The men walked together, talking casually, watching all around for any sign that they had been recognized and were being pursued. The farther they got from the Generon, the more Pilos began to relax. He had convinced the others to return with him to House Darowdryn, because he knew for certain they would be received without question there. He also wanted to let his family know that he was alive and well, but that Emriana had been caught and was missing. He finally sold Horial on the plan by telling the man that Lavant might have turned the entire temple against anyone known to have consorted with House Matrell.
"All right," the mercenary said at last, "you win. I just hope they'll let riffraff like us traverse the streets of your neighborhood."
The group of fugitives worked its way into the upscale neighborhood of the merchant villas, and Pilos knew that just a few more streets over, they would arrive in the wealthy section of town. He was beginning to feel good about the situation, and even considered what he should do next, when a strange noise caught his attention from the side of the street.
The young priest turned his head to peer in the direction of the sound and spied a face peeking out from behind a canopied store window.
"Emriana?" he asked, not believing his eyes.
"We have been watching the coastlines of your land ever since we received the portent that we would be needed," Serille the sea elf maiden said, leading Vambran and Arbeenok up the rocky slope of the cave floor to a brightly lit area. "Deep Sashelas spoke to us and said that a human known to us by family and marked thrice would appear in the sea during a great battle, and that this human would seek powerful history."
As Vambran listened to the girl's explanation, he admired the beauty of the cave. The entire far end had been carved to mimic the shape of a nautilus shell, and in the center rested a rounded stone that reminded Vambran of a clam shell. The entire cave was draped with the green plants he and the druid had swum past. In addition, the cavern was illuminated with magical glowing orbs, resembling common pierced lanterns favored by Chondathans on the surface.
"This shrine to the Dolphin Prince is normally submerged," Serille said as she guided the two surface dwellers toward the stone shell, "but we made some alterations in preparation for your arrival. We thought it would allow you to be more… comfortable… this way."
Vambran nodded as he walked around the large stone, which he took for an altar. Arbeenok chose to examine a strange script carved along the smooth walls of the place. As Serille followed the lieutenant about the shrine, other sea elves clambered out of the water. Many carried tridents or nets, and most adorned their bodies with necklaces of shells and coral, and wore belts of shark and eel skin. Some had odd satchels draped across a shoulder or hanging from a belt. Clothing was not worn by any, as Vambran was beginning to understand, feeling weighted down by his own soaking wet shirt, trousers, and boots.
"This is normally filled with water?" Vambran asked the girl as she came up beside him. He was admiring a particularly beautiful carving of a dolphin in the wall.
"Yes," she said. "We have little need for these bubbles, though we can tolerate being out of the water for brief periods of time."
Something the girl had said nagged at Vambran's mind. Then it hit him. He turned to look at her. "You said that you would know me by my family. What, exactly, does that mean?"
Serille smiled. "You are Matrell, correct?"
Vambran could only nod, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
"You have your aunt's eyes," the girl said, and she laughed at Vambran's reaction.
He finally snapped his mouth shut, then asked, "My aunt? You know Xaphira?"
"Yes, I do. She is a kind woman. Did you not know that your family and my people engage in trade? It has been quite beneficial to both sides," she added.
Vambran shook his head. "I had no idea. That must have been what Xaphira was doing all those years she was missing."
"I knew you were the one the moment you drove away the kraken," Serille said, coming close and looking at Vambran intensely. "As I said, your face was familiar to me, but it was these," and she reached up and touched the three dots, one by one, on his forehead, "that confirmed it." Then her bright smile clouded into a frown. "But you were unwilling to come with me then, and I thought perhaps I had made a mistake." She turned and looked at the altar. "I spent a number of tides praying, hoping the Lord of the Sea would help me to understand what I had done wrong."
Vambran chuckled. "I'm sorry," he said. "At the time, I had no idea I was destined for this, so the thought of sinking to the bottom of the ocean, even with someone as fetching as you, was quite intimidating. I was drowning, if you recall."
The smile returned to Senile's face. "Yes," she said. "I was happy to assist you, whether you were the one spoken of in our portents or not."
Vambran saw that Serille's gaze was just a little more provocative, a tad more suggestive, than it had been before, and suddenly, he was conscious again of her bare body. Turning away, he said, "I guess I should thank you for that, then," and walked back to Arbeenok to put a little space between himself and the girl. "But now that we're here," he said, changing the subject, "I have no idea what we need from you."
Arbeenok walked over to a small shelf of rock and sat down. "We are seeking great magic," he said in his rich, deep voice. The alaghi's words echoed through the cavern, making the elves turn and look at him in wonder. "A healing magic, to cure a terrible plague. And we believe what we need can only be found in the submerged ruins of a human city. One known as the Twelve Cities of Swords."
Serille's smile faded once more. "You seek great history," she said, repeating her words from before. "Deep Sashelas told of this, but I did not know what it would mean." She sat for a moment, as if trying to accept what the druid had revealed. Finally she stood again and said, "I don't know what magic you have come for, either, but I can tell you that what you wish to do is very dangerous. The ruins of your ancient kingdom lie buried under the ocean floor, with only a few places accessible from the water. There are tribes of creatures living near those entrances, bitter enemies to us. And other things lurk deeper in the ruins, slumbering beasts that we would do well not to awaken. But if this is what you wish, we will try to help you."
Vambran smiled. "The world above will thank you for it, if we manage to find what we're looking for."
Serille looked at the lieutenant. "And what about you, Matrell? Will you thank me, too?"
Vambran nodded, feeling a little unnerved. "Yes," he said. "I will be very grateful. People I care about very deeply up there are in trouble, and I want to help them."
Serille considered his comments, then nodded, too. "Then we must not waste time. First, we must consult with the elders of my tribe, to see what they might know of this magic you seek. If we cannot learn enough that way, then we will ask the Dolphin Lord to guide us."
Quickly, the elves were in motion, speaking among themselves in a language that seemed to Vambran to be a cross between elvish and the chittering of dolphins. However the conversation was resolved, shortly afterward, several of the sea elves dived into the water and disappeared, while others began to move about the chamber, searching the lines of script carved on the walls.
"I have sent my fastest swimmers to seek information from my home city," Serille said. "It should not take more than a quarter tide to learn what we need to know." Then she pointed to the other members of her group and said, "My companions are searching among our holy lore, trying to learn what might be revealed by our written histories."
Vambran nodded. "So, what can we do to help?" he asked.
"Rest," Serille said. "When we learn something, the journey to your goal will be long and arduous." She went behind the altar and brought out a platter. Vambran saw that it held small mounds of a green substance that reminded him of algae from the ponds back home, as well as clams and even some fish, freshly filleted. The girl brought the platter to him and said, "We have prepared food for you. It is not much by your standards, we realize, but we tried to guess what you would like."