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Автор Drew Hayes
Drew Hayes
NPCs
NPCs
By Drew Hayes
Copyright © 2014 by Andrew Hayes
All Rights Reserved.
Cover by Clay Kronke
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Acknowledgements
I feel it is only appropriate to dedicate this book to my college tabletop group. To Matt, Dan, Neil, Alex, Jenny, Alaric, Kendra, and Biggie; the people who made those dice-based adventures into the fond memories I still carry to this day.
I also want to thank my beta readers for all their input and assistance. To E Ramos E, Priscilla Yuen, Bill Hammond, and Chad; whose time and energy helped make this book the best it could be.
Prologue
The halls stank of death, a sour mixture that cobbled together the worst parts of time, neglect, and rot. With every step, he was certain something would spring from the shadows, show its visage in the dim light of the glowing runes on his staff, and then tear his throat out. He was desperate to run, to turn and flee from this strange labyrinth they’d uncovered, but he dared not. Any moment of cowardice would be his last, for when word reached the king, there could only be one outcome.
Moving carefully past the broken door housed in an ancient arch, he entered a room different from the others he’d encountered so far. It was circular and compact, where everything else had been sprawling. There were accoutrements for living: bookshelves and a stove, both long ago ravaged by time.
They started to call to him, for he’d been walking over a day now and hunger gnawed at his belly, but then he saw the pedestal.It sat in the center of the room, a dusty, white material that might have once gleamed in a different life. Atop it, without any grandeur whatsoever, sat a strange object that reflected the enchanted light from his staff. He moved toward it, and as he did, he felt a strange pulse of magical energy ripple forth. The strange item gleamed now, fully illuminated by the staff’s mystical glow.
He knew better than to reach out and pick up a clearly enchanted object. Even as a lowly court wizard, that lesson had been beaten into his head by all of his teachers. He did know better… and yet, he was still unable to stop himself as his slender elven fingers curled around the object and plucked it from its perch.
The glow intensified; no longer was it reflecting his staff’s light. Now, the object generated illumination of its own. Around him, sounds filled the air as the dungeon began to come alive. Traps re-armed, monsters stirred, and magic poured from every surface. He paid no heed to any of it, however.
