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Back to Empire on the HPe3000
... and ...
Ingigerd's hand was big, it wrapped around Harald's neck and head,
her little finger dug into his throat but her thumb was high across the
top of the rangers skull. She squeezed, Harald pulled at her fingers
and blinded by her grasp, chopped without aim at her wrist with the edge
of his sword. A pressure built behind his eyes, he could feel his sword
jar against her bones but her grip did not slacken, if anything it
increased. Her desperation was great, she felt her life flow from her
wounded side and arm, her last wish was to take this human with her to the
grave.
* * *
The lightning arced through the hall once more, the giants writhed
and their beards and hair burned, their skin charred and finally they
fell to the floor, twisted, blackened and contorted with pain. Dead they
shook, muscles drawing in, they curled into a ball as sleeping children
would beneath the covers of a bed.
"Die...will you just die." Talberth said and put his wand back
up his sleeve.
* * *
Ivo heard the yells of pain and angry shouts behind him. The young
wizard seemed to have things well in hand down the hall, he gave the
giants facing Talberth's lighting no second thought, but turned about and
faced what trouble had caught them unaware.
He saw an ancient giantess fall back against the wall, a younger
maid moved like it was she who was old, slow and with great care. The
elven mage shouted something that Ivo could not hear and a dull green ray
shot out from his upraised palm and struck the slow moving maid, she
seemed to sag and Ivo could see a look of dismay come to her eyes.
As he watched, the old giantess, lying in a heap against the wall,
suddenly came to life and snatched the ranger by the head, he gave a
muffled shout, but the crone had silenced him with her wrinkled massive
hand.
Both elven mage and gnomish wizard cast their magic toward the
ancient crone. Telenstil sent out a half dozen small bolts of blue glowing
light, such as Talberth had used against the stag. They struck the
giantess in a ring of burning blue, across her chest and face, but Ivo's
spell blotted her from sight. The gnome had formed a globe of utter dark
whose outer edge swallowed the giantess, leaving just her out-stretched
arm in view. Her murderous grip was loosed and Harald fell back, his face
beat red and streaked with bruises bound to take on a darker hue.
"You lying hag!" Harald yelled and swung his sword to cut
Ingigerd's hand from her ancient arm. She snatched it back as quick as she
had lashed it out, and Harald's blade cut nothing but the empty air.
* * *
"Shut that door, I can spell it closed!" Talberth yelled. Edouard
had picked himself up from where the giants blow had landed him, he ran to
close the northern doors, the blackened giant bodies slowed him not at
all.
"These cursed giants are in the way!" Edouard yelled back.
"Alright." Talberth came up and stood before the open doors.
Outside, the yard was wet with a light rain sweeping down, somewhere a
giant howled out, mad with fear, but great shapes moved beyond the edge of
a huge log fire. "They'll be coming soon enough." he said aloud, "Let
them cross through this." the wizard took a square of silver foil from
his belt and pulled it apart, a yellow lump lay within. "Fo-Tia-Tikos"
he called out and threw the sulfur toward the door. It exploded into
a thick sheet of flame that filled the open way from frame to frame.
* * *
(To Be Continued)