lowest extremity.
-But why is he staying? Why isn’t he trying to get away if the stave is
dangerous to him? … That thought came suddenly, and at once brought a great
diminishment to Stulwig’s battle impulse.
The fear that hit the man abruptly was that there had to be a reason why
Vashanka continued to fight by avoidance. Could it be that he expected the power
in the stave to wear off?
The awful possibility brought back the memory of what Ils-Cappen Varra had said.
The instant shock of what must already have happened to the stave’s defence
power sent Stulwig backing at top speed towards the hallway leading to the
stairs. He gulped with joy, then, as he glanced back for just an instant, and
saw that the normally barricaded door had been left wide open by Azyuna.
With that, he spun on his heels, and almost literally flung himself down the
stairs, taking four, and once five, steps at a time. He came to the bottom. And,
mercifully, that door also was open. It had been hard to see as he made his
“wild escape effort.
At that ultimate last moment, the entire stairwell suddenly lit up like day. And
there was instantly no question but that the demon-god had belatedly arrived,
and was in hot pursuit.
Out in that night, so dark near his entrance, Stulwig ran madly to. the nearest
corner. Darted around it. And then ran along the street until he came to a main
thoroughfare. There he stopped, took up position with his back against a closed
stall, and his stave in front of him.
Belated realization came that he was still stark naked.