Read Online Princess of Amathar by Wesley Allison - Free Book Online

capable of attaining great speed for short distances, was clearly not built for the long haul. We were forced to stop every so often so that he could rest. As soon as we perceived our pursuers approaching, we would be off.
    "Perhaps we should simply stop and fight,” suggested Norar Remontar, as we trotted along. "We are not asleep this time, and I feel quite certain that we could sell our lives dearly."
    "I am not quite sure that I am ready to sell mine at all,” I replied. Just then however, the forest abruptly ended at the base of a tremendously high mountain. It was as if the ground had simply turned perpendicular to itself. There was no way to continue forward, so we cut to the left, and began to trace our way along the edifice. We jogged along at a renewed pace, but soon discovered that our detour had allowed our pursuers to reach us. Just to our left, several dozen of the Pell rushed out of the forest and toward us.
    Norar Remontar and I drew our swords, Malagor pulled out his knife, and the three of us turned to face our foes. I could see from the corner of my right eye, the Amatharian's sword begin to glow with its unearthly light. Foremost in my mind however, was the spider that was directly in front of me, and the two others who were attempting to sneak around to my left.
    Rather than wait to be completely encircled, I made the first move. Jumping up and to the side, I dropped down sword point first on one of the two Pell to the side of me. I quickly rolled over the top of the creature's body pulling the sword blade free as I did, and using the body as a shield from the other two who lunged forward. I swung the sword in a great arc and actually sliced through the bodies of both attackers. My appreciation of myself was short-lived however, for at that moment, I felt thick silky strands being sprayed upon me from behind.
    I am sure that most can understand my feelings when I say that having once been encased in the cocoon of a giant spider-creature; I had lost any desire to be so encased again. I jumped straight up into the air, my intention being to land behind the attacker who was at the moment behind me. The silk threads now attached to my back made this impossible. Instead I flipped over backwards and landed on the back of the spider. He was a large one. I drove my sword down into its body so hard that it stuck into the ground beneath him.
    Jumping to my feet, I prepared to meet any additional onslaught, but the only other Pell near me was already beating a hasty retreat back into the forest. A quick glance at my two companions confirmed that they were relatively unharmed. Malagor, while practically covered with web strands, had managed to keep from being trapped. Several dead enemies lay around him, in some cases connected to him by the strands of webbing running from him to the spinnerets in their lifeless bodies. Norar Remontar stood amid a ring of dead Pell, their bodies still smoking from the effects of his fantastic sword. I resolved to learn as much as I could about the Amatharian swords and the souls within them. It seemed to me that the Pell had gotten more from us than they expected, but Norar Remontar insisted we go some distance from the sight of the battle before we stopped to clean ourselves up. We followed along the edge of the seemingly impassable mountain for quite a while until we found a small pool of water collected from a spring in the rocks. It was twenty feet across, looked to be some eight to ten feet deep, and was crystal clear. We sat beside it and drank from it, washed, and then rested. We slept, taking turns at watch, and this time none of us fell asleep during our turn to stand guard. When I awoke from my turn at sleeping, I found the other two bathing in the water. I was surprised at this, since I knew that Malagor was not much for swimming.
    "We are not bathing or swimming,” said Malagor when I questioned him on the subject. "Norar Remontar has discovered a passageway below the