White Plume Mountain

baited, set, and sprung. The rewards”-the librarian looked closer at the half-formed body deepinside its tank-“the rewards are about to be achieved.”

Jus looked at Escalla. He needed time. He needed to find a way to break free. The girl read his intention. She blew out a big breath, engaged her enthusiasm, and suddenly made a mocking, raucous laugh.

The noise turned the heads of librarian, the assistants-andeven Polk as the girl made a flippant little sneer. “Trap? Trap? Ha! Youblew it!” The faerie wriggled inside the giant fist of force. “We got hold ofall the weapons!”

“The weapons were always where I wanted them to be.” Thelibrarian sniffed. “Simple enough to seize them again at need. Until then, theyform an admirable part of the sifting process.”

“But we killed all your little pet monsters!”

“Then we will use a spell to summon some more.” The librarianseemed finished with his work at the tank and turned to look at the Justicar and Escalla. “The two of you make a promising start. There will be others- hopefullybetter. We shall examine ways of snaring tougher prey.”

Polk sat, frozen. The librarian’s two assistants both castglances up at their master’s victims and then stood carefully over to one side.Behind them, the giant pentagram glowed with force, magical pathways rippling as energy flowed up into the transparent coffin. Strand by strand the body in the trough rebuilt itself, the muscle strands shining sticky-wet beneath the flickering light.

Hanging in midair, Escalla cast a glance into the magic trough and insolently blew a strand of hair back from her eyes. “So thisis the triumph you’re wasting your time on? All you did was clone some oldwizard from his hair strands?”

“This is Keraptis!” With his assistants still busy attheir chores, the librarian suddenly had time to educate lesser entities. He turned his back to the abyss and walked beneath his two victims. “A most unusualbeing. Did you know his structure was physically different from other men? He visited the plane of limbo and reshaped himself, allowing himself to store more magical energy that is normally possible for a mortal frame!”

Escalla gave a mocking shrug. “Whoopie! So now you’re gonnacollect a reward from the guy when he comes awake.” The faerie let her antennamake a sarcastic little droop. “This is a new plan.”

Lava shuddered far below, and a tongue of flame shot skyward past the force platform. Curtains of energy at the platforms sides kept away the heat, yet allowed a few pieces of pumice ash to land streaming and hissing beside the pentagram.

Breathing deeply at the stench of sulphur, the librarian slowly turned and continued, “We are not copying Keraptis. We are replacing-orrather, I am replacing him. His physical form was perfectly designed, but his mind shall be my own.”

Escalla made a rude noise and rolled her eyes in mock agony. “Oh, please! Oh for the gods’ sakes, please tell me you’re notgoing to hold us captive while you reveal your evil plan!”

The librarian came to stand beneath the faerie and stare up at her in disdain. “Of all the potential donors, you are the only one whosesurvival irks me. You are a nasty little thing, arrogant, vain, and overconfident.”

“Oh, really!” The faerie let her eyebrows raise in a drolllittle arc of surprise. “It’s called class, egghead. Try itsometime-maybe you’ll like it!”

“Yes. Quite nasty.” The librarian gave a sniff of distaste.“The winnowing process may yet be imperfect.”

The librarian made to turn away, and Escalla swore and struggled, frantically trying to snare back his attention. “Hey! Hey, youbucket of phlegm! Yeah, I’m talking to you!” The girl kicked her legs in afrenzy of hate. “You think you’re a match for me? You wouldn’t know a decentfaerie spell if it bit you on the ass!”

Quite suddenly, the librarian gave an arrogant smile. “But Ishall, my dear! I am going to absorb you, your skills, your experience, your strengths-and the Justicar’s as well.” The man hefted up his fists andsqueezed. Escalla cried out, her bandages suddenly soaking with more blood. “Weshall find new trinkets to make bait for new mazes. We shall skim all of the Flanaess for the greatest powers and talents this world has to offer. All shall contribute themselves to the structure of the Overman.”

The man slowly opened out his hands to encompass his mighty works. Behind him, vast energies roared upward from the core of the world.

“Here is the experiment Keraptis feared to do! His bodystructure was a potential even he never understood! But we are grateful. He has laid the foundations for the world’s first true Overman!” The man drew in abreath of sulphurous air, revelling in his vision.

Trapped inside a huge transparent fist high above, the Justicar looked down at his prey through cold eyes. “I have heard enough. Youare an enemy of the people. You have chosen to prey upon the weak.” TheJusticar’s voice came low and powerful, cutting through the noise of magmasteam. “You have been judged.”

The librarian’s painted mask of a face froze. A moment later,the man snarled in fury, his magic fist crushing tight about the Justicar.

“An overman has no moral constraints! An overman shapes theworld to the needs of his own intellect!” The librarian’s voice shook in a roar.“Good and evil are labels! Small minds paint the universe shades of black andwhite to allow themselves to comprehend! An overman is the black and white!” The librarian lifted up his painted face. “I am both blurred into one!”

Squeezed breathless by the invisible fist, Escalla struggled to make herself heard. “Th-then that makes dirty gray!” The girl arched inagony. “And that’s r-real hard to color c-coordinate!”

With a snarl, the librarian clenched his hand, and the giant fist mirrored his fury. Escalla croaked, squealed, and then suddenly fell limp. With the faerie unconscious, the librarian dropped her to the floor. She landed with her wings crushed and broken and blood spilling from her mouth onto the ground.

Jus roared in anger and fright, his muscles bulging as he fought to break free. “Escalla!”

Laughing, the librarian held Jus dangling helplessly in the air. “She was weak, weak and unworthy!” The librarian flicked a sneer over atthe broken little figure on the floor. “No matter. We shall use her.”

He walked back toward the pentagram, towing the Justicar behind him through the air. Stopping beside the mound of discarded trident, sword, and hell hound skin, the man nodded to his acolytes. “We will drain him.”

“Wait!” The Justicar’s cold voice boomed out above the soundsof lava and steam. Sour and triumphant, the librarian turned to look up at him.

“A plea, Justicar?”

“A message.” The Justicar’s dark eyes gleamed. He gazed downat his enemy, then jerked his chin off to one side. “Someone wants you.”

The librarian frowned, turned, and looked at the empty space behind him. There was nothing except a backpack, a bundle of weapons, and a barbaric, mangy wolf skin. The pelt’s red eyes suddenly sparked with feral glee. Hi!

Fire blasted out to smash into the librarians face. The sheer force of it threw the man backward, his hair and robes going instantly up in flames. Still hanging up above, Jus watched the librarian stagger burning and blinded past his feet.

“Polk! Sword!”

The teamster kicked one of his captors in the crotch. Dodging free, Polk snatched up a black sword from the loose equipment and hacked clumsily at the strand that anchored the magician’s translucent magic fist tohis hands. The black blade clove, and suddenly the Justicar fell free. He crashed to the ground, stretched up a hand, and Polk threw him the sword. The Justicar held the blade and jerked with pain, almost dropping the weapon. He shook his head then surged onto his feet, bellowing in fury.

One of the librarian’s two assistants cast a spell, theenergies shearing past the Justicar to knock Polk off his feet. The teamster picked himself up, surged forward, and kicked his man again. The teamster then gave the man a shove in the chest that sent the apprentice stumbling back through the energy veil. He shrieked as he fell hundreds of feet down into the magma.