Emperor Marak went silent for several minutes. Lyra tried to hear what the other person was saying, but she could not.
“I understand the problems,” Marak continued. “Just try your best. It is vital to keep Vand from learning about the air tunnels. As for my return, I am not sure yet. Much is happening here, and I cannot afford to leave until certain things are accomplished. I will talk to you again tomorrow. If anything urgent develops, contact me immediately.”
The Torak dropped the air tunnel and stood leaning on the railing and staring down at the plaza. Lyra walked forward and leaned against the railing, She wrapped her arm around his arm and stood quietly.
“You need to contact StarCity today,” Marak said softly. “Vand is trying to capture mages that might divulge how the air tunnels work. If he succeeds, we will lose the only advantage that we have over him.”
“You did not even look at me,” frowned Lyra. “How did you know who it was?”
Marak turned and smiled at Lyra. “You were standing behind me since I discussed Captain Mynor’s charting of the Island of Darkness,” he grinned.
“How did you know?” asked the Star of Sakova.
“A warrior’s instinct lets him know when he is being watched,” shrugged Marak. “As to your identity, I recognized your fragrance.”
“I should have known,” smiled Lyra. “What will charting the island accomplish? And what was that about building ships?”
“Charting the island is essential,” explained the Torak. “We now know exactly where it resides, and where the fleets are being assembled. From that we may be able to guess how he will attack, although a guess is all that it will be. As for the ships, Captain Mynor has suggested a fleet of small maneuverable vessels to attack the Motangan fleet when it does attack. I think the idea has great merit. I have ordered the building of some ships, but the most likely places to use them may well be in the Sakova or Fakara. We will discuss it with Rejji later on today.”
“And the problem with mages?” prompted Lyra.
“Vand kidnapped one of my mages from Raven’s Point,” answered the Torak. “He has tried to get Rhoda to divulge the workings of the air tunnel. He has failed so far. If he continues to fail, he will attempt to kidnap another mage. We must try to stop him from doing so. We cannot afford to lose the air tunnel until we develop something better.”
“Where do you get all of this information?” asked Lyra. “How can you possibly know what Vand is doing on the Island of Darkness?”
“Fisher is an incredible man,” answered Emperor Marak. “I have wondered the same thing, but I know that Fisher will not divulge his sources. All that I know is that Fisher has a spy on the Island of Darkness. His information so far has been extremely accurate.”
“From the stories that MistyTrail told me about her journey there,” replied Lyra, “that spy must be extremely brave. The Island of Darkness is a very dangerous place to be.”
“And the danger of that place is coming home to us,” frowned the Torak. “Let’s go to the library. The rest of the group should be getting up soon enough. I am anxious to find this Pit of Death.”
When they reached the library, Axor and Temiker were already there. They started searching the volumes of tomes for any references to the Pit of Death. Over the next hour, others came to the library and aided in the search. The library remained silent for hours as everyone devoured texts in the search. Finally, Bakhai called for everyone’s attention.
“The Pit of Death was a mythical place in Angragar,” Bakhai announced. “It was a place of healing of last resort. Those citizens who were near death went there with hopes, however small, of regaining the life that was slipping from them. It is said that those who did not die often went mad and wished that they had died.”
“Does it say where it was supposedly located?” asked Rejji.
“No,” frowned Bakhai. “It only mentions that there was a place called the Asylum that some feared might actually be the Pit of Death. Others scoffed at the idea.”
“I read something about the Asylum,” Temiker said excitedly as he put down his book and ran his finger along the shelf looking for a different tome. “It was a healing place for the terminally ill.”
Everyone waited anxiously while Temiker picked a book and began flipping pages.
“Here it is,” Temiker said. “The Asylum was a small shop in the northern section of the city. It sold elixirs and potions and also boasted of subterranean chambers that held special healing powers. Citizens had called for the closing of the shop as many customers had reportedly gone insane after going there.”
“Mobi,” ordered the Astor, “have your men scour the northern section of the city. Find this shop called The Asylum.”
Mobi nodded and ran out of the library. Everyone else continued reading in case the shop could not be found. A while later, Mobi returned.
“We have found the shop,” he reported. “I posted sentries around it, but warned them not to enter without permission.”
“You are wise, Mobi” complimented the Star. “We should approach this Pit of Death cautiously.”
Everyone filed out of the temple and followed the Qubari warrior to the northern section of the city. The Qubari shaman Yltar was already there and waiting.
“Yltar,” smiled Rejji. “What are you doing here?”
“I escorted the first group of citizens to resettle Angragar,” answered Yltar. “When I heard that something exciting had been found, I decided to see what is happening. I cannot describe the feeling of walking through the gates of Angragar. It is like a dream coming true. For thousands of years the Qubari have waited for this day. Chief Dumo is bringing another group in a few hours. What is all the excitement about?”
“We have been command by Kaltara to seal the Pit of Death,” answered Rejji. “We believe the subterranean chambers below this shop is that place.”
“The Pit of Death is mythical,” frowned Yltar. “It is the supposed home of Dobuk, the Fallen One.”
“Who is this Dobuk?” asked Rejji.
“In the beginning,” the shaman explained, “Kaltara allowed those that were holy and faithful to rule portions of his domain. Dobuk was one of those, but he chose to defy Kaltara and seized rule of all domains for himself. Kaltara learned of this deceit and punished Dobuk. He was transformed into a hideous demon that none could gaze upon and remain sane. He was banished for all time and named the Fallen One. He has vowed revenge upon Kaltara.”
“Could Vand be this Dobuk?” asked Bakhai. “Is that how he has managed to live for thousands of years?”
“More likely,” Temiker shook his head, “is that Vand is being driven by Dobuk. The records that we read indicated that Vand fell ill and sought treatment. Afterwards, he was a changed man. Perhaps he met Dobuk under this shop.”
“We must tread carefully here,” warned Axor. “If to gaze upon this demon can cause insanity, one of us must be chosen to go first. The one cannot be one of the Three. They will be needed to defeat Vand.”
“I will go first,” offered Mobi. “Kaltara will protect me.”
“Kaltara is already protecting us in a way,” Axor shook his head. “We have been warned about the potential danger before we descended into the Pit of Death. Still, I think the person that goes first should have the capability of magic to detect any traps that may be waiting for us. I will go first.”
“That is acceptable,” Marak said after looking to Lyra and Rejji for any signs of disagreement. “The Three will accompany Axor below. The rest of you should wait up here.”
Lyra lit a torch and handed it to Axor. The Chula shaman stepped into the shop, and the Three followed him. He found a flight of stairs leading down, and slowly led the way. Beneath the shop was a cellar. Racks of potions and elixirs filled the cellar, and Axor searched for a while before finding another set of stairs heading down. The next level down was roughly hewn from rock. It was more like a cave than a cellar. There were several rows of stone benches around a pool of bubbling mud.