Darkvision - Bruce R. Cordell [76]
"Mmmm," agreed Iahn noncommittally, seeing that Eined was expressing pent-up hostility. She might be correct, but he had little common experience as a basis for comparison.
"But," continued Eined, warming to her argument, "the Durpari people get their sense of truth, fairness, and racial tolerance from the conviction that everything and everyone is a manifestation of the Adama. It's the foundation by which they conduct themselves. In fact, word of the Adama has spread to other lands, giving all of us a reputation for evenhandedness and fairness-which only enhances business prospects."
"Eined," Ususi said quietly, "we're being hailed. What should I do?"
While Eined lectured Iahn on the Adama, the road had begun to switch back and forth at an alarmingly precipitous angle. In a short time, they ascended a few hundred feet on a path that zigged and zagged upward.
An iron gate blocked access to the roadway ahead. On the left side of the gate was an impassable vertical wall. On the right side, a drop of a few hundred feet emptied onto a reddish-brown boulder field. Two men stood on the road in front of the gate, near a small guard cave hollowed into the side of the mountain. One had his hand on the pommel of his sheathed sword. The other, a pace behind the first and standing in the mouth of the cave, had a bow in hand and a shaft resting lightly on the string. Although the arrow was not yet drawn, the threat was implicit in the man's stance.
The guard with the sword moved a step closer and yelled,
"Stop! Turn around. This route is closed."
Eined stood immediately and raised her hand in greeting. "Captain Alberik, don't you remember me?"
The captain blinked his eyes, then a grin spread wide over his face. "Mistress Eined!" The guard stopped, at a loss for words.
"How long has it been-five years?-since last you opened the side gate for me, Captain?"
The guard nodded. A smile flirted with his lips. "Too long. I've missed you."
"Yes, yes, and I you," said Eined hastily. "I'm back now-I must run up and talk with my uncle. Be a prince and open the way for me, won't you?"
Alberik asked, "Why didn't you come by airship? This access is closed."
"If I had come by airship, how would you know I'd returned?"
The captain blushed, then said, "I thank the lady's kindness." Alberik turned to the other guard, who stood puzzling over his captain's apparent familiarity with the intruder. "Open the gate. It's all right-this is Eined Datharathi!"
The other guard jumped, retreated into the cave mouth, and in moments the sound of a metal crank was audible. The gate slowly slid into a recess in the cliff wall. As it did, Alberik moved to the side of the carriage. He reached up and grasped one of Eined's hands, asking, "Will you come back to see me?"
Eined smiled and said, "I hope so." Ususi drove the coach forward. In moments, they left behind the open gate and hopeful guard captain. Eined smiled fondly and said, "The fruits of a misspent youth sometimes work in your favor."
The increasingly angled path terminated in a dark tunnel mouth. Adama's Tooth still soared higher into the air. Even the efforts of dwarven engineering had limits-no mundane road could hope to reach Adama's Tooth's apex.
Eined pointed out the airship port-two great wings of stone high above them. They could see the silhouette of a ship hanging at a pier within the torchlit cavity.
"Someone from Vaelan is here. Probably just a routine visit." Eined's voice betrayed uncertainty.
"No doubt," said Iahn. He was sure he'd have noticed any magical scrutiny of their approach. He'd felt none. The vengeance taker doubted that anyone expected Eined to appear at the family mine site.
Ususi drove the coach to the edge of the tunnel mouth and stopped. "We're too wide," she said, comparing the