F O U R (44 page)

e, however, had no qualms  about loosing  a quarrel or conjuring a  blast  of

magic.Still other drow wheeled above the scene on foulwings, wyverns, and other

winged mounts. Ryld saw danger on every side.

provide cover against the scrutiny of the flyers.He hauled Pharaun up against a sort  of gable in the hope that it would "It'                 of drow are hunting. There's no clear

path out of the district."s bad," the swordsman said. "A lot The wizard didn't reply

.

"Pharaun!"

"Yes," sighed his friend, "I'm  still conscious. Barely."

"We'll hide here until the hunt ends. I'll cover us with a patch of darkness ".

Pharaun gasped and thrashed. R"That might w—"      yld held on to  him for fear that he'd roll off  the roof.

When the seizure ended, the Mizzrym's  face seemed gaunt and drawn in away it hadn't been before. More blood seeped from his wounded st

omach.

"This isn't going to work," said Ryld, "not by itself. Unless you have some

more healing, you're going to die."

Richard Lee Byers

11 7

War Of The Spider Queen

Book 1

Dissolution

"That  would  be

...  a  prof

"We have plenty of dark elves in thound tragedy . . . but . . ."e Braeryn tonight. One of them surel

brought some restorative magic along. I'Here'

s  that darkness."

ll just have to take it from him, or hery.

Ryld touched the roof and conjured a  shadow that covered the Master of

Sorcere and not much else. With luck,  the ef

one would notice the obscuration itself.   fect was localized enough that no

The weapons master rose and raced awaythe rooftops, bounding from  one to th  . Whenever possible, he ran along

houses were far enough apart that he had to jume next. Often enough, however, the p  down to the ground and skulk his way through the slaughter

.

It was at such a time that he saw another hunting party.  Unfortunately, the

group was too large to tackle. He had to  hide from  it instead. Crouched low,  he watched a m

a

of the houses. Boomge on lizard-back lob a  yellow spark through the window of one ing, yellow flame exploded through the room  beyond.  A

moment after it died, the screaming began. Ryld winced. As a child of six, he'd

survived precisely such a massacre, and, severely blistered, lain trapped for

hours beneath a weight of charred,  stinking bodies,  the luckier ones     the live ones whimpering and twitching in their helpless agony       dead,

.

But it wasn't  him  burned nor buried  tonight, and he spat the unpleasant

memory away

then broke from. He glanced about, checking cover and floated upward. to see if anyone was looking at him,

He dashed on along a steeply sloping roof engraved with web patterns anddefaced,  he noticed,  with  another sl

ave  race emblem.  He sensed something above

and behind him,  and pivoted. His boots slipped, and he levitated for an instant

while he found his footing amid the carvings.se galloping through the air as e

asil

as the comHe looked up and spied a huge black hor                ymon equines of the World Above could run across a field. Fire

crackled around its hooves and pulsed from  its  nostrils. The dark elf male on its back held a scimitar

,  but wasn't  making any extraordinary effort to lift it intoposition for a cut. Apparently he was counting on his d

emonic steed to make

the kill, and why not? What goblinoid could withstand a nightmare?R

yld froze as if he were such a hapless undercreature paralyzed with fear. Meanwhile, he timed the speed of the  nightm

are's

possible m                      approach. At the last oment, hoping to take the phantom  horse and its master by surprise,he whipped Splitter out of its scabbard and cut.

And missed. Somehow the demon arrested its charge, and the blade fell short.

Its fiery hooves churning eighteen inches  above the rooftop, the nightmare snorted. Thick, hot, sulfurous smoke  streamed from  its nostrils, env

eloping

Ryld, stinging and half blinding him.  He heard more than saw the black

creature lunging, striking with its reptilian fangs, and he retreated a step. The

move saved him,  but when he counterattacked, the nightmare too had taken itself

out of range.

at himThrough the stinking vapor again, this time rearing to ba, he glimtter himpsed the infernal horse circling. It sprang with its front hooves. He crouched

and lifted Splitter.  The point took the steed in the chest, and for a momethought he'd                           nt, he

lifting itself of disposed of it, but, its legsf the blade before it could penetrate t working frantically, it flew upward, oo deeply.The next few seconds were difficult. R

yld could barely make out his foeswhile the nightm                            ,

are could apparently see through its own smoke perfectly well.

