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TO THE VICTOR

Olgerkhan grunted and groaned and held his breath as Athrogate tied a heavy leather strap around his broken leg The dwarf looped the belt and held one end up near the half-orc&039;s face

"Best be biting hard," he said

Olgerkhan looked at him for a moment, then took the end of the strap in his reat tug on the strap, yanking it tight and forcing the half-orc&039;s leg in line The strap soerkhan&039;s screah the chamber The half-orc&039;s hands clenched and he pounded theate offered

The half-orc lay back, near to collapse He flitted in and out of consciousness for a few h the haze and pain, he saw so that coe She stood straight, for the first tierkhan caaze

"And so it ends," Jarlaxle re to the dwarf and half-orc "Help hie one at a time"

Athrogate erkhan stand, but Entreri just moved away to the wall, where he quickly picked a route and began clierkhan down beside Arrayan, Entreri was nearly there,steadily

When he finally pulled his head above the ledge, he found Arrayan fallen over Olgerkhan, hugging hi her love to him Entreri hopped up beside theistered, andhallway

He sprinted up some distance but found no enemies and heard no sounds at all When he caerkhan leaning on the dith Arrayan supporting him under his other arm

"The corridor is clear," he reported

"The castle is dead," Arrayan replied, and her voice rang out ly than Entreri had previously heard

"Ye can&039;t be sure," Athrogate replied

But Arrayan nodded, her confidence working against the doubts of the others "I don&039;t kno I know," she explained "I just know The castle is dead No gargoyles or ainst us, nor daemons or other monsters Even the traps, I believe, are now inert"

"I will ensure that, every step," Entreri assured her

"Bah, but she can&039;t be sure," Athrogate reiterated

"I do believe she is," said Jarlaxle "Sure and correct The dracolich was the source of the castle&039;s continuing life, was giving power to the book, and the book power to the gargoyles and other on, they are dead stone and e the book the power to steal from me my life," Arrayan added "The moment it fell, ood dwarf, but I a to have soh he grimaced with the effort Jarlaxle moved out before the trio to join Entreri

"We will move up ahead and ensure that the way is clear," the dark elf said, and he and Entreri started off

They trotted along swiftly, putting a lot of distance between themselves and the others

"The castle is truly dead?" Entreri asked when they ell alone

"Arrayan is a perceptive one, and since she was inextricably tied to the castle, I would trust her judgment in this"

"You seeoyles and no one But what of the undead? Will we find skeletons waiting for us e get back to the keep?"

"What do you mean?"

"Their ave a little laugh

"When did you become a necroem

"It was you back there, of course," the assassin said "All of it"

"Not coht in our three lost co us down"

"And left the fourth hanging on a spike?"

Another laugh "He is a dwarf - the gerants me no power over dead dwarves, just humans So if you fall in battle"

Entreri was not amused "You have the power to raise an army of skeletons?" he asked

"I did not," the drow explained "Not all of them The dracolich animated them, or the castle did But I heard them, every one, and they heard rievances against the dragon that had long ago slaughtered them"

They crossed the roo No eggs fell frouardian daei creaked open When they at last reached the main chamber of the keep, they found that the h the doors But none reainst thenoll oyle was to be seen Outside it was dark, for it ell into the night by then

Jarlaxle paid it all little heed His prize was in sight, and he was fast to the book, which still stood on its tendril platform No mystical runes spun in the air above it, and the drow felt no tingles of ical power as he moved to stand before it He looked over at Entreri then tore out a page

He paused and looked around, as if listening for the ru

"What?" Entreri asked

"The castle will not crumble as did Herminicle&039;s tower"

"Why?"

"Because, unlike that structure, this one is complete," Jarlaxle explained "And because the life-force that completed this castle is still alive"

"Arrayan? But you said"

Jarlaxle shook his head "She was nothing an the process, and the castle leeched her for convenience, not for survival Her death would have rity of the structure, beyond perhaps slowing the growth of the gargoyles or so"

"Well, if not Arrayan, then who?" Entreri asked "The dracolich?"

