"What did you—ahh!" Meisha's hand flew to her chest. Coldness spread across her skin. She yanked back the fold of her jerkin where her Harper pin lay. The metal radiated a deep chill; her skin beneath the cloth was red with it. Meisha lifted the pin away from the tender flesh, but the dwarf had lowered his arm, and the cold began to fade.
"Take the warning," he repeated.
Angrily, Meisha shouted, "What warning? We can't take any warning anywhere! We're trapped here, just like you. Unless you can show us the way out, your message won't go ten paces without hitting a wall and splintering into silence."
The dwarf took a step forward. Talal whimpered, clutching at her clothes. "Stop. He'll kill us. He killed Braedrin."
"No, he didn't," said Meisha, shaking the boy off. "The choker killed Braedrin." She looked back at the dwarf. "Something else killed him, something else broke his axe. Is that what you want to keep hidden—the fire beast?"
"And the magic that violates the stone," said the dwarf.
Meisha felt Talal stir behind her, but he kept silent. "Varan's tinkerings?" she asked.
"Magic builds upon magic, layer by layer, century upon century, until it is too bright and terrible to comprehend. We collected the power here, and the power brought the beast. It was not our intention, and now we must pay for our crime. We must keep him bound."
"That's where Varan is getting his components," Meisha realized. "The secret caverns are yours. All those years ago, he found one of your bolt-holes. He created an extra-dimensional pocket to get to them, and now he's plundering the magic you left behind to make his toys."
"The gathering power will wake the beast. He seeks release; the walls are breaking down. Soon he will be free."
"We can't subdue Varan without risking him bringing down the whole cavern system," Meisha said. "We need help." Take the warning. She grasped her Harper pin as an idea began to form. "Your power affected this," she said. "Can you affect the same object, at a greater distance? Can you push your power through the earth?"
"I can," the dwarf said. "There will be a price."
Meisha didn't like the sound of that, but she didn't see any other way. "The closest person ..." Gods, she thought, when I tell him it's Balram, he'll come running. He won't know what to make of this. "It will have to travel over many miles," she told the dwarf.
"What are you doing?" Talal wanted to know.
"Sending a message," said Meisha.
* * * * *
"What is it?" Kall asked.
Kall and Dantane stood over the wizard's worktable while Dantane sifted through the charred remnants of the magic that had killed the lute player, Dynon Chadossa.
"Whatever the outcome, the magic's intended effect was to create an illusion, something to make the boy appear and sound as a woman to conceal his identity," Dantane said.
"I spoke with his family privately this morning," said Kall. "Lord Chadossa, as far as I could tell, appeared genuinely baffled. He was unaware his son even enjoyed music, let alone possessed a talent for bardcraft."
"It would appear Dynon didn't want his father to know about his shameful hobby," Dantane observed as he dug out one of the charred roots for closer inspection.
"There's no profit in bardcraft in Amn, not if you're the son of a wealthy lumber merchant," said Kall. "The boy must have realized his family would be subject to ridicule if word got out that he spent his nights plucking a lute instead of helping his father challenge the Bladesmiles for their stake in the lumber trade. He'd've done better building instruments instead of playing them."
"The punishment will be much worse now that he's been killed employing a magical device—a faulty one at that." Dantane tossed the root aside and went for another.
"There will be no retribution from the families," Kall said. "Chadossa has seen to that."
Dantane raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Amn has suddenly developed a forgiving nature when lives are threatened by horrific wizardry?"
"The family officially reported Dynon missing as of this morning. A search is underway, but the outlook is unfavorable. The Lady Chadossa is sick with grief, or so I'm told," Kall said, his voice flat. "The body of the lute player is being reported as an unidentified human female, as many witnesses can attest."
"You know it's Chadossa's son. Chadossa knows."
"Yes, but in the lord's words, 'sullying his family's name with magic won't avenge the boy's death.' An investigation into where he acquired such dangerous magic might, but Chadossa seemed uninterested in that suggestion," Kall said bitterly.
"What did he offer you in exchange for your silence on the matter?" asked Dantane.
Kall looked away. "A substantial loan—enough to cover my remaining debts—with next to no interest attached. He was most. .. generous."
Dantane looked impressed. "Then your worries are over. You can reestablish your father's business in a season. Many blemishes on your name will be forgotten in the wake of such a feat."
Kall shot the wizard a withering glance. "I will keep my silence, but I didn't take the deal, as you knew I wouldn't."
"How would I know?" countered the wizard, appearing genuinely surprised. "Any merchant family in Amn would welcome Chadossa's offer, and if I'm not mistaken, your goal is to count yourself among their elite. I know nothing of your motives or character, nor do I care to learn. If you wish to impress someone with your nobility, seek out your lady. Oh, but I forget," Dantane said, sneering, "She only pretends to be yours, as part of your ruse. Go to the friends who watch over you, then, if you can root them out from their hiding places."
Kall bristled. "You speak outside your experience, Dantane. Tread lightly where my friends are concerned."
"Of course, Lord Morel." Dantane offered a mocking half-bow. "Perhaps, if you feel the need to prove something, you should avenge the boy's death yourself. You obviously want to, since Chadossa will not. My only interest in the matter is how long you can continue to pay my salary, and since you refused Chadossa's offer, the answer to that is clear. Fortunately for you, this"—he rustled the ashes of the lute player's bane—"interests me greatly. Its age alone makes it worth a fortune Dynon Chadossa could not have hoped to have lying about."
"How old?" asked Kall, setting aside his anger for the moment.
Dantane held up the tendril he'd been examining. "I was wrong. These aren't roots. They're threads. The ones which remained intact after the burning are made of some type of ore. The item is not plant-based, and no wonder. I'm only estimating, but some of the components appear to be over a thousand years old." His voice rose excitedly. "But there's more. There are layers here, magic from multiple casters who may or may not have lived in the same century. It's as if I'm unraveling a tapestry put together by different weavers. I'm going to attempt to identify the layers. If I can do that, I might be able to determine where the magic malfunctioned, turning the boy from a woman to a monster." He gestured for Kall to move aside. "You'll want to observe from a safe distance. If whatever affected Chadossa's son tries to attack me as well. . ."