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Authors: James M. Ward, Anne K. Brown
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on with more interesting matters, shall we?” Marcus smiled down and reached out.
The erinyes smiled back at him and stretched out delicate ivory hands capable of ripping him limb from limb. It forced control upon itself so as not to attack this idiot, not yet anyway. It allowed itself to be led across the room. The tower shook again, this time more violently.
“That’s enough!” the wizard shouted. He hated interruptions. “There is only so much I can put up with.” The wizard marched toward the upper floors of the tower, leaving an uninterested erinyes behind. Marcus’s body began to glow red with the many protective spells he cast on himself. It simply wouldn’t serve his purposes to seem less than awesome in front of his pit fiend.
The erinyes watched the scrawny wizard leave and was pleased. It could barely sense the greater fiend above in the spellcasting chamber. It knew something powerful must have attacked the pit fiend, even if Marcus was too dim to realize it. It didn’t want to be nearby when Tanetal and Marcus had their discussion.
The erinyes amused itself by magically destroying the wizard’s bed, the vials of oil and glowing candles it had summoned for the pleasure of the stupid man. It could always create more. It half wished this wizard were a little more inventive; he might actually be fun if he weren’t such a bore. Humans were so dull in all of their activities and always did things the same way. Sighing, the erinyes fluttered back to its alcove to doze and wait for another summoning.
Marcus sputtered as he levitated up the secret stairs leading to a hidden door in the spellcasting chamber. The power the fiend had given him made him almost twice as powerful as before. He inventoried the spells of protection surrounding his body and was pleased to see that all were functioning with full effect. Six different spells created a red aura about him. His skin reflected a lovely shade of crimson. His flesh was as hard as stone.
The wizard’s mood improved slightly. “Yes,” the wizard sighed, “everything is going perfectly. Maybe I should ask Tanetal to enhance my physical power. I think the erinyes might be even more impressed with my physique.”
Marcus unlocked the secret door, his spells bathing the chamber in red light. The fiend was on its knees, surrounded by a ring of huge, charred black diamonds. The spellcasting chamber was in ruins.
“Look what you’ve done to this place! There are holes in two walls, there’s a pit in the floor, and what in the world is that white goop on the wall over there?” Marcus seethed at the gigantic beast.
The fiend slowly lifted its head to glare at the human. This wizard had summoned the fiend to his plane and held it by its true name. The greater fiend was bound by magic to do what the Red Wizard commanded. But what was left unsaid by the sorcerer allowed the fiend to do a great deal else on its own.
“I have spoken directly with Bane. Such communication is not without its risks. The god is not pleased with us. Latenat!”
“Not pleased?” Marcus said, backing up and licking his lips nervously. “Well, uh, we must do something at once. What shall we do? How can we make Bane the Glorious smile on us?”
“I think,” the fiend said as it rose, “we must send the people of Phlan into the pool of darkness. Then we will be all right. How are the war plans? Remember, I am to be the guardian of this tower and you are to command the forces attacking Phlan. This was your idea, because you thought you could easily handle the defenders of Phlan. Latenat!” The fiend sounded as if it questioned Marcus’s abilities.
“Of course I remember,” the wizard snapped, staring at the white blaze marks on his chamber wall. “I have given the orders for the second attack and I go now to lead it. There shall be no problems, no problems at all.”
“For both our sakes, I hope you are right. Latenat!”
5
Wizardly Eye
Dusk. It was coming early, as it
The erinyes smiled back at him and stretched out delicate ivory hands capable of ripping him limb from limb. It forced control upon itself so as not to attack this idiot, not yet anyway. It allowed itself to be led across the room. The tower shook again, this time more violently.
“That’s enough!” the wizard shouted. He hated interruptions. “There is only so much I can put up with.” The wizard marched toward the upper floors of the tower, leaving an uninterested erinyes behind. Marcus’s body began to glow red with the many protective spells he cast on himself. It simply wouldn’t serve his purposes to seem less than awesome in front of his pit fiend.
The erinyes watched the scrawny wizard leave and was pleased. It could barely sense the greater fiend above in the spellcasting chamber. It knew something powerful must have attacked the pit fiend, even if Marcus was too dim to realize it. It didn’t want to be nearby when Tanetal and Marcus had their discussion.
The erinyes amused itself by magically destroying the wizard’s bed, the vials of oil and glowing candles it had summoned for the pleasure of the stupid man. It could always create more. It half wished this wizard were a little more inventive; he might actually be fun if he weren’t such a bore. Humans were so dull in all of their activities and always did things the same way. Sighing, the erinyes fluttered back to its alcove to doze and wait for another summoning.
Marcus sputtered as he levitated up the secret stairs leading to a hidden door in the spellcasting chamber. The power the fiend had given him made him almost twice as powerful as before. He inventoried the spells of protection surrounding his body and was pleased to see that all were functioning with full effect. Six different spells created a red aura about him. His skin reflected a lovely shade of crimson. His flesh was as hard as stone.
The wizard’s mood improved slightly. “Yes,” the wizard sighed, “everything is going perfectly. Maybe I should ask Tanetal to enhance my physical power. I think the erinyes might be even more impressed with my physique.”
Marcus unlocked the secret door, his spells bathing the chamber in red light. The fiend was on its knees, surrounded by a ring of huge, charred black diamonds. The spellcasting chamber was in ruins.
“Look what you’ve done to this place! There are holes in two walls, there’s a pit in the floor, and what in the world is that white goop on the wall over there?” Marcus seethed at the gigantic beast.
The fiend slowly lifted its head to glare at the human. This wizard had summoned the fiend to his plane and held it by its true name. The greater fiend was bound by magic to do what the Red Wizard commanded. But what was left unsaid by the sorcerer allowed the fiend to do a great deal else on its own.
“I have spoken directly with Bane. Such communication is not without its risks. The god is not pleased with us. Latenat!”
“Not pleased?” Marcus said, backing up and licking his lips nervously. “Well, uh, we must do something at once. What shall we do? How can we make Bane the Glorious smile on us?”
“I think,” the fiend said as it rose, “we must send the people of Phlan into the pool of darkness. Then we will be all right. How are the war plans? Remember, I am to be the guardian of this tower and you are to command the forces attacking Phlan. This was your idea, because you thought you could easily handle the defenders of Phlan. Latenat!” The fiend sounded as if it questioned Marcus’s abilities.
“Of course I remember,” the wizard snapped, staring at the white blaze marks on his chamber wall. “I have given the orders for the second attack and I go now to lead it. There shall be no problems, no problems at all.”
“For both our sakes, I hope you are right. Latenat!”
5
Wizardly Eye
Dusk. It was coming early, as it
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