Meanwhile, Coll was shuffling around on the ground like a worm-riddled canine. Clearly uncomfortable on the stony surface, he reached for the cloth in which Benin's papers had been wrapped, now lying discarded off to one side. As he shook it out, presumably preparing to fold and use it as a cushion, a small object fell from its folds: a talisman on a fine silver chain.
The big man’s reaction surprised me; he spotted the object glinting in the artificial light and grabbed for it with reflexes far quicker than I'd have given him credit for. But it wasn't enough; he managed to grab the chain, but the pendant slipped off the end of it and shattered into dust upon my shrine.
We all froze. The dust dissolved into wisps of smoke-like substance, which wafted up from the ground before dissipating.
"What was that?" demanded Benin.
Coll held out the chain. "Some kind of necklace? It just fell out of the blanket."
"Why do you always break everything?" There was a shimmer of bluish light and Benin was surrounded by some sort of magical shield. "You could've just released a djinn. Or a plague!"
A plague?!
Sensing my panic, Ris'kin immediately began herding the curious gnomes away from the hilltop. I searched the Grotto for something I could do.
Some of those new shrooms the farmers have been cultivating have filtration properties. Maybe I could use Growth and filter the bad particles out of the air?
"A plague!" Ket moaned. "We'll have to quarantine the gnomes who were up here when it was released, and then—"
"Actually, I don't think it was a plague."
It was Benin who’d spoken. He was staring at Coll.
The big man frowned back at him and shifted from foot to foot. "What?"
Then I saw it. A tiny point of light hovering beside the warrior’s ear. It looked just like Ket—except Ket was here with me, floating a few feet above my gem.
Finally realizing the direction of Benin's stare, Coll gulped like a man whose final words were about to be "It's behind me, isn't it?" He turned his head slowly, and his eyes widened when he saw the white pinprick of light. "What the—"
The tiny light swooped forward and booped him on the nose. Then a new voice filled the air, reverberating around the Grotto so loudly it made those of us that could hear it wince.
"It has ended the torment of my imprisonment!" it boomed. "Cower now, mortals, and tremble—"
The voice broke into a fit of coughing that lasted for several moments before resuming.
"Yes, tremble, I say, for the Great Calamity of the North is once again free to rain death and destruction upon all who have wronged him!"
With that, the creature shot up through the ceiling hole and into the night.
Seventeen
Filthy Betrayer
Corey
Stunned silence reigned.
What in all the hells just happened?
After the shock of suddenly hearing the new voice, I had to reassure myself that it hadn't belonged to Grimrock. I comforted myself with the knowledge that everyone else had heard it too, whereas Grimrock had, for reasons unknown, only ever spoken directly to me. Furthermore, this voice sounded different. Older, bolder, less smug yet more imperious.
"It's him," whispered Ket. "But how?"
"You know that... person... thing... whatever?" said Benin.
"Sprite," she told him. "And yes, I knew him. A long time ago."
A rush of rage flooded through our bond and left me reeling. It was unlike anything I'd felt from her before.
Before I could formulate my own questions, there was a spark of light near the ceiling as the new sprite shot back down into the Grotto. It hovered in front of my gem.
"Ahem. Young Core, might you release your magical boundary so that this one may pass beyond? At present 'tis impossible to rise more than two or three leagues above—"
A furious bundle of sparks launched itself at the new sprite with a shrill scream that made me wince and the two humans clap their hands over their ears.
"Bekkit, you filthy betrayer! I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you—"
I heard a tiny plink as the two sprites collided in a shower of sparks. The plinking sounds continued as they rolled in the air. Were they punches? Spells? It was impossible to tell.
"—I hate you I hate you I hate you—"
"Unhand me, foul creature! How dare you—ow, ow, ow, stop it—"
Ket seemed to have this well in hand, so I just waited while the world's tiniest wrestling match ran its course.
Sure enough, Ket eventually stopped. Panting for breath, she delivered one last plink before retreating to her usual spot on my gem, where she slumped, clearly exhausted.
"And you lectured me on how to receive guests?" I joked into the awkward silence.
She raised herself up into the air again. "You're right. Let me introduce you. This is Bekkit. He's a snake and a traitor, and you shouldn't listen to anything he says because his tongue is forked, and he'll stab you in the back."
"I really must protest," said the other sprite, though his booming voice was a little feebler than before. He sounded as though he were nursing bruises. "I will admit the violent one sounds somewhat familiar, but I have no recollection of—"
"Somewhat familiar?!" she hissed. "We were allies! We were friends!"
She zipped around my gem agitatedly, turning her back on her apparent nemesis to address me instead. "Bekkit was the kobolds' God Core, long before Grimrock first appeared."
What? "How could you be friends with the god of kobolds?" I asked her, appalled.
"I wish I hadn't been," she growled. "When he became Grimrock's sprite, he gave him the location of my Sphere, and that was when Grimrock started sending kobold raiders to kidnap gnomes for sacrifice. It was all his fault!"
"Kobolds." Bekkit sounded thoughtful.
"You used to call them 'miniature dragons,'" she added bitterly. "I found it quite adorable. Back
