Bladesinger

Chapter 17

The Year of Wild Magic

(1372 DR)

Death stalked the cavern.

Taen could see it clearly in the newborn light-razor-sharp teeth, a powerful, scaled hide, and a hideous cartilaginous tail that whipped around the confines of the high-ceilinged cave. It moved slowly, its broad, ridged head casting from side to side, peering down at the party with burning orange eyes. The creature's nostrils flared, sucking the fetid odor of the cave in with short snuffs.

The half-elf moved slowly, careful not to spook the beast. He watched as the creature tracked his movements, its tail weaving slowly, undulating like a charmed serpent above its head. When Taen caught sight of the barbed stinger gleaming wetly in the arcane light, he let out a curse.

"Wyvern," Roberc whispered. "Very dangerous." Were they not in such a precarious situation, Taen would have laughed at the fighter's all-too-unnecessary comment. Though not as massive as their draconic cousins, and quite a bit more dull witted, wyverns were powerful beasts whose massive teeth and razor-sharp claws could easily eviscerate the best-armored opponent. Its poison-tipped tail, however, presented the clearest danger to them all. Assassins all across Faerun coveted the dread creature's poison; it could kill a human in mere heartbeats.

The half-elf glanced around at his companions. Borovazk stood with axe and warhammer held steady. Taen watched as he tracked the wyvern's movements, obviously looking for a vulnerable spot in the massive beast's thick brown-scaled armor. Roberc had already dismounted and stood easily by the half-elf's side, his sword and shield ready. Marissa stood behind them, raising the Staff of the Red Tree in the air. Above them in the darkness of the cavern's heights, Rusella flapped noisily as she circled the site of impending battle.

The wyvern stopped moving and hissed again, the high-pitched noise reverberated in the massive chamber, echoing and folding in upon itself, sounding to Taen's ears like the screams of a thousand children.

"Ready," he whispered to his companions. When they all nodded, he continued. "Wait for my signal." Carefully, he reached into his belt pouch.

"Now!" he shouted and flung out his hand. Light bloomed once again from the fingertips of the half-elf's hand, this time leaping from his outstretched fingers to the creature's eyes.

With a mighty hiss, the wyvern reared up on its hind legs, unfurling nearly fifty feet of leathery, cracked wings and shaking its head to dislodge the glowing ball of illumination that pulsated between its eyes. At that moment, Borovazk let out a deep-throated cry and sprang forward. His gleaming axe cut deep into the beast's scaled hide, unleashing a flow of steaming blood that pulsed hotly from the wound, spraying him with its dark, crimson hue. The explosion of fluid did little to slow the ranger's attacks. The Rashemi gave another cry and brought the solid weight of his warhammer down upon the wyvern's left hind leg. The sound of splintering bone echoed in the cavern, soon overpowered by the beast's screaming hiss.

Not wasting any time, Roberc barreled toward the creature, whirling his short sword in a deadly arc. His first cut rebounded off the wyvern's hardened scales, but the second pierced the creature's armored hide and parted the soft skin underneath, puncturing muscle and tissue.

Though blinded, the wyvern lashed out with a sweep of its massive head. Powerful jaws snapped sharp-edged teeth mere handspans above Borovazk's head. The now-chanting ranger ducked belatedly beneath the attack, as if just realizing his danger. Taen would have called out a warning, but the wyvern's powerful tail struck downward, forcing the half-elf to skitter backward; it struck the very stone where he had just been standing with a shower of earth and pebbles.

"Are you all right?" Marissa called out.

Taen stumbled to his feet and nodded affirmatively. The half-elf knew that his light spell wouldn't hold for much longer. If they had any chance of emerging from this battle alive, they would have to finish off the wyvern fast.

Just then, the beast shifted its body, turning quickly to its left. The sudden movement caught its attackers by surprise, and Taen watched in horror as both Borovazk and Roberc fell beneath the shifting bulk of the wyvern's torso. Still blinded, it extended its wounded left leg slightly, as if searching for its attackers.

Borovazk rolled to his feet with surprising speed, avoiding the taloned claws of the wyvern. Roberc, however, couldn't quite escape. Within a heartbeat, the creature had him pinned beneath the wicked curve of its talon. The wyvern's tail rose up for a final strike.

With a ragged cry of denial, Marissa lifted her staff and cried out a prayer. Instantly, a whirling column of flame appeared above the wyvern's head and fell upon it like burning rain. The beast gave a long, bellowing hiss of pain and beat its scarred and burning wings, carrying it out of the divine flames.

