Anderson, Kevin J - Gamearth 01 Read Free Page B

are we going to do?"
    "I always think of something." Vailret took a deep breath. "It's going to be good. Even the Outsiders might enjoy it."
    "That's what we're here for." Delrael shrugged, ready for anything.
    Gairoth's feet had left deep impressions in the soft ground. Following, Delrael bent low, taking one careful step at a time. Vailret tried to imitate him.
    Up ahead, Gairoth snapped branches and grumbled curses. After a brief silence, Vailret and Delrael crept closer. Uneasy and afraid of what they would see, they slipped behind a large lichen-encrusted boulder and looked into Gairoth's encampment.
    The ogre sat cross-legged in a small and cluttered clearing, munching on a bone torn from the rotting carcass of what appeared to be a goat with reptilian legs. The dragon drooled and fixed large yellow eyes on the oozing meat, intent on his master's jaws as they churned up and down. The spiked club lay close beside Gairoth's leg.
    Behind the clearing stood the ogre's abode ¯ the hollowed-out rib cage of some massive beast. Dried sinews and scattered furs covered the bones to provide some shelter but left plenty of gaps for flies to get in (and out again after they had smelled the stench). A small pile of treasure lay beside the tumbledown dwelling: jewel-studded weapons, gold artifacts, and gaudy ornaments.
    Wedged into one of the monster ribs sat a small skull the size of a child's ... and inside the skull's eye-socket shone a fist-sized diamond, triangular-shaped, like a four sided die. It glinted in the hazy swamplight.
     
    Though Vailret's weak eyesight blurred the details, he remembered Bryl's vision of the diamond. "Stone is in eye of skull, on pile of bones."
    Vailret's eyes reflected the splashes of sunlight shining through the woven swamp foliage. The Air Stone ¯ he thought of holding something so old, so powerful in his hands. The old Sorcerers had made it before they left Gamearth.
    He thought of all the stories he had heard about the Stone, its origin, its history ¯ and the power of illusion it held. It was still the weakest of the four Stones, but it could be used very effectively with a little imagination.
    But as far as Vailret was concerned, the Air Stone might as well be just another diamond. Without Sorcerer blood, he could not use the magic.
    Bryl never worked at his abilities, nor did he know much about the background of his race. Vailret spent all his time staring at the legends, trying to uncover the reasons, straining his mind to be worthy, all in vain.
    He gritted his teeth.
    Delrael tugged on Vailret's arm, pointing at a red cloaked and dripping figure strung by his feet to a branch of an overhanging cypress. Vailret saw no signs of life in the half-Sorcerer's wet and grayish skin.
    Gairoth pulled another appendage from the carcass, making a sucking pop as it separated from the rest of the meat. The ogre licked his lips and slurped oozing flesh off the bone. "Ahhh, aged perfect!" Gairoth sucked the last of the juices from the bone. Rognoth sat, entranced with his master's meal.
    "Time for us to split up," Delrael whispered.
    Vailret nodded. "Luck."
    "Luck. We'll get the job done." Delrael left his cousin where he was and slipped off into the forest.
    Delrael drew a deep breath, heady from the adventure. Vailret's plan buzzed through his head ¯ everything seemed perfectly clear in his mind. Ah, it made him feel alive again, not stagnating in the interminable training classes that kept all the fighters in practice. The Outsiders had done little in years to make life interesting.
    In the clearing, the ogre tossed a thick bone to Rognoth. The dragon snapped it up, cracking the bone open with a yellowed fang and spilling the runny marrow down his throat.
    Delrael took five deep breaths, closing his eyes and coiling his muscles. Ready, ready, ready ¯ wish me luck. This was what the Game was all about. With a grin on his mud-spattered face, he stood up and strode into the ogre's camp.
    Rognoth let