Free Dark Sun: Prism Pentad 5 - The Cerulean Storm by Troy Denning

fix the road, and we
     don't have a day. So, we'll have to rope across.”
    “And then what?” asked Magnus. “You can't expect the whole legion to crawl across that
     rope. It would take too long-and with so many warriors, dozens are sure to lose their grip
     and fall.”
    “The legion can take its time, if it needs to,” said Neeva. “We can fetch my militia from
     Agis's estate. Our numbers aren't as great, but there should be enough to support Sadira
     while she attacks with her magic.”
    “Speaking of Sadira, I'm sure she could solve our problem easily enough,” Caelum
     suggested. “Maybe Magnus should send a message to her?”
    Sadira had stayed behind in Tyr, making provisions with the Veiled Alliance to help defend
     the city in the legion's absence. She had promised to catch the legion long before it
     reached the giants, and Neeva was surprised that the sorceress had not joined them already.
    “That's the wisest thing anyone has suggested yet,” Magnus said. He went a few steps up
     the road and began to work his magic.
    “I'll take a line across anyway,” Rikus said, finishing his knot. “We don't have any time
     to waste if Sadira can't come yet.”
    After handing the other end of the rope to Caelum, Rikus reached out and thrust his hand
     into the square hole where the first missing buttress had been lodged. The mul swung out
     onto the cliff and reached for the next hole, grimacing as his face rubbed over the hot
     stone. His fingertips barely caught the bottom edge of the dark square. He worked them
     deeper into the cavity, then released his first hand and slipped it into the next hole.
    Rikus shrieked in fear and surprise. He jerked his hand out of the far hole and began to
     fling it around madly. A silvery creature about as long as a stiletto had attached itself
     to his middle finger.
    Neeva pulled her dagger and kneeled at the edge of the road. “Hold still, Rikus!” she
     ordered. “I can't see what you've got.”
    “I've got nothing!” the mul roared. “It's got me.”
    In spite of his shock, Rikus managed to steady his hand. A huge scorpion had damped its
     pincers onto his middle finger, cutting him dear to the bone. The barb of the tail was
     buried deep into the back of his hand, with a great cone of red flesh already swelling up
     around the puncture.
    “That scorpion's huge!” Caelum observed. “It couldn't have been in the hole when the
     buttress was there.”
    “Who cares?” Rikus growled. “Just get it off!” The mul pushed his hand toward the road,
     but could not quite reach because he had to cross his arm in front of his body.
    Neeva laid down on her belly and stretched out to cut the pincers. The scorpion pulled its
     tail from Rikus's hand and struck at her. It moved with such blinding speed that she
     barely managed to twist her blade flat and deflect the venom-dripping barb. She changed
     targets and sliced at the thing's body, but the creature was every bit as quick as she
     was. Its tail lashed again, this time arcing at her wrist.
    Neeva pulled back to avoid being stung. “I've seen lightning strike slower!”
    “I could've told you that!” Rikus growled.
    Pulling his hand back toward his body, the mul lowered his head and opened his mouth.
     There was a crunch of splintering carapace, then Rikus turned toward her and spit the
     scorpion's severed tail from between his sharp teeth. The mul extended his arm toward her.
     Already, his hand was so swollen that it looked more like a bear's paw.
    “Get the damn thing off-now!”
    As Neeva reached for the scorpion, its carapace suddenly changed from pearly gray to
     yellow. The color did not fade so much as it slipped off the arachnid's body like a
     passing shadow. For an instant, the formless apparition hovered in the air, then it
     floated down to the hole into which Rikus had been sticking his hand when he was stung.
    The scorpion itself turned gold and began to shrink,