Freed from the pinning talon, Roberc rolled out from beneath the massive form of the wyvern and returned to the battle. He gave a quick wave to signal his condition then advanced on the monster.

Seeing the light spell almost completely gone, Taen reached into his pouch and pulled out a small clump of fur. Grasping a thin glass rod in his other hand, the half-elf chanted the ancient words to a spell. As the power swelled and grew within him, he pointed the rod at the retreating wyvern. A bright flash of blue-white light erupted from the glass as a bolt of ragged electrical energy sped toward the beast. It struck the wyvern with a sizzling burst of power. Small tendrils of electricity spattered and arced across the length of the wyvern's dark brown torso; it shuddered briefly beneath the force of the spell before falling to one knee.

The odor of burned flesh filled the cavern. Taen nearly gagged from the acrid stench, but he pressed on. The wyvern hissed once more, fanning its giant wings in a furious fashion. Dirt and small pebbles flew up from the cavern floor, tossed wildly by the force from the beast's buffeting wings. The storm of debris stung eyes and skin, making it difficult for Taen to track his enemy's movements in the shadowy cave. It grew in intensity, fueled by the wyvern's bestial rage, the endless slapping of its wings against the dank cavern air.

The half-elf squinted against the assault, peering into the dust-filled cave. In the swirling chaos of the turbulent atmosphere, he could barely make out the shadowy bulk of the wyvern, moving to the right.

"Can you see it?" Taen called out to his companions. A chorus of voices exclaimed their frustration. "It's moving toward the right rear wall of the cave," he shouted.

"Borovazk see," the ranger returned the shout and charged toward the brown-scaled beast.

The triumphant ringing in his voice faded, soon replaced by a breathless curse. Taen ran toward the Rashemi and let out his own string of invectives. Standing to either side of the wounded beast were two smaller wyverns, their red eyes whirling in obvious agitation. Before them lay the half-eaten carcasses of a thick-furred brown bear and two unclad humans. Blood and gobbets of flesh hung loosely from their gaping, sharp-toothed jaws.

Taen had little time to process the presence of the two dead humans, as the largest wyvern took that moment to still its wings and pounce forward. Still moving forward by the force of his own momentum, Borovazk could do little except swipe at the creature's ridged head with his double-bladed axe. The wild swing struck the wyvern at an angle and bounced harmlessly off its thick scales. Untroubled by its attacker, the beast struck out and clamped its jaws down upon the ranger's shoulder. Sparks flew as the wyvern's teeth scraped across the Rashemi's chain mail. Borovazk grunted loudly as the creature's bite ripped through his armor, tearing at the unprotected flesh beneath.

Without thinking, Taen unleashed a string of arcane words and pointed his index finger at the monster. A single glistening arrow appeared out of the darkness and sped toward the wyvern, striking it squarely in the eye. The beast hissed as its eye socket bubbled and burned from the arcane acid attack. It released Borovazk and advanced upon Taen.

The half-elf leaped backward just as the monster's jaws snapped powerfully closed. He reached to his side and drew forth his father's blade, weaving it before him like a steel serpent. Taking a chance, he gazed to his left in order to see how the others fared. Roberc and Marissa stood side by side, battling the twin wyverns. The halfling bled from several wounds, and Taen could see several trickles of blood soiling Marissa's cloak. Still the druid did not retreat; she fought bravely at Roberc's side, laying about her with spell and staff to keep the beasts off balance.

One of the smaller creatures, whose left wing hung torn and ragged at an awkward angle from its body, turned swiftly and brought its needle-sharp tail to strike at its enemies. As he continued to weave his own defense, Taen watched with admiration as Roberc brought up his rounded shield to deflect the stinging attack. The point of the wyvern's barbed tail struck the shield soundly, nearly punching a hole through its metallic body with a dull ring. The halfling swayed beneath the blow, nearly losing his balance as the pointed cartilage impacted hard against his shield.

Taen had no further time to spare for his companions, however. The largest wyvern, driven beyond rage at the burning touch of the half-elf's arcane acid, launched an all-out assault against him. The half-elf ducked once beneath its snapping jaws and dived forward, curling his body into a ball and springing to his feet in order to avoid the sweeping dart of its poisoned tail. Off balance from his defensive maneuvers, Taen could not avoid the creature a third time. He cried out as the beast's stinger plunged deep within his chest. Before it could withdraw it, however, he slashed down hard at the extended tail, severing it with a single swipe.

