Suddenly, the mirror smashed in front of him, a thousand shards falling to the carpet. It shook Sungar from his reverie, his moment of weakness shattering. A familiar axe head was embedded in the mirror's frame. Sungar turned to face its wielder, and his heart soared with joy.
"Thluna!" His cry echoed off the walls. He embraced the boy, pulling him close. "My son! Can it be you?"
"Sungar," Thluna wept. "Thank Uthgar you're alive. Thank Uthgar."
Breaking their embrace, Sungar's eyes went to the axe. "Is this…"
"Yes," said Thluna. "It is what you think."
Sungar gripped the axe handle, the head still stuck in the wall.
"We now know that it was once the weapon of Berun himself, in an age past," said Thluna, "and also that Uthgar himself wielded it."
"I know," said Sungar. "How?" asked Thluna.
"King Gundar came to me in a vision. He showed me that you'd be coming to rescue me."
"And we feared the Battlefather had abandoned us!" Thluna declared. "He never forsook us. He was on our side all along."
Sungar pulled the axe from the wall. It felt comfortable in his hands-better than any weapon he had ever wielded. He offered it to Thluna. "This is for the chief of the Thunderbeasts," he said.
Thluna shook his head. "I am not the chief of the Thunderbeasts. I played that role in your absence, wielding this axe with pride, but only because I knew it was in your stead. This axe belongs to you. Besides, I have my own weapon now." He reached to his belt and drew up the heavy oaken club. "This was a gift from Chief Gunther Longtooth of the Tree Ghosts." He paused a moment before adding, "It, too, is a magical weapon."
Sungar breathed heavily, looking at the axe in his hands. It seemed so long ago since he threw it away on that desolate plain in the Fallen Lands. It felt so good to have it in his hands again. It felt like a part of himself long missing, now restored.
Sungar's strength rose in him again. "To war!" he cried, and together once again, the two Uthgardt dashed through the halls.
CHAPTER 22
Sungar and Thluna raced up two flights of stairs to a small anteroom. Another stairway led up to a heavy iron door, guarded by a massive metal statue-the top of its head almost scraped the ceiling. The figure was depicted in a suit of night-black armor, with a skull within a sunburst-the emblem of Cyric-etched into its chest.
"This is where we'll find Geildarr," said Sungar.
"How do you know?" asked Thluna.
Sungar pointed up at the statue's face, chiseled, youthful, and as beautiful as a god, but recognizable as Geildarr all the same.
Thluna allowed himself a slight chuckle. But when he reached for the door, the statue lurched into life. Purple fire lit up within its eyes, and it turned to face Thluna. Thluna ducked fast. The statue's arm swung about and slammed against the door behind him with a loud clang. He rolled backward, barely avoiding the golem as it brought its foot down hard, setting the walls trembling.
Sungar swung the axe, striking its left shoulder with a metallic ring and digging a dent in the iron body. The golem swept out with its iron arms, but Sungar jumped beyond their reach. Thluna struck the automaton with his club, denting the metal, but the golem showed no reaction to the blow.
"Strong and physical," said Sungar, dodging another blow from the golem. "No wonder Geildarr gave it his face. It's everything Geildarr himself is not."
The sounds of battle rang through Geildarr's private floor, reaching his study. "Fighting on our threshold, Geildarr," said Ardeth. "It's time you made a decision."
"Very well." Geildarr tossed down his wand and turned his back on his balcony. Much of the city was lost in a haze of dust from so many destroyed buildings. "The secret passageway, then," he said, looking toward one of his bookcases. "We can slip out of the keep, then…"
"Then what, Geildarr?" Ardeth demanded. Her white face was flushed with anger. "Explain to Fzoul that you were chased from the Lord's Keep by an enraged barbarian?"
"The Heart of Runlatha may hold power worth a dozen Llorkhs. I will not turn it over to Sungar, even to save the city." He looked at the artifact, resting on a table. It glowed so serenely and peacefully, even as the world shattered around it. It had survived the fall of Netheril, and it would survive the fall of Llorkh, too. Geildarr extended his hand.
Ardeth reached out to stop him from touching it. "It's not yours, Geildarr," Ardeth said. "I stole it from the Sanctuary, but that didn't make it mine. It's not yours now-it never was."
Geildarr reached out and placed his hand over the Heart, not to clutch it, but to touch it, one last time.
The golem wearing Geildarr's face struck Thluna with the back of its hand, sending the young barbarian sailing. Thluna hit the wall hard, and the wind was knocked from him, but he held on to his club.
Sungar drove the axe into the golem's shoulder, widening the crevice he was carving into its neck. Its stony face pivoted on its shoulders toward Sungar, and its mouth opened wide. A thick greenish haze flowed out that quickly settled over the anteroom. Sungar raised the axe, but the gas crept into his nostrils and turned his stomach. His eyes watered, and he felt his throat burn as the acid from his stomach climbed into his mouth. The poisonous green smoke filled Sungar's lungs, and he stumbled backward before collapsing at the foot of the stairs. The axe clattered to the floor. His eyes swam with the poisonous taint.
Thluna choked back vomit as the stinking vapors reached him. He buried his face in his sleeve. This was worse than anything he had ever smelled in the forests-worse than a skunk, and far worse than a decaying carcass. Soon the room was lost in the haze, and Thluna heard only silence, broken by the golem's steps as it marched across the room.
Out of nowhere, a powerful wind erupted near the ceiling, sending wild, green swirls through the fog. The haze began to dissipate under the strong breeze, and Thluna could see his surroundings again, just in time to watch the golem step forward, its thick arms ready to pummel the incapacitated Sungar. As he spat the sick taste from his mouth, Thluna saw Kellin pounce down the stairway, her sword catching the golem against its neck.
"Good to see you, Thluna," said Kellin as she slashed at the golem. Her sword ripped slashes in its armor, but the golem was unfazed. Wisps of gas still hung in the air but soon dissolved.
"Likewise, daughter of Zale," said Thluna, smashing his club against the golem's iron with a noise like the ringing of a gong.
Thanar and Lanaal ran down the stairs, grasping Sungar's helpless form to drag him to safety. The golem reached out a thick iron arm and caught the druid around his middle. It pulled him against itself, crushing Thanar between its arm and its body. Lanaal let out a cry as she heard bones snapping. To her surprise, the automaton focused its purple eyes on her and Sungar, then turned away. Ignoring the intruders outside its room, it confronted Kellin and Thluna, releasing Thanar's shattered form. The druid crumpled to the foot of the stairs next to Sungar.
Thanar's head struck a stair as he landed. "By the Winged Mother, Thanar," said Lanaal, her tears flowing. His entire middle section was collapsed and twisted sideways. Broken ribs pierced his lungs, and a pool of blood spread beneath him. Lanaal reached out a hand to grasp his, but he pulled away.
"Oakfather," he said through gasps, "one last request." He placed his hands on Sungar's unconscious form. "Restore my chief to health and strength. Take his poison and give him vigor. Grant me this, then I'll be no more trouble to you."
His god heard his prayer. White radiance flowed from Thanar's hands and coursed through Sungar's body. Contentment and satisfaction spread across the druid's face as he expired. He died a Thunderbeast.