Crypt of the shadowking - Mark Anthony [93]
"We must follow quickly," Morhion said. His smooth brow was beaded with fine droplets of sweat; his skin looked ashen. "I cannot hold the gateway open for long."
The companions cast looks of trepidation at each other but did as they were told. One by one they rode into the circle. Mari was first. She swallowed hard and guided Farenth between the stone pyramids.
She felt a sudden chill slice through her. It was almost as if she were riding through an icy cold waterfall, frigid water passing over and then behind her. She felt her heart pound in her chest, and for a panicked moment everything went dark. The rolling plains vanished. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't feel the reins in her hands. She was lost in nothingness and tried to scream but found she had no voice.
Then a warmth broke over her. Her lungs drew in a shuddering breath as her heart lurched into motion once again. Farenth's hooves clattered loudly against a slate floor. She realized she was in a dimly lit circular chamber of stone.
The spell had worked. She was in Iriaebor once again.
She watched in amazement as one by one the others rode through the portal. It was as though they were riding out of an impenetrable darkness into light, but Mari knew it was solid stone, not darkness. Finally they were all through. Estah breathed a sigh of relief as Tyveris mumbled a prayer to his god. Ferret simply looked nauseated.
Caledan seemed to have no desire to tarry at the mage's tower, and soon they were outside, guiding their mounts through the cobbled streets of the Old City.
Iriaebor had grown even more shadowed in their time away. The sun was just now setting, yet already the streets were deserted. All along the avenue, doors were tightly closed, shutters securely drawn against the approaching night. A scrawny, mangy-looking dog slunk across the street. It pawed through a pile of rotten garbage, then moved on, finding nothing edible among the refuse.
"Nice place to come home to," Ferret said, and Mari thought she noticed a hint of sadness in the thief's normally merry black eyes. "I'll ride ahead and warn the rest of you if I see any city guards coming our way." The thief spurred his roan stallion and disappeared into the twilight The companions waited until full darkness before slipping into the garden behind the Sign of the Dreaming Dragon. Even so, Jolle had seen them coming.
"The inn was a dark place without you, wife," Jolle said, embracing Estah tightly in the warm glow of the kitchen.
"Mother! You're home!" Pog shouted, with Nog echoing her, though as usual his words were unintelligible. Estah hugged them tightly, but after a moment they squirmed free and bounded toward the others.
"And none too soon, I might add," Cormik commented. The corpulent, elegantly attired man was seated by the fire with a glass of wine clutched in his hand. "Some of us have been hard at work while the rest of you have been off on your leisurely travels."
"Leisurely?" Tyveris rumbled.
"Should I kill him now or later?" Ferret asked casually.
"Both," Tyveris replied.
Cormik's one good eye widened, and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "A little sensitive, aren't we?"
Mari smiled wanly. "I think you'll understand a little better after we tell you what happened."
Cormik nodded. "Good. I have some news for you as well. But I don't think you're going to want to hear it."
It was late. The companions, along with Cormik, sat around a table in the inn's back room. Pog and Nog lay curled up on a rug before the hearth. The halfling children were fast asleep. Jolle was out in the common room, not mat there were many customers to serve. No one ventured about the city this late at night anymore. Instead the halfling innkeeper was making certain that if any city guards happened