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my word that I will do whatever I can to see your daughter safely home. I can promise no more.
Ben nodded slowly. I will take you at your word.
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There was a long, harsh silence. Then Kallendbor shifted uncomfortably in his seat and said, If you are
ready, I will show you to your rooms.
For the moment at least they had each had enough of the other.
Midnight came and went. Rain poured down out of the heavens, brought to the grasslands by
thunderheads that had broken free of the barrier of the mountains and had crossed in the dark. Lightning
seared the black skies in white-hot streaks that dazzled and stunned. Below Rhyndweir s walls the turgid
waters of the Anhalt and the Piercenal churned against their banks, swollen and clogged with debris.
Ben Holiday slept uneasily. Twice already he had awakened and risen to look about. Silence had woken
him the first time, the storm s fury the second. Both times he had crossed to the doorway and stood
listening, then had walked to the windows of the bedchamber tower and looked down. They were
housed in the west tower in rooms reserved for important visitors, high up in the palace, away from the
household staff and other guests. From their windows it was well over a hundred feet to the rocks of the
bluff and the waters of the Anhalt. From their door it was a long climb down a winding set of stairs past
several other floors and unoccupied rooms to the hall that led back to the main part of the castle. As was
the custom, the rooms selected for the High Lord of Landover were separate and secure, offering but a
single approach.
On this night, however, Ben could not stop thinking that they also offered only one way out.
Still, he was safe here. Bunion kept watch just outside the door, and the Ardsheal roamed the stairs and
hall below. Without, lightning flashed, thunder boomed, and the wind howled across the plains, a vast
immutable force. But the storm did not penetrate to where Ben and Willow slept, save for the sound of
its passing, and there was nothing else to make the High Lord wakeful.
Yet he was.
And when the heavy thudding came from the stairs and Bunion shrieked in warning, he was already
awake and sitting up in the bed. Willow lifted herself beside him instantly, her face stricken, her eyes
wide. The iron-bound oak door flew inward, splintered into shards that barely managed to hang together
from the shattered bindings. Something huge and dark filled the doorway, tearing at the stone walls that
hindered its passage. Bunion clung to the thing, ripping at it with teeth and claws, but it didn t even seem
to notice the kobold. Into the bedchamber it came, hammering apart stone and mortar, shredding the
lintels and the last of the mangled door. Lightning flashed and lit up the monstrous apparition as Ben and
Willow stared in disbelief.
It was a giant encased in metal from head to foot.
My God, Ben thought in stunned surprise, it s a robot!
Iron creaked and groaned as it swung toward them, arms lifting, fingers grasping. The creature was
formed of metal plates and fastenings. A robot! But there were no robots in Landover, no mechanical
men of any kind! No one here had ever even heard of such a thing!
Willow screamed and tumbled from the bed, looking for room to maneuver. Ben scrambled back,
slipped on the bedding, and fell. His head cracked hard on the wooden headboard, and his eyes were
filled with bright lights and tears. Ben! he heard Willow scream, but he could not make himself respond.
He knew he should do something, but the blow to his head had shaken him so that he could not think
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what it was.
A weapon! He needed a weapon!
Through the blur of his tears he saw the robot fling Bunion away as if the kobold were made of paper.
Massive iron feet thudded in heavy cadence as the monster closed on the bed, reached down for the
footboard, and tore it away. The bed dropped with a lurch, and Ben rolled free, trying to gain his feet.
Bunion attacked again, and this time the robot slapped him away so hard that the kobold struck the wall
with an audible crunch, crumpled to the floor, and lay still.
Ben, call the Paladin! Willow cried out, throwing loose bedding and broken pieces of wood at the
monster in a futile effort to slow it.
Then the Ardsheal appeared, flying through the doorway out of the darkness beyond, slamming into their
attacker from behind. The force of the blow caused the robot to sway momentarily before turning back.
The Ardsheal closed fearlessly with the giant, grappling with it in an effort to bring it down. Lightning
flashed once more, outlining the combatants as they fought for footing across the chamber floor. Willow
darted past them, trying to reach Ben. Ben was on his feet, leaning dazedly against the far wall. Blood ran
down his temple. He groped for the medallion so that he could summon the Paladin, but to his horror he
couldn t find it. The medallion and the chain that had bound it about his neck were gone!
Back against the stone wall crashed the robot and the Ardsheal, locked together in mortal combat,
caught up in their terrible struggle like great bears. The Ardsheal fastened its hands on one of the robot s
great metal forearms and wrenched at it with terrific force. There was a frightening screech of metal giving
way, and suddenly the lower arm and hand separated and fell to the floor with a crash. Instantly the robot
wrapped both arms about the Ardsheal, locked its good hand to the remnants of its shattered arm, and
tightened its arms in a crushing grip. The Ardsheal stiffened and threw back its head. Something inside it
broke with an audible series of snaps.
Willow grabbed up a piece of the shattered door, charged forward with a cry, and slammed the
makeshift club across the robot s face. The robot did not seem to notice, still concentrating all its efforts
on the Ardsheal.
Able to see again, Ben surged forward, his head clear. He pulled Willow away, snatched up a large
piece of the bedding, threw it over the robot s head, and yanked back on the ends. The metal giant
twisted its head, then started to swing about, still grasping the stricken Ardsheal.
But one boot caught on the bedding, and it tripped. To regain its balance, it was forced to release its
grip.
Instantly, the Ardsheal broke free. A dark liquid ran from its mouth and nose, and its joints looked to
have come loose from their pinnings. Yet it did not seem to feel its injuries. It attacked anew, hammering
into the robot with both fists and knocking it backward toward the open windows. As the robot reeled
away, the Ardsheal catapulted into it with a ferocious charge that carried both combatants into the
metal-barred opening. Stone and mortar gave way beneath their combined weight, and the iron bars
broke loose. The window frame and part of the surrounding wall shattered.
Then the Ardsheal locked itself about the robot, drove it through the opening, and both creatures
tumbled out into the night.
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