more precariously perched. Cordyan could at least hold on.
He took another step, his mind racing with everything he needed to do, then the step after that. Getting to the woman and the drum was going to be easy.
Then a tremor shivered throughout the library again, one of the worst ones so far.
Baylee lost his footing and went to the floor. He heard Cordyan scream in renewed fear. 'No!' he shouted as he watched the drum's balance point shift over the side of the railing. It slid over the side, starting a slow tumble.
By the gods, it wasn't fair! Baylee pushed himself to his feet. He breathed a quick prayer to Mielikki, begging the Lady of the Forest's indulgence in asking for so selfish a prize. He could catch the drum before it hit the ground, there was time.
There had to be. Losing it meant losing the library, and losing the library meant losing an incalculable amount of knowledge. All the dreams he had ever had, all the questions that he could ever hope to have answers for, the drum contained them all. The loss couldn't be allowed.
'Baylee!' Cordyan shrilled.
The ranger shifted his gaze, watching as the woman's hand slipped and she fell. He grabbed the enchanted rope from the gnomish leather and vaulted over the side. Fifty feet of free fall opened up below him. On one side was the woman; and on the other was the phylactery.
And he only had time to save one of them. And that one only at the risk of his own life.
Saying the command word while in free fall himself, Baylee threw one end of the rope toward the cavern roof. The rope slithered around a projecting bit of rock and tied itself.
Letting the rope burn through his gloved hand, the ranger made his choice. Cordyan looked up at him, her face tense, barely keeping the fear at bay. Reaching for her, he caught her free hand. 'Hang on!' He wrapped his arm in the rope and tightened his grip.
When they hit the apex of their drop, he felt her hand sliding out of his. The pain in his shoulders was incredible as he took the strain. 'Don't let go!'
Cordyan gripped his hand.
Baylee knew what she was thinking because he was thinking the same thing. Once the phylactery hit the ground, it would shatter. Whatever control they might have been able to exercise over the lich would be gone. The library would be lost.
The drum hurtled down, spinning over and over as it fell toward the whirlwind of gemstones in the center of the room. Baylee was vaguely aware of the pockets of battle between the watch and the hobgoblins and the undead that were going on.
The stone golem hit the ground first and shattered, sending debris in all directions.
The civilar grabbed Baylee's leg, then managed to grab the rope as well. The ranger hung on with grim determination as their swing arced them out high over the center of the room. Cordyan shifted, taking her weight from Baylee to the rope. The ranger felt the load lighten immediately.
He glanced back over his shoulder, watching as Calebaan and Cthulad ran to intercept the falling phylactery. The rope swung back, and Baylee twisted with it, losing the view for a moment.
When he turned back around, he spotted Folgrim Shallowsoul swooping in on the flying carpet.
The lich snatched the phylactery from the air and glided around the spinning field of gemstones. Nevft Scoontiphp gestured toward the lich, but Shallowsoul held out a hand.
Whatever spell the baelnorn had employed failed. A moment later, Scoontiphp was covered in fire. His screams echoed throughout the caverns.
Get down, Xuxa warned.
Cordyan slid down the rope, working her way across the knots. Baylee was only a heartbeat behind her. The rope just managed to reach the floor.
'Now, human,' Shallowsoul said as he flew toward Baylee, 'now you're going to pay full measure for your part in this.'
Baylee reached into a pocket and took out a handful of caltrops. He flung them backhanded as hard as he could. The caltrops spun through the air, blackest black against the shadows. The lich was less than fifteen feet distant. The sharp pronged caltrops embedded in his face and upper chest.
Screaming in pain, obviously weakened from all the spellcasting he was doing, the lich fell backward from the flying carpet and landed in the swirl of gemstones. He disappeared at once, but it took longer for his screams to die away.
Baylee touched down on the ground just as a quake ripped through the ground. Chunks of earth pushed up through the floor while other sections of the floor dropped away.
Incredibly, Scoontiphp pushed himself up from the ground, beating at the flames that couldn't quite devour his flesh.
Baylee crossed the trembling floor, leaping across the broken areas of flooring. 'What happened?' he asked the baelnorn.
'We failed,' Scoontiphp answered. 'The lich's spell is still in effect.'
Baylee watched the prismatic rainbow of gems as it swelled to start filling the room. 'But Shallowsoul is dead.'
'Maybe not.' The baelnorn remained erect with effort. His clothing held burn marks.
The prismatic bubble that had been the swirl of gems grew at a fantastic rate, driving the men and hobgoblins before it. Books and whole shelves leaped across the intervening distance, caught up in the cyclone winds being generated by the growing prismatic bubble. A hobgoblin, unable to find shelter quickly enough, was swept up in the bubble. The humanoid's body didn't penetrate its surface. Instead, it exploded against it, with not even enough time to yell.
Baylee scooped up a few books from a nearby shelf just as they were starting to lift up. He tried to hang onto them, but they were pulled too strongly, threatening to drag him into the bubble as well. He had no choice but to let them go. They flew into the embrace of the whirling winds and vanished.
'This way!' Cthulad yelled, twisting into a corridor off the big room. The members of the watch followed the old warrior immediately.
'Look at it,' Calebaan said as he passed Baylee. 'So much knowledge, and it's all being taken away from us.'
Baylee watched in silent frustration. He called Xuxa to him, then tucked her inside the crook of his arm so the winds wouldn't harm her. Books and vases and skulls and display cases whirled madly, sucked one after another into the prismatic bubble. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
'Come on, Baylee,' Cordyan said, urging him to follow the others, 'there's nothing else to be done.'
The vacuum increased so much that even boulders and stalactites were pulled against the bubble. They shattered at once, blasting out against the surrounding walls hard enough to leave scarring. The bubble continued to increase in size.
It can't fill all of the library, can it? Baylee asked Xuxa as he stepped into the corridor.
I don't know, the azmyth bat said. She squirmed against his arm.
The next room held another prismatic bubble that was already starting to spread to fill the room, trapping the party in the corridor.
Nevft Scoontiphp knelt and traced lines of green fire on the floor with his forefinger. A shimmering filled the air at that end of the corridor. 'I can get us to safety,' the baelnorn said. 'But we have to hurry.'
Without hesitation Cthulad led the way into the shimmering area, promptly disappearing. The party filed quickly through the magical gateway. In a moment, only Baylee and the baelnorn remained.
'I can't hold the way much longer,' Scoontiphp warned.
Go, Xuxa ordered.
The library, he replied.
For now, Baylee, it's gone, disappeared somewhere into the astral plane. It will be harder to get to, true, but not completely unattainable. The next discovery you make may lead you straight to it. A spell, a legend, something will put a little more knowledge into your hands. If you keep looking.
Baylee said nothing, watching the mad swirl of prismatic lights engulf the room.
Baylee, you have to go. Now.
