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.As he moved, he saw Andris whirl and seize the woman's crossbow.The jordain forced her aim up at the large, unstable rock formation that had hidden the Crinti ambush.Boulders tumbled down into the clearing, bringing more stones with them.Andris hurtled forward, driving Iago toward a small overhang.The four jordaini flattened themselves into the scant shelter as the thunder and dust of falling rock filled the clearing."She was wrong, you know," Matteo shouted at Andris.The pale jordain sent him an inquiring look."The Crinti chieftain.She said I do not choose my friends well."A quick look of gratitude flashed in Andris's pale eyes."Obviously she never met your horse Cyric."The two jordaini shared a chuckle.When the avalanche ceased but for echoes carrying the grumbling thunder from mountain to mountain, they came cautiously out, swords ready.Most of the Crinti had gone down under the tumbling stone.Some shifted weakly, others lay bloody and still.Only a few Crinti were left standing-odds the jordaini could reasonably face.The chieftain staggered to her feet, her wild, steel-gray hair crusted with blood."Another traitor," she said, eyeing Andris with disdain.She spat at the ground."You are not worth fighting.She is not worth fighting for.We go."The surviving Crinti turned and disappeared through the pass, swiftly melting into the hills."Shouldn't we give chase?" Themo asked.Iago sent him a withering look."Remember the battle cries that sent us scurrying into this hole? This was a small group.Most of them are out there.If they want to leave Halruaa, I say we let them."He turned to Andris."You have proved me wrong.See that you keep doing so.""I’ll do my best," the jordain agreed, "but I should warn you that despite my best intentions, I seem destined to betray those around me.""A strange sentiment," Matteo protested, "from someone whose quick thinking kept us alive.""I thank you for that thought, but remember that heritage plays a strange part in destiny.""Then it's just as well we jordaini seldom know of our ancestry," Iago said curtly."Do you think the Crinti was telling the truth about Kiva? Is she still alive?"Andris sighed."I don't know what to think.The spells cast during the invasion were right out of Akhlaur's spell-book.Few living wizards could cast them.To my thinking, the possibility of Akhlaur's return indicated that Kiva died in the Plane of Water.But Shanair spoke of Kiva as if her survival was a fact we both knew.She had no reason to lie to me."Another tremor shuddered through the clearing."Another rockslide," groaned Themo, eying the distance between the jordaini and their recent shelter."Worse than that," Matteo pointed to the center of the clearing.Cracks splintered the hard-packed ground, revealing glimpses of several strange items that had been dislodged by the tremor-a cat-headed statue carved in jade, a sword hilt forged from crimson metal, a strangely shaped rod."This is a natural site of power, made stronger by those hidden artifacts.Wizards use ritual to focus magic, but this is not the only way of doing so.Sometimes magic can be triggered by other strong energies.""Like an avalanche," Iago said.Themo nudged the discarded crossbow with his foot, then sent a sidelong glance at Andris."Seemed like a good idea at the time, did it?"Andris wasn't listening.He stared at the strange circle of light dawning in the clearing.It erupted in a sudden brilliant flare, then faded.In its place stood a monstrous creature, easily twice Themo's height.Exaggerated elven ears slashed upward, framing a hideous green-scaled face.Living eels writhed about the monster's head, their tiny, fanged jaws snapping.Four massive arms flexed, making the monster look like a mutated wrestler preparing for attack.Each of the four hands sported curved talons as deadly as daggers.Thick, greenish hide armored the monster, and slightly luminous drool dripped from its bared fangs.The monster's black eyes settled upon the stunned jordaini, and it threw back its head and let out a shrieking howl that spanned the spectrum of sound, at the same time a thunderous grumble and a raptor's shriek."Holy mother of Mystra," breathed Themo.Iago drew his weapons."Few men are granted their wishes.You wanted to fight the laraken.""Obviously, I lied."Despite his jest, the big jordain was pale as death.Matteo remembered Themo's recently confessed doubts about his worthiness as a warrior.Yet Themo pulled his sword and shouldered his smaller comrades aside, rushing in to take the first slashing blow of the laraken's claws.The other jordaini followed close behind.Matteo gave a silent prayer for the men who had fallen in the last battle with this foe and those who were about to join them.* * * * *Basel Indoulur stepped from the shimmering magic of his transportation spell into a grim, gray world.The sun climbed sluggishly toward its zenith, looking faint and pale through its shroud of mist.He found himself nearly at the top of the mountain, looking down into a small, rock-strewn clearing.The sight below chilled him.Four men battled a fierce, four-armed creature.The monster seized one of the men in all four hands and lifted him, struggling and kicking, to its waiting fangs.A glint of sun reflected from the man's hair, and auburn lights flashed like a premonition of spilled blood."Matteo," murmured Basel, his voice thick with grief and dread.A smaller man darted forward, his sword angled high and braced like a lance.He threw himself at the monster, and his sword found an opening beneath the creature's upraised arm.Its bellow of pain and rage shook the mountains.Hurling Matteo aside, the creature fell upon this new foe.Its two lower hands seized the man's sword arm at wrist and elbow.With a quick twist it snapped the arm like a reed, bending the forearm into an impossible angle.The other men-a huge man in jordaini garb and one that looked more like a soap bubble than flesh and sinew-slashed at the monster with their respective weapons of steel and crystal.Matteo staggered to his feet, found his fallen sword, and rejoined the battle.All of them fought fiercely, clearly determined to rescue their comrade.But the creature would not be cheated or deterred.Still holding the small man's mangled arm, the monster jerked him up high and used him like a flail to beat back his own would-be rescuers.Again and again the monster lashed out.The three jordaini dodged and rolled aside from each blow, but they were helpless to prevent injury to their captured comrade.In moments, the man was reduced to something that more closely resembled a broken doll than a brave jordain.The monster backed away several paces.Each of its massive hands closed on one of the wounded man's limbs, and the creature threw all four of its arms up high.For the briefest of moments it held the man aloft, well above the reach of his comrades
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