Richard Lee Byers

11 8

War Of The Spider Queen

Book 1

Dissolution

He stood and turned precariously on the crest of the roof, in constant  danger  oflosing his balance, whereas the flying horse could  ma

J                       neuver wherever it pleased. ust  to  make  life  even  more  interestingsword.  Fortunately,  like  most  denizens  of

,  the  rider  started the  Underdark,  he swinging  his  curved had  little  notion of how  to  fight  on  horseback,  but  his  clumsy  strokes  still  posed  a  danger.

Ryld wanted to end the confrontation quickly, before someone discovered

Pharaun's hiding place. Unfortunately, in  light of all his disadvantages, the weapons master thought the only way of doitime the demon reared, he let one of the blazing hooves slamng that was to take a risk. The next him  in the chest.

His dwarven breastplate rang but held. The blow hurt cruelly but didn't breakany ribs or otherwise incapacitate him.east pitch of the roof, and started to tu   He fell backward, banged down on the mble. Kicking and scrabbling, negating his weight,  he  managed to catch  himself and twis

The nightm              t around into a low fighting stance.are was rushing in to finish  him  off. He swung Splitter,  and thistime the demon was too committed to the  attack to halt its forward momentum.

The greatsword slashed through its neck, nearly severing the head with itsluminous scarlet eyes. The steed toppled sideways and rolled, leaving a trail of embers. The rider tried to jump  free, but he was too slow. The nightmare  crushedhim  on its way to the ground.

Ryld tore open the dead male's  purse,  then floated down to the demon horse and checked the saddlebags. There were  no potions or any other means of mending a wound.

Why,  he wondered, should  he expect to find such a thing among the noble's effects? The noble had come to the Brhadn't believed the goblins couldn't hurt him aeryn for some lighthearted sport. He or that he was inso why bring a remedy for grievous harm to          any other danger,enough to possess one?           the festivities, even  if he was lucky

There were only five hunters who'd come there with a deadly serious purpose,prepared to cross swords wwere far more likely to carry healiith formidable foes: Greyanna  and her retainers. They ng magic than any other drow whom R ld might opt to waylay                          y

.

Pharaun, he'Alas, they were likely to prove more troubld  just have to cope. Pharaun was a useful allye as well, but if he wanted to save , and Ryld was unwilling to let that carefullyignoring the hunters who obliviously crosse nurtured relationship expire easily. He skulked on, familiar figure on a rooftop just ahead of him. d his path, until he finally spied a

Still masked, one of Greyanna's  tweminence. An arrow nocked, he peered down into the street belowin warriors was stalking along that

.

Ryld threw himself down bepeered around it, looking for the rehind a stubby little false minaret on his roof. He st of the would-be murderers.He didn't see them. Maybe the band had  split up, the better  to look for their quarry. They'd  have to, wouldn't they, to oversee the entire district.channel. He and Pharaun had been reluctHe ducked back, cocked his hand crossbow and laid a poisoned dart in the wizard dying, R            ant to kill their pursuers, but with the yld was no longer overly concerned with a petty retainer's life.space where the archer had stood was emptyHe leaned back around, his finger already tightening on the  trigger— and the .  Ryld cast about, and after a moment of the building.spotted the male atop a round, flat-roofed little tower adhering to the main body That posed two problems. One was that  the warrior was farther away and ten

Richard Lee Byers

11 9

War Of The Spider Queen

Book 1

Dissolution

feet higher up, at or beyond the limit of  the little crossbow's  range. The other was that the male happened to be  looking in R

yld's  direction.when he spotted his quarry               His eyes flew open wide

.

Ryld shot, and his dart fell short of the tower.  A split second later,  the twin

pulled back his bowstring and loosed his arrow in one  fluid motion. The  shaftlooked like a gradually swelling dot, which

target.                 meant it was speeding straig

ht  at its

Ryld dodged back. The arrow whizzed past, and the archer shouted, "Here ! I've

got him  here!"The weapons m

aster scowled, feeling the pressure of passing time even more

acutely than before. He didn't want to be there when the rest of the enemarrived, and the only hope of avoiding it was to dispose of his prese     y

nt

quickly. The longbow sim                    opponent ply had his hand crossbow outclassed. He needed toget in close.