Jarlaxle tore out another page, then another "Dracoliches are interesting creatures," he explained "They do not &039;die&039; as we know it Their spirits run and hide, awaiting another suitable body to animate and inhabit"

Entreri&039;s eyes ide and despite hi the beast to drop upon him He started to ask Jarlaxle what heinto the chamber behind him

"Well met," Jarlaxle said to them "And just in time to witness the end of the threat"

He stepped back from the book as he finished and tapped the tips of his thuers splayed before his Flaical book and igniting it Laughing, Jarlaxle brought a dagger into his hand and began tearing at the to

In that show, the drow found his treasure, and he slipped it into his sleeve under the cover of his slashing ht of the prize: a purple glowing gem shaped like a skull Not a human skull, like the one Jarlaxle already possessed, but the skull of a dragon

Ieon contained within

He felt the hate, the outrage

But on&039;s fear

He enjoyed that

The five reo far to find on, the defeat of the Zhengyian artifact, had co positive and ihaent of half-orc soldiers out of Palishchuk&039;s northern gate

How pleased they were to see the five exiting through the hole in the portcullis Athrogate had earlier made

Pleased and concerned all at once, for four werea man who had been a friend to Palishchuk for decades

Arrayan ran to Wingha Cheers went up all around the pair - for Arrayan and for Olgerkhan, with the occasional reminder thrown in to salute the other three

Those cheers were fast teerkhan confirood Pratcus and of Mariabronne the Rover

So it was a muted celebration, but a celebration nonetheless, for the threat had passed and Palishchuk had survived After a short while of cheering and ha

"There will be time for that e return to Palishchuk," Jarlaxle responded, and the others, even ever-curious Winghaht have been dead, but they were still deep in the Vaasan wilderness, after all

"We alham, for he had made it a point to walk beside the old half-orc on their journey back "Olgerkhan threw off his ring, and the sudden shock of bearing all the burden nearly overwhellance and nearly blurted out, "How do you know about that?" Jarlaxle figured, for he read it clearly on the old weapon dealer&039;s face

"When we could not find Olgerkhan&039;s ring, we knee had to move quickly Fortunately, by that ti of the castle, a black dracolich of enorham&039;s eyes "You have a few stories to tell," he said

"It has been a long day," Jarlaxle replied

All of the city turned out that night, the old, the very young, and everyone in between, to hear the tales of the fall of the dracolich Jarlaxle served as storyteller for the five, of course, for few in all the world could weave a tale better than the strange old dark elf Athrogate got in a few rhyroans of the onlookers

Through it all, Entrerito remain inconspicuous He didn&039;t really want to talk to anyone, didn&039;t want any pats on the back, and had little desire to answer questions about the deaths of Ellery and Canthan in particular

But he did see one face a the crowd, in the back and over by the door, which he could not ignore

"Davis Eng?" he asked when he arrived by Calihye&039;s side

"Resting well," she curtly replied "He nearly died when the gargoyles attacked the town, but I was there"

"Ever the hero"

Calihye turned a glare over him "That would be your title, would it not?"

"We asked you to co"

"To lie dead beside Ellery, no doubt"

Entrerifaded behind hiht He was alone with his feelings, including a few that he hadn&039;t even known he possessed He pictured Arrayan&039;s face then thought of Dwahvel Tiggerwillies He considered his anger, his hurt, when Arrayan had professed her love to Olgerkhan

Why had he felt that? Why so keenly?

He admitted to himself that he was indeed attracted to Arrayan, but he had been to Ellery and Calihye, as well, on that level He didn&039;t love the half-orc - how could he, when he didn&039;t truly know her?

