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.Once in a while, a barrage of ball lightning or a blast of frost rocked him back on his heels, but afterward, he quickly returned to working his own magic, methodically dissolving Lallara's barriers.Until a flying blade made of absolute darkness streaked down at him from above.Malark sidestepped the cut, then tapped the conjured weapon with his staff.The black sword vanished.Then he looked up, and Aoth did too.Szass Tam was hovering above the mountaintop.Malark gestured and shouted a word of command, and a dozen death tyrants floated upward like bubbles to turn their virulent gazes on the lich.That should have helped clear a path from Aoth's position near the drop to Malark's at the center of the high place.But when Aoth looked for such a route, it seemed there were just as many guardians blocking the way as ever.He cursed, then sensed motion on his flank.He pivoted toward the onrushing plague spewer, and a thunderous shout blasted the head from its shoulders.As it toppled, rats swarmed from the stump of its neck.Meanwhile, Bareris finished hauling himself up onto the mountaintop."I'm glad you made it," said Aoth.The bard responded with a nod, drew his sword, and struck up a dirge.The eerie tones had no effect on Aoth but were apt to afflict a foe with weakness and confusion.Nevron swooped down in the midst of a throng of demons that immediately hurled themselves at Malark's minions.Lauzoril arrived in a cloud of tiny floating daggers that darted from point to point like hummingbirds.Finally even Samas Kul, whom Aoth had judged the likeliest to flee, floated up into view with his quicksilver wand in his blubbery hand.The other council members positioned themselves near Lallara, no doubt in the hope that her wards would protect them as well.Then they attacked.Lauzoril recited an incantation in his dry, clerkish voice, and three plague spewers started mauling one another.Growling words of power, Nevron summoned a ghour, a huge, shaggy demon with bull-like horns and cloven hooves, and the thing spat poison smoke at the enemy.Samas daintilyflourished his wand, and a death tyrant turned to snow, its eyestalks and globular body crumbling into a shapeless mound when it thumped down on the ground.Surely now, Aoth thought, hurling darts of green light at Malark, surely now, he and his allies were strong enough to win.They had to be, because no more reinforcements were coming.Yet he could see they weren't.Their combined might sufficed to offset Malark's but nothing more, and in time that strength would fade, as even archmages ran out of magic.Whereas Malark, if he truly was a kind of god in this place, would likely remain as powerful as ever."None of our spells are hurting Malark," said Aoth."Those of us who are warriors need to get over to him and see if we can do any better with our blades.And do it now, before the tide turns against us."Lauzoril arched an eyebrow."Are you proposing to charge straight through the middle of all these undead?""Yes.You zulkirs will use your sorcery to keep the guardians off our backs, both while we advance and after we engage Malark."Samas turned an onrushing plague spewer into mist."Even with our help, I don't see how you're going to make it to Spring-hill.But you're right, we need to try something.""That's the plan, then." Aoth turned to Bareris and Mirror."Ready?"The ghost flourished his sword, and warm light pulsed from the blade.Aoth felt a rush of confidence and vitality and inferred that he'd received some sort of blessing."Now we are," Mirror said.The enemy still had men positioned to flank the council's army.No doubt if given the opportunity, they'd make another attemptto advance into the trees.But they hadn't tried for a while, and Gaedynn had glimpsed motion behind the front ranks as their officers redirected a number of warriors elsewhere.From that, he inferred that henceforth, his archers and skirmishers could probably hold this position without him.He set down his longbow and headed for Eider.Crouched back down in her hollow, the griffon was grooming herself, biting at the feathers she'd damaged flapping her wings among the low-hanging branches.She jumped up when she realized her master meant to ride her.He swung himself into the saddle, strapped himself in, strung the shorter compound bow he used for aerial combat, then turned her away from the enemy, so no one would shoot her as she took off
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