Raidon said, "This was given to me by my absent mother, before she returned to her people, who she claimed lived in the Yuirwood. I have followed signs and clues that led here, where I hope to match the symbol on the amulet with that said to be scribed on the gates of what you call Stardeep."
Kiril reached out her hand for the amulet. After a moment of consideration, Raidon relinquished the stone. She peered at its convoluted textures, the Sign displayed so prominently, and along both sides, looking for the telltale marks that would identify it. No. It was not the same Seal Nangulis had carried; it must be one of the earlier Seals, returned from history's obscuring grasp.
And it was dark. The amulet Nangulis had carried had been sky blue. She wondered if the color was a mute warning of the Traitor's activity. Too late in coming, if so.
Kiril looked up and met Raidon's anxious eyes. "You carry an extraordinary relic. She who gave this to you—who was she?"
The man shook his head. "I know not. I called her Mother. She left me when I was a child. Now that I'm grown, I've sworn to find her."
"She was an elf," Kiril stated. "Your father, a human?"
Raidon nodded. "He was an honorable man. I had not realized prior to a few tendays ago my mother was a wood elf of the Yuirwood."
Kiril raised a single eyebrow. "Your looks argue against that, not to mention you carry a Seal unlikely to have originated in the Yuirwood. I doubt she was a wood elf of the wood. No, she came from somewhere else."
The half-elf squinted at her, his face framing a question.
She continued, "She came from a realm behind the Yuirwood, a place called Sild?yuir."
"Another name for Stardeep? She is one of these murdering elves?"
"No. Stardeep is a splinter of Sild?yuir, long disconnected from it. Elves dwell in that starry land—I am one. And they are not a murdering people. Normally." Kiril glanced at the blood still staining her leg.
She allowed, "Something awful has happened, I fear ..."
Kiril swung to face Gage. "Tell me what you know about Stardeep."
Gage swallowed, turned pale. But he nodded.
"Kiril, Sathra did steal your sword, as I explained. And only because of my efforts was it returned to you. Please remember that while you listen to the rest of my tale."
She gave a fractional nod of her head. "Time is not on our side—out with it, thief."
He swallowed, a blush heating his checks. "Sathra took your sword, but it wasn't she who worked for Stardeep—it was me. I was the spy . .."
Kiril backhanded Gage so hard he spun and fell. Adrik the sorcerer took another step back, concern growing on his face. A high-pitched bell tolled from a nearby treetop; Xet was concerned about what might follow the slap.
Gage lay where he fell for a moment, rubbing his jaw. He coughed and spit out a bloody tooth. Kiril didn't much care. She said, "I knew you lied when you said you'd killed Sathra, you bastard."
The thief slowly sat up, but didn't stand. Anger threaded his voice, but he replied, "You were justified in doing that. Now, are you planning on hitting me again, or do you want to hear my story?"
"I thought you were my friend!" Gage's betrayal was the oil that fueled her fury.
He looked down. "I made a terrible mistake, Kiril. I am your friend, or would like to be, if you can forgive me."
She wanted to strike him again, oh yes. Pick him up and throw him, kick him. Eradicate him from her memory. Instead she said, "What about Nangulis? Was that a lie, too?"
Gage levered himself to his feet and backed off a pace before replying. "My contact from Stardeep was someone named Telarian. A male elf. In Laothkund he offered me a contract to steal a meaningless sword from a drunken swordswoman. That was before we ever met. If I had known—"
"I asked you about Nangulis, thief!" yelled Kiril. Rage burned her stomach; acid gave an unpleasant tang to the back of her mouth.
Gage rubbed his reddening jaw, said, "After we met, I realized I couldn't carry the blade myself, due to Angul's unique nature. So I sent word to Telarian—"
"How?"
"Telarian had a drop box set up in Laothkund. After I reported my failure, I was contacted again, and told to let slip the name Nangulis. I was to implicate Nangulis as the person who wanted the blade. Telarian said that would draw you to Stardeep without need for Angul's theft."
"Nangulis didn't contact you at all?"
"No, Kiril. I'm sorry."
The ex-Keeper put a hand to her brow. Was hope dead anew? She couldn't trust the thief, that was obvious. But Nangulis's name was in play. Who was this Telarian? Wait, she recalled someone named Telarian ... a diviner among the Knights. Toward the end, he had taken vows to learn the duties of the Outer Bastion. Now that she thought about it, Cynosure itself had indicated the diviner possessed exceptional talent and a strategic mind.
"This Telarian—did he call himself a Keeper?"
"Not in my hearing, Kiril."
"He must have become one, in my absence."
Gage shrugged apologetically.
Kiril said, "A Keeper corrupted, though, by the Traitor! Why does he want Angul? Or is it that the Traitor stirs in the Well and Telarian requires the Blade Cerulean to quench the effort? Why then, did he not simply tell me? I would have come."
Well, then again, perhaps she wouldn't have responded. She had washed her hands pretty thoroughly of Stardeep when she'd fled. Washed them in the blood of innocents.
What if the new Keepers of Stardeep feared her, and didn't want her homicidal help, only her blade? The last anyone in the hidden fortress had seen her, she'd been crazed and murderous. Perhaps they had sent the Knights against her to protect themselves.
No. Regardless of how her guilt attempted to fix her with all the blame, earned or unearned, the Knights' slaughter of the wood elf encampment and the subsequent murderous rebuff of the Masters of the Yuirwood happened before she ever returned to the Causeway. That argued for the Traitor's influence, if not his actual presence, loose in Stardeep. The vows forsaken when she'd fled struggled now in her breast, fluttering long unused wings.
And what if Nangulis truly had returned?
Kiril muttered, "I must gain entry! But the gates are closed, and I can't reopen them. I'll have to go the long way 'round..."
She turned to address the barehand fighter, Raidon Kane. "You are welcome to accompany me, half-elf. I don't know if we can find your mother, but it seems clear she was of the starry realm, and I must journey through Sild?yuir in order to enter Stardeep from beneath. I saw how you fought. Few I know could stand against you, and you didn't even draw your blade. I could use your help."
Raidon responded, "I shall not rest until I find my mother, or what became of her. Can Stardeep provide what I seek?"
Kiril said, "Your mother's possession of a Seal of the Cerulean Sign indicates a connection with the dungeon stronghold. Within Stardeep is an archive that names each of the original Seals, their owners, and when and where they were lost, if known. Perhaps those texts will provide the lead you require. Help me gain entry, and you can peruse them in full."
"My path seems destined to lead to Stardeep. I accept your invitation," replied the monk.
So saying, Raidon turned to his companion. "Adrik, your commission concluded some time ago. Thank you for remaining when the others retreated. Return to Relkath's Foot, and from there, seek your brother in Emmech. He must wonder what has become of you. Go with my thanks."