Taen stumbled back, the tip of the wyvern barb still embedded in his breast, pulsating as it spewed its deadly toxin. The half-elf's veins ran with poison, and he could feel the cramping of his heart muscle. It was as if hot acid flowed through the pathways of his body, searing away tissue and life. He gasped once for air, trying to force his lungs to work, but they would not obey him.

He stumbled and fell to his knees just as Borovazk ducked beneath a wild snap of the wyvern's jaws and brought his own axe down on the creature's neck. The enchanted blade cut swiftly through its scale and skin, biting deeply into tissue and bone. The wyvern gave a strangled, gurgling hiss, then collapsed to the floor in a ground-shaking heap.

As the ranger turned to see what had befallen Taen, the half-elf could see the light of victory dim then disappear from the Rashemi's eyes. He wanted to see more, to tell the ranger that he would be all right, but a shimmering gray haze began to gather at the edge of his vision. The pain of his wounds floated away beneath a growing lassitude. Twice now he had come to the doorway of death. It was unlikely that he would pass this way again. A part of him raged against the unfairness of it all-that he had survived so much, only to fall in a dank wyvern cave at the edge of nowhere. Another part, however, had already begun to let go.

The gray fog deepened, drawing like a curtain before his eyes-only to disappear in a burst of light and warmth. Pain returned, like an old friend, to his body. He gasped as his lungs sucked air into their expanse, remembering what it was to obey him. He could see his companions standing around him: bloodied Borovazk, grinning despite the torn flesh hanging from his shoulder; grim-faced Roberc, cleaning his gore-covered sword and offering Taen a simple nod of his head; and standing behind them Marissa, her hand still glowing from the spell she had just cast.

"Try as you might, Taenaran," the druid said with a wink, "you can't get rid of us that easily."

Laughter rose up in him at that, and he groaned as it aggravated his wounds. Though they had removed the barbed stinger from his chest, it still ached fiercely. Carefully, they helped him to his feet, and together they explored the rest of their surroundings.

The cavern itself stretched its rounded expanse in all directions. Stalactites hung unevenly from the ceiling, their jagged lengths resembling giant, twisted teeth. The surface of the dull gray stone that made up the majority of the cavern ran unevenly-forming deep ridges that often flowed back into themselves.

"Well," Roberc asked as he peered through the shadows at the cave wall, "where have we gotten ourselves this time?"

Taen grunted at the question. Clearly they had stumbled into the wyverns' lair, that much was certain from the stench of rotting meat and the pile of splintered bones tossed around the cavern, but where exactly that might be was anybody's guess.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "Something-or someone- interfered with the teleport spell."

"Then we could be anywhere," Marissa said. "There's no telling how far away we are from Citadel Rashemar." She sat down on a small outcropping of stone.

"Do not worry, little friends," Borovazk said, his voice echoing in the vast cavern. "We are not too far from the citadel."

"How do you know?" Taen asked the ranger. Perhaps there was hope for their quest after all.

"Listen," the ranger said, pointing his finger up toward the ceiling. "Do you hear that? Is the prydvya, the singing wind. It only blows that hard in the highest places of the Sunrise Mountains. Citadel Rashemar must be close."

Taen cocked his head and listened. Indeed, he could hear a high-pitched wail coming distantly from beyond the walls of the cavern. The wind's sharp wailing would need to be very strong for them to hear it deep within the cavern.

Something else registered in his sensitive half-elf ears as he listened to the shrieking of the wind-the sound of something, or someone, scurrying across rock. If he strained, he could also hear the creature's snuffling inhalations. It grew louder as he listened.

"We have company," Taen whispered softly, not wishing to alert whatever was drawing near them.

"I heard it too," Roberc whispered back. He quietly spoke a command to Cavan.

The animal cocked its head once then silently padded off into the darkness. Within moments, a high-pitched shriek filled the cavern, followed by the familiar low warning growl of the war-dog.

Taen and the others ran toward the sound, weapons already drawn to face whatever threat Cavan had uncovered. When they arrived, their light revealed the war-dog's powerful jaws clamped around the muddy wool cloak of an orange-skinned humanoid. The creature's wide mouth hung open, revealing a set of small, sharp fangs, and its deep-set eyes whirled and gleamed a sickly yellow in the arcane light. It gibbered and cried out in a harsh language that sounded to Taen like the retching and hacking of a plague-wracked human as it caught sight of the assembled companions.

"Goblin," Roberc said with obvious disgust. "They're like rodents. If you see one, there's bound to be more hiding under rocks nearby."

