"What's most important at the moment," he said aloud, "is that we can use this pool to track aboleths." Raidon focused his attention higher in the column. The tumbling spheres were impressive, but not relevant to their purpose.
"Where are we on this schematic?" said Seren. "We docked fairly high up, right? Though we don't know how tall the city really is since the top was punched into solid stone…"
Raidon didn't answer directly, but slowly traced a finger up the side of the glowing map, his fingertip only inches above the pool. Doing so seemed to aid his concentration. As his finger moved, the area on the diagram near it came into better focus, while areas beyond blurred into far less detail. He was searching for the Eldest.
He discovered more and more points of abolethic light as he tracked upward through Xxiphu's lower and central foundations. He found a particularly dense concentration of smaller, pale lights in a tangled maze of narrow tunnels about halfway up Xxiphu. Within the tangle, a couple of points pulsed with particularly fell light that outshone all the aboleths he'd so far detected. The two were clearly powerful entities… but they didn't seem to be aboleths. When he tried to focus his attention even closer, he was unable to get a positive fix on them. But neither was the Eldest. He moved on.
Above the maze, and moving steadily higher, he found another odd point of light. It seemed to pulse between great power and near extinction with heartbeat regularity. Raidon concentrated, then said, "Xiang's Seven Principles, that's Japheth!"
Seren's mouth dropped open.
The monk turned to regard Thoster. "You were right!"
The captain raised his hands in an elaborate shrug. He said, "You don't get to captain a ship like Green Siren if you can't make a few lucky guesses."
Raidon frowned. "This is a complication we do not need. Especially if he carries the Dreamheart with him on his ill-considered foray."
"Is he close to us?" said Seren.
Raidon resumed his study of the pool's schematic. He found where Japheth's soul light glimmered again, then carefully continued his search up the length of the great city.
"Yes," the monk said a moment later, pointing to a small chamber.
"We are here."
"No more than a few hand spans from where you detected the warlock," mused the captain. His voice held a tentative note.
Raidon said, "Yes. And see how many of the tunnels below converge here? If he continues his current heading, Japheth will come to this room eventually, perhaps in less than an hour. I sense no aboleths between him and us.
In fact, this whole upper area seems remarkably clear of the monsters…"
The half-elf raised his attention to the final fifth of the great spire-shaped city of Xxiphu. He sucked in his breath.
The empty cavity that crowned the city nearly matched the one at its base, at least in size. Within it, dozens of abolethic lights burned, several of them far brighter than the ones he'd spied lower down. Probably old and potent aboleths who'd wakened early. The disturbing thing was how they were arranged in a great circle, a shape whose arcane significance was not lost on the monk. The circle of aboleths slowly rotated, hovering some distance over the great chamber's floor.
"They're performing some sort of ritual," Seren murmured.
The magical reproduction in the pool showed how each aboleth brightened in turn, then dimmed as its fellow brightened, as if passing along some sort of charged object or concept. The pulse continued around the circle until a full revolution was achieved. The last creature in the ring directed the gathered energy to the roof of the chamber. Then the strangely regular dance of light began anew.
By process of elimination, Raidon knew what he would find when he concentrated his attention on the diagram's apex.
Upon Xxiphu's crown brooded the very absence of light. A dark, yawning emptiness there ate everything the creatures below were able to throw at it, leaving it hungry for more.
The Sign on his chest was so cold he lost feeling in his body. The vacuity could be none other than the Eldest, his foe, who sat the entire city as if it were no more than a throne.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The Year of the Secret (1396 DR) Xxiphu, Gallery of Seeing
"No more dallying," said Raidon. "I'm going to the apex and putting an end to this."
Seren's pulse beat visibly in her neck. The captain's breath came quicker.
"You two stay here and waylay Japheth when he comes through."
Seren gasped. "What?"
"The idiot warlock presumably has the Dreamheart with him. I can't imagine how else he could have found Xxiphu without its guidance."
"What does it matter now? You said the Dreamheart had lost its significance," said Seren.
Raidon said, "To put it simply, I don't want the relic and the Eldest to come back together."
Thoster said, "So the stone still has some power after all?" Raidon gave a half shrug. He said, "Yes, the Dreamheart is invested with a portion of the Eldest's power. The relic has been in constant usage since Nogah stole it. The more it was used, the more it drew from the quiescent
Eldest into itself. Though the relic's theft may be responsible for prodding the Eldest from its deepest slumber, the stone's subsequent and continued separation may be the only reason the Eldest hasn't already opened all its eyes. The Dreamheart sapped too much of the Eldest's essence, or at least its ability to regain consciousness.
Why else this elaborate ritual the pool reveals?"
The wizard said, "That… is entirely possible. The flow of magic and influence can cut both ways. How ironic."
"Even more ironic that Japheth is here just now," said Raidon, "with the Dreamheart in hand, apparently oblivious that the aboleths are waiting for him at Xxiphu's apex. He bears a terrible gift they are eager to accept.
If he delivers the Dreamheart to the Eldest, nothing will keep it bound."
"Seren and I can stop the warlock and take the Dreamheart from him," Thoster said. The man looked visibly determined, more so than the monk had ever seen him. But his features also bore the slightest touch of doubt.
"Good," Raidon said, "though I advise not touching the stone directly. Watch his approach through the pool- he'll be here soon if he keeps his current pace."
"We'll stop him," Seren said. Then her face pinched as if forcing out her next words. "You're sure you won't need help up there?" She waved vaguely toward the ceiling.
Raidon moved to the exit that the schematic showed spiraled in an almost direct route to the upper cavity. He said, "Thanks for your offer, Seren, but it's better you stop and hold the Dreamheart here "
"Very well. But don't sacrifice yourself, do you hear? I mean to collect what you promised when this is all over."
Raidon surprised himself by laughing. "I will endeavor to stay safe."
*****
Encrustations of ice coated the tunnel ahead of Raidon. It wasn't so thick it blocked his way, but it promised to be a tight squeeze.
The monk approached cautiously and angled his body to slip between two frosted glacier faces. Sidestepping through the narrow vent, he paused and looked into the ice. It seemed empty…
Raidon drew on the Cerulean Sign, asking it to supply him with sight sufficient to see what was tainted.
His eyes widened. He saw that Seren's earlier exclamation about the ice holding people was true. Raidon saw people of many races caught like flies in amber. And young ones too. He winced and looked away.
A child's piping laughter sounded from somewhere ahead. He started, then said, "Who's there?"
More laughter echoed down the cold vent, more distant than before. It was the innocent sound of a small girl- not unlike how his daughter used to laugh when she was at play.