Devastation

A Chapter by Eddie Davis

The battle with the demon-possessed Dragon in the Underdark continues

23.

Devastation

“Blocked!” Eleazar told his wife and daughter as they stopped in the middle of the long passageway, “There is still some dust hanging in the air, too. I’ll wager that was the loud booming sound we heard when we first entered the passage.”

“My God!” Amala bent over, gasping not only from an extended run in the terrible air, but also at the thought of Carn being dead. She found herself on the very verge of tears, and the strong emotion she felt for him actually terrified her. What was happening to her?

Aurei squatted beside her daughter, “He’s not dead, child!”

“How could you possibly know that?!” She snapped, tears escaping her eyes.

“I just know.” Her mother replied with a slight smile, and the girl felt the chill go down her back at the look, for her mother - somehow- always did know these things. Amala sniffled and nodded, standing up again.

“Alright. I’m sorry… so we turn around and go back, I guess.”

“Yes.” Her father responded, but he was looking at her closely, “I did not know you were so close to the Bugbear.”

“I’m not!” She answered hotly, “He’s just a kind, brave, though somewhat stupid, yet gentle brute that is going to get himself killed. I feel sorry for him, okay? Is it wrong to worry about someone just because he’s a Bugbear?”

“Alright, child, alright!” Her father said, “You are right to be concerned. We’ll find him if we can. I think Yesh is using him for his purpose, and if that is so, he’ll be under his protection to some degree.”

“I hope so.” Amala said with a sigh as the three of them turned and began jogging the way they had come.

***

Alleania flew for her very life. Never in all the times that she had assumed the form of a bat had the vampire ever flown as quickly as she did now. The Dragon was delayed by the walls of Hor’olorbb, but she had no doubt of the demon’s ability to use the beast that he possessed to quickly crash through them.

Her mind spun, franticly trying to think of a passage to take. There were no narrow passages leading outside of the city, except for private passages owned by the various noble families and accessed only through tunnels from each house’s basement or dungeon level.

She wasn’t going to try to go back to the Ar’Rilla estate and put her family in danger when the Dragon followed her. Alleania knew that the Gem would draw him like a magnet, to it.

What could she do? Behind her she could hear the roar of the monster as he charged down upon the gates of the city, and the horrible screams of the Goblinoid army that was unable to get out of his way as he approached.

There would be no place to hide from him. She had to get the Gem far enough away so that those in the city could again use magic. If she could outrun the Dragon, perhaps they would have magic strong enough to stop him. Yet she knew that the demon would not let the Dragon that he possessed lag that far behind her.

She had to think of an escape route, far away from the city, but not along the path of the central highway.

Then it came to her. The road to the underground chamber where they accessed the bark of the Great Faesidhe Tree! It grew out of solid Adamantium and at one time Ar’Rilla had controlled the harvesting of the bark that flaked off of the huge tree into the chamber. For years they had cornered the Dart’loxinchu market and though another family now controlled it, she knew the way to the chamber.

It was not narrow enough to prevent the Dragon from following her, but it was a winding, weaving route that should slow him down and allow her to get far enough ahead. She decided to try it, to at least give Hor’olorbb a chance against the Goblinoids.

The only concern she had was that there was only one route to the cavern. Once there she would have to use the tree to evade the Dragon and then - if all went well- escape back up the passage that she had come down.

It would give Hor’olorbb a few hours free of the Gem’s anti-magic effect.

Behind her, she heard the roar of flame and the pitiful screams of Goblinoids and Drow and she knew that the Dragon had melted the city walls that hampered his pursuit of her.

She pumped her wings and clutched the Gem tightly in her claws and hurried on.

***

Carn had never witnessed such terrible destruction as he ran toward the Drow city in the wake of the Dragon. Mazzikim’ruhin had simply incinerated everything that stood in his way. The Goblinoid army that had not yet entered the city had been turned to ash or squashed flat as the huge reptile barreled forward.

The thick metal walls of Hor’olorbb on the side facing the southern part of the great highway now ran molten hot in the huge puddles where the heat of the Dragon’s fire had turned them to liquid.

All around him were terrible cries of agony from the dying. Burnt bodies and some covered in molten metal were everywhere. Much of the houses along the street nearest the city’s southern gate were either burning - if they were of a flammable material- or melted.

Thankfully, the Ar’Rilla compound had been saved by the presence of a huge Drow gatehouse that had stood in between the estate and the fury of the Dragon’s fire. The gatehouse was in ruins, but it had absorbed the force of the flames and so House Ar’Rilla and those neighboring it, still stood.

The Dragon’s path went through the city like a tornado on the southern plains. Mazzikim’ruhin’s path veered off to the west and he had melted another section of the city wall along the northwest corner. Carn knew that this was likely due to Alleania changing course. He hoped she had found a narrow passage to escape down, though the lack of any sound from the Dragon ahead made him suspect that she had fled down a path large enough for Mazzikim’ruhin to follow.

Carn longed to stop to check on those at the Ar’Rilla compound, but though his side and leg ached from where the Dragon’s sharp teeth had cut him, he knew that he had to pursue the demon. He had no idea how he was going to stop him if he did catch him, but he had to try. So he ran onward.

***

Among the rubble of the collapsed ledge, Drake the Archmage laid helpless and in terrible pain. Devin’s memories and knowledge were still there, but in his agony, the Watcher’s own thoughts had grown stronger. He could vaguely recall being sent here, into the body of a dying, brain-dead Drow Wizard. Not everything was clear to him, but Drake knew without a doubt why he hadn’t died.

Alleania had bitten him before the life had drained from Devin’s broken body. Already the vampirism was slowly, painfully mending the Drow body. But it would be many hours before Devin’s form would be strong enough to walk. So Drake had to wait.

Unless…

The healing spell returned to his mind then, and with a coarse, barely audible voice he chanted it. But would it work? Was Alleania far enough away with the Gem of the Oscinate for magic to again flow?

He waited.

Nothing happened.

Closing his eyes, Drake rode for what seemed like days on a sea of pain.

Another spell of healing came to his mind and again he tried to cast it, hoping enough time had passed and that the vampire lady had now taken the Gem out of range.

Again he waited, but this time, after what seemed like too long for the spell to activate, there came a blue glow around him and he felt Devin’s body mending.

He lay there feeling the pain dwindling away and planned his course of action. If he wasn’t too late.

As soon as the healing spell ended, the mage thought of assuming the form of a bat and was delighted to find that he possessed that ability.

Taking flight, he flew in the direction of the path of destruction of the dragon, trying to ignore the smell of blood that seemed to permeate the air in the Drow city. It smelled so good to him and he found himself longing to taste it. Needing to taste it!

But he had a much stronger desire to destroy the evil that had caused this destruction, so he ignored his new vampiric urges and flew on.

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