He then spat a series of unintelligible words at the frightened creature in what Taen reasoned must have been its own tongue. The goblin fell silent at the sound of its language streaming forth from the halfling's mouth.

Watching it cringe and cower at their presence, the half-elf felt a confused rush of pity and disgust for the goblin. Alone and even in small tribes, the creatures were usually nothing more than nuisances. Like orcs and others of their ilk, however, goblins were quite fecund and often bred like vermin. Roberc had spoken the truth-goblins very rarely ventured out by themselves, and once they gathered in significant numbers, they could present a real and powerful threat. What in the world would this one be doing skulking around a wyvern's cave?

"No hurt! No hurt!" the goblin shouted in broken, heavily accented Common, interrupting Taen's musings. "Yurz not meaning any harm to gr

… great lords," it stammered out.

"What are you doing here?" Taen asked harshly.

"Elfling call off monster wolf," Yurz cried in a piteous tone, "then I tell all." The creature cowered further against the uneven stone wall of the cave but stopped as Cavan growled deeply at his movement.

Taen frowned and looked at Roberc. The halfling cursed softly then barked a command at Cavan. Instantly, the war-dog released the goblin's cloak.

"Don't even try and run," Roberc said and spoke once more in the creature's tongue.

When he finished, he pointed at Borovazk. The hulking ranger had drawn his bow and now aimed a sharp-tipped arrow at Yurz.

The goblin gulped audibly and nodded his misshapen head.

"Now," Taen said, "tell us what you are doing here."

Yurz whined softly before answering. "Big Chief tell Yurz to bring dragons food." He answered finally. "Yurz gather other goblins and we come here with offering. Goblins hear dragons roar and hear the sound of fighting. They get scared and run off. Not Yurz," he explained. "He more scared of Big Chief."

"Other goblins," Marissa broke in with her question. "How many of these goblins are there?"

Yurz gazed at the half-elf for a moment, and Taen found himself growing uneasy at the look of sly calculation that passed over the goblin's face. He would have said something to the druid, but Yurz finally answered.

"Many goblins. Big army," he said, nearly cackling. "Big Chief run tribe in the man-castle. Partner with Ugly One," this last he uttered in a hissing whisper.

Whoever this Ugly One was, thought Taen, it clearly frightened the hapless goblin. "Where is this man-castle?" the half-elf asked, casting a knowing gaze at his companions. If they were close to the citadel, then perhaps Yurz could prove much more valuable to their quest than he had originally thought.

Yurz shook his head violently. "Yurz not tell," he said in an almost defiant tone, the rough orange skin of his sloped forehead wrinkling as he squinted his eyes. "Big Chief get mad. Hurt Yurz."

Roberc stepped forward and launched into a string of words in the goblin's tongue. Taen watched as the color drained from Yurz's face, but the creature stood firm.

"No!" he shouted in common. "Even if great lords kill Yurz, it still better than what Big Chief and Ugly One do!"

Taen sighed and was about to call his companions together to discuss this further when Marissa stepped forward. "Let me try," she whispered to Taen.

The half-elf nodded and accepted the druid's staff as she presented it to him with a smile and a wink. She began to chant softly before moving toward the defiant goblin, and as Taen heard the whispered prayer, he understood immediately what the druid was up to.

He watched as Marissa knelt before the goblin and saw Yurz's clear expression of distrust and fear begin to melt away at the druid's presence, replaced by a wide-eyed, almost worshipful stare.

"Yurz," Marissa said, "you know that we would never hurt you, don't you?"

The goblin nodded. "N… no," Yurz replied. "Pretty elfling not hurt Yurz."

"Good," the druid said, reaching out a thin hand to stroke the creature's bulging head. "We're your friends, Yurz, and friends help each other, right?"

"Oh yes," the goblin said. "Friends help each other."

"Do you want to help me and my friends, Yurz?" Marissa asked.

The bespelled goblin nodded once again.

"Good," the druid acknowledged. "Then will you take us to the man-castle to meet the Big Chief?"

Yurz gazed at the druid then out at the companions. Taen could see that the creature's former calculating stare had been replaced by a wide-mouthed smile, and the half-elf began to relax.

"Yes, Yurz take Pretty Elfling and friends to meet Big Chief. You like Big Chief and maybe he like you," the goblin said.

The druid stroked the goblin's head once more. "Thank you, Yurz," she said, and stood back up. "Well," she turned and said to her stunned companions. "It appears we've found our guide into the citadel."