“Where to now, boss?” Burch said as he came up behind the justicar. “Monja needs a direction.”
Kandler nodded. “Back to the Talenta Plains is fine for now,” he said. “If we can find the Wandering Inn again, we can lay in some more supplies and take a short break, get healthy before we head out again.”
“How about after that?”
That was the real question, wasn’t it? He’d not had long to think about this. Before, he’d thought maybe they’d go back to Sharn. He still had friends there, family even. In a place like the City of Towers, they could blend in, disappear, at least for a while.
He knew it wouldn’t last though. Eventually someone would find them: servants of Vol, agents of the dragon kings, even missionaries from the Undying Court.
“I’m tired,” he said, giving Esprë a squeeze, “tired of running, of hiding. It’s time we went on the offensive.”
“What do you mean?” Sallah asked, pushing herself up to sit on her own.
“These forces after Esprë, they’re never going to stop until they get their hands on her, right?”
“She could come to Thrane. She’d be welcome in Flamekeep, and the full complement of the Knights of the Silver Flame would work to protect her.”
Kandler shook his head. “That would only bring the dragons down on your heads.” He put up his hand to silence her objections. “I respect you and your friends, but can you believe they’d be able to withstand a full-out dragon assault? I’d rather not see all of Flamekeep burn on Esprë’s behalf.”
Sallah grimaced at the thought. “Where else do you suggest?” she asked. “Should we return to Mardakine? Or Metrol? Perhaps flee north across the Thunder Sea?”
Kandler shook his head. “There’s only one choice for us. We’ll find the Wandering Inn and outfit ourselves for a long voyage. Then we’ll head for Valenar.”
“The elf colony?” Esprë said. “I haven’t been there for decades. I don’t think I know anyone there any more.”
Kandler ruffled her hair. “That’s all right. That’s not our final stop.”
“Where to from there?” Te’oma asked, implying that she would accompany them wherever they might go—perhaps whether Kandler liked it or not.
“To Aerenal, of course.”
“To a whole continent full of those pointy-eared elitists?” Duro said. “Sounds like a slice of damnation.”
“That’s where the Undying Court sits,” Sallah said. “Aren’t those some of the people who would want Esprë dead?”
“Some of them, sure, but not all of them, I don’t think, not if it’s going to mean exterminating a good chunk of their population. With luck, we can get them to side with us.”
“Side with us against who, boss?”
Kandler looked up at Burch and then around into the eyes of each of the others, all of them waiting for him to speak.
“Against the dragons of Argonnessen,” he said. “They want a war, and we’re going to give it to them.”
Glossary
Aerenal: An island nation off the southeastern coast of Khorvaire. Aerenal is known as the homeland of the elves.
Argonnessen: A large continent to the southeast of Eberron, said to be the home of dragons.
Argonth: A floating town designed as a mobile fortress to help defend Breland during the Last War.
Ascendant councilor: One of the revered undead of the elves of Aerenal.
Balinor: One of the Sovereign Host, god of beasts and the hunt.
Baronet Walsley: A halfling leader of House Ghallanda, in charge of the Wandering Inn.
Barrakas: The largest of Eberron’s twelve moons.
Bastard: A warforged lieutenant of the Lord of Blades and commander of Construct.
Berlun: The lath (chief) of a band of nomadic halflings living in the Talenta Plains.
Bitter Sea: The sea to the north of Khorvaire.
blackscale lizardfolk: The largest and strongest of the lizardfolk of Khorvaire. They live in the jungles around Haka’torvhak and serve the dragon Rhashaak.
Blade Desert: A barren landscape at the western foot of the Endworld and Ironroot Mountains that forms the eastern border of the Talenta Plains.
Blood of Vol: Those who worship the Blood of Vol refuse to bow to the power of death. Drawn from the traditions of an ancient line of elven necromancers, the Blood of Vol seeks to abolish death. They revere vampires and other undead creatures as champions in this struggle. This tradition is especially strong in the nation of Karrnath, and while it is not inherently evil, there are subsects—notably the infamous Order of the Emerald Claw—that have turned the battle against death into a struggle to dominate the living. As a result, throughout most of the Five Nations the common image of a follower of the Blood is that of a crazed necromancer leading an army of zombies as part of some mad scheme. The Church of the Silver Flame takes a particularly hard stand against followers of the Blood, and knights of the Flame may assume the worst when dealing with acolytes of Vol.
bloodwing: A fibrous, living symbiont, possessed of its own intelligence, which can sometimes bond to another creature. When dormant, the bloodwing’s fibrous body shrinks to a very small size, but when aroused, the creature expands to large batlike wings, enabling its host the power of flight.
“breather”: A derogatory term used by the warforged to describe non-construct creatures, e.g., elves, humans, dwarves, shifters, etc.
Breland: The largest of the original Five Nations of Galifar, Breland is a center of heavy industry. The current ruler of Breland is King Boranel ir’Wyrnarn.
Brendis: A young Knight of the Silver Flame.
Burch: A shifter and deputy justicar of Mardakine.
Captain of Bones: Commander of Fort Bones, currently Berre Stonefist.
changeling: Members of the changeling race possess a limited ability to change face and form, allowing a changeling to disguise itself as a member of another race or to impersonate an individual. Changelings are said to be the offspring of humans and doppelgangers. They are relatively few in number and have no lands or culture of their own but are scattered across Khorvaire.
clawfoot: A human-sized predator of the Talenta Plains. This lizard is often used as a war-mount by the Halfling nomadic tribes. (A velociraptor.)
cold fire: Magical flame that produces no heat and does not burn. Cold fire is used to provide light in most cities of Khorvaire.
Construct: A mobile city of the warforged in the Mournland.
Council of Cardinals: Along with the Keeper of the Flame, the ruling council of the Church of the Silver Flame.
Cyre: One of the original Five Nations of Galifar, known for its fine arts and crafts. The governor of Cyre was traditionally raised to the throne of Galifar, but in 894 YK, Kaius of Karrnath, Wroann of Breland, and Thalin of Thrane rebelled against Mishann of Cyre. During the war, Cyre lost significant amounts of territory to elf and goblin mercenaries, creating the nations of Valenar and Darguun. In 994 YK, Cyre was devastated by a disaster of unknown origin that transformed the nation into a hostile wasteland populated by deadly monsters. Breland offered sanctuary to the survivors of the Mourning, and most of the Cyran refugees have taken advantage of this amnesty.