings,' Maligor replied. 'However, you may watch my gnolls if you desire. And we can speak again when I return to Amruthar in a few days.'
