Troy Denning Dark Sun Prism Pentad 04 Obs

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noble did pot see any sign of Kester or
Tithian.
A knot of remorse formed in the noble's stomach. If the tarek had died, he
would miss her. Even the thought of returning to Tyr without his prisoner
sickened him. Assuming he managed to find the king's body, it would be a poor
substitute for the public trial he had promised to Neeva and the dwarves.
Determined to accomplish at least that much, Agis shuffled forward as fast as
he dared. He moved his feet cautiously along the floor, feeling his way around
sinkholes and submerged stalagmites, trying not to draw the bear's attention
back to himself. When he reached the shoulders, he took a deep breath and
plunged the tip of his sword into the creature's armpit, pushing upward with
all his strength.
The blade sank to the hilt, and hot blood poured down Agis's arm. The bear
bellowed in fury and wrenched its head around, snapping at its attacker with
slavering jaws. The noble ducked beneath the maw and, fearing the dying beast
would collapse on top of him, dove forward. The bear's paw sliced through the
silt after him.
It caught Agis just as he passed the base of a thick stalagmite. The stone
pillar snapped with a muffled thud, then the noble's body erupted into pain,
and his mouth opened to scream. He found himself choking as silt poured down
his air passage. In the next instant, the bear's paw lifted Agis out of the
dust, flinging both him and the broken stalagmite across the cavern.
Agis crashed into the wall, then dropped back into the dust and sank like a
stone. Fighting back black waves of unconsciousness, the noble tried to push
himself upright. His feet slipped into a sinkhole, and he lashed out with his
arms, hoping to catch hold of another stalagmite.
Instead, he found a burly leg, A pair of powerful hands slipped under his
arms, then he was pulled out of the dust and spun around in one quick motion.
Agis found himself grasped securely in the burly arms of a tarek, his back to
her brawny chest and two large fists clasped together over his abdomen.
"Kester!" The name did not escape his lips, for his lungs were burning from
the lack of air, and his throat was clogged with silt.
The tarek pulled the heels of her hands into the pit of Agis's stomach, at the
same time bearing down on his torso and sending bolts of agonizing pain
through his battered ribs. The last few breaths of air in his chest rushed out
of his mouth, carrying along the silt that had been obstructing his air
passages. The noble coughed several times, wracking his body with more pain,
then the breath returned to his lungs. With it came the terrible pain of the
three deep gashes that the bear's claws had opened along the side of his body.
Agis could only imagined what would have happened to him if the beast had not
been forced to tear a stalagmite out by its roots to reach him.
Once Kester allowed Agis to return to his own feet, he realized that he had
been knocked a short distance down the passage. By the dim glow of the burning
bow, he saw the bear's huge silhouette a few yards away. The beast had
collapsed on its stomach, its lifeless muzzle buried beneath the dust and its
immense bulk blocking the exit to their small passage. So completely did the
creature fill the grotto that only a few feet remained between its back and
the ceiling.
"Sorry to let ye do all the fighting," Kester said. Beneath the silt, her hand
was still on the noble's elbow. "But by the time I got myself out of the silt
and cleared my lungs, ye were under the damned beast, and I didn't want to
startle it."
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"It was a remarkable battle," said Tithian, moving into the light of the
burning bow. The king, shorter than either Agis or Kester, barely managed to
hold his chin above the silt.
"Where were you hiding during the fight?" Agis demanded. He winced as a fresh
bolt of pain flashed through his body. "A little magic might have been
helpful."
"And interfere with such an artful display? Never," Tithian replied. "I saw
Rikus kill a half-dozen bears during his time in the arena, and not one of
those kills was as clean as yours."
Agis narrowed his eyes, but he saw no point in commenting on the king's
cowardice. Instead, he said, "Let's get
Nymos and go."
"We can go," said Tithian. "But there isn't much of Nymos to take along."
"What do you mean?" Agis asked.
Kester's eyes grew sad, and she shook her head. "The bear's first blow took us
amidships, right where he was sitting."
"If you want to bring him along, you'll have to collect the pieces first,"
Tithian added. He moved past the noble and picked the jozhal's tail off the
other side of a stalagmite, then offered it to Agis. "Personally, I don't
think its
worth the time."
"Let's hope the dwarves are as kind to you as the bear was to Nymos," Agis
spat. The noble slapped Tithian's hand away and turned to see if he could
climb over the bear's corpse.
It was then that he saw two huge eyes in the shadows between the bear's spine
and the cavern ceiling. "I'm afraid we have company," the noble whispered. Of
its own accord, his free hand dropped to his empty scabbard.
"So I see," said Tithian. He was already reaching for his enchanted satchel.
Kester grabbed the plunging pole and stepped forward. "Mind yer own business,
beasty!" she growled, thrusting the tip into the gap.
The eyes vanished, then a mighty groan rumbled through the cavern, and the
bear's carcass started to slide back into the larger passage, filling the air
with billowing clouds of dust.
"Bad men!" growled a familiar voice. "Kill bear!"
The jaws of the three colleagues fell open, then Agis cried, "Fylo? Is that
you?"
The bear stopped moving. "Me Fylo," came the muffled reply. "So?"
"Do you know who this is?" Agis called.
"Bear killers," the giant returned, again tugging on the bear. "Fylo take you
and throw you into Bay of Woe."
"This is your friend, Agis."
The pink-gleaming eyes appeared in the gap beneath the ceiling. "Agis? What
you doing here?"
"Don't answer that," Tithian whispered, pulling a glass rod from his satchel.
Fylo's eyes darted to the king's form, then they narrowed angrily. "Tithian!"
The eyes disappeared. An instant later, a long arm shot over the bear's back
and tried to pluck Tithian from the dust channel. Kester quickly raised a
dagger and jabbed it into a huge fingertip. Fylo's muffled voice uttered an
angry curse, then he pulled his hand away.
"You and I are supposed to be friends, Fylo!" Agis yelled. "Is this how
friends treat each other?"
"Good," Tithian murmured, fingering the glass rod in his hands. "Draw him out.
All I need is one chance."
Agis pushed the king's hand down. "No."
"Tithian not friend," Fylo said, peering back over the bear. He had pulled the
carcass far enough into the larger cavern so that he could push his entire
head into the gap, albeit sideways. "And maybe Agis not friend, either. Why
kill Fylo's bear?" The giant's cavernous nostrils twitched as he sniveled in
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