[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
discovered it was Kasilith who'd just attacked her. The mage was not just the penanggalan's victim; she
was protecting the undead beast as well.
"Dragonbait threw himself on Kasilith, preventing her from casting any more magic, but the penanggalan,
taking advantage of Alias's diverted attention, had turned on its attacker with a vengeance. It swooped
down upon the swordswoman and lashed its tail about her neck. Alias flailed her sword awkwardly over
her head while she tugged at the creature's tail to keep it from choking her. The tail felt slimy, like a
decaying piece of meat, and it stunk of curdling blood. Realizing she hadn't long before the monster
crushed her windpipe, Alias tried a desperate measure. She dropped her sword and snatched her dagger
from her boot sheath.
"A second later she'd slashed the penanggalan along the length of its tail. Hot blood gushed down on her,
momentarily obscuring her vision. The penanggalan sank its teeth into her cheek. Dropping her dagger,
Alias grabbed the hair at the monster's temples and ripped it from her, smashing it into the wall over and
over, until she had crushed its skull. The tail about her throat went limp and slid from her. Alias dropped
the monster on the floor and, retrieving her sword, cleaved its head in two.
"An inky cloud rose from the monstrous head, shrank to a pinpoint of blackness, then vanished. From
the bed, Kasilith sobbed out, 'Stelly,' and Alias realized what must have happened."
Kith paused in her story and hung her head for a moment. She breathed in deeply and let her breath out
slowly.
"Jilly was Stelly," Todd cried out. "No one had cremated Stelly's body," the boy speculated, "so she
became a penanggalan. But what about the other penanggalan? The one whose body Kasilith
destroyed?" the boy asked. "Was that the one that killed Stelly?"
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Kith shook her head. "No, the Swanmays did finally find and destroy that one. There was no other
penanggalan. Kasilith created an illusion of the body and destroyed it so Alias would think the monster
was dead and would go away."
"But Alias was too thorough a hunter, and didn't leave," Marl noted.
"And when Kasilith and Stelly were trapped in Ser-pentsford by the snow, Stelly had to feed on Kasilith
so she wouldn't get caught," Todd added.
"And Kasilith helped Stelly even though she was a penanggalan because she was her friend," Lisaka
said.
"A penanggalan isn't the person she was in life. It's just an evil life-force animating her body that knows
what she knew," Marl argued. "Right?"
"That's true," Kith said softly.
"But Kasilith didn't know that, did she?" Jewel asked.
"She knew," Kith replied.
"The penanggalan probably hypnotized her into being its slave," Marl said.
Kith shook her head. "No. Kasilith served it willingly. You see, she felt so guilty that Stelly had died
because she hadn't taught her to read. So she thought she deserved nothing better for the rest of her life
than to serve as the slave to evil because she'd done an evil thing."
"Then what happened to her?" Jewel asked anxiously.
Kith sighed. "Well, she shrieked and cried and ranted and raved for a while. She swore she would never
forgive Alias and Dragonbait for freeing her from the penang-galan's enslavement. Still, they attended to
her while she was recovering from the penanggalan's wounds."
"More than she deserved," Marl muttered.
"True," Kith agreed. "Alias told the mage that Finder Wyvernspur had told her so much about Kasilith
that she felt she was her friend and would not leave her until she was healed. Kasilith swore she had
never met Finder Wyvernspur, but Alias stayed anyway. Finally, one day, something Dragonbait the
paladin said made her change her mind about how she felt and about what she should do with her life."
"What did he say?" Jewel asked.
"He told Kasilith that the god of justice abhors punishment for punishment's sake. That we have to find a
way to atone for the evil we do, and that we cannot atone for evil with evil, but only with good. He
suggested she go out and teach other children who needed to learn to read and write. That way she
would honor Stelly's true spirit and maybe bring peace to her own spirit. And that's just what she did."
"So she became a teacher like you?" Jewel asked.
"She became a teacher like me," Kith answered. "She teaches the common spell."
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*****
Marl the cooper's son stayed in school another two years before he finally bought his own sword and
joined a caravan as a swordling. By then Kith Lias had taught him to read and write the names of every
fell creature he might encounter in the Realms and had moved to another dale to teach another village's
children. It was during Marl's off-duty hours that the other caravan guards taught him the game anagrams.
After that, the cooper's son spent even more time wondering about the mage Kasilith and the teacher
Kith Lias.
THE FIRST MOONWELL
Douglas Niles
The goddess existed deep within the cocoon of bedrock, an eternal being, formed of stone and silt and
fire, her body blanketed by the depths of a vast and trackless sea. In the way of immortals, she had little
awareness of the steady progression of ages, the measured pulse of time. Only gradually, over the course
of countless eons, did she become aware that around and above her the ocean came to host an
abundance of life. She knew the presence of this vitality in all the forms that thrived and grew; from the
beginning she understood that life, even in its simplest and most transient forms, was good.
Deep waters washed her body, and the volcanic fires of her blood swelled, seeking release. She was a
living thing, and thus she grew. Her being expanded, rising slowly from the depths of the ocean, over [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl rafalstec.xlx.pl
discovered it was Kasilith who'd just attacked her. The mage was not just the penanggalan's victim; she
was protecting the undead beast as well.
