thing.
Alexstrasza . . .The black dragon would come for his rival.
“Let them all come!” snarled the orc to himself.“Allof them! All I need is for the dark one to be first. . . .”
He patted the pouch where he kept theDemon Soul.“. . . and then Deathwing will do the rest!”
Consciousness returned to Rhonin, albeit barely at first. Yet, even as weakened as he felt, the wizard
immediately remained still, recalling what had happened to him the last time. He did not want the golem
sending him back to oblivion—especially since Rhonin feared that this time he would not come back.
As his strength returned, the imprisoned spellcaster cautiously opened his eyes.
The fiery golem was nowhere to be seen.
Stunned, Rhonin lifted his head, eyes opening wide.
No sooner had he done this when suddenly the very air before him flared and hundreds of minute balls
of fire exploded into being. The fiery orbs swirled around, quickly combining, forming a vaguely
humanoid shape that sharpened in the space of a breath.
The massive golem re-formed in all its grotesque glory. Expecting the worst, Rhonin lowered his head,
shutting his eyes at the same time. He waited for the magical creature's horrific touch . . . and waited and
waited. At last, when curiosity finally got the better of his fear, the wary mage slowly, carefully, opened
one eye just enough to see.
The golem had vanished again.
So. Rhonin remained under its watchful gaze even if now he could not see it. Nekros clearly played
games with him, although perhaps Kryll had somehow arranged this latest trickery. The wizard's hopes
faded.
Perhaps it would be better this way. After all, had he not thought that his death might better serve those
who had died because of him? Would that not at last satisfy his own feelings of guilt?
Unable to do anything else, Rhonin hung there, paying no attention to the passage of minutes nor the
continual sounds of the orcs finishing their preparations for departure. When he chose to, Nekros would
return and either take the wizard with him or, more likely, question Rhonin one last time before executing
him.
And Rhonin could do nothing.
At some point after he closed his eyes again, weariness took hold and led him into a more gentle
slumber. Rhonin dreamed of many things—dragons, ghouls, dwarves . . . and Vereesa. Dreaming of the
elf soothed some of his troubled thoughts. He had known her only a short time, but more and more he
found her face popping up in his thoughts. In another time and place, perhaps he could have gotten to
know her better.
The elf became the center point of his dreaming, so much so that Rhonin could even hear her voice. She
called his name over and over, at first longingly, then, when he did not reply, with more urgency—
“Rhonin!”Her voice grew distant, just a whisper now, yet somehow it also seemed to have more
substance to it.
“Rhonin!”
This time her call actually stirred him from his dreams, pulled him from his slumber. Rhonin fought at first,
having no desire at all to return to the reality of his cell and his imminent death.
“He doesn't answer. . . .”muttered another voice, not at all as soft and musical as Vereesa's. The wizard
vaguely recognized it, and the knowledge brought him further toward a waking state.
“Perhaps that is how they can keep him secure with only chains and no bars,”the elf replied.“It looks as
if you told the truth. . . .”
“I would not lie to you, kind mistress! I would not lie to you!”
And that last, shrill voice did what the other two could not. Rhonin threw aside the last vestiges of sleep .
. . and just barely kept himself from shouting out.
“Let's get this done, then,”Falstad the dwarf muttered. The footsteps that followed indicated immediately
to the wizard that the dwarf and others headed toward him.
He opened his eyes.
Vereesa and Falstad did indeed enter the chamber, the elf 's arresting visage full of concern. The ranger
had her sword drawn, and around her neck she wore what almost looked like the medallion Deathwing
had given Rhonin, save that this one had a stone of crimson where the other had been as black as the
soul of the sinister leviathan.
Beside her, the dwarf had his hammer sheathed on his back. For a weapon, he carried a long
dagger—the tip of which presently touched the throat of a snarlingKryll.
The sight of the first two, especially Vereesa, filled Rhonin with hope—
Behind the tiny rescue party, the fire golem re-formed in complete silence.
“Look out!” the dismayed wizard shouted, his voice raspy from so many previous screams.
Vereesa and Falstad dropped to opposing sides as the monstrous skeletal figure reached for them.
Tossed by the dwarf, Kryll slid toward the very wall where Rhonin had been chained. The goblin swore
as he bounced hard against the rock.
Falstad rose first, throwing his dagger at the golem— who completely ignored the blade that clattered
against the bony armor—then pulling free his stormhammer. He swung at the inhuman sentinel even as
Vereesa leapt to her feet to join in the attack.
Still weak, Rhonin could not do anything at the moment but watch. The ranger and the dwarf came at
their fiendish adversary from opposing directions, trying to force the golem into a fatal mistake.
Unfortunately, Rhonin doubted that they could even slay the creature by mortal means.
Falstad's first swing pushed the monster back a step, but on the second one, the golem seized hold of
the upper handle. The gryphon-rider became embroiled in a horrible tug-of-war as the golem tried to pull
him toward it.
“Thehands!”the mage gasped. “Watch the hands!”
Burning, fleshless fingers grabbed for Falstad as he came within range. The desperate dwarf let go of his
precious hammer, tumbling out of immediate reach of his foe.
Vereesa darted forward, thrusting. Her elven blade did little against the macabre armor, which easily
deflected it. The golem turned toward her, then threw the stormhammer in her direction.
The ranger nimbly leapt aside, but now she found herself the only one with any sort of defense against
the inhuman guard. Vereesa thrust twice more, nearly losing her blade the second time. The golem,
apparently impervious to edged weapons, attempted with each attack to seize the sword by the blade.
His friends were losing . . . and Rhonin had done nothing to help.
It only grew worse. Having regained his balance, Falstad started for his hammer.
The mouth of the ghoulish warrior opened incredibly wide—
A fearsome spout of black fire nearly engulfed Falstad. Only at the last did he manage to roll away, but
not before his clothing had been singed.
That left Vereesa alone and in the direct path of the golem.
Frustration tore at Rhonin. She would die if he did nothing. Theyallwould die if he did nothing.
He had to free himself. Summoning his strength as best he could, the battered spellcaster called up a
spell. With the golem occupied, Rhonin had the chance to concentrate on his efforts. All he needed was a
moment more. . . .
Success! The shackles holding his limbs burst open, clattering against the rocky wall. Gasping, Rhonin
stretched his arms once, then focused on the golem—
A heavy weight struck him on the upper back. An intense pressure on Rhonin's throat cut off all air.
“Naughty, naughty wizard! Don't you know you're supposed todie?”
Kryll had a hold around Rhonin's throat that stunned the wizard completely. He had known that goblins
were far stronger than they appeared, but Kryll's might bordered on the fantastic.
“That's it, human . . . give in . . . fall to your knees. . . .”
Rhonin almost wanted to do just that. The lack of air had his mind spinning, and that, coupled with the
tortures he had suffered at the hands of the golem, nearly did him in. Yet, if he fell, so, too, would
Vereesa and Falstad . . . .
Concentrating, he reached a hand back to the murderous goblin.
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