“A place called Forever’s Edge.”
A flare of cerulean fire erupted from the symbol on Raidon’s chest, and warmth like an embrace enfolded him. He smiled.
“You know it?” asked the warlock.
“My Sign recognizes the name, though I do not,” Raidon said. “It can guide us.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The Year of the Secret (1396 DR)
Green Siren, Sea of Fallen Stars
Anusha watched the last of the kuo-toa slip over the side of the ship, and slide away beneath the sea.
Grins stretched the crew’s faces as they realized the overwhelming attack was over. Several shouted imprecations after the departing creatures. But many warily studied their captain. “He dismissed the beasts, all of ’em, with a harsh word!” Anusha heard one whisper. They didn’t understand what power their captain had displayed. Anusha didn’t, either.
Thoster stood at the starboard railing, looking out to sea. He didn’t move, other than to finger his amulet that lay in one hand. The amulet’s leather thong was snapped.
She willed herself into visibility. Her dream armor, in all its golden glory, melted into view.
“Captain!” she called.
Thoster turned to stare at her. His eyes were slightly unfocused.
“Are you alright?” she said.
“Aye,” Thoster replied. “Glad to see you back on deck. I was worried. Lass, did you see what I just did?”
“Some of it,” Anusha said. “How … How did you make them leave? Hundreds of them, all at once!”
He shook his head. “I wish I knew,” he said. “Something in my blood surged up. Suddenly I just knew the damned fish folk would listen to me. Because … I’m kin to them.”
“Even if you’ve got some kuo-toa in your ancestry, it doesn’t explain why they obeyed you,” Anusha said.
“That’s the question, eh?” Thoster replied. “I wish Seren were here. She’s the one who made this amulet. Maybe she gave it a little more potency than she meant.”
“Except you’re not wearing it anymore.”
“True. It got in the way.”
Anusha glanced up. She saw Xxiphu and its swaddling storm remained unchanged. The colossal creatures swooping in and out of the clouds around the city were similarly unperturbed. Good. The aboleths weren’t reacting to the dismissal of their sea surface guardians. At least not obviously.
Yeva joined them at the railing. She flexed an arm, moving her articulated joints with un-golemlike smoothness. “Japheth did an amazing job on this form,” she said. “Did you see the way those spears broke on my stomach?”
Thoster smiled. “Those kuo-toa didn’t know what to think!” he said. “Being iron-hard has its advantages, eh?”
“And disadvantages,” Yeva replied. “I’d give much to be able to sit down to a meal, for instance. Or feel the sun on my skin, or a cool breeze. Or, better yet-”
The captained clapped Yeva on the shoulder. “Once we get this Sovereignty business sorted out, maybe we can find you a mage or priest who can return you to mortal flesh,” he said. “That’s the hope I have for myself-I got these damn scales growing over most of me now.”
Yeva nodded, but her iron features didn’t shift. They couldn’t. “I saw how you ordered the kuo-toa to stand down,” she said. “Impressive.”
“Thoster wonders if it has something to do with the amulet Seren crafted,” said Anusha.
“May I?” Yeva asked as she held out a dull gray hand to the captain.
Thoster dropped the talisman into her palm.
A halo of violet light played around the iron woman’s temples as she examined the pewter bit strung on a leather thong. To Anusha’s eyes, the object was unremarkable.
Yeva shrugged, and returned it to the captain. Thoster eyed it a moment longer, then tied it back around his neck.
“A stricture is wound into your talisman, captain,” Yeva said, “one that presumably gives you the mental space to control your own non-human heritage. However, it doesn’t contain any special power that would grant the holder power over sea creatures.”
“Even if the wearer is part fish himself?” said Anusha. “No offense, Thoster.”
“Not even then,” Yeva replied. “Whatever power the captain has over kuo-toa, it is inherent with him.”
“Huh,” said Thoster. His gaze strayed back into the sky. Anusha and Yeva followed suit.
Xxiphu remained a splinter of black stone high on the horizon.
“What do you reckon is going on up there?” he said.
“They watch,” Yeva said. “They observe what passes on the world, and draw their plans accordingly.”
“Can you sense their thoughts?” asked Anusha.
Yeva shook her head. “I’m merely guessing,” she said. “It is what my people would do had we come to Toril with plans for invasion.”
“Who are your people?” said Thoster.
Yeva answered with a stiff shrug.
Anusha asked again, “So, could you sense their thoughts, if you tried?”
“Remember what they were like when we were caught inside?” Yeva said. “Aboleths don’t have thoughts like you and I-they have reactions. They cannot be rationally understood, only avoided, or defeated.”
“But they have intentions,” Anusha said.
“Instincts,” the metal woman replied. “The essence of what they are drives them. They are like the wind blowing down the valley. When the wind encounters a wall, it doesn’t think, ‘how will I get over this?’ It merely flows over the barrier and continues without pause. Perhaps the wall slowed the wind, but the wind did not notice-it simply persists, mindlessly howling across the world.”
“That ain’t particularly reassuring,” said Thoster.
“But,” Yeva continued, “There is something I could try, since we seem to have bought ourselves the luxury of some time.”
“Why didn’t you just say so to begin with?” said Anusha, feeling an unwelcome stab of frustration.
“Because it’s not easy,” Yeva replied. “It’ll take about a half an hour to prepare, assuming the captain can afford to give up a few things I’ll need for my trance.”
“What kind of things?” said Thoster.
“Oh this and that, nothing too valuable,” Yeva said. “When I have the components, I can attempt to consult the spirits of my forebears, who lie beyond this sphere. Though gone, the knowledge they gathered is accessible to their kin.”
“Fine,” said Thoster. “Just tell my first mate what you need. She can gather things from ship stores.” The captain looked around. “Hear that, Mharsan?” he yelled. “Get Yeva here what she requires. But keep track of the cost. I’ll be billing Anusha for all expenses.”
The captain winked at Anusha. She took it as one of those “jokes” that have a seed of truth at their heart.
Not that it mattered-If they managed to stymie the Sovereignty and foil their mysterious plan to find the Key, she’d gladly pay nearly any bill Thoster was cheeky enough to send her way.
Yeva climbed down into the hold with Mharsan.
“Meantime …,” said Thoster. “Maybe I can try my hand at influencing one of those kraken circling the obelisk.”
“Are you insane?” said Anusha. “What if you manage to catch its attention?”
“That would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt I’ve got some kind of affinity for commanding sea monsters,” said Thoster.
“Or irritating them! Kraken are not kuo-toa, captain,” she said.
Thoster laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he replied.
Anusha watched as the captain turned back to the railing. By the set of his shoulders, he seemed more anxious than cheerful. The man was still dealing with the revelation of his newfound strength, whatever it was.
When nothing noticeable happened after several heartbeats, Anusha shifted her attention to Xxiphu itself. What was going on up there, and … Why wasn’t she attempting to send her dreamform to the city and spy it out herself?
Seren had, good to her word, “thrown together” a charm that would, the wizard claimed, protect Anusha’s mind against external enticements. Anusha wore the charm on her sleeping body. It was a bracelet on her right arm-a silver chain onto which three small, greenish crystals were threaded.