The supply of water running down the stairs diminished, though now air began to bubble at the hole leading down to the next floor. The ground shocks must have opened other leaks. Soon more palace soldiers would be able to enter the treasure rooms.
A figure leaped down the stairs, sending a wave of water up as she skidded into the pool. It was Fulla, and she grinned like a madwoman. Her sword swept aside a merman's trident strike, and her return cut laid a tentacle open. Laquatus could see the slash turning dark as infection deepened the wound in seconds. The soldier thrashed in the water and stopped as the toxins reached his heart. A soldier managed to summon a school of poisonous jellyfish, forcing the dementia caster to jump out of the water to high shelves. She crawled along the flame work as magic strikes darkened the wood around her. The guards closed as she neared the emperor.
Aboshan was gasping, his body slowly transforming back and forth between free-swimmer and land-walker. His eyes pleaded for help, but he lay draped over a pile of rubble, unable to move.
Laquatus slowly moved to greater cover, the guards too busy dealing with the Cabal fighter to waste time on him.
Fulla splashed behind some fallen shelving, her sword ready, but it was her mind that attacked, calling up magic to slay her enemies. Gigantic black cranes stepped into existence. The birds' heads ducked to avoid the ceiling as they stalked from the dementia caster's mind. Their scummy plumage drifted to the water as they surrounded their mistress and waded out to the soldiers. Their long bills speared down to lift cephalids from the water avoiding the tridents with ease. The tentacles tried to pull the fighters free of the bills. Blood poured from their transfixed torsos as they struggled to escape. One bird was somewhat small and could not lift its target free of the water. Instead, the fowl stabbed multiple times, churning the water into a bloody froth.
Blood gushed from the wounds, and those able to escape the birds' vicious stabbing after only a single blow did not last long. Their eyes and noses began to leak blood as the cranes' magic destroyed their ability to heal or prevent the rupture of delicate membranes. Blinded warriors spread panic as the birds played with their victims, pricking limbs and watching the warriors quickly bleed out from minor wounds.
A merman panicked and attempted to flee. His tail beating wildly, he rushed the stairs and leaped like a salmon toward the next room. He smacked into loops of rotting vine. The plant filled the hole, choking off the last of the water flowing down to the steps. The warrior tried to pull free but could not move as more vegetation covered him. A crane Flapped its wings and jumped to the top of the stairs. There it plunged its beak into the warrior's heart.
"Fulla, I am over here!" Laquatus cried, cursing his bad luck. A crane was headed his way, and he was within seconds of being punctured. The Cabal commander dismissed her birds back from whence they came.
"Why, ambassador, did you have anything to do with this party?" Fulla asked sweetly, turning him over with the point of her sword. "I and my people were left out in the cold while you had all the fun for yourself," she gently chided him.
"I do not see Turg, my favorite playmate," she said looking at the destruction of all her work. Artifacts once more were immersed, and some of the tags identifying pieces were already dissolving the water. "I had to kill my way through the guards to find the person who called for this outing." She walked to the emperor, stepping around the dead and other remnants of the fight.
Aboshan could only blink, being too exhausted to move as the orb drained the last of his magic and his life.
"As it appears that you no longer need my services I will take my leave of you," she said in an arch tone. "While the going-away party was amusing, it was unexpectedly early. I think it only fair that I receive severance pay." She reached down and carefully swept the orb from the emperor's hand.
CHAPTER 25
Kamahl wondered if he should move down the coast. He had become a successful fighter though still not accepted by the arena staff. He was popular with the crowd, but his string of victories had become predictable. The lim-ited pool of opponents was drained of any challenge after the second week. Seeing the same faces day in and out was one of the reasons he left the mountains.
But he would stay a little longer. One possible lead might yet yield fruit. Girter, one of the young men he was friendly with, knew of secret shipments between the empire and the fighting pits. A servant of the Cabal had come to Borben to discuss the gladiatorial companies that toured the continent.
The chandler's son told Kamahl that the official had ties to the empire. He definitely dealt with the shipment of precious cargo to and from the mer. The barbarian left word at the traveler's inn that he wished to talk with the go-between. A substantial portion of his winnings over the past weeks was included to convince the man to come.
He stepped outside the hillside tavern to look down to the town. Instead of staying near the arena, the official had taken dockside accommodations. The need to conduct business down by the water belied the official explanation for the man's journey. Perhaps he might learn something to direct his quest.
The fishing fleet straggled back in, the docks beginning to bustle. Wagons hauled the catch away as a few freight wagons waited on the pier. The lighter ferrying cargo and special items to the ships was out in the bay. There were ships waiting at the anchorage that had been there for quite some time. Perhaps the goods were particularly important to the empire. He needed to get on board. Perhaps one of the fishermen's brothers could take him out.
Kamahl felt reality pause, and a great noise filled the world. He dropped as a pulsing headache ripped through his head. Rage and bile seemed to wash him away, and he drew a knife to defend himself from attack. A spell of enormous power and damage was being worked, the disturbance seeming to fill the sky. Birds and farm animals yowled as the barbarian lost himself in the discordant chorus.
How long he leaned against the building he did not know. A pitcher of beer in his face broke his fascination with the magical noise. He thanked the barmaid clearing the obstruction from the inn door. Kamahl shook himself and walked farther away from the building. He had never felt a spell of such strength. His prize must be close by, but there was no sign of anything strange. The town looked perfectly calm as the fisherman and wagon drivers went about their business. Then something dragged the barbarian's eyes back to the sea.
The boats along the pier lowered as water flowed out of the inlet. The bay continued to drop, and soon boats were hung up. The catch of fish fell to the exposed mud below.
Interested, people went toward the bay to see the unusual event. Here and there a few figures started running as hard as they could for the hills. More and more people fled, and he wondered why. A flicker of movement brought his eyes to the horizon. Something was coming toward all points of the coast. The line grew to a wave striking the beaches far in the distance. He realized the size of the disaster as he saw tall trees stripped away. He looked directly to the sea, the hilly peninsula shielding him from the closest view. A roar smothered screams as a wall of water carried over the hills and fell down the slope toward the town. Now everyone in sight ran for higher ground.