Mortal Consequences - Book 3 of the Netheril Trilogy - Chapter 1 - Watch it! It's a—

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Eden

Mortal Consequences unfolds a brutal encounter in the Netheril Trilogy as Candlemas and Sunbright are swallowed by infernal, sulfurous attacks that leave water replaced by boiling tar and reeking death. In tundra winter, Sunbright is trapped by a diamond-shaped carpet-beast, healing instantly while he suffocates inside its tight folds. Meanwhile Knucklebones battles rolling monstrosity and swarming white ants that bite, injure, and threaten to strip her as she fights to save him.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages144

Reading Time3 h 42 min

AccessFree to download

Chapter 1

Infernal assault and burning tar

The carpet-beast ambush

Knucklebones’ rescue attempts

White ants and escalating danger

Mortal Consequences Book 3 of the Netheril Trilogy By Clayton Emery Ebook version 1.0 Heat belched all around him. Brimstone bubbled just under his nose. He was afire. Hissmock ignited, as did the skin on his elbows and knees. He screamed at the sudden pain, and forced his eyes open to see this new attack, to get away. The water was gone. Instead, the creek bed roiled with black, sticky tar. Huge gas pockets burped sulfur. Things charred and long dead floated on the surface. The tar was near boiling, and Candlemas was elbow-and hock-deep in it. It stuck to his face and neck, and burned where it touched. He wailed with fright and agony as he plucked himself free and grabbed for the shore. The monster was there to meet him.... The Netheril Trilogy Clayton Emery SwordPlay Dangerous Games Mortal Consequences Clayton Emery Chapter 1 "Watch it! It's a—" The land around the pair extended for miles in all directions, flat as a white tabletop. Yet the part they'd trodden on suddenly erupted upward like a snapped rug, then twisted and curled high as a man's shoulder to engulf them. Sunbright Steelshanks, barbarian, grabbed his much-smaller companion Knucklebones, part-elven thief, by one arm, and hurled her a dozen feet to plow into powdery snow. By the time the thief had rebounded to her feet and whipped snow from her eyes, the barbarian was gone. Not gone, she realized, gulped down. Entrapped. Some monster like a wide, flat rug, diamond-shaped like a manta ray from the ocean, had whirled upward from the tundra floor to snare Sunbright, then slammed itself and its prey hard against the ground. The leathery thing was a dozen feet across, big as a tent, and strong as a yoke of bulls. Though hard to see against snow and winter-white sky, Sunbright was wrapped like a mummy in white folds so tight that Knucklebones could see knobs marking his belt buckle, back scabbard, and the iron rings of his moosehide boots. She didn't look for long. Whipping out a dark-bladed elven knife, she pelted toward the monster, powdery snow flying from her boots, and drove the slim blade into the creature's hide directly above Sunbright's head. As the creature jerked, she sliced sideways, fearful of scalping Sunbright. The hide was tough as a boot sole, and stiff with white hair sharp enough to pierce her hand. She heaved and sawed with her blade, parted flesh, but drew no blood, only a white ichor that froze instantly in the chilly air. Her carving was rewarded by a brief glimpse of Sunbright's topknot and trailing horsetail, hair so blonde it was almost white, giving him his name. His face was dangerously blue from suffocating. Sucking air as if drowning, he gasped, "My sword! Cut out my—" The vision was whisked away. Astonished, Knucklebones saw the wound seal as if by magic. A white-on-white line glowed, then the hide was as smooth and tough as before. As impervious to harm. Inside the rolled-up carpet-beast, Sunbright kicked, kneed, flexed, bit, tussled; all to no avail. Even his brawny arms, pinned alongside his head, could only shove the living walls away a hair. He was locked in a white chamber tighter than a coffin, lungs and stomach constricted. He would have blacked out already had not Knucklebones let in fresh air with her knife. The monster healed instantly, and would wrap tighter until he suffocated. After that, the snow lurker would take days to digest him, gaining life and warmth from his rotting carcass. Sunbright had seen reindeer skeletons with the ribs and pelvis crushed, marking a lurker's attack. He kicked, but both legs were trussed tight, as if roped. Bucking his back and buttocks did little good, for he couldn't gain leverage against the ground. As part of its brutal attack, the snow lurker rolled over and over, humped, and flattened like a gigantic inchworm. Such gyrations would disorient and panic prey, squeeze air from the lungs. Whirled around and around, Sunbright felt his stomach lurch. He

FAQs

What causes Candlemas and Sunbright’s immediate peril at the start?

Heat and brimstone attacks erupt around him, and the creek turns into boiling, black tar with sulfurous gas pockets. The environment becomes lethal on contact.

How is Sunbright captured and why can’t he escape the creature?

A diamond-shaped rug-like monster engulfs him and presses him into tight, white leather folds like a coffin. The creature’s instant healing and relentless rolling prevent him from gaining leverage or freeing himself.

What additional threat does Knucklebones face while trying to stop the monster?

After the beast leaves an impression in the snow, a flood of huge white ants emerges from a hole and swarms her, biting and injuring her as she continues the pursuit.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Eden