I Read What?!

Whoa, we've made it to the penultimate chapter! After this, there's one chapter and an epilogue left. I'll need to figure out what the next book will be!

But that's for later. We've got a battle to finish!



So we start the chapter with Druzil. He's awake, because he senses the bottle containing the chaos curse has been closed. Druzil had, apparently, waited decades to see the curse in action, so he's particularly upset. The misty magic is starting to diminish.

He tries to reach for Barjin, but Barjin is too full of rage. He goes into the room to see the dwarves and Danica on the floor, realizing that the sudden shock of the curse's end knocked them out.

As for the others?

Druzil saw Barjin advance on the young priest—and the imp knew that the young man had been the catalyst, the one who had opened the bottle. Apparently, he also had been the one to close it.

The Talonite priest seemed not so powerful in Druzil’s eyes anymore. Barjin’s vestments and weapon were gone, one arm hung limply at his side, and most importantly, he had allowed the bottle to be closed.

Druzil considers grabbing the curse, but thinks better of it. I'm not sure I follow his logic:

Not only would he have to get within striking distance of the young man who earlier had brought him down, but if he took the bottle and Barjin somehow survived the day, the priest’s continuing mission at the library would be futile. And the priest would not be happy.

Wouldn't Barjin be happy since it would mean they could try again?

But Druzil decides to leave it alone, if Barjin survives, he might find another catalyst to rejuvenate the curse, and Druzil could get it back then. He skips out.

--

We get more shifting scenes. Cadderly and Barjin are facing off. Barjin is laughing at him for thinking he could get information. Cadderly admits, to himself, that he'd only made the claim about interrogation so the dwarves wouldn't kill him.

Cadderly is pretty outmatched. He attempts tricks that worked on Rufo, but Rufo is also a sheltered priest type. Barjin HAS actually been in a lot of conflict. They bicker about the curse. Barjin telling Cadderly that he should have left instead of come back. Cadderly notes that he erred, and wanted to correct the wrong.

Barjin points out the unconscious people and taunts him for weakening his allies more than his enemies.

Barjin adds more taunts, taking advantage of Cadderly's lack of experience and claiming that Talona's agent is battling its way back in. The distraction is somewhat effective, though Cadderly's not down yet.

But then, they're interrupted when Druzil flies in and gets Barjin's necromancer stone and intends to return when things are safe. He takes the stone through the gate.

Barjin tries to urge Cadderly to open the bottle again, promising power, but Cadderly sees through the lie. He realizes that Barjin needs him to open the bottle since it needs to be opened by someone who hasn't allied with Talona. Cadderly knows better than to agree.

At least until Barjin threatens Danica and the dwarves.

THEN the mummy comes back. Cadderly is horrified. Barjin's mad instead, but it soon becomes obvious that Khalif is no longer in his control. And he's pretty pissed off. Barjin realizes also that his only means of fighting back, the necromancer stone is gone.

Poor Cadderly gets to watch a mummy beat a priest to death. He tries to find some way to save him. And more chaos: Druzil's interplanar gate is open again and something is trying to get through. Cadderly keeps trying to shoot drts at the mummy. Finally:

Again, he refused to let his fears slow him. Another dart whistled out at the mummy. The dart did not explode, but dived through a hole created by a previous dart and cut right through the tattered linen bindings.

At first Cadderly was more concerned with getting another dart fitted; he knew that his miss would allow the monster to close, but then he heard Barjin grunt.

The dart thudded into the chest of the seated priest. The next interminable heartbeat ended with the noise that Cadderly had come to dread. The dart had enough remaining momentum to collapse and explode.

The mummy took a step out, giving Cadderly a view of the priest. Barjin lay nearly flat. Only his head and shoulders remained propped against the wall. He gasped and clutched the hole in his chest, his eyes unblinking, though he seemed not to see anything, not to be aware of anything beyond his own demise. He gasped again, a gout of blood bursting from his mouth, and he lay still.

...eek.

Cadderly is too busy to think about this, and uses holy water to drive the mummy back. The liquid burns as it hits. It works for a while, but he does eventually run out.

He has one more shot:

Pikel’s charge through the wall had caused tremendous structural damage. The hole in the brickwork was fully four feet wide and half that again high, nearly reaching the beamed ceiling. One crossbeam, directly above the hole, balanced precariously on a cracked support. Cadderly moved his arm in that direction and fired.

The dart smacked into the wood at the joint between crossbeam and support, exploding into a small fireball, sending splinters everywhere. The crossbeam slipped, but still attached at its other end, it swung down like a pendulum.

The mummy took only one short step from the wall before the beam slammed into it, driving it sidelong. It pitched into the brazier, taking the fiery tripod and bowl right over with it.

The hideous image of the otherworldly denizen disappeared in a huge fireball. Flames engulfed the mummy, eagerly devouring its layered cloth wrappings. It managed to stagger to its feet—Cadderly wondered with horror if it might survive even that—but then it crumpled and was consumed.

Nice!

Without the brazier, the gate is closed. The mummy is gone. It's over.

Of course, Newander is dead. There are dead clerics upstairs. And Cadderly realizes he just killed a man. The chapter ends here.