It all had hi his head, and as he considered it, with ti and no distractions, he found his answer

He drew out Idalia&039;s flute and stared at it, then gave a helpless little laugh

So, the dragon sisters - and his drow friend, no doubt - had conspired to ely, at that ry with theon rolled out of Palishchuk three days later, carrying Entreri and Jarlaxle, Calihye, Athrogate, and Davis Eng A handful of Palishchuk soldiers had agreed to serve as guards and drivers Behind it ca the bodies of Pratcus and Coh to bury, and Canthan&039;s lower torso, though supposedly retrieved by the Palishchuk guards who had returned to the castle, had not been placed in the cart Whispered rumors said that it had been claimed and removed in quiet the day before, but even the ever-suspicious Jarlaxle and Entreri had put little credence in the confused reports

"You would be wise to keep all curiosity seekers out of the castle," Jarlaxle told Winghaerkhan and a much older half-orc, who had been introduced as an old and renowned bard "The book is destroyed, so the place should be dead, by all reasoning But it was a Zhengyian artifact, after all, and we do not knohat other surprises the Witch-King left in place"

"The soldiers ent in have told everyone of the fate of Pratcus," Wingham replied, "and that there was apparently no treasure to be found The castle will re Gareth can send an appropriate force to investigate"

"Farewell then," the drow said with a lo and a sweep of his great hat "Expect ht more fully peruse and enjoy the town"

"And you will be welcoh we&039;ll not likely see you until the springshe had given hiht study it further and perhaps replace its lost cohareed, for neither knew that Jarlaxle already had the sister ring in his possession As soon as the others had left that room of battle, a quick spell had shown Jarlaxle its location, and the droas never one to let such iteha, if it is not already here!"

"And you will be welcoerkhan added

Entreri locked stares with the half-orc then turned his gaze over Arrayan Her smile arm and friendly, and full of thanks

Entreri reached into his cloak and pulled forth the flute of Idalia, then looked back to the pair Feeling Jarlaxle&039;s curious gaze upon him, he turned to the drow

There was apprehension there, and Entreri got the sense that his friend was about to be quite disappointed

He held up the flute but didn&039;t toss it to Olgerkhan, as he had intended

"Perhaps I will learn to play it well enough to entertain you upon my return," he said, and he saw the smile widen on Jarlaxle&039;s dark face

Entreri wasn&039;t sure how he felt about that

"I would like that," said Arrayan

The wagons rolled away Arte back at the half-orcs, and a long ti his hands feel the craftsmanship of Idalia&039;s work

The rest of the day proved uneventful Even Jarlaxle was quiet and left Entreri pretty ht, and Entreri chose one of the wagon benches as his bed, mostly because then no one was likely to sleep too close to hiain and only wished that he had been far enough away froht take up the flute and try to learnhe could be even farther ahen, a short while into the quiet night, Calihye cliht er in hand, he knew he could easily defeat and kill her, but he did not wish to do that

"The road will not be clear tomorrow," the half-elf said to hi around to sit up

"Before mid-day, perhaps sooner, ill find pursuit, a band of riders co with questions and accusations," she explained

"What do you know?"

"The Citadel of Assassins wishes to know about Canthan," Calihye explained "He was no minor player in that dark association, and now he is dead Ruerkhan told of his near-death experience in the castle He told of a dagger and of the fall of Canthan Many ears beyond the s beside the half-orc heard that tale"

Entreri stared at her hard

"Arche Knellict is not Canthan," Calihye went on "Whatever success you found against that wretch will not easily be replicated where Knellict is concerned Nor will he come alone, and the men beside him will not be novices to the art ofwhile "I will not live indebted to Artemis Entreri," she said and turned away

Not for the first tilad that he had not killed her

Daas still long ahen Entreri and Jarlaxle ons

"The word is &039;Blackfire, " Jarlaxle explained as he handed the obsidian figurine over to his companion

"Black - " Entreri started to ask, but the drow interrupted hi

"Do not speak the summons until you are ready to ride," Jarlaxle explained "And place the figurine on the ground before you do, for it will summon an equine beast from the lower planes to serve you I found it on the body of Mariabronne - a curious iteer of the Army of Bloodstone to carry"

Entreri started at hio," Jarlaxle said

"You will ride behind me?"

"Beside you," said the drow, and from yet another of his many pouches, he produced an identical item

Entreri couldn&039;t find the heart to even shake his head