"Naull," he said again, this time a little louder. "Naull, it's me, Regdar."
Naull looked up from the floor. Her mouth moved, and she was whispering something Regdar could not hear. In her hands she held a partially unraveled scroll. The arcane markings on the rolled vellum flared and disappeared, and Naull's hps stopped moving, curling up into a smile.
The light pouring into the room wavered then disappeared. The gray, overcast sky slipped away, replaced by speckled black stone. Torches flickered along the walls, illuminating the outlines of a dozen or more black-clad soldiers. All of them held longswords at the ready, and they surrounded the four fighters.
Lindroos stepped out next to Naull, accompanied by four bald, burly men with purple vests and scimitars tucked into orange sashes at their waists. They were all quite large and resembled the efreeti Regdar and company had bested on the lower level.
"Hello, Regdar," said Lindroos with a smile. "It's time you met my companions. This is Shirzad-" she pointed to one of the burley men and continued around-"Parviz, Hebola, and Tam."
The four burly men each bowed.
"They are jann from the court of Vizier Haleh," explained the blackguard. Then she turned to Naull. The fallen paladin ran her finger along the slight wizard's cheek, caressing her skin. "You already know my close friend Naull."
Regdar dropped his bow to the floor and pulled his greatsword from its sheath. His heart pounded in his chest, and the skin on the back of his neck tingled where the hairs stood on end.
He squeezed the hilt of his sword. "What is it you want from me, Lindroos?"
"I want what I've always wanted of you and those of your kind," she said, pacing closer to the big fighter. "I want all of you to die."
The room broke out in fighting. Black-clad soldiers charged in at the group of four intruders in a rush of metal and blades.
Whitman's hammer pounded out a staccato rhythm against two soldiers' banded-mail armor. Attack then parry. Attack then parry. The dwarf whirled and struck, defending himself with long, sweeping arcs of his hammer, then smashing down on his opponent with a tremendous blow.
Clemf batted away blades as fast as they came at him. He jabbed back at one soldier, catching him in the throat and sending him back a step. Though he managed to wound his opponent, the lunge cost him. Another soldier slashed at Clemf's exposed ribs, opening a small wound across his stomach and down toward his groin. The tattooed human growled at his attacker and spun on him. His breathing became deep and his chest rose and fell as if he were an angry bull. With a powerful wail, Clemf stepped forward and beheaded two soldiers with one swing of his longsword.
Tasca fired arrows into the approaching crowd of swordsmen at a furious pace. His fingers flew over the bow string, releasing two arrows at a time and reloading in the blink of an eye. Nearly every arrow he fired found its mark, but his attacks didn't stop the soldiers from advancing. Eventually he had to drop his bow and draw his rapier. With swashbuckling flare, the roguish elf battled his adversaries, trading blows even when he was surrounded and flanked.
Regdar stepped forward and grabbed Naull by the arm.
"Naull!" he shouted. "Naull, don't you remember me?"
The slight wizard pulled away from his grip and glared up at him with narrowed eyes.
"I remember you," she said, hatred dripping from her words. "You left me to die." She spat in his face then bent down to pick up a quarterstaff lying on the ground near her feet.
"That's not tru-"
His words were cut off by a hard crack to his ribs. Gasping to regain his lost breath, the big fighter took a step back as Naull bent into a crouch, twirling her quarterstaff for another strike.
"Naull," he pleaded. "What are you doing? You must remember I didn't want to leave you." He held his arms out to his sides, trying to look less menacing.
"That's not how I remember it," she said, hurling the head of her staff at Regdar.
The fighter dodged back, narrowly avoiding the blow.
"But… but, you asked me to leave," he said.
His words were again cut short by another whizzing attack.
This time Regdar had to use his greatsword to block. The enchanted blade bit into the dense wood of the staff, and Naull struggled to free her weapon. That left her ribs exposed to a counter strike. Regdar took note but stayed his blade.
Emitting a frustrated, scratchy cry, the slight wizard gave her staff a great tug, pulling it free. She took a step back, straightened her robes, and caught her breath.
"Why would I ask you to leave?" she shouted from two long paces away. "Surely a big, strong fighter like you could have protected a frail little wizard like me."
Regdar wrinkled his forehead, confused. "It was you who saved me that day." The memory of being pulled by Alhandra and Krusk from the City of Fire as it shifted into the Elemental Plane of Fire ran through his head. "When I had to leave you there, injured and trapped with that bitch Lindroos-" he lowered his gaze, and his lip curled up at the edge-"something inside me died." He took a step forward.
"How very sweet." Naull charged forward, her quarterstaff lowered like a lance.
She got a good jump and caught Regdar off guard. The heavy staff plunged into Regdar's stomach where the efreeti's falchion had split his breastplate. He twisted to one side, defending his midsection with a snap reaction borne of long campaigns in the bowels of dank, decrepit dungeons. The big fighter's greatsword swept around in a blinding arc, spanking away the quarterstaff. His gauntleted hand came around as well, connecting with the petite wizard's chin and knocking her to the ground with a single blow.
Naull landed on her back with a surprised grunt. A trickle of blood ran from her spht lower hp, and she held her eyes shut, grimacing from pain.
Regdar stepped back. He looked down on Naull, feeling pangs of guilt. He started to kneel next to her. More than anything he wanted to cradle her in his arms, to tell her how sorry he was-to tell her about the gaping hole in his chest that had been punched there when he left her in the City of Fire.
But he hesitated.
Turning around, he took in the terrible battle unfolding around his companions. Whitman, Tasca, and Clemf stood back to back to back, surrounded by half a dozen cultist soldiers and four jann. Lindroos stood to one side, watching and smiling at the obvious advantage she enjoyed.
Whitman struck down another soldier with a hammer blow that might have felled a hill giant. Regdar turned away, hoping his men could hold there own for a moment longer, while he decided what to do with Naull.
13
Jozan stepped through the hallowed arches of St. Clembert's cathedral. He paused to admire the beautiful architecture. The carved stone pillars on each side depicted scenes of terrible carnage-demons flooding across a huge plain and crashing into a line of mighty paladins. At the head of the holy warriors stood a protector from the heavens. Though he was only a man, he stood a full head taller than all the rest. His sword rose high above the swarming masses, and his armor gleamed with a holy light. His eyes looked out at the advancing hordes, concentrating but unafraid. He held his chest out as he strode forward into a pack of fanged demons, each intent on devouring the man whole.
"I see you're familiar with this cathedral's namesake," said a woman's voice.
Jozan turned around to see a tall, hard-looking woman in gleaming plate armor. He smiled.
"Alhandra," he said. "Blessings be with you."
"And also with you," she replied, smiling back. "Do you know the story of how the paladin Clembert became a saint?" she asked, nodding toward the sculpted pillar.
Jozan scratched his chin. "No, actually, I'm not sure I do."