Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7590336" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 279The wind was, if anything, stronger further up into the mountain pass, the gusts screaming as they tore through the narrow space between the steep stone walls.Kurok knelt in a small hollow just off one of the many twists and turns in the ascent.  The loud noises of the wind were a constant here, but the sheer sides of the hollow kept most of its force from reaching him as he inscribed wet marks on the rocks from a dark vial.  Together the marks made the outlines of a diagram, though it was all but invisible in the almost perfect darkness.Once he was finished the hobgoblin knelt alongside the pattern and gathered himself.  He’d let his disguise lapse for the moment.  It was exhausting, keeping the Mask of Many Faces in place all this time.  He’d learned to sleep in snatches, and had even begun to dream in the common tongue of the three kingdoms, the familiar cadences of his native language fading into vague memory.  But Drekkath’s strict tutelage had gotten them this far.He looked up, but even his darksight didn’t reveal anything more than an outline standing in the shadow of the cliffs.  The doppelganger had done what was necessary, but it hadn’t shown any inclination to participate in the ritual other than as an observer.Kurok let Drekkath, the shrieking wind, and every other distraction fade into the background as he focused on his spell.  He had foregone the use of his magic for so long—barring the Mask and a few other notable exceptions—that it took him a few moments to summon it.  But when it came it came in a flood, causing him to gasp.  He had never channeled this much raw power before, and he almost let it slide away before he could manage to direct it into the pattern that he’d been taught on the other side of the world, months ago.The smears of blood he’d left on the stone began to sizzle as the power hit them.  Smoke flared from the marks, swirling together to form a vortex in the middle of the pattern, separate and distinct from the natural flows of the wind that surrounded them.  They gathered together in the center, just for a moment coalescing enough to form a coherent circle through which a figure stepped through.The figure stood there as Kurok slumped back, nearly collapsing upon the stones as he gasped for breath.  The newcomer wore the same guise as at their last meeting, down to the pale drapes of rich cloth that did not stir at all in the wind.  “Well?” he asked.It took an effort, but Kurok managed to lean forward and shift one of the stones that made up the edge of his diagram.  The blood-marks had completely vanished.  As soon as he had moved the rock the outsider stepped out of the remnants of the pattern.  He regarded both Kurok and Drekkath with a weighing look.“I was beginning to despair that you would ever achieve sufficient power to facilitate a transition,” he said.Kurok pulled himself slowly to his feet.  “This is the first opportunity we have had to attempt the ritual with little chance of detection,” he said.“Yes, well, you were given this job because of your ability to make these judgments,” the other said.  He cast an expansive look around the hollow.  “So, this is Weltarin.  And the others?”“Asleep in a canyon a few hundred yards from here,” Drekkath said.  “We will need to return quickly.  If our absence is detected there will be difficulties.”“Indeed.  So, the mission—”“We have uncovered the location of the book,” the doppelganger broke in.  “We are headed there now.”“Excellent,” the outsider said.  “Most excellent.”“We have the opportunity to thin their ranks considerably, tonight,” Drekkath went on.  “It may even be better if we exterminate them all while we have the opportunity.”“Such bloodthirstiness!” the outsider said.  “I thought that your kind lived for this kind of game?”“We do not use our gifts for the sake of using them,” Drekkath replied.  “We use them to an end.”“And that end is why you are here.”“It would be better to wait,” Kurok said.  “Securing the book may not be as easy as walking into the city and taking it.”“It most certainly will not,” the outsider said.  “You would be wise to listen to your thoughtful colleague,” he added to Drekkath.“The longer we wait, the greater the chance that our ruse will be discovered,” the doppelganger said.  “And even if we are not, it will be very hard to take the book from them once they have won it.”“They must not be permitted to gain custody of the book under any circumstances.”“So what are you telling us, then?” Kurok asked.“Yes, some more concrete assistance would be welcome,” Drekkath added.“You both know that I am prohibited from direct intervention,” the outsider said.  “The magic that brought me here can only facilitate my presence upon this plane for a short time.”“Convenient,” Drekkath said.The other fixed the doppelganger with a long stare that seemed to drop the temperature in the hollow by a few degrees.  Finally, he said, “Bredan Karras is the key.  Follow him, and he will show you the way to the book.  The others are but tools to use and discard as needed.”“Finally, some directives that suit my tastes,” Drekkath said.  The creature started to depart, but hesitated when the outsider walked over to Kurok.  The doppelganger paused in the narrow gap that led out of the hollow, clearly curious.“You have used our gifts well, Kurok,” the summoned entity said.  “I offer you a grant of power one last time.  This is all we can do.  Once you enter the valley, you will not be able to contact us or seek our advice again.  The gifts you have received will function, but you cannot open a gateway between our realms.  Do you understand?”After a moment’s delay, Kurok nodded.  He’d barely completed the gesture when the other sprang forward, seizing hold of the hobgoblin’s throat with one hand while the other splayed across his forehead.  Kurok stiffened and let out a shuddering gasp, his hands twitching as he hung there helplessly.  The connection lasted only a few heartbeats before the outsider drew back, leaving the warlock to waver drunkenly for a few moments before he was able to reassert control over his body.The pale figure stepped back into the circle, a wry smile on his features.  “When we next meet, I expect to see the book in your hands,” he said.  Then, without any flash or other special effects he simply vanished.Drekkath and Kurok looked at each other for a long moment.  Finally, the doppelganger said, “We’d better get back.”</blockquote>

Verification