Darkwell - Douglas Niles [88]
Robyn took the talisman and held it up, examining it in the flickering light. "I don't know. But it's certainly sacred to followers of Chauntea. Thank you. I shall keep it with the scrolls."
"Why don't you wear it?" suggested Tavish.
Robyn looked startled. "No! I couldn't! It wouldn't be right, or proper…"
"I know of this Chauntea," persisted the bard. "She is a great and powerful goddess, worshiped throughout the Realms. She is a goddess of growth and life, plants and animals, and nature. Is that so different from the great mother?"
Robyn shook her head reluctantly, and the bard continued. "Now, a matter of faith is a thing you must decide in your heart, but you have told us that the goddess has grown so weak that you cannot hear her answer your prayers. Nor can she restore your spells. Surely she would welcome the help of another goddess, one of great power and similar beliefs, if it will aid us on our quest!
"And a clerical talisman of such great value must indeed be a thing of power. Perhaps the symbol of Chauntea could work to our benefit. She is certain to despise and resist the presence of evil around us!"
"Perhaps," wavered the druid. "But -"
"And didn't you cast a spell of Chauntea, from the scroll, to travel here?" asked the king. "Might not wearing the medallion aid in the use of the other scrolls – perhaps even to free the druids?"
"Very well. I shall wear it." Robyn lifted the golden chain over her head, lifting her long hair out of the way so that it settled around her neck. The medallion itself, the shining crimson rose centered in the golden image of the sun, came to rest between her breasts, glowing warmly.
"I also found these. I don't know what good they are – they're kind of busted up – but I took them anyway." Now the halfling produced the battered spectacles, dust-covered and cracked. "I figured that since they were in the treasure room, they must be something valuable."
"Let me see those," said the bard. She took the glasses and held them up to her face, perching them on her nose. They tilted at an awkward angle, since the left temple was missing. The lens over her right eye was marred by a spiderweb pattern of cracks, but Tavish squinted comically and looked around.
"They don't do much for me… kind of hurt my eyes," she admitted. "I don't know why they would have been stored with the other valuables. Maybe that's why they were left behind." She removed the glasses and offered them to Tristan, but the king had turned back to the halfling.
Pawldo squirmed awkwardly as the others examined the glasses. Finally he spoke again. "There was – that is, there is – uh, one more thing. It was under a beam."
Hesitantly he reached into his pouch and pulled forth the fat gem. In the torchlight, they could all see the unmistakable glimmering of its many facets.
"A diamond!" gasped the halfling, surprising himself.
"It's huge!" murmured Tavish, leaning close to examine it, though she did not attempt to remove the stone from Pawldo's fingers.
"I guess, since you all went to the trouble of getting me out of there, this really belongs to all of us," admitted the halfling. "I'll hang on to it for safekeeping, but when I can sell it, we'll each get a share."
Tristan hid his surprise, but he looked at his old companion through new eyes. The avaricious halfling had accumulated quite a hoard over the years, but this was the first time the king had ever heard him offer to share any of it.
"Well, at least we've discovered a way out of here by which we might be able to avoid a confrontation with the deathbirds," said Tavish.
The others looked at her in amazement.
"What are you talking about?" asked Tristan.
"Why, over there… where the light is coming from. Hey, where did it go?" Tavish looked in amazement up a side tunnel. "I swear I saw daylight in that tunnel, just a minute ago… "Wait a minute!" The bard, excited, put the spectacles back on her face and looked