"Brookwine! Winebrook!" Listle exclaimed.
Trooper raised a bushy eyebrow in surprise, casting a glance at Kern. Kern nodded, confirming the paladin's unspoken question. These were the two elven mages from Listle's story.
"Listle," Brookwine began in his tremulous voice, "we are so glad that we have-"
"— found you," Winebrook went on without pause. "Primul sent us to warn you that-"
"— one of Sifahir's minions has discovered your-"
"— whereabouts. You're in terrible-"
"— danger!" The two elves finished as one.
Listle sighed, reaching out and holding their fine-boned hands. "I know," she said glumly. "I was attacked a few hours ago. But that particular beast will trouble us no more, thanks to my friends here."
Quickly she relayed the tale of their encounter with Sifahir's illusionary minion. When she finished, the two wispy mages bowed deeply to the others.
"We are most grateful for-"
"— your slaying of the beast-"
"— that sought to deliver us into-"
"— Sifahir's hands once again."
The elves smiled their beguiling smiles, eyes glowing green-blue and blue green.
"Er, don't mention it," Trooper said, seeming at a loss as he turned his gaze from one mage to the other.
"Can you stay a while?" Listle asked the two ancient mages hopefully, but Brookwine and Winebrook shook their heads.
"I'm afraid we dare not-"
"— linger, dear Listle. We must return to-"
"— inform Primul of this development," they said in their fluid manner.
"You know how the green elf thinks us-"
"— to be flighty, and how angry he-"
"— gets when we dilly-"
"— dally."
Listle laughed despite her recent ordeal. Seeing her old friends always lifted her heart, no matter the circumstances. "Take care, you two," she whispered, hugging them tightly. "And don't let Primul bully you." In a wink the mages vanished, and two glowing sparks fluttered out of the clearing.
Listle fell silent then. Her worst fears had been realized. Her secret had been revealed. She knew the others would never regard her the same way again, especially Kern.
Trooper spoke, as if sensing her thoughts. "Well, let's have no more talk of leaving tonight," he said testily. "It's too late for such serious matters, and this old man needs his sleep." With that he rolled himself in his blanket and almost instantly began snoring.
Listle saw Kern gazing at her, the expression in his eyes impossible to read. She took a hesitant step toward him, wishing he would say something… anything. For a moment she thought he was going to, but then he too turned away and, climbing into his bedroll, shut his eyes tightly.
Listle felt a preternatural chill behind her. She looked up to see Miltiades. The paladin seemed to be regarding her with his empty eyes.
"It is a burden, being so different, is it not?" he said softly in his eerie voice.
"Yes," she whispered. "It is."
"You must not despair, Listle Onopordum," he said, a stern note in his usually gentle voice. "You fought hard to have the chance to live. Do not throw it away, for any reason."
With that the skeletal knight stepped away into the shadows, leaving her feeling completely and utterly alone.
A scream of rage filled the cavern of the pool of twilight.
"Why did you not tell me that sunlight would destroy my beautiful shadow fiends?" Sirana ranted. Her lovely hands were clenched into claws, her misshapen face twisted even more grotesquely than usual.
Was it not obvious? the guardian of the pool asked mockingly. They were creatures of darkness. How could they possibly withstand the burning rays of the sun?
Sirana's wings flapped violently, casting off spatters of greasy black feathers. "Tell me, great guardian of the pool," she spoke acidly. "You, who promised me so much power. Tell me, why does my revenge yet go unfulfilled?"
Bubbles burst sluggishly on the pool's metallic surface. As I told you long ago, sorceress, you are dealing with powerful forces. There is only one way you will ever gain the power you need to exact your vengeance. Sparkling flecks of twilight appeared in the pool, swirling at its center. You must enter the pool…
Sirana shook her head, though entranced by the specks dancing beneath the pool's surface, even as similar sparks swirled beneath her dusky skin. She knew she must not enter the pool of twilight. To do so would mean imprisonment beneath its murky depths.
But, she mused, wouldn't it be worth the price, to finally gain sufficient power to exact her revenge?
Sirana had no idea if that stray thought was her own or the guardian's. The flecks of twilight swirled faster, becoming a hypnotic whirlpool.
Wouldn't entering the pool be worth the small sacrifice? She could avenge her father's death and bring about the destruction of that wretched city, Phlan, once and for all.
Slowly, she began to approach the edge of the pool.
It wasn't as if she would have to be the pool's guardian forever, she reminded herself. She had only to wait until the first unwary traveler happened upon the cavern. How easy it would be, to convince some lesser being to enter the pool's depths.
Sirana balanced on the rocky edge. The turgid water lapped mere inches below her clawed feet.
Come, sorceress. Is not vengeance worthwhile, whatever the cost?
"Yes," she whispered, the swirling flecks of twilight reflected in her blankly staring eyes. "I must have my vengeance."
Sirana plunged into the pool of twilight
She felt as if she were freezing into ice and burning to ashes all at once. The thick fluid dragged her body down. Sparks flashed in front of her eyes; the lack of oxygen seared her lungs. She clamped her mouth shut, fighting the urge to draw a breath. Oh, why had she done this foolish thing? Her consciousness began to grow faint.
Finally she could stand it no longer. She opened her mouth, filling her lungs with the pool's water in one horrible, shuddering breath.
She was not drowning!
She took another breath of the thick, metallic water, and another, and another. With each, she felt incredible energy pulsing through her veins, infusing every fiber of her being. The power she had experienced before was nothing compared to the primal magic she now felt coursing through her body, forging her anew into something awesome and terrible, into…
… the guardian of the pool.
Even as Sirana reveled in her new incarnation, the waters of the pool began to froth and bubble furiously. In a spray of shimmering foam, a huge creature burst forth from its waters and soared toward the heights of the cavern.
"Free!" a wild, thunderous voice trumpeted. "After all these centuries, at last I am free!"
The massive creature whirled about the cavern, stretching his midnight wings in ecstasy. The black dragon was a great, ancient beast armored with countless scales as hard and gleaming as onyx. The dragon's name was Dusk, and in all the northlands of Faerun there was not an older or more powerful creature of his kind. A full two hundred feet from his horned snout to the spike-studded tip of his tail, there was strength enough in his claws to rend mountains to dust.
The dragon alighted beside the pool. One of his black eyes shone in utter satisfaction, while the other was dim and clouded, blinded by an ancient but not forgotten wound. That foolish half-fiend, Sirana, had finally yielded to the temptation the dragon had dangled before her. Now she would be the pool's guardian, trapped in its silvery waters. Now Dusk would do what Sirana had been too weak and moronic to accomplish-completely and utterly destroy the abominable city of Phlan!