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.The crimson death's hands locked on his forearms and hoisted him into the air.Pain stabbed through him at the points of contact, and a deeper redness flowed from the entity's fingers into its wrists and on down its arms.It was leeching Malark's blood.He poised himself to break free, and the surviving necromancer lunged and jabbed him in the ribs with the tip of his yellowed wand.Malark jerked at another jolt of pain, this one followed by a feeling of weakness.The touch had stolen much of his strength.He clawed and squirmed anyway, but it didn't extricate him from his captor's grip.Merely inconvenienced, not damaged, the corpse he'd kicked to the floor clambered up again.It raised its sword to cleave him while he hung like a felon on a gibbet.Malark would have preferred to finish the fight without using any more magic, but plainly, that approach wasn't going to work.He rattled off three words of power-a spell Szass Tam himself had invented, taught only to a few-and the crimson death dropped him.The corpse warrior faltered and didn't swing its blade.The necromancer gaped when he realized he'd lost control of his servants, and then his eyes opened wider still when he belatedly recognized the man he was fighting."Master?" he stammered."Kill me if you can," Malark answered."You have a chance.I'm still weak from the touch of your wand." He charged.The wizard extended his arcane weapon and started to scream a word of command.Malark knocked the length of bone out of line and silenced his foe by clawing out his throat.Afterward, he dispatched the undead, who remained passive throughout the process.As always, it felt good to destroy the vile, unnatural things.* * * * *Aoth looked around the command tent at the zulkirs and Bareris."Let's get started," he said."We'll be needed elsewhere soon, when the specters start coming."Samas Kul frowned, disgruntled either that Aoth had possessed the audacity to call the assembly to order, or that he had, in effect, suggested that the lordly archmages perform sentry duty."Can't the Burning Braziers keep the spooks away? I was hoping they were good for something.""And I keep hoping the same about you," Lallara said.She turned her flinty gaze on Aoth."We expended much of our power during the battle.We need time and rest to recover.But we understand that we must all do what we can."Nevron glowered at her.A tattooed demon face on his neck appeared to mouth a silent obscenity, but perhaps that was a trick of the lamplight."Do not," he said, "presume to speak for me." He took a breath."But yes, Captain, I'll help, and so will my followers.What's left of them.""I regret the loss of those who died," said Aoth."As well you should," Samas said.A cup appeared in fingers so fat the flab bulged around the edges of the several talismanic rings."We tried the best plan that any of us could think of," Lallara said."Well, I said from the start that it wouldn't work," Samas retorted."True.You did.I freely acknowledge that you've finally been right once in the hundred and fifty years we've known you.Now let's talk about something important.""I think that's a sensible suggestion," Lauzoril said.It was Lallara who looked like a frail if shrewish old granny, but he was the one who'd bundled up to ward off the evening chill."Captain, what's your assessment? After the beating we took today, is the army in any condition to continue the siege?""Well," said Aoth, "the real answer to that is that even if we six were the only ones left alive, we'd still have to continue, given what's at stake.But I know what you mean.Nasty as today was, more men than not made it back alive.I think our legions have at least one more good fight left in them." In fact, even the Brotherhood of the Griffon survived, although, battling at the forefront, its own aerial cavalry and Khouryn's spearmen had suffered a worse mauling than any of the zulkirs' household troops."But how do we continue the fight?" Lauzoril asked, fussily tugging his red velvet cloak tighter around him."We need a new strategy.A better one.""I think," Bareris said, "that when we conferred previously, His Omnipotence Samas Kul was right about at least two things.The only way to get a significant portion of our army into the Dread Ring is for someone who's already inside to open a gate.""So we're back to trying to free some of the enemy from Szass Tam's psychic bonds?" Nevron growled."I thought we all agreed that scheme was unwieldy.""We did," Bareris said."That's why I intend to go inside the Ring and open the gate.""How?" Lallara asked."Invisibly? Masked in the appearance of a zombie? I guarantee you the necromancers are prepared for such tricks.""I'm sure they are.I expect them to spot me almost immediately.However…" In a few terse sentences, Bareris explained his plan.When he finished, Lallara turned to Lauzoril."Will it work?" she asked.The other zulkir fingered his chin."It might.""I think so too," said Aoth, "but it's damn risky." Especially considering that the enemy commander had thus far anticipated his adversaries' every move.For all they knew, he might be expecting this as well."What concerns me," Nevron said, glaring at Bareris, "is your hatred of Tsagoth.I'm told it overwhelmed you today.What if it does so again once you're inside the fortress? What if you succumb to your obsession and forget all about your mission?""It won't," Bareris said."I don't deny we have a history together, and when I saw him, I lost my head.But truly, it's Szass Tam I hate, and Tsagoth is just his instrument.You can trust me to remember that from now on.But suppose I don't.Or suppose the scheme fails for some other reason.What have you lost? One warrior."I'll have lost a friend, Aoth thought, but what he said was, "You can depend on Bareris, Your Omnipotences.When has he ever let you down?"Lallara gave a brusque nod."All right.How soon can the legions be ready?""A day or two," said Aoth.Somewhere to the north, someone shrieked.Inside the tent, everyone's head snapped around in the direction of the noise."Assuming we can get them through the night." He picked up his spear, planted the butt of it on the ground, and heaved himself to his feet.* * * * *Shrouded in invisibility, Bareris stalked toward the huge, black castle.Lallara had expressed doubt that such a defense would get him very far, but he hoped it would keep him from being noticed until he at least reached the top of the wall.He made his approach shortly before the first gray insinuations of dawn could stain the black sky to the east.His timing might help him more than the magic.Undead entities and orcs could see in the dark, but not as far as a man could see by day.And creatures that couldn't abide the touch of the sun or, like the goblin-kin, were simply nocturnal by nature might already be retiring to their vaults and barracks.He reached the foot of the west wall.If anyone had noticed him, there was no indication of it.He undipped the coil of rope from his belt and sang a charm under his breath.The line warmed in his hands, then squirmed.He loosened his grip on it, permitting it to move freely, and one end writhed up and up until it reached the top of the black barrier before him.It looped around a merlon, tied itself off, and then he climbed it.At the top, he peeked over the parapet.There were no guards in his immediate vicinity-no visible ones, anyway-so he swung himself onto the wall-walk and prowled onward, looking for a stairway to the courtyard below.He was expecting to trigger some sort of enchantment, but also was tense enough that he still jumped when it happened
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