“Let’s get out of here!” Palin called. “We barely bested two spawn. We wouldn’t stand a chance against Khellendros. Feril, hurry!”
The Kagonesti edged away from the wall and took a last glance over her shoulders as the cracks continued to widen and spread in a growing spiderweb pattern.
“Palin, can you leave that globe here with me for a moment?” Rig asked. He was looking longingly at the jewels scattered on the cavern floor.
The sorcerer shook his head. “It will only last a few minutes if I’m not concentrating on it.”
“I’ll only need a few minutes.”
“You’re crazy, Rig!” the Kagonesti shouted. “You’re thinking about the treasure, and this cave will be coming down on our heads any moment!”
She spun on her heels, grabbed the still-blinded kender by the sleeve and tugged her toward the lair’s entrance.
Palin dropped his globe on the floor and hurried to catch up. “Suit yourself!” the sorcerer shouted to Rig. “But you’d better be quick about it!”
“I’ll hurry!” The mariner started scooping up handfuls of pearls and the broken necklaces that once had bound he and Palin. With his comrades gone, the mariner stuffed the jewels in his pockets and padded toward the wyverns. “The stronghold you mentioned,” he shouted over the rumbling cavern, “where is it?” He retrieved the weapons that had been taken from him, careful to stay out of the reach of the wyverns’ tails.
“Secret!” the smallest said, nervously eyeing the ceiling. It blinked furiously as grains of sand drizzled its face. The cave rumbled louder. “Tell not!”
“If this whole cave collapses, you’ll die!” the mariner proclaimed. He sheathed his cutlass and grimaced as he noticed Palin’s light globe start to dim. “Wouldn’t want to take such a nice secret to your grave, would you?”
“Secret is secret,” the larger wyvern hissed. “Storm’s stronghold secret!”
The mariner steadied himself as the cave floor trembled. From somewhere behind him, he heard the sound of falling rocks. “I suppose you’re right!” he shouted. “Besides, the stronghold is guarded “
“Black and blue men. Lots!” the larger wyvern warned.
“Yeah, sounds like a place to avoid. Well, I’ll be going now—back out into the desert. If you don’t want me to wander into this stronghold by accident, where would you suggest I not go?”
The smaller wyvern furrowed its brow and spit out a gob of sand. “Not go where sun comes up!”
“East!” Rig said, his voice growing hoarse from shouting to be heard over the increasing thunderlike noise of the trembling cave.
Its brother nodded its head. “Not go near big hole where sun comes up!”
“How far shouldn’t I go in that direction?”
The larger one shrugged.
“Not go past tall cactus line,” the smaller wyvern said smugly. “Not go past tall black rocks!”
The mariner grinned. He had seen a ridge of black rocks early this afternoon on their way here. He sucked in his breath as the ground shook harder. From somewhere deeper in the lair he could just barely hear the shouts of spawn. He inched his way toward the cave opening. “Cactus line?” “Cactus with arms. Cactus big as men. Cactus near big
hole. Near stronghold at Relgoth, Not go that way!”
“Thanks for the advice!” the mariner called as he bolted
from the collapsing chamber.
The air was cool outside; it felt almost chilly as it washed over Palm’s face. The temperature was in stark contrast to the heat they’d experienced several hours earlier. Judging by the position of the stars, the sorcerer guessed it was an hour or two after midnight.
Blister’s vision had continued to improve as Feril tugged her away from the cave. Palin had paused only long enough to pick up the kender’s dropped gloves and hand them to her. He had repeatedly glanced back over his shoulder, expecting to see the mariner.
It was several minutes, however, before Rig finally emerged from the lair. Palin turned and watched as the dark figure of the mariner rushed across the sand toward them. As he came closer, it was clear that what remnants were left of his pockets were bulging.
“Feril!” The mariner picked her up, swung her in a circle, and kissed her. Then he released her and thrust his fingers into his pockets, drawing out pearls and emeralds and gold chains and holding them in front of her face. “Not what I hoped for, but it will do!”
The startled Kagonesti felt a flush of embarrassment rise to her cheeks. She took a step back.
“These will pay for supplies for the Anvil for several years,” he said, a wide grin decorating his face.
“Wow!” A re-gloved Blister exclaimed. The kender’s sight had begun to return and her eyes locked onto the bright gems. “So we got some treasure after all.”
“Do you want your daggers back?” Palin asked.
The mariner shook his head, putting the jewelry back in his pockets. He had noted Blister’s interest and made a mental note to check his stash from time to time. “Keep ‘em. I’ve got plenty. I got back what the spawn had taken from me.”
The Kagonesti shook her head. “You’re a walking arsenal, Rig Mer-Krel. Your headband’s a garrote, and you have more daggers than fingers. What else?”
The mariner smiled. “The rest is a secret. And speaking of secrets, I managed to persuade the wyverns to tell me where the dragon’s stronghold is. There are people there that are doomed to be turned into spawn. I hope Groller will hold the Anvil for us, ‘cause we’re going to take a little side trip—see if we can do a little rescuing.”
“Four of us against a stronghold of spawn?” Feril wondered aloud.
“We can at least take a look at it,” the mariner said.
“Not before we get some rest,” Palin stated.
Two hours later they found a rocky ridge and huddled together in a comfortable niche. Dawn would soon be upon them, and none of them seemed able to take another step. Feril fussed over the cuts and burns on Rig’s chest and arms. He enjoyed her ministrations, but he was too tired to stay awake. He leaned his head back against the rocks and snored while she finished applying a salve she had concocted.
Then she turned her attention to Palin. “You mentioned the name Khellendros back in the cave.” She made Palin sit still while she rubbed the salve into his cuts. “He’s the dragon overlord controlling this area “
Blister, who had been studying the stars, became instantly interested and shuffled over. The kender settled back against a rock and cocked her head toward Palin.
“Most call him Skie,” the sorcerer said. “My divinations revealed he laired far to the south of here. Otherwise I wouldn’t have agreed to traipse anywhere near this area.”
“Maybe he does lair to the south,” Blister interjected. “Maybe he has several lairs. I would think an overlord could live pretty much wherever he wanted. So he’s called Khellendros and Skie?”
“Skie was the name Kitiara uth Matar called Khellendros, and it’s a name that’s far easier to pronounce. They were partners in service to the Dark Queen. They made quite a pair, so all the stories claim. Both were ruthless and incredibly cunning—and fiercely loyal to each other. Kitiara is said to have died decades ago, and Skie disappeared shortly after. No one knows where he went. But when he came back, he was massive, and he became one of the first dragon overlords.”
Feril shivered. “I thought the dragon that killed Dhamon and Shaon was big.”
“Skie dwarfs that dragon,” Palin said. “My sorcerer associates and I have been studying the overlords, and Skie is in some respects the most intriguing of the lot. He appears to meddle the least of all in the affairs of the people in his realm—not directly anyway.”