"Dragonbait threw himself on Kasilith, preventing her from casting any more magic, but the penanggalan,
taking advantage of Alias's diverted attention, had turned on its attacker with a vengeance. It swooped
down upon the swordswoman and lashed its tail about her neck. Alias flailed her sword awkwardly over
her head while she tugged at the creature's tail to keep it from choking her. The tail felt slimy, like a
decaying piece of meat, and it stunk of curdling blood. Realizing she hadn't long before the monster
crushed her windpipe, Alias tried a desperate measure. She dropped her sword and snatched her dagger
from her boot sheath.
"A second later she'd slashed the penanggalan along the length of its tail. Hot blood gushed down on her,
momentarily obscuring her vision. The penanggalan sank its teeth into her cheek. Dropping her dagger,
Alias grabbed the hair at the monster's temples and ripped it from her, smashing it into the wall over and
over, until she had crushed its skull. The tail about her throat went limp and slid from her. Alias dropped
the monster on the floor and, retrieving her sword, cleaved its head in two.
"An inky cloud rose from the monstrous head, shrank to a pinpoint of blackness, then vanished. From
the bed, Kasilith sobbed out, 'Stelly,' and Alias realized what must have happened."
Kith paused in her story and hung her head for a moment. She breathed in deeply and let her breath out
slowly.
"Jilly was Stelly," Todd cried out. "No one had cremated Stelly's body," the boy speculated, "so she
became a penanggalan. But what about the other penanggalan? The one whose body Kasilith
destroyed?" the boy asked. "Was that the one that killed Stelly?"
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Kith shook her head. "No, the Swanmays did finally find and destroy that one. There was no other
penanggalan. Kasilith created an illusion of the body and destroyed it so Alias would think the monster
was dead and would go away."
"But Alias was too thorough a hunter, and didn't leave," Marl noted.
"And when Kasilith and Stelly were trapped in Ser-pentsford by the snow, Stelly had to feed on Kasilith
so she wouldn't get caught," Todd added.
"And Kasilith helped Stelly even though she was a penanggalan because she was her friend," Lisaka
said.
"A penanggalan isn't the person she was in life. It's just an evil life-force animating her body that knows
what she knew," Marl argued. "Right?"
"That's true," Kith said softly.
"But Kasilith didn't know that, did she?" Jewel asked.
"She knew," Kith replied.
"The penanggalan probably hypnotized her into being its slave," Marl said.
Kith shook her head. "No. Kasilith served it willingly. You see, she felt so guilty that Stelly had died
because she hadn't taught her to read. So she thought she deserved nothing better for the rest of her life
than to serve as the slave to evil because she'd done an evil thing."
"Then what happened to her?" Jewel asked anxiously.
Kith sighed. "Well, she shrieked and cried and ranted and raved for a while. She swore she would never
forgive Alias and Dragonbait for freeing her from the penang-galan's enslavement. Still, they attended to
her while she was recovering from the penanggalan's wounds."
"More than she deserved," Marl muttered.
"True," Kith agreed. "Alias told the mage that Finder Wyvernspur had told her so much about Kasilith
that she felt she was her friend and would not leave her until she was healed. Kasilith swore she had
never met Finder Wyvernspur, but Alias stayed anyway. Finally, one day, something Dragonbait the
paladin said made her change her mind about how she felt and about what she should do with her life."
"What did he say?" Jewel asked.
"He told Kasilith that the god of justice abhors punishment for punishment's sake. That we have to find a
way to atone for the evil we do, and that we cannot atone for evil with evil, but only with good. He
suggested she go out and teach other children who needed to learn to read and write. That way she
would honor Stelly's true spirit and maybe bring peace to her own spirit. And that's just what she did."
"So she became a teacher like you?" Jewel asked.
"She became a teacher like me," Kith answered. "She teaches the common spell."
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
*****
Marl the cooper's son stayed in school another two years before he finally bought his own sword and
joined a caravan as a swordling. By then Kith Lias had taught him to read and write the names of every
fell creature he might encounter in the Realms and had moved to another dale to teach another village's
children. It was during Marl's off-duty hours that the other caravan guards taught him the game anagrams.
After that, the cooper's son spent even more time wondering about the mage Kasilith and the teacher
Kith Lias.
THE FIRST MOONWELL
Douglas Niles
The goddess existed deep within the cocoon of bedrock, an eternal being, formed of stone and silt and
fire, her body blanketed by the depths of a vast and trackless sea. In the way of immortals, she had little
awareness of the steady progression of ages, the measured pulse of time. Only gradually, over the course
of countless eons, did she become aware that around and above her the ocean came to host an
abundance of life. She knew the presence of this vitality in all the forms that thrived and grew; from the
beginning she understood that life, even in its simplest and most transient forms, was good.
Deep waters washed her body, and the volcanic fires of her blood swelled, seeking release. She was a
living thing, and thus she grew. Her being expanded, rising slowly from the depths of the ocean, over [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]