Darkvision - Bruce R. Cordell [109]
"Sounds good enough for a trial partnership," interjected Monolith. "What do you say, descendants of Imaskar?"
Ususi considered, nodded, and said, "Help us out of this pit, and we'll compare strategies."
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Another set of circling stairs. It wasn't far now. The Imperial Weapons Cache was ahead. And, presumably, Pandorym.
The stained corridors, translucent stairs, sealed chambers, and dozens of fascinating but ultimately unimportant features of the Purple Palace were behind them. As were the most vicious protests of the elf woman who called herself Kiril. She'd finally accepted Prince Monolith's opinion, but distrust still lay openly across her face whenever Ususi looked back.
Of course, Iahn wasn't much better. Because Ususi was of his lineage and knew something of his ways, the wizard saw the vengeance taker's behavior for what it was. She could see Iahn's distrust in the way he carried himself, how he kept his hand always ready on the hilt of his weapon, and how he consistently checked the behavior of the elf and elemental as they traversed the dark corridors of the tower. He was on knife-edge alert, ready to assassinate the rough-speaking elf and at least damage the elemental lord at the first hint of betrayal. To everyone else, he probably seemed stiff and unfriendly.
The two Vaelanites were likewise quiet, or perhaps merely tired, and at the very least, emotionally drained. The one with the prosthesis was running on willpower alone. Ususi hoped the slow walk would help renew the young man's energy. Iahn had offered him some morsels from his pack to keep his strength up. Warian's facility with his arm could prove pivotal in dealing with Pandorym. His sister's death colored all Warian's utterances, or lack thereof. Ususi knew she would suffer the same way if Qari were to come to harm. Perhaps Ususi's sister was in danger even now, back in Deep Imaskar. If only she could see what was happening there!
But dealing with Pandorym in the palace was the quickest, surest method of stopping the entity's forces… she fervently hoped. No. No, she knew her course was the right one, but would they be quick enough? Would they even be successful? It was all she could do to force herself ahead instead of back to the gate into the Celestial Nadir, and from there directly back to the foot of the Great Seal, using her keystone to forge a way.
"Explain again what this Pandorym is, and what your great-to-the-gills grandparents did to anger it," insisted the hard voice of the elf swordswoman, continuing a conversation Ususi thought was complete.
Ususi took a deep breath and said, "It is an entity too powerful to be controlled or even destroyed. The ancient Imaskari were under siege from their slaves' avenging deities. They were desperate. A powerful Imaskaran imperial faction lured Pandorym from a distant dimension beyond the local cosmology. In a fashion I do not understand, they caged Pandorym and threatened its release in this world as a way to dissuade the gods from destroying the Imaskari Empire. Apparently, the threat wasn't taken seriously, or the Imaskari were destroyed before their threat was issued. Either way, Pandorym remained forgotten and confined for millennia. Until miners from Vaelan found a gate into the Celestial Nadir, found the palace, and partially released Pandorym. Pandorym, once released, dropped the palace back into the world, onto its original foundation."
"These miners…" began Kiril, but the wizard snapped up a hand to deflect the elf's question. Ususi wasn't about to reveal the relationship between Warian, Zel, and Datharathi Minerals to this revenge-obsessed elf warrior, especially one who carried a blade of considerable potency. Ususi's magic-sensitive eyes watered whenever she looked directly at it.
The wizard said, "What's important now is to bind Pandorym anew into whatever cage it slipped from. The fact that we still walk freely in these halls should be assurance enough that it has reclaimed only a fraction of its potential power."