03 Darkvision by Forgotten Realms

Author:Forgotten Realms [Realms, Forgotten]
Format: epub
Published: 2010-04-10T16:07:58.516000+00:00

* * * * *

The dwarf's health improved markedly after getting down off the top of the pass. Thormud sat in his seat, blinking at the harsh sun and drinking frequently from his waterskin. The destrier's pace was steadier as it followed the thudding steps of Prince Monolith down the dry path of a prehistoric, nameless river. The mountains on this side of the pass were nearly empty of vegetation, unlike the southward face they had ascended. Ahead and below lay the flat face of Raurin. They were so high above its empty reaches that Kiril spied a distant dust storm of incredible ferocity. Swelling and towering like a genie loosed from its bottle, the gargantuan wind devil suffused with sand danced westward. It strode above the dead plain, promising stinging death to any at its feet. Kiril couldn't gauge the column's true size, but she didn't doubt it was supernaturally large. Such storms were one of the reasons travelers rarely chose to chance the briny sand seas of the Dust Desert. "I hope that storm passes before we get down to the edge," Kiril told Thormud. "Mmm." She'd been trying to engage the geomancer in conversation all morning, with limited success. Prince Monolith plodded onward and downward. They continued to follow the parched course of the ancient river down from the foothills. Day passed into midafternoon. The river's dead path wound among hills rounded and degraded by eons. Kiril saw nothing but worn boulders, pebbles, and fine rusty sand. Nothing moved on the river bottom, whose stones were bare even of dead lichen. The malignant wind devil with the sandstorm shrouding its base hadn't passed over the horizon as they'd descended the pass. Instead, it twisted and swelled toward them, as if it were a sentient guardian come to bar their passage into Raurin. Perhaps it was. "We'd better find shelter before it gets here," Kiril told Thormud as she pointed toward the approaching storm. "Mmm." "Damn it." Kiril yelled ahead, "Monolith, Thormud's still not himself. Don't expect any direction from him, if you're waiting for it." The deep voice of the elemental noble resonated back, "Why should I? I am the guide, not he." "All right, rock head, if you're so smart, maybe you should think about that approaching wind devil. We won't survive its outskirts, let alone the column at the center." The elemental stalked down the empty path, but one of its stone arms rose and pointed ahead. Kiril followed the direction of his gesture and saw a tiny cavern mouth, perhaps five hundred paces distant, gaping from the side of the empty stream bed. She shrugged, saying nothing. Truth was, she was slightly embarrassed she hadn't descried the cave mouth herself. She was an elf, after all, and had a reputation to maintain.

* * * * *

The storm stifled the sun as they reached the aperture. They moved through a baleful twilight stained with bloody light. The cave opened out of the flat, eroded face of an ancient riverbank.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.