Go low, Hetta commanded. Remember, you're a mist now. Cling close to the ground.
Emriana willed herself to spread out, low to the ground, mimicking the evening mists that often sprang up in her own gardens at home. The two soldiers moved past her position, still deep in conversation, never giving the patch of wispy mist a second glance. After they were beyond her, Emriana wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but her vaporous condition prevented it. Still, she felt Hetta's sense of relief echo her own thoughts.
The girl began to move forward again, seeing Pilos moving right along beside her. She led him through a doorway she had picked out upon first entering the courtyard. She had no good reason for the choice. It was a gut reaction.
The space beyond was a narrow, torchlit hall that led deeper into the palace. The first chamber off the passage was a kitchen, though not a large one, and Emriana wondered if it was for staff. At the moment, it was empty and dark, so Emriana drifted inside and toward the back, away from the light of the doorway. She waited as Pilos joined her, wondering how much longer the magic of the potion would last before she had to return to human shape. Apparently, even the thought of materializing was sufficient to undo the enchantment, for Emriana found herself weighed down again. It felt both strange and reassuring at the same time.
Pilos materialized beside her. "Why did you do that?" he whispered. "Why didn't you keep going?"
"Because," Emriana replied just as softly, "I don't know which way to go, and I didn't want to get caught in the open when the potion's magic vanished. I didn't know how much longer we had."
The young priest nodded. "Probably wise. All right, I think it's time for me to do a little divination. Wait just a moment." With that, he extracted a pendant from inside his shirt. It was a coin, a holy symbol just like the ones she had seen Vambran, Xaphira, and Uncle Kovrim wearing. Pilos wrapped his hands around it and closed his eyes, bowing his head in prayer. He began to mutter something, so softly Emriana could not make out the words.
After a moment, the Abreeant opened his eyes again and motioned. "You picked a good route," he whispered, beginning to head back out of the kitchen and into the hall. "We can get into the lowest levels by following this around and to the left."
Emriana smiled and began to follow her companion, feeling a strong sense of hope that they would soon find Xaphira.
In a small room elsewhere in the palace, unbeknownst to either the girl or the young priest, a bespectacled wizard watched the pair dart out of the kitchen through the glass of a small mirror. He smiled and went to tell his employer the news.
CHAPTER 17
"Your companions have been taken away, hauled out of the forest in great wooden box-wagons," Shinthala said, seated in the middle of the great rock, facing the fire pit. "They were bound for the city of Reth itself." Everyone began talking at once. Vambran sucked his breath in. At any other time, he would have believed that his soldiers were being treated like any other prisoners of war, and that, in time, they would be released, once the temple funded their ransom. But knowing that Lavant was somehow behind the series of events in the area changed his perceptions dramatically. There was no doubt in his mind that the priest wanted him and Kovrim dead. If what the lieutenant and Shinthala had deduced was true, then the company, and Kovrim, were still in danger.
And now they're farther out of reach, while I've dallied in the woods.
Vambran and Shinthala had returned from their tryst in the forest after highsun, and she had ordered the release of the other members of the Sapphire Crescents. That had caused some consternation among the other druids, especially Edilus, but she had been adamant. Then they had all gathered together upon the great rock, druids and mercenaries together, to decide what must be done.
"I have to get inside the city," Vambran said then repeated himself loudly to quiet the din of so many voices talking at once. "I have to save my uncle. They will kill him to keep him from revealing what he knows. All of them will be slain to preserve the illusion that we died at sea or in battle, the victims of piracy or simple warfare. I have to go to them."
Shinthala shook her head. "No," she said. "You have a greater duty. You must return to Arrabar and let your people know what is happening. You must find proof that Lord Wianar is manipulating these events for his own ends, then you must show the city. Your companions are not as important as the truth."
"I cannot abandon them," Vambran said, though inside, a part of him wanted to, just so he could return to Emriana. "I cannot just leave my uncle and my troops to die there. We must find another way."
"Let us return home," Adyan said in his drawl. "We can go back to Arrabar and spread the word, and you can go to Reth."
"No," Vambran said. "My family needs me, too."
Adyan shook his head. "We'll help Em, Vambran, and with your family safe, we can stop this before Wianar marches half of Chondath east. You go to Reth. Six is no better than one against a whole city, but by yourself, you can still save them. Waukeen herself seems to smile on you."
Vambran looked at Shinthala, who nodded encouragement. "All right," he said, knowing he could not be in both places at once. "You five return home. I don't have to tell you to be careful once there. You're walking into a pit of vipers, it seems."
Adyan snorted. "And you aren't?" he said sardonically. "As long as we've known you, Lieutenant, you've done nothing but lead us into trouble." Vambran could hear the humor in his sergeant's voice, and when he looked at the man, Adyan winked.
"You know we'll find her," Horial added. "We'll get to Em in time."
Vambran took a deep breath and nodded his thanks. "In the meantime," he said, "I'm going to Reth."
Arbeenok stood then, walking to the center of the gathering from his spot on the fringe. He looked first at Shinthala, speaking to her in the language of their order. Then he turned to Vambran and said, "I wish to accompany you to the city. My divinations tell me this is right."
Vambran was taken aback, and when he looked at Shinthala, all she said was, "Arbeenok makes his own trail, even among those of the Enclave. I have learned not to question him, but to trust his visions and know that he will find his own path regardless of my efforts. If he believes he should go with you, I would take that as a boon to your journey."
"But how will we ever get him inside the walls?" Vambran asked skeptically. "He will not pass for a human, no matter how much clothing we pile on him."
At that, Shinthala laughed. "You still have much to learn of us, Son of Arrabar. Go and trust that Arbeenok will know a way to succeed."
Vambran could only shrug. When it was obvious that the lieutenant had accepted Arbeenok's proposal, the creature put a hand out to the man. Vambran took it and accepted the handshake.
Once the decision had been made, Shinthala promised Vambran aid from the Enclave, including a number of magical potions and oils that might be of use during both excursions. It did not take long for either group to pack, and soon enough, they were all saying their good-byes.
Shinthala followed Vambran and Arbeenok to the edge of the clearing, away from the rest of the druids and mercenaries. The lieutenant noticed that a look from her sent Arbeenok ahead a few paces, out of earshot. Then she turned Vambran to face her.