Treachery's Wake (Dungeons & Dragons Novel) by T. H. Lain

Author:T. H. Lain [Lain, T. H.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780786965106
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Publishing
Published: 2013-07-09T00:00:00+00:00

“I lost the spellcaster,” Lidda wheezed, her breath coming in short rapid breaths. “At least we have the staff. And I found this in its tent.”

She tossed a roll of heavy parchment to Mialee. The wizard grabbed the thing, unfurling it and studying the writing on its surface. Arcane symbols covered its length. The wizard stuffed it into her pouch.

Lidda squatted down and set the box on the ground.

“It makes no sense to me that a band of gnolls would be after this magical device,” she said, running her hand along the smooth surface of the case. The ornate silver lines that were previously animated still traced the natural contours of the wood but no longer moved as they had.

Vadania unwrapped a length of vine from her boot and threw it aside.

“It makes little difference now,” she said. “We have what we were after.”

“And I doubt the others will be back,” Mialee said, “with the giant dead and their leader gone.”

“That’s probably true,” the druid agreed. “Still, I’ll feel better when we’ve put more ground between ourselves and this place.”

“I agree,” Malthooz said.

He touched the druid’s arm. A warmth passed over his hand and into Vadania’s body through the tips of his fingers. Vadania pulled away from him. Scrapes on her legs from the entanglement quickly healed over.

Malthooz stared in amazement, then touched the symbol hanging from his neck. It felt like a lifeless piece of wood. He felt no different from before, but all of them saw what happened.

Vadania ran her hand over her skin.

“Perhaps you were visited by Pelor after all, Malthooz,” she said.

“Stick to the club,” Krusk snarled, and moved away to search the bodies of the fallen gnolls.

Vadania ignored the barbarian’s comment.

“Now maybe you’ll take some time to find out,” she said.

They searched the area hastily. Krusk found a pile of torches in one of the tents and Malthooz watched the cone of flame moving through the darkness as the barbarian passed among the bodies of the dead gnolls. Lidda and Mialee combed through the wooden building. Malthooz and Vadania stood guard near the wizard’s box.

Malthooz tried to look calm, but he quietly berated himself. He hadn’t done a thing during the fight. The magic, if that’s what it was, moved through him without warning, unannounced and actually unwelcome. He wasn’t sure what he expected, carrying the holy symbol with him on a cord around his neck. He’d seen the women use their magic many times, but it was under their control, arising intentionally. Even the shaman from the village worked with the utmost attention, whether or not what he did was truly magical. What was happening to him? None of the others seemed very concerned.

Malthooz knew that they were accustomed to the unusual, used to not relying on assumptions to get them through. They certainly didn’t trust their lives to something they didn’t understand. Not even Krusk appeared overly alarmed by what he’d seen, even if his distaste was obvious.

Malthooz heard Vadania approach.

“It sounds like the gnolls have regrouped and are returning,” she said.

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