The Hill Giant Chief - Nosnra's Saga Part LXII
Harald and the two scouts heaved at the gate but could not lift
it.
"Is it locked in place?" asked Ivo.
"No." the thief answered. "It's just heavy as a horse."
"It's not going to budge." said Harold. The ranger stood up and
stretched, they could hear the bones in his back give small pops. "Uggh!
That's better, worked the kinks out at least.
"I see no other way than to use a spell, it is one of the most
powerful that I know." said Telenstil. "Please stand back."
The others all moved away from the metal bars. Telenstil drew out
a small dark stone from his belt and pointed it toward the gate. "Tee-Ja"
he said and a pale green light shot out. It played against the bars and
in an instant they were gone. Nothing remained but a purplish dust on the
floor. A section higher than their heads and wider than a man lying on
the ground had disappeared, destroyed by the mages spell.
"Now let us see to those manticores." said Telenstil.
"I've seen enough of them already." Harold said emphaticly and
rubbed his wounded arm.
The room beyond was vast and dimly lit. Harold told them all he'd
seen, the piles of chests and coffers against the western wall, the
sign of traps his shamans magic powder had revealed and the second metal
gate closed along the southern wall. The manticores had sent their spikes
from behind the bars and wounded him near to death. "I'll go help
Talberth with the map." he told them and slipped back across the hall into
the hidden room.
"We may need him yet again." said Telenstil. "I will need to rest
before I can cast that spell once more. If we are to enter into that
southern room we will need to find a way to remove those bars."
"Shall I go and get him back?" asked Gytha.
"Not yet, we will deal with these manticores first...hmm," the elf
became lost in thought. "No...I can hold them frozen with a spell, I
think, but only for a short time. There is no way that I know of short
of slaying them outright. What of you? And Henri, is there any way to
immobilize these beasts without harm."
"Manticores, they are an abomination in the True Gods sight, they
can only be cast out and removed from their existence on the Oerth." Henri
intoned.
"That would be a no, I'd say." said Gytha. "And I can do nothing
that would keep them from harming us except to harm them worse."
"Henri is right." said Harald. "These are evil beasts, if I found
one sleeping in the woods I would kill it quick before it could do anyone
more harm."
Telenstil gave a sigh. "I have no love for such creatures myself,
but I never kill unless I have to, I have seen too much death in my life
already. But I have the means, I will try to make this quick. Stay here
but prepare yourself, just in case my magic fails."
Telenstil removed a small turtle shell from his belt, he had the
leather ringed with pockets, each held some component for his spells.
"Em-En-Et" he said and the shell became a mist which surrounded
him then disappeared. He walked out to the center of the room and called
to the manticores behind the southern bars.
They howled and screeched and shot their spikes, flung from tails
and barked out curses when they saw that they could not strike the mage.
Telenstil approached, he saw that four of the man-faced creatures were
within the room. They lined the bars, their lion-bodies flashed out
razor claws and tried to reach beyond their prison door.
The mage backed away and when he had moved far enough he drew out
a small crystal rod, "Sa-La-Ma" he said. The rod became a streak of blue,
the air burned as it passed. The bolt was a wide blue-white living thing,
it struck the manticores and froze them to the metal bars. They crackled
beneath the electric pulse and sagged as it flashed past. Their hair
ignited into flame but before they could voice even a single howl the bolt
came back. It struck the cold stone wall behind them and doubled round and
lit them up again.
Telenstil blinked and walked to the southern gate. Four burnt
bodies lay against the bars. He turned and looked away. "Go get our
thief, tell him all is safe."
* * *
(To Be Continued)
