The Tomb of the Dark Paladin by Tom Bielawski Page A

god. The wizard knew he was not alone. 
    "Umber," he whispered, confirming his suspicions with a sense of dread. He stood shakily and attempted to brush the muck from his finely decorated coat of leather and velvet. The Tides were now being kept from him, but the wizard had been prepared for such a tactic and reached reassuringly into his pocket. It was different every time the dark god summoned him and Shalthazar never knew when or where he would be taken. He had been to a number of Umber's dominions during his enslavement to the dark god, but this time, it seemed, he had landed in the dark god's privy. 
    "Where is the Everpool?" thundered the voice inside his skull. 
    "I have not found it yet, Master," he returned, head low. "I have every available agent seeking it now."
    "I have little patience, Shalthazar." The wizard cringed, expecting a painful punishment. "What of my device?"
    "My spy is due to report any day, Master. I have but to wait for the report and we can claim the mysterious device." Shalthazar had no idea at all if any of his spies had information that would help him, but he had learned over time that he could bluff the evil god.
    "He had better, wizard. He had better."
    Shalthazar dared look up. The god was seated upon a throne of bones inlaid with gold and silver. As was his wont, Umber's face was shrouded in shadows, his skeletal hands visible at the ends of his armrests. A single bony flinger lifted from the edge of the armrest and a shadowy dart hurtled across the distance in the blink of an eye and struck the dark elf. His body was racked with pain as his arms locked up and his body stiffened. Inky tendrils of darkness wrapped themselves around the dark elf's feet and wound their way up his legs, then around his torso, and finally to his neck. Slowly the bands of shadow constricted, inflicting incredible pain as they slowly crushed him. Shalthazar did not panic, however. He knew that whatever horrible pain was about to be inflicted upon him would not kill him. Umber needed him, of that he was confident. Any punishment would be temporary and unlikely to leave any lasting harm. Such pain and discomfort was not new for the elf who had lived for many centuries and was quite capable of dealing with it. Shalthazar used the power of the Shadowtide stored within certain items on his person and removed his consciousness from his body. He passed his entire spiritual being into the shiny eyeball of obsidian that now lie tightly gripped between his fingers, yet he retained the awareness to control his facial features.
    Shalthazar watched the antics of the dark god from the eyeball in his hand and, now that he was free from experiencing the pain in his body, he smiled to himself. He listened to the dark being rant but learned little other than the fact that Umber seemed incapable of detecting Shalthazar's stunts. Finally, the dark god relented and waved another bony finger at the wizard. Shalthazar dropped weakly to his knees as he returned his mind to his body. He felt the lingering effects of Umber's power over his body and was keenly aware that the pain would have been nearly unbearable had he not escaped. Still, Shalthazar played the part and pretended to gasp and pant in pain and agony.
    He rolled over onto his back, then lay still, pretending to recover from his punishment. "Forgive me, Master," he whispered hoarsely.
    "What must I do to motivate you?" Shalthazar kept up his ruse, processing the god's words. "You must capture it and you  must  see it destroyed!"
    "Yes, Master," he groaned. "How shall it be destroyed, my Master?"
    "Throw it in the Everpool and destroy the power of the other Tides!" Umber's anger was lessening now and Shalthazar could see some of his attendees emerging from the shadows. Among them were a number of sultry women of a variety of races, and some very ugly demons who clearly acted as his guards.
    "What does this device look like, my Master? How shall I know it?"
    "Find the one