The Mage of Shadowdale resumed the shape of the curvaceous maiden in the gown of leaping flames and oave the nearest Purple Dragon a welcoming, pouting wink. "Ah... dragons," he told the ceiling innocently.
“Dragons?"
“Only three-or was it four? And only a small sort of dragon," El replied.
In the shocked silence that followed, the lady in the flaming gown took Sabrast's arm and added sweetly, "I'll just go and tell the chancellor ye accept Sir Sabrast's belated but generous payment, shall I?"
Vangerdahast swallowed, closed his eyes, and croaked, "Wine... I need wine. Lots of it."
As she glided through the curtain, the lady in flames snapped slender fingers. Full wineskins appeared out of nothingness and rained down on the Royal Magician.
It was hardly the fault of the Mage of Shadowdale that the third wineskin burst when Master Raurild tried to catch it-and that the fourth hit the momentarily blinded merchant on the head and also broke, drenching Vangerdaliast and Precept Murauvyn, and spraying everyone else in the alcove with wine.
Ruby, of course.
By all the fires of hell, is there no end to these trivialities? Mace, now does one live year upon year and do such... Such waste?
[furious volley of mind bolts]
[wizard screaming down into torn, broken darkness, and dripping, motionless silence] [diabolic satisfaction]
Chapter Fifteen
HALASTER COMES CALLING
Black talons closed cruelly on shuddering, cringing white flesh.
There you are! Again you toy with me!
Bulging arms plucked and tore at the thing that might have been human, shaking it furiously-so violently that some bleeding appendages fell off.
[whimper]
Hah! Some vaunted archmage you are!
[spell flash, rattle of spell-spun chain] [sizzle of burning flesh, howl of pain]
Hah! That jolted you, didn't it? Yes, i can hurl spells better than most mortals. Behold, your very own collar and chain. Good dog.
[laughter]
What... have ye done to me?
Put you on a leash, to keep other devils from eating you-or worse.
There's worse? [wry amusement]
Oh, yes. Why, if y- but no. We'll not speak of such things. Trying to worm the secrets of hell our of me? Mortal, what the hell are you playing at?
[mental chuckle] Well said.
There was a moment of menacing silence, there on a smoking ridge in Avernus, before Nergal laughed too.
Human, i begin m think i'm going to miss you.
You're leaving? So soon? [mental snort]
Idiot. A jester among wizards, you are. Down, dog, and come hack this way with me, and i'll heal you a little. I don't want a trail of blood to bring us unwanted attention.
Where are we going?
Somewhere else. [bellow of laughter] Stew on that, clever wizard. Think humans are the only ones mighty in magic? Why, i know a spell that can bind a demon for a hundred years in the shape of a sword. We call them "doomblades." There are a dozen or more wandering around your precious toril right now, in various unwitting hands. You steal any swords lately, wizard?
Ah, how recently?
[gusts of laughter] Ah, elminster, you'll slay me yet!
Ahem. A figure of speech, of course.
En? Indeed, indeed. Little human bastard.
Silently, a pointed rock behind the archdevil moved, curling out like a dark finger....
Nergal let healing fire wash briefly over the shuddering human in his hands. He bent his will and watched his magic turn the scrawny man slowly into a creature of Hell: a nupperibo, bloated and dirty and yellow-white. With a tight smile he dropped Eminster to hang, choking and strangling, at the end of the spike-studded chain. Fresh blood flowed as his captive's new bulk was dashed helplessly against the barbs.
Nergal shook the chain, rattling his struggling captive against a rock. El clutched frantically at the chain to avoid having his neck broken. He danced for his life as the arch-devil threw back his head and laughed.
With a sudden, dark surge, the point of rock stabbed forward-and thrust through the laughing pit fiend like a gigantic spear tip.
Nergal screamed.
Impaled and aflame, the pit fiend flailed vainly at the skies, beat his great wings in agony, and staggered frantically forward. He dragged himself gorily off the rock. The spear of stone flashed blue-white, searing the shrieking devil each time.
When the outcast devil staggered free, it was visibly smaller, and trembled violently with each step. A sudden flurry of small explosions-erupting magic left in it by the stone-rocked its guts. Gore and entrails spewed in all directions. Shuddering and bent over, Nergal sagged to the stones of Avernus. He groaned and dwindled into a shuddering thing of tentacles.
The stone that had pierced the archdevil moved again. It arched over to touch the ground, its matter visibly flowing. The tip grew thicker, and straighter, standing tall and then... breaking away and taking a bold step out onto the sharp rocks of Hell.
A white-haired, bald wizard stood above the chained heap that was Elminster. His eyes blazed with blue-white flame as he spun a web of the same glowing hue around the captive mage.
The net touched the chain, crackled angrily along it, and collapsed. Halaster muttered a curse and raised his hands to weave another spell.
He was three murmured words into it when a cloud of stones streamed up from a ridge behind him. It hurtled down and smashed into the wizard, sending him flying with a startled cry. The stones crashed onto the rocks of Avernus and stopped bouncing. Halaster was somewhere beneath them, unseen... and unmoving.
"In Hell, human, you get only one strike" Nergal spat, rising into view from behind the ridge, his eyes flaming red. Four more boulders were clutched in his tentacles.ult's best to make it a good one."
The heap of stones he'd hurled heaved once, twice- and then flew apart, a blue-white flame roaring up out of their heart.