Dark Sun: Prism Pentad 4 - Obsidian Oracle Read Online Free PDF Page A

his ringers and grasped his captive
     tightly. “And Fylo promise to keep Agis here.”
    “It's right to want to keep your promise, but don't think Tithian will do the same,” said
     Agis. “Whatever he offered you-”
    “Fylo not for sale!” the giant boomed, squeezing Agis so hard that the air rushed from his
     lungs. “Tithian friend!”
    The heated response gave the noble pause. From the cruel comments floating around in
     Fylo's memory, it seemed likely that the ugly fellow had led a lonely life. Tithian, as
     adept at exploiting emotions as anyone Agis knew, had no doubt sensed this and cynically
     extended his friendship to the lonesome giant.
    “Once, I thought Tithian was my friend,” Agis said, laboring against Fylo's tight grip to
     draw breath. “But ifs not true. Tithian has no friends.”
    “Me!” bellowed the giant. “Fylo Tithian's friend.”
    Agis shook his head. “No-Fylo is Tithian's pawn,” the noble said. “And after you've done
     his will, he'll never trouble himself over you again.”
    “Liar!” Fylo screamed. Tithian come back soon!"
    “Poor Fylo. Your loneliness has blinded you,” Agis said. The noble gasped as his captor's
     fist tightened, then he added, “I can prove what I say.”
    Fylo relaxed his grip. “How?”
    “I've known Tithian since we were boys,” Agis said. “I'll let you send your harbinger into
     my mind, and you can see what he's like for yourself.”
    “No,” the giant replied. “This trap to hurt Fylo.”
    “We're both too tired for another thought-fight,” Agis said, shaking his head. “Besides,
     by letting you inside my mind, I'm taking the greater risk. If you think it's a trap, all
     you have to do is withdraw.”
    As he spoke, Agis pictured a vast, deserted plaza inside his mind, trying to create an
     open terrain where the giant would not be concerned about ambushes.
    Fylo studied Agis for a moment, then the giant's harbinger appeared inside the noble's
     mind. It had a flat, disk-shaped body that undulated like a cloth in the wind, with a long
     tail that ended in a sharp point The thing's mouth was on the underside of its body, while
     there were a dozen eyes spread along the rim of the top side.
    Waving its flexible body like a pair of wings, Fylo's construct began to fly over the vast
     plaza inside Agis's mind. “Where Tithian?” the harbinger demanded.
    Agis summoned his memory of the king. A foul, brown liquid seeped up from between several
     cobblestones. The stain formed itself into the shape of a man, then Tithian's gaunt visage
     appeared on the head. The face was not so different from that of the feel Agis had created
     earlier, with bony cheeks, a slender hooked nose, and a small puckered mouth. The eyes
     were beady and brown, at once wary and probing.
    As the giant's strange harbinger glided down toward the memory, Tithian's image solidified
     into the full form of a man's thin body, then stood. Fylo stopped his descent just out of
     arm's reach and slowly circled the figure.
    “That look like Tithian,” the giant said, pointing his harbinger's slender tail at the
     memory. “But maybe you make him lie to Fylo.”
    “No,” the noble said. “I'll release him. You can take control of the memory. That way, you
     can examine him as carefully as you want, and you'll know that I'm not interfering.” When
     Fylo continued to circle without responding, Agis pressed, “If you're afraid of what
     you'll discover, Tithian can't truly be your friend.”
    “Fylo not afraid. Let go.”
    Agis created a small falcon from one of the figure's hands. After transferring his own
     consciousness into it, he fluttered off and landed a short distance away.
    Fylo descended on Tithian's figure, completely engulfing it. The harbinger began to
     pulsate as he examined the memory, apparently confirming that Agis had truly yielded
     control of it. Several moments later, the giant finally seemed satisfied. He unfurled