Dhani sighed in relief, picking himself up. His side hurt from the guardian’s kick, but he didn’t think any ribs were broken--not that he could let an injury stop him at this point.

     He took a moment to get his breath, feeling his chest for the stones that dangled there on a silver chain.  He studied the gems in the dimming light of evening; a garnet, a red jasper, and a piece of lapis.

     Damned geomancer said this gem-chain would get me past the guardian without rousing it. He lied, expecting I’d die and not get back to demand a refund. Well, I’ll take care of him later. Right now, there’s another matter I must attend to. 

     He headed deeper into the garden.  Beyond the fruit trees, the flower beds, palms, and the starburst blooms, he saw his goal--the seven story alabaster needle that was the Shirokhan’s sanctum.

    The mage living there was said to be a master of wind and weather.  The stone guardian confirmed his; the breath that gave it life and animation was a secret of aeromancy, a trick unknown to the other disciplines--geomancy, pyromancy, and aquamancy.

    Dhani had dealt with all kinds of adepts pursuing his quest.  None of them had been able to help him, and few options were left.

     Keeping an eye out for other monsters, Dhani closed on the white tower.  He entered the cleared space around its base, circling the building. The reports were true ; there were no openings of any kind near the ground and the walls were slick, sheer, a difficult climb.

    He shrugged.  You do what you must and hope for the best.  A scrap of hope was better than none at all. At least, he told himself that.

     He unwound the thin coil of rope around his waist. His wrist cuffs unclasped. He interlocked them to form a skyhook.  Dhani attached the line and swung the grapling device in a circle on several feet of rope. He  sent it flying up the side of the tower.  The hook caught on a third-story balcony railing.

     He tugged, testing the anchorage, then pulled himself upward, hand over hand. He kept the rope wound around one ankle so his feet could act as a break, taking some of the strain off his arms.

     He revolved a little as he climbed, facing toward the tower one moment, then away.  He knew better than to look down, and measured success by every passing inch.

     Can’t be late, he warned himself. I’ve got to reach the mage before sunlight leaves the tower. I just hope the information I got from the Thieves Guild is accurate. He has to be here.

     Dhani reached the railing and pulled himself over. He flopped onto the balcony and froze.  Winged serpents made of a copper-gold alloy hovered before his face, regarding him with ruby eyes. A voice sounded from inside the balcony doors.

     "The Thieves Guild warned me you were coming. You did well to get this far. I applaud your determination if not your common sense. What do you want here?"

     Dhani shifted his eyes to the speaker, a sky cloaked man whose azure robes were lightly frosted by the amulets of carved ice he wore. The magic they stored kept them from melting in the summer heat. This had to Shirokhan, he decided.

     Just in time. The sun is setting.  In moments, the pure light of the twin moons will burn away my soul.  "Cure me if you don‘t want to die," Dhani said.  "My mortality is slipping away, and your magic won’t stop me once the change is complete."

     "Then you must die at once, cursed one, whatever your problem is."  The Aeromancer gestured and the winged snakes buried metallic fangs in his neck. A terrible cold spread through him, locking up his breath.
Thought became difficult. Sensation fled. Sight alone told him that serpent wings were battering his head.

     If possible, he’d have laughed, shedding bitter tears. His  distraught heart was flooded with useless pity.  The mage had acted as foolishly as all the other mages. Now, he’d share their fate.

     The sun settled below the hills. The moons glare searing his back, flushing out the cold.  Death was no longer an option for him--not ‘til morning anyway. 

     Snatching the serpents from his throat, Dhani crushed their heads with a hideous strength that increased as his muscles swelled, writhing into new configurations. His bones thickened, reshaping themselves.  His flesh crawled, sprouting silver fur. His jaw distended, growing sharp tusks.

     Dhani slammed the snakes he held into the balcony.  They shattered as he looked up, glaring at the retreating mage. You should have at least tried to cured me, should have… The thought trailed away. Instinct replaced reason. His shrunken skull only had room for rage and hunger.

     He shambled to his feet and advanced to the door, knuckles dragging the floor.  A blast of artic wind stalled him a moment, rippling his heavy pelt. His heavy spiked tail thumped the floor as he wading into the wind.  The cold invigorated him.

     Within the tower room, hanging from chains, lanterns dangled near the ceiling.  They were swirling paper moons filled with a cold fire. The backlash of the winds kept them in constant motion, making every  shadow dance madly. Dhani pressed on, driven by a need to kill.

     Writing runes on the windstorm, the mage gestured with his hands, muttering words in a lost and dusty tongue.  His azure robes streamed around him.  His eyes rolled back in his head.

     The lanterns pulled free. They surged at Dhani, veering away at the last moment to whip him with chain lengths.  Dhani lashed out. A clawed hand shredded a paper shell. Its inner glow dimmed, melting out of existence.

     The wind wrapped chains around his throat and limbs, seeking to restrain him.  He ignored them shambling on.  The chains broke where they were stretched too tight.  The mage fell back, his eyes widening with desperation.

     He pointed his palms Dhani's way.  Thin tendrils of lightning wreathed them as a charge built up.  A blue-white bolt bridged the distance.  Dhani's fur stood up, absorbing the energy, refusing to burn.  The energy bled away as he continued to advance. 

     The mage changed his tactics, drawing the winds to himself. They lifted him into the air which solidified under his feet. He stood on an unseen  column, his head inches from the high vaulting ceiling.

     "I recognize what you've become. You must have once trespassed against the temple of the moons. You have the look of the silver mountain apes that guard that dread place."

     The words were nearly meaningless to Dhani, lacking  importance.  Only the blood thirst mattered.  His fury needed expression.  

     He stopped, staring up at the mages’ feet. They were far away. He crouched, then straightened explosively into a leap. For a moment, he was eye to eye with the mage.

     The aeromancer’s face became as pale as the ice amulets he wore. Dhani’s red-lit stare was reflected back at him from the man’s startled eyes. 

     One of Dhani’s clawed hands wrapped around the mage’s head as gravity dragged them back to the floor.  The moons beast whipped his extended arm wildly. There was a brittle crack as the mage's vertebrae snapped under the stress.  Dhani’s other hand grabbed the mage’s ankles, stretching his dying body  horizontally.  The mage’s spine shattered as he was brought down over the beast’s rising knee.

     Dhani ripped away amulets and clothing, baring tender flesh so he could feed.

                    * * *

     The rising sun flooded the chamber. Dhani found himself human again as the moons surrendered him to the day. He was covered in blood. Pale bones were piled nearby. He refused to examine them closely, glad to have no memories from his altered state. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me. The words were a mantra in his head.

     He staggered to the balcony railing, gagging. His guts heaved, but nothing emerged. Whatever the moons beast had eaten had already been processed to fuel his arcane constitution.

    "Another mage dead, another failure at finding a cure." He stared out toward the far horizon, jaw clenching. I’ve got to believe the answer is out there, somewhere. Someone’s got to know how to beat this curse.  Well, there ARE rumors of a swamp witch living only a day’s ride away. Maybe...