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.The projectiles fired from either side and embedded themselves in the opposite wall only an arm's length ahead of Corin and Fendel.Neither said a word, but they exchanged a quick glance to assure each other they were both unharmed.Fendel thumped the end of his staff on the floor again, but yielded no effect this time.The trap had been loaded only for a single round.One look at the corroding, crumbling wall around the protruding darts and Corin understood why a second wave of missiles would have seemed unnecessary to the trap's architect.The darts had been dipped in acid.The sub-tunnel narrowed, forcing them to walk single file.Corin took the lead—despite the traps, he was still worried about running into a guard, and he wanted to be between the gnome and any potential foes.Passing his lantern to Fendel, he drew his sword with his metal arm.His other hand was wrapped firmly around the wooden staff.Corin pressed the pace, driven by a growing sense of urgency.At the rate they were going, it would be dawn before they ever got close to Xiliath's trophy room.Herapped his staff in quick, staccato bursts against the floor, occasionally giving a few raps to the roof above or the walls on the side.Fendel trailed a step behind, a lantern in each hand to light the way, his own staff stashed safely in the bag.The faint whiff of sulfur brought Corin up short.The warrior heard the clatter of Fendel dropping the lamps, then the gnome yanked Corin backward by his belt, pulling him off balance.As Corin toppled back the staff fell from his hand.His metallic limb kept a firm grasp on his sword, however.The floor erupted in a wall of fire where Corin had been standing a moment before, incinerating the wooden pole and igniting the oil spilling out from the lanterns.Scrambling back from the heat, Corin and Fendel could only watch as the hall ahead of them flared up in a roaring inferno.The flames lasted for less than a minute before sputtering out, casting the tunnel into utter darkness.Corin heard Fendel's chant, and a second later the way before them was lit by the now glowing end of Fendel's pole.In the magical light, Corin could see the melted metal casings of their lanterns."Sorry," Corin said, his voice loud in the cramped passage, "I should have been more careful.""Maybe," Fendel answered slowly, "but I think that was no ordinary trap.Probably a warding glyph."Corin nodded.Any guilt he felt about the near disaster he had caused quickly vanished.Warding glyphs were powerful magic.Fendel surely didn't expect a simple soldier to avoid them.Corin suppressed a shudder as he realized how close he had come to a grisly death."I better take the lead," the gnome advised."If there are any more wards I might be able to spot them."They continued on.With the gnome in the lead thepace was much slower than the one Corin had set.Fendel held the glowing end of his staff out far in front of him, still using it to tap and prod the way ahead while his keen eyes sought out the telltale signs of magical protections.Despite his best efforts they stumbled right into the heart of the third trap.Neither Corin nor his gnome guide noticed the tiny symbols engraved on the rock wall as they passed, but they both heard the whoosh of air as the enchantment was sprung.A cloud of billowing, noxious vapors materialized around them, its appearance so sudden they didn't even have time to hold their breath.Corin dropped to his knees.He could feel the fumes burning his eyes and exposed skin.In the corner of his tear-filled vision he saw that Fendel had collapsed unconscious, succumbing to the poisonous fog almost immediately.The brackish mist crawled down Corin's throat and seared his lungs, but Corin hardly noticed as he struggled to keep from blacking out.He reached out with his left hand and seized Fendel's ankle, gagging and choking on the fumes as he dragged both himself and Fendel down the tunnel, back the way they had come.In the thick haze, he couldn't even seen three feet ahead.He had no idea how far the cloud extended back down the tunnel.Realizing his vision was useless anyway, Corin clenched his eyes against the acrid smoke and continued to pull himself along.He felt his skin blistering from the corrosive cloud.His chest heaved as it tried to expel the contaminated air filling his lungs.Corin fought against the urge, knowing even the poisonous air in his lungs was far safer than the thickening fog that enveloped him now.Two minutes later—limbs shaking, muscles crying out for air—Corin could hold out no longer.The trapped airin his lungs vomited forth in a stinging spew, and his rebellious body took a long, deep breath.Instead of the agony of more poison slithering down his throat, Corin tasted only the cool, damp air of the tunnel.With great gasps he swallowed the dank air, flooding his burning lungs and feeding his starving muscles with stale oxygen.He rolled onto his side, opened his eyes, and glanced back over his shoulder.Fendel's glowing staff still lay on the ground behind them—he could just make out the pinpoint of its light through the brown cloud.Corin had managed to drag himself and Fendel only a short distance beyond the edge of the deadly fog, but the magic that had conjured the mist kept it tightly concentrated, and there were no signs that the vapors would spread any farther.Hopefully it wasn't too late.Like Corin, Fendel's exposed skin was red, raw, and festering with sores.The warrior checked his smaller companion for some sign of breath and was relieved to find a steady rhythm of air coming in and out.He rolled the gnome onto his stomach and began to pound him on the back.After a few quick strikes the gnome wretched, hacking up long strings of black, sticky phlegm before going into a prolonged coughing fit.The warrior waited patiently for the fit to pass, grateful his guide was still alive."Are you all right?" Corin asked once Fendel had regained his composure.His voice was hoarse and rasping, his throat ragged and swollen from the effects of the gas."Ill.Ill be aD right," the gnome answered, rubbing his own throat.Corin rose to his feet and helped the wrinkled little man stand up as well."So, how do we get by this?" The billowing cloud showed no signs of dissipating."I can handle it," Fendel assured him."Just give me a moment to catch my breath."The gnome cleared his throat, wincing at the pain as he did so.He spat out another glob of the dark phlegm, then spoke in the arcane, indecipherable language of spellcasters.As the magic gathered, Corin first felt, then heard, the rushing wind.It grew from a whispering zephyr to a roaring crescendo in mere seconds, the currents so strong they nearly ripped the clothes from Corin's back as they whipped through the tunnel.Corin's ears popped continuously with the changing pressure in the tunnel as the force of the tempest rose, tearing great holes in the cloud, rending the fabric of the mist like the garments of a grieving mourner.The wall of fog disintegrated into mere wisps and puffs before being swept away altogether.As suddenly as it had risen, the storm broke.The gnome stood with his hands braced on his hips, his hair tousled and tangled from the winds, his face breaking into a broad grin as the last vestiges of his spell dissolved away.He caught Corin's eye and gave the warrior a grin."I love that spell," he said before going over and retrieving his glowing staff [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]