Game Play by Kevin J. Anderson Read Free Book Online

continue the fight,
then Sesteb's friends made even more powerful ones to defend themselves."
    Delrael and Bryl
looked at him as they continued to walk. The path ahead of them zig-zagged
clearly through the trees.
    Vailret continued.
"Sure, some characters called for peace, but the others enjoyed the war
games even more."
    "I'll bet the
Outsiders had a hand in that," Delrael said.
    "The saddest
part is that Turik and Sesteb were themselves the best of friends and refused
to take part in the fighting. But the other characters forced them to engage in
a duel to the death. More games. Being a lot stronger, Turik killed Sesteb and
then carried his friend's broken body with him to the lakeshore. Turik walked
out until the waves closed over his head."
    "How
dramatic," Bryl said.
    Delrael shook his
head. "Shows what happens when you play a game without having the rules
set down beforehand."

    The trees ahead of
them parted, and Vailret caught his first close glimpse of the Barrier River.
Grayish brown, the River roiled in its pondering progress from the top of the
map to the bottom. The water hauled buried debris from what had once been
normal terrain.
    The bank was a
sharp black line where the forest ended and the water began. A transition zone
of sticky mud bordered the hex-line, glistening wet.
    Vailret could hear
the water moving, pushing against hidden obstacles. The river carried with it a
smell of decay from the rotting remains of woodlands and quiet meadows drowned
in the flood. A few birds flew out over the water, hunting for insects.
    "And that isn't going to stop Scartaris?" Delrael shook his head. "I don't
understand what we're up against."
    Vailret stared
across the water. "The River might buy us time if Scartaris sends an
attacking army ― but we need to prepare for a different type of
enemy. Scartaris might have been what turned Enrod against us."
    "Sure looks
like an effective barrier to me," Bryl said. "It's a full hex wide ― how are we going to get across?"
    "You're going
to swim, of course. Bring a rope with you," Delrael answered with a
straight face. He probably had not even considered the problem before now.
    The half-Sorcerer
glared back, but Delrael's expression showed no humor. Bryl looked away,
scowling. He took out the Fire and Air Stones, but the gems could not help them.
    Vailret spoke, but
he knew they weren't going to like it. "Tareah said Enrod could carry us.
On his raft."
    Delrael and Bryl
did a doubletake. Vailret kept himself from smiling, though he enjoyed the
astonishment on their faces.
    "She told me
that when the Deathspirits cursed Enrod to take his raft back and forth, they
said he had to assist anyone trying to save the world. Or something like that.
We of course have spotlessly pure intentions ― "The corner of
his mouth turned upward.
    Delrael frowned.
"Since Enrod tried to destroy us all, maybe Bryl shouldn't flaunt the Fire
Stone too much."
    Bryl stuffed the
ruby gem up the sleeve of his blue cloak. "I sure don't want him angry
with me. He's a full-blooded Sorcerer."
    "We have to
figure out how to summon him first." Vailret squinted at the distance. His
eyesight was never terribly good, but he thought he saw a smudge across the
water.
    "We might not
have to worry about that," Delrael said. "There's a bank of mist
coming ― straight toward us."
    The air felt cold
and clammy around them as the fog rolled in. They could hear waves lapping
against an object in the water, then the silhouette became clear. A raft.
    A tormented-looking
man used a long pole to haul the raft close to shore, but he remained carefully
away from the hex-line. Enrod the Sentinel looked disheveled, once massively
built, but now wiry. His black hair and beard showed streaks of gray spreading
out around his cheeks and temples. A wild glaze covered his eyes, directing his
sight deep inside, where he was trapped with his own thoughts. The Deathspirits
had cursed him only a short while ago.
    Enrod did not look
at the