Temple of the Dragonslayer (21 page)

Jax hacked away at one goblin after another. Although he was loath to admit it to himself, he was beginning to tire. Even foes as weak and pathetic as goblins could take their toll on a warrior if there were enough of them.

The minotaur had caught a glimpse of the others running for the pass, but rather than resenting them for abandoning him, Jax approved. Their goal was to help Nearra reach the Temple of the Holy Orders of the Stars, and it was a goal he had made his own. If he had to sacrifice his life to protect her from these goblins, then so be it. His honor would be satisfied with nothing less.

Jax had managed to fight his way almost to the top of the hill when he saw the huge form of Ugo standing over the narrow gap that formed the pass between the two hills. As surprised as the minotaur was to see the ogre here, he was even more surprised to see the man-beast holding Nearra. The girl dangled from a rope that the ogre held, and a small cloaked figure looked to be addressing Nearra. While Jax couldn’t see the cloaked being’s features, he felt sure that this was the Theiwar of which the others had spoken. It seemed the wizard Maddoc had struck again.

Jax bellowed a war cry and fought with increased ferocity. He needed to reach Nearra before anything happened to her. But although goblins fell before his axe like blades of grass, he made slow progress. As he fought, he could only watch as goblins thrust spears into the earth at both ends of the pass and forced loose a shower of soil and rock, sealing off the pass. His friends were trapped.

Jax looked back toward Nearra just in time to see her lying slack in the dwarf’s arms. The dwarf gestured toward the ogre and the great brute slung the unconscious girl over his shoulder. Then he followed the Theiwar north along the top of the ridge.

“Stop, cowards!” Jax shouted. “Stay and fight!” But if the dark dwarf or the ogre heard him, they didn’t look back.

As if obeying an unspoken order, half the goblin force broke off the attack and began streaming after the Theiwar and the ogre, no doubt to help escort their prisoner to wherever it was they were taking her. A trio of goblins garbed in black tunics appeared over the ridge, one of them covered with bandages around his arm and leg. The largest one shouted out a command to the remaining half of the goblin army and a number of them began hurling spears down at Jax’s trapped companions.

Jax was no longer concerned for his own safety. He ran for the top of the ridge ignoring the goblins who swiped at him with short swords, hand-axes, and flails. He took a dozen different wounds as he ran, but he ignored the pain and kept going.

As he gained the top of the northern hill, he ran along the gap, cutting down spear-wielding goblins as he went. Bellowing in fury, bleeding from numerous wounds, he did not slow as he wielded his axe like some sort of bull-headed demon. So fearsome was the minotaur that the rest of the goblins shrieked in terror, dropped their spears, and begin fleeing after the Theiwar and the ogre. The trio of goblins in black tunics looked around at their retreating brethren, considered for a moment, and then turned and ran after them, the wounded one hobbling as fast as he was able.

Jax wanted to give chase, but exhaustion was catching up with him. Besides, his friends were still trapped in the pass, perhaps wounded themselves. He couldn’t leave them.

The minotaur was about to peer over the edge of the gap to see if he could spot his companions when Elidor’s head appeared. The elf looked around, saw the retreating goblins heading north along the ridge, then grinned up at Jax.

“Looks like you’ve been busy.”

Using broken lengths of goblin spears, the trapped companions were able to fashion climbing pegs that they fit into the holes made by Elidor’s knives. Before long, Davyn, Catriona,
and Sindri stood on the ridge along with Jax, Elidor, and quite a few dead goblins. Luckily, the three that had been trapped in the pass had suffered no major wounds, though Davyn had a cut on the back of his left hand and Sindri’s right leg had been grazed by a spear tip.

Jax told them how Oddvar and Ugo had stolen away with Nearra, accompanied by a force of goblins.

“More of Maddoc’s doing,” Catriona said, glaring at Davyn. The ranger didn’t acknowledge the accusation implied in her glare, though. Instead, he gazed to the west.

Catriona then walked over to Jax. “Let me take a look at your wounds.”

“There is no need,” the minotaur said stiffly.

“Shut up and stand still,” Catriona replied.

Jax scowled, but he did as the warrior said. She looked him over, then pronounced, “You’re lucky your hide’s so tough. These wounds are mostly superficial, but we should clean and dress them as soon as possible. And don’t tell me it’s ‘not necessary.’”

“Bah,” Jax muttered, but he didn’t dispute her further.

“Where do you suppose they’re taking Nearra?” Sindri asked, his voice full of concern.

