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The chi back at those it had left behind on the ledge or at the furious dwarf scra about on its back, never saw thekick cracked the leonine jaw and nearly sent the five hundred pound ile Danica was up beside Ivan before the chiin toreact
She drew out a silver-hilted dagger froon head with her free hand and went to vicious work on the central leonine head Even more furious was Ivan Bouldershoulder, hands clasped about the goat horns, wrestling the thing back and forth
The chie so that Shayleigh ed another two shots before the snowstorm sed the beast and her friends
The chiain a moment later, and the elf prepared to fire But Ivan suddenly popped up and regarded her incredulously, one of Shayleigh’s arrows splintered and hanging from his deer-antlered helmet
"Hey!" the dwarf bellowed, and she lowered the bow Ivan’s distraction cost hirasp ainst his face and forehead Ivan spit out a tooth, grabbed the horns in both hands and butted back, and it seeh that the dwarf’s attack had been by far the ain, behind the blinding sheets of snow All was suddenly silent, save the howl of the wind Vander stirred and propped himself up on his elbows; Cadderly’s enchanted wall of fire ca co of mutton he had opportunistically pulled froical fla the meat behind his back when he noticed Cadderly’s ah asked, liaze back to the eh the snow and shook his head When he looked back to Shayleigh, though, all thoughts of hisfriends were replaced by the immediate needs of the wounded elfthe side of her head and opening a wicked gash, another deep into one thigh, a third driven into her wrist so that she could not close her hand, and a fourth sticking from her ribs Cadderly could hardly believe that the elf was still standing, let alone firing her bow
He listened for the song of Deneir iin the , just grimaced stoically as Cadderly slowly drew out the spikes All the while, the elf aze out to the inds in search of herfriends
Minutes slipped past Cadderly had the worst of the wounds closed, and Shayleigh signaled that to be enough for the ti his attention back to the search for Danica and Ivan
"If the an ominously
"Danica will not fall," Cadderly assured her "Not with the enchantment I have put upon her Nor will she allow Ivan to fall"
There was honest conviction in the priest’s tone, but he sighed with some relief anyhen the chi on a course that would take it directly above the ledge Shayleigh lifted her bow, but her injured wrist would no longer allow her to pull the string back fast enough Cadderly got a shot with his crossbow, but the chimera banked and the explosive quarrel flew harmlessly wide
The monster roared in protest as it passed without any attacks, and the friends on the ledge could see that both its dragon and goat heads flopped lifelessly in the wind Ivan, clutching the leonine mane, hoith enjoy one way or the other
"Jump free!" Danica cried to the dwarf as thewoe, skipped down across the empty air (to Pikel’s amazed cry of "Oo oi!" and Vander’s incredulous stare) to join Cadderly and Shayleigh
"Juh and Cadderly joining in
The yellow-bearded dwarf didn’t seem to hear thee in case the beast headed out into the eainst Ivan’s stubborn pull and start back out, but this tih were presented with perfect shots Shayleigh’s arrow dove deep into the chiot the beast on the wing, its explosive force shattering bone and sending the beast into a repeated barrel roll
Ivan tugged and yanked frantically, looking for so back toward the towering mountain
"Jump!" the companions pleaded with the dwarf
"Snowbank!" Ivan yelled in high hopes, twisting theabove the smooth slope of the e "Snowbank!"
Not quite - the inch of snow covering the jutting boulder did not, by any definition, constitute a snowbank
"Boo Pikel as the chi back, skidding and slipping until he cae
The crushed chih’s next arrow sank into the leonine head, ending its agony
Ivan turned to regard Cadderly and the others, his pupils rolling about their sockets independently of each other Somehow, Ivan still wore his deer-antlered helh’s splintered arrow had not been dislodged
"Who knowed?" Ivan asked innocently, giving a la his shoulders as he fell facedown on the path
Test of Willpower
Cadderly and Shayleigh broke immediately for the stunned dwarf, but Danica rushed back to the ledge, grabbed Cadderly and spun hiainst his as she kissed him hard She backed off suddenly, her features twisted with admiration and appreciation - and ecstacy
Her breath caasps; her eyes darted wildly, froe to her enchanted feet and to the ain!" she blurted, fuh she couldn’t help but say them,
Cadderly seemed perplexed, until he realized that his love had just walked on air What an incredible experience thatIvan’s situation, he looked to Pikel, as happilyon his roasted mutton once more (apparently, Ivan was not too badly injured), and looked to the rock where Ivan and the chimera had abruptly ended their wild ride All of this apparent insanity in the midst of a desperate plan, the success of which could well deterion
And Danica’s sparkling brown eyes, so full of ad to the forefront of it all, inevitably taking up the lead in this crusade He had grabbed at this responsibility - fully when he had bent Dean Thobicus’s ht of that responsibility became clearer to him, he orried Always before, Cadderly had depended on his powerful friends He pointed the way, and they, through stealth and sword, facilitated the plans Now, though, judging from the look in Danica’s eyes, Cadderly’s burden had increased His roup’s primary weapon
Cadderly would not shy away froht on with all his heart and all his strength But he wondered if he could live up to his friends’ expectations, if he could continue to keep Danica’s eyes sparkling
It was all too an as an e on the stone ledge, laughing at the very edge of hysteria
The sight of Vander, up again and h Vander’s brutal wounds had already soiant’s face showed his pain, and showed that Vander did not see anything humorous about their situation
I told you that ere too high up," the firbolg said in a low, firan to explain to the giant that, while the strange, aniion, both the chied beast, the ical in nature and not denizens of the cold and desolate high peaks Cadderly never finished the explanation, though, suddenly realizing the iical creatures?
What a fool I’ve been! Cadderly thought, and to Vander and his friends he offered only a sudden, confused expression The young priest closed his eyes and ical eye of the scrying wizard - for souided the two monsters! Almost immediately, he felt the connection, felt the directed line ofwizard and pro line to disperse it Then Cadderly threw up ical defenses, put a veil around himself and his friends that would not be easily penetrated by distant probing eyes
"What is it?" Danica deray eyes
Cadderly shook his head, then looked to Vander "Find a sheltered area where we ht set a ca Danica was still staring at hi priest only offered another shake of his head, feeling positively foolish for not warding the wizards ain Cadderly wondered if he would disappoint those who had come to trust in him
The chimera and the ht into existence and nurtured to ics of the powerful wizard When they fell in the h a part of his own energy had been stripped from him He left his private quarters so abruptly that he didn’t even bother to close his spellbook, or to put up wards against intruders The old wizard bounded down the hall to Dorigen’s roo
"Find theen opened the door, pushing his way in
"What do you know?" she asked
"Find therabbed Dorigen by the hand, pulling her to the seat before her crystal ball
Dorigen tore her hand free of Aballister’s grasp and eyed hirowled at her for the third tilare
Dorigen recognized the urgency in Aballister’s wizened face, knew that he would not have come in here and treated her with such disrespect if he was not terribly afraid She uncovered the crystal ball and stared into the ite the connection to Cadderly Severalgray e
The ball went perfectly black