"We all have to go," Cory said.
"Go where?" Amberlee demanded.
'To the family crypt to meet the guardian."
Amberlee gasped. The guardian was the spirit of a fierce wyvern who guarded the family's underground burial chamber. The girl's alarm was replaced a moment later by reason. "You can't do that," she said. "The crypt is locked."
From the back of the cart, Heather held up a silver key on a chain.
"Where did you get that?" Amberlee whispered anxiously.
"I took it from Uncle Steele's sock drawer when he was sleeping," Heather said with a giggle.
Uncle Steele referred to his nieces and nephew as a pestilence of brats and barred them from his quarters completely. Whenever he had too much to drink, however, he showed a partiality to Heather, whom he mistook for his little sister Julia, although Julia was now a matron. At such times Heather was able to coax coins and candy from her uncle and was allowed to rummage through his old toys, which he still hoarded in chests beneath his bed.
"When Uncle Steele finds out, you're going to be in a lot of trouble," Amberlee said.
"We'll return it before he notices," Cory said.
"Only if you're very lucky," Amberlee replied.
"That's the beauty of it," Cory said. "We are very lucky, I heard Mother Lleddew tell Father last night that Tymora's power is leaking. Anyone who calls upon her gets scads of luck. This morning we each tossed a toy in the well as an offering to Lady Luck. We should have more good fortune than we need."
"That's how I managed to get into Uncle Steele's room without Aunt Dorath noticing and without Uncle Steele waking up," Heather explained.
"Cory, the crypt opens onto the catacombs, and the catacombs are filled with evil monsters," Amberlee said. "You can't go down there, especially not with the little children."
"We are not little children," Olivia snapped.
"I want to go," Pars shouted and began blubbering like the four-year-old that he was.
"We aren't going into the catacombs," Cory insisted, "just the crypt. We have to talk to the guardian and find out who's her favorite of the cousins so we know which one can use the wyvern's spur."
A horrible suspicion seized Amberlee. "Cory Wyvernspur, you didn't steal the wyvern's spur from your father, did you?"
With an unashamed grin, Cory held up the mummified piece of wyvern's foot that enabled the guardian's favorites to turn into a wyvern at will. "I took it out of his pocket."
"You can't do this," Amberlee insisted, stomping her foot on the ground. "It's too dangerous."
"We'll be too lucky to get hurt," Tavan said as he led his pony from the stable. Toran, Lumen, and Ferrin followed with Amberlee's and their own ponies in tow.
"Lumen and Ferrin and Pars, as your older sister, I forbid you to go," Amberlee said imperiously.
Lumen and Ferrin laughed and mounted their ponies.
"I want to go," Pars screeched.
"I'm going to tell Aunt Dorath," Amberlee declared.
Tavan grabbed Amberlee's arm. Although a year younger, Tavan was taller and far stronger than Amberlee. 'You don't want to do that, Lady Amber," Tavan said with menace.
"And why not, Tavan Sudacar?" Amberlee asked.
"Because while you're telling Aunt Dorath, well go off without you. Aunt Dorath won't be able to catch us, and she'll spend the whole day fretting. Probably die of worry. And then we'll all be in the crypt for her funeral. And it will be your fault."
"Tavan, that wasn't very nice," Cory reprimanded.
"But probably true," Tavan's twin, Toran, said darkly.
"Aunt Dorath will send Uncle Steele after you."
"He's probably drunk half a flask of brandy by this time of the day. He'll be sleeping till supper," Tavan said.
"Please, Amberlee," Gory asked again. "We could use your help and advice."
Amberlee glared at her charming cousin, knowing full well his flattery could lead her to her doom. She looked back at Redstone Castle uncertainly. Tavan was right about Uncle Steele. Aunt Dorath was probably snoozing over her knitting as well. There was no one she could rely on. It was up to her. "All right, I'll go," Amberlee announced, "but only to keep you all out of trouble."
ACT TWO SCENE 5
Joel awoke with a start, feeling alarmed. He'd been having a nightmare. He lay very still, trying to piece together the dream. He'd been traveling with a group of children riding ponies, and they'd ridden into a graveyard. The children dismounted and took him into a large family tomb. It was dark and chill in the tomb, and Joel wanted to leave, but he was afraid to say so because then he would be left behind and the children would be alone. Ordinarily crypts held no fear for Joel. He could, after all, turn the undead and lay them to rest, but in this dream, he sensed he couldn't do that.
More disturbing than the feeling of dread was the sense that he knew the children in the dream. While traveling to Finder's temple in the Lost Vale, Joel had passed through Immersea in Cormyr and been welcomed into the home of Giogi Wyvernspur, a descendant of Finder's brother, Gerrin. Two of the children in the dream had been Giogi's son and daughter.
Joel wondered if the dream had any meaning. Perhaps he'd dreamed of children in crypts because he and Jas and Emilo were like children to the gods venturing in this deadly realm. He may only have dreamed of Giogi Wyvernspur's children because they'd been the last human children he'd seen in the Realms. On the other hand, there was the troubling possibility that he had dreamed of them because Tymora's troubles had directly affected them in some way.
'There, see," Emilo called out excitedly.
"Yes. I see them," Jas replied.
The bard rolled over. Emilo and Jas stood outside the tarp. Joel yawned and crawled out to see what they were looking at. They were camped on a little hillock at the foot of a cliff. A talus field, left over from yesterday's earthquake, surrounded the hill. A mild breeze had dispersed most of the fog. The sky far overhead was once again full of black clouds and sheet lightning.
Joel rubbed his eyes and yawned. "What's up?" he asked.
"See the bats fluttering around down there?" Emilo whispered excitedly, pointing downhill. "It must mean there's a cave nearby. It could be the entrance to Beshaba's realm. We should go look."
Joel and Jas agreed it would be worth checking out after breakfast. Jas returned to the tarp and began rummaging through Winnie's knapsack for breakfast. They split a loaf of bread and downed some more magical berries.
They washed breakfast down with water, leaving the second water flask half empty. Realizing he'd probably have to magically create more water soon, Joel began singing a soft prayer to Finder to grant him the spells he would need. He felt curiously empty as he did so. It was then he realized that perhaps he should be holding his power key while he prayed.
When he couldn't find the stone in his rolled-up shirt, Joel searched beneath the tarp. Then he began unpacking the backpacks. His searching grew more frantic. He began searching up and down the slope, fearing the stone had rolled downhill in the mist.
Jas joined the search, going through the backpacks again, more carefully this time. She felt in every fold of the tarp and crawled around among the boulders that held the tarp line, in case the stone had become lodged beneath one of them.
Emilo pretended he was joining in the search, but he felt too foolish.
"Why don't we check out the cave?" he asked.
Joel glared at the kender and continued to stalk about the campsite.
"You don't really need the stone now, do you?" Emilo asked. Joel whirled about, barely concealing his panic and anger. The kender's earnest expression softened him somewhat. He proceeded to explain patiently. "Emilo, the power key is a link to Finder's heart. I can't just leave it lying around on a mountainside in the Abyss. You heard Selune. It could be used against Finder. And it wouldn't be the first time, either. I would have failed him after all the trust he's placed in me."