Amber and Blood - Margaret Weis [30]
“Wait, Monk! Stop! She’s leading you to your death,” Basalt warned. “There’s a dragon down there!”
Nightshade missed his footing, slipped on a stair, and landed hard on his backside.
“Dragon? What dragon?” The kender rubbed his sore tailbone. “I didn’t agree to a dragon!”
“The dragon is the guardian of the Solio Febalas,” said Basalt.
“The Solo Feebleness?” Nightshade repeated. “What’s that?”
Rhys could not believe he had heard right.
“Solio Febalas,” Rhys said with a catch in his voice. “The Hall of Sacrilege. But … that can’t be. The Hall was lost during the Cataclysm.”
“Our Master found it,” said Basalt proudly. “It’s a treasure trove, filled with rare and valuable holy artifacts.”
“They’re worth a king’s ransom. Which is why the dragon is guarding it,” Caele added. “If you try to enter, the dragon will kill you and eat you.”
“This just gets better and better,” said Nightshade glumly.
“Pooh, the dragon won’t eat anyone,” Mina said calmly. “She didn’t eat me and I’ve been down there. The dragon’s name is Midori. She’s a sea dragon and old. Very old.”
“Rhys,” said Nightshade, “I’m sure there are lots of kenders who would really love to be eaten by a sea dragon. I don’t happen to be one of them.”
“There speaks a man of sense! You and the monk should come back upstairs,” Caele urged. “Basalt and I will go with the … er … little girl.”
“What a great idea!” exclaimed Nightshade, starting to head back up the stairs.
Rhys caught hold of him, turned him around.
“We will stay with Mina,” he said, and he continued on down, bringing Nightshade along with him.
There was more whispering behind him.
“The Master won’t like us going down there,” he overheard Basalt say.
“He won’t like it if they rob us blind, either,” Caele retorted.
Basalt clamped his hand down on Caele’s wrist.
“Don’t be a fool,” said the dwarf, adding something in a language Rhys did not understand.
Caele grunted and twitched his sleeve back in place, but not before Rhys had caught the glint of steel.
Rhys turned away. The two were clearly up to no good and he guessed this had something to with the Solio Febalas, the Hall of Sacrilege. If they were telling the truth and Nuitari had found the lost Hall, then what the half-elf had said about it being worth a king’s ransom was true. Ransom enough for a hundred kings! Artifacts, relics, potions blessed by all the gods were said to have been confiscated by the soldiers of the Kingpriest. Truly a treasure trove for anyone, even two followers of Nuitari.
These artifacts had been forged in the Age of Might, when the power of clerics was unsurpassed. Priests of all the gods would pay dearly to acquire holy and powerful relics long thought lost. Most prized of all, most desired, would be artifacts blessed by Takhisis and Paladine. Though the two gods were gone from the pantheon, their ancient artifacts might still retain their power. The wealth of nations would be a small price to pay for such a treasure.
I want to bring a present to Goldmoon …
Rhys halted suddenly. That’s why Mina had come to the tower. She was going to the Hall of Sacrilege.
Nightshade, hearing him stop, twisted his head around.
“The stairs are slick,” said the kender. “You should be careful. Not that it matters if we fall and break our necks, since we’re all going to be eaten by a vicious sea dragon!” he added loudly.
“No, we’re not!” Mina yelled. She came bounding back up the stairs. “The dragon’s gone.”
“Gone!” Caele sucked in a breath.
“It’s ours!” Basalt gasped.
The two wizards shoved past Rhys, jostling each other in their clamorous haste to reach the bottom.
he wizards rounded a turn in the spiral staircase and vanished. Rhys hurried after them, leaving Nightshade scrambling to catch up. Rhys found Basalt and Caele teetering precariously on the final stair, staring in dismay.
To keep thieves away from the valuables inside the Hall of Sacrilege, Nuitari had housed the Solio Febalas inside an enormous globe filled with sea water. The Hall was guarded by sharks, sting-rays, and various other types of