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vanished from my sight.
"Where did it go?" yelled Sungar.
The point where it attacked me was now some distance behind us. We both
looked backward just in time to see the naga leap out of the fray onto one of the
Uthgardt following us. It caught him by surprise, sinking its fangs into the side of
his head. It flexed its long, thin body backward, pulling him from horse and
sending him flying backward onto the orcs' waiting blades. I fired a magic missile
and struck the naga in its side. With lightning speed, it retracted once again into
the safety of the ranks of orcs.
The lines of orcs around Sungar and me were far too close together for us to
turn around and confront the naga at this speed. We looked forward again and
found we were nearing the ruin where the two umber hulks stood waiting for us.
Sungar jumped from his horse just in time for it to run straight into the huge,
outstretched arms of an umber hulk. It grasped at the horse's head, crushing it
instantly, but the momentum hurled the unsteady creature backward and off its
feet while badly damaging its claws.
The other hulk tried to pull me off my horse, but I dodged, rode a small circle
around the ruin, and came back at it, letting a flame arrow fly directly at its ugly
face.
My spell met its mark, but the creature was unfazed and reached out for me
again. I leaped off my horse and landed hard on my back, swearing. My staff
went flying off somewhere, and the hulk's huge mandibles were closing in on me.
Sungar's battle-axe impacted the hulk's scaly hide, eliciting a tremendous
moan of pain from the beast. The creature turned to face its attacker.
I shouted, "Avoid its eyes," as Sungar struck again. The orcs were keeping
their distance. Normally they would have swarmed us, but the naga's spells and
the presence of the umber hulks kept them at bay.
No sooner had I pulled myself to my feet than I felt the umber hulk's arms
close around my middle. The monster was badly injured in its collision with the
horse, but its hug was crushing enough even in its wounded state. Without my
hands free, I couldn't cast my spells and I felt my breath start to fail, my ribs
ready to crack.
I heard a loud impact just above my head and the hulk's grasp loosened. I
wormed my way free and quickly whirled about, ready to fire another magic
missile at the monster's foul heart, but I didn't have to. It fell on its own, and the
ground shook as its huge mass landed. An Uthgardt throwing axe was
embedded in the back of its skull, likely thrown by someone from the other, larger
force, at last making some headway in its push for the ruin.
I turned in time to see Sungar's axe finish off the other hulk, slicing it through
its thick belly. Almost immediately, the orcs surrounding us stopped being
spectators and charged. Sungar and I retreated up into the ruin, a more
defensible location since the broken pillars and ancient walls provided protection
from some sides. 1 slipped into a corner to preserve the few spells I had left,
while Sungar held the entrance with his axe.
"Why does the naga not show itself?" asked Sungar. "It's a coward."
"It wants to survive," I said, "but it also wants to win. It will not disappoint its
phaerimm masters. It can read our minds and knows our-"
The wall behind me collapsed. I barely kept my balance enough to stay
standing. I turned around and saw the naga coiled ahead of me, hissing at me
with its fanged mouth. The orcs backed away once again.
"Something's wrong," I mumbled to myself as I prepared another magic
missile.
I launched the spell-bolt at the monster's face, but it never impacted. Instead
it bounced off the air surrounding the naga and flew back at me, striking me in
the chest. I went flying backward, agony radiating through my torso to all parts of
my body. I screamed and fell hard onto the stone of the ruin. Sungar rushed over
to my aid, while the naga licked its lips in amusement.
"What has it done?" the chieftain asked me.
"It's wrapped itself in some kind of magical field," I answered, teeth gritting in
time with my throbbing pain. "It turns magic back on its wielder."
"That's no match for Uthgardt steel!" Sungar shouted and ran forward,
swinging his mighty battle-axe and letting out a loud war cry. The naga tried to
dodge, but the battle-axe caught it in the neck. The field around it flickered, and I
saw the axe energized with a red burst of energy shooting down to its wielder.
Sungar and the naga both writhed in pain, and both seemed on the verge of
collapse. The naga desperately swung around its tail, but Sungar, the agony
obvious in his every move, sliced through its flank with his axe, sending the
stinger flying off into the crowd of orcs. Sungar collapsed from the pain, letting
the axe fly away. The naga came about and prepared to rip his throat out with its
fangs. I watched helplessly.
A rain of Uthgardt spears, hammers, and throwing axes flew at the naga's
thin, serpentine length, a few of them striking their mark exactly. The creature
writhed in pain and let out a sharp scream that could have shattered glass. The
Uthgardt at last penetrated the row of orcs behind us, and I felt arms strain to lift
me from the ground onto the back of a horse. It was Thluna.
"You saved a mage," I said weakly.
"The second time I've done that," he answered.
I saw one of the other barbarians pull Sungar from the ground and bury a
warhammer into the naga's ugly face, killing the monster at last. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]