Davyn looked at the kender and smiled. Though Sindri’s people might not fear for their own safety, it appeared they did fear for the safety of their friends.

“I don’t know,” Davyn said. “But the goblins didn’t bother to conceal their trail. Tracking them will be easy enough.” The only question is, thought Davyn, can we find her in time?

T
he first thing Nearra was aware of in the darkness was a throbbing pain in her head. She tried to open her eyes, but it hurt too much to perform even that small action.

I was … drugged, she remembered. My body must … not be working right yet.

She decided to lie still for a bit and give her body more time to recover.

Seems like I’m always waking up in interesting places. If her head hadn’t hurt so much, she might have laughed at the thought.

Nearra brushed her fingers lightly over the ground beneath her and found it cold, hard, and uneven. She was lying on rock. She inhaled slowly and found the air cool, damp, and stale. She finally managed to open her eyes and saw only darkness. She blinked several times, but the darkness that surrounded her remained unbroken.

Paladine above, I’ve been blinded, she thought. Fear gripped her and she tried to sit up, but the action caused fresh waves of agony to erupt in her skull and she had to lie back down. Her hands began to tingle.

Calm yourself
, a voice whispered through the pain in her mind.
A wave of soothing energy washed over Nearra. She felt her fear subside as she relaxed against the cool stone.

The time is not right. Control your anger. Control your fear. If you do not, you will die
.

“Who are you? What do you want from me?” Nearra screamed silently. But as quickly as it had come, the voice was gone.

The throbbing in her head began to subside a bit, and Nearra decided to risk sitting up again. She moved slowly and gently, and this time she managed to sit up and remain that way. She realized she must be in some sort of cavern.

Was the dark dwarf going to leave her here to rot? Maybe someone would find her. Her friends would surely be looking for her.

Then she remembered the goblins. Her heart sank. Had her friends made it through the pass alive? They had done so much to help her and now—

She pictured Davyn stabbed with dozens of goblin spears. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes.

No! She swiped the tears away with her thumb. Whoever or whatever that voice was, she knew it was right. She was through being a victim. There was no one here to protect her. She would just have to protect herself. Whatever Maddoc wanted from her, she wasn’t going to let him have it. She had to find a way out. Now.

She sat for a time, trying to decide what to do. It was obvious she was shut into some kind of cave. Waiting here for someone to get her was out of the question. She could stand and try to walk, assuming her head had cleared enough to allow it. But in this kind of darkness, she couldn’t walk about safely without a light of some sort to guide her. What if she came to a drop-off.

and fell?

She felt a flash of fear at the thought, but she immediately suppressed it. All right then. If she couldn’t stay here and she couldn’t walk, then she’d just have to crawl. That way, she could move slowly and feel her way as she went. That decided, she
had only to choose a direction. She had no way of telling which direction she could go in this darkness, though, and the idea of choosing a direction at random didn’t appeal to her. She had no idea how much time she had before Maddoc or one of his agents decided to take a more direct—and potentially deadly—approach. But how could she determine which direction to try when she couldn’t use her eyes?

Then it came to her: sight was only one of the senses she possessed. She had four others. Maybe if she made a noise, she could learn something about the shape and size of the cavern from the way the sound echoed. At least it was worth a try.

She opened her mouth and in a normal tone of voice said,

“Hello.”

The word immediately began echoing all around her.

Instead of growing softer and dying out the way echoes usually did, the sound increased in volume and continued to do so as it bounced around the cavern.

HELLO-HELLO-HELLO-HELLO-HELLO-HELLO-HELLO!

Nearra covered her ears and tried to shut the sound out, but it was no use. She could feel the simple word she’d spoken vibrating through the flesh and bone in her hands and penetrating deep in her skull. The sensation soon became painful, far worse than the throbbing in her head. It felt as if two red-hot pokers were being thrust into her ears.

Finally, Nearra couldn’t take it anymore and she screamed.

And as the cavern’s acoustics picked up and magnified her scream a thousandfold, her pain truly began in earnest.

In a nearby tunnel, Oddvar and the three goblins stood listening to the echo of Nearra’s screams.

“How long are we supposed to leave her in there?” Fyren asked, covering his ears. It was clear from his voice that the sound was causing the goblin pain.

Truth to tell, the sound disturbed Oddvar as well, though he’d
never admit it to these three morons. “As long as it takes.” The Theiwar didn’t add that he hoped it wouldn’t take very long.