A wizard, he is a wizard. Wait-the others don't know what he really is. He is a secret wizard, posing as a staff-armed warrior. He hopes he will not have to drop his disguise as a fighter. A youth and another wizard are behind him. Garkim nodded thoughtfully. "Are more of your party coming through the gate?" he asked.
"Yes," said the first warrior shortly. "Now, tell us exactly where we are.'
"Certainly, certainly," said Garkim slowly, gathering the last of their thoughts. The next man through would be a novice, a trouble-prone sort tolerated by the others despite his clumsiness. A wizard-woman, a noble, would be the last person to enter through the gate. This group was bent on finding someone here, a kidnapped woman with whom Garkim was unfamiliar. They had already fought many powerful monsters guarding the gate's other end in Undermountain, and they had expected to fight hundreds more monsters here. They were astonished but still relieved to find only a well-dressed man inside a marble rotunda full of light-but they expected their host to sprout fangs and wings at any second. Garkim carefully drew a breath.
"Well?" demanded the first warrior.
"You are in a building that is called the Vault of the Stone Arch," Garkim began. "We are in the city of Eldrinpar, in the Imperial Reaches of Doegan. Further greetings must wait, however. Follow my instructions if you would leave this area safely. Look down at the mosaic floor on which you are standing. You must not cross the great circle of flowers made from red and yellow tiles that you see. Ker-" He cut himself off; he had almost used the golden warrior's name. It wouldn't do to let them know he could read their minds. "Keep inside that circle, and no harm will come to you. Sir-you with the golden armor, you are very close to the edge."
The golden warrior did not back up. "I dislike being fenced in, my good man. What will happen if I take another step?"
You will die, thought Garkim irritably. "You will trigger a trap, and you will have little time in which to regret it," he said loudly. "You are safe there, where you are. Please lower your weapons and pay attention to my instructions."
"Identify yourself more fully to us first," said the silver warrior grimly. He stepped forward, his right armored foot coming to rest a fraction of an inch from the circle of inlaid flowers. "You seem to have been expec-"
"Hey! Is this the Utter East?"
Startled, everyone looked back at the gate. A clean-shaven youth with short, sandy hair and well-tailored clothing had come through. He held a large fighting knife out as he turned around, staring at the chamber with huge eyes. He carried a large backpack with a bedroll on top, and a long coil of thin rope hung from his belt. "Wow!" he gasped. "What a place!"
The gold-armored warrior abruptly reached out with his hammer and struck a light, glancing blow against the white tile floor outside the circle of inlaid flowers. It happened too fast for Lord Garkim to catch the thought and shout a warning. He was in the act of flinging up his arms to shield his face when the trap went off.
A block of black stone fell out of nowhere from above and struck the ground directly in front of the gold-armored warrior with a bone-jarring crash. Shattered floor tiles flew across the room, hammering armor and battering exposed skin. The gold warrior fell backward, his hammer clattering to the ground beside him. The black pillar, as wide across as a man's outstretched arms and half again the height of a tall man, settled upright into the smashed tile floor with a groan, then was silent.
"Stay where you are!" roared Garkim, enraged and unnerved. "Stay there or you will be killed!"
Several of the visitors moved anyway, grabbing the golden warrior and hauling him and his weapon away from the stone, closer to the black gate. The warrior with the staff helped the armored man to his feet.
Anger burned in Garkim's face. "The gods curse your stupidity!" he shouted in fury at the group, now bunched defensively around the arch. "This room is protected against all invaders using the gate! You are idiots and fools to doubt me!"
The visitors said nothing, their weapons ready. After a pause, however, the silver-clad warrior- their leader-lowered his shield and hammer. He exhaled and nodded his head, muttering instructions to his comrades. The men moved away from the black gate, eyeing it and Lord Garkim with grave suspicion.
"We will follow your directions, then," said the leader to Garkim. "My name is Miltiades, of Phlan. You obviously anticipated our arrival."
"Not I," said Garkim, forcing himself to be civil with an effort. "Your arrival was foreseen by my liege, our emperor, the Mage-King Aetheric III of the Imperial Reaches of Doegan, who bids you welcome. I am instructed to see you safely out of this building and guide you to quarters prepared for you in the mage-king's palace."
"I thought this was the Utter East, not some empire," mumbled the youngest man.
"Noph," warned the silver warrior.
"This is indeed the Utter East, or at least a part of it," said Lord Garkim. "It is well that you came here and not to one of our neighboring kingdoms, but we can discuss that later. For now, be assured that you are in good hands."
The third man through the gate, the one with curly blond hair and a two-handed sword, grinned as the tip of his weapon touched the floor. "You don't seem fond of people just coming and going through the gate," he responded. He tilted his head briefly toward the huge block of stone to the side, then glanced back at the gate. "Speaking of which, what's keeping Aleena?"
"Experience with gates breeds great caution," said Garkim. "Only a poor man or a fool fails to bar his door. Now, if you at last wish to escape this chamber, you must first look-"
He broke off and craned his neck, his gaze going past the newcomers. Something behind the visitors had changed. He hadn't yet caught what it was-he hadn't been paying attention. The newcomers, following his gaze, turned to look at the gate. Tyr's Word," someone whispered in shock. Lord Garkim stared in astonishment, his instructions forgotten. The blackness inside the stone arch had vanished. No colors replaced it. He i could look under the arch and see the other side of I the rotunda clearly.
"The gate!" shouted the golden-armored war-i rior. He turned to the silver warrior in amaze-I ment. "What happened to the gate?" The silver warrior shook his head, staring at the I space under the stone arch. "That should not have I happened," he muttered, glancing uneasily at Lord I Garkim. "The gate should still be working, unless-" I "Unless something happened at the other end," said Kern suddenly. He stepped forward, tested the space under the stone arch with his hammer, I then slapped a hand against the stone arch. The prunes that covered it were dark and lifeless.: "Where is Aleena? Did some fiend attack her?"
Noph cleared his throat. "Uh, guys, it's okay," he said. Everyone turned to stare at him. The youth had already put away his knife. "Uh, Aleena, um, she stayed back.; Maybe she…"
"She what?" shouted several of the men at once.
Lord Garkim closed his eyes for a moment and f sighed.
It was going to be a day he would not soon forget.
Chapter Three
Lord Garkim could read minds, but having five strong-willed subjects made the process difficult. It proved to be easier to keep all conversations with them direct and to the point. It never hurt to first play the good host, of course, as it led to a lowering of mental barriers and swift answers later.