Kaz gritted his teeth. He took a deep breath and was about to launch into another tirade when the Grand Master spoke. “We will solve nothing with bickering,” Lord Oswal said wearily. “I suggest we try to get some rest. Bennett, walk with me for a bit, please. I wish to hear what you have seen since your departure. I wish to discover what else the knighthood must make amends for.”
Bennett grimaced. “As you wish, milord.”
“Get some sleep, Kaz.”
“A good suggestion, Grand Master.”
Kaz watched the two depart and felt exhaustion suddenly take control of his body. Arguing, however briefly, with the Grand Master’s nephew had just about used up his own reserves. He looked around. The sky would be his roof tonight, as it had been for so many nights in his life. He looked for a secluded spot.
The place he finally chose had only one drawback, and that was the sudden appearance of a particular kender, even before Kaz had a chance to lie down.
“Where’ve you been, Kaz? I’ve been looking all over for you since you vanished back at the gate while I was watching the knights arrive. How come you’re sleeping here when there are so many other places? Though I guess we can’t sleep at the library anymore, because the building isn’t in too good shape anymore, is it?”
“Delbin, unless you have something important to say, why don’t you go to sleep, too?” Kaz removed his battle-axe and harness and lay down. He put his hands under his head and stared up at the sky. Until tonight, the only things really visible had been the moons. Now, however, the stars were apparent. Kaz started to pick out the constellations he knew.
“Are we gonna stay here for a while, Kaz?”
“In Vingaard? Not if I can help it!” the minotaur grunted. “One can only take so much of the knighthood. I start searching for Argaen Ravenshadow tomorrow. The colder his trail becomes, the harder it’ll be to find him.”
“At least we won’t have to go far.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Delbin shrugged innocently. “Well, I mean, he probably headed for the mountains east of Qualinesti or for the southern part near Thorbardin. Don’t dwarves live down there? You wouldn’t go that way when I asked last time. Did you have trouble-”
The minotaur sat up. “Delbin, do you know where the elf is?”
“I do now. I was going to write about everything that happened and how big and powerful the knights looked when they arrived a few minutes ago, but when I reached for the book, I found this little crystal that I knew had to be Argaen’s, and when I thought about him real hard, all of a sudden I could see him landing someplace in the mountains just north of Qualinesti. I think they’re partly in Ergoth and partly in Solamnia, but I could be wrong.”
“Let me see what you found.”
Delbin pulled something out of his pouch. “I thought you might want to see it, but you looked pretty busy. I bet maybe Argaen put it into my pouch while he had me imagining I was helping you by opening the vaults.”
A look of wonder passed over Kaz’s bullish visage as he eyed Delbin’s prize. It was the same trinket that Ravenshadow had used to find the kender the first time he had disappeared, searching in the library. Kaz snatched the magical device from his companion’s diminutive hands.
“You saw where the elf was going just by thinking about him?” Ravenshadow’s image was burned into his own mind now.
The artifact in his hands began to glow a little, and something murky appeared within it.
“That’s how it did it last time,” Delbin offered helpfully.
“Quiet!” Kaz continued. A dragon, even a stone one, could cover astonishing distances in a short period of time. The mountains Delbin had described, however, were fairly near, several days’ ride at the very most. It amazed Kaz that the dark elf would position himself so close to the land of his people.
The murky image began to waver. Argaen Ravenshadow. His home. The emerald sphere of Galan Dracos.
With a flicker, he was suddenly flying high above a mountain range. Had he not flown on the backs of dragons in the past, the angle would have sent him reeling. As it was, he was able to study the range. He knew these mountains, had seen them from a distance several times. The northernmost tip of Qualinesti was only a day to the south. How could Argaen hope to keep out of sight of his kin?
Slowly the image focused on one mountain in particular. The peak began to grow larger and larger-or rather, Kaz, through the crystal, was descending. Within seconds, he was below the tip of the mountain and still descending.
The ruins sprang from nowhere.
One minute he was gazing at yet more mountainside, and the next he was hurtling toward the roof of some long-abandoned structure. Kaz allowed himself a smile. He not only knew his prey was in a particular set of mountains, but he also knew where in those mountains.
Who?
The voice echoed through his mind, and Kaz nearly fell back. Only barely did he succeed in keeping his grip on the crystal.
“Kaz?”
Who? the voice demanded. There was an ethereal quality to it.
The crystal began to grow hotter. Kaz no longer had any desire to hold on to it, but now it appeared to be holding on to him. The image in its center had faded, but the voice remained in the minotaur’s head, growing increasingly powerful and demanding.
Where? Who?
Gritting his teeth, Kaz called out. “Delbin! Knock… knock it from my hand. Hurry!”
The kender reached into his pouch and pulled out, of all things, his ever-absent book. Taking it in both hands, Delbin struck the minotaur’s hand with all his might. Smoke arose from the book as the tiny artifact burned the edge of it before being sent flying away.
Clutching his hand where it had been burned, Kaz watched the crystal strike the ground and crack into several pieces. In that same instant, it ceased to glow. The voice that had been demanding the minotaur’s identity vanished as well.
Both Kaz and Delbin stared at the shattered remnants for several seconds before the kender dared to ask, “Kaz, what happened?”
“Someone was trying to locate me while I was locating the elf.”
“Someone?”
Kaz nodded, eyeing his injured hand. He hoped Tesela had the strength left to heal it. He had a feeling he was going to need to be at his best. The voice had not been Argaen Ravenshadow’s-of that, at least, he was sure.
Then, who?
Chapter Seventeen
The group selected to hunt Argaen Ravenshadow would, by necessity, be a small one. Of the two hundred or so knights the Grand Master now had under his command, a good quarter of them would not be fit for very much activity for at least a few days. Still more were needed back at the keep to guard the walls of Vingaard and start clearing the debris left over from the stone dragon’s departure. All in all, the Grand Master was stretching his resources to the limits when he assigned fifty knights to his nephew.
Darius, Tesela, and Delbin, of course, all insisted on coming along as well. To the knight, it was a sense of duty, of honor. The cleric insisted that they were likely to need her healing skills where they were going. Kaz suspected her real reason was Darius himself. Adversity had thrown them together.
As for Delbin, he did not need a reason, and Lord Oswal was more than accommodating when it came to the kender. If he stayed behind, without Kaz to watch over him, the knights rightly feared that he would pilfer everything in sight, plus, no doubt, some things that were not.
Those riding with the party were personally chosen by the Grand Master, and the entire expedition was supplied with whatever could be spared in the way of food and materials.