Must obey.
His foes were slipping away from him. They were the foul things that took his treasure away. They'd made him suffer, and Yauktul would make them pay.
He barked a command to his gnolls and followed after them as they moved down the road.
Yes, the staff told him, it is time for revenge.
Krusk grabbed Malthooz under his arm and lifted him from the ground. Malthooz groaned as he was raised to his feet, and his head rolled from side to side as he struggled to look around.
"We've got to go," Krusk said to the others as he turned out of the tiny alcove and moved into the street.
The slash in the barbarian's leg was beginning to throb and burn as the fury of the battle ebbed. The cut in his abdomen hurt, too, but he suspected it was very shallow. The weight of Malthooz brought fresh awareness of both injuries to Krusk even as his fear for the half-orc he carried drove him to move faster. Krusk's breath was short and he felt weary in his bones, but he pushed himself to move, fought through the fatigue as he would battle a physical enemy. Anger at the guild master still burned in the pit of his stomach. Krusk pushed it aside, feeling another, even stronger calling. He had to save Malthooz. The half-orc didn't stand a chance if he didn't get help soon. Krusk also knew that all of them had to get out of Newcoast as quickly as possible. When dawn broke, all hell would break loose, and they would be sitting ducks for the city guard. They had no safe refuge in the city, especially since the guild had turned against them. They had to get out of the city.
"We can head for the forest," Vadania said as she trotted alongside the barbarian. "I might be able to save him, if he makes it to the forest."
Krusk nodded, but he wasn't really listening to the druid. He heard the snow crunch under his boots as he concentrated on every step, counting off each one as another step toward freedom and away from the guild.
As he rounded the corner of the jailhouse, Krusk heard Lidda curse.
"Gnolls," the rogue hissed as she came around the side of the building. "A bunch of them."
Krusk turned at the sound of her voice. She stepped back and paused, as though she was considering whether to say more. Krusk glared at her; he had no more patience for anything. He turned again and resumed his march. There was no time to spare for a fight with the creatures.
Let them come, Krusk thought. I'll deal with them if and when they catch me.
When Lidda spoke again, her words hit Krusk like a fist to the stomach: "Flint's with them."
The tiny thread of restraint snapped in the barbarian's head. Overpowering anger welled up. His limbs, aching from the exertion of the fight, suddenly felt warmer and lighter, renewed by an inner reserve of strength.
"She bolted down an alley," Lidda continued. The rogue pressed her back against the cool marble and peered around the edge. "The dogs are coming this way, but they look confused." An uncharacteristic growl escaped her lips. "The one from the camp is with them."
Malthooz groaned and tried to raise his head.
"Get, her," he said weakly. "None of us is safe while she lives." The half-orc smiled unevenly. "Get her for me."
Vadania went to Krusk's side, but the barbarian brushed her away. He looked at the druid but didn't really recognize her. Next to the wall, Krusk set Malthooz down in the clean snow. When he stood, his axe was in his hands.
The others waited, unsure what would happen next. Krusk backed away from them, shaking his head. The assassin's blood that covered him was shiny and black. His eyes were mere slits, but they glowed with anger. Without a word, the barbarian turned on his heel and jogged back the way they had come.
"I'm going with him," Lidda announced. "Not even Krusk can chop his way into the guild hall. He's going to need help."
Mialee said, "Nothing but death will stop him now. Go with him, and watch out for him."
"I'll do what I can," the rogue replied, "but I'm not making any promises."
Vadania stepped forward and said, "Meet us outside the city. Mialee and I will get Malthooz to safety. Look for us to the east of the main road."
Mialee poked her head around the corner in time to see gnolls, scattered by Krusk's unexpected charge, milling in the street. They waited for commands that were not coming. Yauktul stood in their midst fondling Wotherwill's staff. Krusk and Lidda had smashed through the gnolls without pausing, on their way to the guild hall.
"We should move," she said, stepping back around the building and dropping down next to Vadania. "We can't do anything for them, but we might still save Malthooz."
The druid nodded in silent agreement.
Each of them took one of the half-orc's arms, and they raised him from the ground. Mialee staggered under the load, trying to keep weight off her own injured knee. Struggling and stumbling, they started moving slowly toward the edge of the city.
"The roads will be guarded," Vadania said. "They might not be looking for us specifically, but we're not the most inconspicuous or innocent-looking group right now."
"The docks," Malthooz wheezed. "I know a way."
Vadania looked at Mialee and the wizard shrugged.
"Trust me," Malthooz said. "We can use a boat. Lidda and I saw it earlier."
The wizard smiled. It was a good idea. She looked at the druid.
"Krusk and Lidda are expecting us inland, to the east, along the main road."
"Don't worry about Krusk," Mialee replied. "He'll wait for us. He'll wait a week, or a month if he has to. He said he'd be there, and he will."
Vadania nodded, then to Malthooz she said, "Point the way."
The light of the sun was already brightening the edges of the horizon. Even that faint light, reflecting off the snow, brought crisp detail to their surroundings. Shadows sharpened and peaks of roofs were outlined in icy sparkles. The wizard wasn't sure what the gnolls were up to, but she expected that, between the staff's magic and Krusk's assault, they were no longer much of a threat to anyone but themselves.
A door opened along the side of the street, causing Mialee's heart to skip. She started to pull Malthooz to the side, hoping to get out of sight, but the face that peered at them in the dim light pulled back as quickly as it emerged. The startled stranger obviously recognized their battered forms as the approach of trouble and thought better of getting mixed up with them.
We must look awful, Mialee thought.
She tried to imagine what must be going through that person's head. At first it made her smile, but the smile faded with the thought that she was stuck in the middle of the situation.
"We won't be so lucky when the whole city comes alive," Vadania said.
She pulled ahead, pushing them to move faster.
"That will be any minute by the look of it," Mialee replied.
As they rounded the next block, Mialee saw the top of a mast showing above the roof of a squat warehouse. The docks were just beyond the next lane. The ship's sail was bunched under a spar, its folds catching the full light of the sun as it broke the horizon.
Any minute now, the wizard told herself, and the city will be awake.
They passed the next row of buildings and moved along the ranks of ships that lined the harbor front. There, at least, two oddly-dressed people helping a stumbling friend wouldn't attract much attention.
"It's not far," Malthooz said, "beyond the next pier."
Mialee could feel the half-orc's strength giving way. His weight on her shoulder was increasing and his steps growing more unsteady. Whenever he faltered, his bulk threatened to drag her to the ground.
Just a bit more, Mialee told herself, praying that he could hang on and stay conscious until they reached their destination.