" Lan?" called back Inyx. " What do we do? What do you see?"
" Magic is all around. Claybore is near. He does nothing to aid the attack. He' s not even aware of it, but the other mage is."
" What other mage?"
" I don' t know. But Claybore: digs. He' s excavating to find something. Huge amounts of power emanate from that pit."
" Another part of his body?" asked Inyx.
" It must be more than a single part. Not even the tongue radiated this particular type of aura, and it carried with its spells of immense power."
" Where?" asked Krek. " I feel the gnomes ahead. Where is Claybore?"
Lan pointed without seeing. His finger directed their attention through solid rock. Krek and Inyx exchanged looks and shook their heads. This was a seeing beyond simple vision.
" We can' t go after Claybore and fight off the Nichi. Not if what Broit says is true," said Inyx.
" Are you calling me a liar, skyscraper?" demanded Broit.
" Nothing of the sort," said Inyx. " We' re just trying to sort out what our best course of action is."
" Use the funny tanglefoot spell again. That' ll stop them all," said Broit. " I liked watching those Nichi flopping about as if they' d just fallen out of the stewpot."
" It will also alert Claybore. The numbers of Nichi this time are a score more than we encountered the first time. And he is so close. So very close." Lan' s voice trailed off as he " watched" the excavation proceeding. Claybore did not detect him because the mage' s full attention was directed to whatever was within the pit.
" Ahead, then to the right," said Lan. " That is the best way to approach Claybore. I can attack him directly when I can see him."
" Aren' t you seeing him now?" asked Broit. " What' s with you, man? You talk in riddles."
" He is a mage," said Krek. " Not that good a one, at times, but still, a mage. We all know they are a bit off in the head."
" Oh, yeah, righto."
" The next intersection," said Lan, almost in a dreamlike state of concentration now. " We go right and then I' ll be able to see him directly, with my own eyes. The attack. How do I attack?"
" That intersection' s where the Nichi will clobber us," said Broit. " Their favorite spot for ambush, it is. Yes, indeed."
" Broit, does Heresler territory lie directly down this corridor?"
" Not more than a mile further down. No turnings, just a straightahead run."
" Then," said Inyx grimly, " we will run the entire way. You first. I' ll follow and make sure they come for us." Her sword slipped easily from its sheath. This time she knew she' d spill blood with it. The woman almost thrilled to that. She was a warrior and enjoyed a good battle. The way Lan now fought with spells and geases and creatures that weren' t quite real did not appeal to her. Such magics had their place, but would never replace a well- fought duel with swords- or hand to hand.
" Let me make sure this is the way you want it," said Broit. The gnome uneasily wiped perspiration from his wrinkled forehead, chunks of dirt falling away. " I run through the junction and get them chasing me. You come after, hacking and slashing at them before they catch up with me? What then?"
" The others follow me," said Inyx.
" What about them?" Broit looked suspiciously at Krek and Lan.
" They take the right tunnel and find Claybore."
" Why not let the spider come with us? He, uh, he' d make a good decoy. Better than me."
" He goes with Lan," Inyx said firmly. She wanted Lan to have some physical protection along the way. While the man was an expert swordsman, the conjurings took too much of his attention. Krek could fend off any attack until Lan' s defenses were properly formed- and the battle taken to Claybore.
" Let him use just a little spell on the Nichi," begged Broit. " That' ll take some of the pressure off you."
" We do it this way. If Lan casts too potent a spell, he' d draw Claybore' s attention. That would be the end for all of us."
" If I attack first, when he is not prepared, this might end it. The contest would be over once and for all," Lan said, more to himself than to the others. It seemed too incredible to believe, all the agony, all the death and destruction behind them. Victory would be his with a single magical bolt.
" Let' s gooooo!" cried Inyx, running off and prodding Broit ahead of her with the naked edge of her sword. The gnome yelped and danced and ran like all the demons of the Lower Places chased after him. The gnome realized he might be better off if they were, too. Inyx brooked no small hesitation and gave freely of the flat of her sword, promising even more if Broit Heresler so much as thought of slowing his breakneck pace.
" They enter the intersection," said Krek. " The Nichi swarm out and follow Broit. Inyx follows this group. Ah, she has removed four of them from the fracas. Such expertise with her weapon. A pity she is human. What a fine spider she would have made. Not as good as my Klawn, of course; but still, a fine arachnid."
" Now," said Lan, almost in a trance. " We must go now. Hurry. Claybore is nearing the end of the excavation. He is close to retrieving whatever lies in the pit."
The intersection was devoid of life. Several gnome corpses lay strewn about where Inyx' s deadly blade had separated them from their lives. From further down the corridor came sounds of a fierce battle raging. Shouts, screams of agony; the shuffle of feet, and the clank of metal weapons. These Nichi were armed with more than brooms.
" Inyx makes the battle sound interesting," said Krek, his huge body swaying toward that corridor, and then in the direction where Claybore worked so feverishly to retrieve still another bodily part.
" If I attack without hesitation, I can end it all," said Lan. " I will! This is it, Krek. We' ll be victorious. I know it!"
Lan ran off, Krek trailing behind. The spider' s pace became slower and slower as they went, because of the narrowing tunnel. He soon scooted along, legs bent almost double. Mumbling about the idiocy of this quest, the spider eventually came into a small antechamber. Lan stood, his face turned toward a dark opening in the wall before them.
" Claybore is through there," he said. Lan quaked inside, but it was not with fear. This was the shivering of anticipation, of need to begin. He had met Claybore in magical battle before. Neither had been able to vanquish the other. But now, with Claybore' s tongue resting within his mouth, Lan Martak knew he had the power and the ability to stop the sorcerer.
" Let us not keep him waiting," said Krek. " I want to return to the peaks of my beloved el- Liot Mountains and once more feel the wind whispering seductively through my leg fur." He rubbed one thick foreleg against another and saw even larger patches fall off. Krek sniffed indignantly at this. " Let us definitely put an end to all this chasing about."
Lan Martak stormed forward, his spells already forming on his lips. His dancing light mote familiar raced to his aid, built the power about him, built into a spear of pure magic, and turned until it aimed directly at Claybore.
The sorcerer' s mechanical legs remained firmly planted, but the upper torso spun so that the fleshless skull peered directly at Lan.
" You!" came the soundless cry. In the pits of those dark eye sockets came a stirring, a beginning of the ruby death beams.
With a single gesture, Lan snuffed out those death beacons. His triumph towered and he released the bolt of pure magic.
Claybore let out a shriek of total agony. Never before had Lan been able to carry the battle to Claybore. With the tongue, Lan Martak was more than a match for the disembodied sorcerer. His power surging, Lan launched a new and different form of attack. Again came Claybore' s immediate anguish.
" Stop," the sorcerer begged. " We can rule together. Stop this!" He tried to mount a counteroffensive. Lan crushed the attack before it had even halfway formed to menace him.