Chapter 45 #2
Our gnome was still struggling beneath the weight of the smoking blunderbuss. “I’m fine, Lady Garzade. Don’t mind me. I shall be along in a moment.”
We rushed across the roof. With gun in hand, I kept checking chimneys and clotheslines. I was assuming he’d want to keep the high ground, but he might have jumped off. “Trax, watch the ground on the left, Azarin watch the right.”
I didn’t need to worry about that, though, because no sooner had I given those orders, I spotted Gerzog lurking just ahead of us.
Then he was gone.
I assumed he’d keep trying to get away, then Azarin said, “Uh… guys?”
Trax and I turned around. Gerzog had stepped out of the shadows behind Azarin and grabbed her. He was now using her for cover with his sword lifted beneath her neck. “Take another step and she dies.”
Trax froze in place. “I believe the orc is telling the truth.”
I raised my pistol. The hammer made a metallic click as I cocked it with my thumb.
“Easy there, boy.” Gerzog crouched as much of his bulk behind Azarin’s slim form as possible. “Here’s how it’s gonna work. You all stand down, while me and the lady go for a walk. Once I’m away, I’ll let her go.”
“That part is not the truth.”
“Yeah, I figured that, Trax… That’s not going to happen, Gerzog.”
“Then I can slit her throat and you can watch her bleed out.”
“You try that and I’ll blow your brains out.
” Unfortunately, it was too dark to see the sights atop my gun, or I would’ve risked taking the shot.
I needed to be precise to hit the parts of him that were sticking out from around her, without hitting her, and that was real hard to do by feel.
But if I pulled my light out of my pocket, he’d know what I was planning to do.
“Allow me to be of assistance,” Morton said, as a ball of light popped into existence overhead. “I don’t know any combative magic, but that may be of use to you.”
I lined up the now starkly visible sights on Gerzog’s ugly mug. “Thank you, Morton.”
“Go for it. A single bullet would bounce off my charms. And I’ll shadow-walk away before your Squalo can reach me. Then you can watch her twitch, helpless, gasping her last, knowing you failed. The deadlander’s spell has already recharged. Try me, Carnavon.”
As Gerzog and I stared each other down, Azarin asked, “Do I get a say in this matter?”
“Shut up,” Gerzog snarled. “Hold still.”
“That’s a fine idea.” Azarin flashed me a grin. “Impervious.”
As Azarin’s skin went grey, I realized she hadn’t been exaggerating earlier. That spell looked as solid as Krachma’s. She really had been practicing her earth magic a lot.
I’d been practicing too, and in that instant, I focused on the enchanted cartridge loaded in my pistol.
Gerzog understood too late what was happening, and the edge of his blade dulled against skin that was temporarily as impenetrable as stone. Even the statue version of Azarin had a mischievous expression.
The merc looked up just in time to see the muzzle flash of my gun. A shimmering distortion appeared in the air as the bullet smacked harmlessly into the protective spell in front of his face.
“Fool!” And Gerzog vanished into the night.
Except when he stepped out of the shadows, twenty yards away, I spotted him thanks to the magic bullet still stuck to his face that was beginning to glow orange.
The lead continued heating up, burning through his remaining protections, and Gerzog roared his fury as it seared through his flesh.
Skin blackened and split. Blood hissed into steam.
He clawed desperately at his face, but the bullet had turned into molten spall, and the droplets rolled down his arms, burning to the bone as they went.
The defiant roars of Gerzog the Marauder turned to squeals of pain as his thrashing caused one of those drops to get in his eye. And trust me, having worked with fire most of my life, molten metal really doesn’t give a shit how tough you are.
It took ten seconds for the shadow-walking charm to recharge. It took me a third of that to reload my gun. I was out of enchanted rounds, but that didn’t matter, because with his protections being temporarily used up, my bullet plowed a hole right through his chest.
He took a few halting steps back, bumped into a chimney, and slowly sank down it until he was seated, confusion written all over his face. I’d gotten him in the heart.
I turned back to make sure Azarin was unhurt, and as the Impervious turned to dust around her, she exclaimed, “I told you all I was getting the hang of Krachma’s spells!”
Krachma walked up next to her and poked her in the neck with one thick finger to make sure she wasn’t lying. Seeing no wound on her, he nodded, satisfied. “Krachma is best teacher.”
I turned back to Gerzog. I’ll give the orc credit.
Even mortally wounded, he still had the determination to reach into his vest to pull out what I assumed was another healing potion.
He even managed to free the stopper with his teeth and began to drink it, before Dathka walked up and smacked the vial out of his hands.
I’d expected her to say something, to get in some last words of victory, but she must have been in too much pain to bother, because she just stabbed him in the neck and chest with my knife a couple dozen times.
When she finally stopped, she was breathing hard from the exertion, and Gerzog was very much undoubtedly dead.
Only after she was certain he was done for, Dathka gloated, “I will warn my sisters to watch for the ghost of Gerzog the Marauder as you wander past Surnod Lin on your way to eternal torment, so my family may mock and spit on you one last time. Enjoy hell, you bastard.”
“That’s nice. Can I eat him now?”
“Sorry.” I patted our loyal Squalo on the shoulder. “Loot first, then eat. You need to stop eating magical items, Trax. That can’t be good for you. But loot fast, guys. Somebody surely heard that and called for the paladins.”
Rade inspected the gnawed and gooey goblin, then gagged. “I’m not touching that one’s pockets!”
Once we’d gathered up all the Tooth and Claw’s magical items, element, and coins, the Outcasts fled the Cantor’s district and ran for the Slumps.