"Douglas Niles - Druidhome 2 - The Coral Kingdom" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niles Douglas)

9876543

ISBN: 1-56076-332-9

TSR, Inc. TSR Ltd.
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 To Bill Larson and Pat McGilligan,
who helped me bring the Moonshaes to life
 Prologue
An evil god was Malar, the BeastlordтАФmaster of marauding monsters and misshapen creatures, deity of
those who existed to kill, who relished slaying innocent, helpless victims. The grotesque shape of his
immortal body resembled that of a monstrous black beast, like a malformed bear, with long, ripping claws
and a coarse coat that dripped fresh blood. The essence of his evil soul formed a staunch pillar of darkness
in the pantheon of the gods of the Forgotten Realms.
Restless, Malar seethed within the seat of his immortal throne. Fury fueled his foul nature, boiling,
churning within him, compelling as release a savage depredation across the mortal lands beneath his sway.
And as was so often the case when Malar's hatred erupted, his target became the mortal race toward
whom he felt a special enmity: the elves.
This is not to say that many dwarves, humans, halflings, and other benign creatures had not perished
beneath the brunt of this foul god's wrath, but unquestionably elves were his favorite prey. So favored were
they, in fact, that the Beastlord maintained a pet creature expressly for the purpose of slaying the members
of that sylvan race. This was Ityak-Ortheel, the Elf-Eater.
In his vindictive hatred, Malar decided that Ityak-Ortheel should once again walk the paths of the
Realms. The Beastlord summoned the monster from its mire-choked lair far down among the Lower
Planes. The Elf-Eater arose from the sludge, revealing a huge mass of tentacles surrounding a domed
carapace and one wide, mucus-streaked mouthтАФa maw where countless elves had perished in the past.
Malar knew of an elven land that was ripe for his onslaught, for it lay in a valley on a continent in flux, a
place where new human cultures invaded, clashing with the old. As was always the case, such conflicts
among humans created great dangers for the elves caught in the violence. Regardless of which human
force prevailed, it would act vigorously to secure its borders. Any elven communities in the area faced
automatic jeopardy.
For his target, this time, the Lord of Bones selected an elven tribe known as the Thy-Tach. The
community had existed in peace for more than two millennia among the stately oaks of its pastoral vale. Far
from the intrigues of Toril and Kara-Tur, the Thy-Tach elves had prospered without bloodshed or violent
conflict for a very long time. They carved tall totems of wood and stone, placing these in honored sites
throughout the forest, nourishing and tending the woodlands and wild creatures of the valley for many
harmonious centuries.
Ityak-Ortheel changed that status very quickly. Transported through gates of arcane passage, the beast
arrived in the midst of the peaceful village as evening approached, appearing with the quickness of a
blinking eye. Tentacles flailing, the Elf-Eater lumbered through a pair of wooden houses, smashing them to
splinters and quickly gobbling up the female and young elves cowering there. The Elf-Eater's huge bulk
balanced upon a trio of legsтАФeach club-footed, of huge girthтАФand this physical structure gave the monster
a rolling appearance as it rumbled forward.
Screams of sheer terror rent the pastoral valley. Wooden walls splintered into a thousand pieces, while
horrible tentacles probed, as if they had intelligence of their own, through the wreckage for survivors. When
a tendril seized upon an elfтАФyoung or old, male or femaleтАФthe terrified victim faced the consummate
horror of the monster's mouth. The blood-red aperture gaped, and the last sights witnessed by the doomed