Sunday Excerpt, "Crucible"

At last the exhausted riders fell upon the beach and stretched out to relax near their steeds. Linvin found lying on the shrunken staff and Falconfeather to be uncomfortable and removed both from his back. He laid the staff on the ground along with the scabbard for Falconfeather. Linvin withdrew the blade to clean it against his cloak. No one spoke. They were simply too tired.

Miri was to Linvin’s right and the Greenliths were to his left with Anvar the farthest away. They’d raised their hoods on their cloaks to act as a barrier against the abrasive sand. Other than that, they laid completely flat. They were exhausted and were reluctant to even take nourishment.

After a while, the horses stopped drinking and looked around. They became restless and began to stammer back and forth. “Looks like they have had their fill,” Linvin noted. “I will take them back to the grass while you all rest here.” Stabbing Falconfeather into the sand, he marched to the water where he took the reins of the increasingly spooked animals. The horses bucked wildly as Linvin struggled to control them. One thing they did not fight him about was moving away from the water. Linvin could hardly keep up as the horses led him back inland. So focused was he on the animals he did not notice the water stirring nearby in an unnatural manner.

When they were well off the sand the beasts slowly calmed. Linvin found several bushes near a drumlin and tied the animals but gave them enough of a leash to graze as they wished. Though he expected the horses to begin eating at once, they chose instead to move as far away from the water as they could and stand with their backs to the lake. Well that has to be one of the strangest things I have ever seen, Linvin thought.

Suddenly there was screaming from the beach. Linvin turned to see a ghastly sight. Thousands of small tentacles no wider than a finger had sprung from the water and had entwined the other party members by the legs. They were winding their way up the bodies of their victims.

Linvin did not have the staff but felt instinctively he had his magical reserve on which to draw. He spread his fingers and fired dense bursts of magic at the attackers. To his absolute horror, the magic struck the tentacles and bounced harmlessly out to sea. Then he saw Anvar try his magic on the ever-tightening grip surrounding his body. His magic proved no more effective.

Linvin reached for Falconfeather only to be reminded it was standing in the sand. He raced toward his companions as the tentacles began to draw their bodies to the water. Needing to reach the others rapidly, Linvin was realizing just how deep the beach truly went inland. Running in sand was hard enough, but trying to reach his party before they were submerged was a daunting task.

Linvin called out in a firm voice. “Falconfeather. Come.” The great blade was awake even though it was lodged in the sand. It glowed with excitement and rose from the ground. With great speed it flew hilt-first into Linvin’s hand.