Cold Steel and Secrets 3 Forgotten Realms

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.ALSO BY ROSEMARY JONESED GREENWOOD PRESENTS WATERDEEPCity of the DeadTHE DUNGEONSCrypt of the Moaning DiamondCOLD STEEL AND SECRETS:A NEVERWINTER NOVELLA©2011 Wizards of the Coast LLCAll characters in this book are fictitious.Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America.Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast LLC.Published by Wizards of the Coast LLC.Hasbro SA, represented by Hasbro Europe, Stockley Park, UB11 1AZ.UK.Forgotten Realms, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A.and other countries.All Wizards of the Coast characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast LLC.Cover art by: Aleksi BricloteISBN: 978-0-7869-6235-8For customer service, contact:U.S., Canada, Asia Pacific, & Latin America: Wizards of the Coast LLC, P.O.Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, +1-800-324-6496, www.wizards.com/customerserviceU.K., Eire, & South Africa: Wizards of the Coast LLC, c/o Hasbro UK Ltd., P.O.Box 43, Newport, NP19 4YD, UK, Tel: +08457 12 55 99, Email: wizards@hasbro.co.ukEurope: Wizards of the Coast p/a Hasbro Belgium NV/SA, Industrialaan 1, 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium, Tel: +32.70.233.277, Email: wizards@hasbro.beVisit our websites at www.wizards.comwww.DungeonsandDragons.comv3.1Welcome to Faerûn, a land of magic and intrigue, brutal violence and divine compassion, where gods have ascended and died, and mighty heroes have risen to fight terrifying monsters.Here, millennia of warfare and conquest have shaped dozens of unique cultures, raised and leveled shining kingdoms and tyrannical empires alike, and left long forgotten, horror-infested ruins in their wake.A LAND OF MAGICWhen the goddess of magic was murdered, a magical plague of blue fire—the Spellplague—swept across the face of Faerûn, killing some, mutilating many, and imbuing a rare few with amazing supernatural abilities.The Spellplague forever changed the nature of magic itself, and seeded the land with hidden wonders and bloodcurdling monstrosities.A LAND OF DARKNESSThe threats Faerûn faces are legion.Armies of undead mass in Thay under the brilliant but mad lich king Szass Tam.Treacherous dark elves plot in the Underdark in the service of their cruel and fickle goddess, Lolth.The Abolethic Sovereignty, a terrifying hive of inhuman slave masters, floats above the Sea of Fallen Stars, spreading chaos and destruction.And the Empire of Netheril, armed with magic of unimaginable power, prowls Faerûn in flying fortresses, sowing discord to their own incalculable ends.A LAND OF HEROESBut Faerûn is not without hope.Heroes have emerged to fight the growing tide of darkness.Battle-scarred rangers bring their notched blades to bear against marauding hordes of orcs.Lowly street rats match wits with demons for the fate of cities.Inscrutable tiefling warlocks unite with fierce elf warriors to rain fire and steel upon monstrous enemies.And valiant servants of merciful gods forever struggle against the darkness.A LAND OFUNTOLD ADVENTUREContentsCoverOther Books by This AuthorTitle PageCopyrightMapFirst PageThe whole art of the sword can be summed up so: to hit and to not be hit.The art of the spy: to discover and to not be discovered.—Rucas Sarfael, sometimes of Neverwinter1478 DRCRAWLING CLAWS SCRABBLED ACROSS MONTIMORT’S BODY AS THE BOY rolled across the room, trying to dislodge them.Rucas Sarfael used his sword to pry one disembodied hand from Montimort’s throat, neatly severing the fingers, but barely missing Montimort’s jugular.Elyne’s mad relative, Karion, screamed: “Pull him apart, my pets, pull him apart.”The swordswoman swore, abandoning her entreaties to the aged seer to let the boy go, and rushed to Montimort’s aid.Like Sarfael, she hacked and slashed at the disembodied hands.But there were more than a dozen.“This is too slow,” Elyne panted between thrusts at the claws, struggling to keep them off Montimort’s face and throat.“He’ll die before we can cut them all.”Karion cried out again.The claws crawled between their feet and flowed over Montimort.With ungentle kicks and slashes of her sword, Elyne drove them back.Sarfael shouted to Elyne: “Keep at it.I have an idea.”Sarfael whirled on his heel.He lunged across the room, placing the point of his sword over Karion’s heart.“The boy dies, you die,” he snarled.Behind him, Elyne shouted in protest, but there was no time to show pity.Karion’s tricks would kill the boy.He made his face hard and blank, and stared into the old man’s face.“Can you truly see the future?” Sarfael said.“Do you see your own?”Karion cringed back, collapsing into easy old man’s tears of frustration and fear.“Go away, go away,” he cried.But his cries seemed to be aimed at his grisly pets and not at Sarfael.The dead hands scrabbled back from Montimort, retreating into the shadows.“All the way out of the room,” said Sarfael, keeping the relief from his tone.He had to play the villain or the boy would be dead.“Send them far away.”Karion flapped his own hands and the undead creatures skittered out of the room.When the sound of the claws faded away, Sarfael stepped back, dropping the point of the sword.Elyne helped the battered and bruised Montimort rise to his feet.Despite the beating he’d taken, Montimort still cradled Karion’s magic box safely in his arms.If everything that the old man had told them was true, speaking the spell etched into the box would recall the lost crown of Neverwinter from wherever it was hidden.Except they had to know where the spell started and stopped [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Pokrewne