Agya’s eyes narrowed. Maybe she suspected the mage would leadthem into a trap.
Vlandar nodded and took the map. “Then if it is ourway, you can guide us.” He turned. “Mal, is there anything else useful here?”
The paladin shook his head, still refusing to speak.
“A moment, Vlandar,” the mage broke in. “I thought our goalwas to be gone from here and report back to your king. Seeking out this dread place would only take us farther from that.”
“Our goal,” the warrior reminded him, “is to find proof ofwhat is going on with the giants and Keoland. We have connected the Steading to the Jarl and dispatched with him, but there is obviously someone yet higher up the chain. I cannot return to my king with mere speculation.”
“You’ll send us all to our deaths.”
“We’ve done well so far, better than any of us could haveexpected on the outset. Either the gods are smiling upon us or we did well in hitting the giants quickly and quietly. I care not which, but I will not give up now.”
“So be it,” the mage said in resignation. “I do not agree,but I swore to follow you, and I am not one for forsaking comrades in their hour of need.”
“Good,” said Vlandar, “then let’s be about it. Lhors, gofetch everyone from the other room.”
By the time the youth was back with Khlened, Bleryn, and Gerikh, Vlandar was talking to Jebis and the hunters. “I am glad we found you.If you’re certain you can find your way to your own lands once you’re outside…?”
Jebis nodded firmly. “Their village is a matter of a few dayseast of here, in the Yeomanry. I’ll go with ’em.”
“We haven’t much to spare,” Vlandar said apologetically, “buthere is a map. Our rangers say there’s a passage beyond this chamber that leadsdown and outside. Once you’re out, you’ll want a place to rest up before you goon.” He squatted down, Jebis with him, and the two went over the map, whichVlandar handed over. “The cave is too small for giants to use, and we left drywood behind.” He held out a cloth bag. “There’s enough stuff here to make a hotsoup for the four of you.”
“Giants took nothing from us but our weapons,” Jebis replied.“I still have my pot and the makings for a couple days’ worth of stew. I guessthe giants figured they’d rather we eat our food than theirs. If you’ve anymessages to pass on…?”
“No,” Vlandar said at once. “If you’re caught again…”
“We understand,” the older hunter said quickly.
Vlandar led the way past the leather drape. Lhors found himself in a small bulge of a cave with chill air flowing over him from a narrow passage to the east.
“That’s our way, then?” the Jebis asked. When Vlandar nodded, he led hisfellow hunters out of sight. Jebis hesitated, then held out a hand, which Vlandar clasped.
“I wish you good luck in your quest, Captain,” he said, “andI hope to hear the end of this story one day.”
“I hope to be able to tell it,” Vlandar said with a faintsmile.
With that, Jebis and his hunters left and were soon out of sight.
Nemis came from a small area up by the passage. “Nothingthere but a box that smells of trouble to me. Except for an iron bar protruding from the wall, I cannot reach it. There is power on it, though.”
“Make light for me,” Malowan said. “I need to see the thingand touch it myself.”
Nemis eyed the paladin sidelong, expecting the man to still be angry with him, Lhors assumed. But Malowan seemed to have dealt with the deaths back there-or at least put his anger and distress aside to do the job athand.
“Is that wise?” Maera asked rather anxiously as the two movedoff. The ranger gripped a spear in one hand and seemed to be holding Florimund to his feet by the other around his waist. The half-elf’s eyes were closed, andhis face was utterly bloodless. “My cousin says-”
“Later, please,” Vlandar said tersely. “We need to get freeof this place before someone finds the Jarl and his lady.”
Maera drew Florimund over to the wall, and Rowan slowly followed. Vlandar and Lhors watched as Nemis made light. Malowan stretched up an arm but apparently fell short also. Nemis then made a sling with his hands for the paladin to step into. Mal was still for some moments, then he nodded and jumped down, beckoning Vlandar over.
The warrior cleared his throat to get everyone’s attentionand led them across the little alcove. “What have you found?” he asked.
“A transport, much like the Steading chain,” Malowan said.“With a specific goal. We pull down on the bar, and whoever is in this partlyenclosed area will go there-wherever ‘there’ is. We need something I can standon.”
Khlened and Bleryn ran back into the Jarl’s bedchamber, cameout with a sturdy-looking flat chest, and set it against the cavern wall.
“All right,” Vlandar said. “We’ll go half at a time. I wantNemis, Rowan, Bleryn, Khlened, and Gerikh in the first party, weapons drawn. And Nemis, be ready to bespell any guards. The rest of us will be right behind you.”
The mage nodded and climbed onto the trunk while Malowan drew the rest of them back against the curtain into the bedchamber.
The mage reached up to the lever and pulled down smoothly. Lhors blinked in surprise. The mage and the others simply vanished!
And then it was his turn.
Vlandar’s arm was reassuringly solid against his shoulder.The youth gripped his spear.
“Deep breath, my young friend,” the warrior told him. “You’vedone well so far.”
Once everyone was in place, the paladin drew down on the bar. The chamber faded. Icy cold whirled away, and as the ground solidified under their feet, a hellish blast of heat wrapped around them.
Lhors blinked furiously, but for a moment, he could see nothing but blackness. Then, as his vision began to clear, he could make out a steep, black wall blocking their view ahead. To their right and left was nothing but smoke and distant fires.
Nemis was dragging off his cloak and hood as Vlandar came up. “Fire giants,” the mage said unhappily. “I knew it would be fire giants.”
19
What they could see was dire.
The night sky was thick with clouds painted blood red by fires and volcanic eruptions. Smoke was everywhere, and the addled-egg smell of reeking steam issued from nearby vents. Thick, ashy clouds billowed from a nearby volcano that shot flame and boulders high into the roiling sky. Not far away, the unmistakable form of a great hall topped a mass of shining, solidified lava, stone, and slag.
Where they stood was separated from the hall and the road leading to it by a low rock wall-to keep anyone from walking over it when themagic was being used, Lhors thought.
“Let us go,” the mage said. “There should be a guard here,and there are guards just inside the palace.”
“Howd y’know that?” Khlened asked. He eyed the mage warily.
Vlandar held up a hand for silence. “Ask later. We need toget out of sight now.”
Nemis nodded. “Unless the landscapes changed much in the pastyears, I know of one such place.” He glanced around. “Watch where I step andfollow me closely. There are sinkholes and hot pools that will kill you in an instant.”
Florimund gasped.
The mage gave Maera a chill look. “Keep him quiet, please.”
The ranger turned away from him to soothe the half-elf.
Nemis turned his back to the palace and walked rapidly, angling away from the nearest volcano. The others followed, Malowan bringing up the rear.
It took longer than Vlandar would have liked, but in the end Nemis found his sanctuary: a black-walled, roughly circular tunnel, blocked at the inner end. The chamber was long and possessed two sharp bends that would keep in any light they made. It was surprisingly cool in here-compared to theoutside at least. The company hastily removed their winter garb once they were well in, and Malowan made a light for them.
“What kind of cave is this?” Lhors asked.
The walls were almost glassy, oddly rough-shaped but smooth to the touch.