Dragon's Maze

The battle rung out in the chamber. Spell-weavers and priests hurled binding spells at the demonic guildmaster as he backhanded the onrushing wolf-riders. The demon spawn slashed at armored soldiers as enchanted steel sizzled against their flesh. The great nature elementals brawled with the demon lord, their mighty limbs swinging in time to Trostani’s commands.

Emmara scrambled for the gate, dodging through the battle to get a clear run. Exava saw her, and moved to block her way, a smile spreading on her face.

Emmara did not slow down. She charged straight at the blood-witch, imagining her as just another obstacle to getting what she wanted, just another lie to smash her way through. She would knock the woman down bodily if she had to.

Exava grinned at her, poised and waiting for the right moment. When Emmara bounded up the stairs, the blood-witch swung her sword, and it was timed perfectly to cleave into Emmara’s neck.

Emmara had nothing to deflect the blow but her own arm. The sword sank through the skin and into bone as she collided with the blood-witch. The two of them rolled to the ground, and Emmara ended up on top, kneeling astride Exava’s hips and pinning her down.

The sword was lodged in Emmara’s arm, almost clear through it. She took hold of the sword’s hilt. She gritted her teeth, a savage yell rumbling in her chest. Exava looked up at her, horrified fascination gleaming in her eyes.

Emmara ripped the sword free and groaned, and warm blood sprayed. She held the arm above her, sword in the other hand, and screamed through her teeth as the bone and muscle and sinew knitted itself whole again, thread by excruciating thread, sealing and merging with the near-severed limb. Her vision swam, and the sounds of the battle faded into the louder and louder pumping of blood in her ears, but she fought to stay conscious.

Emmara’s spell held, but there was still a storm of pain as she flexed the fingers at the end of the injured arm. She looked down at the blood-witch, who was speechless with sadistic enjoyment.

That gave Emmara the chance to jam the blood-witch’s sword into her shoulder. As Exava screeched and writhed in pain, Emmara stood, heaved a few breaths, then took hold of the blood-witch’s free arm. She hauled the woman up onto her shoulder, and as the battle raged behind her, she carried her enemy through the Rakdos gate.

***

Jace followed the route, trying not to think of what he’d find. Ral Zarek eluded him, but the storm still roiled above, and the rain soaked the streets of the Tenth. Sputtering fires told him he had entered the territory of the Rakdos, and his footsteps splashed as he descended alone.

When he came upon a pitched battle in Rix Maadi he feared the worst. But Trostani pointed him on, telling him that Emmara had already proceeded on to the Forum of Azor.

When Jace arrived at the Forum, all ten maze-runners were there, and all ten of them were threatening the others with spell and sword. The Golgari troll Varolz had new, disc-shaped scars all over his body, presumably from battling the tentacled leviathan, and was trading hammer-like blows with Ruric Thar. Vorel and the Boros runner Tajic each had the other’s throat in his grip. Lavinia and Teysa Karlov took turns offending each other, questioning each other’s jurisdiction, and testing each other with restraining spells. Mirko Vosk, Ral Zarek, and Exava were all circling and sizing each other up, ready to unleash violence at any moment.

Emmara stood by herself. Jace saw her glance at him, but she turned her face away. She looked up into the sky, her arms crossed, watching the rain come down.

Something in the center of the forum caught Jace’s eye. He saw that the flow of mana that had described the path through the maze was becoming visible. It was hard to make out in the storm, but Jace could see the power channeling into the floating monolith in the center of the forum. From the central monolith the mana then radiated out in soft rays, contacting the stone pillars around the forum’s perimeter and setting them aglow, one for each guild.

Something was happening, and all of the assembled maze-runners seemed to be missing it.

“Listen!” Jace shouted. “Halt your fighting, now

. This place is activating. You all have to find a way to make peace now, or we’ll all be destroyed.”

“How dare you,” said Teysa Karlov. “You have no right to speak to the speaker of the Obzedat this way.”

“I was here first, Beleren, you con artist,” said Ral Zarek, bristling with electricity. “The Izzet lay claim to all that’s about to happen here.”

“All of you forget that this forum was created by the Azorius,” said Lavinia. “Our maze has led you here, and what results is ours and ours alone. And I will defend our legal right to it if I have to.”

“Varolz see nothing but meat,” said Varolz, peering around at the other maze-runners.

“In the name of Lord Rakdos, I’ll kill you all!” screeched Exava.