Vengeance of the Dancing Gods Read Online Free PDF Page B
Author: Jack L. Chalker
lamp that granted wishes; it had been stolen once by the Dark Baron and then back from him, and had been used in plain sight. It would wish him out of here safely with whatever loot he wanted.
The tunnel had no more evident traps for about ten feet, although it still angled down, but then it emptied into a small chamber that was lined with mirrors. There seemed no way out—there were three reflections of him in front, two more on each side. The floor was still solid stone, with no signs of magic, and the ceiling was also featureless stone and a good fifteen feet up. Clearly, then, one of the mirrors was itself an illusion of a mirror, or was in some way hinged and trapped.
He stood there, in the center of the room, contemplating the new puzzle, when suddenly a ghostly, reverberant voice spoke to him. It was Ruddygore.
"You are to be congratulated, thief, for getting this far,.
the voice said. "Now you stand, however, in the primary trap, the one that cannot be passed by any other than myself. For the record, you are now twenty-six feet from the vault doors, and there are seven doors there, six of which, when opened, contain horrors more terrible than you can ever imagine, and only one of which contains what you seek. Don't worry. This is the end for you..
He knew that the voice was part of an activation spell now, and that in fact Ruddygore had no knowledge that he was here. It was a generic taunt, meant to discourage and unnerve.
"If you wish to halt things now, I give you ten seconds to turn and walk back through the tunnel to the base of the stairs. There you will find a recording of the one spell that will allow you to pass easily upward and back out into the castle. It will also, of course, turn you into an Page 19 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods .ogre and make you my absolute slave forever afterward, but that's the price you pay for staying alive. Fail to take this and you will die, and your soul will be consumed by these mirrors and used to feed their powers..
26 VENGEANCE OF THE DANCING GODS He looked frantically around. Ten seconds! He would not be panicked, but he knew enough not to take the threat lightly. He had triggered a spell for sure, and it was certain not to be a bluff. But how had the spell been triggered.
With a sinking feeling, he thought he knew. The mirrors.
The spell was triggered if they reflected any form but Ruddygore's! He stared in horror at the mirrors, then watched as his own reflections seemed to take on a life of their own, then step out of the mirrors and come toward him, daggers drawn.
They were upon him before he could even take the offer to be an ogre.
CHAPTER3 OLD FRIENDS AND OLD ENEMIES Neither friendships nor relations shall be anything but subordinate to one's true nature as established by these Rules.
—Rules, III, 27(c) THE FACT THAT THROCKMORTON P. RUDDYGORE LOVED to travel by ship was well known, so his arrival at the island castle retreat in a sleek racing yacht was not unusual.
The fact that the lake in which the castle sat had only one outlet, the Khafdis River, which was not navigable made it a bit more unusual. Ruddygore's ships did not travel in conventional places or along conventional paths.
Lake Ktahr was broad and enormous, although quite shallow in places. From no point on Wolf Island, even the highest tower of its castle, could any land be seen JACK L. CHALKER 27 beyond the waters, which made it ideal for Joe and Tiana.
Beyond its cliffside castle and outbuildings, the island was still wild, although no wolves were known to be there.
The island had received its name ages before because of a peculiar, wolflike prominence jutting out from the high cliffs. The vegetation was lush, the climate generally warm, and there were a few small white sand beaches accessible by steep trails from the high island floor.
Once, not long ago, this place of secluded beauty had been the
The tunnel had no more evident traps for about ten feet, although it still angled down, but then it emptied into a small chamber that was lined with mirrors. There seemed no way out—there were three reflections of him in front, two more on each side. The floor was still solid stone, with no signs of magic, and the ceiling was also featureless stone and a good fifteen feet up. Clearly, then, one of the mirrors was itself an illusion of a mirror, or was in some way hinged and trapped.
He stood there, in the center of the room, contemplating the new puzzle, when suddenly a ghostly, reverberant voice spoke to him. It was Ruddygore.
"You are to be congratulated, thief, for getting this far,.
the voice said. "Now you stand, however, in the primary trap, the one that cannot be passed by any other than myself. For the record, you are now twenty-six feet from the vault doors, and there are seven doors there, six of which, when opened, contain horrors more terrible than you can ever imagine, and only one of which contains what you seek. Don't worry. This is the end for you..
He knew that the voice was part of an activation spell now, and that in fact Ruddygore had no knowledge that he was here. It was a generic taunt, meant to discourage and unnerve.
"If you wish to halt things now, I give you ten seconds to turn and walk back through the tunnel to the base of the stairs. There you will find a recording of the one spell that will allow you to pass easily upward and back out into the castle. It will also, of course, turn you into an Page 19 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods .ogre and make you my absolute slave forever afterward, but that's the price you pay for staying alive. Fail to take this and you will die, and your soul will be consumed by these mirrors and used to feed their powers..
26 VENGEANCE OF THE DANCING GODS He looked frantically around. Ten seconds! He would not be panicked, but he knew enough not to take the threat lightly. He had triggered a spell for sure, and it was certain not to be a bluff. But how had the spell been triggered.
With a sinking feeling, he thought he knew. The mirrors.
The spell was triggered if they reflected any form but Ruddygore's! He stared in horror at the mirrors, then watched as his own reflections seemed to take on a life of their own, then step out of the mirrors and come toward him, daggers drawn.
They were upon him before he could even take the offer to be an ogre.
CHAPTER3 OLD FRIENDS AND OLD ENEMIES Neither friendships nor relations shall be anything but subordinate to one's true nature as established by these Rules.
—Rules, III, 27(c) THE FACT THAT THROCKMORTON P. RUDDYGORE LOVED to travel by ship was well known, so his arrival at the island castle retreat in a sleek racing yacht was not unusual.
The fact that the lake in which the castle sat had only one outlet, the Khafdis River, which was not navigable made it a bit more unusual. Ruddygore's ships did not travel in conventional places or along conventional paths.
Lake Ktahr was broad and enormous, although quite shallow in places. From no point on Wolf Island, even the highest tower of its castle, could any land be seen JACK L. CHALKER 27 beyond the waters, which made it ideal for Joe and Tiana.
Beyond its cliffside castle and outbuildings, the island was still wild, although no wolves were known to be there.
The island had received its name ages before because of a peculiar, wolflike prominence jutting out from the high cliffs. The vegetation was lush, the climate generally warm, and there were a few small white sand beaches accessible by steep trails from the high island floor.
Once, not long ago, this place of secluded beauty had been the
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