At some point on the journey to where the orcs intended to keep him prisoner, Rhonin had collapsed
back into unconsciousness. Admittedly, he had been aided in great part by his guards, who had used
every excuse to hit him or twist his arms agonizingly. The pain of his broken finger had seemed little
compared to what they had done to him by the time he blacked out.
Yet now, at last, the wizard woke—and woke to the nightmare of a fiery skull with black eye sockets
smiling malevolently at him.
Sheer reflex made the startled wizard attempt to pull away from the monstrous visage, but doing so only
rewarded Rhonin with more agony and the discovery that his wrists and ankles had been shackled tight.
Try as he might, he could not escape the near presence of the demonic horror looming above him.
The fiend, though, did not move. Gradually, Rhonin fought down his horror and studied the motionless
creature closer. Far taller and broader than the human, it wore what seemed flaming bone for armor.
What he had taken for a sinister smile had actually simply been due to the fact that the demonic sentinel
had no flesh covering its visage. Fire surrounded it, but the mage felt no heat. Still, he suspected that if
those blazing skeletal hands touched him, the results would be very, very painful indeed.
For lack of any better thought, Rhonin tried to speak to the creature. “What—who are you?”
No reply. Other than the flickering flames, the macabre figure remained motionless.
“Can you hear me?”
Nothing again.
Less fearful and more curious now, the wizard leaned forward as best his chains would let him.
Suspicious, he moved one leg back and forth as best he could. Still he received no response, not even a
shifting of the head toward his moving limb.
As horrific as the creature looked, it seemed less of a living thing than a statue. Although demonic in
appearance, it could be no demon. Rhonin had studied golems, but had never seen one before, certainly
not one constantly ablaze. Still, he could think of it as nothing else.
The wizard frowned, wondering at the golem's capabilities. In truth, he had only one way to find out . . .
and, after all, the wizard needed to escape.
Trying to ignore his pain, Rhonin started to move his remaining fingers ever so slightly for a spell that
would, he prayed, rid himself of the monstrous guard—
With astonishing swiftness, the fiery golem reached forward, seizing Rhonin's already maimed appendage
in a grip that completely enveloped it.
A searing fire engulfed the human, but a fire within, one that burned at his verysoul.Rhonin screamed,
then screamed again. He screamed long and hard until he could scream no more.
Barely conscious, his head slumped over, he prayed for the inner fire to either end or consume him
utterly.
The golem removed its hand from his.
The flames within dwindled away. Gasping, Rhonin managed to lift his head enough to look at the
horrific sentinel. The golem's grotesque mockery of a face stared right back, completely indifferent to the
tortures through which it had put its victim.
“Damn—damn you . . .”
Beyond the golem, a familiar chuckle made the hairs on the back of the mage's head stand on end.
“Naughty, naughty!” piped the high voice. “Play with fire, you get burned! Play with fire, you get
burned!”
Rhonin tipped his head to the side—cautiously at first, then more when he saw that his monstrous
companion did not react. Near the entrance stood the wiry goblin Nekros had called Kryll, the same
goblin that Rhonin knew also worked for Deathwing.
In fact, Kryll even now carried the medallion with the black crystal. The wizard marveled at the goblin's
arrogance. Surely Nekros would wonder why his minion still held on to Rhonin's talisman.
Kryll noticed the direction of his gaze. “Master Nekros never saw you with it, human—and we goblins
are always picking up trinkets!”
There had to be more to it, though. “He's also too busy to notice, isn't he?”
“Clever, human, clever! And if you told him, he wouldn't listen! Poor, poor Master Nekros has much on
his mind! Moving dragons and eggs is quite a chore, you know!”
The golem did not react at all to Kryll's presence, which did not surprise Rhonin. Unless the goblin
attempted to free the prisoner, it would leave Kryll alone.
“So you serve Deathwing . . .”
A frown momentarily escaped the creature. “His bidding I've done . . . yes. For very, very long . . .”
“Why've you come here? I've served your master's purpose, haven't I? I played his fool well, didn't I?”
This, for some reason, cheered Kryll up again. His toothy smile wider than ever, he replied, “No greater
fool could there have been, for you played one for more than the dark lord. Played you one for me, too,
human!”
Rhonin could scarce believe him. “How did I do that? In what way did I serveyou,goblin?”
“In much the same, much the same, as you did the dark lord—who thinks a goblin so low as to serve
any master without reason of his own!” A hint of what had to be bitterness escaped Kryll. “But I've
served enough, I have!”
Rhonin frowned. Could the mad little creature mean what the wizard thought he meant? “You plan to
betray even the dragon? How?”
The grotesque goblin fairly hopped in glee. “Poor, poor Master Nekros is in such a state! Dragons to
move, eggs to move, and stinking orcs to march around! Little time to think if that's what others actually
want him to do! Might've thought more, but now that the Alliance surely invades from the west, can't be
bothered! Has to act! Has to be an orc, you know!”
“You're not making any sense. . . .”
“Fool!” More laughter from the goblin. “You brought me this!” He held up the medallion, then gave
Rhonin a false frown. “Broken in fall—so Lord Deathwing thinks!”
As the prisoner watched, Kryll began peeling away at the stone in the center. After a few moments of
effort, the gem popped out into the wiry goblin's hand. He held it up for Rhonin to see. “And with it—no
more Deathwing. . . .”
Rhonin could scarcely believe him. “No moreDeathwing?You hope to use that stone to bring him
down?”
“Or make him serve Kryll! Yes, perhaps he shall serve me.” An exhalation of pure hatred escaped Kryll.
“. . . and no more toadying for the reptile! No more being his lackey! I planned long and hard for this, I
did, waiting and waiting and watching for when he'll be most vulnerable, yes!”
Fascinated despite himself, the captured spellcaster blurted, “But how?”
Kryll backed toward the entrance. “Nekros will provide the way, not that he knows . . . and this?” He
tossed the stone into the air, then caught it again. “It is apartof the dark lord, human! A scale turned to
stone by his own magic! It must be so for the medallion to work! You know what it means to hold a part
of a dragon?”
Rhonin's thoughts raced. What had he once heard? “‘To bear some bit of the greatest of the leviathans is
to have a hold on their power.’ But that's never been done! You need tremendous magic yourself to
make it work! Where—”
The golem reacted to his sudden agitation. The ghoulish jaws opened and the skeletal hand started to
reach for Rhonin. The wizard immediately froze, not even breathing.
The fiery form paused, but did not withdraw. Rhonin continued to hold his breath, praying that the
monstrosity would back away.
Kryll chuckled at his predicament. “But you're busy now, human! So sorry to overstay! Wanted to tell
someoneof my glory—someone who'll be dead soon enough, eh?” The goblin hopped away. “Must go!
Nekros will need my guidance again, yes, he will!”
Rhonin could hold his breath no longer. He exhaled, hoping that his hesitation had been enough.
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