Artek stared at the ring in shock. "You mean, all this time you've had a way out?"
Beckla nodded gravely. "This ring has the power to gate whoever wears it out of Undermountain. I could have left you at any time. But I didn't. I don't suppose that counts for anything, but I wanted you to know.
"I had always thought that I would give anything for my dream, but I know now that a dream at any price isn't a dream at all-it's a nightmare." She hung her head. "Do what you will now," she whispered softly.
Artek bared his slightly pointed teeth. He raised his big hands before him. He knew now what would be the wizard's punishment for her betrayal. Corin and Guss reached for him, as if to hold him back, but he shook them off. A low growl rumbled in his chest. He sprang forward, catching the wizard in his arms, and with his orcish strength began to squeeze her- in a rough but warm embrace.
Beckla's eyes grew large with astonishment, as did those of the others. Artek laughed, lifted the wizard off the floor, and spun her around. At last, he set her down. She gripped the table dizzily to keep from falling.
"I don't understand," she gasped. "Aren't you angry with me?"
"By all the fires of the Abyss, you'd better believe I'm angry with you, Beckla Shadesar. You should have told us before about that ring of yours. It could have saved us a rather large amount of trouble. But the fact is, you didn't betray us. You could have, but you chose not to." He reached out to squeeze her hand. "And that's all that matters."
Color crept slowly into Beckla's cheeks. A smile stole across her lips, and a mischievous spark flashed in her brown eyes. "I think Lord Darien Thai is going to be in for a bit of a surprise." She held up the magical ring. "Let's get out of this dump."
The wizard pressed one of the small rubies on the ring, and it popped out, falling into her hand. Thrice more she did this, then gave a ruby to each of the others, sticking Muragh's in his bony ear hole. Finally, Beckla put the ring on her right hand. They gathered close as she held up the ring and spoke in a commanding voice. "Gate-open!"
The ring flashed. In the air before them appeared a glowing line. The line widened into a doorway filled with billowing gray mist.
"All right, everybody," Beckla cried. "Hold on!"
Together they leapt through the misty portal and fell into the nothingness beyond. Once again, Artek felt the terrible, bodiless cold that gnawed at the very center of his being, but it lasted only a moment. There was another flash, and a crackling hole opened in midair, a gap in the very fabric of the world. The five tumbled through the hole and struck a hard stone floor.
"Can't you program these things for softer landings?" Corin complained as they stood. "I'm really not certain I can take much more… oh." His words faltered as they gazed around.
A rough-hewn corridor stretched into shadow in either direction. Pale fungus clung to the walls, and dark water trickled across the floor.
Artek swore vehemently.
"I don't understand," Beckla said in confusion. "The ring was supposed to take us to the surface, but this still looks like-"
"Undermountain," Artek spat, finishing for her. He shook his head and almost laughed. Almost, but his chest was too tight with the bitter irony of it all. What fools they were! "Don't you see, Beckla? Haven't you figured it out yet? He's betrayed you, too."
The wizard's face blanched. Then anger ignited in her eyes. She spoke a single, hateful word, as if it were a curse: "Thai."
Artek nodded grimly. "It makes sense. He couldn't have allowed you to live-you knew that he had arranged Corin’s demise. So, he made certain that you would never escape from Undermountain either."
A great heaviness came upon Artek, weighing him down. "Well, it looks as if Darien has beaten us to our little surprise. He has defeated us after all. But I suppose it was well that we tried." He glanced at his tattoo-less than an hour left. At least he would not have long to wait for his end to come. The others would not be so lucky. It was hard to believe now that the legacy of the Garug-Mal truly ran in his blood, because the darkness held no comfort. It was cold, and bleak, and utterly empty.
"Wait just a second," Muragh piped up suddenly. "Guss, pick me up. Beckla, hold up your hand. I need to take a look at that ring of yours."
The others regarded Muragh in vague curiosity, but they did as he instructed. The skull peered at the ring with his empty eye sockets.
"Hmm," he muttered through his broken teeth. "I was afraid of that," the skull pronounced finally.
"Afraid of what?" Artek asked, not certain he had the energy to play the skull's guessing games anymore.
"This is a Horned Ring," Muragh replied. "Not a common find in Undermountain, but not so rare either. Halaster made quite a few of them."
"Wait a minute," Artek protested. "You mean Halaster himself made this thing?"
Somehow the fleshless skull managed to look annoyed. "Granted, I don't have lips, so sometimes I tend to mumble, but I'm pretty certain that's what I said."
Beckla studied the ring with new interest. "If it won't take us out of Undermountain, what will it do?"
"Take us down," Muragh replied. "A Horned Ring will gate you anywhere you want to go in Undermountain, as long as if s below where you are at the moment. With every jump, it takes its wearer deeper."
Artek looked at the skull in sudden shock. "What did you say?" he demanded hoarsely.
"Really, Artek," the skull grumbled. "Why don't you clean the ore cheese out of your ears? I'm getting awfully tired of repeating myself."
But Artek was no longer paying attention to the skull. He paced quickly over the damp stone floor, his mind working feverishly.
"Of course!" he exclaimed, smacking his forehead with his hand. That's the answer!"
The answer to what?" Beckla asked.
"Halaster's riddle," he replied in growing excitement. "Remember? The deeper you go, the deeper I get. If you jump sideways, you may find me yet.'"
"I think maybe you've jumped a little too deep yourself," Muragh noted acerbically.
Artek ignored him. "Don't you see, Beckla? You said it yourself, back when you were explaining to me the difference between teleporting and using a gate. Teleportation is a fast but direct journey between places." He brought his hands together. "But using a gate is Шее jumping-"
"Sideways," Beckla breathed.
Artek snapped his fingers. "Exactly! That's the key to finding Halaster. If every use of the Horned Ring takes you deeper, eventually you would have to reach the deepest part of Undermountain. And where else would the Mad Wizard be except at the very bottom of his own maze?"
"Do you think we really dare disturb Halaster himself?" Corin asked, a startled expression on his smudged face.
"It's our only chance," Artek replied. "He's the only one who could transport us out of here. What have we got to lose?"
"You can count me in," Guss said with a grin.
"Me too!" Muragh added.
"And me," Beckla said firmly.
Corin smoothed his grimy, tattered silk shirt, then gripped the rapier at his side. "Well, I'm not about to miss all the fun."
Artek surveyed the determined faces of the others. He had entered Undermountain alone. Never had he expected to find such allies, such friends, in its dark depths. His heart swelled. "Let's do it," he said.
They gathered close together, making certain each still had a ruby. Then Beckla raised the ring. "Gate!" she ordered. "Open!"
The misty portal appeared before them.
"Here goes nothing,'' Artek murmured.
Together they jumped through.
They fell sprawling to the floor of a great cavern. An acrid smell hung in the dank air. Artek heard a strange clinking sound and looked up.
Glittering blue scales armored the vast, sinuous body of a blue dragon. Like sapphire sails, leathery wings spread open in a menacing display. Red eyes flaring hotly, the dragon stretched its serpentine neck, rising off the mountain of gold, silver, and jewels upon which it sprawled.