Extinction

Wary of disturbing her magic, Ryld halted at the bottom of the slope. He managed to do so without making any noise, but when he stepped forward into the room his ankle twisted as an acid-weakened stone crumbled underfoot. His foot slipped into a puddle of fresh acid?fortunately, his boot leather protected him?but the slight splash alerted Halisstra to the fact that she was no longer alone in the cavern. Her head jerked quickly around?just long enough to see who it was?and a startled look passed across her face. All the while she continued to sing without pause, but the momentary loss of eye contact with the purple worm broke the spell. Whipping its head from side to side, sending acidic spittle flying in all directions, it shook off the effects of the charm spell. Then it struck.

Lunging downward, mouth gaping wide, the worm descended on Halisstra. She barely had time to lift her sword and thrust upward with it as her head and shoulders disappeared into the worm's mouth.

Ryld leaped forward, shouting to draw the creature's attention. He saw the broken point of the songsword thrust jaggedly out at an angle through the worms cheek, just below one eye, but the creature seemed unaffected by the wound. Even though Ryld ran forward with all the speed his magical boots were capable of, the worm was quicker. Like a curtain falling the mouth continued to descend upon Halisstra, engulfing her to the chest, waist, and knees. Then the terrible purple-black jaws struck the ground on either side of Halisstra's boots?and clamped shut.

Ryld closed with the creature a heartbeat later. He swung Splitter with all of the strength his sinewy arms could muster, intending to cut off the monsters head, but in that instant he heard Halisstra's muffled scream from inside the worm's gullet and saw a bulge moving down its throat. Worried that he would slice Halisstra in two as well, he twisted the sword aside in mid-swing. The blade struck a coil of the worm, cutting deeply into its purple hide and exposing the pinker flesh beneath.

The worm writhed in agony, uncoiling with such swiftness that it crashed into Ryld, hurling him backward. Anyone other than a master of Melee-Magthere would have been knocked flat, but Ryld had been trained to keep his footing. One of the first things he'd learned as a novice was how to roll his body with a blow and use feet, knees, and elbows to spring upright again.

As the worm continued to thrash he rolled nimbly back, then leaped forward again to strike a second blow in another portion of the worm's body. As the monster's head whipped around in an attempt to bite him, Ryld did the unexpected. He leaped backward, and levitated.

The worm's mouth crashed down into the spot where Ryld had been standing, teeth splintering on the stone floor. An instant later the head reared up again, mouth gaping as it lunged upward. Instantly negating his levitation magic, Ryld plummeted to the ground, landing lightly on bent legs and bounding aside. That brief glimpse into the worm's mouth and throat?which were empty?told him that his fears had been realized.

The monster had swallowed Halisstra whole.

Rage seized him then, stronger and fiercer than any battle had ever provoked before. He found himself howling in an anguished voice, eyes hot with tears.

"Halisstra!" he cried.

Rushing forward, he slashed at the worm's throat. If only he could kill it quickly, there might still be time to cut Halisstra free before the worm's digestive acids killed her?she would be disfigured, but she would live. And that was all that mattered.

Howling with each sword stroke, Ryld slashed deep rents in the worm's body. The creature had enough intelligence?instinct at least?to jerk its head and neck back, keeping them out of range of the sword, but with each fresh wound to its side it slowed. Encouraged, Ryld pressed his attack home, aware that each passing moment was lessening Halisstra's chances. Stupidly, the worm lowered its head, giving Ryld a clear swing at its throat. Moving forward, he obliged it?then realized a heartbeat later that it had been a clever feint.

Even as Ryld leaped in to attack, the worm whipped its tail forward, revealing a stinger in its tail that Ryld hadn't seen before. The stinger glanced off the bottom of Ryld's breastplate and plunged into his stomach with the force of a knife blow, burying itself in his gut. Nearly blinded by the sudden rush of pain, he flailed backward, pulling himself free of the deadly barb. For two or three staggering steps he managed to hang onto Splitter, but with the pain of the wound came a rush of agony that felt like fire, sweeping in an instant from his wounded gut to the tips of his fingers and toes. In that terrible moment, Ryld knew that he had been poisoned. Suddenly too weak to hold his greatsword, he let it fall.