Pool of Radiance - James M. Ward [125]
Suddenly a blue oval was outlined against the wall behind the hammer. The stone surface within the oval began to shimmer like water under moonlight. As if wielded by some unseen but steady hand, the hammer cocked back and then forward, striking the calm, fluid center, sending out ripples as would a stone tossed into a quiet pool. Concentric rings of water spread from the center to the edge of the oval outline for several seconds.
As the ripples dissipated, so did the shimmering surface, and they could now see that the oval framed a doorway.
The hammer's light illuminated a small interior room beyond the oval doorway. Tarl quickly made for the door, with Shal and Ren right behind. When they could see inside the small room, Ren said, "Teleporter, just like the one Yarash used."
"And obviously I'm supposed to use it," said Tarl, the magical Hammer of Tyr finally settling into his outstretched hand.
"Obviously we're supposed to use it," Shal corrected him.
Tarl nodded, and together the three entered the small chamber. Once again the hammer blazed blue in Tarl's hand, for a moment blinding all three, and when its light diminished, they found themselves standing under an archway of strange-looking, sharply spiked shrubbery.
"Careful," Ren cautioned, pointing to the archway. "I've seen this kind of bush before. The thorns are tipped with a natural poison, and the serrated leaves can make some pretty wicked slashes. Don't even try to push aside any loose branches. Step around instead. Some bushes of this variety actually send feelers out, like vines do. They can move as fast as a man's hand, and their touch is deadly. There's plenty of snake venom in the world that's tame by comparison."
Beyond the archway were three narrow paths, one to the right, one to the left, and one straight ahead. All were lined with the same variety of poisonous hedge. Tarl looked to the hammer, hoping to receive some kind of sign or direction, but none was forthcoming.
"Where are we, anyway?" asked Shal.
Ren pointed to a tall, white turret, some distance ahead, the only thing that could be seen above the vicious shrubbery. "Valjevo Castle," he breathed, his voice hushed. "Probably one of the tallest buildings in the Realms, and according to that party of orcs we ran into on the way to Yarash's, the home of the Lord of the Ruins. This must have been a teleport the vampire used when he needed to see his master."
"It's no coincidence the three of us are here," Tarl pronounced firmly.
"Nope," Ren agreed. "Fate and the gods." He looked to Shal. "If you're ready to meet the bastard who sent Cadorna to kill Ranthor, I'm ready to meet him, too-and to take a chunk out of his hide for murdering Tempest."
"I'm ready," said Shal. "But do we even know what we're looking for or which way to go?" A glance in any direction along the pathways through the tall hedges showed a series of turns. They were obviously inside a topiary maze, and an elaborate one at that.
Tarl spoke confidently. "We'll recognize the evil of the Lord of the Ruins when we find him."
"He's right. I think we should try going straight ahead," Ren said. "I have a hunch that if the vampire visited often enough to have a private passageway here, he probably wasn't forced to go through the whole maze every time he dropped in."
Ren led the way. The path immediately took a jog to the right, then left, where there were two archways leading off from it. They proceeded on straight ahead, then stopped when it came to a T. "Wait," Ren said. He sniffed the air,